4-025 
 
 AC 
 
QJarnell UttttJerHttg Slihrarg 
 
 Jtljata, ■Nwn 5orb 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY 
 
 COLLECTED BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 1854-1919 
 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
Cornell University Ubrai7 
 PA 4025.A5B91 1871 
 
 V.1 
 
 The Odyssey of Homer / 
 
 ittWMmm»-m9mt 
 
AS 
 

 Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 IIIM -1 
 
 tlMtfS V 
 
 
 
 JUN 1 
 
 "949 J 
 
 
 
 M^2B 
 
 t952 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924005354562 
 
THE 
 
 ODYSSEY OF HOMER 
 
 TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BLANK FERSE 
 
 WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 BOSTON 
 JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY 
 
 Late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co. 
 187I 
 
A 
 
 7^ U^ 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 187 1, 
 
 BY JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO., 
 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 University Press : Welch, Bigelow, & Co , 
 Cambridge. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 nPHE kind reception which my translation of the Iliad has 
 -'- met with from my countrymen has encouraged me to 
 attempt a translation of the Odyssey in the same form of 
 verse. I have found this a not unpleasing employment for a 
 period of life which admonishes me that I cannot many times 
 more appear before the public in this or any other manner. 
 The task of translating verse is not, it is true, merely mechan- 
 ical, since it requires that the translator should catch from his 
 author somewhat of the glow with which he wrote, just as a 
 good reader is himself moved by the words which he delivers, 
 and communicates the emotion to his hearers ; yet is the 
 translator spared the labor of invention, — the task of pro- 
 ducing the ideas which it is his business to express, as well as 
 that of bringing them into their proper relations with each 
 other. A great part of the fatigue which attends original com- 
 position, long pursued, is therefore avoided, and this gentler 
 exercise of the intellectual faculties agrees better with that stage 
 of life when the brain begins to be haunted by a presentiment 
 that the time of its final repose is not far off. 
 
iv Preface. 
 
 Some of the observations which I have made, in my Preface 
 to the Iliad, on that work and the translation which I have 
 made of it, apply also to the Odyssey and to the version which 
 I now lay before the reader. The differences between the two 
 poems have been so well pointed out by critics, that I shall have 
 occasion to speak of but two or three of them. In executing 
 my task, I have certainly missed in the Odyssey the fire and 
 vehemence of which I was so often sensible in the Iliad, and 
 the effect of which naturally was to kindle the mind of the 
 translator. I hope that the version which I have made will not 
 on that account be found lacking in a sufficient degree of spirit 
 and appearance of freedom to make it readable. Another pecu- 
 liarity of the Iliad, of a less agreeable nature, consists in the 
 frequent recurrence of hand-to-hand combats, in which the more 
 eminent warriors despatch, by the most summary butchery, and 
 with a fierce delight in their own prowess, their weaker adver- 
 saries. These incidents so often occur in the narrative, being 
 thrown together in clusters, and described with an unsparing 
 minuteness, that I have known persons, soon sated with these 
 horrors, to pass over the pages in which they are described, and 
 take up the narrative further on. There is nothing of this 
 kind in the Odyssey, at least until near the close, where Ulysses 
 takes a bloody vengeance on the suitors who have plundered 
 his estate, and conspired to take the life of his son, and in that 
 part of the poem the horror which so enormous a slaughter 
 would naturally awaken is mitigated by the recollection of their 
 
Preface. v 
 
 guilt. The gods of the Odyssey are not so often moved by 
 brutal impulses as those of the Iliad, nor do they seem to dwell 
 in a sphere so far removed from the recognition of those rules 
 of right and wrong which are respected in human society. In 
 the composition of the two poems, one of the most remarkable 
 differences is the abundance of similes in the Iliad, and their 
 comparatively rare appearance in the Odyssey, In the Iliad 
 the desire of illustrating his subject by a similitude sometimes 
 seizes the poet in the midst of one of the most interesting parts 
 of his narrative, and immediately there follows a striking pic- 
 ture of some incident bearing a certain resemblance to the one 
 which he is relating. Sometimes, after one simile Is minutely 
 given, a second suggests itself, and is given with equal minute- 
 ness, and there is one instance at least of a third. It is curious 
 to mark what a fascination the picturesque resemblance of 
 objects and incidents has for the poet, and how one set of these 
 images draws after it another, passing in magnificent procession 
 across the mirror of his imagination. In the Odyssey are com- 
 paratively few examples of this mode of illustration ; the poet 
 is too much occupied with his narrative to think of them. 
 How far this point of diiference between the two poems tends 
 to support the view of those who maintain that they could not 
 have proceeded from the same author, is a question on which it 
 is not my purpose to enter. 
 
 In the Preface to my version of the Iliad, I gave very briefly 
 my reason for preserving the names derived from the Latin, by 
 
vi Preface. 
 
 which the deities of the Grecian mythology have hitherto been 
 known to English readers, — that is to say, Jupiter, Juno, 
 Neptune, Pluto, Mars, Venus, and the rest, instead of Zeus, 
 Here, and the other names which are properly Greek. As the 
 propriety of doing this Is questioned by some persons of exact 
 scholarship, I will state the argument a little more at large. 
 The names I have employed have been given to the gods and 
 goddesses of ancient Greece from the very beginnings of our 
 language. Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, and the rest, 
 down to Proctor and Keats, — a list whose chronology extends 
 through six hundred years, — have followed this usage, and we 
 may even trace it back for centuries before either of them wrote. 
 Our prose writers have done the same thing ; the names of 
 Latin derivation have been adopted by the earliest and latest 
 translators of the New Testament. To each of the deities 
 known by these names there is annexed in the mind of the 
 English reader — and it is for the English reader that I have 
 made this translation — a peculiar set of attributes. Speak of 
 Juno and Diana, and the mere English reader understands 
 you at once ; but when he reads the names of Here and 
 Artemis, he looks into his classical dictionary. The names of 
 Latin origin are naturalized; the others are aliens and strangers. 
 The conjunction and itself, which has been handed down to us 
 unchanged from our Saxon ancestors, holds not its place in our 
 language by a firmer and more incontestable title than the names 
 which we have hitherto given to the deities of ancient Greece. 
 
Preface. vli 
 
 We derive this usage from the Latin authors, — from Virgil, and 
 
 Horace, and Ovid, and the prose writers of ancient Rome, 
 
 Art as well as poetry knows these deities by the same names. 
 
 We talk of the Venus de Medicis, the Venus of Milo, the 
 
 Jupiter of Phidias, and never think of calling a statue of Mars 
 
 a statue of Ares. 
 
 For my part, I am satisfied with the English language as it 
 
 has been handed down to us. If the lines of my translation 
 
 had bristled with the names of Zeus and Here, and Poseidon 
 
 and Ares, and Artemis and Demeter, I should feel that I had 
 
 departed from the immemorial usage of the English tongue, 
 
 that I had introduced obscurity where the meaning should have 
 
 been plain, and that I had given just cause of complaint to the 
 
 readers for whom I wrote, 
 
 W. C. BRYANT. 
 
 August, 1871. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF VOL. I. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 VISIT OF PALLAS TO TELEMACHUS. 
 
 A Council of the Gods. — Deliberations concerning Ulysses. — Mercury 
 despatched to Calypso, to bid her send Ulysses to Ithaca. — Visit of 
 Pallas, in the Shape of Mentor, to Telemachus, advising him to repair 
 to Pylos and Sparta in Quest of his Father, Ulysses. — Revels of the 
 Suitors of Penelope. — Phemius, the Minstrel, and his Song of the Re- 
 turn of the Grecians. — The Suitors rebuked by Telemachus . . i 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 DEPARTURE OF TELEMACHUS FROM ITHACA 
 The Chief Men of Ithaca assembled by Telemachus. — His Complaint of the 
 Suitors. — Their Attempt to justify themselves. — Prophecy of the Re- 
 turn of Ulysses by the Seer, Halitherses. — Request of Telemachus for 
 a Vessel to visit Pylos and Sparta, in Quest of his Father, granted by the 
 Assembly. — Preparations for his Departure 24 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 INTERVIEW OF TELEMACHUS WITH NESTOR. 
 Arrival of Telemachus, with Pallas in the Shape of Mentor, at Pylos. — 
 His Interview with Nestor. — Nestor's Narrative of his Return from 
 Troy. — History of the Death of Agamemnon and the Revenge of 
 Orestes. — Departure of Pallas to Heaven-. — Telemachus sent by Nes- 
 tor with his Son Peisistratus to Menelaus at Sparta . . . -47 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 CONFERENCE OF TELEMACHUS AND MENELAUS. 
 Arrival of Telemachus and his Companion at Sparta. — A Wedding ; the 
 Marriage of the Daughter of Menelaus. — Helen in Sparta. — Entertain- 
 
X Contents. 
 
 ment of the Guests. — Helen's Account of her Return to her Husband. 
 — The Trojan Horse. — Narrative of the Visit of Menelaus to Egypt, 
 in Order to consult the Sea-God, Proteus. — Menelaus informed by him 
 that Ulysses is detained by Calypso in her Island. — Plot of the Suitors 
 to lie in Wait for Telemachus on his Voyage and destroy him. — 
 Penelope visited and consoled by Pallas in a Dream . . • 1\ 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 DEPARTURE OF ULYSSES FROM CALYPSO. 
 Mercury despatched by Jupiter to Calypso with a Message commanding her 
 to send away Ulysses. — A Raft constructed by Ulysses. — His Depart- 
 ure on the Raft. — A Storm raised by Neptune, and the Raft destroyed. 
 — Escape of Ulysses from the Tempest, and his Landing on the Isle of 
 Scher" inhabited by the Phsacians . . . . . . .119 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 ULYSSES DISCOVERED BY NAUSICAA. 
 
 Nausicaa, Daughter of Alcinous, King of the Phjeacians, directed by Pallas to 
 go to the River and wash her Marriage Robes. — Sports of her Maidens 
 after the Washing is performed. — Ulysses awakened by the Noise, re- 
 lieved and clothed by Nausicaa, and bidden to follow her into the City, 
 and there make his Suit to the Queen, the Wife of Alcinous . -144 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 RECEPTION OF ULYSSES BY ALCINOUS. 
 
 Return of Nausicaa to the City, followed by Ulysses. — Palace and Garden 
 of Alcinous. — Reception of Ulysses by the Queen and her Husband. — 
 Narrative given by Ulysses of his Voyage and Shipwreck . . .162 
 
 BOOK VIII. 
 
 FESTIVALS IN HONOR OF ULYSSES. 
 A General Council of the Phzeacians, in which it is determined to send 
 Ulysses home to Ithaca. — A Solemn Feast. — Lay of the Trojan War, 
 sung by Demodocus the Minstrel. — Public Games. — Ulysses conquers 
 in throwing the Discus. — The Amour of Mars and Ven\ls sung by De- 
 modocus. — His Song of the Trojan Horse and the Fall of Troy . 180 
 
Contents. xi 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 THE CICONIANS, LOTUS-EATERS, AND CYCLOPS. 
 The Adventures of Ulysses after the Fall of Troy related by him at the 
 Request of Alcinoiis. — His Attack on the Ciconians and the Destruc- 
 tion of their City. — Rally and Reinforcement of the Ciconians, who 
 slaughter many of the Companions of Ulysses. — The Lotus-Eaters, who 
 subsist on Flowers. — Arrival of Ulysses at the Land of the Cyclops. 
 
 — Polyphemus and his Barbarities. — Revenge of Ulysses, who puts out 
 
 the single Eye of Polyphemus and escapes . . . . . . zio 
 
 BOOK X. 
 
 jEOLUS, the LESTRIGONIANS, and CIRCE. 
 
 Arrival of Ulysses at the Land of .^Eolus, who gives him the Winds in a 
 Bag. — Folly of the Seamen, who untie the Bag while Ulysses is asleep. 
 — A Tempest. — Disastrous Encounter with the Gigantic Laestrigons. 
 
 — Arrival at the Island of Circe. — Transformation of the Greeks to 
 Swine, and Recovery of their former Shape. — Preparations for a Journey 
 
 to the Region of the Dead 238 
 
 BOOK XI. 
 
 VISIT OF ULYSSES TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD. 
 Voyage to the Land of the Dead. — Interview with Tiresias the Seer. — 
 The Heroes and Heroines whom Ulysses saw there. — Interview with 
 his Mother, and with Agamemnon, Achilles, and others. — Occupations 
 of the Dead. — Punishments of the Guilty 267 
 
 BOOK XII. 
 
 THE SIRENS, SCYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS. 
 Return of Ulysses to the Island of Circe. — Her Counsels respecting his 
 Homeward Voyage. — The Sirens. — Escape from Scylla and Charybdis. 
 
 — His Arrival at Trinacria. — Slaughter of the Oxen of the Sun by his 
 Companions. — A Tempest in Consequence, by which his Companions 
 
 all perish, and he only escapes by swimming to the Island of Calypso . 301 
 
THE ODYSSEY, 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 *" I ^ELL me, O Muse, of that sagacious man 
 
 Who, having overthrown the sacred town 
 Of Ilium, wandered far and visited 
 The capitals of many nations, learned 
 The customs of their dwellers, and endured s 
 
 Great suffering on the deep ; his life was oft 
 In peril, as he labored to bring back 
 His comrades to their homes. He saved them not. 
 Though earnestly he strove ; they perished all. 
 Through their own folly ; for they banqueted, lo 
 
 Madmen ! upon the oxen of the Sun, — 
 The all-o'erlooking Sun, who cut them off 
 From their return. O goddess, virgin-child 
 Of Jove, relate some part of this to me. 
 
 Now all the rest, as many as escaped is 
 
2 The Odyssey. 
 
 The cruel doom of death, were at their homes 
 
 Safe from the perils of the war and sea. 
 
 While him alone, who pined to see his home 
 
 And wife again. Calypso, queenly nymph. 
 
 Great among goddesses, detained within *o 
 
 Her spacious grot, in hope that he might yet 
 
 Become her husband. Even when the years 
 
 Brought round the time in which the gods decreed 
 
 That he should reach again his dwelling-place 
 
 In Ithaca, though he was with his friends, . 25 
 
 His toils were not yet ended. Of the gods 
 
 All pitied him save Neptune, who pursued 
 
 With wrath implacable the godlike chief, 
 
 Ulysses, even to his native land. 
 
 Among the Ethiopians was the god 30 
 
 Far off, — the Ethiopians most remote 
 Of men. Two tribes there are ; one dwells beneath 
 The rising, one beneath the setting sun. 
 He went to grace a hecatomb of beeves 
 And lambs, and sat delighted at the feast ; 35 
 
 While in the palace of Olympian Jove 
 The other gods assembled, and to them 
 The father of immortals and of men 
 Was speaking. To his mind arose the thought 
 
Book I. 3 
 
 of that jiEgisthus whom the famous son 4° 
 
 Of Agamemnon, prince Orestes, slew. 
 
 Of him he thought and thus bespake the gods : — 
 
 " How strange it is that mortals blame the gods 
 And say that we inflict the ills they bear. 
 When they, by their own folly and against 45 
 
 The will of fate, bring sorrow on themselves ! 
 As late ^gisthus, unconstrained by fate. 
 Married the queen of Atreus' son and slew 
 The husband just returned from war. Yet well 
 He knew the bitter penalty, for we 5° 
 
 Warned him. We sent the herald Argicide, 
 Bidding him neither slay the chief nor woo 
 His queen, for that Orestes, when he came 
 To manhood and might claim his heritage. 
 Would take due vengeance for Atrides slain. i'i 
 
 So Hermes said ; his prudent words moved not 
 The purpose of ^Egisthus, who now pays 
 The forfeit of his many crimes at once." 
 
 Pallas, the blue-eyed goddess, thus replied : — 
 " O father, son of Saturn, king of kings ! 60 
 
 Well he deserved his death. So perish all 
 Guilty of deeds like his ! But I am grieved 
 For sage Ulysses, that most wretched man. 
 
4 The Odyssey. 
 
 So long detained, repining, and afar 
 
 From these he loves, upon a distant isle *5 
 
 Girt by the waters of the central deep, — 
 
 A forest isle, where dwells a deity 
 
 The daughter of wise Atlas, him who knows 
 
 The ocean to its utmost depths, and holds 
 
 Upright the lofty columns which divide n° 
 
 The earth from heaven. The daughter there detains 
 
 The unhappy chieftain, and with flattering words 
 
 Would win him to forget his Ithaca. 
 
 Meanwhile, impatient to behold the smokes 
 
 That rise from hearths in his own land, he pines is 
 
 And willingly would die. Is not thy heart, 
 
 Olympius, touched by this ? And did he not 
 
 Pay grateful sacrifice to thee beside 
 
 The Argive fleet in the broad realm of Troy ? 
 
 Why then, O Jove, art thou so wroth with him ? " so 
 
 Then answered cloud-compelling Jove : " My child, 
 What words have passed thy lips ? Can I forget 
 Godlike Ulysses, who in gifts of mind 
 Excels all other men, and who has brought 
 Large offerings to the gods that dwell in heaven ? 85 
 
 Yet he who holds the earth in his embrace, 
 Neptune, pursues him with perpetual hate 
 
Book I. 5 
 
 Because of Polypheme, the Cyclops, strong 
 
 Beyond all others of his giant race. 
 
 Whose eye Ulysses had put out. The nymph 9° 
 
 Thoosa brought him forth, — a daughter she 
 
 Of Phorcys, ruling in the barren deep, — 
 
 And in the covert of o'erhanging rocks 
 
 She met with Neptune. For this cause the god 
 
 Who shakes the shores, although he slay him not, 9S 
 
 Sends forth Ulysses wandering far away 
 
 From his own country. Let us now consult 
 
 Together and provide for his return. 
 
 And Neptune will lay by his wrath, for vain 
 
 It were for one like him to strive alone 'oo 
 
 Against the might of all the immortal gods." 
 
 And then the blue-eyed Pallas spake again : — 
 " O father ! son of Saturn, king of kings ! 
 If such the pleasure of the blessed gods 
 That now the wise Ulysses shall return i°s 
 
 To his own land, let us at once despatch 
 Hermes, the Argicide, our messenger. 
 Dawn to Ogygia, to the bright-haired nymph. 
 And make our steadfast purpose known to bring 
 The sufferer Ulysses to his home, "° 
 
 And I will haste to Ithaca, and move 
 
6 The Odyssey. 
 
 His son, that with a resolute heart he call 
 
 The long-haired Greeks together and forbid 
 
 The excesses of the suitor train, who slay 
 
 His flocks and slow-paced beeves with crooked horns. "S 
 
 To Sparta I will send him and the sands 
 
 Of Pylos, to inquire for the return 
 
 Of his dear father. So a glorious fame 
 
 Shall gather round him in the eyes of men." 
 
 She spake, and fastened underneath her feet i^° 
 
 The fair, ambrosial golden sandals worn 
 To bear her over ocean like the wind. 
 And o'er the boundless land. In hand she took. 
 Well tipped with trenchant brass, the mighty spear. 
 Heavy and huge and strong, with which she bears i^s 
 
 Whole phalanxes of heroes to the earth. 
 When she, the daughter of a mighty sire. 
 Is angered. From the Olympian heights she plunged. 
 And stood among the men of Ithaca, 
 Just at the porch and threshold of their chief, 13° 
 
 Ulysses. In her hand she bore the spear. 
 And seemed the stranger Mentes, he who led 
 The Taphians. There before the gate she found 
 The haughty suitors. Some beguiled the time 
 With draughts, while sitting on the hides of beeves 13s 
 
Book I. 7 
 
 Which they had slaughtered. Heralds were with them. 
 
 And busy menials : some who in the bowls 
 
 Tempered the wine with water, some who cleansed 
 
 The tables with light sponges, and who set 
 
 The banquet forth and carved the meats for all. 14° 
 
 Telemachus the godlike was the first 
 To see the goddess as he sat among 
 The crowd of suitors, sad at heart, and thought 
 Of his illustrious father, who might come 
 And scatter those who filled his palace halls, '45 
 
 And win new honor, and regain the rule 
 Over his own. As thus he sat and mused 
 Among the suitors, he beheld where stood 
 Pallas, and forth he sprang ; he could not bear 
 To keep a stranger waiting at his door. 'S" 
 
 He came, and taking her right hand received 
 The brazen spear, and spake these winged words : — 
 
 " Hail, stranger ! thou art truly welcome here ; 
 First come and share our feast and be refreshed. 
 Then say what thou requirest at our hands." 15s 
 
 He spake and led the way, and in his steps 
 Pallas Athene followed. Entering then 
 The lofty halls, he set the spear upright 
 By a tall column, in the armory 
 
8 The Odyssey. 
 
 160 
 
 With polished walls, where rested many a lance 
 
 Of the large-souled Ulysses. Then he placed 
 
 His guest upon a throne, o'er which he spread 
 
 A covering many-hued and beautiful. 
 
 And gave her feet a footstool. Near to her 
 
 He drew his party-colored seat, aloof 165 
 
 From where the suitors sat; that so his guest 
 
 Might not amid those haughty revellers 
 
 Be wearied with the tumult and enjoy 
 
 His meal the less, and that himself might ask 
 
 News of his absent father. In a bowl 17° 
 
 Of silver, from a shapely ewer of gold, 
 
 A maid poured water for the hands, and set 
 
 A polished table near them. Then approached 
 
 A venerable matron bringing bread 
 
 And delicacies gathered from the board ; 17s 
 
 And he who served the feast before them placed 
 
 Chargers with various meats, and cups of gold ; 
 
 While round the board a herald moved, and poured 
 
 Wine for the guests. The haughty suitors now 
 
 Came in, and took their places on the thrones 180 
 
 And couches ; heralds poured upon their hands 
 
 The water ; maidens heaped the canisters 
 
 With bread, and all put forth their hands to share 
 
Book I. g 
 
 The banquet on the board, while to the brim 
 
 Boys filled the beakers. When the calls of thirst 185 
 
 And hunger were appeased, the suitors thought 
 
 Of other things that well become a feast, — 
 
 Song and the dance. And then a herald brought 
 
 A shapely harp, and gave it to the hands 
 
 Of Phemius, who had only by constraint 19° 
 
 Sung to the suitors. On the chords he struck 
 
 A prelude to his lay, while, as he played, 
 
 Telemachus, that others might not hear. 
 
 Leaned forward, and to blue-eyed Pallas spake : — 
 
 " My friend and guest, wilt thou take no offence 19s 
 At what I say ? These revellers enjoy 
 The harp and song, for at no cost of theirs 
 They waste the substance of another man. 
 Whose white bones now are mouldering in the rain 
 Upon some main-land, or are tossed about ^°° 
 
 By ocean billows. Should they see him once 
 In Ithaca, their prayers would rather rise 
 For swifter feet than richer stores of gold 
 And raiment. But an evil fate is his. 
 And he has perished. Even should we hear ^05 
 
 From any of the dwellers upon earth 
 That he is near at hand, we could not hope. 
 
lo The Odyssey. 
 
 For him is no return. But now, I pray. 
 
 Tell me, and frankly tell me, who thou art. 
 
 And of what race of men, and where thy home, 210 
 
 And who thy parents ; how the mariners 
 
 Brought thee to Ithaca, and who they claim 
 
 To be, for well I deem thou couldst not come 
 
 Hither on foot. All this, I pray, relate 
 
 Truly, that I may know the whole. Art thou ^is 
 
 For the first time arrived, or hast thou been 
 
 My father's guest ? for many a stranger once 
 
 Resorted to our palace, and he knew 
 
 The way to win the kind regard of men." 
 
 Pallas, the blue-eyed goddess, answered thus : — 220 
 " I will tell all and truly. I am named 
 Mentes ; my father was the great in war 
 Anchialus. I rule a people skilled 
 To wield the oar, the Taphians, and I come 
 With ship and crew across the dark blue deep 225 
 
 To Temese, and to a race whose speech 
 Is different from my own, in quest of brass. 
 And bringing bright steel with me. I have left 
 Moored at the field behind the town my bark. 
 Within the bay of Reithrus, and beneath 
 The woods of Neius. We claim to be 
 
 230 
 
Book I. II 
 
 Guests by descent, and from our fathers' time. 
 
 As thou wilt learn if thou shouldst meet and ask 
 
 Laertes, the old hero. It is said 
 
 He comes no more within the city walls, 23s 
 
 But in the fields dwells sadly by himself. 
 
 Where an old handmaid sets upon his board 
 
 His food and drink when weariness unnerves 
 
 His limbs in creeping o'er the fertile soil 240 
 
 Of his rich vineyard. I am come because 
 
 I heard thy father had at last returned, 
 
 And now am certain that the gods delay 
 
 His journey hither ; for the illustrious man 
 
 Cannot have died, but is detained alone 24s 
 
 Somewhere upon the ocean, in some spot 
 
 Girt by the waters. There do cruel men 
 
 And savage keep him, pining to depart. 
 
 Now let me speak of what the gods reveal. 
 
 And what I deem will surely come to pass, 25° 
 
 Although I am no seer and have no skill 
 
 In omens drawn from birds. Not long the chief 
 
 Will be an exile from his own dear land. 
 
 Though fettered to his place by links of steel ; 
 
 For he has large invention, and will plan 255 
 
 A way for his escape. Now tell me this, 
 
12 The Odyssey. 
 
 And truly ; tall in stature as thou art, 
 . Art thou in fact Ulysses' son ? In face 
 And glorious eyes thou dost resemble him 
 Exceedingly ; for he and I of yore 6° 
 
 Were oftentimes companions, ere he sailed 
 For Ilium, whither also went the best 
 Among the Argives in their roomy ships. 
 Nor have we seen each other since that day." 
 
 Telemachus, the prudent, spake : " O guest, ^65 
 
 True answer shalt thou have. My mother says 
 I am his son ; I know not ; never man 
 Knew his own father. Would I were the son 
 Of one whose happier lot it was to meet 
 Amidst his own estates the approach of age. 27° 
 
 Now the most wretched of the sons of men 
 Is he to whom they say I owe my birth. 
 Thus is thy question answered." Then again 
 Spake blue-eyed Pallas : " Of a truth, the gods 
 Ordain not that thy race, in years to come, 27s 
 
 Should be inglorious, since Penelope 
 Hath borne thee such as I behold thee now. 
 But frankly answer me, — what feast is here, 
 And what is this assembly ? What may be 
 The occasion ? is a banquet given ? is this 280 
 
Book I. 13 
 
 A wedding ? A collation, where the guests 
 Furnish the meats, I think it cannot be. 
 So riotously goes the revel on 
 Throughout the palace. A well-judging man. 
 If he should come among them, would be moved 285 
 
 With anger at the shameful things they do." 
 Again Telemachus, the prudent, spake : — 
 " Since thou dost ask me, stranger, know that once 
 Rich and illustrious might this house be called 
 While yet the chief was here. But now the gods 290 
 Have grown unkind and willed it otherwise. 
 They make his fate a mystery beyond 
 The fate of other men. I should not grieve 
 So deeply for his loss if he had fallen 
 With his companions on the field of Troy; 29s 
 
 Or midst his kindred when the war was o'er. 
 Then all the Greeks had built his monument, 
 And he had left his son a heritage 
 Of glory. Now has he become the prey 
 Of Harpies, perishing ingloriously, 30° 
 
 Unseen, his fate unheard of, and has left 
 Mourning and grief, my portion. Not for him 
 Alone I grieve ; the gods have cast on me 
 Yet other hardships. All the chiefs who rule 
 
14 The Odyssey. 
 
 The isles, Dulichium, Samos, and the groves 3°s 
 
 That shade Zacynthus, and who bear the sway 
 
 In rugged Ithaca, have come to woo 
 
 My mother, and from day to day consume 
 
 My substance. She rejects not utterly 
 
 Their hateful suit, and yet she cannot bear 3'° 
 
 To end it by a marriage. Thus they waste 
 
 My heritage, and soon will seek my life." 
 
 Again in grief and anger Pallas spake : — 
 " Yea, greatly dost thou need the absent chief 
 Ulysses here, that he might lay his hands 315 
 
 Upon these shameless suitors. Were he now 
 To come and stand before the palace gate 
 With helm and buckler and two spears, as first 
 I saw him in our house, when drinking wine 
 And feasting, just returned from Ephyre, 320 
 
 Where Ilus dwelt, the son of Mermerus, — 
 For thither went Ulysses in a bark. 
 To seek a deadly drug with which to taint 
 His brazen arrows ; Ilus gave it not ; 
 
 He feared the immortal gods ; my father gave 32s 
 
 The poison, for exceedingly he loved 
 His guest, — could now Ulysses, in such guise. 
 Once meet the suitors, short would be their lives 
 
Book I. 15 
 
 And bitter would the marriage banquet be. 
 
 Yet whether he return or not to take ' 330 
 
 Vengeance, in his own palace, on this crew 
 
 Of wassaillers, rests only with the gods. 
 
 Now let me counsel thee to think betimes 
 
 How thou shalt thrust them from thy palace gates. 
 
 Observe me, and attend to what I say : 33s 
 
 To-morrow thou shalt call the Achaian chiefs 
 
 To an assembly ; speak before them all. 
 
 And be the gods thy witnesses. Command 
 
 The suitors all to separate for their homes ; 
 
 And if thy mother's mind be bent to wed, 340 
 
 Let her return to where her father dwells, 
 
 A mighty prince, and there they will appoint 
 
 Magnificent nuptials, and an ample dower 
 
 Such as should honor a beloved child. 
 
 And now, if thou wilt heed me, I will give 345 
 
 A counsel for thy good. Man thy best ship 
 
 With twenty rowers, and go forth to seek 
 
 News of thy absent father. Thou shalt hear 
 
 Haply' of him from some one of the sons 
 
 Of men, or else some word of rumor sent 35° 
 
 By Jove, revealing what mankind should know. 
 
 First shape thy course for Pylos, and inquire 
 
1 6 The Odyssey. 
 
 Of noble Nestor ; then, at Sparta, ask 
 
 Of fair-haired Mehelaus, for he came 
 
 Last of the mailed Achaians to his home. 355 
 
 And shouldst thou learn that yet thy father lives. 
 
 And will return, have patience yet a year. 
 
 However hard it seem. But shouldst thou find 
 
 That he is now no more, return forthwith 
 
 To thy own native land, and pile on high 360 
 
 His monument, and let the funeral rites 
 
 Be sumptuously performed as may become 
 
 The dead, and let thy mother wed again. 
 
 And when all this is fully brought to pass. 
 
 Take counsel with thy spirit and thy heart 365 
 
 How to destroy the suitor crew that haunt 
 
 Thy palace, whether by a secret snare 
 
 Or open force. No longer shouldst thou act 
 
 As if thou wert a boy ; thou hast outgrown 
 
 The age of childish sports. Hast thou not heard 370 
 
 What honor the divine Orestes gained 
 
 With all men, when he slew the murderer, 
 
 The crafty wretch iEgisthus, by whose hand 
 
 The illustrious father of Orestes died? 
 
 And then, my friend, — for I perceive that thou 375 
 
 Art of a manly and a stately growth, — 
 
Book I. 17 
 
 Be also bold, that men hereafter born 
 
 May give thee praise. And now must I depart 
 
 To my good ship, and to my friends who wait, 
 
 Too anxiously perhaps, for my return. 38° 
 
 Act wisely now, and bear my words in mind." 
 
 The prudent youth Telemachus rejoined : — 
 " Well hast thou spoken, and with kind intent, 
 O stranger ! like a father to a son ; 
 
 And ne'er shall I forget what thou hast said. 385 
 
 Yet stay, I pray thee, though in haste, and bathe 
 And be refreshed, and take to thy good ship 
 Some gift with thee, such as may please thee well. 
 Precious and rare, which thou mayst ever keep 
 In memory of me, — a gift likie those 39° 
 
 Which friendly hosts bestow upon their guests." 
 
 Then spake the blue-eyed Pallas : " Stay me not. 
 For now would I depart. Whatever gift 
 Thy heart may prompt thee to bestow, reserve 
 Till I come back, that I may bear it home, 395 
 
 And thou shalt take some precious thing in turn." 
 
 So spake the blue-eyed Pallas, and withdrew. 
 Ascending like a bird. She filled his heart 
 With strength and courage, waking vividly 
 His father's memory. Then the noble youth 400 
 
 3 
 
1 8 The Odyssey. 
 
 Went forth among the suitors. Silent all 
 
 They sat and listened to the illustrious bard. 
 
 Who sang of the calamitous return 
 
 Of the Greek host from Troy, at the command 
 
 Of Pallas. From her chamber o'er the hall 405 
 
 The daughter of Icarius, the sage queen 
 
 Penelope, had heard the heavenly strain 
 
 And knew its theme. Down by the lofty stairs 
 
 She came, but not alone ; there followed her 
 
 Two maidens. When the glorious lady reached 41° 
 
 The threshold of the strong-built hall, where sat 
 
 The suitors, holding up a delicate veil 
 
 Before her face, and with a gush of tears. 
 
 The queen bespake the sacred minstrel thus : — 
 
 "Phemius! thou knowest many a pleasing theme, — 415 
 The deeds of gods and heroes, such as bards 
 Are wont to celebrate. Take then thy place 
 And sing of one of these, and let the guests 
 In silence drink the wine ; but cease this strain ; 
 It is too sad ; it cuts me to the heart, 420 
 
 And wakes a sorrow without bounds, — such grief 
 I bear for him, my lord, of whom I think 
 Continually ; whose glory is abroad 
 Through Hellas and through Argos, everywhere." 
 
Book I. 19 
 
 And then Telemachus, the prudent, spake : — 425 
 
 " Why, O my mother I canst thou not endure 
 That thus the well-graced poet should delight 
 His hearers with a theme to which his mind 
 Is inly moved ? The bards deserve no blame ; 
 Jove is the cause, for he at will inspires 43° 
 
 The lay that each must sing. Reprove not, then, 
 The minstrel who relates the unhappy fate 
 Of the Greek warriors. All men most applaud 
 The song that has the newest theme ; and thou — 
 Strengthen thy heart to hear it. Keep in mind 435 
 
 That not alone Ulysses is cut off 
 From his return, but that with him at Troy 
 Have many others perished. Now withdraw 
 Into thy chamber ; ply thy household tasks. 
 The loom, the spindle ; bid thy maidens speed 440 
 
 Their work. To say what words beseem a feast 
 Belongs to man, and most to me j for here 
 Within these walls the authority is mine." 
 
 The matron, wondering at his words, withdrew 
 To her own place, but in her heart laid up 44s 
 
 Her son's wise sayings. When she now had reached, 
 With her attendant maids, the upper rooms, 
 She mourned Ulysses, her beloved spouse. 
 
20 The Odyssey. 
 
 And wept, till blue-eyed Pallas closed her lids 
 
 In gentle slumbers. Noisily, meanwhile, «° 
 
 The suitors revelled in the shadowy halls ; 
 
 And thus Telemachus, the prudent, spake : — 
 
 " Ye suitors of my mother, insolent 
 And overbearing ; cheerful be our feast. 
 Not riotous. It would become us well 4ss 
 
 To listen to the lay of such a bard. 
 So like the gods in voice. I bid you all 
 Meet in full council with the morrow morn. 
 That I may give you warning to depart 
 From out my palace, and to seek your feasts 46° 
 
 Elsewhere at your own charge, — haply to hold 
 Your daily banquets at each other's homes. 
 But if it seem to you the better way 
 To plunder one man's goods, go on to waste 
 My substance ; I will call the immortal gods 46s 
 
 To aid me, and if Jupiter allow 
 Fit retribution for your deeds, ye die. 
 Within this very palace, unavenged." 
 
 He spake ; the suitors bit their close-pressed lips. 
 Astonished at the youth's courageous words. 47° 
 
 And thus Antinoiis, Eupeithes' son. 
 Made answer : " Most assuredly the gods. 
 
Book I. 2 1 
 
 Telemachus, have taught thee how to frame 
 
 Grand sentences and gallantly harangue. 
 
 Ne'er may the son of Saturn make thee king 475 
 
 Over the sea-girt Ithaca, w^hose isle 
 
 Is thy inheritance by claim of birth." 
 
 Telemachus, the prudent, thus rejoined : — 
 " Wilt thou be angry at the word I speak, 
 Antinous ? I would willingly accept 480 
 
 The kingly station if conferred by Jove. 
 Dost thou indeed regard it as the worst 
 Of all conditions of mankind ? Not so 
 For him who reigns ; his house grows opulent. 
 And he the more is honored. Many kings 48s 
 
 Within the bounds of sea-girt Ithaca 
 There are, both young and old, let any one 
 Bear rule, since great Ulysses is no more ; 
 But I will be the lord in mine own house. 
 And o'er my servants whom the godlike chief, 49° 
 
 Ulysses, brought from war, his share of spoil." 
 
 Eurymachus, the son of Polybus, 
 Addressed the youth in turn : " Assuredly, 
 What man hereafter, of the Achaian race. 
 Shall bear the rule o'er sea-girt Ithaca 49s 
 
 Rests with the gods. But thou shalt keep thy wealth. 
 And may no son of violence come to make 
 
2 2 The Odyssey. 
 
 A spoil of thy possessions while men dwell 
 
 In Ithaca. And now, my friend, I ask 
 
 Who was thy guest ; whence came he, of what land 5°° 
 
 Claims he to be, where do his kindred dwell 
 
 And where his patrimonial acres lie ? 
 
 With tidings of thy father's near return 
 
 Came he, or to receive a debt ? How swift 
 
 Was his departure, waiting not for us s°i 
 
 To know him ! yet in aspect and in air 
 
 He seemed to be no man of vulgar note." 
 
 Telemachus, the prudent, answered thus : — 
 " My father's coming, O Eurymachus, 
 Is to be hoped no more ; nor can I trust 51° 
 
 Tidings from whatsoever part they come. 
 Nor pay regard to oracles, although 
 My mother send to bring a soothsayer 
 Within the palace, and inquire of him. 
 But this man was my father's guest ; he comes 515 
 
 From Taphos ; Mentes is his name, a son 
 Of the brave chief Anchialus ; he reigns 
 Over the Taphians, men who love the sea." 
 
 He spake, but in his secret heart he knew 
 The immortal goddess. Then the suitors turned, 520 
 
 Delighted, to the dance and cheerful song. 
 And waited for the evening. On their sports 
 
Book I. 23 
 
 The evening with its shadowy blackness came ; 
 
 Then each to his own home withdrew to sleep, ' 
 
 While to his lofty chamber, in full view, 525 
 
 Built high in that magnificent palace home, 
 
 Telemachus went up, and sought his couch. 
 
 Intent on many thoughts. The chaste and sage 
 
 Dame Eurycleia by his side went up 
 
 With lighted torches, — she a child of Ops, 530 
 
 Pisenor's son. Her, in her early bloom, 
 
 Laertes purchased for a hundred beeves. 
 
 And in his palace honored equally 
 
 With his chaste wife ; yet never sought her bed. 
 
 He would not wrong his queen. 'T was she who bore 53s 
 
 The torches with Telemachus. She loved 
 
 Her young lord more than all the other maids. 
 
 And she had nursed him in his tender years. 
 
 He opened now the chamber door and sat 
 
 Upon the couch, put his soft tunic off 54° 
 
 And placed it in the prudent matron's hands. 
 
 She folded it and smoothed it, hung it near 
 
 To that fair bed, and, going quickly forth. 
 
 Pulled at the silver ring to close the door. 
 
 And drew the thong that moved the fastening bolt. 545 
 
 He, lapped in the soft fleeces, all night long 
 
 Thought of the voyage Pallas had ordained. 
 
BO OK II. 
 
 "NT OW when the Morning, child of Dawn, appeared. 
 
 The dear son of Ulysses left his bed 
 And put his garments on. His trenchant sword 
 He hung upon his shoulders, and made fast 
 His shapely sandals to his shining feet, s 
 
 And issued from his chamber like a god. 
 At once he bade the clear-voiced heralds call 
 The long-haired Greeks to council. They obeyed ; 
 Quickly the chiefs assembled, and when all 
 Were at the appointed place, Telemachus lo 
 
 Went to the council, bearing in his hand 
 A brazen spear, yet went he not alone. 
 Two swift dogs followed him, while Pallas shed 
 A heavenly beauty over him, and all 
 
 Admired him as he came. He took the seat is 
 
 Of his great father, and the aged men 
 Made way for him. And then iEgyptius spake, — 
 A hero bowed with age, who much had seen 
 
Book II. 25 
 
 And known. His son, the warlike Antiphus, 
 
 Went with the great Ulysses in his fleet 20 
 
 To courser-breeding Troy, and afterward 
 
 The cruel Cyclops, in the vaulted cave. 
 
 Slew him for his last meal. Three other sons 
 
 There were, and one of these, Eurynomus, 
 
 Was of the suitor train ; the others took 25 
 
 Charge of their father's acres. Never yet 
 
 Had he forgotten his lost son or ceased 
 
 To grieve for him, and as he spoke he wept. 
 
 " Hear, men of Ithaca, what I shall say. 
 No council, no assembly, have we held 30 
 
 Since great Ulysses in his roomy ships 
 Departed from our isle. ' Who now is he 
 That summons us ? On which of our young men 
 Or elders presses this necessity ? 
 
 Is it belike that one of you has heard 35 
 
 Of an approaching foe, and can declare 
 The tidings clearly ? Or would he propose 
 And urge some other matter which concerns 
 The public weal ? A just and generous mind 
 I deem is his, and 't is my hope that Jove 40 
 
 Will bring to pass the good at which he aims." 
 
 As thus he spake Ulysses' son rejoiced 
 4 
 
26 The Odyssey. 
 
 In his auspicious words, nor longer kept 
 
 His seat, but, yielding to an inward force. 
 
 Rose midst them all to speak, while in his hand 45 
 
 Peisenor, the sagacious counsellor 
 
 And herald, placed the sceptre. Then he turned 
 
 To the old man, ^gyptius, speaking thus : — 
 
 " O aged man, not far from thee is he 
 Who called this council, as thou soon shalt know. 5° 
 
 Mine chiefly is the trouble ; I have brought 
 No news of an approaching foe, which I 
 Was first to hear, and would declare to all. 
 Nor urge I other matters which concern 
 The public weal; my own necessity — 'i'i 
 
 The evil that has fallen on my house — 
 Constrains me ; it is twofold. First, that I 
 Have lost an excellent father, who was king 
 Among you, and ruled o'er you with a sway 
 As gentle as a father's. Greater yet 60 
 
 Is the next evil, and will soon o'erthrow 
 My house and waste my substance utterly. 
 Suitors, the sons of those who, in our isle. 
 Hold the chief rank, importunately press 
 Round my unwilling mother. They disdain 65 
 
 To ask her of Icarius, that the king 
 
Book 11. 2 J 
 
 Her father may endow her, and bestow 
 His daughter on the man who best may gain 
 His favor, but with every day they come 
 Into our palace, sacrificing here " 70 
 
 Oxen and sheep and fatling goats, and hold 
 High festival, and drink the purple wine 
 Unstinted, with unbounded waste ; for here 
 Is no man like Ulysses to repel 
 
 The mischief from my house. Not such are we 75 
 
 As he was, to resist the wrong. We pass 
 For weaklings, immature in valor, yet 
 If I had but the power, assuredly 
 I would resist, for by these men are done 
 Insufferable things, nor does my house 80 
 
 . Perish with honor. Ye yourselves should feel 
 Shame at these doings ; ye should dread reproach 
 From those who dwell around us, and should fear 
 The offended gods, lest they repay these crimes 
 With vengeance. I beseech you, O my friends, 85 
 
 Both by Olympian Jove, and her by whom 
 Councils of men are summoned and dissolved, — 
 The goddess Themis, — that ye all refrain. 
 And leave me to my grief alone, unless 
 Ulysses, my great father, may have done 9° 
 
2 8 The Odyssey. 
 
 Wrong in his anger to the gallant Greeks, 
 
 Which ye, by prompting men to acts like these. 
 
 Seek to avenge on me. Far better 't were. 
 
 Should ye yourselves destroy our goods and slay 
 
 Our herds, since, were it so, there might in time 9S 
 
 Be some requital. We, from street to street, 
 
 Would plead continually for recompense. 
 
 Till all should be restored. But now ye heap 
 
 Upon me wrongs for which is no redress." 
 
 Thus angrily he spake, and dashed to earth loo 
 
 The sceptre, shedding tears. The people felt 
 Compassion ; all were silent for a space. 
 And there was none who dared with railing words 
 Answer Telemachus, save one alone, 
 Antinoiis, who arose and thus replied : — 105 
 
 " Telemachus, thou youth of braggart speech 
 And boundless in abuse, what hast thou said 
 To our dishonor ? Thou wouldst fix on us 
 A brand of shame. The blame is not with us. 
 The Achaian suitors ; 't is thy mother's fault, no 
 
 Skilled as she is in crafty shifts. 'T is now 
 Already the third year, and soon will be 
 The fourth, since she began to cozen us. 
 She gives us all to hope, and sends fair words 
 
Book II. 29 
 
 To each by message, yet in her own mind us 
 
 Has other purposes. This shrewd device 
 
 She planned ; she laid upon the loom a web. 
 
 Delicate, wide, and vast in length, and said 
 
 Thus to us all : * Young princes, who are come 
 
 To woo me, since Ulysses is no more, — no 
 
 My noble husband, — urge me not, I pray. 
 
 To marriage, till I finish in the loom — 
 
 That so my threads may not be spun in vain — 
 
 A funeral vesture for the hero-chief 
 
 Laertes, when his fatal hour shall come 125 
 
 With death's long sleep. Else some Achaian dame. 
 
 Might blame me, should I leave without a shroud 
 
 Him who in life possessed such ample wealth ! ' 
 
 Such were her words, and easily they wrought 
 
 Upon our generous minds. So went she on, 13° 
 
 Weaving that ample web, and every night 
 
 Unravelled it by torchlight. Three full years 
 
 She practised thus, and by the fraud deceived 
 
 The Grecian youths ; but when the hours had brought 
 
 The fourth year round, a woman who knew all 135 
 
 Revealed the mystery, and we ourselves 
 
 Saw her unravelling the ample web. 
 
 Thenceforth, constrained, and with unwilling hands. 
 
30 The Odyssey. 
 
 She finished it. Now let the suitors make 
 
 Their answer to thy words, that thou mayst know ho 
 
 Our purpose fully, and the Achaians all 
 
 May know it likewise. Send thy mother hence, 
 
 Requiring that she wed the suitor whom 
 
 Her father chooses and herself prefers,. 
 
 But if she still go on to treat the sons 145 
 
 Of Greece with such despite, too confident 
 
 In gifts which Pallas has bestowed on her 
 
 So richly, noble arts, and faculties 
 
 Of mind, and crafty shifts, beyond all those 
 
 Of whom we ever heard that lived of yore, 150 
 
 The bright-haired ladies of the Achaian race. 
 
 Tyro, Alcmena, and Mycene, famed 
 
 For glossy tresses, none of them endowed 
 
 As is Penelope, though this last shift 
 
 Be ill devised, — so long will we consume 155 
 
 Thy substance and estate as she shall hold 
 
 Her present mood, the purpose which the gods 
 
 Have planted in her breast. She to herself 
 
 Gains great renown, but surely brings on thee 
 
 Loss of much goods. And now we go not hence 160 
 
 To our affairs nor elsewhere, till she wed 
 
 Whichever of the Greeks may please her most." 
 
Book II. 3 1 
 
 And then rejoined discreet Telemachus : — 
 " Antinoiis, grievous wrong it were to send 
 Unwilling from this palace her who bore 165 
 
 And nursed me. Whether he be living yet 
 Or dead, my father is in distant lands ; 
 And should I, of my own accord and will. 
 Dismiss my mother, I must make perforce 
 Icarius large amends, and that were hard. 170 
 
 And he would do me mischief, and the gods 
 Would send yet other evils on my head. 
 For then my mother, going forth, would call 
 On the grim Furies, and the general curse 
 Of all men would be on me. Think not I 17s 
 
 Will ever speak that word. But if ye bear 
 A sense of injury for what is past. 
 Go from these halls ; provide for other feasts. 
 Consuming what is yours, and visiting 
 Each other's homes in turn. But if it seem iSo 
 
 To you the wiser and the better way 
 To plunder one man's goods, go on to waste 
 My substance. I shall call the eternal gods 
 To aid me, and, if Jupiter allow 
 
 Fit retribution for your crimes, ye die 185 
 
 Within this very palace unavenged." 
 
32 The Odyssey. 
 
 So spake Telemachus. The Thunderer, Jove, 
 Sent flying from a lofty mountain-top 
 Two eagles. First they floated on the wind 
 Close to each other, and with wings outspread ; 19° 
 
 But as they came to where the murmuring crowd 
 Was gathered just beneath their flight, they turned 
 And clapped their heavy pinions, looking down 
 With deadly omen on the heads below. 
 And with their talons tore each other's cheeks 19s 
 
 And necks, and then they darted to the right 
 Away through Ithaca among its roofs. 
 All who beheld the eagles were amazed. 
 And wondered what event was near at hand. 
 Among the rest an aged hero spake, 200 
 
 Named Halitherses, Mastor's son. He knew, 
 More truly than the others of his age. 
 To augur from the flight of birds, and read 
 The will of fate, — and wisely thus he spake : — 
 
 " Hear, men of Ithaca, what I shall say. 205 
 
 I speak of what most narrowly concerns 
 The suitors, over whom already hangs 
 Great peril, for Ulysses will not be 
 Long at a distance from his home and friends. 
 Even now he is not far, and meditates zio 
 
Book II. 2>Z 
 
 Slaughter and death to all the suitor train ; 
 
 And evil will ensue to many more 
 
 Of us, who dwell in sunny Ithaca. 
 
 Now let us think what measures may restrain 
 
 These men, — or let them of their own accord 115 
 
 Desist, — the soonest were for them the best. 
 
 For not as one untaught do I foretell 
 
 Events to come, but speak of what I know. 
 
 All things that I predicted to our chief. 
 
 What time the Argive troops embarked for Troy, 220 
 
 And sage Ulysses with them, are fulfilled ; 
 
 I said that after many hardships borne. 
 
 And all his comrades lost, the twentieth year 
 
 Would bring him back, a stranger to us all, — 
 
 And all that then I spake of comes to pass." 225 
 
 Eurymachus, the son of Polybus, 
 Answered the seer : " Go to thy house, old man. 
 And to thy boys, and prophesy to them. 
 Lest evil come upon them. I can act. 
 In matters such as these, a prophet's part 230 
 
 Better than thou. True, there are many birds 
 That fly about in sunshine, but not all 
 Are ominous. Ulysses far away 
 Has perished ; well it would have been if thou 
 5 
 
34 The Odyssey. 
 
 Hadst perished with him ; then thou wouldst not prate 235 
 
 Idly of things to come, nor wouldst thou stir 
 
 Telemachus to anger, in the hope 
 
 Of bearing to thy house some gift from him. 
 
 Now let me say, and be assured my words 
 
 Will be fulfilled : Experienced as thou art, hq 
 
 If thou by treacherous speeches shalt inflame 
 
 A younger man than thou to violent deeds. 
 
 The sharper punishment shall first be his. 
 
 But we will lay on thee a penalty. 
 
 Old man, which thou shalt find it hard to bear, 245 
 
 And bitterly wilt thou repent. And now 
 
 Let me persuade Telemachus to send 
 
 His mother to her father. They will make 
 
 A marriage for her there, and give with her 
 
 A liberal dowry, such as may become 250 
 
 A favorite daughter on her wedding-day. 
 
 Else never will the sons of Greece renounce, 
 
 I think, the difficult suit. We do not fear 
 
 Telemachus himself, though glib of speech. 
 
 Nor care we for the empty oracle =55 
 
 Which thou, old man, dost utter, making thee 
 
 Only more hated. Still will his estate 
 
 Be wasted, nor will order e'er return 
 
Book II. 35 
 
 While she defers her marriage with some prince 
 Of the Achaians. We shall urge our suit »6o 
 
 For that most excellent of womankind 
 As rivals, nor withdraw to seek the hand 
 Of others, whom we fitly might espouse." 
 To this discreet Telemachus replied : — 
 " Eurymachus, and ye, the illustrious train 265 
 
 Of suitors, I have nothing more to ask, — 
 No more to say, — for now the gods and all 
 The Achaians know the truth. But let me have 
 A gallant bark, and twenty men to make 
 From coast to coast a voyage, visiting 27° 
 
 Sparta and sandy Fylos, to inquire 
 For my long-absent father, and the chance 
 Of his return, if any of mankind 
 Can tell me aught, or if some rumor come ^ 
 From Jove, since thus are tidings often brought 175 
 
 To human knowledge. Should I learn that yet 
 He lives and may return, I then would wait 
 A twelvemonth, though impatient. Should I hear 
 That he no longer lives, I shall return 
 Homeward, and pile his monument on high ^so 
 
 With funeral honors that become the dead. 
 And give my mother to a second spouse." 
 
36 The Odyssey. 
 
 He spake and took his seat, and then arose 
 Mentor, once comrade of the excellent chief 
 Ulysses, who, departing with his fleet, ^^s 
 
 Consigned his household to the aged man. 
 That they should all obey him, and that he 
 Should safely keep his charge. He rose amid 
 The assembly, and addressed them wisely thus : — 
 
 " Hear and attend, ye men of Ithaca, 29° 
 
 To what I say. Let never sceptred king 
 Henceforth be gracious, mild, and merciful. 
 And righteous; rather be he deaf to prayer 
 And prone to deeds of wrong, since no one now 
 Remembers the divine Ulysses more, 295 
 
 Among the people over whom he ruled 
 Benignly like a father. Yet I bear 
 No envy to the haughty suitors here. 
 Moved as they are to deeds of violence 
 By evil counsels, since, in pillaging 300 
 
 The substance of Ulysses, who they say 
 Will nevermore return, they risk their lives. 
 But I am angry with the rest, with all 
 Of you who sit here mute, nor even with words 
 Of stern reproof restrain their violence. 
 Though ye so many are and they so few." 
 
 305 
 
Book II. T^'j 
 
 Leiocritus, Evenor's son rejoined : — 
 " Malicious Mentor, foolish man ! what talk 
 Is this of holding us in check ? 'T were hard 
 For numbers even greater than our own 310 
 
 To drive us from a feast. And should the prince 
 Of Ithaca, Ulysses, come himself. 
 Thinking to thrust the illustrious suitors forth 
 That banquet in these palace halls, his queen 
 Would have no cause for joy at his return, 315 
 
 Greatly as she desired it. He would draw 
 Sure death upon himself in strife with us 
 Who are so many. Thou hast spoken ill. 
 Now let the people who are gathered here 
 Disperse to their employments. We will leave 3^° 
 
 Mentor and Halitherses, who were both 
 His father's early comrades, to provide 
 For the youth's voyage. He will yet remain 
 A long time here, I think, to ask for news 
 In Ithaca, and never will set sail." 3^5 
 
 Thus having said, he instantly dismissed 
 The people ; they departed to their homes ; 
 The suitors sought the palace of the prince. 
 
 Then to the ocean-side, apart from all. 
 Went forth Telemachus, and washed his hands 33° 
 
38 The Odyssey. 
 
 In the gray surf, and prayed to Pallas thus : — 
 
 " Hear me, thou deity who yesterday. 
 In visiting our palace, didst command 
 That I should traverse the black deep to learn 
 News of my absent father, and the chance 335 
 
 Of his return ! The Greeks themselves withstand 
 My purpose ; the proud suitors most of all." 
 
 Such was his prayer, and straightway Pallas stood. 
 In form and voice like Mentor, by his side. 
 And thus accosted him with winged words : — 34° 
 
 " Telemachus, thou henceforth shalt not lack 
 Valor or wisdom. If with thee abides 
 Thy father's gallant spirit, as he was 
 In deed and word, thou wilt not vainly make 
 This voyage. But if thou be not in truth 345 
 
 The son of him and of Penelope, 
 Then I rely not on thee to perform 
 What thou dost meditate. Few sons are like 
 Their fathers : most are worse, a very few 
 Excel their parents. Since thou wilt not lack 350 
 
 Valor and wisdom in the coming time, 
 Nor is thy father's shrewdness wanting quite 
 In thee, great hope there is that happily 
 This plan will be fulfilled. Regard not then 
 
Book II. 39 
 
 The suitor train, their purposes and plots. 355 
 
 Senseless are they, as little wise as just. 
 
 And have no thought of the black doom of death 
 
 Now drawing near to sweep them in a day 
 
 To their destruction. But thy enterprise 
 
 Must suffer no delay. So much am I 360 
 
 Thy father's friend and thine; that I will cause 
 
 A swift bark to be fitted out for sea. 
 
 And will myself attend thee. Go now hence 
 
 Among the suitors, and make ready there 
 
 The needful stores, and let them all be put 365 
 
 In vessels, — wine in jars, and meal, the strength 
 
 Of man, in close thick skins, — while I engage. 
 
 Among the people here, a willing crew. 
 
 Ships are there in our sea-girt Ithaca 
 
 Full many, new and old, and I will choose 37= 
 
 The best of these, and see it well equipped. 
 
 Then will we drag it down to the broad sea." 
 
 Thus Pallas spake, the child of Jupiter. 
 Telemachus obeyed the heavenly voice. 
 And stayed not ; home he hastened, where he saw 375 
 
 Sadly the arrogant suitors in the hall, 
 Busily flaying goats and roasting swine. 
 Antinoiis, laughing, came to meet the youth, 
 
40 The Odyssey. 
 
 And fastened on his hand, and thus he spake : — 
 
 " Telemachus, thou youth of lofty speech 380 
 
 And boundless in abuse, let neither word 
 
 Nor deed that may displease thee vex thy heart. 
 
 But gayly eat and drink as thou wert wont. 
 
 The Achaians generously will provide 
 
 Whatever thou requirest, ship and men, — 3^5 
 
 All chosen rowers, — that thou mayst arrive 
 
 Sooner at sacred Pylos, there to learn 
 
 Tidings of thy illustrious father's fate." 
 
 Then spake discreet Telemachus in turn : — 
 
 " Antinoiis, never could I sit with you, 39° 
 
 Arrogant ones ! in silence nor enjoy 
 
 The feast in quiet. Is it not enough, 
 
 O suitors, that while I was yet a child 
 
 Ye wasted on your revelries my large 
 
 And rich possessions ? Now that I am grown, 395 
 
 And, when I hear the words of other men. 
 
 Discern their meaning, now that every day 
 
 Strengthens my spirit, I will make the attempt 
 
 To bring the evil fates upon your heads. 
 
 Whether I go to Pylos or remain 400 
 
 Among this people. I shall surely make 
 
 This voyage, and it will not be in vain. 
 
Book II. 41 
 
 Although I go a passenger on board 
 
 Another's ship, — since neither ship have I 
 
 Nor rowers, — ye have judged that so were best." 405 
 
 He spake, and quickly from the suitor's hand 
 Withdrew his own. The others who prepared 
 Their banquet in the palace scoffed at him. 
 And flung at him their bitter taunts, and one 
 Among the insolent youths reviled him thus : — 41° 
 
 "Telemachus is certainly resolved 
 To butcher us. He goes to bring allies 
 Frorn sandy Pylos or the Spartan coast. 
 He is so bent on slaughter. Or perhaps 
 He visits the fich land of Ephyre 415 
 
 In search of deadly poisons to be thrown 
 Into a cup and end us all at once." 
 
 Then said another of the haughty youths : — 
 
 "Who knows but, wandering in his hollow bark. 
 
 He too may perish, far from all his friends, 4*0 
 
 Just as Ulysses perished ? This would bring 
 
 Increase of labor ; it would cast on us 
 
 The trouble to divide his goods, and give 
 
 His palace to his mother, and to him 
 
 Who takes the woman as his wedded wife." 4^5 
 
 So spake they, but Telemachus went down 
 6 
 
42 The Odyssey. 
 
 To that high-vaulted room, his father's, where 
 Lay heaps of gold and brass, and garments store 
 In chests, and fragrant oils. And there stood casks 
 Of delicate old wine and pure, a drink 43° 
 
 For gods, in rows against the wall, to wait 
 If ever, after many hardships borne, 
 Ulysses should return. Upon that room 
 Close-fitting double doors were shut, and there 
 Was one who night and day kept diligent watch, 435 
 
 A woman, Eurycleia, child of Ops, 
 Peisenor's son. Telemachus went in 
 And called her to him, and bespake her thus : — 
 " Nurse, let sweet wine be drawn into my jars, 
 The finest next to that which thou dost keep 44° 
 
 Expecting our unhappy lord, if yet 
 The nobly born Ulysses shall escape 
 The doom of death and come to us again. 
 Fill twelve, and fit the covers close, and pour 
 Meal into well-sewn skins, and let the tale 44s 
 
 Be twenty measures of the flour of wheat. 
 This none but thou must know. Let all these things 
 Be brought together ; then, as night shuts in. 
 When to her upper chamber, seeking rest. 
 My mother shall withdraw, I come and take 
 
Book II. 43 
 
 What thou providest for me. I am bound 
 For Sparta and for Pylos in the sands. 
 To gather news concerning the return 
 Of my dear father, if I haply may." 
 
 So spake the youth, and his beloved nurse 45s 
 
 Sobbed, wept aloud, and spake these winged words : — 
 
 " Why should there come, dear child, a thought like this 
 Into thy heart. Why wouldst thou wander forth 
 To distant regions, — thou an only son 
 And dearly loved ? Ulysses, nobly born, 460 
 
 Has perished, from his native land afar, 
 'Mid a strange race. These men, when thou art gone. 
 At once will lay their plots to take thy life. 
 And share thy wealth among them. Stay thou here 
 Among thy people ; need is none that thou 465 
 
 Shouldst suffer, roaming o'er the barren deep." 
 
 Then spake discreet Telemachus again : — 
 " Be of good cheer, O nurse, for my design 
 Is not without the sanction of a god ; 
 But swear thou not to let my mother know 47° 
 
 Of my intent until the eleventh day 
 Or twelfth shall pass, or till, in missing me. 
 She learn of my departure, lest she weep 
 And stain with tears the beauty of her face." 
 
44 The Odyssey. 
 
 He spake ; the ancient woman solemnly 475 
 
 Swore by the gods, and when the rite was o'er 
 Drew wine into the jars, and poured the meal 
 Into the well-sewn skins. Telemachus 
 Entered the hall and joined the suitor train. 
 
 Then did the blue-eyed goddess turn her thoughts 480 
 To other plans, and taking on herself 
 The semblance of Telemachus, she ranged 
 The city, speaking to each man in turn. 
 And bidding him at nightfall to repair 
 To where the good ship^lay. That gallant ship 48s 
 
 She begged of the renowned Noemon, son 
 Of Phronius, who with cheerful grace complied. 
 
 The sun went down, the city streets lay all 
 In shadow. Then she drew the good ship down 
 Into the sea, and brought and put on board 49° 
 
 The appointments every well-built galley needs. 
 And moored her at the bottom of the port,' 
 Where, in a throng, obedient to the word 
 Of Pallas, round her came her gallant crew. 
 
 With yet a new device the blue-eyed maid 495 
 
 Went to the palace of the godlike chief 
 Ulysses, where she poured a gentle sleep 
 Over the suitors. As they drank she made 
 
Book II. 45 
 
 Their senses wander, and their hands let fall 
 
 The goblets. Now no longer at the board soo 
 
 They sat, but sallied forth, and through the town 
 
 Went to their slumbers, for the power of sleep 
 
 Had fallen heavily upon their lids. 
 
 Then blue-eyed Pallas from those sumptuous halls 
 
 Summoned Telemachus. She took the form s°5 
 
 And voice of Mentor, and bespake him thus : — 
 
 " Telemachus, already at their oars 
 Sit thy well-armed companions and await 
 Thy coming ; let us go without delay." 
 
 Thus having spoken, Pallas led the way 51° 
 
 With rapid footsteps which he followed fast ; 
 Till having reached the galley and the sea 
 They found their long-haired comrades at the beach. 
 And thus the gallant prince Telemachus 
 Bespake them : " Hither, comrades, let us bring s^s 
 
 The sea-stores from the dwelling where they lie ; 
 My mother knows not of it, nor her maids ; 
 The secret has been told to one alone." 
 
 He spake, and went before them. In his steps 
 They followed. To the gallant bark they brought 5^° 
 The stores, and, as the well-beloved son 
 Of King Ulysses bade, they laid them down 
 
46 The Odyssey. 
 
 Within the hull. Telemachus went up 
 
 The vessel's side, but Pallas first embarked, 
 
 And at the stern sat down, while next to her ^■'-s 
 
 Telemachus was seated. Then the crew 
 
 Cast loose the fastenings and went all on board. 
 
 And took their places on the rowers' seats. 
 
 While blue-eyed Pallas sent a favoring breeze, 
 
 A fresh wind from the west, that murmuring swept 53° 
 
 The dark-blue main. Telemachus gave forth 
 
 The word to wield the tackle ; they obeyed. 
 
 And raised the fir-tree mast, and, fitting it 
 
 Into its socket, bound it fast with cords, 
 
 And drew and spread with firmly twisted ropes 53s 
 
 The shining sails on high. The steady wind 
 
 Swelled out the canvas in the midst ; the ship 
 
 Moved on, the dark sea roaring round her keel. 
 
 As swiftly through the waves she cleft her way. 
 
 And when the rigging of that swift black ship 540 
 
 Was firmly in its place, they filled their cups 
 
 With wine, and to the ever-living gods 
 
 Poured out libations, most of all to one, 
 
 Jove's blue-eyed daughter. Thus through all that night 
 
 And all the ensuing morn they held their wky. 545 
 
BOOK III. 
 
 "XT OW from the fair broad bosom of the sea 
 
 Into the brazen vault of heaven the sun 
 Rose shining for the immortals and for men 
 Upon the foodful earth. The voyagers 
 Arrived at Pylos, nobly built, the tovi^n s 
 
 Of Neleus. There, upon the ocean-side. 
 They found the people offering coal-black steers 
 To dark-haired Neptune. On nine seats they sat, 
 Five hundred on each seat ; nine steers v^ere slain 
 For each five hundred there, Wh\Ie they performed lo 
 The rite, and, tasting first the entrails, burned 
 The thighs to ocean's god, the Ithacans 
 Touched land, and, lifting up the good ship's sail. 
 Furled it and moored the keel, and then stepped out 
 Upon the shore. Forth from the galley came is 
 
 Telemachus, the goddess guiding him. 
 And thus to him the blue-eyed Pallas said : — 
 " Telemachus, there nov7 is no excuse. 
 
4-8 The Odyssey. 
 
 Not even the least, for shamefaced backwardness. 
 
 Thou hast come hither o'er the deep to ask 20 
 
 For tidings of thy father, — what far land 
 
 Conceals him, what the fate that he has met. 
 
 Go then at once to Nestor, the renowned 
 
 In horsemanship, and we shall see what plan 
 
 He hath in mind for thee. Entreat him there 25 
 
 That frankly he declare it. He will speak 
 
 No word of falsehood; he is truly wise." 
 
 And thus discreet Telemachus replied : — 
 " O Mentor, how shall I approach the chief, 
 And with what salutation? Little skill 30 
 
 Have I in courtly phrase, and shame becomes 
 A youth in questioning an aged man." 
 
 Pallas, the blue-eyed goddess, spake again : — 
 " In part thy mind will prompt thy speech ; in part 
 A god will put the words into thy mouth, — 35 
 
 For well I deem that thou wert neither born 
 Nor trained without the favor of the gods." 
 
 Thus having said, the blue-eyed Pallas moved 
 With hasty pace before, and in her steps 
 He followed close, until they reached the seats 4.0 
 
 Of those assembled Pylians. Nestor there 
 Sat with his sons, while his companions stood 
 
Book III. 49 
 
 Around him and prepared the feast, and some 
 
 Roasted the flesh at fires, and some transfixed 
 
 The parts with spits. As they beheld the approach 45 
 
 Of strangers they advanced, and took their hands. 
 
 And bade them sit. Pisistratus, a son 
 
 Of Nestor, came the first of all, and took 
 
 A hand of each, and placed them at the feast 
 
 On the soft hides that o'er the ocean sand 5° 
 
 Were spread beside his brother Thrasymed 
 
 And his own father ; brought for their repast 
 
 Parts of the entrails, poured for them the wine 
 
 Into a golden goblet, held it forth 
 
 In his' right hand, and with these words bespake 55 
 
 Pallas, the child of aegis-bearing Jove : — 
 
 " Pray, stranger, to King Neptune. Ye have chanced 
 Upon his feast in coming to our coast. 
 And after thy libation poured, and prayer 
 Made to the god, give over to thy friend 60 
 
 The goblet of choice wine that he may make 
 Libation also ; he, I question not, 
 Prays to the gods ; we all have need of them. 
 A younger man is he than thou, and seems 
 In age to be my equal ; therefore I 65 
 
 Will give the golden goblet first to thee." 
 7 
 
50 The Odyssey. 
 
 He spake, and in the hands of Pallas placed 
 The goblet of choice wine. Well pleased was she 
 With one so just and so discreet, — well pleased 
 That first to her he reached the cup of gold, 7° 
 
 And thus she prayed to Neptune fervently : — 
 
 " Hear, Neptune, thou who dost embrace the earth, 
 "And of thy grace disdain not to bestow 
 These blessings on thy suppliants. First of all 
 Vouchsafe to Nestor and his sons increase 75 
 
 Of glory ; on the Pylian people next 
 Bestow, for this most sumptuous hecatomb. 
 Large recompense ; and, lastly, grant to us — 
 Telemachus and me — a safe return 
 
 To our own country with the end attained so 
 
 Which brought us hither in our gallant bark." 
 
 Thus did she pray, while she fulfilled the prayer ; 
 And then she handed to Telemachus 
 The fair round goblet, and in words like hers 
 The dear son of Ulysses prayed. Meanwhile 85 
 
 The Pylians, having roasted well the flesh 
 And drawn it from the spits, distributing 
 To each his portion, held high festival. 
 And when the calls of hunger and of thirst 
 Were silenced, Nestor, the Gerenian knight, 90 
 
Book in. 51 
 
 Began discourse, and thus bespake his guests : — 
 " The fitting time is come to ask our guests 
 
 Who they may be, since now their feast is o'er. 
 
 Say then, O strangers, who ye are, and whence 
 
 Ye come along the pathway of the deep. 95 
 
 Have ye an errand here, or do ye roam 
 
 The seas at large, like pirates, braving death. 
 
 And visiting with ravage foreign states ? " 
 And then discreet Telemachus replied 
 
 Boldly, — for Pallas strengthened in that hour 100 
 
 His heart that he might confidently ask 
 
 News of his absent father, and so win 
 
 A worthy fame among the sons of men : — 
 " O Nestor, son of Neleus, pride of Greece ! 
 
 Thou bid'st us tell thee whence we came, and I 105 
 
 Will faithfully declare it. We are come 
 
 From Ithaca, beneath the Neritus, 
 
 And private, and not general, is the cause 
 
 Of which I am to speak. I came to ask 
 
 Concerning my great father, the large-souled "o 
 
 And nobly-born Ulysses, who 't is said 
 
 With thee, his friend in arms, laid waste the town 
 
 Of Ilium. We have heard where all the rest 
 
 Who warred against the Trojans were cut off. 
 
52 The Odyssey. 
 
 And died sad deaths ; his fate alone the son "s 
 
 Of Saturn hath not chosen to reveal, — 
 
 Whether he fell on land by hostile hands. 
 
 Or while at sea was whelmed beneath the waves 
 
 Of Amphitrite. Wherefore to thy knees 
 
 I come, to ask that thou — if so thou wilt — . "o 
 
 Relate the manner of his mournful death. 
 
 As thou didst see it with thine eyes, or else 
 
 As thou from other wanderers hast heard 
 
 Its history ; for she who brought him forth 
 
 Bore him to be unhappy. Think thou not 125 
 
 To soften aught, through tenderness to me. 
 
 In thy recital, but in faithful words 
 
 Tell me the whole, whatever thou hast seen. 
 
 And I conjure thee, that if, in his life. 
 
 My father, great Ulysses, ever gave 130 
 
 Promise of word or deed for thee, and kept 
 
 His promise, in the realm of Troy, where ye 
 
 Achaians bore such hardships, that thou now 
 
 Remember it and speak without disguise." 
 
 And Nestor the Gerenian knight replied : — 135 
 
 " My friend, since thou recallest to my mind 
 The sufferings borne by us the sons of Greece, 
 Although of peerless valor, in that land. 
 
Book III. ^i 
 
 Both when we ranged in ships the darkUng sea 
 
 For booty wheresoe'er Achilles led, 140 
 
 And when around King Priam's populous town 
 
 We fought, where fell our bravest, know thou then 
 
 That there the valiant Ajax lies, and there 
 
 Achilles ; there Patroclus, like the gods 
 
 In council ; there my well-beloved son 145 
 
 Blameless and brave, Antilochus the swift 
 
 Of foot and warlike, — many woes beside 
 
 We bore, and who of mortal birth could give 
 
 Their history ? Nay, though thou shouldst remain 
 
 Five years or six, and ask of all the griefs 150 
 
 Endured by the brave Greeks, thou wouldst depart 
 
 Outwearied to thy home, ere thou hadst heard 
 
 The whole. Nine years in harassing the foe 
 
 We passed, beleaguering them and planning wiles 
 
 Innumerable. Saturn's son at last 155 
 
 With difficulty seemed to close the war. 
 
 Then was there none who might presume to vie 
 
 In wisdom with Ulysses ; that great man 
 
 Excelled in every kind of stratagem, — 
 
 Thy father, — if indeed thou be his son. 160 
 
 I look on thee amazed ; all thy discourse 
 
 Is just like his, and one would ne'er believe 
 
54 The Odyssey. 
 
 A younger man could speak so much like him. 
 
 While we were there, Ulysses and myself 
 
 In council or assembly never spake 165 
 
 On different sides, but with a like intent 
 
 We thoughtfully consulted how to guide 
 
 The Achaians in the way we deemed the best ; 
 
 But after we had overthrown and spoiled 
 
 King Priam's lofty city, and set sail 17° 
 
 For home, and by some heavenly power the Greeks 
 
 Were scattered, Jupiter ordained for them 
 
 A sad return. For all were neither wise 
 
 Nor just, and many drew upon themselves 
 
 An evil doom, — the fatal wrath of her, 17s 
 
 The blue-eyed maid, who claims her birth from Jove. 
 
 'T was she who kindled strife between the sons 
 
 Of Atreus. They had called the Achaians all 
 
 To an assembly, not with due regard 
 
 To order, at the setting of the sun, iSo 
 
 And thither came the warriors overpowered 
 
 With wine. The brother kings set forth the cause 
 
 Of that assembly. Menelaus first 
 
 Bade all the Greeks prepare for their return 
 
 O'er the great deep. That counsel little pleased 185 
 
 King Agamemnon, who desired to keep 
 
Book III. 55 
 
 The people longer there, that he might soothe 
 
 By sacred hecatombs the fiery wrath 
 
 Of Pallas. Fool ! who could not see how vain 
 
 Were such persuasion, for the eternal gods 190 
 
 Are not soon won to change their purposes. 
 
 They stood disputing thus, with bitter words. 
 
 Till wrangling noisily on different sides 
 
 Rose up the well-armed Greeks. The ensuing night 
 
 We rested, but we cherished in our breasts 19s 
 
 A mutual hate ; so for our punishment 
 
 Had Jove ordained. With early morn we drew 
 
 Our ships to the great deep, and put our goods 
 
 And our deep-bosomed women all on board. 
 
 Yet half the host went not, but on the shore zoo 
 
 Remained with Agamemnon, Atreus' son. 
 
 And shepherd of the people. All the rest 
 
 Embarked, weighed anchor, and sailed swiftly thence ; 
 
 A deity made smooth the mighty deep. 
 
 And when we came to Tenedos we paid zos 
 
 Our offerings to the gods and longed for home — 
 
 Vainly ; it pleased not unpropitious Jove 
 
 To favor our return, and once again 
 
 He sent among us strife. A part of us 
 
 Led by Ulysses, that sagacious prince, 21° 
 
56 The Odyssey. 
 
 To please Atrides Agamemnon turned 
 
 Their well-oared galleys back. But I, with all 
 
 The vessels of the fleet that followed me. 
 
 Fled on my way, perceiving that some god 
 
 Was meditating evil. With us fled, "5 
 
 Encouraging his men, the warlike son 
 
 Of Tydeus. Fair-haired Menelaus came 
 
 Later to us in Lesbos, where we planned 
 
 For a long voyage, whether we should sail 
 
 Around the rugged Chios, toward the isle J^o 
 
 Of Psyria, keeping that upon the left. 
 
 Or under Chios pass beside the steeps 
 
 Of windy Mimas. We besought the god 
 
 That he would show a sign, and he complied. 
 
 And bade us to Euboea cross the deep ^^s 
 
 Right in the midst, the sooner to escape 
 
 All danger. Then the wind blew strong and shrill. 
 
 And swiftly o'er the fishy gulfs our fleet 
 
 Flew on, and reached Gersstus in the night. 
 
 There, having passed the mighty deep, we made 230 
 
 To Neptune offerings of many a thigh 
 
 Of beeves. The fourth day dawned, and now the men 
 
 Of Diomed, the mighty horseman, son 
 
 Of Tydeus, stopped at Argos with their fleet, 
 
Book in. 57 
 
 While I went on to Pylos with the wind, 23s 
 
 Which never, from the moment that the god 
 First sent it o'er the waters, ceased to blow. 
 
 " So, my dear child, I reached my home, nor knew 
 Nor heard from others who among the Greeks 
 Was saved, or who had perished on the way. 240 
 
 Yet what I since have heard while here I sit 
 Within my palace thou shalt duly learn. 
 Nor is it what I ought to keep from thee. 
 
 " 'T is said the Myrmidonian spearmen, led 
 By great Achilles' famous son, returned 24s 
 
 Happily home ; as happily the son 
 Of Pasas, Philoctetes the renowned. 
 Idomeneus brought also back to Crete 
 All his companions who survived the war ; 
 The sea took none of them. But ye have heard, 25° 
 
 Though far away, the fate of Atreus' son, — 
 How he came home, and how ^Egisthus laid 
 A plot to slay him, yet on his own head 
 Drew heavy punishment, — so fortunate 
 It is when he who falls by murder leaves 255 
 
 A. son ; for 't was the monarch's son who took 
 Vengeance upon the crafty murderer 
 iEgisthus, by whose hand Atrides died. 
 
58 The Odyssey. 
 
 Thou too, my friend, for thou art large of frame. 
 
 And of a noble presence, be thou brave, *6° 
 
 That men in time to come may give thee praise." 
 
 Then spake discreet Telemachus again : — 
 " O Nestor, son of Neleus, pride of Greece, 
 Ample was his revenge, and far and wide 
 The Greeks will spread his fame to be the song ^^s 
 
 Of future times. O might the gods confer 
 On me an equal power to avenge myself 
 On that importunate, overbearing crew 
 Of suitors, who insult me, and devise 
 
 Evil against me ! But the gods deny 27° 
 
 Such fortune to my father and to me. 
 And all that now is left me is to bear." 
 
 Again spake Nestor the Gerenian knight : — 
 " Since thou, my friend, hast spoken words which bring 
 What I have heard to mind, — the rumor goes 275 
 
 That in thy palace many suitors wait 
 About thy mother, and in spite of thee 
 Do grievous wrong. Now tell me ; dost thou yield 
 Willingly, or because the people, swayed 
 By oracles, regard thee as their foe ? 280 
 
 Thy father yet may come again, — who knows ? — 
 Alone, or with the other Greeks, to take 
 
Book III. 59 
 
 The vengeance which these violent deeds deserve. 
 
 Should blue-eyed Pallas deign to favor thee. 
 
 As once she vs'atched to guard the glorious chief 285 
 
 Ulysses in the realm of Troy, w^here w^e. 
 
 The Achaians, bore such hardships, — for I ne'er 
 
 Have seen the gods so openly befriend 
 
 A man as Pallas there befriended him, — 
 
 Should she thus deign to favor thee and keep 29° 
 
 Watch over thee, then haply some of these 
 
 Will never think of marriage rites again." 
 
 Then spake discreet Telemachus again : — 
 " O aged man ! I cannot think thy words 
 Will be fulfilled! for they import too much 29s 
 
 And they amaze me. What thou sayst I wish 
 May come to pass, but know it cannot be, 
 Not even though the gods should will it so." 
 
 Then thus the blue-eyed goddess, Pallas, spake : — 
 " Telemachus, what words have passed thy lips ? 3°° 
 
 Easily can a god, whene'er he will. 
 In the most distant regions safely keep 
 A man ; and I would rather reach my home 
 Securely, after many hardships borne. 
 Than perish suddenly on my return 3°s 
 
 As Agamemnon perished by the guile 
 
6o The Odyssey. 
 
 Of base ^gisthus and the queen. And yet 
 The gods themselves have not the pov^er to save 
 Whom most they cherish from the common doom 
 When cruel fate brings on the last long sleep." 3'° 
 
 Discreet Telemachus made answer thus : — 
 " Let us, O Mentor, talk no more of this. 
 Though much v^^e grieve ; he never will return. 
 For his is the black doom of death ordained 
 By the great gods. Now suffer me to ask 315 
 
 Of Nestor further, since to him are known. 
 Beyond all other men, the rules of right 
 And prudence. He has governed, so men say. 
 Three generations, and to me he seems 
 In aspect like the ever-living gods. 3^° 
 
 O Nestor, son of Neleus, truly say 
 How died the monarch over mighty realms, 
 Atrides Agamemnon ? Where was then 
 His brother Menelaus ? By what arts 
 Did treacherous ^Egisthus plan his death, 325 
 
 And slay a braver warrior than himself? 
 Was not the brother in the Achaian town 
 Of Argos ? or was he a wanderer 
 In other lands, which made the murderer bold ? " 
 
 The knight, Gerenian Nestor, answered thus : — 330 
 
Book in. 6 1 
 
 " I will tell all and truly. Thou hast guessed 
 
 Rightly and as it happened. Had the son 
 
 Of Atreus, fair-haired Menelaus, come 
 
 From Troy, and found ^Egisthus yet alive 
 
 Within the palace, he had never flung 335 
 
 The loose earth on his corpse, but dogs and birds 
 
 Had preyed upon it, lying in the fields 
 
 Far from the city, and no woman's voice 
 
 Of all the Greeks had raised the wail for him. 
 
 Great was the crime he plotted. We were yet 340 
 
 Afar, enduring the hard toils of war. 
 
 While he, securely couched in his retreat 
 
 At Argos, famed for steeds, with flattering words 
 
 Corrupted Agamemnon's queen. At first 
 
 The noble Clytemnestra turned away 34s 
 
 With horror from the crime ; for yet her heart 
 
 Was right, and by her side there stood a bard 
 
 With whom Atrides, when he went to Troy, 
 
 Had left his wife with many an earnest charge. 
 
 But when the gods and fate had spread a net 35° 
 
 For his destruction, then ^Egisthus bore 
 
 The minstrel to a desert isle, and there 
 
 Left him to be devoured by birds of prey. 
 
 And led the queen, as willing as himself. 
 
62 The Odyssey. 
 
 To his own palace. Many a victim's thigh 35s 
 
 Upon the hallowed altars of the gods 
 
 He offered, many a gift of ornaments 
 
 Woven or wrought in gold he hung within 
 
 Their temples, since at length the mighty end 
 
 For which he hardly dared to hope was gained. 360 
 
 We sailed together from the coast of Troy, 
 
 Atrides, Menelaus, and myself. 
 
 Friends to each other. When the headland height 
 
 Of Athens, hallowed Sunium, met our eyes, 
 
 Apollo smote with his still shafts, and slew 36s 
 
 Phrontis, Onetor's son, who steered the bark 
 
 Of Menelaus, holding in his hands 
 
 The rudder as the galley scudded on, — 
 
 And skilled was he beyond all other men 
 
 To guide a vessel when the storm was high. 370 
 
 So there did Menelaus stay his course. 
 
 Though eager to go on, that he might lay 
 
 His friend in earth and pay the funeral rites. 
 
 But setting sail again with all his fleet 
 
 Upon the dark-blue sea, all-seeing Jove 375 
 
 Decreed a perilous voyage. He sent forth 
 
 His shrill-voiced hurricane, and heaped on high 
 
 The mountain waves. There, scattering the barks 
 
Book in. 6-3 
 
 Far from each other, part he drove to Crete, 
 
 Where the Cydonians dwell, beside the stream 380 
 
 Of Jardanus. A smooth and pointed rock 
 
 Just on the bounds of Gortys stands amidst 
 
 The dark-blue deep. The south wind thitherward 
 
 Sweeps a great sea towards Phoestus, and against 
 
 The headland on the left, where that small rock 385 
 
 Meets and withstands the mighty wave. The ships 
 
 Were driven on this, and scarce the crews escaped 
 
 With life ; the ships were dashed against the crags 
 
 And wrecked, save five, and these, with their black prows. 
 
 Were swept toward Egypt by the winds and waves. 39° 
 
 " Thus adding to his wealth and gathering gold 
 He roamed the ocean in his ships among 
 Men of strange speech. ^Egisthus meantime planned 
 His guilty deeds at home ; he slew the king 
 Atrides, and the people took his yoke. 39s 
 
 Seven years in rich Mycenae he bore rule. 
 And on the eighth, to his destruction, came 
 The nobly-born Orestes, just returned 
 From Athens, and cut off that man of blood, 
 The crafty wretch .^gisthus, by whose hand 405 
 
 Fell his illustrious father. Then he bade 
 The Argives to the solemn burial-feast 
 
64 The Odyssey. 
 
 Of his bad mother and the craven wretch 
 
 iEgisthus. Menelaus, that same day. 
 
 The great in war, arrived, and brought large wealth — 405 
 
 So large his galleys could contain no more, 
 
 " And thou, my friend, be thou not long away. 
 Wandering from home, thy rich possessions left. 
 And in thy palace-halls a lawless crew. 
 Lest they devour thy substance, and divide 4^ 
 
 Thy goods, and thou have crossed the sea in vain. 
 Yet must I counsel and enjoin on thee 
 To visit Menelaus, who has come 
 Just now from lands and nations of strange men, 
 Whence one could hardly hope for a return ; 41s 
 
 Whom once the tempest's violence had driven 
 Into that great wide sea o'er which the birds 
 Of heaven could scarce fly hither in a year, 
 Such is its fearful vastness. Go thou now. 
 Thou with thy ship and friends ; or if thou choose ^^a 
 The way by land, a car and steeds are here, 
 And here my sons to guide thee to the town 
 Of hallowed Lacedamon, there to find' 
 The fair-haired Menelaus. Earnestly 
 Beseech of him that he declare the truth. 4zs 
 
 Falsely he will not speak, for he is wise." 
 
Book HI. 65 
 
 He spake ; the sun went down ; the darkness crept 
 Over the earth, and blue-eyed Pallas said : — 
 " Most wisely hast thou spoken, ancient man. 
 Now cut ye out the tongues, and mingle wine, 430 
 
 That we to Neptune and the other gods 
 May pour libations, and then think of rest ; 
 For now the hour is come ; the light is gone. 
 Nor at a feast in honor of the gods 
 Should we long sit, but in good time withdraw." 435 
 
 Jove's daughter spake ; they hearkened to her words ; 
 The heralds came to them, and on their hands 
 Poured water ; boys began to fill the bowls 
 To the hard brim, and ministered to each 
 From left to right. Then threw they to the flames 440 
 The victims' tongues, and, rising, poured on earth 
 Wine to the gods ; and when that rite was paid. 
 And when their thirst was satiate, Pallas rose 
 With nobly-born Telemachus to go 
 
 To their good ship, but Nestor still detained 44s 
 
 The twain, and chidingly bespake them thus : — 
 
 " Now Jove and all the other gods forbid 
 That ye should go from me to your good ship. 
 As from some half-clad wretch, too poor to own 
 Mantles and blankets in whose soft warm folds 45° 
 
 9 
 
66 The Odyssey. 
 
 He and his guests might sleep ; but I have both — 
 
 Mantles and blankets — beautifully wrought. 
 
 And never shall the son of that great man 
 
 Ulysses lie upon a galley's deck 
 
 While I am living. After me I hope 455 
 
 My sons, who dwell within my palace-halls. 
 
 Will duly welcome all who enter here." 
 
 And thus again the blue-eyed Pallas spake : — 
 " Well hast thou said, my aged friend, and well 
 Doth it become Telemachus to heed 46° 
 
 Thy words, for that were best. Let him remain 
 With thee and sleep in thine abode, while I 
 Repair to our black ship, encouraging 
 The crew, and setting them their proper tasks. 
 For I am eldest of them all ; the rest 465 
 
 Are young men yet, and moved by friendship joined 
 Our enterprise ; the peers in age are they 
 Of the large-souled Telemachus. To-night 
 I sleep within the hull of our black ship. 
 And sail with early morning for the land 470 
 
 Of the Cauconians, large of soul, from whom 
 A debt is due me, neither new nor small. 
 Send meantime from thy palace in a car. 
 And with thy son, this youth, and be the steeds 
 
Book in. 67 
 
 The fleetest and the strongest in thy stalls." 47s 
 
 The blue-eyed Pallas, having spoken thus. 
 Passed like an eagle out of sight, and all 
 Were seized with deep amazement as they saw. 
 The aged monarch, wondering at .the sight. 
 Took by the hand Telemachus, and said : — 480 
 
 " Of craven temper, and unapt for war, 
 O friend, thou canst not be, since thus the gods 
 Attend and guide thee in thy youth. And this. 
 Of all the gods whose dwelling is in heaven. 
 Can be no other than the spoiler-queen 485 
 
 Pallas, the child of Jove, who also held 
 Thy father in such eminent esteem 
 Among the Grecians. Deign to favor us, 
 O queen ! bestow on me and on my sons 
 And on my venerable spouse the meed 49° 
 
 Of special glory. I will bring to thee 
 A sacrifice, a broad-horned yearling steer. 
 Which never man hath tamed or led beneath 
 The yoke. Her will I bring with gilded horns. 
 And lay an offering on thine altar-fires." 49s 
 
 Such were his words, and Pallas heard the prayer. 
 And then Gerenian Nestor led the way. 
 And with his sons and sons-in-law approached 
 
68 The Odyssey. 
 
 His glorious palace. When they came within 
 
 The monarch's sumptuous halls, each took his place 5°° 
 
 In order on the couches and the thrones. 
 
 The old man mingled for them as they came 
 
 A bowl of delicate wine, eleven years old. 
 
 Drawn by the damsel cupbearer, who took 
 
 Its cover from the jar. The aged chief 50s 
 
 Mingled it in the bowl, and, pouring out 
 
 A part to Pallas, offered earnest prayer 
 
 To her, who sprang' from aegis-bearing Jove. 
 
 When due libations had been made, and all 
 Drank till they wished no more, most went away, 51° 
 
 Each to his home to sleep ; but Nestor made 
 Telemachus, the son of the great chief 
 Ulysses, rest upon a sumptuous couch 
 Within the echoing hall, and near to him 
 The chief of squadrons, skilled to wield the spear, 515 
 Peisistratus, who only of his sons 
 Abode in Nestor's halls unwedded yet ; 
 While in an inner room of that tall pile 
 The monarch slumbered on a bed of state. 
 Decked for him by the labors of his queen. 520 
 
 Soon as the daughter of the dawn appeared. 
 The rosy-fingered Morning, Nestor left 
 
Book HI. 69 
 
 His bed and went abroad, and took his seat 
 
 On smooth white stones before his lofty doors. 
 
 That glistened as with oil, on which before 525 
 
 Sat Neleus, wise in council as the gods. 
 
 But he had yielded to the will of fate. 
 
 And passed into the Underworld. Now sat 
 
 Gerenian Nestor in his father's place. 
 
 The guardian of the Greeks. Around his seat, 53° 
 
 Just from the chambers of their rest, his sons 
 
 Echephron, Stratius, and Aretus came, 
 
 Perseus, and Thrasymedes ; after these 
 
 Came brave Peisistratus, the sixth and last. 
 
 They led Telemachus, the godlike youth, 535 
 
 And placed him near them. The Gerenian knight 
 
 Nestor began, and thus bespake his sons : — 
 
 " Do quickly what I ask, dear sons, and aid 
 To render Pallas, first of all the gods. 
 Propitious, — Pallas, who has deigned to come, 54° 
 
 And at a solemn feast to manifest 
 Herself to me. Let one of you go forth 
 Among the fields, and bring a heifer thence. 
 Led by the herdsman. To the dark-hulled ship 
 Of the large-souled Telemachus I bid 545 
 
 Another son repair, and bring the crew 
 
70 The Odyssey. 
 
 Save only two ; and let another call 
 Laerceus hither, skilled to work in gold. 
 That he may plate with gold the heifer's horns. 
 Let all the rest remain to bid the maids 55° 
 
 Within prepare a sumptuous feast, and bring 
 Seats, wood, and limpid water from the fount." 
 He spake, and all were busy. From the field 
 The bullock came ; from the swift-sailing bark 
 Came the companions of the gallant youth 55s 
 
 Telemachus ; with all his implements — 
 Hammer and anvil, and well-jointed tongs — • 
 With which he wrought, the goldsmith also came. 
 And to be present at the sacred rites 
 
 Pallas came likewise. Nestor, aged knight, 560 
 
 Brought forth the gold ; the artisan prepared 
 The metal, and about the bullock's horns 
 Wound it, that Pallas might with pleasure see 
 The victim so adorned. Then Stratius grasped 
 The horns, and, aided by Echephron, led 565 
 
 The bullock. From his room Aretus brought 
 A laver filled with water in one hand. 
 And in the other hand a canister 
 Of cakes, while Thrasymedes, great in war. 
 Stood near with a sharp axe, about to smite 570 
 
Book in. 71 
 
 The victim. Perseus held a vase to catch 
 
 The blood, while Nestor, aged horseman, took 
 
 Water and cakes, and offering first a part, 
 
 And flinging the shorn forelock to the flames. 
 
 Prayed to the goddess Pallas fervently. 575 
 
 And now, when they had prayed, and flung the cakes. 
 The large-souled Thrasymedes, Nestor's son. 
 Struck, where he stood, the blow ; the bullock's strength 
 Gave way. At once the daughters of the king. 
 And his sons' wives, and queen Eurydice, — s^o 
 
 Nestor's chaste wife, and daughter eldest born 
 Of Clymenus, broke forth in shrilly cries. 
 From the great earth the sons then lifted up 
 And held the victim's head. Peisistratus, 
 The chief of squadrons, slew it. When the blood 5?5 
 Had ceased to flow, and life had left its limbs, 
 They quickly severed joint from joint; they hewed 
 The thighs away, and duly covered them 
 With caul, a double fold, on which they laid 
 Raw strips of flesh. The aged monarch burned 59^ 
 
 These over the cleft wood, and poured dark wine 
 Upon them, while beside him stood the youths 
 With five-pronged spits ; and when the thighs were burned 
 And entrails tasted, all the rest they carved 
 
72 The Odyssey. 
 
 Into small portions and transfixed with spits, S95 
 
 And roasted, holding the sharp spits in hand. 
 
 Meantime, fair Polycaste, youngest born 
 
 Of Nestor's daughters, gave Telemachus 
 
 The bath ; and after he had bathed she shed 
 
 A rich oil over him, and in a cloak 600 
 
 Of noble texture and a tunic robed 
 
 The prince, w^ho, like a god in presence, left 
 
 The bath, and took his place where Nestor sat. 
 
 The shepherd of the people. When the youths 
 
 Had roasted well and from the spits withdrawn 605 
 
 The flesh, they took their places at the feast. 
 
 Then rose up chosen men, and poured the wine 
 
 Into the cups of gold ; and when at length 
 
 The thirst and appetite were both allayed. 
 
 The knight, Gerenian Nestor, thus began : — 610 
 
 " Rise now, my sons ; join to the bright-haired steeds 
 My car, and let Telemachus depart." 
 
 He spake ; they hearkened and obeyed, and straight 
 Yoked the swift horses to the car. Then came 
 The matron of the household, laying bread 615 
 
 And wine within the car, and dainties such 
 As make a prince's fare. Telemachus 
 Then climbed into the sumptuous seat. The son 
 
Book III, "ji 
 
 Of Nestor and the chief of armed bands, 
 
 Peisistratus, climbed also, took his place 620 
 
 Beside him, grasped the reins, and with the lash 
 
 Urged on the coursers. Not unwillingly 
 
 They darted toward the plain, and left behind 
 
 The lofty Pylos. All that day they shook 
 
 The yoke on both their necks. The sun went down ; 625 
 
 The highways lay in darkness when they came 
 
 To Pherae and the abode of Diodes, 
 
 Son of Orsilochus, who claimed to be 
 
 The offspring of Alpheius. They with him 
 
 Found welcome there, and there that night they slept. 630 
 
 And when the rosy-fingered Morn appeared. 
 They yoked the horses, climbed the shining car. 
 And issued from the palace gate beneath 
 The sounding portico. Peisistratus 
 
 Wielded the lash to urge the coursers on, 635 
 
 And not unwillingly they flew and reached 
 A land of harvests. Here the travellers found 
 Their journey's end, so swiftly those fleet steeds 
 Had borne them on. And now the sun went down, 64° 
 And darkness gathered over all the ways. 
 
 10 
 
BOOK IF. 
 
 ' I "HEY came to Lacedaemon's valley, seamed 
 
 With dells, and to the palace of its king. 
 The glorious Menelaus, whom they found 
 Within, and at a wedding banquet, made 
 Both for his blameless daughter and his son, 5 
 
 And many guests. Her he must send away. 
 Bride of the son of that invincible chief, 
 Achilles. He betrothed her while in Troy, 
 And gave his kingly word, and now the gods 
 Fulfilled it by the marriage. He was now 10 
 
 Sending her forth, with steeds and cars, to reach 
 The noble city of the Myrmidons, 
 Where ruled her consort. From the Spartan coast 
 He brought Alector's daughter for his son. 
 The gallant Megapenthes, borne to him ij 
 
 By a handmaiden in his later years. 
 For not to Helen had the gods vouchsafed 
 Yet other offspring, after she had brought 
 
Book IV. 75 
 
 A lovely daughter forth, Hermione, 
 
 Like golden Venus both in face and form. 20 
 
 So banqueting the neighbors and the friends 
 Of glorious Menelaus sat beneath 
 The lofty ceiling of those spacious halls. 
 Delighted with the feast. A sacred bard 
 Amidst them touched the harp and sang to them 25 
 
 While, as the song began, two dancers sprang 
 Into the midst and trod the measure there. 
 
 But they — the hero-youth Telemachus 
 And Nestor's eminent son — were at the gate. 
 And standing in the entrance with their steeds. 30 
 
 The worthy Eteoneus, coming forth, — 
 The trusty servant of the glorious son 
 Of Atreus, — saw, and hastening thence to tell 
 The shepherd of the people, through the hall 
 He came to him, and spake these winged words : — 35 
 
 " O Menelaus, foster-child of Jove, 
 Two strangers have arrived, two men who seem 
 Descended from almighty Jupiter. 
 Shall we then loose the harness from their steeds. 
 Or bid them elsewhere seek a friendly host ? " 40 
 
 The fair-haired king indignantly replied: — 
 " Nay, Eteoneus, thou hast not been wont, 
 
"j^i The Odyssey. 
 
 Son of Boethus, thus to play the fool. 
 
 Thou pratest idly, like a child. Ourselves 
 
 Have sat, as guests, at generous banquets given 4S 
 
 By other men, when journeying hitherward 
 
 In hope that Jove might grant a respite here 
 
 From our disasters. Hasten, then, to loose 
 
 The steeds, and bring the strangers to the feast." 
 
 He spake ; the attendant hastened forth and called 5° 
 The other trusty servitors, with charge 
 To follow. They unyoked the sweaty steeds. 
 And bound them to the stalls, and gave them oats. 
 With which they mingled the white barley-grains. 
 And close against the shining wall thqy placed $% 
 
 The car, and then they led the guests within 
 The sumptuous palace. Entering, these admired 
 The palace of the foster-child of Jove, 
 For like the splendor of the sun and moon 
 Its glory was. They with delighted eyes 60 
 
 Gazed, and, descending to the polished baths. 
 They bathed. The attendant maids who at the bath 
 Had ministered, anointing them with oil. 
 Arrayed the stranger guests in fleecy cloaks 
 And tunics. Each sat down upon a throne 65 
 
 Near to Atrides. Now a handmaid brought 
 
Book w. "jj 
 
 A beautiful ewer of gold, and laver wrought 
 
 Of silver, and poured water for their hands. 
 
 And spread a polished table near their seat ; 
 
 The reverend matron of the household came 7° 
 
 With bread, and set before them many a dish 
 
 Gathered from all the feast. The carver next 
 
 Brought chargers lifted high, and in them meats 
 
 Of every flavor, and before them placed 
 
 Beakers of gold. The fair-haired monarch gave 7S 
 
 His hand to each, and then bespake them thus : — 
 
 "Now taste our banquet and rejoice, and when 
 Ye are refreshed with food we will inquire 
 Who ye may be ; for ye are not of those 
 Whose race degenerates, ye are surely born so 
 
 Of sceptred kings, the favorites of Jove. 
 Ignoble men have never sons like you." 
 
 Thus having said, and taking in his hands 
 A fatling bullock's chine, which menials brought 
 Roasted, and placed beside the king in sign ss 
 
 Of honor, this he laid before his guests. 
 And they put forth their hands and banqueted ; 
 And when the calls of hunger and of thirst 
 At length were stilled, Telemachus inclined 
 His head toward Nestor's son, that no one else 9° 
 
78 The Odyssey. 
 
 Might listen to his words, and thus he said : — 
 
 " See, son of Nestor, my beloved friend. 
 In all these echoing rooms the sheen of brass. 
 Of gold, of amber, and of ivory ; 
 
 Such is the palace of Olympian Jove 9S 
 
 Within its walls. How many things are here 
 Of priceless worth ! I wonder as I gaze." 
 
 The fair-haired Menelaus heard him speak. 
 And thus accosted both with winged words : — 
 
 " Dear sons, no mortal man may vie with Jove, loo 
 
 Whose palace and possessions never know 
 Decay, but other men may vie or not 
 In wealth with me. 'T was after suffering 
 And wandering long that in my fleet I brought 
 My wealth with me, and landed on this coast 105 
 
 In the eighth year. For I had roamed afar 
 To Cyprus and to Phoenice, and where 
 The Egyptians dwell, and Ethiopia's sons, 
 And the Sidonians, and the Erembian race. 
 And to the coast of Lybia, where the lambs no 
 
 Are yeaned with budding horns. There do the ewes 
 Thrice in the circle of the year bring forth 
 Their young. There both the master of the herd 
 And herdsman know no lack of cheese, or flesh. 
 
Book IV. 
 
 79 
 
 Or of sweet milk; for there the herds yield milk "s 
 
 The whole year round. While I was roaming thus. 
 
 And gathering store of wealth, another slew 
 
 My brother, unforewarned, and through the fraud 
 
 Of his own guilty consort. Therefore small 
 
 Is the content I find in bearing rule 120 
 
 O'er these possessions. Ye have doubtless heard 
 
 This from your parents, be they who they may; 
 
 For much have I endured, and I have lost 
 
 A palace, a most noble dwelling-place. 
 
 Full of things rare and precious. Even now i^s 
 
 Would I possessed within my palace here 
 
 But the third part of these ; and would that they 
 
 Were yet alive who perished on the plain 
 
 Of Troy afar from Argos and its steeds ! 
 
 Yet while I grieve and while I mourn them all, 13° 
 
 Here, sitting in my palace, I by turns 
 
 Indulge my heart in weeping, and by turns 
 
 I pause, for with continual sorrow comes 
 
 A weariness of spirit. Yet, in truth. 
 
 For none of all those warriors, though their fate 13s 
 
 Afflicts me sorely, do I so much, grieve 
 
 As for one hero. When I think of him. 
 
 The feast and couch are joyless, since, of all 
 
140 
 
 8o The Odyssey. 
 
 The Achaian chiefs, none brought so much to pass 
 
 As did Ulysses, both in what he wrought 
 
 And what he suffered. Great calamities 
 
 Fell to his lot in life, and fo my own 
 
 Grief for his sake that cannot be consoled. 
 
 Long has he been divided from his friends. 
 
 And whether he be living now or dead '+5 
 
 We know not. Old Laertes, the sage queen 
 
 Penelope, and young Telemachus, 
 
 Whom, when he went to war he left new-born 
 
 At home, are sorrowing somewhere for his sake." 
 
 He spake, and woke anew the young man's grief 15° 
 For his lost father. From his eyelids fell 
 Tears at the hearing of his father's name. 
 And with both hands he held before his eyes 
 The purple mantle. Menelaus saw 
 
 His tears, and pondered, doubting which were best, — 15s 
 To let the stranger of his own accord 
 Speak of his father, or to question him 
 At first, and then to tell him all he knew. 
 
 As thus he pondered, Helen, like in form 
 To Dian of the golden distaff, left iSo 
 
 Her high-roofed chamber, where the air was sweet 
 With perfumes, and approached. Adrasta placed 
 
Book IV. 8 1 
 
 A seat for her of costly workmanship ; 
 
 Alcippe brought a mat of soft light wool, 
 
 And Phylo with a silver basket came, 165 
 
 Given by Alcandra, wife of Polybus, 
 
 Who dwelt at Thebes, in Egypt, and whose house 
 
 Was rich in things of price. Two silver baths 
 
 He gave to Menelaus, tripods two. 
 
 And talents ten of gold. His wife bestowed 17° 
 
 Beautiful gifts on Helen, — one of gold, 
 
 A distaff; one a silver basket edged 
 
 With gold and round in form. This Phylo brought 
 
 Heaped with spun yarn and placed before the queen ; 
 
 Upon it lay the distaffj wrapped in wool 17s 
 
 Of color like the violet. Helen there 
 
 Sat down, a footstool at her feet, and straight 
 
 Questioned with earnest words^her husband thus : — 
 
 " Say, Menelaus, foster-child of Jove, 
 Is it yet known what lineage these men claim, — iSo 
 
 These visitants ? And what I now shall say. 
 Will it be false or true ? Yet must I speak. 
 Woman or man I think I never saw 
 So like another as this youth, on whom 
 I look with deep astonishment, is like i^s 
 
 Telemachus, the son whom our great chief 
 
82 The Odyssey. 
 
 Ulysses left at home a tender babe 
 
 When ye Achaians for my guilty sake 
 
 Went forth to wage the bloody war with Troy." 
 
 And fair-haired Menelaus answered her : — 19° 
 
 " Yea, wife, so deem I as it seems to thee. 
 Such are his feet, his hands, the cast of the eye. 
 His head, the hair upon his brow. Just now. 
 In speaking of Ulysses, as I told 
 
 How he had toiled and suffered for my sake, 19s 
 
 The stranger held the purple cloak before 
 His eyes, and from the lids dropped bitter tears." 
 
 Peisistratus, the son of Nestor, spake 
 In answer : " Menelaus, foster-child 
 
 Of Jove and son of Atreus ! sovereign king ! loo 
 
 He is, as thou hast said, that hero's son ; 
 But he is modest, and he deems that ill 
 It would- become him, on arriving here. 
 If he should venture in discourse while thou 
 Art present, in whose voice we take delight aos 
 
 As if it were the utterance of a god. 
 The knight Gerenian Nestor sent me forth 
 To guide him hither, — for he earnestly 
 Desired to see thee, that thou mightest give 
 Counsel in what he yet should say or do. 210 
 
Book IV. Zi 
 
 For bitterly a son, who finds at home 
 
 No others to befriend him, must lament 
 
 The absence of a father. So it is 
 
 With young Telemachus ; for far away 
 
 His father is, and in the land are none 215 
 
 Who have the power to shelter him from wrong." 
 
 The fair-haired Menelaus answered thus : — 
 " O wonder ! Then the son of one most dear. 
 Who for my sake so oft has braved and borne 
 The conflicts of the battle-field, hath come 220 
 
 Beneath my roof. I thought that I should greet 
 His father with a warmer welcome here 
 Than any other of the Argive race. 
 When Jove the Olympian Thunderer should grant 
 A safe return to us across the deep 225 
 
 In our good ships. I would have founded here 
 For him a city in Argos, and have built 
 Dwellings, and would have brought from Ithaca 
 Him and his son, and all his wealth and all 
 His people. To this end I would have caused 230 
 
 Some neighboring district where my sway is owned 
 To be dispeopled. Dwelling here we oft 
 Should then have met each other, and no cause 
 Would e'er have parted us^ two faithful friends 
 
84 The Odyssey. 
 
 Delighting in each other, till at last 235 
 
 Came Death's black cloud to wrap us in its shade. 
 A god, no doubt, hath seen in this a good 
 Too great for us, and thus to him alone. 
 Unhappy man ! denied a safe return." 
 
 He spake ; his words awoke in every heart 240 
 
 Grief for the absent hero's sake. Then wept 
 The Argive Helen, child of Jove ; then wept 
 Telemachus ; nor tearless were the eyes 
 Of Nestor's son, for to his mind arose 
 The memory of the good Antilochus, 24s 
 
 Slain by the bright Aurora's eminent son ; 
 Of him he thought, and spake these winged words : — 
 
 " O son of Atreus! aged Nestor saith. 
 When in his palace we discourse of thee 
 And ask each other's thought, that thou art wise 25° 
 
 Beyond all other men. Now, if thou mayst. 
 Indulge me, for not willingly I weep 
 Thus at the evening feast, and soon will Morn, 
 Child of the Dawn, appear. I do not blame 
 This sorrow for whoever meets his fate 25s 
 
 And dies ; the only honors we can pay 
 To those unhappy mortals is to shred 
 Our locks away, and wet our cheeks with tears. 
 
Book IV. Z^ 
 
 I lost a brother, not the least in worth 
 
 Among the Argives, whom thou must have seen. ^eo 
 
 I knew him not : I never saw his face ; 
 
 Yet is it said Antilochus excelled 
 
 The others ; swift of foot, and brave in war." 
 
 The fair-haired Menelaus answered him : — 
 " Since thou my friend hast spoken thus, as one 265 
 
 Discreet in word and deed, of riper years 
 Than thou, might speak and act, — for thou art born 
 Of such a father, and thy words are wise, — 
 And easy is it to discern the son 
 
 Of one on whom Saturnius has bestowed 27° 
 
 Both at the birth-hour and in wedded life 
 His blessing ; as he gives to Nestor now 
 A calm old age that lapses pleasantly. 
 Within his palace-halls, from day to day. 
 And sons wise-minded, mighty with the spear, — 275 
 
 Then let us lay aside this sudden grief 
 That has o'ertaken us, and only think 
 Of banqueting. Let water now be poured 
 Upon our hands ; there will be time enough 
 To-morrow for discourse ; Telemachus aSo 
 
 And I will then engage in mutual talk." 
 
 He spake , Asphalion, who with diligent heed 
 
86 The Odyssey. 
 
 Served the. great Menelaus, on their hands 
 
 Poured water, and they shared the meats that lay 
 
 Upon the board. But Helen, Jove-born dame, 28s 
 
 Had other thoughts, and with the wine they drank 
 
 Mingled a drug, an antidote to grief 
 
 And anger, bringing quick forgetfulness 
 
 Of all life's evils. Whoso drinks, when once 
 
 It is infused and in the cup, that day 290 
 
 Shall never wet his cheeks with tears, although 
 
 His father and his mother lie in death. 
 
 Nor though his brother or belove'd son 
 
 Fall butchered by the sword before his eyes. 
 
 Such sovereign drugs she had, that child of Jove, 295 
 
 Given her by Polydamna, wife of Thon, 
 
 A dame of Egypt, where the bounteous soil 
 
 Brings forth abundantly its potent herbs. 
 
 Of healing some and some of bane, and where 
 
 Dwell the physicians who excel in skill 300 
 
 All other men, for they are of the race 
 
 Of Pason. Now when Helen in the cups 
 
 Had placed the drug, and bidden them to pour 
 
 The wine upon it, thus she spake again : — 
 
 " Atrides Menelaus, reared by Jove, 305 
 
 And ye the sons of heroes ! — Jupiter 
 
Book IV. d>y 
 
 The sovereign, gives, at pleasure, good and ill 
 
 To one or to another, for his power 
 
 Is infinite, — now sitting in these halls. 
 
 Feast and enjoy free converse. I will speak 310 
 
 What suits the occasion. I could not relate, 
 
 I could not even name, the many toils 
 
 Borne by Ulysses, stout of heart. I speak 
 
 Only of what that valiant warrior did 
 
 And suffered once in Troy, where ye of Greece 31s 
 
 Endured such hardships. He had given himself 
 
 Unseemly stripes, and o'er his shoulders flung 
 
 Vile garments like a slave's, and entered thus 
 
 The enemy's town, and walked its spacious streets. 
 
 Another man he seemed in that disguise, — 3^° 
 
 A beggar, though when at the Achaian fleet 
 
 So different was the semblance that he wore. 
 
 He entered Ilium thus transformed, and none 
 
 Knew who it was that passed, but I perceived. 
 
 And questioned him ; he turned my quest aside 3*5 
 
 With crafty answers. After I had seen 
 
 The bath administered, anointed him 
 
 And clothed him, and had sworn a solemn oath 
 
 Not to reveal his visit to the men 
 
 Of Ilium till he reached again the tents 33° 
 
88 The Odyssey. 
 
 And galleys, then he opened to me all 
 
 The plans of the Achaians. Leaving me, 
 
 On his return he slew with his long spear 
 
 Full many a Trojan, and in safety reached 
 
 The Argive camp with tidings for the host. 335 
 
 Then wept aloud the Trojan dames, but I 
 
 Was glad at heart, for I already longed 
 
 For my old home, and deeply I deplored 
 
 The evil fate that Venus brought on me. 
 
 Who led me thither from my own dear land, 34° 
 
 And from my daughter and my marriage-bower, 
 
 And. from my lawful spouse, in whom I missed 
 
 No noble gift of person or of mind." 
 
 Then fair-haired Menelaus said to her : — 
 " All thou hast spoken, woman, is most true. 34s 
 
 Of many a valiant warrior I have known 
 The counsels and the purposes, and far 
 Have roamed in many lands, but never yet 
 My eyes have looked on such another man 
 As was Ulysses, of a heart so bold 350 
 
 And such endurance. Witness what he did 
 And bore, the heroic man, what time we sat. 
 The bravest of the Argives, pent within 
 The wooden horse, about to bring to Troy 
 
Book IV. 89 
 
 Slaughter and death. Thou earnest to the place, 355 
 
 Moved, as it seemed, by some divinity 
 
 Who thought to give the glory of the day 
 
 To Troy. Deiphobus, the godlike chief. 
 
 Was with thee. Thrice about the hollow^ frame 
 
 That held the ambush thou didst walk and touch 360 
 
 Its sides, and call the Achaian chiefs by name. 
 
 And imitate the voices of the wives 
 
 Of all the Argives. Diomed and I 
 
 Sat with the great Ulysses in the midst. 
 
 And with him heard thy call, and rose at once 365 
 
 To sally forth or answer from within ; 
 
 But he forbade, impatient as we were, 
 
 And so restrained us. All the Achaian chiefs 
 
 Kept silence save Anticlus, who alone 
 
 Began to speak, when, with his powerful hands, 37° 
 
 Ulysses pressed together instantly 
 
 The opening lips, and saved us all, and thus 
 
 Held them till Pallas lured thee from the spot." 
 
 Then spake discreet Telemachus again : — 
 " Atrides Menelaus, reared by Jove, 375 
 
 Ruler of tribes ! the harder was his lot. 
 Since even thus he could not shun the stroke 
 Of death, not though a heart of steel were his. 
 
 IZ 
 
90 The Odyssey. 
 
 But now dismiss us to our beds, that there, 
 
 Couched softly, we may welcome balmy sleep." 38° 
 
 He spake, and Argive Helen called her maids 
 To make up couches in the portico. 
 And throw fair purple blankets over them. 
 And tapestry above, and cover all 
 
 With shaggy cloaks. Forth from the palace halls 38s 
 
 They went with torches, and made ready soon 
 The couches ; thither heralds led the guests. 
 There in the vestibule Telemachus, 
 The hero, and with him the eminent son 
 Of Nestor, took their rest. Meanwhile the son 39° 
 
 Of Atreus lay within an inner room 
 Of that magnificent pile, and near to him 
 The glorious lady, long-robed Helen, slept. 
 But when at length the daughter of the Dawn, 
 The rosy-fingered Morning, brought her light, 395 
 
 Then Menelaus, great in battle, rose. 
 Put on his garments, took his trenchant sword. 
 And, having hung it on his shoulder, laced 
 The shapely sandals to his shining feet. 
 And issued from his chamber like a god 400 
 
 In aspect. Near Telemachus he took 
 His seat, and calling him by name he spake : — 
 
Book IV. 91 
 
 " What urgent cause, my brave Telemachus, 
 Brings thee to sacred Lacedaemon o'er 
 The breast of the great ocean ? Frankly say, 405 
 
 Is it a private or a pubHc need ? " 
 
 And thus discreet Telemachus replied : — 
 " Atrides Menelaus, reared by Jove, 
 Ruler of nations ! I am come to ask 
 News of my father, if thou know^est aught. 41° 
 
 My heritage is v^asting ; my rich fields 
 Are made a desolation. Enemies 
 Svv^arm in my palace, and from day to-day 
 Slaughter my flocks and slow-paced horned herds ; 
 My mother's suitors they, and measureless 41s 
 
 Their insolence. And therefore am I come 
 To clasp thy knees, and pray thee to relate 
 The manner of my father's sorrowful death 
 As thou hast seen it with thine eyes, or heard 
 Its story from some wandering man, — for sure 410 
 
 His mother brought him forth to wretchedness 
 Beyond the common lot. I ask thee not 
 To soften aught in the sad history 
 Through tenderness to me, or kind regard. 
 But tell me plainly all that thou dost know ; 4^5 
 
 And I beseech thee, if at any time 
 
92 The Odyssey. 
 
 My father, good Ulysses, brought to pass 
 
 Aught that he undertook for thee in word 
 
 Or act while ye were in the realm of Troy, 
 
 Where the Greeks suffered sorely, bear it now 43° 
 
 In mind, and let me have the naked truth." 
 
 Then Menelaus of the amber locks 
 Drew a deep sigh, and thus in answer said : — 
 " Heavens ! they would climb into a brave man's bed. 
 These craven weaklings. But as when a hart 43s 
 
 Has hid her new-born suckling fawns within 
 The lair of some fierce lion, and gone forth 
 Herself to range the mountain-sides and feed 
 Among the grassy lawns, the lion comes 
 Back to the place and brings them sudden death, 44° 
 
 So will Ulysses bring a bloody fate 
 Upon the suitor crew. O father Jove, 
 And Pallas, and Apollo ! I could wish 
 That now, with prowess such as once was his 
 When he, of yore, in Lesbos nobly built, 445 
 
 Rising to strive with Philomela's son. 
 In wrestling threw him heavily, and all 
 The Greeks rejoiced, Ulysses might engage 
 The suitors. Short were then their term of life. 
 And bitter would the nuptial banquet be. 450 
 
Book IV. 93 
 
 Now for the questions thou hast put, and craved 
 From me a true reply, I will not seek 
 To pass them by with talk of other things. 
 Nor yet deceive thee, but of all that once 
 Was told me by the Ancient of the Deep, 455 
 
 Whose words are truth, I shall keep nothing back. 
 " In Egypt still, though longing to come home. 
 The gods detained me ; for I had not paid 
 The sacrifice of chosen hecatombs. 
 
 And ever do the gods require of us 460 
 
 Remembrance of their laws. There is an isle 
 Within the billowy sea before you reach 
 The coast of Egypt, — Pharos is its name, — 
 At such a distance as a ship could pass 
 In one whole day with a shrill breeze astern. 46s 
 
 A sheltered haven lies within that isle. 
 Whence the good ships go forth with fresh supplies 
 Of water. There the gods constrained my stay 
 For twenty days, and never in that time 
 Blew favoring winds across the waters, such 470 
 
 As bear the galley over the great deep. 
 Now would our stores of food have been consumed. 
 Now would the courage of my men have died. 
 Had not a goddess pitied me, and come 
 
94 The Odyssey. 
 
 To my relief, by name Idothea^ born 475 
 
 To the great Proteus, Ancient of the Deep. 
 For she was moved by my distress, and came 
 To me while I was wandering alone. 
 Apart from all the rest. They through the isle 
 Roamed everywhere from place to place, and, pinched 480 
 With hunger, threw the hook for fish. She came. 
 And, standing near, accosted me and said : — 
 
 " ' Stranger, thou art an idiot, or at least 
 Of careless mood, or else art willingly 
 Neglectful, and art pleased with suffering, 485 
 
 That thou dost linger in this isle so long 
 And find no means to leave it, while the hearts 
 Of thy companions faint with the delay.' 
 
 " She spake, and I replied : ' Whoe'er thou art, 
 
 goddess, let me say, not willingly 49° 
 
 1 linger here. I surely must have sinned 
 Against the immortal dwellers of high heaven ; 
 But tell me — for the gods know all things — who 
 Of all the immortals holds me windbound here. 
 Hindering my voyage ; tell me also how 49s 
 To reach my home across the fishy deep.' 
 
 " I ended, and the glorious goddess said 
 In answer : ' Stranger, I will truly speak ; 
 
- Book IV. 95 
 
 The deathless Ancient of the Deep, whose words 
 
 Are ever true, Egyptian Proteus, oft s°° 
 
 Here makes his haunt. To him are fully known — 
 
 For he is Neptune's subject — all the depths 
 
 Of the great ocean. It is said I owe 
 
 To him my birth. If him thou canst insnare 
 
 And seize, he will disclose to thee thy way 505 
 
 And all its distances, and tell thee how 
 
 To reach thy home across the fishy deep ; 
 
 And further will reveal, if so he choose, 
 
 O foster-child of Jove, whate'er of good 
 
 Or ill has in thy palace come to pass, 5'° 
 
 While thou wert wandering long and wearily.' 
 
 " So said the goddess, and I spake again : — 
 * Explain by what device to snare and hold 
 The aged deity, lest he foreknow 
 
 Or else suspect our purpose and escape. 51s 
 
 'T were hard for mortals to constrain a god.* 
 
 " I ended, and the glorious goddess thus 
 Made answer : ' When the climbing sun has reached 
 The middle heaven, the Ancient of the Deep, 
 Who ne'er deceives, emerges from the waves, 5;?° 
 
 And, covered with the dark scum of the sea. 
 Walks forth, and in a cavern vault lies down. 
 
96 The Odyssey. 
 
 Thither fair Halosydna's progeny. 
 
 The sea-calves from the hoary ocean, throng, 
 
 Rank with the bitter odor of the brine, 5^5 
 
 And slumber near him. With the break of day 
 
 I will conduct thee thither and appoint 
 
 Thy place, but thou shalt choose to go with thee 
 
 Three of the bravest men in thy good ships. 
 
 And let me now relate the stratagems 53° 
 
 Of the old prophet. He at first will count 
 
 The sea-calves, going o'er them all by fives; 
 
 And when he has beheld and numbered all. 
 
 Amidst them all will he lie down, as lies 
 
 A shepherd midst his flock. And then, as soon 535 
 
 As ye behold him stretched at length, exert 
 
 Your utmost strength to hold him there, although 
 
 He strive and struggle to escape your hands ; 
 
 For he will try all stratagems, and take 
 
 The form of every reptile on the earth, 54° 
 
 And turn to water and to raging flame, — 
 
 Yet hold him firmly still, and all the more 
 
 Make fast the bands. When he again shall take 
 
 The form in which thou sawest him asleep. 
 
 Desist from force, and loose the bands that held 54s 
 
 The ancient prophet. Ask of him what god 
 
Book IV. ^7 
 
 Afflicts thee thus, and by what means to cross 
 The fishy deep and find thy home again.' 
 
 " Thus having said, the goddess straightway sprang 
 Into the billowy ocean, while I sought 550 
 
 The galleys, where they rested on the sand. 
 With an uneasy spirit. When I reached 
 The ship and shore we made our evening meal. 
 The hallowed night came down ; we lay and slept 
 Upon the sea-beach. When the Morning came, ss5 
 
 The rosy-fingered daughter of the Dawn, 
 Forth on the border of the mighty main 
 I went, and prayed the immortals fervently. 
 I led three comrades, whom I trusted most 
 In all adventures. Entering the depths 56° 
 
 Of the great sea, the goddess brought us thence 
 Four skins of sea-calves newly flayed, that thus 
 We might deceive her father. Then she scooped 
 Beds for us in the sea-sand, and sat down 
 To wait his coming. We were near to her, 5^5 
 
 And there she laid us duly down, and threw 
 A skin o'er each. Now did our ambush seem 
 Beyond endurance, for the noisome smell 
 Of those sea-nourished creatures sickened us ; 
 And who could bear to sleep beside a whale ? 57° 
 
 13 
 
98 The Odyssey. 
 
 But she bethought her of an antidote, 
 A sovereign one, and so relieved us all. 
 To each she brought ambrosia, placing it 
 Beneath his nostrils, and the sweets it breathed 
 O'ercame the animal odor. All the morn 57s 
 
 We w^aited patiently. The sea-calves came 
 From ocean in a throng, and laid themselves 
 In rows along the margin of the sea. 
 At noon emerged the aged seer, and found 
 His well-fed sea-calves. Going o'er them all 58° 
 
 He counted them, ourselves among the rest. 
 With no misgiving of the fraud, and then 
 He laid him down to rest. We rushed with shouts 
 Upon him suddenly, and in our arms 
 
 Caught him ; nor did the aged seer forget s^s 
 
 His stratagems ; and first he took the shape 
 Of a maned lion, of a serpent next. 
 Then of a panther, then of a huge boar. 
 Then turned to flowing water, then became 
 A tall tree full of leaves. With resolute hearts 590 
 
 We held him fast, until the aged seer 
 Was wearied out, in spite of all his wiles. 
 And questioned me in speech at last and said : — 
 " ' O son of Atreus ! who of all the gods 
 
Book IV. 99 
 
 Hath taught thee how to take me in this snare, 59s 
 
 Unwilling as I am ? What wouldst thou have ? * 
 
 " He spake ; I answered : * Aged prophet, well 
 Thou knowest. Why deceitfully inquire ? 
 It is that I am held a prisoner long 
 
 Within this isle, and vainly seek the means 600 
 
 Of my escape, and grief consumes my heart. 
 Now — since the gods know all things — tell me this. 
 What deity it is, that, hindering thus 
 My voyage, keeps me here, and tell me how 
 To cross the fishy deep and reach my home.' 605 
 
 " Such were my words, and he in answer said : — 
 * But thou to Jove and to the other gods 
 Shouldst first have paid acceptable sacrifice. 
 And shouldst have then embarked to reach with speed 
 Thy native land across the dark-blue deep. 610 
 
 Now it is not thy fate to see again 
 Thy friends, thy stately palace, and the land 
 That saw thy birth, until thou stand once more 
 Beside the river that through Egypt flows 
 From Jove, and offer sacred hecatombs 615 
 
 To the ever-living gods inhabiting 
 The boundless heaven, and they will speed thee forth 
 Upon the voyage thou dost long to make.' 
 
loo The Odyssey. 
 
 " He spake. My heart was broken as I heard 
 His bidding to recross the shadowy sea ^^o 
 
 To Egypt, for the way was difficult 
 And long ; and yet I answered him and said : — 
 
 " * Duly will I perform, O aged seer. 
 What thou commandest. But I pray thee tell. 
 And truly, whether all the sons of Greece 6^5 
 
 Whom Nestor and myself, in setting sail. 
 Left on the Trojan coast, have since returned 
 Safe with their galleys, or have any died 
 Untimely in their ships or in the arms 
 Of their companions since the war was closed ? ' 630 
 
 " I spake ; again he answered me and said : — 
 ' Why dost thou ask, Atrides, since to kno-w 
 Thou needest not, nor is it well to explore 
 The secrets of my mind ? Thou canst not, sure. 
 Refrain from tears when thou shalt know the whole. 635 
 Many are dead, and many left in Troy. 
 Two leaders only of the well-armed Greeks 
 Were slain returning ; in that combat thou 
 Didst bear a part ; one, living yet, is kept. 
 Far in the mighty main, from his return. 640 
 
 " ' Amid his well-oared galleys Ajax died. 
 For Neptune first had driven him on the rocks 
 
Book IV. loi 
 
 Of Gyras, yet had saved him from the sea ; 
 
 And he, though Pallas hated him, had yet 
 
 Been rescued, but for uttering boastful words, 64s 
 
 Which drew his fate upon him. He had said 
 
 That he, in spite of all the gods, would come 
 
 Safe from those mountain waves. When Neptune heard 
 
 The boaster's challenge, instantly he laid 
 
 His strong hand on the trident, smote the rock 650 
 
 And cleft it to the base. Part stood erect. 
 
 Part fell into the deep. There Ajax sat. 
 
 And felt the shock, and with the falling mass 
 
 Was carried headlong to the billowy depths 
 
 Below, and drank the brine and perished there. 655 
 
 Thy brother in his roomy ships escaped 
 
 The danger, for imperial Juno's aid 
 
 Preserved him. But when near Meleia's heights 
 
 About to land, a tempest seized and swept 
 
 The hero thence across the fishy deep, 660 
 
 Lamenting his hard lot, to that far cape 
 
 Where once abode Thyestes, and where now 
 
 His son ^gisthus dwelt. But when the gods 
 
 Sent other winds, and safe at last appeared 
 
 The voyage, they returned, and reached their home. ess 
 
 With joy he stepped upon his native soil. 
 
I02 The Odyssey, 
 
 And kissed the earth that bore him, while his tears 
 
 At that most welcome sight flowed fast and warm. 
 
 Him from a lofty perch a spy beheld. 
 
 Whom treacherous j^gisthus planted there, 67° 
 
 Bribed by two golden talents. He had watched 
 
 The whole year through, lest, coming unobserved. 
 
 The king might make his prowess felt. The spy 
 
 Flew to the royal palace with the news. 
 
 And instantly jiEgisthus planned a snare. 675 
 
 He chose among the people twenty men. 
 
 The bravest, whom he stationed out of sight. 
 
 And gave command that others should prepare 
 
 A banquet. Then with chariots and with steeds. 
 
 And with a deadly purpose in his heart, 68° 
 
 He went, and, meeting Agamemnon, bade 
 
 The shepherd of the people to the feast. 
 
 And slew him at the board as men might slay 
 
 A bullock at the crib. Of all who went 
 
 With Agamemnon thither, none survived, 685 
 
 And of the followers of iEgisthus none. 
 
 But all were slaughtered in the banquet-hall.' 
 
 " He spake ; my heart was breaking, and I wept, 
 While sitting on the sand, nor in my heart 
 Cared I to live, or longer to behold 690 
 
Book IV. 103 
 
 The sweet light of the sun. But when there came 
 
 Respite from tears and writhing on the ground. 
 
 The Ancient of the Deep, who ne'er deceives. 
 
 Spake yet again : ' Atrides, lose no time 
 
 In tears ; they profit nothing. Rather seek 695 
 
 The means by which thou mayst the soonest reach 
 
 Thy native land. There thou perchance mayst find 
 
 iEgisthus yet alive, or haply first 
 
 Orestes may have slain him, and thyself 
 
 Arrive to see the funeral rites performed.' 7°° 
 
 " He spake, and though afflicted still, my heart 
 Was somewhat comforted ; my spirit rose. 
 And thus I answered him with winged words : — 
 
 " ' These men I know ; name now the third, who still 
 Is kept from his return afar within 70s 
 
 The mighty main, — alive, perchance, or dead ; 
 For, though I dread to hear, I long to know.' 
 
 " I spake, and Proteus answered me again : — 
 * It is Laertes' son, whose dwelling stands 
 In Ithaca. I saw him in an isle, 71° 
 
 And in the cavern-palace of the nymph 
 Calypso, weeping bitterly, for she 
 Constrains his stay. He cannot leave the isle 
 For his own country ; ship arrayed with oars 
 
I04 The Odyssey. 
 
 And seamen has he none to bear him o'er 715 
 
 The breast of the great ocean. But for thee, 
 
 'T is not decreed that thou shalt meet thy fate 
 
 And die, most noble Menelaus, where 
 
 The steeds of Argos in her pastures graze. 
 
 The gods will send thee to the Elysian plain, 720 
 
 And to the end of earth, the dwelling-place 
 
 Of fair-haired Rhadamanthus. There do men 
 
 Lead easiest lives. No snow, no bitter cold. 
 
 No beating rains, are there ; the ocean-deeps 
 
 With murmuring breezes from the West refresh 725 
 
 The dwellers. Thither shalt thou go ; for thou 
 
 Art Helen's spouse, and son-in-law of Jove.' 
 
 " He spake, and plunged into the billowy deep. 
 I to the fleet returned in company 
 
 With my brave men, revolving, as I went, 730 
 
 A thousand projects in my thought. I reached 
 My galley by the sea, and we prepared 
 Our evening meal. The hallowed night came down. 
 And there upon the ocean-beach we slept. 
 But when the rosy-fingered Morn appeared, 735 
 
 The daughter of the Dawn, we drew our ships 
 To the great deep, and raised the masts and spread 
 The sails ; the crews, all entering, took their seats 
 
Book IV. 105 
 
 Upon the benches, ranged in order due. 
 
 And beat the foaming water with their oars. 74° 
 
 Again to Egypt's coast I brought the fleet. 
 
 And to the river that descends from Jove, 
 
 And there I offered chosen hecatombs ; 
 
 And having thus appeased the gods, I reared 
 
 A tomb to Agamemnon, that his fame 74s 
 
 Might never die. When this was done I sailed 
 
 For home ; the gods bestowed a favoring wind. 
 
 But now remain thou till the eleventh day, 
 
 Or till the twelfth, beneath my roof, and then 
 
 Will I dismiss thee with munificent gifts, — 75° 
 
 Three steeds, a polished chariot, and a cup 
 
 Of price, with which to pour, from day to day. 
 
 Wine to the gods in memory of me." 
 
 Then spake discreet Telemachus again : — 
 " Atrides, seek not to detain me long, 755 
 
 Though I could sit contentedly a year 
 Beside thee, never longing for my home. 
 Nor for my parents, such delight I find 
 In listening to thy words ; but even now. 
 In hallowed Pylos, my companions grow 760 
 
 Weary, while thou delayest my return. 
 The gifts, — whate'er thou choosest to bestow, — 
 H 
 
io6 The Odyssey. 
 
 Let them be such as I can treasure up. 
 
 The steeds to Ithaca I may not take 
 
 I leave them to adorn thy retinue ; 765 
 
 For thou art ruler o'er a realm of plains. 
 
 Where grows much lotos, and sweet grasses spring, 
 
 And wheat and rye, and the luxuriant stalks 
 
 Of the white barley. But in Ithaca 
 
 Are no broad grounds for coursing, meadows none. 77° 
 
 Goats graze amid its fields, a fairer land 
 
 Than those where horses feed. No isle that lies 
 
 Within the deep has either roads for steeds 
 
 Or meadows, least of all has Ithaca." 
 
 He spake ; the valiant Menelaus smiled, 775 
 
 And kindly touched him with his hand and said : — 
 
 " Dear son, thou comest of a generous stock ; 
 Thy words declare it. I will change my gifts. 
 As well I may. Of all that in my house 
 Are treasured up, the choicest I will give, 78° 
 
 And the most precious. I will give a cup 
 Wrought all of silver save its brim of gold. 
 It is the work of Vulcan. Phaedimus 
 The hero. King of Sidon, gave it me. 
 When I was coming home, and underneath 785 
 
 His roof was sheltered. Now it shall be thine." 
 
Book IV. 107 
 
 So talked they with each other. Meantime came 
 Those who prepared the banquet to the halls 
 Of the great monarch. Bringing sheep they came 
 And strengthening wine. Their wives, who on their brows 
 Wore showy fillets, brought the bread, and thus 79' 
 
 Within the house of Menelaus all 
 Was bustle, setting forth the evening meal. 
 
 But in the well-paved court which lay before 
 The palace of Ulysses, where of late 79s 
 
 Their insolence was shown, the suitor train 
 Amused themselves with casting quoits and spears. 
 While by themselves Antinoiis, and the youth 
 Of godlike mien, Eurymachus, who both 
 Were eminent above the others, sat. 800 
 
 To them Noemon, son of Phronius, went. 
 Drew near, bespake Antinoiis and inquired : — ■ 
 
 " Is it among us known, or is it not, 
 Antinoiis, when Telemachus returns 
 
 From sandy Pylos ? Thither he is gone, 805 
 
 And in my galley, which I need to cross 
 To spacious Elis. There I have twelve mares 
 And hardy mule-colts with them yet untamed. 
 And some I must subdue to take the yoke." 
 
 He spake, and they were both amazed ; for they sio 
 
io8 The Odyssey. 
 
 Had never thought of him as visiting 
 Neleian Pylos, deeming that the youth 
 Was somewhere in his fields, among the flocks. 
 Or haply with the keeper of the sw^ine. 
 
 Then did Antinoiis, Eupeithes' son, 815 
 
 Make answer : " Tell me truly when he sailed. 
 And what young men of Ithaca he chose 
 To go with him. Were they his slaves, or hired 
 To be his followers ? Tell, for I would know 
 The whole. Took he thy ship against thy will ? Sio 
 
 Or didst thou yield it at his first request ? " 
 
 Noemon, son of Phornius, thus replied : — 
 " Most willingly I gave it, for what else 
 Would any one have done when such a man 
 Desired it in his need ? It would have been s^s 
 
 Hard to deny it. For the band of youths 
 Who followed him, they are the bravest here 
 Of all our people ; and I saw embark. 
 As their commander. Mentor, or some god 
 Like Mentor altogether. One thing moves 830 
 
 My wonder. Only yesterday, at dawn, 
 I met with Mentor here, whom I before 
 Had seen embarking for the Pylian coast." 
 
 Noemon spake, and to his father's house 
 
Book IV. 109 
 
 Departed. Both were troubled at his words, 835 
 
 And all the suitors took at once their seats. 
 
 And ceased their pastimes. Then Antinoiis spake. 
 
 Son of Eupeithes, greatly vexed ; his heart 
 
 Was darkened with blind rage ; his eyes shot fire. 
 
 " Strange doings these ! a great and proud exploit 84° 
 Performed, — this voyage of Telemachus, 
 Which we had called impossible ! The boy. 
 In spite of us, has had his will and gone. 
 And carried off a ship, and for his crew 
 Chosen the bravest of the people here. 845 
 
 He yet will prove a pest. May Jupiter 
 Crush him ere he can work us further harm ! 
 Now give me a swift bark and twenty men 
 That I may lie in ambush and keep watch 
 For his return within the straits between 85° 
 
 This isle and rugged Samos ; then, I deem. 
 He will have sought his father to his cost." 
 
 He spake ; they praised his words and bade him act. 
 And rose and left their places, entering 
 The palace of Ulysses. Brief the time 855 
 
 That passed before Penelope was warned 
 Of what the suitors treacherously planned. 
 The herald Medon told her all. He heard 
 
no The Odyssey. 
 
 In the outer court their counsels while within 
 
 They plotted, and he hastened through the house sso 
 
 To bring the tidings to Penelope. 
 
 Penelope perceived him as he stepped 
 
 Across the threshold, and bespake him thus : — 
 
 " Why, herald, have the suitor princes sent 
 Thee hither ? comest thou to bid the maids 865 
 
 Of great Ulysses leave their tasks and make 
 A banquet ready ? Would their wooing here 
 And elsewhere were but ended, and this feast 
 Were their last feast on earth ! Ye who in throngs 
 Come hither and so wastefully consume 870 
 
 The substance of the brave Telemachus, 
 Have ye not from your parents, while ye yet 
 Were children, heard how once Ulysses lived 
 Among them, never wronging any man 
 In all the realm by aught he did or said, — 875 
 
 As mighty princes often do, through hate 
 Of some and love of others ? Never man 
 Endured injustice at his hands, but you — 
 Your vile designs and acts are known ; ye bear 
 No grateful memory of a good man's deeds." sso 
 
 And then, in turn, experienced Medon spake : — 
 " O queen, I would this evil were the worst ! 
 
Book IV. Ill 
 
 The suitors meditate a greater still. 
 
 And a more heinous far. May Jupiter 
 
 Never permit the crime ! Their purpose is 885 
 
 To meet Telemachus, on his return, 
 
 And slay him with the sword ; for thou must know 
 
 That on a voyage to the Pylian coast 
 
 And noble Lacedcemon he has sailed. 
 
 To gather tidings of his father's fate." 89° 
 
 He spake, and her knees failed her and her heart 
 Sank as she heard. Long time she could not speak ; 
 Her eyes were filled with tears, and her clear voice 
 Was choked ; yet, finding words at length, she said : — ^ 
 
 " O herald ! wherefore should my son have gone ? 895 
 There was no need that he should trust himself 
 To the swift ships, those horses of the sea. 
 With which men traverse its unmeasured waste. 
 Was it that he might leave no name on earth ? " 
 
 And then again experienced Medon spake : — 900 
 
 " I know not whether prompted by some god 
 Or moved by his own heart thy son has sailed 
 For Pylos, hoping there to hear some news 
 Of his returning father, or his fate." 
 
 Thus having said, the herald, traversing 90s 
 
 The palace of Ulysses, went his way. 
 
1 1 2 The Odyssey. 
 
 While a keen anguish overpowered the queen, 
 
 Nor could she longer bear to keep her place 
 
 Upon her seat, — and many seats were there, — 
 
 But on the threshold of her gorgeous rooms 91° 
 
 Lay piteously lamenting. Round her came 
 
 Her maidens wailing, — all, both old and young. 
 
 Who formed her household. These Penelope, 
 
 Sobbing in her great sorrow, thus bespake : — 
 
 " Hear me, my friends, the heavens have cast on me 91s 
 Griefs heavier than on any others born 
 And reared with me, — me, who had lost by death 
 Already a most gracious husband, one 
 Who bore a lion heart and who wa,s graced 
 With every virtue, greatly eminent 92° 
 
 Among the Greeks, and widely famed abroad 
 Through Hellas and all Argos. Now my son. 
 He whom I loved, is driven before the storms 
 From home, inglorious, and I was not told 
 Of his departure. Ye too, worthless crew ! 9^5 
 
 Ye took no thought, not one of you, to call 
 Me from my sleep, although ye must have known 
 Full well when he embarked in his black ship. 
 And if it had been told me that he planned 
 This voyage, then, impatient as he was 930 
 
Book 
 
 IV, 113 
 
 To sail, he would have certainly remained. 
 
 Or else have left me in these halls a corpse. 
 
 And Viovf let one of my attendants call 
 
 The aged Dolius, whom, when first I came 
 
 To this abode, my father gave to me 935 
 
 To be my servant, and who has in charge 
 
 My orchards. Let him haste and take his place 
 
 Beside Laertes, and to him declare 
 
 All that has happened, that he may devise 
 
 Some fitting remedy, or go among 94° 
 
 The people, to deplore the dark designs 
 
 Of those who now are plotting to destroy 
 
 The heir of great Ulysses and his own." 
 
 Then Eurycleia, the beloved nurse, 
 Answered : " Dear lady, slay me with the sword, 94s 
 
 Or leave me here alive ; I will conceal 
 Nothing that has been done or said. I gave 
 All that he asked, both bread and delicate wine. 
 And took a solemn oath, which he required. 
 To tell thee nought of this till twelve days passed, 95° 
 
 Or till thou shouldst thyself inquire and hear 
 Of his departure, that those lovely cheeks 
 Might not be stained with tears. Now bathe and put 
 Fresh garments on, and to the upper rooms 
 
 IS 
 
1 14 The Odyssey. 
 
 Ascending, with thy handmaids offer prayer 955 
 
 To Pallas, daughter of the God who bears 
 
 The sgis. She will then protect thy son. 
 
 Even from death. Grieve not the aged man, 
 
 Already much afflicted. Sure I am 
 
 The lineage of Arcesius has not lost 96° 
 
 The favor of the gods, but some one yet 
 
 Surviving will possess its lofty halls 
 
 And its rich acres, stretching far away." 
 
 She spake ; the queen repressed her grief, and held 
 Her eyes from tears. She took the bath and put 9^5 
 
 Fresh garments on, and, to the upper rooms 
 Ascending with her maidens, heaped with cakes 
 A canister, and prayed to Pallas thus : — 
 
 " Daughter invincible of Jupiter 
 The iEgis-bearer, hear me. If within 97° 
 
 Thy courts the wise Ulysses ever burned 
 Fat thighs of beeves or sheep, remember it. 
 And rescue my dear son, and bring to naught 
 The wicked plots of the proud suitor-crew." 
 
 She spake, and wept aloud. The goddess heard 975 
 
 Her prayer. Meantime the suitors filled with noise 
 The shadowy palace-halls, and there were some 
 Among that throng of arrogant youths who said : — 
 
Book IV. 115 
 
 " Truly the queen, whom we have wooed so long. 
 Prepares for marriage ; little does she know 980 
 
 The bloody death we destine for her son." 
 
 So spake they, unaware of what was done 
 Elsewhere. Antinoiis then stood forth and said : — 
 
 " Good friends, I warn you all that ye refrain 
 From boasts like these, lest some one should report 985 
 Your words within. Now let us silently 
 Rise up, and all conspire to put in act 
 The counsel all so heartily approve." 
 
 He spake, and chose a crew of twenty men. 
 The bravest. To the seaside and the ship 990 
 
 They went, and down to the deep water drew 
 The ship, and put the mast and sails on board. 
 And fitted duly to their leathern rings 
 The oars, and spread the white sail overhead. 
 Their nimble-handed servants brought them arms, 995 
 
 And there they moored the galley, went on board. 
 And supped and waited for the evening star. 
 
 Now in the upper chamber the chaste queen, 
 Penelope, lay fasting ; food or wine 
 
 She had not tasted, and her thoughts were still 1000 
 
 Fixed on her blameless son. Would he escape 
 The threatened death, or perish by the hands 
 
1 1 6 "~ The Odyssey. 
 
 Of the insolent suitors ? As a lion's thoughts. 
 
 When, midst a crowd of men, he sees with dread 
 
 The hostile circle slowly closing round, 1005 
 
 Such were her thoughts, when balmy sleep at length 
 
 Came creeping over her as on her couch 
 
 She lay reclined, her limbs relaxed in rest. 
 
 Now Pallas framed a new device ; she called 
 A phantom up, in aspect like the dame loio 
 
 Iphthima, whom Eumelus had espoused 
 In Phers, daughter of the high-souled chief 
 Icarius. Her she sent into the halls 
 Of great Ulysses, that she might beguile 
 The sorrowful Penelope from tears 1015 
 
 And lamentations. By the thong that held 
 The bolt she slid into the royal bower. 
 And standing by her head bespake the queen : — 
 
 " Penelope, afflicted as thou art. 
 Art thou asleep ? The ever-blessed gods 1020 
 
 Permit thee not to grieve and weep ; thy son. 
 Who has not sinned against them, shall return." 
 
 And then discreet Penelope replied. 
 Still sweetly slumbering at the Gate of Dreams : — 
 
 " Why, sister, art thou here, who ne'er before 1025 
 
 Hast come to me ? The home is far away 
 
Book IF. 117 
 
 In which thou dwellest. Thou exhortest me 
 
 To cease from grieving, and to lay aside 
 
 The painful thoughts that crowd into my mind. 
 
 And torture me who have already lost 1030 
 
 A noble-minded, lion-hearted spouse. 
 
 One eminent among Achaia's sons 
 
 For every virtue, and whose fame was spread 
 
 Through Hellas and through Argos. Now my son. 
 
 My best beloved, goes to sea, — a boy, 1035 
 
 Unused to hardships, and unskilled to deal 
 
 With strangers. More I sorrow for his sake 
 
 Than for his father's. I am filled with fear. 
 
 And tremble lest he suffer wrong from those 
 
 Among whom he has gone, or on the deep, 1040 
 
 Where he has enemies who lie in wait 
 
 To slay him ere he reach his home again." 
 
 And then the shadowy image spake again : — 
 " Be of good courage ; let not fear o'ercome 
 Thy spirit, for there goes with him a guide 1045 
 
 Such as all others would desire to have 
 Beside them ever, trusting in her power, — - 
 Pallas Athene, and she looks on thee 
 With pity. From her presence I am sent. 
 Her messenger, declaring this to thee." 1050 
 
1 1 8 The Odyssey. 
 
 Again discreet Penelope replied : — 
 " If then thou be a goddess and hast heard 
 A goddess speak these words, declare, I pray. 
 Of that ill-fated one, if yet he live 
 
 And look upon the sun, or else have died 1055 
 
 And passed to the abodes beneath the earth." 
 
 Once more the shadowy image spake : " Of him 
 Will I say nothing, whether living yet 
 Or dead ; no time is this for idle words." 
 
 She said, and from the chamber glided forth 1060 
 
 Beside the bolt, and mingled with the winds. 
 Then quickly from her couch of sleep arose 
 The daughter of Icarius, for her heart 
 Was glad, so plainly had the dream conveyed 
 Its message in the stillness of the night. 106s 
 
 Meanwhile the suitors on their ocean-path 
 Went in their galley, plotting cruelly 
 To slay Telemachus. A rocky isle 
 Far in the middle sea, between the coast 
 Of Ithaca and craggy Samos, lies, 107° 
 
 Named Asteris ; of narrow bounds, yet there 
 A sheltered haven is to which two straits 
 Give entrance. There the Achaians lay in wait. 
 
BOOK V. 
 
 A URORA, rising from her couch beside 
 
 The famed Tithonus, brought the light of day 
 To men and to immortals. Then the gods 
 Came to their seats in council. With them came 
 High-thundering Jupiter, amongst them all s 
 
 The mightiest. Pallas, mindful of the past. 
 Spake of Ulysses and his many woes. 
 Grieved that he still was with the island nymph : — 
 
 " O father Jove, and all ye blessed ones 
 Who live forever ! let not sceptred king lo 
 
 Henceforth be gracious, mild, and merciful 
 And righteous ; rather be he deaf to prayer 
 And prone to deeds of wrong, since no one now 
 Remembers the divine Ulysses more 
 Among the people over whom he ruled is 
 
 Benignly, like a father. Still he lies. 
 Weighed down by many sorrows, in the isle 
 And dwelling of Calypso, who so long 
 
i2o^ The Odyssey. 
 
 Constrains his stay. To his dear native land 
 
 Depart he cannot ; ship arrayed with oars 2° 
 
 And seamen has he none, to bear him o'er 
 
 The breast of the broad ocean. Nay, even now. 
 
 Against his well-beloved son a plot 
 
 Is laid, to slay him as he journeys home 
 
 From Pylos the divine, and from the walls ^5 
 
 Of famous Sparta, whither he had gone 
 
 To gather tidings of his father's fate." 
 
 Then answered her the Ruler of the storms : — 
 " My child, what words are these that pass thy lips ? 
 Was not thy long-determined counsel this, — 3° 
 
 That in good time Ulysses should return. 
 To be avenged ? Guide, then, Telemachus 
 Wisely, — for so thou canst, — that, all unharmed. 
 He reach his native land, and, in their barks. 
 Homeward the suitor-train retrace their way." js 
 
 He spake, and turned to Hermes, his dear son : — 
 "Hermes, — for thou in this my messenger 
 Art, as in all things, — to the bright-haired nymph 
 Make known my steadfast purpose, — the return 
 Of suffering Ulysses. Neither gods 40 
 
 Nor men shall guide his voyage. On a raft. 
 Made firm with bands, he shall depart and reach. 
 
Book V. 121 
 
 After long hardships, on the twentieth day. 
 
 The fertile shore of Scheria, on whose isle 
 
 Dwell the Phaeacians, kinsmen of the gods. 45 
 
 They like a god shall honor him, and thence 
 
 Send him to his loved country in a ship. 
 
 With ample gifts of brass and gold, and store 
 
 Of raiment, — wealth like which he ne'er had brought 
 
 From conquered Ilion, had he reached his home 5° 
 
 Safely, with all his portion of the spoil. 
 
 So is it preordained that he behold 
 
 His friends again, and stand once more within 
 
 His high-roofed palace, on his native soil." 
 
 He spake ; the herald Argicide obeyed, i^ 
 
 And hastily beneath his feet he bound 
 
 The fair, ambrosial golden sandals, worn 
 
 To bear him over ocean like the wind. 
 
 And o'er the boundless land. His wand he took. 
 
 Wherewith he softly seals the eyes of men, 60 
 
 And opens them at will from sleep. With this 
 
 In hand, the mighty Argus-queller flew. 
 
 And, lighting on Pieria, from the sky 
 
 Plunged downward to the deep, and skimmed its face 
 
 Like hovering seamew, that on the broad gulfs 65 
 
 Of the unfruitful ocean seeks her prey, 
 16 
 
122 The Odyssey. 
 
 And often dips her pinions in the brine ; 
 So Hermes flew along the waste of waves. 
 
 But when he reached that island, far away. 
 Forth from the dark-blue ocean-swell he stepped i° 
 
 Upon the sea-beach, walking till he came 
 To the vast cave in which the bright-haired nymph 
 Made her abode. He found the nymph within ; 
 A fire blazed brightly on the hearth, and far 
 Was wafted o'er the isle the fragrant smoke 7s 
 
 Of cloven cedar, burning in the flame. 
 And cypress-wood. Meanwhile, in her recess. 
 She sweetly sang, as busily she threw 
 The golden shuttle through the web she wove. 
 And all about the grotto alders grew, 8° 
 
 And poplars, and sweet-smelling cypresses. 
 In a green forest, high among whose boughs 
 Birds of broad wing, wood-owls, and falcons built 
 Their nests, and crows, with voices sounding far. 
 All haunting for their food the ocean-side, ss 
 
 A vine, with downy leaves and clustering grapes. 
 Crept over all the cavern rock. Four springs 
 Poured forth their glittering waters in a row. 
 And here and there went wandering side by side. 
 Around were meadows of soft green, o'ergrown 9° 
 
Book V. 123 
 
 With violets and parsley. 'T was a spot 
 
 Where even an immortal might awhile 
 
 Linger, and gaze with wonder and delight. 
 
 The herald Argus-queller stood, and saw. 
 
 And marvelled ; but as soon as he had viewed 95 
 
 The wonders of the place, he turned his steps. 
 
 Entering the broad-roofed cave. Calypso there, 
 
 The glorious goddess, saw him as he came. 
 
 And knew him ; for the ever-living gods 
 
 Are to each other known, though one may dwell 100 
 
 Far from the rest. Ulysses, large of heart. 
 
 Was not within. Apart, upon the shore. 
 
 He sat and sorrowed, where he oft in tears 
 
 And sighs and vain repinings passed the hours, 
 
 Gazing with wet eyes on the barren deep. 105 
 
 Now, placing Hermes on a shining seat 
 
 Of state. Calypso, glorious goddess, said : — 
 
 *' Thou of the golden wand, revered and loved. 
 What, Hermes, brings thee hither ? Passing few 
 Have been thy visits. Make thy pleasure known. no 
 
 My heart enjoins me to obey, if aught 
 That thou commandest be within my power; 
 But first accept the offerings due a guest." 
 
 The goddess, speaking thus, before him placed 
 
124 ^^^ Odyssey. 
 
 A table, where the heaped ambrosia lay, "S 
 
 And mingled the red nectar. Ate and drank 
 
 The herald Argus-queller, and, refreshed. 
 
 Answered the nymph, and made his message known : — 
 
 " Art thou a goddess, and dost ask of me, 
 A god, why came I hither ? Yet, since thou i^o 
 
 Requirest, I will truly tell the cause. 
 I came unwillingly, at Jove's command ; 
 For who of choice would traverse the wide waste 
 Of the salt ocean, with no city near 
 
 Where men adore the gods with solemn rites i^s 
 
 And chosen hecatombs. No god has power 
 To elude or to resist the purposes 
 Of sgis-bearing Jove. With thee abides. 
 He bids me say, the most unhappy man 
 Of all who round the city of Priam waged 130 
 
 The battle through nine years, and, in the tenth. 
 Laying it waste, departed for their homes. 
 But in their voyage they provoked the wrath 
 Of Pallas, who called up the furious winds 
 And angry waves against them. By his side 13s 
 
 Sank all his gallant comrades in the deep. 
 Him did the winds and waves drive hither. Him 
 Jove bids thee send away with speed ; for here 
 
Book V. 12 s 
 
 He must not perish, far from all he loves. 
 
 So is it preordained that he behold ho 
 
 His friends again, and stand once more within 
 
 His high-roofed palace, on his native soil." 
 
 He spake ; Calypso, glorious goddess, heard. 
 And shuddered, and w^ith w^inged w^ords replied : — 
 
 "Ye are unjust, ye gods, and, envious far 145 
 
 Beyond all other beings, cannot bear 
 That ever goddess openly should make 
 A mortal man her consort. Thus it w^as 
 When once Aurora, rosy-fingered, took 
 Orion for her husband ; ye w^ere stung, 150 
 
 Amid your blissful lives, v^^ith envious hate. 
 Till chaste Diana, of the golden throne. 
 Smote him with silent arrows from her bow. 
 And slew him in Ortygia. Thus, again. 
 When bright-haired Ceres, swayed by her own heart, 155 
 In fields which bore three yearly harvests, met 
 lasion as a lover, this was known 
 Erelong to Jupiter, who flung from high 
 A flaming thunderbolt, and laid him dead. 
 And now ye envy me, that with me dwells 160 
 
 A mortal man. I saved him as he clung 
 Alone upon his floating keel ; for Jove 
 
126 The Odyssey. 
 
 Had cloven with a bolt of fire from heaven 
 
 His galley in the midst of the black sea, 
 
 And all his gallant comrades perished there. i^s 
 
 Him kindly I received ; I cherished him. 
 
 And promised him a life that ne'er should know 
 
 Decay or death. But since no god has power 
 
 To elude or to withstand the purposes 
 
 Of aegis-bearing Jove, let him depart — 170 
 
 If so the sovereign moves him and commands — 
 
 Over the barren deep. I send him not ; 
 
 For neither ship arrayed with oars have I, 
 
 Nor seamen, o'er the boundless waste of waves 
 
 To bear him hence. My counsel I will give, 17s 
 
 And nothing will I hide that he should know. 
 
 To place him safely on his native shore." 
 
 The herald Argus-queller answered her : - — 
 " Dismiss him thus, and bear in mind the wrath 
 Of Jove, lest it be kindled against thee." 180 
 
 Thus having said, the mighty Argicide 
 Departed ; and the nymph, who now had heard 
 The doom of Jove, sought the great-hearted man, 
 Ulysses. Him she found beside the deep. 
 Seated alone, with eyes from which the tears 185 
 
 Were never dried ; for now no more the nymph 
 
Book V. 127 
 
 Delighted him ; he wasted his sweet life 
 
 In yearning for his home. Night after night 
 
 He slept constrained within the hollow cave. 
 
 The unwilling by the fond ; and day by day 19° 
 
 He sat upon the rocks that edged the shore. 
 
 And in continual weeping and in sighs 
 
 And vain repinings wore the hours away. 
 
 Gazing through tears upon the barren deep. 
 
 The glorious goddess stood by him and spake : — 195 
 
 " Unhappy ! sit no longer sorrowing here. 
 Nor waste life thus. Lo ! I most willingly 
 Dismiss thee hence. Rise, hew down trees, and bind 
 Their trunks with brazen clamps into a raft, 
 And fasten planks above, a lofty floor, 200 
 
 That it may bear thee o'er the dark-blue deep. 
 Bread will I put on board, water, and wine, — 
 Red wine, that cheers the heart, — and wrap thee well 
 In garments, and send after thee the wind, 
 That safely thou attain thy native shore, 205 
 
 If so the gods permit thee, who abide 
 In the broad heaven above, and better know 
 By far than I, and far more wisely judge." 
 
 Ulysses, the great sufferer, as she spake 
 Shuddered, and thus with winged words replied : — 21° 
 
128 The Odyssey. 
 
 " Some other purpose than to send me home 
 Is in thy heart, O goddess, bidding me 
 To cross this frightful sea upon a raft, — 
 This perilous sea, where never even ships 
 Pass vs^ith their rapid keels, though Jove bestow 215 
 
 The wind that glads the seaman. Nay, I climb 
 No raft, against thy wish, unless thou swear 
 The great oath of the gods that thou in this 
 Dost meditate no other harm to me." 
 
 He spake ; Calypso, glorious goddess, smiled, 210 
 
 And smoothed his forehead with her hand, and said : — 
 
 " Perverse, and slow to see where guile is not ! 
 How could thy heart permit thee thus to speak ? 
 Now bear me witness, Earth, and ye broad Heavens 
 Above us, and ye waters of the Styx "s 
 
 That flow beneath us, mightiest oath of all, 
 And most revered by all the blessed gods. 
 That I design no other harm to thee, 
 But that I plan for thee, and counsel thee 
 What I would do were I in need like thine. 23° 
 
 I bear a juster mind ; my bosom holds 
 A pitying heart, and not a heart of steel." 
 
 Thus having said, the glorious goddess moved 
 Away with hasty steps, and where she trod 
 
Book V. 129 
 
 He followed, till they reached the vaulted cave, — 23s 
 
 The goddess and the hero. There he took 
 
 The seat w^hence Hermes had just risen. The nymph 
 
 Brought forth whatever mortals eat and drink 
 
 To set before him. She right opposite 
 
 1 
 To that of great Ulysses took her seat. 240 
 
 Ambrosia there her maidens laid, and there 
 
 Poured nectar. Both put forth their hands, and took 
 
 The ready viands, till at length the calls 
 
 Of hunger and of thirst were satisfied ; 
 
 Calypso, glorious goddess, then began : — 245 
 
 " Son of Laertes, man of many wiles. 
 High-born Ulysses ! thus wilt thou depart 
 Home to thy native country ? Then farewell ; 
 But, couldst thou know the sufferings Fate ordains 
 For thee ere yet thou landest on its shore, 25° 
 
 Thou wouldst remain to keep this home with me 
 And be immortal, strong as is thy wish 
 To see thy wife, — a wish that day by day 
 Possesses thee. I cannot deem myself 
 In face or form less beautiful than she ; 255 
 
 For never with immortals can the race 
 Of mortal dames in form or face compare." 
 
 Ulysses, the sagacious, answered her : — 
 17 
 
130 The Odyssey. 
 
 " Bear with me, gracious goddess ; well I know 
 All thou couldst say. The sage Penelope 160 
 
 In feature and in stature comes not nigh 
 To thee, for she is mortal, — deathless thou. 
 And ever young ; yet day by day I long 
 To be at home once more, and pine to see 
 The hour of my return. Even though some god 265 
 
 Smite me on the black ocean, I shall bear 
 The stroke, for in my bosom dwells a mind 
 Patient of suffering ; much have I endured. 
 And much survived, in tempests on the deep. 
 And in the battle ; let this happen too." 270 
 
 He spake ; the sun went down ; the night came on ; 
 And now the twain withdrew to a recess 
 Deep in the vaulted cave, where, side by side. 
 They took their rest. But when the child of Dawn, 
 Aurora, rosy-fingered, looked abroad, 27s 
 
 Ulysses put his vest and mantle on ; 
 The nymph too, in a robe of silver-white. 
 Ample, and delicate, and beautiful. 
 Arrayed herself, and round about her loins 
 Wound a fair golden girdle, drew a veil 280 
 
 Over her head, and planned to send away 
 Magnanimous Ulysses. She bestowed 
 
Book V. 131 
 
 A heavy axe, of steel and double-edged. 
 
 Well fitted to the hand, the handle wrought 
 
 Of olive-wood, firm set and beautiful. 285 
 
 A polished adze she gave him next, and led 
 
 The way to a far corner of the isle. 
 
 Where lofty trees, alders and poplars, stood. 
 
 And firs that reached the clouds, sapless and dry 
 
 Long since, and fitter thus to ride the waves. 290 
 
 Then, having shown where grew the tallest trees. 
 
 Calypso, glorious goddess, sought her home. 
 
 Trees then he felled, and soon the task was done. 
 Twenty in all he brought to earth, and squared 
 Their trunks with the sharp steel, and carefully 29s 
 
 He smoothed their sides, and wrought them by a line. 
 Calypso, gracious goddess, having brought 
 Wimbles, he bored the beams, and, fitting them 
 Together, made them fast with nails and clamps. 
 As when some builder, skilful in his art, 3°° 
 
 Frames for a ship of burden the broad keel. 
 Such ample breadth Ulysses gave the raft. 
 Upon the massy beams he reared a deck. 
 And floored it with long planks from end to end. 
 On this a mast he raised, and to the mast 305 
 
 Fitted a yard ; he shaped a rudder next. 
 
132 The Odyssey. 
 
 To guide the raft along her course, and round 
 
 With woven work of willow-boughs he fenced 
 
 Her sides against the dashings of the sea. 
 
 Calypso, gracious goddess, brought him store 3J0 
 
 Of canvas, which he fitly shaped to sails. 
 
 And, rigging her with cords and ropes and stays. 
 
 Heaved her with levers into the great deep. 
 
 'T was the fourth day. His labors now were done. 
 And on the fifth the goddess from her isle 31s 
 
 Dismissed him, newly from the bath, arrayed 
 In garments given by her, that shed perfumes. 
 A skin of dark red wine she put on board, 
 A larger one of water, and for food 
 
 A basket, stored with viands such as please 320 
 
 The appetite. A friendly wind and soft 
 She sent before. The great Ulysses spread 
 His canvas joyfully to catch the breeze. 
 And sat and guided with nice care the helm. 
 Gazing with fixed eye on the Pleiades, 325 
 
 Bootes setting late, and the Great Bear, 
 By others called the Wain, which, wheeling round. 
 Looks ever toward Orion, and alone 
 Dips not into the waters of the deep. 
 For so Calypso, glorious goddess, bade 330 
 
Book V. 133 
 
 That on his ocean journey he should keep 
 
 That constellation ever on his left. 
 
 Now seventeen days were in the voyage past. 
 
 And on the eighteenth shadowy heights appeared. 
 
 The nearest point of the Phsacian land, 335 
 
 Lying on the dark ocean like a shield. 
 
 But mighty Neptune, coming from among 
 The Ethiopians, saw him. Far away 
 He saw, from mountain-heights of Solyma, 
 The voyager, and burned with fiercer wrath, 3+0 
 
 And shook his head, and said within himself: — 
 
 " Strange ! now I see the gods have new designs 
 For this Ulysses, formed while I was yet 
 In Ethiopia. He draws near the land 
 Of the Phceacians, where it is decreed 34s 
 
 He shall o'erpass the boundary of his woes ; 
 But first, I think, he will have much to bear." 
 
 He spake, and round about him called the clouds 
 And roused the ocean, — wielding in his hand 
 The trident, — summoned all the hurricanes 35° 
 
 Of all the winds, and covered earth and sky 
 At once with mists, while from above the night 
 Fell suddenly. The east wind and the south 
 Pushed forth at once, with the strong-blowing west, 
 
134 ^^^^ Odyssey. 
 
 And the clear north rolled up his mighty waves. 35s 
 
 Ulysses trembled in his knees and heart. 
 
 And thus to his great soul, lamenting, said : — 
 
 " What will become of me ? unhappy man ! 
 I fear that all the goddess said was true. 
 Foretelling what disasters should o'ertake 360 
 
 My voyage ere I reach my native land. 
 Now are her words fulfilled. How Jupiter 
 Wraps the great heaven in clouds and stirs the deep 
 To tumult ! Wilder grow the hurricanes 
 Of all the winds, and now my fate is sure. 365 
 
 Thrice happy, four times happy, they who fell 
 On Troy's wide field, warring for Atreus' sons : 
 O, had I met my fate and perished there. 
 That very day on which the Trojan host. 
 Around the dead Achilles, hurled at me 37° 
 
 Their brazen javelins, I had then received 
 Due burial, and great glory with the Greeks; 
 Now must I die a miserable death." 
 
 As thus he spake, upon him, from on high, 
 A huge and frightful billow broke ; it whirled 37s 
 
 The raft around, and far from it he fell. 
 His hands let go the rudder ; a fierce rush 
 Of all the winds together snapped in twain 
 
Book V. 135 
 
 The mast ; far off the yard and canvas flew 
 
 Into the deep ; the billow held him long 380 
 
 Beneath the waters, and he strove in vain 
 
 Quickly to rise to air from that huge swell 
 
 Of ocean, for the garments weighed him down 
 
 Which fair Calypso gave him. But at length 
 
 Emerging, he rejected from his throat 385 
 
 The bitter brine that down his forehead streamed. 
 
 Even then, though hopeless with dismay, his thought 
 
 Was on the raft ; and, struggling through the waves. 
 
 He seized it, sprang on board, and, seated there. 
 
 Escaped the threatened death. Still to and fro 39° 
 
 The rolling billows drave it. As the wind 
 
 In autumn sweeps the thistles o'er the field. 
 
 Clinging together, so the blasts of heaven 
 
 Hither and thither drove it o'er the sea. 
 
 And now the south wind flung it to the north 39s 
 
 To buffet ; now the east wind to the west. 
 
 Ino Leucothea saw him clinging there, — 
 The delicate- footed child of Cadmus, once 
 A mortal, speaking with a mortal voice. 
 Though now within the ocean gulfs she shares 4°° 
 
 The honors of the gods. With pity she 
 Beheld Ulysses struggling thus distressed. 
 
13^ The Odyssey. 
 
 And, rising from the abyss below, in form 
 
 A cormorant, the sea-nymph took her perch 
 
 On the well-banded raft, and thus she said : — • 405 
 
 " Ah, luckless man ! how hast thou angered thus 
 Earth-shaking Neptune, that he visits thee 
 With these disasters ? Yet he cannot take. 
 Although he seek it earnestly, thy life. 
 Now do my bidding, for thou seemest wise. 41° 
 
 Laying aside thy garments, let the raft 
 Drift with the winds, while thou, by strength of arm, 
 Makest thy way in swimming to the land 
 Of the Phaeacians, where thy safety lies. 
 Receive this veil, and bind its heavenly woof 415 
 
 Beneath thy breast, and have no further fear 
 Of hardship or of danger. But, as soon 
 As thou shalt touch the island, take it off. 
 And turn away thy face, and fling it far 
 From where thou standest into the black deep." v-° 
 
 The goddess gave the veil as thus she spoke. 
 And to the tossing deep went down, in form 
 A cormorant ; the black wave covered her. 
 But still Ulysses, mighty sufferer. 
 Pondered, and thus to his great soul he said : — 4^5 
 
 " Ah me ! perhaps some god is planning here 
 
Book V. 137 
 
 Some other fraud against me, bidding me 
 
 Forsake my raft. I will not yet obey, 
 
 For still far off I see the land in which 
 
 'T is said my refuge lies. This will I do, 43" 
 
 For this seems wisest. While the fastenings last 
 
 That hold these timbers, I will keep my place 
 
 And bide the tempest here ; but when the waves 
 
 Shall dash my raft in pieces, I will swim. 
 
 For nothing better will remain to do." 435 
 
 As he revolved this purpose in his mind. 
 Earth-shaking Neptune sent a mighty wave. 
 Horrid and huge and high, and where he sat 
 It smote him. As a violent wind uplifts 
 The dry chaff heaped upon a threshing-floor, 440 
 
 And sends it scattered through the air abroad. 
 So did that wave fling loose the ponderous beams. 
 To one of these, Ulysses, clinging fast. 
 Bestrode it, like a horseman on his steed ; 
 And now he took the garments off, bestowed 44s 
 
 By fair Calypso, binding round his breast 
 The veil, and forward plunged into the deep. 
 With palms outspread, prepared to swim. Meanwhile 
 Neptune beheld him, — Neptune, mighty king, — 
 And shook his head, and said within himself: — 45° 
 
138 The Odyssey. 
 
 " Go thus, and laden with mischances roam 
 The waters till thou come among the race 
 Cherished by Jupiter, but well I deem 
 Thou wilt not find thy share of suffering light." 
 
 Thus having said he urged his coursers on, 45s 
 
 With their fair-flowing manes, until he came 
 To JEgss, where his glorious palace stands. 
 
 But Pallas, child of Jove, had other thoughts. 
 She stayed the course of every wind beside. 
 And bade them rest, and lulled them into sleep, 460 
 
 But summoned the swift north to break the waves. 
 That so Ulysses, the high-born, escaped 
 From death and from the fates, might be the guest 
 Of the Phsacians, — men who love the sea. 
 Two days and nights among the mighty waves 465 
 
 He floated, oft his heart foreboding death. 
 But when the bright-haired Eos had fulfilled 
 The third day's course, and all the winds were laid. 
 And calm was on the watery waste, he saw 
 That land was near, as, lifted on the crest 470 
 
 Of a huge swell, he looked with sharpened sight ; 
 And as a father's life preserved makes glad 
 His children's hearts, when long time he has lain 
 Sick, wrung with pain, and wasting by the power 
 
Book V. 139 
 
 Of some malignant genius, till at length 475 
 
 The gracious gods bestow a welcome cure. 
 
 So welcome to Ulysses was the sight 
 
 Of woods and fields. By swimming on he thought 
 
 To climb and tread the shore ; but when he drew 
 
 So near that one who shouted could be heard 480 
 
 From land, the sound of ocean on the rocks 
 
 Came to his ear, — for there huge breakers roared 
 
 And spouted fearfully, and all around 
 
 Was covered with the sea-foam. Haven here 
 
 Was none for ships, nor sheltering creek, but shores 485 
 
 Beetling from high, and crags and walls of rock. 
 
 Ulysses trembled both in knees and heart. 
 
 And thus to his great soul, lamenting, said : — 
 
 " Now woe is me ! as soon as Jove has shown 
 What I had little hoped to see, the land, 490 
 
 And I through all these waves have ploughed my way, 
 I find no issue from the hoary deep. 
 For sharp rocks border it, and all around 
 Roar the wild surges ; slippery cliffs arise 
 Close to deep gulfs, and footing there is none 49s 
 
 Where I might plant my steps and thus escape. 
 All effort now were fruitless to resist 
 The mighty billow hurrying me away 
 
140 The Odyssey. 
 
 To dash me on the pointed rocks. If yet 
 
 I strive, by swimming further, to descry 5°° 
 
 Some sloping shore or harbor of the isle, 
 
 I fear the tempest, lest it hurl me back. 
 
 Heavily groaning, to the fishy deep ; 
 
 Or huge sea-monster, from the multitude 
 
 Which sovereign Amphitrite feeds, be sent 505 
 
 Against me by some god, — for well I know 
 
 The power who shakes the shores is wroth with me." 
 
 While he revolved these doubts within his mind, 
 A huge wave hurled him toward the rugged coast. 
 Then had his limbs been flayed, and all his bones 5'° 
 
 Broken at once, had not the blue-eyed maid, 
 Minerva, prompted him. Borne toward the rock. 
 He clutched it instantly with both his hands. 
 And panting clung till that huge wave rolled by. 
 And so escaped its fury. Back it came, 515 
 
 And smote him once again, and flung him far 
 Seaward. As to the claws of Polypus, 
 Plucked from its bed, the pebbles thickly cling. 
 So flakes of skin, from off his powerful hands. 
 Were left upon the rock. The mighty surge 520 
 
 O'erwhelmed him ; he had perished ere his time, — 
 Hapless Ulysses ! — but the blue-eyed maid. 
 
Book V. 141 
 
 Pallas, informed his mind with forecast. Straight 
 
 Emerging from the wave that shoreward rolled. 
 
 He swam along the coast and eyed it well, 5^5 
 
 In hope of sloping beach or sheltered creek. 
 
 But when, in swimming, he had reached the mouth 
 
 Of a soft-flowing river, here appeared 
 
 The spot he wished for, smooth, without a rock. 
 
 And here was shelter from the wind. He felt 53° 
 
 The current's flow, and thus devoutly prayed : — 
 
 " Hear me, O sovereign power, whoe'er thou art ! 
 To thee, the long-desired, I come. I seek 
 Escape from Neptune's threatenings on the sea. 
 The deathless gods respect the prayer of him 535 
 
 Who looks to them for help, a fugitive. 
 As I am now, when to thy stream I come. 
 And to thy knees, from many a hardship past. 
 O thou that here art ruler, I declare 
 Myself thy suppliant ; be thou merciful." 540 
 
 He spoke ; the river stayed his current, checked 
 The billows, smoothed them to a calm, and gave 
 The swimmer a safe landing at his mouth. 
 Then dropped his knees and sinewy arms at once. 
 Unstrung, for faint with struggling was his heart. 545 
 
 His body was all swoln ; the brine gushed forth 
 
142 The Odyssey. 
 
 From mouth and nostrils ; iail unnerved he lay. 
 
 Breathless and speechless ; utter weariness 
 
 O'ermastered him. But when he breathed again, 
 
 And his flown senses had returned, he loosed 55° 
 
 The veil that Ino gave him from his breast. 
 
 And to the salt flood cast it. A great wave 
 
 Bore it far down the stream 5 the goddess there 
 
 In her own hands received it. He, meanwhile. 
 
 Withdrawing from the brink, lay down among 555 
 
 The reeds, and kissed the harvest-bearing earth, 
 
 And thus to his great soul, lamenting, said : — 
 
 " Ah me ! what must I suffer more ? what yet 
 Will happen to me? If by the river's side 
 I pass the unfriendly watches of the night, 56° 
 
 The cruel cold and dews that steep the bank 
 May, in this weakness, end me utterly. 
 For chilly blows the river-air at dawn ; 
 But should I climb this hill, to sleep within 
 The shadowy wood, among thick shrubs, if cold 565 
 
 And weariness allow me, then I fear, 
 That, while the pleasant slumbers o'er me steal, 
 I may become the prey of savage beasts." 
 
 Yet, as he longer pondered, this seemed best. 
 He rose, and sought the wood, and found it near 570 
 
Book V. 143 
 
 The water, on a height, o'erlooking far 
 
 The region round. Between two shrubs that sprang 
 
 Both from one spot he entered, — olive-trees. 
 
 One wild, one fruitful. The damp-blowing wind 
 
 Ne'er pierced their covert ; never blazing sun 575 
 
 Darted his beams within, nor pelting shower 
 
 Beat through, so closely intertwined they grew. 
 
 Here entering, Ulysses heaped a bed 
 
 Of leaves with his own hands ; he made it broad 
 
 And high, for thick the leaves had fallen around. s^o 
 
 Two men and three, in that abundant store. 
 
 Might bide the winter storm, though keen the cold. 
 
 Ulysses, the great sufferer, on his couch 
 
 Looked and rejoiced, and placed himself within. 
 
 And heaped the leaves high o'er him and around, ^'^i 
 
 As one who, dwelling in the distant fields. 
 
 Without a neighbor near him, hides a brand 
 
 In the dark ashes, keeping carefully 
 
 The seeds of fire alive, lest he, perforce. 
 
 To light his hearth must bring them from afar ; 59° 
 
 So did Ulysses in that pile of leaves 
 
 Bury himself, while Pallas o'er his eyes 
 
 Poured sleep, and closed his lids, that he might take. 
 
 After his painful toils, the fitting rest. 
 
BOOK FI. 
 
 ' I ^HUS overcome with toil and weariness. 
 
 The noble sufferer Ulysses slept. 
 While Pallas hastened to the realm and town 
 Peopled by the Phaeacians, who of yore 
 Abode in spacious Hypereia, near s 
 
 The insolent race of Cyclops, and endured 
 Wrong from their mightier hands, A godlike chief, 
 Nausithoiis, led them to a new abode. 
 And planted them in Scheria, far away 
 From plotting neighbors. With a wall he fenced lo 
 
 Their city, built them dwellings there, and reared 
 Fanes to the gods, and changed the plain to fields. 
 But he had bowed to death, and had gone down 
 To Hades, and Alcinoiis, whom the gods 
 Endowed with wisdom, governed in his stead. 15 
 
 Now to his palace, planning the return 
 Of the magnanimous Ulysses, came 
 The blue-eyed goddess Pallas, entering 
 
Book VI. 145 
 
 The gorgeous chamber where a damsel slept, — 
 
 Nausicaa, daughter of the large-souled king 20 
 
 Alcinoiis, beautiful in form and face 
 
 As one of the immortals. Near her lay. 
 
 And by the portal, one on either side. 
 
 Fair as the Graces, two attendant maids. 
 
 The shining doors were shut. But Pallas came 25 
 
 As comes a breath of air, and stood beside 
 
 The damsel's head and spake. In look she seemed 
 
 The daughter of the famous mariner 
 
 Dymas, a maiden whom Nausicaa loved. 
 
 The playmate of her girlhood. In her shape 30 
 
 The blue-eyed goddess stood, and thus she said : — 
 
 " Nausicaa, has thy mother then brought forth 
 A careless housewife ? Thy magnificent robes 
 Lie still neglected, though thy marriage day 
 Is near, when thou art to array thyself 35 
 
 In seemly garments, and bestow the like 
 On those who lead thee to the bridal rite ; 
 For thus the praise of men is won, and thus 
 Thy father and thy gracious mother both 
 Will be rejoiced. Now with the early dawn 4° 
 
 Let us all hasten to the washing-place. 
 I too would go with thee, and help thee there, 
 19 
 
146 The Odyssey. 
 
 That thou mayst sooner end the task, for thou 
 
 Not long wilt be unwedded. Thou art wooed 
 
 Already by the noblest of the race 45 
 
 Of the Phaeacians, for thy birth like theirs 
 
 Is of the noblest. Make thy suit at morn 
 
 To thy illustrious father, that he bid 
 
 His mules and car be harnessed to convey 
 
 Thy girdles, robes, and mantles marvellous 5° 
 
 In beauty. That were seemlier than to walk, 
 
 Since distant from the town the lavers lie." 
 
 Thus having said, the blue-eyed Pallas went 
 Back to Olympus, where the gods have made. 
 So saith tradition, their eternal seat. ^s 
 
 The tempest shakes it not, nor is it drenched 
 By showers, and there the snow doth never fall. 
 The calm clear ether is without a cloud ; 
 And in the golden light, that lies on all. 
 Days after day the blessed gods rejoice. 60 
 
 Thither the blue-eyed goddess, having given 
 Her message to the sleeping maid, withdrew. 
 
 Soon the bright morning came. Nausicaa rose. 
 Clad royally, as marvelling at her dream 
 She hastened through the palace to declare 65 
 
 Her purpose to her father and the queen. 
 
Book VI. 147 
 
 She found them both within. Her mother sat 
 
 Beside the hearth with her attendant maids. 
 
 And turned the distaff loaded with a fleece 
 
 Dyed in sea-purple. On the threshold stood 70 
 
 Her father, going forth to meet the chiefs 
 
 Of the Phsacians in a council where 
 
 Their noblest asked his presence. Then the maid. 
 
 Approaching her beloved father, spake : — 
 
 " I pray, dear father, give command to make 75 
 
 A chariot ready for me, with high sides 
 And sturdy wheels, to bear to the river-brink. 
 There to be cleansed, the costly robes that now 
 Lie soiled. Thee likewise it doth well beseem 
 At councils to appear in vestments fresh so 
 
 And stainless. Thou hast also in these halls 
 Five sons, two wedded, three in boyhood's bloom. 
 And ever in the dance they need attire 
 New from the wash. All this must I provide." 
 
 She ended, for she shrank from saying aught 8s 
 
 Of her own hopeful marriage. He perceived 
 Her thought and said : " Mules I deny thee not. 
 My daughter, nor aught else. Go then ; my grooms 
 Shall make a carriage ready with high sides 
 And sturdy wheels, and a broad rack above." 90 
 
148 The Odyssey. 
 
 He spake, and gave command. The grooms obeyed, 
 And, making ready in the outer court 
 The strong-wheeled chariot, led the harnessed mules 
 Under the yoke and made them fast ; and then 
 Appeared the maiden, bringing from her bower 95 
 
 The shining garments. In the polished car 
 She piled them, while with many pleasant meats 
 And flavoring morsels for the day's repast 
 Her mother filled a hamper, and poured wine 
 Into a goatskin. As her daughter climbed 100 
 
 The car, she gave into her hands a cruse 
 Of gold with smooth anointing oil for her 
 And her attendant maids. Nausicaa took 
 The scourge and showy reins, and struck the mules 
 To urge them onward. Onward with loud noise 105 
 
 They went, and with a speed that slackened not. 
 And bore the robes and her, — yet not alone. 
 For with her went the maidens of her train. 
 Now when they reached the river's pleasant brink. 
 Where lavers had been hollowed out to last no 
 
 Perpetually, and freely through them flowed 
 Pure water that might cleanse the foulest stains. 
 They loosed the mules, and drove them from the wain 
 To browse the sweet grass by the eddying stream; 
 
Book VI. 149 
 
 "5 
 
 And took the garments out, and flung them down 
 In the dark water, and with hasty feet 
 Trampled them there in froHc rivalry. 
 And when the task was done, and all the stains 
 Were cleansed away, they spread the garments out 
 Along the beach and where the stream had washed i^o 
 The gravel cleanest. Then they bathed, and gave 
 Their limbs the delicate oil, and took their meal 
 Upon the river's border, — while the robes 
 Beneath the sun's warm rays were growing dry. 
 And now, when they were all refreshed by food, 125 
 
 Mistress and maidens laid their veils aside 
 And played at ball. Nausicaa the white-armed 
 Began a song. As when the archer-queen 
 Diana, going forth among the hills, — 
 The sides of high Taygetus or slopes >3° 
 
 Of Erymanthus, — chases joyously 
 Boars and fleet stags, and round her in a throng 
 Frolic the rural nymphs, Latona's heart 
 Is glad, for over all the rest are seen 
 Her daughter's head and brow, and she at once 13s 
 
 Is known among them, though they all are fair. 
 Such was this spotless virgin midst her maids. 
 Now when they were about to move for home 
 
150 The Odyssey. 
 
 With harnessed mules and with the shining robes 
 
 Carefully folded, then the blue-eyed maid, 140 
 
 Pallas, bethought herself of this, — to rouse 
 
 Ulysses and to- bring him to behold 
 
 The bright-eyed maiden, that she might direct 
 
 The stranger's way to the Phaeacian town. 
 
 The royal damsel at a handmaid cast hs 
 
 The ball ; it missed, and fell into the stream 
 
 Where a deep eddy whirled. All shrieked aloud. 
 
 The great Ulysses started from his sleep 
 
 And sat upright, discoursing to himself: — 
 
 " Ah me ! upon what region am I thrown ? 15° 
 
 What men are here, — wild, savage, and unjust. 
 Or hospitable, and who hold the gods 
 In reverence ? There are voices in the air. 
 Womanly voices, as of nymphs that haunt 
 The mountain summits, and the river-founts, 155 
 
 And the moist grassy meadows. Or perchance 
 Am I near men who have the power of speech ? 
 Nay, let me then go forth at once and learn." 
 
 Thus having said, the great Ulysses left 
 The thicket. From the close-grown wood he rent, 160 
 With his strong hand, a branch well set with leaves. 
 And wound it as a covering round his waist. 
 
Book VI. 151 
 
 Then like a mountain lion he went forth. 
 
 That walks abroad, confiding in his strength. 
 
 In rain and wind ; his eyes shoot fire ; he falls 165 
 
 On oxen, or on sheep, or forest-deer. 
 
 For hunger prompts him even to attack 
 
 The flock within its closely guarded fold. 
 
 Such seemed Ulysses when about to meet 
 
 Those fair^hair^d maidens, naked as he was, 17° 
 
 But forced by strong necessity. To them 
 
 His look was frightful, for his limbs were foul 
 
 With sea-foam yet. To right and left they fled 
 
 Along the jutting river-banks. Alone 
 
 The daughter of Alcinous kept her place, 17s 
 
 jFov Pallas gave her courage and forbade 
 
 Her limbs to tremble. So she waited there, 
 
 Ulysses pondered whether to approach 
 
 The bright-eyed damsel and embrace her knees 
 
 And supplicate, or, keeping yet aloof, iso 
 
 Pray her with soothing words to show the way 
 
 Townward and give him garments. Musing thus. 
 
 It seemed the best to keep at distance still. 
 
 And use soft words, lest, should he clasp her knees. 
 
 The maid might be displeased. With gentle words 185 
 
 Skilfully ordered thus Ulysses spake : — 
 
152 The Odyssey. 
 
 " O queen, I am thy suppliant, whether thou 
 Be mortal or a goddess. If perchance 
 Thou art of that immortal race who dwell 
 In the broad heaven, thou art, I deem, most like 19° 
 
 To Dian, daughter of imperial Jove, 
 In shape, in stature, and in noble air. 
 If mortal and a dweller of the earth. 
 Thrice happy are thy father and his queen. 
 Thrice happy are thy brothers ; and their hearts 'ss 
 
 Must overflow with gladness for thy sake, 
 Beholding such a scion of their house 
 Enter the choral dance. But happiest he 
 Beyond them all, who, bringing princely gifts. 
 Shall bear thee to his home a bride ; for sure ^09 
 
 I never looked on one of mortal race. 
 Woman or man, like thee, and as I gaze 
 I wonder. Like to thee I saw of late. 
 In Delos, a young palm-tree growing up 
 Beside Apollo's altar ; for I sailed' 2qs 
 
 To Delos, with much people following me. 
 On a disastrous voyage. Long I gazed 
 Upon it wonder-struck, as I am now, — 
 For never from the earth so fair a tree 
 Had sprung. So marvel I, and am amazed 210 
 
Book VL 153 
 
 At thee, O lady, and in awe forbear 
 
 To clasp thy knees. Yet much have I endured. 
 
 It was but yestereve that I escaped 
 
 From the black sea, upon the twentieth day. 
 
 So long the billows and the rushing gales us 
 
 Farther and farther from Ogygia's isle 
 
 Had borne me. Now upon this shore some god 
 
 Casts me, perchance to meet new sufferings here ; 
 
 For yet. the end is not, and many things 
 
 The gods must first accomplish. But do thou, "o 
 
 queen, have pity on me, since to thee 
 
 1 come the first of all. I do not know 
 A single 'dweller of the land beside. 
 Show me, I pray, thy city^ and bestow 
 
 Some poor old robe to wrap me, — if, indeed, ^s 
 
 In coming hither, thou hast brought with thee 
 
 Aught poor or coarse. And may the gods vouchsafe 
 
 To thee whatever blessing thou canst wish. 
 
 Husband and home and wedded harmony. 
 
 There is no better, no more blessed state, 23° 
 
 Than when the wife and husband in accord 
 
 Order their household lovingly. Then those 
 
 Repine who hate them, those who wish them well 
 
 Rejoice, and they themselves the most of all." 
 20 
 
154 The Odyssey. 
 
 And then the white-armed maid Nausicaa said : — 23s 
 " Since then, O stranger, thou art not malign 
 Of purpose nor weak-minded, — yet, in truth, 
 Olympian Jupiter bestows the goods 
 Of fortune on the noble and the base 
 To each one at his pleasure ; and thy griefs 240 
 
 Are doubtless sent by him, and it is fit 
 That thou submit in patience, — now that thou 
 Hast reached our lands, and art within our realm. 
 Thou shalt not lack for garments nor for aught 
 Due to a suppliant stranger in his need. 245 
 
 The city I will show thee, and will name 
 Its dwellers, — the Phasacians, — they possess 
 The city ; all the region lying round 
 Is theirs, and I am daughter of the prince 
 Alcinoiis, large of soul, to whom are given 250 
 
 The rule of the Phasacians and their power." 
 
 So spake the damsel, and commanded thus 
 Her fair-haired maids : " Stay ! whither do ye flee. 
 My handmaids, when a man appears in sight ? 
 Ye think, perhaps, he is some enemy. 25s 
 
 Nay, there is no man living now, nor yet 
 Will live, to enter, bringing war, the land 
 Of the Phteacians. Very dear are they 
 
Book VI. 155 
 
 To the great gods. We dwell apart, afar 
 
 Within the unmeasured deep, amid its waves 260 
 
 The most remote of men ; no other race 
 
 Hath commerce with us. This man comes to us 
 
 A wanderer and unhappy, and to him 
 
 Our cares are due. The stranger and the poor 
 
 Are sent by Jove, and slight regards to them 265 
 
 Are grateful. Maidens, give the stranger food 
 
 And drink, and take him to the river-side 
 
 To bathe where there is shelter from the wind." 
 
 So spake the mistress ; and they stayed their flight 
 And bade each other stand, and led the chief 27° 
 
 Under a shelter as the royal maid. 
 Daughter of stout Alcinoiis, gave command. 
 And laid a cloak and tunic near the spot 
 To be his raiment, and a golden cruse 
 Of limpid oil. Then, as they bade him bathe 275 
 
 In the fresh stream, the noble chieftain said : — 
 
 "Withdraw, ye maidens, hence, while I prepare 
 To cleanse my shoulders from the bitter brine, 
 And to anoint them ; long have these my limbs 
 Been unrefreshed by oil. I will not bathe 280 
 
 Before you. I should be ashamed to stand 
 Unclothed in presence of these bright-haired maids." 
 
156 The Odyssey. 
 
 He spake; they hearkened and withdrew, and told 
 The damsel what he said. Ulysses then 
 Washed the salt spray of ocean from his back »^s 
 
 And his broad shoulders in the flowing stream. 
 And wiped away the sea-froth from his brows. 
 And when the bath was over, and his limbs 
 Had been anointed, and he had put on 
 The garments sent him by the spotless maid, 29° 
 
 Jove's daughter, Pallas, caused hLm to appear 
 Of statelier size and more majestic mien. 
 And bade the locks that crowned his head flow down. 
 Curling like blossoms of the hyacinth. 
 As when some skilful workman trained and taught ^95 
 By Vulcan and Minerva in his art 
 Binds the bright silver with a verge of gold. 
 And graceful is his handiwork, such grace 
 Did Pallas shed upon the hero's brow 
 And shoulders, as he passed along the beach, 300 
 
 And, glorious in his beauty and the pride 
 Of noble bearing, sat aloof. The maid 
 Admired, and to her bright-haired women spake : — 
 
 " Listen to me, my maidens, while I speak. 
 This man comes not among the godlike sons 305 
 
 Of the Phasacian stock against the will 
 
Book Fi. 157 
 
 Of all the gods of heaven. I thought him late 
 
 Of an unseemly aspect ; now he bears 
 
 A likeness to the immortal ones whose home 
 
 Is the broad heaven. I would that I might call 3'° 
 
 A man like him my husband, dwelling here. 
 
 And here content to dwell. Now hasten, maids. 
 
 And set before the stranger food and wine." 
 
 She spake ; they heard and cheerfully obeyed. 
 And set before Ulysses food and wine. 315 
 
 The patient chief Ulysses ate and drank 
 Full eagerly, for he had fasted long. 
 
 White-armed Nausicaa then had other cares. 
 She placed the smoothly folded robes within 
 The sumptuous chariot, yoked the firm-hoofed mules, 3^0 
 And mounted to her place, and from the seat 
 Spake kindly, counselling Ulysses thus : — 
 
 " Now, stranger, rise and follow to the town. 
 And to my royal father's palace I 
 
 Will be thy guide, where, doubt not, thou wilt meet 3*5 
 The noblest men of our Ph^acian race. 
 But do as I advise, — for not inapt 
 I deem thee. While we traverse yet the fields 
 Among the tilth, keep thou among my train 
 Of maidens, following fast behind the mules 33° 
 
158 The Odyssey. 
 
 And chariot. I will lead thee in the way. 
 
 But when our train goes upward toward the town, 
 
 Fenced with its towery wall, and on each side 
 
 Embraced by a fair haven, with a strait 
 
 Of narrow entrance, where our well-oared barks 335 
 
 Have each a mooring-place along the road. 
 
 And there round Neptune's glorious fane extends 
 
 A market-place, surrounded by huge stones. 
 
 Dragged from the quarry hither, where is kept 
 
 The rigging of the barks, — sail-cloth and ropes, — 34° 
 
 And oars are polished there, — for little reck 
 
 Phasacians of the quiver and the bow. 
 
 And give most heed to masts and shrouds and ships 
 
 Well poised, in which it is their pride to cross 
 
 The foamy deep, — when there I would not bring 345 
 
 Rude taunts upon myself, for in the crowd 
 
 Are brutal men. One of the baser sort 
 
 Perchance might say, on meeting us : * What man. 
 
 Handsome and lusty-limbed, is he who thus 
 
 Follows Nausicaa ? where was it her luck 35° 
 
 To find him ? will he be her husband yet ? 
 
 Perhaps she brings some wanderer from his ship, 
 
 A stranger from strange lands, for we have here 
 
 No neighbors ; or, perhaps, it is a god 
 
Book VI. 159 
 
 Called down by fervent prayer from heaven to dwell 355 
 
 Henceforth with her. 'T is well if she have found 
 
 A husband elsewhere, since at home she meets 
 
 Her many noble wooers with disdain ; 
 
 They are Phaeacians.' Thus the crowd would say. 
 
 And it would bring reproach upon my name. 36° 
 
 I too would blame another who should do 
 
 The like, and, while her parents were alive. 
 
 Without their knowledge should consort with men 
 
 Before her marriage. Stranger, now observe 
 
 My words, ""and thou shalt speedily obtain 3*5 
 
 Safe-conduct from my father, and be sent 
 
 Upon thy voyage homeward. We shall reach 
 
 A beautiful grove of poplars by the way. 
 
 Sacred to Pallas ; from it flows a brook. 
 
 And round it lies a meadow. In this spot 37° 
 
 My father has his country-grounds, and here 
 
 His garden flourishes, as far from town 
 
 As one could hear a shout. There sit thou down 
 
 And wait till we are in the city's streets 
 
 And at my father's house. When it shall seem 375 
 
 That we are there, arise and onward fare 
 
 To the Phaeacian city, and inquire 
 
 Where dwells Alcinoiis the large-souled king, 
 
i6o The Odyssey. 
 
 My father ; \ is not hard to find ; a child 
 
 Might lead thee thither. Of the houses reared 38° 
 
 By the Phseacians there is none like that 
 
 In which Alcinoiis the hero dwells. 
 
 When thou art once within the court and hall. 
 
 Go quickly through the palace till thou find 
 
 My mother where she sits beside the hearth, 3^5 
 
 Leaning against a column in its blaze. 
 
 And twisting threads, a marvel to behold. 
 
 Of bright sea-purple, while her maidens sit 
 
 Behind her. Near her is my father's throne. 
 
 On which he sits at feasts, and drinks the wine 39*^ 
 
 Like one of the immortals. Pass it by 
 
 And clasp my mother's knees ; so mayst thou see 
 
 Soon and with joy the day of thy return, 
 
 Although thy home be far. For if her mood 
 
 Be kindly toward thee, thou mayst hope to greet 395 
 
 Thy friends once more, and enter yet again 
 
 Thy own fair palace in thy native land." 
 
 Thus having said, she raised the shining scourge 
 And struck the mules, that quickly left behind 
 The river. On they went with easy pace 4°° 
 
 And even steps. The damsel wielded well 
 The reins, and used the lash with gentle hand. 
 
Book VI. i6i 
 
 So that Ulysses and her train of maids 
 
 On foot could follow close. And now the sun 
 
 Was sinking when they came to that fair grove 405 
 
 Sacred to Pallas. There the noble chief 
 
 Ulysses sat him down, and instantly 
 
 Prayed to the daughter of imperial Jove : — 
 
 " O thou unconquerable child of Jove 
 The iEgis-bearer ! hearken to me now, 4"> 
 
 Since late thou wouldst not listen to my prayer. 
 What time the mighty Shaker of the shores 
 Pursued and wrecked me ! Grant me to receive 
 Pity and kindness from Phsacia's sons." 
 
 So prayed he, supplicating. Pallas heard 41s 
 
 The prayer, but came not to him openly. 
 Awe of her father's brother held her back ; 
 For he would still pursue with violent hate 
 Ulysses, till he reached his native land. 
 
 21 
 
BOOK FII. 
 
 O^O prayed Ulysses the great sufferer. 
 
 ^^-^ The strong mules bore the damsel toward the town. 
 
 And when she reached her father's stately halls 
 
 She stopped beneath the porch. Her brothers came 
 
 Around her, like in aspect to the gods, s 
 
 And loosed the mules, and bore the garments in. 
 
 She sought her chamber, where an aged dame 
 
 Attendant there, an Epirote, and named 
 
 Eurymedusa, lighted her a fire. 
 
 She by the well-oared galleys had been brought lo 
 
 Beforetime from Epirys, and was given 
 
 To king Alcinoiis, ruler over all 
 
 Phasacia's sons, who hearkened to his voice 
 
 As if he were a god. 'T was she who reared 
 
 White-armed Nausicaa in the royal halls, 15 
 
 Tended her hearth, and dressed her evening meal. 
 
 Now rose Ulysses up, and townward turned 
 His steps, while friendly Pallas wrapt his way 
 
Book vii. 163 
 
 In darkness, lest some one among the sons 
 
 Of the Pheeacians with unmannerly words 20 
 
 Might call to him or ask him who he was. 
 
 And just as he was entering that fair town 
 
 The blue-eyed Pallas met him, in the form 
 
 Of a young virgin with an urn. She stood 
 
 Before him, and Ulysses thus inquired : — 25 
 
 " Wilt thou, my daughter, guide me to the house 
 Where dwells Alcinoiis, he who rules this land ? 
 I am a stranger, who have come from far 
 After long hardships, and of all who dwell 
 Within this realm I know not even one," 3° 
 
 Pallas, the blue-eyed goddess, thus replied : — 
 "Father and stranger, I will show the house; 
 The dwelling of my own good father stands 
 Close by it. Follow silently, I pray. 
 And I will lead. Look not on any man as 
 
 Nor ask a question ; for the people here 
 Affect not strangers, nor do oft receive 
 With kindly welcome him who comes from far. 
 They trust in their swift barks, which to and fro. 
 By Neptune's favor, cross the mighty deep. 4° 
 
 Their galleys have the speed of wings or thought." 
 
 Thus Pallas spake, and quickly led the way. 
 
164 The Odyssey. 
 
 He followed In her steps. They saw him not, — 
 
 Those trained Phseacian seamen, — for the power 
 
 That led him, Pallas of the amber hair, 4S 
 
 Forbade the sight, and threw a friendly veil 
 
 Of darkness over him. Ulysses saw. 
 
 Wondering, the haven and the gallant ships. 
 
 The market-place where heroes thronged, the walls 
 
 Long, lofty, and beset with palisades, 5° 
 
 A marvel to the sight. But when they came 
 
 To the king's stately palace, thus began 
 
 The blue-eyed goddess, speaking to the chief: 
 
 - " Father and stranger, here thou seest the house 
 Which thou hast bid me show thee. Thou wilt find %i 
 The princes, nurslings of the gods, within. 
 Royally feasting. Enter, and fear not ; 
 The bold man ever is the better man. 
 Although he come from far. Thou first of all 
 Wilt see the queen. Arete is the name 6° 
 
 The people give her. She is of a stock 
 The very same from which Alcinous 
 The king derives his lineage. For long since 
 Nausithoiis, its founder, was brought forth 
 To Neptune, the great Shaker of the shores, 65 
 
 By Peribaea, fairest of her sex, 
 
Book VII. 165 
 
 And youngest daughter of Eurymedon, 
 
 The large of soul, who ruled the arrogant brood 
 
 Of giants, and beheld that guilty race 
 
 Cut off, and perished by a fate like theirs. 7° 
 
 Her Neptune wooed ; she bore to him a son, 
 
 Large-souled Nausithoiis, whom Phasacia owned 
 
 Its sovereign. To Nausithoiis were born 
 
 Rhexenor and Alcinoiis. He who bears 
 
 The silver bow, Apollo, smote to death 75 
 
 Rhexenor, newly wedded, in his home. 
 
 He left no son, and but one daughter, named 
 
 Arete ; her Alcinoiis made his wife. 
 
 And honored her as nowhere else on earth 
 
 Is any woman honored who bears charge so 
 
 Over a husband's household. From their hearts 
 
 Her children pay her reverence, and the king 
 
 And all the people, for they look on her 
 
 As if she were a goddess. When she goes 
 
 Abroad into the streets, all welcome her 85 
 
 With acclamations. Never does she fail 
 
 In wise discernment, but decides disputes 
 
 Kindly and justly between man and man. 
 
 And if thou gain her favor, there is hope 
 
 That thou mayst see thy friends once more, and stand 9° 
 
6 The Odyssey. 
 
 thy tall palace on thy native soil." 
 The blue-eyed Pallas, having spoken thus, 
 parted o'er the barren deep. She left 
 e pleasant isle of Scheria, and repaired 
 
 Marathon and to the spacious streets 95 
 
 Athens, entering there the massive halls 
 lere dwelt Erectheus, w^hile Ulysses toward 
 e gorgeous palace of Alcinoiis turned 
 ) steps, yet stopped and pondered ere he crossed 
 e threshold. For on every side beneath 100 
 
 e lofty roof of that magnanimous king 
 jlory shone as of the sun or moon, 
 ere from the threshold, on each side, were walls 
 
 brass that led towards the inner rooms, 
 th blue steel cornices. The doors within los 
 
 e massive building were of gold, and posts 
 
 silver on the brazen threshold stood, 
 i silver was the lintel, and above 
 architrave was gold ; and on each side 
 Dd gold and silver mastiffs, the rare work no 
 
 Vulcan's practised skill, placed there to guard 
 e house of great Alcinoiis, and endowed 
 th deathless life, that knows no touch of age. 
 mg the walls within, on either side. 
 
Book vii. 167 
 
 And from the threshold to the inner rooms, 115 
 
 Were firmly planted thrones on which were laid 
 
 Delicate mantles, woven by the hands 
 
 Of women. The Phaeacian princes here 
 
 Were seated ; here they ate and drank, and held 
 
 Perpetual banquet. Slender forms of boys no 
 
 In gold upon the shapely altars stood. 
 
 With blazing torches in their hands to light 
 
 At eve the palace guests ; while fifty maids 
 
 Waited within the halls, where some in querns 
 
 Ground small the yellow grain ; some wove the web 125 
 
 Or twirled the spindle, sitting, with a quick 
 
 Light motion, like the aspen's glancing leaves. 
 
 The well-wrought tissues glistened as with oil. 
 
 As far as the Phsacian race excel 
 
 In guiding their swift galleys o'er the deep, 130 
 
 So far the women in their woven work 
 
 Surpass all others. Pallas gives them skill 
 
 In handiwork and beautiful design. 
 
 Without the palace-court, and near the gate, 
 
 A spacious garden of four acres lay. 13s 
 
 A hedge enclosed it round, and lofty trees 
 
 Flourished in generous growth within, — the pear 
 
 And the pomegranate, and the appl^-tree 
 
1 68 The Odyssey. 
 
 With its fair fruitage, and the luscious fig 
 
 And olive always green. The fruit they bear 140 
 
 Falls not, nor ever fails in v^inter time 
 
 Nor summer, but is yielded all the year. 
 
 The ever-blowing west-wind causes some 
 
 To swell and some to ripen ; pear succeeds 
 
 To pear ; to apple apple, grape to grape, J45 
 
 Fig ripens after fig, A fruitful field 
 
 Of vines was planted near ; in part it lay 
 
 Open and basking in the sun, which dried 
 
 The soil, and here men gathered in the grapes. 
 
 And there they trod the wine-press. Farther on 15° 
 
 Were grapes unripened yet, which just had cast 
 
 The flower, and others still which just began 
 
 To redden. At the garden's furthest bound 
 
 Were beds of many plants that all the year 
 
 Bore flowers. There gushed two fountains : one of them 
 
 Ran wandering through the field ; the other flowed 156 
 
 Beneath the threshold to the palace-court. 
 
 And all the people filled their vessels there. 
 
 Such were the blessings which the gracious gods 
 
 Bestowed on King Alcinoiis and his house. iso 
 
 Ulysses, the great sufferer, standing there. 
 Admired the sight ; and when he had beheld 
 
Book VII. 169 
 
 The whole in silent wonderment, he crossed 
 
 The threshold quickly, entering the hall 
 
 Where the Phsacian peers and princes poured 165 
 
 Wine from their goblets to the sleepless one. 
 
 The Argus-queller, to whose deity 
 
 They made the last libations when they thought 
 
 Of slumber. The great sufferer, concealed 
 
 In a thick mist, which Pallas raised and cast 17° 
 
 Around him, hastened through the hall and came 
 
 Close to Arete and Alcinoiis, 
 
 The royal pair. Then did Ulysses clasp 
 
 Arete's knees, when suddenly the cloud 
 
 Raised by the goddess vanished. All within 175 
 
 The palace were struck mute as they beheld 
 
 The man before them. Thus Ulysses prayed : — 
 
 *' Arete, daughter of the godlike chief 
 Rhexenor ! to thy husband I am come 
 And to thy knees, from many hardships borne, iSo 
 
 And to these guests, to whom may the good gods 
 Grant to live happily, and to hand down. 
 Each one to his own children, in his home. 
 The wealth and honors which the people's love 
 Bestowed upon him. Grant me, I entreat, 185 
 
 An escort, that I may behold again 
 
 22 
 
:7o The Odyssey. 
 
 ^nd soon my own dear country. I have passed 
 
 -,ong years in sorrow, far from all I love," 
 
 He ended, and sat down upon the hearth 
 
 ^mong the ashes, near the fire, and all 19° 
 
 Vere silent utterly. At length outspake 
 
 i^cheneus, oldest and most eloquent chief 
 
 )f the PhcBacians ; large his knowledge was 
 
 )f things long past. With generous intent, 
 
 ^nd speaking to the assembly, he began : — 195 
 
 " Alcinoiis, this is not a seemly sight, — 
 
 i 
 ^ stranger sitting on the hearth among 
 
 The cinders. All the others here await 
 
 fhy order, and move not. I pray thee, raise 
 
 The stranger up, and seat him on a throne 200 
 
 tudded with silver. Be thy heralds called, 
 
 ^nd bid them mingle wine, which we may pour 
 
 To Jove, the god of thunders, who attends 
 
 ^nd honors every suppliant. Let the dame 
 
 Vho oversees the palace feast provide 205 
 
 )ur guest a banquet from the stores within." 
 
 This when the reverend king Alcinoiis heard, 
 
 ''orthwith he took Ulysses by the hand, — 
 
 That man of wise devices, — raised him up 
 
 ^nd seated him upon a shining throne, zio 
 
Book VII 171 
 
 From which he bade Laodamas arise. 
 His manly son, whose seat was next to his. 
 
 " Now mingle wine, Protonoiis, in a vase. 
 For all within the palace, to be poured 
 To Jove, the god of thunders, who attends ais 
 
 And honors every suppliant." As he spake 
 Protonoiis mingled the delicious wines. 
 And passed from right to left, distributing 
 The cups to all ; and when they all had poured 
 A part to Jove, and all had drunk, their fill, 220 
 
 Alcinoiis took the word, and thus he said : — 
 
 " Princes and chiefs of the Phsacians, hear. 
 I speak as my heart bids me. Since the feast 
 Is over, take your rest within your homes. 
 •To-morrow shall the Senators be called "5 
 
 In larger concourse. We will pay our guest 
 Due honor in the palace, worshipping 
 The gods with solemn sacrifice. And then 
 Will we bethink us how to send him home. 
 That with no hindrance and no hardship borne 23* 
 
 Under our escort he may come again 
 Gladly and quickly to his native land. 
 Though far away it lie, and that no wrong 
 Or loss may happen to him ere he set 
 
172 The Odyssey. 
 
 Foot on its soil ; and there must he endure 235 
 
 Whatever, when his mother brought him forth. 
 
 Fate and the unrelenting Sisters spun 
 
 For the new-born. But should he prove to be 
 
 One of the immortals who has come from heaven. 
 
 Then have the gods a different design, 2+0 
 
 For hitherto the gods have shown themselves 
 
 Visibly at our solemn hecatombs. 
 
 And sat with us, and feasted like ourselves. 
 
 And when the traveller meets with them alone. 
 
 They never hide themselves ; for we to them 245 
 
 Are near of kin, as near as is the race 
 
 Of Cyclops and the savage giant brood." 
 
 Ulysses the sagacious answered him : — • 
 " Nay, think not so, Alcinoiis. I am not 
 In form or aspect as the immortals are, 25° 
 
 Whose habitation is the ample heaven. 
 But I am like whomever thou mayst know. 
 Among mankind, inured to suffering; 
 To them shouldst thou compare me. I could tell 
 Of bitterer sorrows yet, which I have borne ; 25s 
 
 Such was the pleasure of the gods. But now 
 Leave me, whatever have my hardships been. 
 To take the meal before me. Nought exceeds 
 
Book VII. 173 
 
 The impatient stomach's importunity 
 
 When even the afflicted and the sorrowful 260 
 
 Are forced to heed its call. So even now. 
 
 Midst all the sorrow that is in my heart. 
 
 It bids me eat and drink, and put aside 
 
 The thought of my misfortunes till itself 
 
 Be satiate. But, ye princes, with the dawn 265 
 
 Provide for me, in my calamity. 
 
 The means to reach again my native land. 
 
 For, after all my hardships, I would die 
 
 Willingly, could I look on my estates. 
 
 My servants, and my lofty halls once more." 270 
 
 He ended ; they approved his words, and bade 
 Set forward on his homeward way the guest 
 Who spake so wisely. When they all had made 
 Libations and had drunk, they each withdrew 
 To sleep at home, and left the noble chief 275 
 
 Ulysses in the palace, where with him 
 Arete and her godlike husband sat. 
 While from the feast the maidens bore away 
 The chargers. The white-armed Arete then 
 Began to speak ; for when she cast her eyes 28° 
 
 On the fair garments which Ulysses wore. 
 She knew the mantle and the tunic well. 
 
174 The Odyssey. 
 
 Wrought by herself and her attendant maids. 
 
 And thus with winged words bespake the chief: — 
 
 " Stranger, I first must ask thee who thou art, 385 
 
 And of what race of men. From whom hast thou 
 Received those garments ? Sure thou dost not say- 
 That thou art come from wandering o'er the sea." 
 
 Ulysses, the sagacious, answered thus : — 
 " 'T were hard, O sovereign lady, to relate 29° 
 
 In order all my sufferings, for the gods 
 Of heaven have made them many ; yet will I 
 Tell all thou askest of me, and obey 
 Thy bidding. Far within the ocean lies 
 An island named Ogygia, where abides 295 
 
 Calypso, artful goddess, with bright locks. 
 Daughter of Atlas, and of dreaded power. 
 No god consorts with her, nor any one 
 Of mortal birth. But me in my distress 
 Some god conveyed alone to her abode, 3=° 
 
 When, launching his white lightning, Jupiter 
 Had cloven in the midst of the black sea 
 My galley. There my gallant comrades all 
 Perished, but I in both my arms held fast 
 The keel of my good ship, and floated on 3=5 
 
 Nine days, till on the tenth, in the dark night. 
 
Book VII. 175 
 
 The gods had brought me to Ogygia's isle, 
 
 Where dwells Calypso of the radiant hair 
 
 And dreaded might, who kindly welcomed me. 
 
 And cherished me, and would have made my life 31° 
 
 Immortal, and beyond the power of age 
 
 In all the coming time. And there I wore 
 
 Seven years away, still moistening with my tears 
 
 The ambrosial raiment which the goddess gave. 
 
 But when the eighth year had begun its round 31s 
 
 She counselled my departure, whether Jove 
 
 Had so required, or she herself had changed 
 
 Her purpose. On a raft made strong with clamps 
 
 She placed me, sent on board an ample store 
 
 Of bread and pleasant wine, and made me put 3" 
 
 Ambrosial garments on, and gave a soft 
 
 And favorable wind. For seventeen days 
 
 I held my steady course across the deep. 
 
 And on the eighteenth day the shadowy heights 
 
 Of your own isle appeared, and then my heart, 3^5 
 
 Ill-fated as I was, rejoiced. Yet still 
 
 Was I to struggle with calamities 
 
 Sent by earth-shaking Neptune, who called up 
 
 The winds against me, and withstood my way. 
 
 And stirred the boundless ocean to its depths. 33° 
 
176 The Odyssey. 
 
 Nor did the billows suffer me to keep 
 
 My place, but swept me, groaning, from the raft. 
 
 Whose planks they scattered. Still I labored through 
 
 The billowy depth, and swam, till wind and wave 
 
 Drove me against your coast. As there I sought 33s 
 
 To land, I found the surges hurrying me 
 
 Against huge rocks that lined the frightful shore ; 
 
 But, turning back, I swam again and reached 
 
 A river and the landing-place I wished. 
 
 Smooth, without rocks, and sheltered from the wind. 340 
 
 I swooned, but soon revived. Ambrosial night 
 
 Came on. I left the Jove-deseended stream 
 
 And slept among the thickets, drawing round 
 
 My limbs the withered leaves, while on my lids 
 
 A deity poured bounteously the balm 34s 
 
 Of slumber. All night long, among the leaves, 
 
 I slept, with all that sorrow in my heart, 
 
 Till morn, till noon. Then as the sun went down 
 
 The balmy slumber left me, and I saw 
 
 Thy daughter's handmaids sporting on the shore, 35° 
 
 And her among them, goddess-like. To her 
 
 I came a suppliant, nor did she receive 
 
 My suit unkindly as a maid so young 
 
 Might do, for youth is foolish. She bestowed 
 
Book vii. 177 
 
 Food and red wine abundantly, and gave, 35s 
 
 When I had bathed, the garments I have on. 
 Thus is my tale of suffering truly told." 
 
 And then Alcinoiis answered him and said : — 
 " Stranger, one duty hath my child o'erlooked, — 
 To bid thee follow hither with her maids, 36° 
 
 Since thou didst sue to her the first of all." 
 
 Ulysses, the sagacious, thus replied : — 
 " Blame not for that, O hero, I entreat. 
 Thy faultless daughter. She commanded me 
 To follow with her maids, but I refrained 3^5 
 
 For fear and awe of thee, lest, at the sight. 
 Thou mightest be displeased ; for we are prone 
 To dark misgivings, — we, the sons of men." 
 
 Again Alcinoiis spake : " The heart that beats 
 Within my bosom is not rashly moved 37° 
 
 To wrath, and better is the temperate mood. 
 This must I say, O Father Jupiter, 
 And Pallas and Apollo ! I could wish 
 That, being as thou art, and of like mind 
 With me, thou wouldst receive to be thy bride 375 
 
 My daughter, and be called my son-in-law. 
 And here abide. A palace I would give. 
 And riches, shouldst thou willingly remain. 
 
 23 
 
178 The Odyssey. 
 
 Against thy will let no Phasacian dare 
 
 To keep thee here. May Father Jove forbid ! 380 
 
 And that thou mayst be sure of my intent, 
 
 J 
 
 I name to-morrow for thy voyage home. 
 
 Sleep in thy bed till then ; and they shall row 
 
 O'er the calm sea thy galley, till thou come 
 
 To thine own land and home, or wheresoe'er 385 
 
 Thou wilt, though further off the coast should be 
 
 Than far Euboea, most remote of lands, — 
 
 So do the people of our isle declare. 
 
 Who saw it when they over sea conveyed 
 
 The fair-haired Rhadamanthus, on his way 390 
 
 To visit Tityus, son of Earth. They went 
 
 Thither, accomplishing with little toil 
 
 Their voyage in the compass of a day. 
 
 And brought the hero to our isle again. 
 
 Now shalt thou learn, and in thy heart confess, 395 
 
 How much our galleys and our youths excel 
 
 With bladed oars to stir the whirling brine." 
 
 So spake the king, and the great sufferer 
 Ulysses heard with gladness, and preferred 
 A prayer, and called on Jupiter and said : — 400 
 
 " Grant, Father Jove, that all the king has said 
 May be fulfilled ! so shall his praise go forth 
 
Book VII. 179 
 
 Over the foodful earth, and never die. 
 And I shall see my native land again." 
 
 So they conferred. White-armed Arete spake, 405 
 
 And bade her maidens in the portico 
 Place couches, and upon them lay fair rugs 
 Of purple dye, and tapestry on these. 
 And for the outer covering shaggy cloaks. 
 Forth from the hall they issued, torch in hand ; 410 
 
 And when with speed the ample bed was made. 
 They came and summoned thus the chief to rest : — 
 
 " Rise, stranger, go to rest ; thy bed is made." 
 Thus spake the maidens, and the thought of sleep 
 Was welcome to Ulysses. So that night 415 
 
 On his deep couch the noble sufferer 
 Slumbered beneath the sounding portico. 
 Alcinoiis laid him down in a recess 
 Within his lofty palace, near to whom 
 The queen his consort graced the marriage-bed. 420 
 
BOOK Fill. 
 
 T ^ /"HEN Morn appeared, the rosy-fingered child 
 
 Of Dawn, Alcinoiis, mighty and revered. 
 Rose from his bed. Ulysses, noble chief. 
 Spoiler of cities, also left his couch. 
 
 Alcinoiis, mighty and revered, went forth i 
 
 Before, and led him to the market-place 
 Of the Phseacians, built beside the fleet. 
 And there on polished stones they took their seats 
 Near to each other. Pallas, who now seemed 
 A herald of -the wise Alcinoiis, went lo 
 
 Through all the city, planning how to send 
 Magnanimous Ulysses to his home. 
 And came and stood by every chief and said : — ' 
 
 " Leaders and chiefs of the Phceacians, come 
 Speedily to the market-place, and there is 
 
 Hear of the stranger who from wandering o'er 
 The deep has come where wise Alcinoiis holds 
 His court ; in aspect he is like the gods." 
 
Book VIII. i8i 
 
 She spake, and every mind and heart were moved. 
 And all the market-place and all its seats io 
 
 Were quickly filled with people. Many gazed. 
 Admiring, on Laertes' well-graced son ; 
 For on his face and form had Pallas shed 
 A glory, and had made him seem more tall 
 And of an ampler bulk, that he might find 25 
 
 Favor with the Phasacians, and be deemed 
 Worthy of awe and able to achieve 
 The many feats which the Phseacian chiefs. 
 To try the stranger's prowess, might propose. 
 
 And now when all the summoned had arrived, 3° 
 
 Alcinoiis to the full assembly spake : — 
 
 " Princes and chiefs of the Phaeacians, hear : 
 I speak the promptings of my heart. This guest — 
 I know him not — has come to my abode, 
 A wanderer, — haply from the tribes who dwell 35 
 
 In the far East, or haply from the West, — 
 And asked an escort and safe-conduct home ; 
 And let us make them ready, as our wont 
 Has ever been. No stranger ever comes 
 Across my threshold who is suffered long 4° 
 
 To pine for his departure. Let us draw 
 A dark-hulled ship down to the holy sea 
 
1 82 The Odyssey. 
 
 On her first voyage. Let us choose her crew 
 
 Among the people, two-and-fifty youths 
 
 Of our best seamen. Then make fast the oars 4S 
 
 Beside the benches, leave them there, and come 
 
 Into our palace and partake in haste 
 
 A feast which I will liberally spread 
 
 For all of you. This I command the youths ; 
 
 But you, ye sceptred princes, come at once 5° 
 
 To my fair palace, that we there may pay 
 
 The honors due our guest ; let none refuse. 
 
 Call also the divine Demodocus, 
 
 The bard, on whom a deity bestowed 
 
 In ample measure the sweet gift of song, 55 
 
 Delightful when the spirit prompts the lay." 
 
 He spake, and led the way ; the sceptred train 
 Of princes followed him. The herald sought 
 Meantime the sacred bard. The chosen youths 
 Fifty-and-two betook them to the marge 60 
 
 Of the unfruitful sea ; and when they reached 
 The ship and beach they drew the dark hull down 
 To the deep water, put the mast on board 
 And the ship's sails, and fitted well the oars 
 Into the leathern rings, and, having moored 65 
 
 Their bark in the deep water, went with speed 
 
Book VIII. 183 
 
 To their wise monarch in his spacious halls. 
 
 There portico and court and hall were thronged 
 
 With people, young and old in multitude ; 
 
 And there Alcinoiis sacrificed twelve sheep, 7° 
 
 Eight white-toothed swine, and two splay-footed beeves. 
 
 And these they flayed, and duly dressed, and made 
 
 A noble banquet ready. Then appeared 
 
 The herald, leading the sweet singer in. 
 
 Him whom the Muse with an exceeding love 75 
 
 Had cherished, and had visited with good 
 
 And evil, quenched his eyesight and bestowed 
 
 Sweetness of song, Pontonoiis mid the guests 
 
 Placed for the bard a silver-studded throne. 
 
 Against a lofty column hung his harp so 
 
 Above his head, and taught him how to find 
 
 And take it down. Near him the herald set 
 
 A basket and fair table, and a cup 
 
 Of wine, that he might drink when he desired ; 
 
 Then all put forth their hands and shared the feast. 85 
 
 And when their thirst and hunger were allayed. 
 The Muse inspired the bard to sing the praise 
 Of heroes ; 't was a song whose fame had reached 
 To the high heaven, a story of the strife 
 Between Ulysses and Achilles, son 9° 
 
184 The Odyssey, 
 
 Of Peleus, wrangling at a solemn feast 
 
 Made for the gods. They strove with angry words. 
 
 And Agamemnon, king of men, rejoiced 
 
 To hear the noblest of the Achaian host 
 
 Contending ; for all this had been foretold 95 
 
 To him in sacred Pythia by the voice 
 
 Of Phoebus, when the monarch to inquire 
 
 At the oracle had crossed the rock which formed 
 
 Its threshold. Then began the train of woes 
 
 Which at the will of sovereign Jupiter iqo 
 
 Befell the sons of Ilium and of Greece. 
 
 So sang renowned Demodocus. Meanwhile 
 Ulysses took into his brawny hands 
 An ample veil of purple, drawing it 
 
 Around his head to hide his noble face, 105 
 
 Ashamed that the Phasacians should behold 
 The tears that flowed so freely from his lids. 
 But when the sacred bard had ceased his song. 
 He wiped the tears away and laid the veil 
 Aside, and took a double beaker filled no 
 
 With wine, and poured libations to the gods. 
 Yet when again the minstrel sang, and all 
 The chiefs of the Phseacian people, charmed 
 To hear his music, bade the strain proceed, 
 
Book VIII. 185 
 
 Again Ulysses hid his face and wept. us 
 
 No other eye beheld the tears he shed. 
 
 Alcinoiis only watched him, and perceived 
 
 His grief, and heard the sighs he drew, and spake 
 
 To the Phasacians, lovers of the sea : — 
 
 " Now that we all, to our content, have shared 120 
 
 The feast and heard the harp, whose notes so well 
 Suit with a liberal banquet, let us forth 
 And try our skill in games, that this our guest, 
 Returning to his country, may relate 
 
 How in the boxing and the wrestling match, i^s 
 
 In leaping and in running, we excel." 
 
 He spake, and went before ; they followed him. 
 
 Then did the herald hang the clear-toned harp 
 
 Again on high, and taking by the hand 
 
 Demodocus, he led him from the place, 130 
 
 Guiding him in the way which just before 
 
 The princes of Phsacia trod to see 
 
 The public games. Into the market-place 
 
 They went ; a vast innumerable crowd 
 
 Pressed after. Then did many a valiant youth 135 
 
 Arise, — Acroneus and Ocyalus, 
 
 Elatreus, Nauteus, Prymneus, after whom 
 
 Upstood Anchialus, and by his side 
 24 
 
1 86 The Odyssey. 
 
 Eretmeus, Ponteus, Proreus, Thoon, rose; 
 
 Anabasineiis and Amphialus, 14° 
 
 A son of Polyneius, Tecton's son ; 
 
 Then rose the son of Naubolus, like Mars 
 
 In warlike port, Euryalus by name. 
 
 And goodliest both in feature and in form 
 
 Of all Phaeacia's sons save one alone, hs 
 
 Laodamas the faultless. Next three sons 
 
 Of King Alcinoiis rose ; Laodamas, 
 
 Halius, and Clytoneius, like a god 
 
 In aspect. Some of these began the games. 
 
 Contending in the race. For them a course 150 
 
 Was marked from goal to goal. They darted forth 
 
 At once and swiftly, raising, as they ran. 
 
 The dust along the plain. The swiftest there 
 
 Was Clytoneius in the race. As far 
 
 As mules, in furrowing the fallow ground, 155 
 
 Gain on the steers, he ran before the rest. 
 
 And reached the crowd, and left them all behind. 
 
 Others in wrestling strove laboriously, — 
 
 And here Euryalus excelled them all ; 
 
 But in the leap Amphialus was first ; 160 
 
 Elatreus flung the quoit with firmest hand ; 
 
 And in the boxer's art Laodamas, 
 
Book Fill. 187 
 
 The monarch's valiant son, was conqueror. 
 
 This when the admiring multitude had seen. 
 Thus spake the monarch's son, Laodamas : — iS; 
 
 " And now, my friends, inquire we of our guest 
 If he has learned and practised feats like these. 
 For he is not ill-made in legs and thighs 
 And in both arms, in firmly planted neck 
 And strong-built frame ; nor does he seem to lack 17° 
 
 A certain youthful vigor, though impaired 
 By many hardships, — for I know of nought 
 That more severely tries the strongest man. 
 And breaks him down, than perils of the sea." 
 
 Euryalus replied : " Laodamas, 17s 
 
 Well hast thou said, and rightly : go thou now 
 And speak to him thyself, and challenge him." 
 
 The son of King Alcinoiis, as he heard. 
 Came forward, and bespake Ulysses thus : — 
 
 " Thou also, guest and father, try these feats, iSo 
 
 If thou perchance wert trained to them. I think 
 Thou must be skilled in games, since there is not 
 A greater glory for a man while yet 
 He lives on earth than what he hath wrought out. 
 By strenuous effort, with his feet and hands. iss 
 
 Try, then, thy skill, and give no place to grief. 
 
1 88 The Odyssey. 
 
 Not long will thy departure be delayed ; 
 
 Thy bark is launched ; the crew are ready here." 
 
 Ulysses, the sagacious, answered thus : — 
 " Why press me, O Laodamas ! to try 19° 
 
 These feats, when all my thoughts are of my woes. 
 And not of games ? I, who have borne so much 
 Of pain and toil, sit pining for my home 
 In your assembly, supplicating here 
 Your king and all the people of your land." 195 
 
 Then spake Euryalus with chiding words : — 
 "Stranger, I well perceive thou canst not boast. 
 As many others can, of skill in games ; 
 But thou art one of those who dwell in ships 
 With many benches, rulers o'er a crew loo 
 
 Of sailors, — a mere trader looking out 
 For freight, and watching o'er the wares that form 
 The cargo. Thou hast doubtless gathered wealth 
 By rapine, and art surely no athlete." 
 
 Ulysses, the sagacious, frowned and said : — ^05 
 
 " Stranger, thou speakest not becomingly. 
 But like a man who recks not what he says. 
 The gods bestow not equally on all 
 The gifts that men desire, — the grace of form. 
 The mind, the eloquence. One man to sight 210 
 
Book Fill. 189 
 
 Is undistinguished, but on him the gods 
 
 Bestow the power of words. All look on him 
 
 Gladly ; he knows whereof he speaks ; his speech 
 
 Is mild and modest ; he is eminent 
 
 In all assemblies, and, whene'er he walks 215 
 
 The city, men regard him as a god. 
 
 Another in the form he wea'rs is like 
 
 The immortals, yet has he no power to speak 
 
 Becoming words. So thou hast comely looks, — 
 
 A god would not have shaped thee otherwise 220 
 
 Than we behold thee, — yet thy wit is small. 
 
 And thy unmannerly words have angered me 
 
 Even to the heart. Not quite unskilled am I 
 
 In garhes, as thou dost idly talk, and once. 
 
 When I could trust my youth and my strong arms, 225 
 
 I think that in these contests I was deemed 
 
 Among the first. But I am now pressed down 
 
 With toil and sorrow ; much have I endured 
 
 In wars with heroes and on stormy seas. 
 
 Yet even thus, a sufferer as I am, 230 
 
 Will I essay these feats ; for sharp have been 
 
 Thy words, and they provoke me to the proof." 
 
 He spake, and rising with his mantle on 
 He seized a broader, thicker, heavier quoit. 
 
190 The Odyssey. 
 
 By no small odds, than the Phaeacians used, 235 
 
 And swinging it around with vigorous arm 
 
 He sent it forth ; it sounded as it went ; 
 
 And the Phaeacians, skilful with the oar 
 
 And sail, bent low as o'er them, from his hand. 
 
 Flew the swift stone beyond the other marks. 24° 
 
 And Pallas, in a human form, set up 
 
 A mark where it descended, and exclaimed : — 
 
 " Stranger ! a blind man, groping here, could find 
 Thy mark full easily, since it is not 
 
 Among the many, but beyond them all. 24s 
 
 Then fear thou nothing in this game at least ; 
 For no Phaeacian here can throw the quoit 
 As far as thou, much less exceed thy cast." 
 
 She spake ; Ulysses the great sufferer 
 Heard, and rejoiced to know he had a friend 25° 
 
 In that great circle. With a lighter heart 
 Thus said the chief to the Phsacian crowd : — 
 
 " Follow that cast, young men, and I will send 
 Another stone, at once, as far, perchance. 
 Or further still. If there are others yet 255 
 
 Who feel the wish, let them come forward here, — 
 For much your words have chafed me, — let them try 
 With me the boxing or the wrestling match, 
 
Book VIII. 191 
 
 Or foot-race ; there is nought that I refuse, — 
 
 Any of the Phasacians. I except 260 
 
 Laodamas ; he is my host, and who 
 
 Would enter such a contest with a friend ? 
 
 A senseless, worthless man is he who seeks 
 
 A strife like this with one who shelters him 
 
 In a strange land ; he mars the welcome given. 265 
 
 As for the rest, there is no rival here 
 
 Whom I reject or scorn ; for I would know 
 
 Their prowess, and would try my own with theirs 
 
 Before you all. At any of the games 
 
 Practised among mankind I am not ill, 270 
 
 Whatever they may be. The polished bow 
 
 I well know how to handle. I should be 
 
 The first to strike a foe by. arrows sent 
 
 Among a hostile squadron, though there stood 
 
 A crowd of fellow-warriors by my side 275 
 
 And also aimed their shafts. The only one 
 
 Whose skill in archery excelled my own, 
 
 When we Achaians drew the bow at Troy, 
 
 Was Philoctetes ; to all other men 
 
 On earth that live by bread I hold myself aso 
 
 Superior. Yet I claim no rivalry 
 
 With men of ancient times, — with Hercules 
 
192 The Odyssey. 
 
 And Eurytus the CEchalian, who defied 
 
 The immortals to a contest with the bow. 
 
 Therefore was mighty Eurytus cut off. ^85 
 
 Apollo, angry to be challenged, slew 
 
 The hero. I can hurl a spear beyond 
 
 Where others send an arrow. All my fear 
 
 Is for my feet, so weakened have I been 
 
 Among the stormy waves with want of food 29° 
 
 At sea, and thus my limbs have lost their strength." 
 
 He ended here, and all the assembly sat 
 In silence ; King Alcinoiis only spake : — 
 
 " Stranger, since thou dost speak without offence. 
 And but to assert the prowess of thine arm, «9S 
 
 Indignant that amid the public games 
 This man should rail at thee, and since thy wish 
 Is only that all others who can speak 
 Becomingly may not in time to come 
 Dispraise that prowess, now, then, heed my words, 30° 
 And speak of them within thy palace halls 
 To other heroes when thou banquetest 
 Beside thy wife and children, and dost think 
 Of things that we excel in, — arts which Jove 
 Gives us, transmitted from our ancestors. 3°5 
 
 In boxing and in wrestling small renown 
 
Book VIII. 193 
 
 Have we, but we are swift of foot ; we guide 
 
 Our galleys bravely o'er the deep ; we take 
 
 Delight in feasts ; we love the harp, the dance. 
 
 And change of raiment, the warm bath and bed. 3'° 
 
 Rise, then, Phasacian masters of the dance, 
 
 And tread your measures, that our guest may tell 
 
 His friends at home how greatly we surpass 
 
 All other men in seamanship, the race. 
 
 The dance, the art of song. Go, one of you, 315 
 
 And bring Demodocus his clear-toned harp. 
 
 That somewhere in our palace has been left." 
 
 Thus spake the godlike king. The herald rose 
 To bring the sweet harp from the royal house. 
 Then the nine umpires also rose, who ruled 320 
 
 The games ; they smoothed the floor, and made the ring 
 Of gazers wider. Next the herald came. 
 And brought Demodocus the clear-toned harp. 
 The minstrel went into the midst, and there 
 Gathered the graceful dancers ; they were youths 3^5 
 
 In life's first bloom. With even steps they smote 
 The sacred floor. Ulysses, gazing, saw 
 The twinkle of their feet and was amazed. 
 The minstrel struck the chords and gracefully 
 Began the lay : he sang the loves of Mars 33° 
 
 25 
 
194 The Odyssey. 
 
 And Venus of the glittering crown, who first 
 
 Had met each other steahhily beneath 
 
 The roof of Vulcan. Mars with many gifts 
 
 Won her, and wronged her spouse, the King of Fire ; 
 
 But from the Sun, who saw their guilt, there came 335 
 
 A messenger to Vulcan. When he heard 
 
 The unwelcome tidings, planning his revenge. 
 
 He hastened to his smithy, where he forged 
 
 Chains that no power might loosen or might break, 
 
 Made to hold fast forever. When the snare 340 
 
 In all its parts was finished, he repaired, 
 
 Angry with Mars, to where the marriage-bed 
 
 Stood in his chamber. To the posts he tied 
 
 The encircling chains on every side, and made 
 
 Fast to the ceiling many, like the threads 345 
 
 Spun by the spider, which no eye could see. 
 
 Not even of the gods, so artfully 
 
 He wrought them. Then, as soon as he had wrapped 
 
 The snare about the bed, he feigned to go 
 
 To Lemnos nobly built, most dear to him 350 
 
 Of all the lands. But Mars, the god who holds 
 
 The shining reins, had kept no careless watch, 
 
 And when he saw the great artificer 
 
 Depart he went with speed to Vulcan's house, 
 
Book VIII. 195 
 
 Drawn thither by the love of her who wears 355 
 
 The glittering crown. There Cytherea sat. 
 Arrived that moment from a visit paid. 
 Entering, he took her by the hand and said : — 
 
 " Come, my beloved, let us to the couch. 
 Vulcan is here no longer ; he is gone, 360 
 
 And is among the Sintians, men who speak. 
 A barbarous tongue, in Lemnos far away." 
 
 He spake, and she approved his words, and both 
 Lay down upon the bed, when suddenly 
 The network, wrought by Vulcan's skilful hand, 365 
 
 Caught them, and clasped them round, nor could they lift 
 Or move a limb, and saw that no escape 
 Was possible. And now approached the ^Cing 
 Of Fire, returning ere he reached the isle 
 Of Lemnos, for the Sun in his behalf 37° 
 
 Kept watch and told him all. He hastened home 
 In bitterness of heart, but when he reached 
 The threshold stopped. A fury without bounds 
 Possessed him, and he shouted terribly. 
 And called aloud on all the gods of heaven : — ' 375 
 
 " O Father Jove, and all ye blessed ones. 
 And deathless ! Come, for here is what will move 
 Your laughter, yet is not to be endured. 
 
196 The Odyssey. 
 
 Jove's daughter, Venus, thus dishonors me. 
 Lame as I am, and loves the butcher Mars ; 38° 
 
 For he is well to look at, and is sound 
 Of foot, vi^hile I am v^eakly, — but for this 
 Are none but my two parents to be blamed. 
 Who never should have given me birth. Behold 
 Where lie embraced the lovers in my bed, — 385 
 
 A hateful sight. Yet they will hardly take 
 Even a short slumber there, though side by side. 
 Enamored as they are ; nor will they both 
 Be drowsy very soon. The net and chains 
 Will hold them till her father shall restore 39° 
 
 All the large gifts which, on our marriage-day, 
 I gave him to possess the impudent minx 
 His daughter, who is fair, indeed, but false." 
 He spake, and to the brazen palace flocked 
 The gods ; there Neptune came, who shakes the earth ; 
 There came beneficent Hermes ; there too came 396 
 
 Apollo, archer-god ; the goddesses. 
 Through womanly reserve, remained at home. 
 Meantime the gods, the givers of all good. 
 Stood in the entrance ; and as they beheld 400 
 
 The cunning snare of Vulcan, there arose 
 Infinite laughter from the blessed ones. 
 
Book VI 11. 197 
 
 And one of them bespake his neighbor thus : — ■ 
 
 "Wrong prospers not; the slow o'ertakes the swift. 
 Vulcan the slow has trapped the fleetest god . 40s 
 
 Upon Olympus, Mars ; though lame himself. 
 His net has taken the adulterer, 
 Who now must pay the forfeit of his crime." 
 
 So talked they with each other. Then the son 
 Of Jove, Apollo, thus to Hermes said : — 41° 
 
 " Hermes, thou son and messenger of Jove, 
 And bountiful of gifts, couldst thou endure. 
 Fettered with such strong chains as these, to lie 
 Upon a couch with Venus at thy side ? " 
 
 The herald-god, the Argus-queller, thus 415 
 
 Made answer : " Nay, I would that it were so, 
 O archer-king, Apollo ; I could bear 
 Chains thrice as many, and of infinite strength. 
 And all the gods and all the goddesses 
 Might come to look upon me, I would keep 42° 
 
 My place with golden Venus at my side." 
 
 He spake, and all the immortals laughed to hear. 
 Neptune alone laughed not, but earnestly 
 Prayed Vulcan, the renowned artificer. 
 To set Mars free, and spake these winged words : — 4^5 
 
 " Release thy prisoner. What thou dost require 
 
198 The Odyssey. 
 
 I promise here, — that he shall make to thee 
 Due recompense in presence of the gods." 
 
 Illustrious Vulcan answered : " Do not lay. 
 Earth-shaking Neptune, this command on me, 43° 
 
 Since little is the worth of pledges given 
 For worthless debtors. How could I demand 
 My right from thee among the assembled gods. 
 If Mars, set free, escape from debt and chains ? " 
 
 Again the god who shakes the earth replied : — 435 
 
 " Vulcan, though Mars deny the forfeit due. 
 And take to flight, it shall be paid by me." 
 
 Again illustrious Vulcan said : " Thy word 
 I ought not and I seek not to decline." 
 
 He spake, and then the might of Vulcan loosed 440 
 
 The net, and, freed from those strong fetters, both 
 The prisoners sprang away. Mars flew to Thrace, 
 And laughter-loving Venus to the isle 
 Of Cyprus, where at Paphos stand her grove 
 And perfumed altar. Here the Graces gave 44s 
 
 The bath, anointed with ambrosial oil 
 Her limbs, — such oil as to the eternal gods 
 Lends a fresh beauty, and arrayed her last 
 In graceful robes, a marvel to behold. 
 
 So sang the famous bard, while inly pleased 45° 
 
Book VI 11. 199 
 
 Ulysses heard, and pleased were all the rest, 
 Phceacia's sons, expert with oar and sail. 
 
 Alcinoiis called his sons Laodamas 
 And Halius forth, and bade them dance alone. 
 For none of all the others equalled them. 45s 
 
 Then taking a fair purple ball, the work 
 Of skilful Polybus, and, bending back. 
 One flung it toward the shadowy clouds on high. 
 The other springing upward easily 
 
 Grasped it before he touched the ground again. 460 
 
 And when they thus had tossed the ball awhile. 
 They danced upon the nourishing earth, and oft 
 Changed places with each other, while the youths. 
 That stood within the circle filled the air 
 With their applauses ; mighty was the din. 465 
 
 Then great Ulysses to Alcinoiis said : — 
 
 " O King Alcinoiis ! mightiest of the race 
 For whom thou hast engaged that they excel 
 All others in the dance, what thou hast said 
 Is amply proved. I look and am amazed." 470 
 
 Well pleased Alcinoiis the mighty heard. 
 And thus to his seafaring people spake : — 
 
 " Leaders and chiefs of the Phsacians, hear ! 
 Wise seems the stranger. Haste we to bestow 
 
200 The Odyssey. 
 
 Gifts that may well beseem his liberal bests. 47s 
 
 Twelve honored princes in our land bear sway, 
 
 The thirteenth prince am I. Let each one bring 
 
 A well-bleached cloak, a tunic, and beside 
 
 Of precious gold a talent. Let them all 
 
 Be brought at once, that, having seen them here, 480 
 
 Our guest may with a cheerful heart partake 
 
 The evening meal. And let Euryalus, 
 
 Who spake but now so unbecomingly. 
 
 Appease him both with words and with a gift." 
 
 He spake ; they all approved, and each one sent 48s 
 His herald with a charge to bring the gifts. 
 And thus Euryalus addressed the king : — 
 
 " O King Alcinoiis, mightiest of our race, 
 I will obey thee, and will seek to appease 
 Our guest. This sword of brass will I bestow, 49° 
 
 With hilt of silver, and an ivo^y sheath 
 New wrought, which he may deem a gift of price." 
 
 He spake, and gave the silver-studded sword 
 Into his hand, and spake these winged words : — 
 
 " Stranger and father, hail ! If any word 49s 
 
 That hath been uttered gave offence may storms 
 Sweep it away forever. May the gods 
 Give thee to see thy wife again, and reach 
 
Book VIII. 20 1 
 
 Thy native land, where all thy sufferings 
 
 And this long absence from thy friends shall end ! " 5°° 
 
 Ulysses, the sagacious, thus replied : — 
 " Hail also, friend ! and may the gods confer 
 On thee all happiness, and may the time 
 Never arrive vs^hen thou shalt miss the sword 
 Placed in my hands with reconciling words ! " s°s 
 
 He spake, and slung the silver-studded sword 
 Upon his shoulders. Now the sun went down. 
 And the rich presents were already brought. 
 The noble heralds came and carried them 
 Into the palace of Alcinoiis, where 51° 
 
 His blameless sons received and ranged them all 
 In fair array before the queenly dame 
 Their mother. Meantime had the mighty king 
 Alcinoiis to his palace led the way. 
 
 Where they who followed took the lofty seats, s's 
 
 And thus Alcinoiis to Arete said : — 
 
 " Bring now a coffer hither, fairly shaped. 
 
 The best we have, and lay a well-bleached cloak 
 
 And tunic in it ; set upon the fire 
 
 A brazen caldron for our guest, to warm ss^o 
 
 The water of his bath, that having bathed 
 
 And viewed the gifts which the Phsacian chiefs 
 26 
 
202 The Odyssey. 
 
 Have brought him, ranged in order, he may sit 
 
 Delighted at the banquet and enjoy 
 
 The music. I will give this beautiful cup 5^5 
 
 Of gold, that he, in memory of me. 
 
 May daily in his palace pour to Jove 
 
 Libations, and to all the other gods." 
 
 He spake ; Arete bade her maidens haste 
 To place an ample tripod on the fire. 53° 
 
 Forthwith upon the blazing fire they set 
 A laver with three feet, and in it poured 
 Water, and heaped fresh fuel on the flames. 
 The flames crept up the vessel's swelling sides. 
 And warmed the water. Meantime from her room S3s 
 Arete brought a beautiful chest, in which 
 She laid the presents destined for her guest, — 
 Garments and gold which the Phsacians gave, — 
 And laid the cloak and tunic with the rest. 
 And thus in winged words addressed the chief: — 540 
 
 " Look to the lid thyself, and cast a cord 
 Around it, lest, upon thy voyage home. 
 Thou suff'er loss, when haply thou shalt take 
 A pleasant slumber in the dark-hulled ship." 
 
 Ulysses, the sagacious, heard, and straight s4s 
 
 He fitted to its place the lid, and wound 
 
Book Fill. 203 
 
 And knotted artfully around the chest 
 
 A cord, as queenly Circe long before 
 
 Had taught him. Then to call him to the bath 
 
 The housewife of the palace came. He saw 55° 
 
 Gladly the steaming laver, for not oft 
 
 Had he been cared for thus, since he had left 
 
 The dwelling of the nymph with amber hair. 
 
 Calypso, though attended while with her 
 
 As if he were a god. Now when the maids 555 
 
 Had seen him bathed, and had anointed him 
 
 With oil, and put his sumptuous mantle on, 
 
 And tunic, forth he issued from the bath. 
 
 And came to those who sat before their wine, 
 
 Nausicaa, goddess-like in beauty, stood s^o 
 
 Beside a pillar of that noble roof. 
 
 And looking on Ulysses as he passed. 
 
 Admired, and said to him in winged words : — 
 
 " Stranger, farewell, and in thy native land 
 Remember thou hast owed thy life to me." 565 
 
 Ulysses, the sagacious, answering said : — 
 " Nausicaa, daughter of the large-souled king 
 Alcinoiis ! so may Jove, the Thunderer, 
 Husband of Juno, grant that I behold 
 My home, returning safe, as I will make 570 
 
204 The Odyssey. 
 
 To thee as to a goddess day by day 
 
 My prayer ; for, lady, thou hast saved my life." 
 
 He spake, and near Alcinoiis took, his place 
 Upon a throne. And now they served the feast 
 To each, and mingled wine. A herald led 575 
 
 Thither the gentle bard Demodocus, 
 Whom all the people honored. Him they placed 
 Amidst the assembly, where he leaned against 
 A lofty column. Sage Ulysses then 
 
 Carved from the broad loin of a white-t'usked boar 580 
 A part, where yet a mass of flesh remained 
 Bordered with fat, and to the herald said : — 
 
 " Bear this, O herald, to Demodocus, 
 That he may eat. Him, even in my grief. 
 Will I embrace, for worthily the bards 585 
 
 Are honored and revered o'er all the earth 
 By every race of men. The Muse herself 
 Hath taught them song; she loves the minstrel tribe." 
 
 He spake ; the herald laid the flesh before 
 Demodocus the hero, who received S9° 
 
 The gift well pleased. Then all the guests put forth 
 Their hands and shared the viands on the board ; 
 And when their thirst and hunger were allayed. 
 Thus to the minstrel sage Ulysses spake : — 
 
Book VIII. 205 
 
 " Demodocus, above all other men 59s 
 
 I give thee praise, for either has the Muse, 
 Jove's daughter, or Apollo, visited 
 And taught thee. Truly hast thou sung the fate 
 Of the Achaian warriors, — what they did 
 And suffered, — all their labors as if thou 600 
 
 Hadst been among them, or hadst heard the tale 
 From an eye-witness. Now, I pray, proceed. 
 And sing the invention of the wooden horse 
 Made by Epeius with Minerva's aid. 
 
 And by the chief Ulysses artfully 60s 
 
 Conveyed into the Trojan citadel. 
 With armed warriors in its womb to lay 
 The city waste. And I, if thou relate 
 The story rightly, will at once declare 
 To all that largely hath some bounteous god 61° 
 
 Bestowed on thee the holy gift of song." 
 
 He spake ; the poet felt the inspiring god. 
 And sang, beginning where the Argives hurled 
 Firebrands among their tents, and sailed away 
 In their good galleys, save the band that sat 615 
 
 Beside renowned Ulysses in the horse. 
 Concealed from sight, amid the Trojan crowd. 
 Who now had drawn it to the citadel. 
 
2o6 The Odyssey. 
 
 So there it stood, while, sitting round it, talked 
 
 The men of Troy, and wist not what to do. 620 
 
 By turns three counsels pleased them, — to hew down 
 
 The hollow trunk with the remorseless steel ; 
 
 Or drag it to a height, and cast it thence 
 
 Headlong among the rocks ; or, lastly, leave 
 
 The enormous image standing and unharmed, 6=5 
 
 An offering to appease the gods. And this 
 
 At last was done ; for so had fate decreed 
 
 That they should be destroyed whene'er their town 
 
 Should hold within its walls the horse of wood. 
 
 In which the mightiest of the Argives came 630 
 
 Among the sons of Troy to smite and slay. 
 
 Then sang the bard how, issuing from the womb 
 
 Of that deceitful horse, the sons of Greece 
 
 Laid Ilium waste ; how each in different ways 
 
 Ravaged the town, while, terrible as Mars, 635 
 
 Ulysses, joined with Menelaus, sought 
 
 The palace of Deiphobus, and there 
 
 Maintained a desperate battle, till the aid 
 
 Of mighty Pallas made the victory his. 
 
 So sang renowned Demodocus ; the strain 640 
 
 Melted to tears Ulysses, from whose lids 
 They dropped and wet his cheeks. As when a wife 
 Weeps her beloved husband, slain before 
 
Book viii. 207 
 
 His town and people, fighting to defend 
 
 Them and his own dear babes from deadly harm, e+s 
 
 She sees him gasp and die, and at the sight 
 
 She falls with piercing cries upon his corpse. 
 
 Meantime the victors beat her on the back 
 
 And shoulders with their spears, and bear her off 
 
 To toil and grieve in slavery, where her cheeks 65° 
 
 In that long bitter sorrow lose their bloom ; 
 
 So from the eyelids of Ulysses fell 
 
 The tears, yet fell unnoticed by them all 
 
 Save that Alcinoiis, sitting at his side. 
 
 Saw them, and heard his heavy sighs, and thus " 655 
 
 Bespake his people, masters of the oar : — 
 
 " Princes and chiefs of the Phsacian race. 
 Give ear. Let now Demodocus lay by 
 His clear-toned harp. The matter of his song 
 Delights not all alike. Since first we sat 660 
 
 At meat, and since our noble bard began 
 His lay, our guest has never ceased to grieve ; 
 Some mighty sorrow weighs upon his heart. 
 Now let the bard refrain, that we may all 
 Enjoy the banquet, both our guest and we 663 
 
 Who welcome him, for it is fitting thus. 
 And now are all things for our worthy guest 
 Made ready, both the escort and these gifts. 
 
2o8 The Odyssey. 
 
 The pledges of our kind regard. A guest, 
 
 A suppliant, is a brother, even to him 670 
 
 Who bears a heart not easy to be moved. 
 
 No longer, then, keep back with studied art 
 
 What I shall ask ; 't w^ere better far to speak 
 
 With freedom. Tell the name thy mother gave. 
 
 Thy father, and all those who dwell within, 675 
 
 And round thy city. For no living man 
 
 Is nameless from the time that he is born. 
 
 Humble or high in station, at their birth 
 
 The parents give them names. Declare thy land. 
 
 Thy people, and thy city, that our ships eso 
 
 May learn, and bear thee to the place ; for here 
 
 In our Phsacian ships no pilots are. 
 
 Nor rudders, as in ships of other lands. 
 
 Ours know the thoughts and the intents of men. 
 
 To them all cities and all fertile coasts 685 
 
 Inhabited by men are known ; they cross 
 
 The great sea scudding fast, involved in mist 
 
 And darkness, with no fear of perishing 
 
 Or meeting harm. I heard Nausithoiis, 
 
 My father, say that Neptune was displeased 690 
 
 With us for safely bearing to their homes 
 
 So many men, and that he would destroy 
 
 In after time some good Phseacian ship, 
 
Book viii. 209 
 
 Returning from a convoy, in the waves 
 
 Of the dark sea, and leave her planted there, «9S 
 
 A mountain huge and high, before our town. 
 
 So did the aged chieftain prophesy ; 
 
 The god, as best may please him, will fulfil 
 
 My father's words, or leave them unfulfilled. 
 
 Now tell me truly whither thou hast roamed, 70° 
 
 And what the tribes of men that thou hast seen ; 
 
 Tell which of them are savage, rude, unjust, 
 
 And which are hospitable and revere 
 
 The blessed gods. Declare why thou didst weep 
 
 And sigh when hearing what unhappy fate 70s 
 
 Befell the Argive and Achaian host 
 
 And town of Troy. The gods decreed it ; they 
 
 Ordain destruction to the sons of men, 
 
 A theme of song thereafter. Hadst thou not 
 
 Some valiant kinsman who was slain at Troy ? 710 
 
 A son-in-law ? the father of thy wife ? 
 
 Nearest of all are they to us, save those 
 
 Of our own blood. Or haply might it be 
 
 Some bosom-friend, one eminently graced 
 
 With all that wins our love ; for not less dear 711 
 
 Than if he were a brother should we hold 
 
 The wise and gentle man who is our friend." 
 
 27 
 
BOOK IX. 
 
 T T LYSSES, the sagacious, answered thus : — 
 ^■^ " O King Alcinoiis, most renowned of men ! 
 A pleasant thing.it is to hear a bard 
 Like this, endowed with such a voice, so like 
 The voices of the gods. Nor can I deem 5 
 
 Aught more delightful than the general joy 
 Of a whole people when the assembled guests 
 Seated in order in the royal halls 
 Are listening to the minstrel, while the board 
 Is spread with bread and meats, and from the jars 10 
 
 The cupbearer draws wine and fills the cups. 
 To me there is no more delightful sight. 
 
 " But now thy mind is moved to ask of me 
 The story of the sufferings I have borne. 
 And that will wake my grief- anew. What first, is 
 
 What next, shall I relate ? what last of all ? 
 For manifold are the misfortunes cast 
 Upon me by the immortals. Let me first 
 
Book IX. 211 
 
 Declare my name, that ye may know, and I 
 
 Perchance, before my day of death shall come, 20 
 
 May be your host, though dwelling far away. 
 
 I am Ulysses, and my father's name 
 
 Laertes ; widely am I known to men 
 
 As quick in shrewd devices, and my fame 
 
 Hath reached to heaven. In sunny Ithaca 25 
 
 I dwell, where high Neritus, seen afar. 
 
 Rustles with woods. Around are many isles. 
 
 Well peopled, near each other. Samos there 
 
 Lies, with Dulichium, and Zacynthus dark 
 
 With forests. Ithaca, with its low shores, 3° 
 
 Lies highest toward the setting sun ; the rest 
 
 Are on the side where first the morning breaks. 
 
 A rugged region 't is, but nourishes 
 
 Nobly its youths, nor have I ever seen 
 
 A sweeter spot on earth. Calypso late, 35 
 
 That glorious goddess, in her grotto long 
 
 Detained me from it, and desired that I 
 
 Should be her husband ; in her royal home 
 
 iEean Circe, mistress of strange arts. 
 
 Detained me also, and desired that I 4° 
 
 Should be her husband, — yet they could not move 
 
 The purpose of my heart. For there is nought 
 
212 The Odyssey. 
 
 More sweet and dear than our own native land 
 
 And parents, though perchance our lot be cast 
 
 In a rich home, yet far from our own kin 4S 
 
 And in a foreign land. Now let me speak 
 
 Of the calamitous voyage which the will 
 
 Of Jove ordained on my return from Troy. 
 
 "The wind that blew me from the Trojan shore 
 Bore me to the Ciconians, who abode 5° 
 
 In Ismarus. I laid the city waste 
 And slew its dwellers, carried off their wives 
 And all their wealth and parted them among 
 My men, that none might want an equal share. 
 And then I warned them with all haste to leave 55 
 
 The region. Madmen ! they obeyed me not. 
 
 " And there they drank much wine, and on the beach 
 Slew many sheep and many slow-paced steers 
 With crumpled horns. Then the Ciconians called 
 To their Ciconian neighbors, braver men 60 
 
 Than they, and more in number, whose abode 
 Was on the mainland, trained to fight from steeds. 
 Or, if need were, on foot. In swarms they came, 
 Thick as new leaves or morning flowers in spring. 
 Then fell on our unhappy company 65 
 
 An evil fate from Jove, and many griefs. 
 
Book IX. 213 
 
 They formed their lines, and fought at our good ships. 
 
 Where man encountered man with brazen spears. 
 
 While yet 't was morning, and the holy light 
 
 Of day waxed brighter, we withstood the assault, 7° 
 
 And kept our ground, although more numerous they. 
 
 But when the sun was sloping toward the west 
 
 The enemy prevailed ; the Achaian band 
 
 Was routed, and was made to flee. That day 
 
 There perished from each galley of our fleet 75 
 
 Six valiant men ; the rest escaped with life. 
 
 " Onward we sailed, lamenting bitterly 
 Our comrades slain, yet happy to escape 
 From death ourselves. Nor did we put to sea 
 In our good ships until we thrice had called 80 
 
 Aloud by name each one- of our poor friends 
 Who fell in battle by Ciconian hands. 
 The Cloud-compeller, Jove, against us sent 
 The north-wind in a hurricane, and wrapped 
 The earth and heaven in clouds, and from the skies ss 
 Fell suddenly the night. With stooping masts 
 Our galleys scudded ; the strong tempest split 
 And tore the sails ; we drew and laid them down 
 Within the ships, in fear of utter wreck. 
 And toward the mainland eagerly we turned " 9° 
 
2 14 ^^^ Odyssey. 
 
 The rudders. There we lay two days and nights. 
 
 Worn out with grief and hardship. When at length 
 
 The fair-haired Morning brought the third day round. 
 
 We raised the masts, and, spreading the white sails 
 
 To take the wind, we sat us down. The wind 95 
 
 Carried us forward with the pilot's aid ; 
 
 And then should I have reached my native land 
 
 Safely, had got the currents and the waves 
 
 Of ocean and the north-wind driven me back, 
 
 What time I strove to pass Maleia's cape, 100 
 
 And swept me to Cytheras from my course. 
 
 " Still onward driven before those baleful winds 
 Across the fishy deep for nine whole days. 
 On the tenth day we reached the land where dwell 
 The Lotus-eaters, men whose food is flowers. 105 
 
 We landed on the mainland, and our crews 
 Near the fleet galleys took their evening meal. 
 And when we all had eaten and had drunk 
 I sent explorers forth — two chosen men, 
 A herald was the third — to learn what race no 
 
 Of mortals nourished by the fruits of earth 
 Possessed the land. They went and found themselves 
 Among the Lotus-eaters soon, who used 
 No violence against their lives, but gave 
 
Book IX. 215 
 
 Into their hands the lotus plant to taste. "s 
 
 Whoever tasted once of that sweet food 
 
 Wished not to see his native country more, 
 
 Nor give his friends the knowledge of his fate. 
 
 And then my messengers desired to dwell 
 
 Among the Lotus-eaters, and to feed 12° 
 
 Upon the lotus, never to return. 
 
 By force I led them weeping to the fleet. 
 
 And bound them in the hollow ships beneath 
 
 The benches. Then I ordered all the rest 
 
 Of my beloved comrades to embark 12s 
 
 In haste, lest, tasting of the lotus, they 
 
 Should think no more of home. All straightway went 
 
 On board, and on the benches took their place. 
 
 And smote the hoary ocean with their oars. 
 
 " Onward we sailed with sorrowing hearts, and reached 
 The country of the Cyclops, an untamed 131 
 
 And lawless race, who, trusting to the gods. 
 Plant not, nor plough the fields, but all things spring 
 For them untended, — barley, wheat, and vines 
 Yielding large clusters filled with wine, and nursed 13s 
 By showers from Jove. No laws have they ; they hold 
 No councils. On the mountain heights they dwell 
 In vaulted caves, where each one rules his wives 
 
3i6 The Odyssey. 
 
 And children as he pleases ; none give heed 
 
 To what the others do. Before the port 140 
 
 Of that Cyclopean land there is an isle. 
 
 Low-lying, neither near nor yet remote, — 
 
 A woodland region, where the wild goats breed 
 
 Innumerable ; for the foot of man 
 
 Disturbs them not, and huntsmen toiling through 14s 
 
 Thick woods, or wandering over mountain heights. 
 
 Enter not here. The fields are never grazed 
 
 By sheep, nor furrowed by the plough, but lie 
 
 Untilled, unsown, and uninhabited 
 
 By man, and only feed the bleating goats. 150 
 
 The Cyclops have no barks with crimson prows. 
 
 Nor shipwrights skilled to frame a galley's deck 
 
 With benches for the rowers, and equipped 
 
 For any service, voyaging by turns 
 
 To all the cities, as is often done 155 
 
 By men who cross the deep from place to place. 
 
 And make a prosperous region of an isle. 
 
 No meagre soil is there ; it well might bear 
 
 All fruits in their due time. Along the shore 
 
 Of the gray deep are meadows smooth and moist. 160 
 
 The vine would flourish long ; the ploughman's task 
 
 Is easy, and the husbandman would reap 
 
Book IX. 217 
 
 Large harvests, for the mould is rich below. 
 
 And there is a safe haven, w^here no need 
 
 Of cable is ; no anchor there is cast, 165 
 
 Nor hawsers fastened to the strand, but they 
 
 Who enter there remain until it please 
 
 The mariners, with favorable vv^ind. 
 
 To put to sea again. A limpid stream 
 
 Flows from a fount beneath a hollow rock 17° 
 
 Into that harbor at its further end. 
 
 And poplars grow around it. Thither went 
 
 Our fleet ; some deity had guided us 
 
 Through the dark night, for nothing had we seen. 
 
 Thick was the gloom around our barks; the moon 17s 
 
 Shone not in heaven, the clouds had quenched her, light. 
 
 No eye discerned the isle, nor the long waves 
 
 That rolled against the shore, till our good ships 
 
 Touched land, and, disembarking there, we gave 
 
 Ourselves to sleep upon the water-side iSo 
 
 And waited for the holy Morn to rise. 
 
 " And when at length the daughter of the Dawn, 
 The rosy-fingered Morn, appeared, we walked 
 Around the isle, admiring as we went. 
 Meanwhile the nymphs, the daughters of the God 185 
 Who bears the aegis, roused the mountain goats, 
 
 z8 
 
2i8 The Odyssey. 
 
 That so our crews might make their morning meal. 
 And straightway from our ships we took in hand 
 Our crooked bows and our long-bladed spears. 
 
 " ' Let all the rest of my beloved friends 19° 
 
 Remain, while I, with my own bark and crew» 
 Go forth to learn what race of men are these. 
 Whether ill-mannered, savage, and unjust. 
 Or kind to guests and reverent toward the gods.' 
 
 " I spake, and, having ordered all my crew 19s 
 
 To go on board and cast the hawsers loose. 
 Embarked on my own ship. They all obeyed. 
 And manned the benches, sitting there in rows. 
 And smote the hoary ocean with their oars. 
 But when we came upon that neighboring coast, 200 
 
 We saw upon its verge beside the sea 
 A cave high vaulted, overbrowed with shrubs 
 Of laurel. There much cattle lay at rest. 
 Both sheep and goats. Around it was a court 
 A high enclosure of hewn stone, and pines 205 
 
 Tall stemmed, and towering oaks. Here dwelt a man 
 Of giant bulk, who by himself, alone. 
 Was wont to tend his flocks. He never held 
 Converse with others, but devised apart 
 His wicked deeds. A frightful prodigy iio 
 
Book IX. 219 
 
 Was he, and like no man who lives by bread. 
 But more like a huge mountain summit, rough 
 With woods, that towers alone above the rest. 
 
 " Then, bidding all the others stay and guard 
 The ship, I chose among my bravest men 115 
 
 Twelve whom I took with me. I had on board 
 A goatskin of dark wine, — a pleasant sort. 
 Which Maron late, Evanthes' son, a priest 
 Of Phcebus, guardian god of Ismarus, 
 Gave me, when, moved with reverence, we saved 220 
 
 Him and his children and his wife from death. 
 For his abode was in the thick-grown grove 
 Of Phoebus. Costly were the gifts he gave, — 
 Seven talents of wrought gold ; a chalice all 
 Of silver ; and he drew for me, besides, 315 
 
 Into twelve jars, a choice rich wine, unspoiled 
 By mixtures, and a beverage for gods. 
 No one within his dwelling, maids or men. 
 Knew of it, save the master and his wife. 
 And matron of the household. Whensoe'er 23° 
 
 They drank this rich red wine, he only filled 
 A single cup with wine, and tempered that 
 With twenty more of water. From the cup 
 Arose a fragrance that might please the gods. 
 
2 20 The Odyssey, 
 
 And hard it was to put the draught aside. 235 
 
 Of this I took a skin well filled, besides 
 
 Food in a hamper, — for my thoughtful mind 
 
 Misgave me, lest I should encounter one 
 
 Of formidable strength and savage mood. 
 
 And with no sense of justice or of right. mo 
 
 " Soon were we at the cave, but found not him 
 Within it ; he was in the fertile meads. 
 Tending his flocks. We entered, wondering much 
 At all we saw. Around were baskets heaped 
 With cheeses ; pens were thronged with lambs and kids. 
 Each in a separate fold ; the elder ones. 
 The younger, and the newly yeaned, had each 
 Their place apart. The vessels swam with whey, — 
 Pails smoothly wrought, and buckets into which 
 He milked the cattle. My companions then 250 
 
 Begged me with many pressing words to take 
 Part of the cheeses, and, returning, drive 
 With speed to our good galley lambs and kids 
 From where they stabled, and set sail again 
 On the salt sea. I granted not their wish ; 255 
 
 Far better if I had. 'T was my intent 
 To see the owner of the flocks and prove 
 His hospitality. No pleasant sight 
 
Book IX. 22 1 
 
 Was that to be for those with whom I came, 
 
 " And then we lit a fire, and sacrificed, 260 
 
 And ate the cheeses, and within the cave 
 Sat waiting, till from pasturing his flocks 
 He came ; a heavy load of well-dried wood 
 He bore, to make a blaze at supper-time. 
 Without the den he flung his burden down 165 
 
 With such a crash that we in terror slunk 
 Into a corner of the cave. He drove 
 His well-fed flock, all those whose milk he drew. 
 Under that spacious vault of rock, but left 
 The males, both goats and rams, without the court. 27° 
 And then he lifted a huge barrier up, 
 A mighty weight ; riot two-and-twenty wains. 
 Four-wheeled and strong, could move it from the ground : 
 Such was the enormous rock he raised, and placed 
 Against the entrance. Then he sat and milked ^75 
 
 The ewes and bleating goats, each one in turn. 
 And gave to each its young. Next, half the milk 
 He caused to curdle, and disposed the curd 
 In woven baskets ; and the other half 
 He kept in bowls to be his evening drink. ^so 
 
 His tasks all ended thus, he lit a fire. 
 And saw us where we lurked, and questioned us : — 
 
222 The Odyssey. 
 
 " ' Who are ye, strangers ? Tell me whence ye came 
 Across the ocean. Are ye men of trade. 
 Or wanderers at will, like those who roam ^85 
 
 The sea for plunder, and, with their own lives 
 In peril, carry death to distant shores ? ' 
 
 " He spake, and we who heard with sinking hearts 
 Trembled at that deep voice and frightful form. 
 And thus I answered : ' We are Greeks who come 29° 
 From Ilium, driven across the mighty deep 
 By changing winds, and while we sought our home 
 Have made a different voyage, and been forced 
 Upon another course ; such was the will 
 Of Jupiter. We boast ourselves to be 29s 
 
 Soldiers of Agamemnon, Atreus' son. 
 Whose fame is now the greatest under heaven, 
 So mighty was the city which he sacked. 
 So many were the warriors whom he slew ; 
 And now we come as suppliants to thy knees, 3°° 
 
 And ask thee to receive us as thy guests. 
 Or else bestow the gifts which custom makes 
 The stranger's due. Great as thou art, revere 
 The gods ; for suitors to thy grace are we. 
 And hospitable Jove, whose presence goes 305 
 
 With every worthy stranger, will avenge 
 
Book IX. 223 
 
 Suppliants and strangers when they suffer wrong.' 
 
 " I spake, and savagely he answered me : — 
 ' Thou art a fool, O stranger, or art come 
 From some far country, — thou who biddest me 31° 
 
 Fear or regard^the gods. We little care — 
 We Cyclops — for the ^Egis-bearer, Jove, 
 Or any other of the blessed gods ; 
 We are their betters. Think not I would spare 
 Thee or thy comrades to avoid the wrath S's 
 
 Of Jupiter, unless it were my choice; 
 But say, — for I would know, — where hast thou left 
 Thy gallant bark in landing ? was it near. 
 Or in some distant corner of the isle ? ' 
 
 " He spake to tempt me, but I well perceived 3^° 
 
 His craft, and answered with dissembling words : 
 
 " ' Neptune, who shakes the shores, hath wrecked my bark 
 On rocks that edge thine island, hurling it 
 Against the headland. From the open sea 
 The tempest swept it hitherward, and I, 3^5 
 
 With these, escaped the bitter doom of death.' 
 
 " I spake ; the savage answered not, but sprang, 
 And, laying hands on my companions, seized 
 Two, whom he dashed like whelps against the ground. 
 Their brains flowed out, and weltered where they fell. 33° 
 
2 24 The Odyssey. 
 
 He hewed them limb from limb for his repast, 
 
 And, like a lion of the mountain wilds. 
 
 Devoured them as they were, and left no part, — 
 
 Entrails nor flesh nor marrowy bones. We wept 
 
 To see his cruelties, and raised our hands 335 
 
 To Jove, and hopeless misery filled our hearts. 
 
 And when the Cyclops now had filled himself. 
 
 Devouring human flesh, and drinking milk 
 
 Unmingled, in his cave he laid him down. 
 
 Stretched out amid his flocks. The thought arose 340 
 
 In my courageous heart to go to him. 
 
 And draw the trenchant sword upon my thigh. 
 
 And where the midrifFjoins the liver deal 
 
 A stroke to pierce his breast. A second thought 
 
 Restrained me, — that a miserable death 34s 
 
 Would overtake us, since we had no power 
 
 To move the mighty rock which he had laid 
 
 At the high opening. So all night we grieved. 
 
 Waiting the holy Morn ; and when at length 
 
 That rosy-fingered daughter of the Dawn 35° 
 
 Appeared, the Cyclops lit a fire, and milked 
 
 His fair flock one by one, and brought their young 
 
 Each to its mother's side. When he had thus 
 
 Performed his household tasks, he seized again 
 
Book IX. 225 
 
 Two of our number for his morning meal. 355 
 
 These he devoured, and then he moved av^ay 
 
 With ease the massive rock that closed the cave. 
 
 And, driving forth his well-fed flock, he laid 
 
 The massive barrier back, as one would fit 
 
 The lid upon a quiver. With loud noise 36° 
 
 The Cyclops drove that well-fed flock afield. 
 
 While I was left to think of many a plan 
 
 To do him mischief and avenge our wrongs. 
 
 If haply Pallas should confer on me 
 
 That glory. To my mind, as I revolved 365 
 
 The plans, this seemed the wisest of them all. 
 
 " Beside the stalls there lay a massive club 
 Of olive-wood, yet green, which from its stock 
 The Cyclops hewed, that he might carry it 
 When seasoned. As it lay it seemed to us 37° 
 
 The mast of some black galley, broad of beam. 
 With twenty oarsmen, built to carry freight 
 Across the mighty deep, — such was its length 
 And thickness. Standing by it, I cut off 
 A fathom's length, and gave it to my men, 37s 
 
 And bade them smooth its sides, and they obeyed 
 While I made sharp the smaller end, and brought 
 
 The point to hardness in the glowing fire ; 
 
 29 
 
2 26 The Odyssey. 
 
 And then I hid the weapon in a heap 
 
 Of litter, which lay thick about the cave. 380 
 
 I bade my comrades now decide by lot 
 
 Which of them all should dare, along with me. 
 
 To lift the stake, and with its point bore out 
 
 Our enemy's eye, when softly wrapped in sleep. 
 
 The lot was cast, and fell on those whom most 38s 
 
 I wished with me, — four men, and I the fifth. 
 
 " At eve the keeper of these fair-woolled flocks 
 Returned, and brought his well-fed sheep and goats 
 Into the spacious cavern, leaving none 
 Without it, whether through some doubt of us yp 
 
 Or through the ordering of some god. He raised 
 The massive rock again, and laid it close 
 Against the opening. Then he sat and milked 
 The ewes and bleating goats, each one in turn. 
 And gave to each her young. When he had thus 395 
 
 Performed his household tasks, he seized again 
 Two of our number for his evening meal. 
 Then drew I near, and bearing in my hand 
 A wooden cup of dark red wine I said : — 
 
 " ' Take this, O Cyclops, after thy repast 4°° 
 
 Of human flesh, and drink, that thou mayst know 
 What liquor was concealed within our ship. 
 
Book IX, 227 
 
 I brought it as an offering to thee. 
 
 For I had hope that thou wouldst pity us. 
 
 And send us home. Yet are thy cruelties 405 
 
 Beyond all limit. Wicked as thou art. 
 
 Hereafter who, of all the human race, 
 
 Will dare approach thee, guilty of such wrong ? ' 
 
 "As thus I spake, he took the cup and drank. 
 The luscious wine delighted mightily 410 
 
 His palate, and he asked a second draught. 
 
 " * Give me to drink again, and generously. 
 And tell thy name, that I may make a gift 
 Such as becomes a host. The fertile land 
 In which the Cyclops dwell yields wine, 't is true, 415 
 
 And the large grapes are nursed by rains from Jove, 
 But nectar and ambrosia are in this.' • 
 
 " He spake ; I gave him of the generous juice 
 Again, and thrice I filled and brought the cup. 
 And thrice the Cyclops in his folly drank. 410 
 
 But when I saw the wine begin to cloud 
 His senses, I bespake him blandly thus : — 
 
 " ' Thou hast inquired, O Cyclops, by what name 
 Men know me. I will tell thee, but do thou 
 Bestow in turn some hospitable gift, 42s 
 
 As thou hast promised. Noman is my name. 
 
2 28 The Odyssey. 
 
 My father and my mother gave it me. 
 And Noman am I called by all my friends.' 
 
 " I ended, and he answered savagely : — 
 ' Noman shall be the last of all his band 43° 
 
 Whom I will eat, the rest will I devour 
 Before him. Let that respite be my gift." 
 
 " He spake, and, sinking backward at full length. 
 Lay on the ground, with his huge neck aside ; 
 All-powerful sleep had overtaken him. 435 
 
 Then frorn his mouth came bits of human flesh 
 Mingled with wine, and from his drunken throat 
 Rejected noisily. I put the stake 
 Among the glowing coals to gather heat. 
 And uttered cheerful words, encouraging 44° 
 
 My men, that none might fail me through their fears. 
 And when the olive-wood began to blaze, — 
 For though yet green it freely took the fire, — 
 I drew it from the embers. Round me stood 
 My comrades, whom some deity inspired 44s 
 
 With calm, high courage. In their hands they took 
 And thrust into his eye the pointed bar. 
 While perched upon a higher stand than they 
 I twirled it round. As when a workman bores 
 Some timber of a ship, the men who stand 45° 
 
Book IX. 229 
 
 Below him with a strap, on either side 
 
 Twirl it, and round it spins unceasingly. 
 
 So, thrusting in his eye that pointed bar. 
 
 We made it turn. The blood came streaming forth 
 
 On the hot wood ; the eyelids and the brow 43s 
 
 Were scalded by the vapor, and the roots 
 
 Of the scorched eyeball crackled with the fire. 
 
 As when a smith, in forging axe or adze. 
 
 Plunges, to temper it, the hissing blade 
 
 Into cold water, strengthening thus the steel, 46° 
 
 So hissed the eyeball of the Cyclops round 
 
 That olive stake. He raised a fearful howl ; 
 
 The rocks rang with it, and we fled from him 
 
 In terror. Plucking from his eye the stake 
 
 All foul and dripping with the abundant blood, 46s 
 
 He flung it madly from him with both hands. 
 
 Then called he to the Cyclops who in grots 
 
 Dwelt on that breezy height. They heard his voice 
 
 And came by various ways, and stood beside 
 
 The cave, and asked the occasion of his grief. 47° 
 
 " ' What hurts thee, Polyphemus, that thou thus 
 Dost break our slumbers in the ambrosial night 
 With cries } Hath any of the sons of men 
 Driven oflf thy flocks in spite of thee, or tried 
 
230 The Odyssey, 
 
 By treachery or force to take thy life ? ' 475 
 
 " Huge Polyphemus answered from his den : — 
 ' O friends ! 't is Noman who is killing me ; 
 By treachery Noman kills me ; none by force.' 
 
 " Then thus with winged words they spake again : — 
 'If no man does thee violence, and thou 480 
 
 Art quite alone, reflect that none escape 
 Diseases ; they are sent by Jove. But make 
 Thy prayer to Father Neptune, ocean's king.' 
 
 " So spake they and departed. In my heart 
 I laughed to think that by the name I took, 485 
 
 And by my shrewd device, I had deceived 
 The Cyclops. Meantime, groaning and in pain. 
 And groping with his hands, he moved away 
 The rock that barred the entrance. There he sat 
 With arms outstretched, to seize whoever sought 49° 
 
 To issue from the cavern with the flock. 
 So dull of thought he deemed me. Then I planned 
 How best to save my comrades and myself 
 From death. I framed a thousand stratagems 
 And arts, — for here was life at stake, and great 495 
 
 The danger was. At last I fixed on this. 
 
 " The rams were plump and beautiful, and large 
 With thick dark fleeces. These I silently 
 
Book IX. 231 
 
 Bound to each other, three and three, with twigs 
 
 Of which that prodigy of lawless guilt, 500 
 
 The Cyclops, made his bed. The middle ram 
 
 Of every three conveyed a man ; the two. 
 
 One on each side, were there to make him safe. 
 
 Thus each of us was borne by three ; but I 
 
 Chose for myself the finest one of all, 5°s 
 
 And seized him by the back, and, slipping down 
 
 Beneath his shaggy belly, stretched myself 
 
 At length, and clung with resolute heart, and hands 
 
 That firmly clenched the rich abundant fleece. 
 
 Then sighed we for the holy Morn to rise. 5'° 
 
 " And when again the daughter of the Dawn, 
 The rosy-fingered Morn, looked forth, the males 
 Went forth to pasture, while the ewes remained 
 Within the stables, bleating, yet unmilked. 
 For heavy were their udders. Carefully 515 
 
 The master handled, though in grievous pain. 
 The back of every one that rose and passed. 
 Yet, slow of thought, perceived not that my men 
 Were clinging hid beneath their woolly breasts. 
 As the last ram of all the flock went out, 5^° 
 
 His thick fleece heavy with my weight, and I 
 In agitated thought, he felt his back. 
 
232 The Odyssey. 
 
 And thus the giant Polyphemus spake : — • 
 
 " ' My favorite ram, how art thou now the last 
 To leave the cave ? It hath not been thy wont s'^^ 
 
 To let the sheep go first, but thou didst come 
 Earliest to feed among the flowery grass. 
 Walking with stately strides, and thou wert first 
 At the fresh stream, and first at eve to seek 
 The stable ; now thou art the last of all. 530 
 
 Grievest thou for thy master, who has lost 
 His eye, put out by a deceitful wretch 
 And his vile crew, who stupefied me first 
 With wine, — this Noman, — who, if right I deem. 
 Has not escaped from death. O, didst thoij think 53s 
 
 As I do, and hadst but the power of speech 
 To tell me where he hides from my strong arm. 
 Then should his brains, dashed out against the ground, 
 Be scattered here and there ; then should my heart 
 Be somewhat lighter, even amid the woes 54° 
 
 Which Noman, worthless wretch, has brought on me ! ' 
 
 "He spake, and sent him forth among the rest; 
 And when we were a little way beyond 
 The cavern and the court, I loosed my hold 
 Upon the animal and unbound my men. 54S 
 
 Then quickly we surrounded and drove off. 
 
Book IX. 233 
 
 Fat sheep and stately paced, a numerous flock, 
 And brought them to our ship, where joyfully 
 Our friends received us, though with grief and tears 
 For those who perished. Yet I suffered not 55° 
 
 That they should weep, but, frowning, gave command 
 By signs to lift with speed the fair-woolled sheep 
 On board, and launch our ship on the salt sea. 
 They went on board, where each one took his place 
 Upon the benches, and with diligent oars m 
 
 Smote the gray deep ; and when we were as far 
 As one upon the shore could hear a shout. 
 Thus to the Cyclops tauntingly I called : — 
 
 " * Ha ! Cyclops ! those whom in thy rocky cave 
 Thou, in thy brutal fury, hast devoured, 56° 
 
 Were friends of one not unexpert in war ; 
 Amply have thy own guilty deeds returned 
 Upon thee. Cruel one ! who didst not fear 
 To eat the strangers sheltered by thy roof, 
 Jove and the other gods avenge them thus.' 565 
 
 " I spake ; the anger in his bosom raged 
 More fiercely. From a mountain peak he wrenched 
 Its summit, hurling it to fall beside 
 Our galley, where it almost touched the helm. 
 The rock dashed high the water where it fell, 57° 
 
 30 
 
2 34 The Odyssey. 
 
 And the returning billow swept us back 
 
 And toward the shore. I seized a long-stemmed pike 
 
 And pushed it from the shore, encouraging 
 
 The men to bend with vigor to their oars 
 
 And so escape. With nods I gave the sign. 575 
 
 Forward to vigorous strokes the oarsmen leaned 
 
 Till we were out at sea as far from land 
 
 As when I spake before, and then again 
 
 I shouted to the Cyclops, though my crew 
 
 Strove to prevent it with beseeching words, 58° 
 
 And one man first and then another said : — 
 
 " ' O most unwise ! why chafe that savage man 
 To fury, — him who just has cast his bolt 
 Into the sea, and forced us toward the land 
 Where we had wellnigh perished ! Should he hear 585 
 A cry from us, or even a word of speech. 
 Then would he fling a rock to crush our heads 
 And wreck our ship, so fatal is his cast." 
 
 " He spake, but moved not my courageous heart ; 
 And then I spake again, and angrily : — 59° 
 
 " ' Cyclops, if any man of mortal birth 
 Note thine unseemly blindness, and inquire 
 The occasion, tell him that Laertes' son, 
 Ulysses, the destroyer of walled towns. 
 Whose home is Ithaca, put out thine eye.' 595 
 
Book IX. 235 
 
 " I spake ; he answered with a wailing voice : — 
 * Now, woe is me ! the ancient oracles 
 Concerning me have come to pass. Here dwelt 
 A seer named Telemus Eurymides, 
 
 Great, good, and eminent in prophecy, 600 
 
 And prophesying he grew old among 
 The Cyclops. He foretold my coming fate, — 
 That I should lose my sight, and by the hand 
 And cunning of Ulysses. Yet I looked 
 For one of noble presence, mighty strength, 605 
 
 And giant stature landing on our coast. 
 Now a mere weakling, insignificant 
 And small of stature, has put out my eye. 
 First stupefying me with wine. Yet come 
 Hither, I pray, Ulysses, and receive 610 
 
 The hospitable gifts which are thy due; 
 And I will pray to Neptune, and entreat 
 The mighty god to guide thee safely home. 
 His son am I, and he declares himself 
 My father. He can heal me if he will, 615 
 
 And no one else of all the immortal gods 
 Or mortal men can give me back my sight.' 
 
 " He spake ; I answered : ' Rather would I take 
 Thy life and breath, and send thee to the abode 
 Of Hades, where thou wouldst be past the power 620 
 
236 The Odyssey. 
 
 Of even Neptune to restore thine eye.' 
 
 " As thus I said, the Cyclops raised his hands. 
 And spread them toward the starry heaven, and thus 
 Prayed to the deity who rules the deep : — 
 
 ** ' Hear, dark-haired Neptune, who dost swathe the earth ! 
 If I am thine, and thou dost own thyself 626 
 
 My father, grant that this Ulysses ne'er 
 May reach his native land ! But if it be 
 The will of fate that he behold again 
 His friends, and enter his own palace-halls 630 
 
 In his own country, late and sorrowful 
 Be his return, with all his comrades lost. 
 And in a borrowed ship, and may he find 
 In his own home new griefs awaiting him.' 
 
 " He prayed, and Neptune hearkened to his prayer. 635 
 And then the Cyclops seized another stone. 
 Far larger than the last, and swung it round. 
 And cast it with vast strength. It fell behind 
 Our black-prowed galley, where it almost struck 
 The rudder's end. The sea was dashed on high 640 
 
 « 
 
 Beneath the falling rock, and bore our ship 
 
 On toward the shore we sought. When we reached 
 
 The island where together in a fleet 
 
 Our other galleys lay, we found our friends 
 
 Sitting where they had waited long in grief. 645 
 
Book IX. 237 
 
 We touched the shore, and drew our galley up 
 
 On the smooth sand, and stepped upon the beach; 
 
 And taking from on board the sheep that formed 
 
 Part of the Cyclops' flock, divided them. 
 
 That none might be without an equal share. 65° 
 
 When all the rest were shared, my warrior friends 
 
 Decreed the ram to me. Of him I made 
 
 Upon the beach a sacrifice to Jove 
 
 The Cloud-compeller, Saturn's son, whose rule 
 
 Is over all ; to him I burned the thighs. ^si 
 
 He heeded not the offering ; even then 
 
 He planned the wreck of all my gallant ships. 
 
 And death of my dear comrades. All that day 
 
 Till set of sun we sat and feasted high 
 
 Upon the abundant meats and delicate wine. 660 
 
 But when the sun went down, and darkness crept 
 
 Over the earth, we slumbered on the shore ; 
 
 And when again the daughter of the Dawn, 
 
 The rosy-fingered Morn, looked forth, I called 
 
 My men with cheerful words to climb the decks 665 
 
 And cast the hawsers loose. With speed they went 
 
 On board and manned the benches, took in hand 
 
 The oars and smote with them the hoary deep. 
 
 Onward in sadness, glad to have escaped. 
 
 We sailed, yet sorrowing for our comrades lost." 67° 
 
BOOK X. 
 
 " "\ 15 TE reached the iEolian isle, where il^olus. 
 
 Dear to the gods, a son of Hippotas, 
 Made his abode. It was a floating isle ; 
 A wall of brass enclosed it, and smooth rocks 
 Edged it around. Twelve children in his halls 5 
 
 Were born, six daughters and six blooming sons ; 
 He gave his daughters to his sons for wives. 
 And they with their dear father and his queen 
 Banquet from day to day, with endless change 
 Of meats before them. In his halls all day 10 
 
 The sound of pipes is in the perfumed air; 
 At night the youths beside their modest wives 
 Sleep on fair couches spread with tapestry. 
 So coming to his town and fair abode, 
 I found a friendly welcome. One full month is 
 
 The monarch kept me with him, and inquired 
 Of all that might concern the fate of Troy, 
 The Argive fleet, and the return to Greece, 
 
Book X. 239 
 
 And just as it befell I told him all. 
 
 And when I spake to him of going thence, 20 
 
 And prayed him to dismiss me, he complied. 
 
 And helped to make us ready for the sea. 
 
 The bladder of a bullock nine years old 
 
 He gave, in which he had compressed and bound 
 
 The stormy winds of air ; for Saturn's son 25 
 
 Had given him empire o'er the winds, with power 
 
 To calm them or to rouse them at his will. 
 
 This in our roomy galley he made fast 
 
 With a bright chain of silver, that no breath 
 
 Of ruder air might blow. He only left 3° 
 
 The west wind free to waft our ships and us 
 
 Upon our way. But that was not to be ; 
 
 We perished by a folly of our own. 
 
 " Nine days we held our way, both day and night ; 
 And now appeared in sight our native fields 35 
 
 On the tenth night, where on the shore we saw 
 Men kindling fires. Meantime a pleasant sleep 
 Had overcome my weary limbs, for long 
 Had I been guiding with incessant toil 
 The rudder, nor would trust it to the hand 4° 
 
 Of any other, such was my desire 
 To reach our country by the shortest way. 
 
240 The Odyssey. 
 
 Then talked my crew among themselves, and said 
 
 That I had brought with me from tEoIus, 
 
 The large-souled son of Hippotas, rich gifts 4s 
 
 Of gold and silver. Standing side by side 
 
 And looking at each other, thus they said : — 
 
 " ' How wonderfully is our chief revered 
 And loved by all men, wander where he will 
 Into what realm soever ! From the coast so 
 
 Of Troy he sailed with many precious things. 
 His share of spoil, while we, who with him went 
 And with him came, are empty-handed yet ; 
 And now hath yEolus, to show how much 
 He prizes him, bestowed the treasures here. 55 
 
 Come, let us see them ; let us know how much 
 Of gold and silver is concealed in this.' 
 
 "Thus speaking to each other, they obeyed 
 The evil counsel. They untied the sack. 
 And straight the winds rushed forth and seized the ship, 
 And swept the crews, lamenting bitterly, 61 
 
 Far from their country out upon the deep ; 
 And then I woke, and in my noble mind 
 Bethought me whether I should drop at once 
 Into the deep and perish, or remain 6$ 
 
 And silently endure and keep my place 
 
Book X. 241 
 
 Among the living. I remained, endured. 
 
 And covered with my mantle lay vs'ithin 
 
 My galley, while the furious whirlwind bore 
 
 Back to the iEolian isle our groaning crews. 7° 
 
 " We landed on the coast, and to our barks 
 Brought water. Then my men prepared a meal 
 Beside the fleet ; and having tasted food 
 And wine, I took a herald and a friend, 
 And, hastening to the sumptuous palace-halls 75 
 
 Of iEolus, I found him with his wife 
 And children banqueting. We sat us down 
 Upon the threshold at the palace doors. 
 And they were all astonished, and inquired : — 
 
 " ' Why art thou here ? What god thine enemy so 
 Pursues thee, O Ulysses ! whom we sent 
 So well prepared to reach thy native land, 
 Thy home, or any place that pleased thee most .? ' 
 
 " They spake, and sorrowfully I replied : — 
 * The fault is all with my unthinking crew 85 
 
 And my own luckless slumber. Yet, my friends, 
 Repair the mischief, for ye have the power.' 
 
 " Thus with submissive words I spake, but they 
 Sat mute, the father only answered me : — 
 
 " * Hence with thee ! Leave our island instantly, 9° 
 31 
 
242 The Odyssey. 
 
 Vilest of living men ! It may not be 
 That I receive or aid as he departs 
 One vv^ho is hated by the blessed gods, — 
 And thou art hated by the gods. Away ! ' 
 
 " He spake, and sent us from the palace-door 95 
 
 Lamenting. Sorrov^^fully went we on. 
 And now with rowing hard and long, — the fruit 
 Of our own folly, — all our crews lost heart. 
 And every hope of safe return was gone. 
 
 " Six days and nights we sailed ; the seventh we came 
 To lofty Lffistrigoni with wide gates, loi 
 
 The city of Lamos, where, on going forth. 
 The shepherd calls to shepherd entering in. 
 There might a man who never yields to sleep 
 Earn double wages, first in pasturing herds, 105 
 
 And then in tending sheep ; for there the fields 
 Grazed in the daytime are by others grazed 
 At night. We reached its noble haven, girt 
 By towering rocks that rise on every side. 
 And the bold shores run out to form its mouth, — no 
 A narrow entrance. There the other crews 
 Stationed their barks, and moored them close beside 
 Each other, in that hill-encircled port. 
 No billow, even the smallest, rises there ; 
 
Book X. 243 
 
 The water glimmers with perpetual calm. 115 
 
 I only kept my dark-hulled ship without. 
 And bound its cable to a jutting rock. 
 
 " I climbed a rugged headland, and looked forth. 
 No marks of tilth appeared, the work of men 
 Or oxen, only smokes that from below no 
 
 Rose in the air. And then I sent forth scouts 
 To learn what race of men who live by bread 
 Inhabited the land. Two chosen men 
 I sent, a herald made the third ; and these 
 Went inland by a level path, on which 125 
 
 The wains brought fuel from the woody heights 
 Into the city. On their way they met. 
 Before the town, a damsel with an ewer, ^- 
 The stately daughter of Antiphates, 
 
 The Lsstrigonian, who was coming down 13° 
 
 To where Artacia's smoiothly flowing fount 
 Gave water for the city. , They drew near 
 And spake, and asked her who was sovereign there. 
 And who his people. Straight she pointed out 
 A lofty pile in which her father dwelt. 13s 
 
 They entered that proud palace, and beheld. 
 Tall as a mountain peak, the monarch's wife. 
 And shuddered at the sight. With eager haste 
 
244 The Odyssey. 
 
 She called her husband. King Antiphates, 
 
 From council. With a murderous intent 140 
 
 He came, and, seizing one of my poor friends. 
 
 Devoured him, while the other two betook 
 
 Themselves to sudden flight and reached the ships. 
 
 And then he raised a fearful yell that rang 
 
 Through all the city. The strong Lsstrigons 145 
 
 Rushed forth by thousands from all sides, more like 
 
 To giants than to common men. They hurled 
 
 Stones of enormous weight from cliffs above. 
 
 And cries of those who perished and the crash 
 
 Of shattered galleys rose. They speared our friends 150 
 
 Like fishes for their horrid feasts, and thus 
 
 Bore them away. While those within the port 
 
 Were slaughtered, drawing my good sword I cut 
 
 The hawsers fastened to my ship's blue prow. 
 
 And cheered my men, and bade them fling themselves 155 
 
 Upon the oars, that so we might escape 
 
 Our threatened fate. They heard, and plied their oars 
 
 Like men who rowed for life. The galley shot 
 
 Forth from these beetling rocks into the sea 
 
 Full gladly ; all the others perished there. 160 
 
 " Onward we sailed, with sorrow in our hearts 
 For our lost friends, though glad to be reprieved 
 
Book X 245 
 
 From death. And now we landed at an isle, — 
 
 iEasa, where the fair-haired Circe dwelt, 
 
 A goddess high in rank and skilled in song, 165 
 
 Own sister of the wise ^Eaetes. Both 
 
 Were children of the source of light, the Sun, 
 
 And Perse, Ocean's daughter, brought them forth. 
 
 We found a haven here, where ships might lie ; 
 
 And guided by some deity we brought 17° 
 
 Our galley silently against the shore. 
 
 And disembarked, and gave two days and nights 
 
 To rest, unmanned with hardship and with grief. 
 
 " When bright-haired Morning brought the third day 
 round, 
 I took my spear and my good sword, and left 175 
 
 The ship, and climbed a height, in hope to spy 
 Some trace of human toil, or hear some voice. 
 On a steep precipice I stood, and saw 
 From the broad earth below a rising smoke, 
 Where midst the thickets and the forest-ground 180 
 
 Stood Circe's palace. Seeing that dark smoke. 
 The thought arose within my mind that there 
 I should inquire. ' I pondered till at last 
 This seemed the wisest, — to return at once 
 To my good ship upon the ocean-side, i%s 
 
246 The Odyssey. 
 
 And give my crew their meal, and send them forth 
 
 To view the region. Coming to the spot 
 
 Where lay my well-oared bark, some pitying god 
 
 Beneath whose eye I wandered forth alone 
 
 Sent a huge stag into my very path, 19° 
 
 High-horned, which from his pasture in the wood 
 
 Descended to the river-side to drink. 
 
 For grievously he felt the hot sun's power. 
 
 Him as he ran I smote ; the weapon pierced. 
 
 Just at the spine, the middle of his back. 19s 
 
 The brazen blade passed through, and with a moan 
 
 He fell amid the dust, and yielded up 
 
 His life. I went to him, and set my foot 
 
 Against him, and plucked forth the brazen spear. 
 
 And left it leaning there. And then I broke "o 
 
 Lithe osiers from the shrubs, and twined of these 
 
 A rope, which, doubled, was an ell in length. 
 
 With that I tied the enormous creature's feet. 
 
 And slung him on my neck, and brought him thus 
 
 To my black ship. I used the spear to prop 205 
 
 My steps, since he no longer could be borne 
 
 Upon the shoulder, aided by the hand. 
 
 Such was the animal's bulk. I flung him down 
 
 Before the ship, encouraging my men 
 
Book X. 247 
 
 With cheerful words, and thus I said to each : — 210 
 
 " * My friends, we will not, wretched as we are. 
 Go down to Pluto's realm before our time. 
 While food and wine are yet within the hold 
 Of our good galley, let us not forget 
 Our daily meals, and famine-stricken pine.' 215 
 
 " I spake ; they all obeyed, and at my word 
 Came forth, and standing by the barren deep 
 Admired the stag, for he was huge of bulk ; 
 And when their eyes were tired with wondering. 
 My people washed their hands, and soon had made "o 
 A noble banquet ready. All that day 
 Till set of sun we sat and feasted there 
 Upon the abundant meat and delicate wine ; 
 And when the sun went down, and darkness came. 
 We slept upon the shore. But when the Morn, 125 
 
 The rosy-fingered child of Dawn, looked forth, 
 I called a council of my men and spake : — 
 
 " * Give ear, my friends, amid your sufferings. 
 To words that I shall say. We cannot here 
 Know which way lies the west, nor where the east, ^3° 
 Nor where the sun, that shines for all mankind. 
 Descends below the earth, nor where again 
 He rises from it. Yet will we consult. 
 
248 The Odyssey. 
 
 If room there be for counsel, — which I doubt. 
 
 For when I climbed that height I overlooked 235 
 
 An isle surrounded by the boundless deep, — 
 
 An isle low lying. In the midst I saw 
 
 Smoke rising from a thicket of the wood.' 
 
 " I spake ; their courage died within their hearts 
 As they remembered what Antiphates, h° 
 
 The Lxstrigon, had done, and what foul deeds 
 The cannibal Cyclops, and they wept aloud. 
 Tears flowed abundantly, but tears were now 
 Of no avail to. our unhappy band. 
 
 " Numbering my well-armed men, I made of them hs 
 Two equal parties, giving each its chief. 
 Myself commanded one ; Eurylochus, 
 The hero, took the other in his charge. 
 
 "Then in a brazen helm we shook the lots ; 
 The lot of brave Eurylochus leaped forth, 25° 
 
 And he with two-and-twenty of our men 
 Went forward with quick steps, and yet in tears. 
 While we as sorrowful were left behind. 
 
 " They found the fair abode where Circe dwelt, 
 A palace of hewn stone within the vale, 255 
 
 Yet nobly seated. There were mountain wolves 
 And lions round it, which herself had tamed 
 
Book X. 249 
 
 With powerful drugs ; yet these assaulted not 
 
 The visitors, but, wagging their long tails. 
 
 Stood on their hinder feet, and fawned on them, 260 
 
 Like mastiffs on their master when he comes 
 
 From banqueting and brings them food. So fawned 
 
 The strong-clawed wolves and lions on my men. 
 
 With fear my men beheld those beasts of prey. 
 
 Yet went, and, standing in the portico 265 
 
 Of the bright-haired divinity, they heard 
 
 Her sweet voice singing, as within she threw 
 
 The shuttle through the wide immortal web. 
 
 Such as is woven by the goddesses, — 
 
 Delicate, bright of hue, and beautiful. ayo 
 
 " Polites then, a chief the most beloved 
 And most discreet of all my comrades, spake: — 
 
 " * Some one is here, my friends, who sweetly sings, 
 Weaving an ample web, and all the floor 
 Rings to her voice. Whoever she may be, 275 
 
 Woman or goddess, let us call to her.' 
 
 " He spake ; aloud they called, and forth she came 
 And threw at once the shining doors apart. 
 And bade my comrades enter. Without thought 
 They followed her. Eurylochus alone iSo 
 
 Remained without, for he suspected guile. 
 32 
 
250 The Odyssey. 
 
 She led them in and seated them on thrones. 
 
 Then mingling for them Pramnian wine with cheese, 
 
 Meal, and fresh honey, and infusing drugs 
 
 Into the mixture, — drugs which made them lose 285 
 
 The memory of their home, — she handed them 
 
 The beverage and they drank. Then instantly 
 
 She touched them with a wand, and shut them up 
 
 In sties, transformed to swine in head and voice. 
 
 Bristles and shape, though still the human mind 290 
 
 Remained to them. Thus sorrowing they were driven 
 
 Into their cells, where Circe flung to them 
 
 Acorns of oak and ilex, and the fruit 
 
 Of cornel, such as nourish wallowing swine. 
 
 " Back came Eurylochus to our good ship 295 
 
 With news of our poor comrades and their fate. 
 He strove to speak, but could not ; he was stunned 
 By that calamity ; his eyes were filled 
 With tears, and his whole soul was given to grief. 
 We marvelled greatly ; long we questioned him, 3°° 
 
 And thus he spake of our lost friends at last : • — 
 
 " ' Through yonder thickets, as thou gav'st command. 
 Illustrious chief! we went, until we reached 
 A stately palace of hewn stones, within 
 A vale, yet nobly seated. Some one there, 3°5 
 
Book X. 251 
 
 Goddess or woman, weaving busily 
 
 An ample web, sang sweetly as she wrought. 
 
 My comrades called aloud, and forth she came, 
 
 And threw at once the shining doors apart. 
 
 And bade us enter. Without thought the rest 3'° 
 
 Followed, while I alone, suspecting guile. 
 
 Remained without. My comrades, from that hour. 
 
 Were seen no more ; not one of them again 
 
 Came forth, though long I sat and watched for them.' 
 
 " He spake ; I slung my silver-studded sword 315 
 
 Upon my shoulders, — a huge blade of brass, — 
 And my bow with it, and commanded him 
 To lead the way. He seized and clasped my knees 
 With both his hands in attitude of prayer, 
 And sorrowfully said these winged words : — 3»° 
 
 " * Take me not thither ; force me not to go, 
 O foster-child of Jove ! but leave me here ; 
 For thou wilt not return, I know, nor yet 
 Deliver one of our lost friends. Our part 
 Is to betake ourselves to instant flight 3^5 
 
 With these who yet remain, and so escape.' 
 
 " He spake, and I replied : ' Eurylochus, 
 Remain thou here, beside our roomy ship, 
 Eating and drinking. I shall surely go. 
 
252 The Odyssey. 
 
 A strong necessity is laid on me.' 33° 
 
 " I spake, and from the ship and shore went up 
 Into the isle ; and when I found myself 
 Within that awful valley, and not far , 
 
 From the great palace in which Circe dwelt. 
 The sorceress, there met me on my way 33s 
 
 A youth ; he seemed in manhood's early prime. 
 When youth has most of grace. He took my hand 
 And held it, and, accosting me, began : — 
 
 " ' Rash mortal ! whither art thou wandering thus 
 Alone among the hills, where every place 340 
 
 Is strange to thee ? Thy comrades are shut up 
 In Circe's palace in close cells like swine. 
 Com'st thou to set them free ? Nay, thou like them 
 Wilt rather find thyself constrained to stay. 
 Let me bestow the means to make thee safe 345 
 
 Against that mischief. Take this potent herb. 
 And bear it with thee to the palace-halls 
 Of Circe, and it shall avert from thee 
 The threatened evil. I will now reveal 
 The treacherous arts of Circe. She will bring 35° 
 
 A mingled draught to thee, and drug the bowl. 
 But will not harm thee thus ; the virtuous plant 
 I gave thee will prevent it. Hear yet more : 
 
Book X. 253 
 
 When she shall smite thee with her wand, draw forth 
 
 Thy good sword from thy thigh and rush at her 35s 
 
 As if to take her life, and she will crouch 
 
 In fear, and will solicit thine embrace. 
 
 Refuse her not, that so she may release 
 
 Thy comrades, and may send thee also back 
 
 To thine own land; but first exact of her 3^° 
 
 The solemn oath which binds the blessed gods, 
 
 That she will meditate no other harm 
 
 To thee, nor strip thee of thy manly strength.' 
 
 " The Argus-queller spake, and plucked from earth 
 The potent plant and handed it to me, 3^5 
 
 And taught me all its powers. The root is black. 
 The blossom white as milk. Among the gods 
 Its name is Moly ; hard it is for men 
 To dig it up ; the gods find nothing hard. 
 
 " Back through the woody island Hermes went 370 
 
 Toward high Olympus, while I took my way 
 To Circe's halls, yet with a beating heart. 
 There, as I stood beneath the portico 
 Of that bright-haired divinity, I called 
 Aloud ; the goddess heard my voice and came, 375 
 
 And threw at once the shining doors apart. 
 And prayed me to come in. I followed her. 
 
2 54 The Odyssey. 
 
 Yet grieving still. She led me in and gave 
 
 A seat upon a silver-studded throne. 
 
 Beautiful, nobly vv^rought, and placed beneath 380 
 
 A footstool, and prepared a mingled draught 
 
 Within a golden chalice, and infused 
 
 A drug v^^ith mischievous intent. She gave 
 
 The cup ; I drank it off; the charm wrought not. 
 
 And then she smote me with her wand and said : — 3^5 
 
 * Go to the sty, and with thy fellows sprawl.' 
 
 " She spake ; but drawing forth the trusty sword 
 Upon my thigh, I rushed at her as if 
 To take her life. She shrieked and, stooping low. 
 Ran underneath my arm and clasped my knees, 390 
 
 And uttered piteously these winged words : — 
 
 " ' Who art thou ? of what race and of what land. 
 And who thy parents ? I am wonder-struck 
 To see that thou couldst drink that magic juice 
 And yield not to its power. No living man, 395 
 
 Whoever he might be, that tasted once 
 Those drugs, or passed them o'er his lips, has yet 
 Withstood them. In thy breast a spirit dwells 
 Not to be thus subdued. Art thou not then 
 Ulysses, master of wise stratagems, 400 
 
 Whose coming hither, on his way from Troy, 
 
Book X. 25s 
 
 In his black galley, oft has been foretold 
 By Hermes of the golden wand. But sheathe 
 Thy sword and share my couch, that, joined in love, 
 Each may hereafter trust the other's faith.' 405 
 
 " She spake, and I replied : ' How canst thou ask, 
 
 Circe, that I gently deal with thee, 
 
 Since thou, in thine own palace, hast transformed 
 
 My friends to swine, and plottest even now 
 
 To keep me with thee, luring me to pass 41° 
 
 Into thy chamber and to share thy couch. 
 
 That thou mayst strip me of my manly strength. 
 
 1 come not to thy couch till thou engage, 
 O goddess, by a solemn oath, that thou 
 
 Wilt never seek to do me further harm.' 41.S 
 
 " I spake ; she straightway took the oath required. 
 And, after it was uttered and confirmed. 
 Up to her sumptuous couch I went. Meanwhil? 
 Four diligent maidens ministered within 
 The palace, — servants of the household they, 4^0 
 
 Who had their birth from fountains and from groves. 
 And sacred rivers flowing to the sea. 
 One spread the thrones with gorgeous coverings ; 
 Above was purple arras, and beneath 
 Were linen webs ; another, setting forth 4^5 
 
256 The Odyssey. 
 
 The silver tables just before the thrones. 
 
 Placed on them canisters of gold ; a third 
 
 Mingled the rich wines in a silver bowl, 
 
 And placed the golden cups ; and, last, the fourth 
 
 Brought water from the fountain, and beneath 43° 
 
 A massive tripod kindled a great fire 
 
 And warmed the water. When it boiled within 
 
 The shining brass, slie led me to the bath. 
 
 And washed me from the tripod. On my head 
 
 And shoulders pleasantly she shed the .streams 435 
 
 That from my members took away the sense 
 
 Of weariness, unmanning body and mind. 
 
 And when she thus had bathed me and with oil 
 
 Anointed me, she put a princely cloak 
 
 And tunic on me, led me in, and showed 44° 
 
 My seat, — a stately silver-studded throne, 
 
 High-wrought, — and placed a footstool for my feet. 
 
 Then came a handmaid with a golden ewer. 
 
 And from it poured pure water for my hands 
 
 Into a silver laver. Next she placed 445 
 
 A polished table near to me, on which 
 
 The matron of the palace laid the feast 
 
 With many delicacies from her store, 
 
 And bade me eat. The banquet pleased me not. 
 
Book X. 257 
 
 My thoughts were elsewhere ; dark imaginings 45° 
 
 Were in my mind. When Circe marked my mood. 
 
 As in a gloomy revery I sat. 
 
 And put not 'forth my hands to touch the feast. 
 
 She came to me and spake these winged words : — 
 
 " * Why sittest thou like one who. has no power 45s 
 
 Of speech, Ulysses, wrapt in thoughts that gnaw 
 Thy heart, and tasting neither food nor wine ? 
 Still dost thou dream of fraud ? It is not well 
 That thou shouldst fear it longer, since I pledged 
 Myself against it with a mighty oath,' 460 
 
 " She spake, and I replied : * What man whose heart 
 Is faithful could endure to taste of food 
 Or wine till he should see his captive friends 
 Once more at large? If with a kind intent 
 Thou bidst me eat and drink, let me behold 465 
 
 With mine own eyes my dear companions free/ 
 
 "I spake; and Circe took her wand and went 
 Forth from her halls, and, opening the gate 
 That closed the sty, drove forth what seemed a herd 
 Of swine in their ninth year. They ranged themselves 47= 
 Before her, and she went from each to each 
 And shed on them another drug. Forthwith 
 Fell from their limbs the bristles which had grown 
 
 33 
 
258 The Odyssey. 
 
 All over them, when mighty Circe gave 
 
 At first the baleful potion. Now again 475 
 
 My friends were men, and younger than before. 
 
 And of a nobler mien and statelier growth. 
 
 They knew me all ; and each one pressed my hand 
 
 In his, and there were tears and sobs of joy 
 
 That sounded through the palace. Circe too 480 
 
 Was moved, the mighty goddess ; she drew near 
 
 And stood by me, and spake these winged words : — 
 
 " ' Son of Laertes, nobly born and wise, 
 Ulysses ! go to thy good ship beside 
 
 The sea and draw it up the beach, and hide 485 
 
 The goods and weapons in the caverns there. 
 And come thou back and bring with thee thy friends.' 
 
 "She spake, and easily my generous mind 
 Was moved by what she said. Forthwith I went 
 To my good ship beside the sea, and found 49° 
 
 My friends in tears, lamenting bitterly. 
 As in some grange the calves come leaping round 
 A herd of kine returning to the stall 
 From grassy fields where they have grazed their fill. 
 Nor can the stall contain the young which spring 495 
 
 Around their mothers with continual bleat ; 
 So when my comrades saw me through their tears. 
 
Book X. 259 
 
 They sprang to meet me, and their joy was such 
 
 As if they were in their own native land 
 
 And their own city, on the rugged coast 5°° 
 
 Of Ithaca, where they were born and reared ; 
 
 And as they wept they spake these winged words : — 
 
 " ' O foster-child of Jove ! we welcome thee 
 On thy return with a delight as great 
 As if we all had reached again the land 505 
 
 That gave us birth, our Ithaca. And now 
 Tell by what death our other friends have died.' 
 
 " They spake ; I answered with consoling words : — 
 ' First draw our galley up the beach, and hide 
 Our goods and all our weapons in the caves, 5'° 
 
 And then let all make haste to follow me. 
 And see our friends in Circe's sacred halls. 
 Eating and drinking at the plenteous board.* 
 
 " I spake ; and cheerfully my men obeyed. 
 Save that Eurylochus alone essayed 515 
 
 To hold them back, 'and spake these winged words : — 
 
 " ' Ah, whither are we going, wretched ones } 
 Are ye so eager for an evil fate. 
 That ye must go where Circe dwells, who waits 
 To turn us into lions, swine, or wolves, 5^° 
 
 Forced to remain and guard her spacious house ? 
 
26o The Odyssey. 
 
 So was it with the Cyclops, when our friends 
 Went with this daring chief to his abode. 
 And perished there through his foolhardiness.' 
 
 " He spake ; and then I thought to draw my sword 5^5 
 From my stout thigh, and with the trenchant blade 
 Strike off his head and let it fall to earth. 
 Though he were my near kinsman ; yet the rest 
 Restrained me, each one speaking kindly words : — 
 
 " ' Nay, foster-child of Jove ! if thou consent, 53° 
 
 This man shall stay behind and with the ship. 
 And he shall guard the ship, but lead us thou 
 To where the sacred halls of Circe stand.' 
 
 " They spake, and from the ship and shore went up 
 Into the land, nor was Eurylochus 53s 
 
 Left with the ship ; he followed, for he feared 
 My terrible threat. Meantime had Circe bathed 
 My comrades at the palace, and with oil 
 Anointed them, and robed them in fair cloaks 
 And tunics. There we found them banqueting. 540 
 
 When they and those who came with me beheld 
 Each other, and the memory of the past 
 Came back to them, they wept abundantly. 
 And all the palace echoed with their sobs. 
 And then the mighty goddess came and said : — 545 
 
Book X. 261 
 
 " ' Son of Laertes, nobly born and wise, 
 Prolong thou not these sorrows. Well I know 
 What ye have suffered on the fishy deep. 
 And all the evil that malignant men 
 Have done to you on land. Now take the food 55° 
 
 Before you, drink the wine, till ye receive 
 Into your hearts the courage that was yours 
 When long ago ye left your fatherland. 
 The rugged Ithaca. Ye are unnerved 
 And spiritless with thinking constantly 555 
 
 On your long wanderings, and your minds allow 
 No space for mirth, for ye have suffered much.' 
 
 " She spake ; her words persuaded easily 
 Our generous minds, and there from day to day 
 We lingered a full year, and banqueted 560 
 
 Nobly on plenteous meats and delicate wines. 
 But when the year was ended, and the hours 
 Renewed their circle, my beloved friends 
 From Circe's palace called me forth and said : — 
 
 " * Good chief, do not forget thy native land, 565 
 
 If fate indeed permit that ever thou 
 Return in safety to that lofty pile 
 Thy palace in the country of thy birth. 
 
 " So spake they, and my generous mind was moved. 
 
262 The Odyssey. 
 
 All that day long until the set of sun 570 
 
 We sat and feasted on the abundant meats 
 
 And delicate wines ; and when the sun went down 
 
 They took their rest within the darkened halls. 
 
 While I to Circe's sumptuous couch went up, 
 
 A suppliant at her knees. The goddess heard 575 
 
 My prayer, as thus in winged words I said : — 
 
 " ' O Circe ! make, I pray, the promise good 
 Which thou hast given, to send me to my home. 
 My heart is pining for it, and the hearts 
 Of all my friends, who weary out my life 580 
 
 Lamenting round me when thou art not nigh.' 
 
 " I spake ; the mighty goddess thus replied : — 
 ' Son of Laertes, nobly born and wise, 
 Ulysses ! ye must not remain with me 
 Unwillingly ; but ye have yet to make 585 
 
 Another voyage, and must visit first 
 The abode of Pluto, and of Proserpine 
 His dreaded queen, and there consult the soul 
 Of the blind seer Tiresias, — him of Thebes, — 
 Whose intellect was spared ; for Proserpine 59° 
 
 Gave back to him in death the power of mind. 
 That only he might know of things to come. 
 The rest are shades that flit from place to place.' 
 
Book X. 263 
 
 " Thus spake the goddess ; and my heart was wrung 
 With sorrow, and I sat upon the couch 595 
 
 And wept, nor could I longer wish to live 
 Andsee the light of day. But when my grief. 
 With shedding tears and tossing where I sat. 
 Was somewhat spent, I spake to Circe thus : — 
 
 " ' O Circe, who will guide me when I make 600 
 
 This voyage ? for no galley built by man 
 Has ever yet arrived at Pluto's realm.' 
 
 " I spake ; the mighty goddess answered me : — 
 ' Son of Laertes, nobly born and wise. 
 Take thou no thought of who shall guide thy bark, 605 
 But raise the mast and spread the glimmering sail. 
 And seat thyself, and let the north wind waft 
 Thy galley on. As soon as thou shalt cross 
 Oceanus, and come to the low shore 
 And groves of Proserpine, the lofty groups 610 
 
 Of poplars, and the willows that let fall 
 Their withered fruit, moor thou thy galley there 
 In the deep eddies of Oceanus, 
 And pass to Pluto's comfortless abode. 
 There into Acheron are poured the streams 615 
 
 Of Pyriphlegethon, and of that arm 
 Of Styx, Cocytus. At the place where meet 
 The ever-roaring waters stands a rock ; 
 
264 The Odyssey. 
 
 Draw near to that, and there I bid thee scoop 
 
 In earth a trench, a cubit long and wide. fi^o 
 
 And round about it pour to all the dead 
 
 Libations, — milk and honey first, and next 
 
 Rich wine, and lastly water, scattering 
 
 White meal upon them. Offer there thy prayer 
 
 Fervently to that troop of airy forms, e^s 
 
 And make the vow that thou wilt sacrifice. 
 
 When thou at last shalt come to Ithaca, 
 
 A heifer without blemish, barren yet. 
 
 In thine own courts, and heap the altar-pyre 
 
 With things of price ; and to the seer alone, 63° 
 
 Tiresias, by himself, a ram whose fleece 
 
 Is wholly black, the best of all thy flocks. 
 
 And after thou hast duly ofi'ered prayer 
 
 To all the illustrious nations of the dead. 
 
 Then sacrifice a ram and a black ewe, 63s 
 
 Their faces turned toward Erebus, but thine 
 
 The other way and toward the river streams. 
 
 Thither the souls of those who died will flock 
 
 In multitudes. Then call thy friends, and give 
 
 Command to flay in haste the sheep that lie 64° 
 
 Slain by the cruel brass, and, burning there 
 
 The carcasses, pay worship to the gods, — 
 
 The powerful Pluto and dread Proserpine, 
 
Book X. 265 
 
 Draw then the sword upon thy thigh, and sit. 
 
 And suffer none of all those airy forms 645 
 
 To touch the blood until thou first bespeak 
 
 Tiresias. He will come, and speedily, — 
 
 The leader of the people, — and will tell 
 
 What voyage thou must make, what length of way 
 
 Thou yet must measure, and will show thee how 65° 
 
 Thou mayst return across the fishy deep.' 
 
 "She spake ; and while she spake the Morn looked forth 
 Upon her golden throne. The Nymph bestowed 
 On me a cloak and tunic, and arrayed 
 Herself in a white robe with ample folds, — 655 
 
 A delicate web and graceful. Round her loins 
 She clasped a shining zone of gold, and hung 
 A veil upon her forehead. Forth I went 
 Throughout the palace and aroused my friends. 
 And thus I said in cheerful tones to each : — 66° 
 
 "'No longer give yourselves to idle rest 
 And pleasant slumber ; we are to depart, 
 The gracious Circe counsels us to go.' 
 
 " I spake, and easily their generous minds 
 Inclined to me. Yet brought I not away 665 
 
 All my companions safely from the isle. 
 Elpenor was the youngest of our band, 
 34 
 
266 The Odyssey. 
 
 Not brave in war was he, nor wise in thought. 
 
 He, overcome with wine, and for the sake 
 
 Of coolness, had lain down to sleep, apart 67° 
 
 From all the rest, in Circe's sacred house ; 
 
 And as my friends bestirred themselves, the noise 
 
 And tumult roused him ; he forgot to come 
 
 By the long staircase ; headlong from the roof 
 
 He plunged ; his neck was broken at the spine, 675 
 
 And his soul went to the abode of death. 
 
 " My friends came round me, and I said to them : — 
 ' Haply your thought may be that you are bound 
 For the dear country of your birth ; but know 
 That Circe sends us elsewhere, to consult ego 
 
 The Theban seer, Tiresias, in the abode 
 Of Pluto and the dreaded Proserpine.' 
 
 " I spake, and their hearts failed them as they heard ; 
 They sat them down, and wept, and tore their hair. 
 But fruitless were their sorrow and their tears. 685 
 
 " Thus as we sadly moved to our good ship 
 Upon the sea-shore, weeping all the while, 
 Circe, meantime, had visited its deck. 
 And there had bound a ram and a black ewe 
 By means we saw not ; for what eye discerns 690 
 
 The presence of a deity, who moves 
 From place to place, and wills not to be seen ? " 
 
BOOK XI, 
 
 " IVT ^^' when we reached our galley by the shore, 
 
 We drew it first into the mighty deep. 
 And set the mast and sails, and led on board 
 The sheep, and sorrowfully and in tears 
 Embarked ourselves. The fair-haired and august s 
 
 Circe, expert in music, sent with us 
 A kindly fellow-voyager, — a wind 
 
 That breathed behind the dark-prowed bark, and swelled 
 The sails ; and now, with all things in their place 
 Throughout the ship, we sat us down, — the breeze lo 
 And helmsman guiding us upon our way. 
 All day our sails were stretched, as o'er the deep 
 Our vessel ran ; the sun went down ; the paths 
 Of the great sea were darkened, and our bark 
 Reached the far confines of Oceanus. 15 
 
 " There lies the land, and there the people dwell 
 Of the Cimmerians, in eternal cloud 
 And darkness. Never does the glorious sun 
 
2 68 The Odyssey. 
 
 Look on them with his rays, when he goes up 
 
 Into the starry sky, nor when again 20 
 
 He sinks from heaven to earth. Unwholesome night 
 
 O'erhangs the wretched race. We touched the land. 
 
 And, drawing up our galley on the beach. 
 
 Took from on board the sheep, and followed on 
 
 Beside the ocean-stream until we reached ^s 
 
 The place of which the goddess Circe spake. 
 
 " Here Perimedes and Eurylochus 
 Held in their grasp the victims, while I drew 
 The trusty sword upon my thigh, and scooped 
 A trench in earth, a cubit long and wide, 3° 
 
 Round which we stood, and poured to all the dead 
 LibatioTis, — milk and honey first, and next 
 Rich wine, and lastly water, scattering 
 White meal upon them. Then I offered prayer 
 Fervently to that troop of airy forms, 3S 
 
 And made a vow that I would sacrifice. 
 When I at last should come to Ithaca, 
 A heifer without blemish, barren yet. 
 In my own courts, and heap the altar-pyre 
 With things of price, and to the seer alone, 40 
 
 Tiresias, by himself, a ram whose fleece 
 Was wholly black, the best of all my flocks. 
 
Book XL 269 
 
 •"When I had worshipped thus with prayer and vows 
 The nations of the dead, I took the sheep 
 And pierced their throats above the hollow trench. 45 
 
 The blood flowed dark ; and thronging round me came 
 Souls of the dead from Erebus, — young wives 
 And maids unwedded, men worn out with years 
 And toil, and virgins of a tender age 
 
 In their new grief, and many a warrior slain s° 
 
 In battle, mangled by the spear, and clad 
 In bloody armor, who about the trench 
 Flitted on every side, now here, now there. 
 With gibbering cries, and I grew pale with fear. 
 Then calling to my friends, I bade them flay ss 
 
 The victims lying slaughtered by the knife. 
 And, burning them with fire, invoke the gods, — 
 The mighty Pluto and dread Proserpine. 
 Then from my thigh I drew the trusty sword. 
 And sat me down, and suffered none of all 60 
 
 Those airy phantoms to approach the blood 
 Until I should bespeak the Theban seer 
 
 " And first the soul of my companion came, 
 Elpenor, for he was not buried yet 
 
 In earth's broad bosom. We had left him dead 65 
 
 In Circe's halls, unwept and unentombed. 
 
270 The Odyssey. 
 
 We had another task. But when I now- 
 Beheld I pitied him, and, shedding tears, 
 I said these winged words : ' How earnest thou, 
 Elpenor, hither into these abodes 7° 
 
 Of night and darkness ? Thou hast made more speed, 
 Although on foot, than I in my good ship.' 
 
 " I spake ; the phantom sobbed and answered me : — 
 ' Son of Laertes, nobly born and wise, 
 Ulysses ! 't was the evil doom decreed 75 
 
 By some divinity, and too much wine. 
 That wrought my death. I laid myself to sleep 
 In Circe's palace, and, remembering not 
 The way to the long stairs that led below. 
 Fell from the roof, and by the fall my neck so 
 
 Was broken at the spine ; my soul went down 
 To Hades. I conjure thee now, by those 
 Whom thou hast left behind and far away. 
 Thy consort and thy father, — him by whom 
 Thou when a boy wert reared, — and by thy son ss 
 
 Telemachus, who in thy palace-halls 
 Is left alone, — for well I know that thou. 
 In going hence from Pluto's realm, wilt moor 
 Thy gallant vessel in the ^Esan isle, — 
 That there, O king, thou wilt remember me, 90 
 
Book XL 271 
 
 And leave me not when thou departest thence 
 Unwept, unburied, lest I bring on thee 
 The anger of the gods. But burn me there 
 With all the armor that I wore, and pile. 
 Close to the hoary deep, a mound for me, — 95 
 
 A hapless man of whom posterity- 
 Shall hear. Do this for me, and plant upright 
 Upon my tomb the oar with which I rowed. 
 While yet a living man, among thy friends.' 
 
 " He spake and I replied : * Unhappy youth, 100 
 
 All this I duly will perform for thee.' 
 
 "And then the soul of Anticleia came, — 
 My own dead mother, daughter of the king 
 Autolycus, large-minded. Her I left 
 Alive, what time I sailed for Troy, and now i°s 
 
 I wept to see her there, and pitied her. 
 And yet forbade her, though with grief, to come 
 Near to the blood till I should first accost 
 Tiresias. He too came, the Theban seer, 
 Tiresias, bearing in his hand a wand ' n'^ 
 
 Of gold ; he knew me and bespake me thus : — 
 
 " ' Why, O unhappy mortal, hast thou left 
 The light of day to come among the dead 
 And to this joyless land ? Go from the trench 
 
272 The Odyssey. 
 
 And turn thy sword away, that I may drink "5 
 
 The blood, and speak the word of prophecy.* 
 
 " He spake ; withdrawing from the trench, I thrust 
 Into its sheath my silver-studded sword. 
 And after drinking of the dark red blood 
 The blameless prophet turned to me and said : — - ijo 
 
 "'Illustrious chief Ulysses, thy desire 
 Is for a happy passage to thy home. 
 Yet will a god withstand thee. Not unmarked 
 By Neptune shalt thou, as I deem, proceed 
 Upon thy voyage. He hath laid up wrath i^s 
 
 Against thee in his heart, for that thy hand 
 Deprived his son of sight. Yet may ye still 
 Return, though after many hardships borne. 
 If thou but hold thy appetite in check 
 And that of thy companions, when thou bring 13° 
 
 Thy gallant bark to the Trinacrian isle. 
 Safe from the gloomy deep. There will ye find 
 The beeves and fatling wethers of the Sun, — 
 The all-beholding and all-hearing Sun. 
 If these ye leave unharmed, and keep in mind 135 
 
 The thought of your return, ye may go back. 
 Though sufferers, to your home in Ithaca ; 
 But if thou do them harm, the event will be 
 
Book XL 273 
 
 Destruction to thy ship and to its crew ; 
 And thou, if thou escape it, wilt return 14° 
 
 Late to thy country, all thy comrades lost. 
 And in a foreign bark, and thou shalt find 
 Wrong in thy household, — arrogant men who waste 
 Thy substance, wooers of thy noble wife. 
 And offering bridal gifts. On thy return 145 
 
 Thou shalt avenge thee of their violent deeds ; 
 And when thou shalt have slain them in thy halls. 
 Whether by stratagem or by the sword 
 In open fight, then take a shapely oar 
 And journey on, until thou meet with men 15° 
 
 Who have not known the sea nor eaten food 
 Seasoned with salt, nor ever have beheld 
 Galleys with crimson prows, nor shapely oars. 
 Which are the wings of ships. I will declare 
 A sign by which to know them, nor canst thou 155 
 
 Mistake it. When a traveller, meeting thee, 
 Shalt say that thou dost bear a winnowing-fan 
 Upon thy sturdy shoulder, stop and plant 
 Thy shapely oar upright in earth, and there 
 Pay to King Neptune solemn sacrifice, — 160 
 
 A ram, a bull, and from his herd of swine 
 A boar. And then returning to thy home, 
 35 
 
2 74 The Odyssey. 
 
 See that thou offer hallowed hecatombs 
 
 To all the ever-living ones who dwell 
 
 In the broad heaven, to each in order due. 165 
 
 So at the last thy death shall come to thee 
 
 Far from the sea, and gently take thee off 
 
 In a serene old age that ends among 
 
 A happy people. I have told thee true.' 
 
 " He spake, and thus I answered him : ' The gods, 170 
 Tiresias, have decreed as thou hast said. 
 But tell, and tell me truly, — I behold 
 The soul of my dead mother ; there she sits 
 In silence by the blood, and will not deign 
 To look upon her son nor speak to him 175 
 
 Instruct me, mighty prophet, by what means 
 To make my mother know me for her son.' 
 
 " I spake, and instantly the seer replied : — 
 ' Easily that is told ; I give it thee 
 
 To bear in mind. Whoever of the dead iSo 
 
 Thou sufferest to approach and drink the blood 
 Will speak the truth ; those whom thou dost forbid 
 To taste the blood will silently withdraw.' 
 
 " The soul of King Tiresias, saying this. 
 Passed to the abode of Pluto ; he had given 185 
 
 The oracle I asked. I waited still 
 
Book XL 275 
 
 Until my mother, drawing near again. 
 
 Drank the dark blood ; she knew me suddenly. 
 
 And said in piteous tones these winged words : — 
 
 " * How didst thou come, my child, a living man, 19° 
 Into this place of darkness ? Difficult 
 It is for those who breathe the breath of life 
 To visit these abodes, through which are rolled 
 Great rivers, fearful floods, — the first of these 
 Oceanus, whose waters none can cross 195 
 
 On foot, or save on board a trusty bark. 
 Hast thou come hither on thy way from Troy, 
 A weary wanderer with thy ship and friends ? 
 And hast thou not been yet at Ithaca, 
 Nor in thine island palace seen thy wife ? ' 200 
 
 " She spake, I answered : ' 'T is necessity. 
 Dear mother, that has brought me to the abode 
 Of Pluto, to consult the Theban seer, 
 Tiresias. Not to the Achaian coast 
 
 Have I returned, nor reached our country, yet 205 
 
 Continually I wander ; everywhere 
 I meet misfortune, — even from the time 
 When, in the noble Agamemnon's train, 
 I came to Ilium, famed for steeds, and made 
 War on its dwellers. Tell me now, I pray, 210 
 
276 The Odyssey. 
 
 And truly, how it was that fate on thee 
 
 Brought the long sleep of death ? by slow disease ? 
 
 Or, stealing on thee, did the archer-queen. 
 
 Diana, slay thee with her silent shafts ? 
 
 And tell me of my father, and the son =15 
 
 Left in my palace. Rests the sway I bore 
 
 On them, or has another taken it. 
 
 Since men believe I shall return no more ? 
 
 And tell me of my wedded wife, her thoughts 
 
 And purposes, and whether she remains 220 
 
 Yet with my son. Is she the guardian still 
 
 Of my estates, or has the noblest chief 
 
 Of those Achaians led her thence a bride ? ' 
 
 " I spake; my reverend mother answered thus : — 
 ' Most certain is it that she sadly dwells 225 
 
 Still in thy palace. Weary days and nights 
 And tears are hers. No man has taken yet 
 Thy place as ruler, but Telemachus 
 Still has the charge of thy domain, and gives 
 The liberal feasts which it befits a prince 230 
 
 To give, for all invite him. In the fields 
 Thy father dwells, and never in the town 
 Is seen ; nor beds nor cloaks has he, nor mats 
 Of rich device, but, all the winter through 
 
Book XL 277 
 
 He sleeps where sleep the laborers, on the hearth, ^35 
 
 Amid the dust, and wears a wretched garb ; 
 
 And when the summer comes, or autumn days 
 
 -Ripen the fruit, his bed is on the ground. 
 
 And made of leaves, that everywhere are shed 
 
 In the rich vineyards. There he lies and grieves, 24^ 
 
 And, cherishing his sorrow, mourns thy fate. 
 
 And keenly feels the miseries of age. 
 
 And thus I underwent my fate and died ; 
 
 For not the goddess of the unerring bow 
 
 Stealing upon me smote me in thy halls ^45 
 
 With silent arrows, nor did slow disease 
 
 Come o'er me, such as, wasting cruelly 
 
 The members, takes at last the life away ; 
 
 But constant longing for thee, anxious thoughts 
 
 Of thee, and memory of thy gentleness, 250 
 
 Ulysses, made an end of my sweet life.' 
 
 " She spake ; I longed to take into my arms 
 The soul of my dead mother. Thrice I tried. 
 Moved by a strong desire, and thrice the form 
 Passed through them like a shadow or a dream, 25s 
 
 And then did the great sorrow in my heart 
 Grow sharper, and in winged words I said : — 
 
 " ' Beloved mother, why wilt thou not keep 
 
278 The Odyssey. 
 
 Thy place, that I may clasp thee, so that here, 
 
 In Pluto's realm and in each other's arms, ^so 
 
 We each might in the other soothe the sense 
 
 Of misery ? Hath mighty Proserpine 
 
 Sent but an empty shade to meet me here. 
 
 That I might only grieve and sigh the more ? ' 
 
 " I spake, and then my reverend mother said : — 265 
 * Believe not that Jove's daughter Proserpine 
 Deceives thee. 'T is the lot of all our race 
 When they are dead. No more the sinews bind 
 The bones and flesh, when once from the white bones 
 The life departs. Then like a dream the soul 27° 
 
 Flies off, and flits about from place to place. 
 But haste thou to the light again, and mark 
 What I have said, that thou in after days 
 Mayst tell it to thy wife on thy return.' 
 
 " Thus we conferred. Meantime the women came 27s 
 Around me, moved by mighty Proserpine ; 
 In throngs they gathered to the dark red blooa. 
 Then, as I pondered how to question each. 
 This seemed the wisest, — from my sturdy thigh 
 I plucked the trenchant sword, and suffered not ^so 
 
 All that were there to taste the blood at once ; 
 So one by one they came, and each in turn 
 
Book XL 279 
 
 Declared her lineage. Thus I questioned all. 
 
 " Then saw I high-born Tyro first, who claimed 
 To be the daughter of that blameless man aSs 
 
 Salmoneus, and who called herself the wife 
 Of Cretheus, son of jiEolus. She loved 
 Enipeus, hallowed river, fairest stream 
 Of all that flow on earth, and often walked 
 Beside its pleasant waters. He whose arms 29° 
 
 Surround the islands, Neptune, once put on 
 The river's form, and at its gulfy mouth 
 Met her ; the purple waters stood upright 
 Around them like a wall, and formed an arch. 
 And hid the god and woman. There he loosed ^95 
 
 The virgin zone of Tyro, shedding sleep 
 Upon her. Afterward he took her hand 
 And said : ' Rejoice, O maiden, in our love. 
 For with the year's return shalt thou bring forth 
 Illustrious sons ; the embraces of the gods 3°° 
 
 Are not unfruitful. Rear them carefully. 
 And now return to thy abode, and watch 
 Thy words, and keep thy secret. Thou must know 
 That I am Neptune, he who shakes the earth.' 
 
 " He spake, and plunged into the billowy deep. 30s 
 
 And shfe became a mother, and brought forth 
 
28o The Odyssey. 
 
 Pelias and Neleus, valiant ministers 
 
 Of mighty Jupiter. On the broad lands 
 
 Of laolchos Pelias dwelt, and reared 
 
 Vast flocks of sheep, while Neleus made his home 3'° 
 
 In Pylos midst the sands. The queenly dame. 
 
 His mother, meanwhile brought forth other sons 
 
 To Cretheus, — iEson first, and Pheres next. 
 
 And Amythaon, great in horsemanship. 
 
 " And after her I saw Antiope, 31s 
 
 The daughter of Asopus, — her who made 
 A boast that she had slumbered in the arms 
 Of Jove. Two sons she bore, — Amphion one. 
 The other Zethus, — and they founded Thebes 
 With its seven gates, and girt it round with towers ; ^^o 
 For, valiant as they were, they could not dwell 
 Safely in that great town unfenced by towers. 
 
 "And after her I saw Amphitryon's wife, 
 Alcmena, her who brought forth Hercules, 
 The dauntless hero of the lion-heart, — 3^5 
 
 For she had given herself into the arms 
 Of mighty Jupiter. I also saw 
 Megara there, a daughter of the house 
 Of haughty Creion. Her Amphitryon's son, 
 Untamable in strength, had made his wife. * 330 
 
Book XL 281 
 
 " The mother, too, of CEdipus I saw. 
 Beautiful Epicaste, who in life 
 Had done unwittingly a heinous deed, — 
 Had married her own son, who, having slain 
 Her father first, espoused her ; but the gods 335 
 
 Published abroad the rumor of the crime. 
 He in the pleasant town of Thebes bore sway 
 O'er the Cadmeians ; yet in misery 
 He lived, for so the offended gods ordained. 
 And she went down to Hades and the gates ' 34° 
 
 That stand forever barred ; for, wild with grief. 
 She slung a cord upon a lofty beam 
 And perished by it, leaving him to bear 
 Woes without measure, such as on a son 
 The furies of a mother might inflict. 345 
 
 " And there I saw the dame supremely fair, 
 Chloris, whom Neleus with large marriage-gifts 
 Wooed, and brought home a bride ; the youngest she 
 Among the daughters of lasus' son, 
 
 Amphion, ruler o'er Orchomenus, 350 
 
 The Minyeian town, and o'er the realm 
 Of Pylos. Three illustrious sons she bore 
 To Neleus, — Nestor, Chromius, and a chief 
 Of lofty bearing, Periclymenus. 
 36 
 
282 The Odyssey. 
 
 She brought forth Pero also, marvellous zss 
 
 In beauty, wooed by all the region round ; 
 
 But Neleus would bestow the maid on none 
 
 Save him who should drive off from Phylace 
 
 The beeves, broad-fronted and with crooked horns, 
 
 Of valiant Iphicles, — a difficult task, 36° 
 
 One man alone, a blameless prophet, dared 
 
 Attempt it ; but he found himself withstood 
 
 By fate, and rigid fetters, and a force 
 
 Of rustic herdsmen. Months and days went by. 
 
 And the full year, led by the hours, came round. 365 
 
 The valiant Iphicles, who from the seer 
 
 Had heard the oracles explained, took off 
 
 The shackles, and the will of Jove was done. 
 
 " Then saw I Leda, wife of Tyndarus, 
 Who bore to Tyndarus two noble sons, 370 
 
 Castor the horseman, Pollux skilled to wield 
 The cestus. Both of them have still a place 
 Upon the fruitful earth ; for Jupiter 
 Gave them such honor that they live by turns 
 Each one a day, and then are with the dead 375 
 
 Each one by turns ; they rank among the gods. 
 
 " The wife of Aloeus next appeared, 
 Iphidameia, who, as she declared. 
 
Book XL 283 
 
 Had won the love of Neptune. She brought forth 
 Two short-lived sons, — one like a god in form, 3S0 
 
 Named Otus ; and the other, far renowned, 
 Named Ephialtes. These the bounteous earth 
 Nourished to be the tallest of mankind. 
 And goodliest, save Orion. When the twain 
 Had seen but nine years of their life, they stood 385 
 
 In breadth of frame nine cubits, and in height 
 Nine fathoms. They against the living gods 
 Threatened to wage, upon the Olympian height, 
 Fierce and tumultuous battle, and to fling 
 Ossa upon Olympus, and to pile 39° 
 
 Pelion with all its growth of leafy woods. 
 On Ossa, that the heavens might thus be scaled. 
 And they, if they had reached their prime of youth. 
 Had made their menace good. The son of Jove 
 And amber-haired Latona took their lives 39s 
 
 Ere yet beneath their temples sprang the down 
 And covered with its sprouting tufts the chin. 
 " Phasdra I saw, and Procris, and the child 
 Of the wise Minos, Ariadne, famed 
 
 For beauty, whom the hero Theseus once 4°° 
 
 From Crete to hallowed Athens' fertile coast 
 Led, but possessed her not. Diana gave 
 
284 The Odyssey. 
 
 Ear to the tale which Bacchus brought to her, 
 A.nd in the isle of Dia slew the maid. 
 
 " And Masra I beheld, and Clymene, 405 
 
 And Eriphyle, hateful in her guilt. 
 Who sold her husband for a price in gold. 
 But vainly might I think to name them all, — 
 The wives and daughters of heroic men 
 Whom I beheld, — for first the ambrosial night 410 
 
 Would wear away. And now for me the hour 
 Of sleep is come, at my good ship among 
 My friends, or haply here. Meantime the care 
 For my return is with the gods and you." 
 
 He spake, and all were silent : all within 415 
 
 The shadows of those p-alace-halls were held 
 Motionless by the charm of what he said. 
 And thus the white-armed queen Arete spake : — 
 
 " Phsacians, how appears this man to you 
 In form, in stature, and well-judging mind.? 420 
 
 My guest he is, but each among you shares 
 The honor of the occasion. Now, I pray. 
 Dismiss him not in haste, nor sparingly 
 Bestow your gifts on one in so much need ; 
 For in your dwellings is much wealth, bestowed 4^5 
 
 Upon you by the bounty of the gods." 
 
Book XL 285 
 
 Then also Echeneiis, aged chief. 
 The oldest man of the Pha^acians, spake : — 
 
 " My friends, the word of our sagacious queen 
 Errs not, nor is ill-timed, and yours it is 430 
 
 To hearken and obey : but all depends 
 Upon Alcinoiis, — both the word and deed." 
 
 And then in turn Alcinoiis spake : " That word 
 Shall be fulfilled, if I am ruler here 
 
 O'er the Phaeacians, skilled in seamanship. 435 
 
 But let the stranger, though he long for home. 
 Bear to remain till morning, that his store 
 Of gifts may be complete. To send him home 
 Shall be the charge of all, but mostly mine. 
 Since mine it is to hold the sovereign power." 44° 
 
 And then the wise Ulysses said : " O King 
 Alcinoiis, eminent o'er all thy race ! 
 Shouldst thou command me to remain with thee 
 Even for a twelvemonth, and at length provide 
 For my return, and give me princely gifts, 445 
 
 Even that would please me ; for with fuller hands, 
 The happier were my lot on my return 
 To my own land. I should be honored then. 
 And meet a kinder welcome there from all 
 Who see me in my Ithaca once more." 45° 
 
286 The Odyssey. 
 
 And then again In turn Alcinoiis spake : — 
 " Ulysses, when we look on thee, we feel 
 No fear that thou art false, or one of those. 
 The many, whom the dark earth nourishes. 
 Wandering at large, and forging lies, that we 4ss 
 
 May not suspect them. Thou hast grace of speech 
 And noble thoughts, and fitly hast thou told. 
 Even as a minstrel might, the history 
 Of all thy Argive brethren and thy own. 
 Now say, and frankly, didst thou also see 460 
 
 Any of those heroic men who went 
 With thee to Troy, and in that region met 
 Their fate ? A night immeasurably long 
 Is yet before us. Let us have thy tale 
 Of wonders. I could listen till the break 46s 
 
 Of hallowed morning, if thou canst endure 
 So long to speak of hardships thou hast borne." 
 
 He spake, and wise Ulysses answered thus : — 
 " O King Alcinoiis, eminent beyond 
 
 All others of thy people. For discourse 47° 
 
 There is a time ; there is a time for sleep. 
 If more thou yet wouldst hear, I will not spare 
 To give the story of the greater woes 
 Of my companions, who were afterward 
 
Book XL 287 
 
 Cut off from life ; and though they had escaped 47s 
 
 The cruel Trojan war, on their return 
 They perished by a woman's fraud and guilt. 
 
 " When chaste Proserpina had made the ghosts 
 Of women scatter right and left, there came 
 The soul of Agamemnon, Atreus' son. 48° 
 
 He came attended by a throng of those 
 Who in the palace of iEgisthus met 
 A fate like his and died. When he had drunk 
 The dark red blood, he knew me at a look, 
 And wailed aloud, and, bursting into tears, 4Ss 
 
 Stretched out his hands to touch me ; but no power 
 Was there of grasp or pressure, such as once 
 Dwelt in those active limbs. I could not help 
 But weep at sight of him, for from my heart 
 I pitied him, and spake these winged words : — 49<s 
 
 " ' Most glorious son of Atreus, king of men ! 
 How, Agamemnon, has the fate that brings. 
 To man the everlasting sleep of death 
 O'ertaken thee ? Did Neptune, calling up 
 The winds in all their fury, make thy fleet 49s 
 
 A wreck, or did thine enemies on land 
 Smite thee, as thou wert driving off their beeves 
 And their fair flocks, or fighting to defend 
 
288 The Odyssey. 
 
 Some city, and the helpless women there ? ' 
 
 " I spake, and Agamemnon thus replied : — 5°° 
 
 * Son of Laertes, nobly born and wise, 
 'T was not that Neptune calling up the winds 
 In all their fury wrecked me in my fleet. 
 Nor hostile warriors smote me on the land. 
 But that T^gisthus, bent upon my death, 5°5 
 
 Plotted against me with my guilty wife. 
 And bade me to his house and slew me there. 
 Even at the banquet, as a hind might slay 
 A bullock at the stall. With me they slew 
 My comrades, as a herd of white-toothed swine s.io 
 
 Are slaughtered for some man of large estates. 
 Who makes a wedding or a solemn feast. 
 Thou hast seen many perish by the sword 
 In the hard battle, one by one, and yet 
 Thou wouldst have pitied us, hadst thou beheld s's 
 
 The slain beside the wine-jar, and beneath 
 The loaded tables, while the pavement swam 
 With blood. I heard Cassandra's piteous cry. 
 The cry of Priam's daughter, stricken down 
 By treacherous Clytemnestra at my side. 520 
 
 And there I lay, and, dying, raised my hands 
 To grasp my sword. The shameless woman went 
 
Book XL 289 
 
 Her way, nor stayed to close my eyes, nor press 
 
 My mouth into its place, although my soul 
 
 Was on its way to Hades. There is nought 5^5 
 
 That lives more horrible, more lost to shame. 
 
 Than is the woman who has brought her mind 
 
 To compass deeds like these, — the wretch who plans 
 
 So foul a crime, — the murder of the man 
 
 Whom she a virgin wedded. I had looked 53° 
 
 For a warm welcome from my children here. 
 
 And all my household in my ancient home. 
 
 This woman, deep in wickedness, hath brought 
 
 Disgrace upon herself and all her sex. 
 
 Even those who give their thoughts to doing good.' 53s 
 
 " He spake, and I replied : * O, how the God 
 Who wields the thunder, Jupiter, must hate 
 The house of Atreus for the women's sake ! 
 At first we fell by myriads in the cause 
 Of Helen ; Clytemnestra now hath planned S4° 
 
 This guile against thee while thou wert afar.' 
 
 " I spake, and instantly his answer came : — 
 ' Therefore be not compliant to thy wife. 
 Nor let her hear from thee whatever lies 
 Within thy knowledge. Tell her but a part, 54s 
 
 And keep the rest concealed. Yet is thy life, 
 
 37 
 
290 The Odyssey. 
 
 Ulysses, in no danger from thy spouse ; 
 
 For wise and well instructed in the rules 
 
 Of virtuous conduct is Penelope, 
 
 The daughter of Icarius. When we went 55° 
 
 To war, we left her a young bride ; a babe 
 
 Was at her breast, a boy, who now must sit 
 
 Among grown men ; and fortunate is he. 
 
 For certainly his father will behold 
 
 The youth on his return, and he embrace 555 
 
 His father, as is meet. But as for me. 
 
 My consort suffered not my eyes to feed 
 
 Upon the sight of my own son ; for first 
 
 She slew me. This, then, I admonish thee, — 
 
 Heed thou my words. Bring not thy ship to land 5^° 
 
 Openly in thy country, but by stealth, 
 
 Since now no longer can we put our trust 
 
 In woman. Meantime, tell me of my son. 
 
 And faithfully, if thou hast heard of him 
 
 As living, whether in Orchomenus, s^-i 
 
 Or sandy Pylos, or in the broad realm 
 
 Of Menelaus, Sparta; 'for not yet 
 
 Has my Orestes passed from earth and life.' 
 
 " He spake, and I replied : ' Why ask of me 
 That question, O Atrides ? I know not 57° 
 
Book XL 291 
 
 Whether thy son be living or be dead. 
 And this is not a time for idle words.' 
 
 " Thus in sad talk we stood, and freely flowed 
 Our tears. Meanwhile the ghosts of Peleus' son 
 Achilles, and Patroclus, excellent 575 
 
 Antilochus, and Ajax, all drew near, — 
 Ajax for form and stature eminent 
 O'er all the Greeks save Peleus' faultless son. 
 Then did the soul of fleet ^Eacides 
 Know me, and thus in winged words he said : — 58° 
 
 " ' Ulysses ! what hath moved thee to attempt 
 This greatest of thy labors ? How is it 
 That thou hast found the courage to descend 
 To Hades, where the dead, the bodiless forms 
 Of those whose work is done on earth, abide ? ' s^s 
 
 " He spake ; I answered : ' Greatest of the Greeks ! 
 Achilles, son of Peleus ! 'T was to hear 
 The counsel of Tiresias that I came. 
 If haply he might tell me by what means 
 To reach my rugged Ithaca again ; 59° 
 
 For yet have I not trod my native coast. 
 Nor even have drawn nigh to Greece. I meet 
 Misfortunes everywhere. But as for thee, 
 Achilles, no man lived before thy time. 
 
292 The Odyssey. 
 
 Nor will hereafter live, more fortunate 59s 
 
 Than thou, — for while alive we honored thee 
 As if thou wert a god, and now again 
 In these abodes thou rulest o'er the dead ; 
 Therefore, Achilles, shouldst thou not be sad/ 
 
 " I spake ; Achilles quickly answered me : — 6°° 
 
 * Noble Ulysses, speak not thus of death. 
 As if thou couldst console me. I would be 
 A laborer on earth, and serve for hire 
 Some man of mean estate, who makes scant cheer. 
 Rather than reign o'er all who have gone down 605 
 
 To death. Speak rather of my noble son. 
 Whether or not he yet has joined the wars 
 To fight among the foremost of the host. 
 And tell me also if thou aught hast heard 
 Of blameless Peleus, — whether he be yet 610 
 
 Honored among his many Myrmidons, 
 Or do they hold him now in small esteem 
 In Hellas and in Phthia, since old age 
 Unnerves his hands and feet, and I no more 
 Am there, beneath the sun, to give him' aid, 615 
 
 Strong as I was on the wide plain of Troy, 
 When warring for the Achaian cause I smote 
 That valiant people. Could I come again. 
 
Book XI. 293 
 
 But for a moment, with my former strength. 
 
 Into my father's palace, I would make 620 
 
 That strength and these unconquerable hands 
 
 A terror to the men who do him wrong. 
 
 And rob him of the honor due a king.' 
 
 " He spake ; I answered : ' Nothing have I heard 
 Of blameless Peleus, but I will relate 625 
 
 The truth concerning Neoptolemus, 
 Thy son, as thou requirest. Him I took 
 From Scyros in a gallant bark to join 
 The well-armed Greeks. Know, then, that when we sat 
 In council, planning to conduct the war 63° 
 
 Against the city of Troy, he always rose 
 The first to speak, nor were his words unwise. 
 The godlike Nestor and myself alone 
 Rivalled him in debate. And when we fought 
 About the city walls, he loitered not 63s 
 
 Among the others in the numerous host. 
 But hastened on before them, giving place 
 To no man there in valor. Many men 
 He slew in desperate combat, whom to name 
 Were past my power, so many were they all 640 
 
 Whom in the cause of Greece he struck to earth. 
 Yet one I name, Eurypylus, the son 
 
294 "^^^ Odyssey. 
 
 Of Telephus, who perished by his sword 
 
 With many of his band, Citeians, led 
 
 To war because of liberal gifts bestowed 645 
 
 Upon their chieftain's wife ; the noblest he 
 
 Of men, in form, whom I have ever seen. 
 
 Save Memnon. When into the wooden steed. 
 
 Framed by Epeius, we the chiefs of Greece 
 
 Ascended, and to me was given the charge ejo 
 
 Of all things there, to open and to shut 
 
 The close-built fraud, while others of high rank 
 
 Among the Greeks were wiping off their tears. 
 
 And their limbs shook, I never saw thy son 
 
 Turn pale in his fine face, or brush away 65s 
 
 A tear, but he besought me earnestly 
 
 That he might leave our hiding-place, and grasped 
 
 His falchion's hilt, and lifted up his spear 
 
 Heavy with brass, for in his mind he smote 
 
 The Trojan crowd already. When at last 660 
 
 We had o'erthrown and sacked the lofty town 
 
 Of Priam, he embarked upon a ship. 
 
 With all his share of spoil, — a large reward, — 
 
 Unhurt, not touched in combat hand to hand. 
 
 Nor wounded from afar, as oftentimes 665 
 
 Must be the fortune of a fight, for Mars 
 
Book XL 295 
 
 Is wont to rage without regard to men.' 
 
 " I spake. The soul of swift iEacides 
 Over the meadows thick with asphodel 
 Departed with long strides, well pleased to hear 67° 
 
 From me the story of his son's renown. 
 
 " The other ghosts of those who lay in death 
 Stood sorrowing by, and each one told his griefs ; 
 But that of Ajax, son of Telamon, 
 
 Kept far aloof, displeased that I had won 675 
 
 The victory contending at the fleet 
 Which should possess the arms of Peleus' son. 
 His goddess-mother laid them as a prize 
 Before us, and the captive sons of Troy 
 And Pallas were the umpires to award 6?o 
 
 The victory. And now how much I wish 
 I had not conquered in a strife like that. 
 Since for that cause the dark earth hath received 
 The hero Ajax, who in nobleness 
 
 Of form and greatness of exploits excelled 6S5 
 
 All other Greeks, except the blameless son 
 Of Peleus. Then I spake in soothing words : — 
 
 " ' O Ajax, son of blameless Telamon ! 
 Wilt thou not even in death forget the wrath 
 Caused by the strife for those accursed arms } 690 
 
296 The Odyssey. 
 
 The gods have made them fatal to the Greeks, 
 
 For thou, the bulwark of our host, didst fall. 
 
 And we lamented thee as bitterly 
 
 When thou wert dead as we had mourned the son 
 
 Of Peleus. Nor was any man to blame ; 69s 
 
 'T was Jupiter who held in vehement hate 
 
 The army of the warlike Greeks, and laid 
 
 This doom upon thee. Now, O king, draw near. 
 
 And hear our voice and words, and check, I pray. 
 
 The anger rising in thy generous breast.' 700 
 
 " I spake ; he answered not, but moved away 
 To Erebus, among the other souls 
 Of the departed. Yet would I have had 
 Speech of him, angry as he was, or else 
 Have spoken to him further, but my wish 70s 
 
 Was strong to see yet others of the dead. 
 
 " Then I beheld the illustrious son of Jove, 
 Minos, a golden sceptre in his hand. 
 Sitting to judge the dead, who round the king 
 Pleaded their causes. There they stood or sat 71° 
 
 In Pluto's halls, — a pile with ample gates. 
 
 "And next I saw the huge Orion drive. 
 Across the meadows green with asphodel, 
 The savage beast whom he had slain ; he bore 
 
Book XL 297 
 
 The brazen mace, which no man's power could break. 71s 
 " And Tityus there I saw, — the mighty earth 
 
 His mother, — overspreading, as he lay. 
 
 Nine acres, with two vultures at his side. 
 
 That, plucking at his liver, plunged their beaks 
 
 Into the flesh ; nor did his hands avail 71° 
 
 To drive them off, for he had offered force 
 
 To Jove's proud wife Latona, as she went 
 
 To Pytho, through the pleasant Panopeus. 
 " And next I looked on Tantalus, a prey 
 
 To grievous torments, standing in a lake ^^s 
 
 That reached his chin. Though painfully athirst. 
 
 He could not drink ; as often as he bowed 
 
 His aged head to take into his lips 
 
 The water, it was drawn away, and sank 
 
 Into the earth, and the dark soil appeared 730 
 
 Around his feet ; a god had dried it up. 
 
 And lofty trees drooped o'er him, hung with fruit, — 
 
 Pears and pomegranates, apples fair to sight. 
 
 And luscious figs, and olives green of hue. 
 
 And when that ancient man put forth his hands 735 
 
 To pluck them from their stems, the wind arose 
 
 And whirled them far among the shadowy clouds. 
 " There I beheld the shade of Sisyphus 
 38 
 
298 The Odyssey. 
 
 Amid his sufferings. With both hands he rolled 
 
 A huge stone up a hill. To force it up, 74° 
 
 He leaned against the mass with hands and feet ; 
 
 But, ere it crossed the summit of the hill 
 
 A power was felt that sent it rolling back. 
 
 And downward plunged the unmanageable rock 
 
 Before him to the plain. Again he toiled 745 
 
 To heave it upward, while the sweat in streams 
 
 Ran down his limbs, and dust begrimed his brow. 
 
 " Then I beheld the mighty Hercules, — 
 The hero's image, — for he sits himself 
 Among the deathless gods, well pleased to share 750 
 
 Their feasts, and Hebe of the dainty feet- 
 A daughter of the mighty Jupiter 
 And golden-sandalled Juno — is his wife. 
 Around his image flitted to and fro 
 
 The ghosts with noise, like fear-bewildered birds. 755 
 
 His look was dark as night. He held in hand 
 A naked bow, a shaft upon the string. 
 And fiercely gazed, like one about to send 
 The arrow forth. Upon his breast he wore 
 The formidable baldric, on whose band 760 
 
 Of gold were sculptured marvels, — forms of bears. 
 Wild boars, grim lions, battles, skirmishings. 
 
Book XL 299 
 
 And death by wounds, and slaughter. He who wrought 
 
 That band had never done the like before. 
 
 Nor could thereafter. As I met his eye, 765 
 
 The hero knew me, and, beholding me 
 
 With pity, said to me in winged words : — 
 
 " * Son of Laertes, nobly born and wise, 
 And yet unhappy ; surely thou dost bear 
 A cruel fate, like that which I endured 77° 
 
 While yet I saw the brightness of the sun. 
 The offspring of Saturnian Jupiter 
 Am I, and yet was I compelled to serve 
 One of a meaner race than I, who set 
 Difficult tasks. He sent me hither once 77s 
 
 To bring away the guardian hound ; he deemed 
 No harder task might be. I brought him hence ; 
 I led him up from Hades, with such aid 
 As Hermes and the blue-eyed Pallas gave.' 
 
 " Thus having spoken, he withdrew again 780 
 
 Into the abode of Pluto. I remained 
 And kept my place, in hope there yet might come 
 Heroes who perished in the early time, 
 And haply I might look on some of those, — 
 The ancients, whom I greatly longed to see, — 785 
 
 On Theseus and Pirithous, glorious men, 
 
300 * The Odyssey. 
 
 The children of the gods. But now, there flocked 
 
 Akeady round me, with a mighty noise. 
 
 The innumerable nations of the dead ; 
 
 And I grew pale with fear, lest from the halls 79° 
 
 Of Pluto the stern Proserpine should send 
 
 The frightful visage of the monster-maid. 
 
 The Gorgon. Hastening to my ship, I bade 
 
 The crew embark, and cast the hawsers loose. 
 
 Quickly they went on board, and took their seats 795 
 
 Upon the benches. Through Oceanus 
 
 The current bore my galley, aided first 
 
 By oars and then by favorable gales." 
 
BOOK XII. 
 
 " IVT ^^ when our bark had left Oc6anus 
 
 And entered the great deep, we reached the isle 
 iEsea, where the Morning, child of Dawn, 
 Abides, and holds her dances, and the Sun 
 Goes up from earth. We landed there and drew s 
 
 Our galley up the beach ; we disembarked 
 And laid us down to sleep beside the sea. 
 And waited for the holy Morn to rise. 
 
 " Then when the rosy-fingered Morn appeared, 
 The child of Dawn, I sent my comrades forth lo 
 
 To bring from Circe's halls Elpenor's corse. 
 And where a headland stretched into the deep 
 We hewed down trees, and held the funeral rites 
 With many tears ; and having there consumed 
 The body and the arms with fire, we built 15 
 
 A tomb, and reared a column to the dead. 
 And on its summit fixed a tapering oar. 
 
 " All this was duly done ; yet was the news 
 
302 The Odyssey. 
 
 Of our return from Hades not concealed 
 From Circe. She attired herself in haste 20 
 
 And came ; her maids came with her, bringing bread 
 And store of meats and generous wine ; and thus 
 Spake the wise goddess, standing in the midst : — 
 
 " ' Ah, daring ones ! who, yet alive, have gone 
 Down to the abode of Pluto ; twice to die 25 
 
 Is yours, while others die but once. Yet now 
 Take food, drink wine, and hold a feast to-day. 
 And with the dawn of morning ye shall sail ; 
 And I will show the way, and teach you all 
 Its dangers, so that ye may not lament 3° 
 
 False counsels followed, either on the land 
 Or on the water, to your grievous harm.' 
 
 " She spake, and our confiding minds were swayed 
 Easily by her counsels. All that day 
 
 Till set of sun we sat and banqueted 35 
 
 Upon the abundant meats and generous wine ; 
 And when the Sun went down, and darkness came. 
 The crew beside the fastenings of our bark 
 Lay down to sleep, while Circe took my hand. 
 Led me apart, and made me sit, and took 40 
 
 Her seat before me, and inquired of all 
 That I had seen. I told her faithfully. 
 
Book XII. 303 
 
 And then the mighty goddess Circe said : — 
 " ' Thus far is well ; now heedfully attend 
 To what I say, and may some deity 45 
 
 Help thee remember it ! Thou first wilt come 
 To where the Sirens haunt. They throw a spell 
 O'er all who pass that way. If unawares 
 One finds himself so nigh that he can hear 
 Their voices, round him nevermore shall wife 5° 
 
 And lisping children gather, welcoming 
 His safe return with joy. The Sirens sit 
 In a green field, and charm with mellow notes 
 The comer, while beside them lie in heaps 
 The bones of men decaying underneath S5 
 
 The shrivelled skins. Take heed and pass them by. 
 First fill with wax well kneaded in the palm 
 The ears of thy companions, that no sound 
 May enter. Hear the music, if thou wilt. 
 But let thy people bind thee, hand and foot, e^ 
 
 To the good ship, upright against the mast. 
 And round it wind the cord,^ that thou mayst hear 
 The ravishing notes. But shouldst thou then entreat 
 Thy men, commanding them to set thee free. 
 Let them be charged to bind thee yet more fast 65 
 
 With added bands. And when they shall have passed 
 
304 The Odyssey. 
 
 The Sirens by, I will not judge for thee 
 
 Which way to take ; consider for thyself; 
 
 I tell thee of two ways. There is a pile 
 
 Of beetling rocks, where roars the mighty surge 70 
 
 Of dark-eyed Amphitrite ; these are called 
 
 The Wanderers by the blessed gods. No birds 
 
 Can pass them safe, not even the timid doves. 
 
 Which bear ambrosia to our father Jove, 
 
 But ever doth the slippery rock take off 7s 
 
 Some one, whose loss the God at once supplies. 
 
 To keep their number full. To these no bark 
 
 Guided by man has ever come, and left 
 
 The spot unwrecked ; the billows of the deep 
 
 And storms of fire in air have scattered wide 80 
 
 Timbers of ships and bodies of drowned men. 
 
 One only of the barks that plough the deep 
 
 Has passed them safely, — Argo, known to all 
 
 By fame, when coming from iEasta home, — 
 
 And her the billows would have dashed against 85 
 
 The enormous rocks, if Juno, for the sake 
 
 Of Jason, had not come to guide it through. 
 
 " ' Two are the rocks ; one lifts to the broad heaven 
 Its pointed summit, where a dark gray cloud 
 Broods, and withdraws not ; never is the sky 9° 
 
Book xii. 305 
 
 Clear o'er that peak, not even in summer days 
 
 Or autumn ; nor can man ascend its steeps. 
 
 Or venture down, — so smooth the sides, as if 
 
 Man's art had polished them. There in the midst 
 
 Upon the western side toward Erebus 95 
 
 There yawns a shadowy cavern ; thither thou. 
 
 Noble Ulysses, steer thy bark, yet keep 
 
 So far aloof that, standing on the deck, 
 
 A youth might send an arrow from a bow 
 
 Just to the cavern's mouth. There Scylla dwells, 100 
 
 And fills the air with fearful yells ; her voice 
 
 The cry of whelps just littered, but herself 
 
 A frightful prodigy, — a sight which none 
 
 Would care to look on, though he were a god. 
 
 Twelve feet are hers, all shapeless ; six long necks, 105 
 
 A hideous head on each, and triple rows 
 
 Of teeth, close set and many, threatening death. 
 
 And half her form is in the cavern's womb. 
 
 And forth from that dark gulf her heads are thrust. 
 
 To look abroad upon the rocks for prey, — no 
 
 Dolphin, or dogfish, or the mightier whale. 
 
 Such as the murmuring Amphitrite breeds 
 
 In multitudes. No mariner can boast 
 
 That he has passed by Scylla with a crew 
 
 39 
 
3o6 The Odyssey. 
 
 Unharmed ; she snatches from the deck, and bears us 
 Away in each grim mouth, a living man. 
 
 " ' Another rock, Ulysses, thou wilt see. 
 Of lower height, so near her that a spear. 
 Cast by the hand, might reach it. On it grows 
 A huge wild fig-tree with luxuriant leaves. 120 
 
 Below, Charybdis, of immortal birth. 
 Draws the dark water down ; for thrice a day 
 She gives it forth, and thrice with fearful whirl 
 She draws it in. O, be it not thy lot 
 To come while the dark water rushes down ! i^s 
 
 Even Neptune could not then deliver thee. 
 Then turn thy course with speed toward Scylla's rock, 
 And pass that way ; 't were better far that six 
 Should perish from the ship than all be lost.' 
 
 " She spake, and I replied : ' O goddess, deign 130 
 
 To tell me truly, cannot I at once 
 Escape Charybdis and defend my friends 
 Against the rage of Scylla when she strikes ? ' 
 
 " I spake ; the mighty goddess answered me : — 
 * Rash man ! dost thou still think of warlike deeds, 135 
 And feats of strength ? And wilt thou not give way 
 Even to the deathless gods ? That pest is not 
 Of mortal mould ; she cannot die, she is 
 
Book XII. 307 
 
 A thing to tremble and to shudder at. 
 
 And fierce, and never to be overcome. 140 
 
 There is no room for courage ; flight is best. 
 
 And if thou shouldst delay beside the rock 
 
 To take up arms, I fear lest once again 
 
 She fall on thee v^^ith all her heads, and seize 
 
 As many men. Pass by the monster's haunt 145 
 
 With all the speed that thou canst make, and call 
 
 Upon Crataeis, who brought Scylla forth 
 
 To be the plague of men, and v^^ho will calm 
 
 Her rage, that she assault thee not again. 
 
 "'Then in thy voyage shalt thou reach the isle 15° 
 
 Trinacria, where, in pastures of the Sun, 
 His many beeves and fatling sheep are fed, — 
 Seven herds of oxen, and as many flocks 
 Of sheep, and fifty in each flock and herd. 
 They never multiply ; they never die. iss 
 
 Two shepherdesses tend them, goddesses. 
 Nymphs with redundant locks, — Lampelia one. 
 The other Phaethusa. These the nymph 
 Nseera to the overgoing Sun 
 
 Brought forth, and when their queenly mother's care 160 
 Had reared them, she appointed them to dwell 
 In far Trinacria, there to keep the flocks 
 
3o8 The Odyssey. 
 
 And oxen of their father. If thy thoughts 
 
 Be fixed on thy return, so that thou leave 
 
 These flocks and herds unharmed, ye all will come 165 
 
 To Ithaca, though after many toils. 
 
 But if thou rashly harm them, I foretell 
 
 Destruction to thy ship and all its crew ; 
 
 And if thyself escape, thou wilt return 
 
 Late and in sorrow, all thy comrades lost.' 170 
 
 " She spake ; the Morning on her golden throne 
 Looked forth ; the glorious goddess went her way 
 Into the isle, I to my ship, and bade 
 The men embark and cast the hawsers loose. 
 And straight they went on board, and duly manned 17s 
 The benches, smiting as they sat with oars 
 The hoary waters. Circe, amber-haired. 
 The mighty goddess of the musical voice. 
 Sent a fair wind behind our dark-prowed ship 
 That gayly bore us company, and filled 180 
 
 The sails. When we had fairly ordered all 
 On board our galley, we sat down, and left 
 The favoring wind and helm to bear us on. 
 And thus in sadness I bespake the crew : — 
 
 " ' My friends ! it were not well that one or two 185 
 Alone should know the oracles I heard 
 
Book XII. 309 
 
 From Circe, great among the goddesses ; 
 
 And no\f will I disclose them, that ye all. 
 
 Whether we are to die or to escape 
 
 The doom of death, may be forewarned. And first 190 
 
 Against the wicked Sirens and their song 
 
 And flowery bank, she warns us. I alone 
 
 May hear their voice, but ye must bind me first 
 
 With bands too strong to break, that I may stand 
 
 Upright against the mast ; and let the cords 195 
 
 Be fastened round it. If I then entreat 
 
 And bid you loose me, make the bands more strong.' 
 
 " Thus to my crew I spake, and told them all 
 That they should know, while our good ship drew near 
 The island of the Sirens, prosperous gales 200 
 
 Wafting it gently onward. Then the breeze 
 Sank to a breathless calm ; some deity 
 Had hushed the winds to slumber. Straightway rose 
 The men and furled the sails and laid them down 
 Within the ship, and sat and made the sea 205 
 
 White with the beating of their polished blades. 
 Made of the fir-tree. Then I took a mass 
 Of wax and cut it into many parts. 
 And kneaded each with a strong hand. It grew 
 Warm with the pressure, and the beams of him ^'o 
 
3 1 o The Odyssey. 
 
 Who journeys round the earth, the monarch Sun. 
 
 With this I filled the ears of all my men 
 
 From first to last. They bound me, in their turn. 
 
 Upright against the mast-tree, hand and fi^ot. 
 
 And tied the cords around it. Then again ai 
 
 They sat and threshed with oars the hoary deep. 
 
 And when, in running rapidly, we came 
 
 So near the Sirens as to hear a voice 
 
 From where they sat, our galley flew not by 
 
 Unseen by them, and sweetly thus they sang : — "< 
 
 " * O world-renowned Ulysses ! thou who art 
 The glory of the Achaians, turn thy bark 
 Landward, that thou mayst listen to our lay. 
 No man has passed us in his galley yet. 
 Ere he has heard our warbled melodies. aii 
 
 He goes delighted hence a wiser man ; 
 For all that in the spacious realm of Troy 
 The Greeks and Trojans by the will of Heaven 
 Endured we know, and all that comes to pass 
 In all the nations of the fruitful earth.' 23c 
 
 " 'T was thus they sang, and sweet the strain. I longed 
 To listen, and with nods I gave the sign 
 To set me free ; they only plied their oars 
 The faster. Then upsprang Eurylochus 
 
Book XII. 3 1 1 
 
 And Perimedes, and with added cords 23s 
 
 Bound me, and drew the others still more tight. 
 
 And when we now had passed the spot, and heard 
 
 No more the melody the Sirens sang. 
 
 My comrades hastened from their ears to take 
 
 The wax, and loosed the cords and set me free. 240 
 
 " As soon as we had left the isle, I saw 
 Mist and a mountain billow, and I heard 
 The thunder of the waters. From the hands 
 Of my affrighted comrades flew the oars. 
 The deep was all in uproar ; but the ship 245 
 
 Stopped there, for all the rowers ceased their task. 
 I went through all the ship exhorting them 
 With cheerful words, man after man, and said : — 
 
 " * Reflect, my friends, that we are not untried 
 In evil fortunes, nor in sadder plight 25° 
 
 Are we than when within his spacious cave 
 The brutal Cyclops held us prisoners ; 
 Yet through my valor we escaped, and through 
 My counsels and devices, and I think 
 That ye will live to bear this day's events 255 
 
 In memory like those. Now let us act. 
 Do all as I advise ; go to your seats 
 Upon the benches, smiting with your oars 
 
312 The Odyssey. 
 
 These mighty waves, and haply Jove will grant 
 
 That we escape the death which threatens us. ^6° 
 
 Thee, helmsman, I adjure, — and heed my words, 
 
 Since to thy hands alone is given in charge 
 
 Our gallant vessel's rudder, — steer thou hence 
 
 From mist and tumbling waves, and well observe 
 
 The rock, lest where it juts into the sea 265 
 
 Thou heed it not, and bring us all to wreck,' 
 
 " I spake, and quickly all obeyed my words. 
 Yet said I nought of Scylla, — whom we now 
 Could not avoid, — lest all the crew in fear 
 Should cease to row, and crowd into the hold. 270 
 
 And then did I forget the stern command 
 Which Circe gave me, not to arm myself 
 For combat. In my shining arms I cased 
 My limbs, and took in hand two ponderous spears. 
 And went on deck, and stood upon the prow, — 275 
 
 For there it seemed to me that Scylla first 
 Would show herself, — that monster of the rocks, — 
 To seize my comrades. Yet I saw her not. 
 Though weary grew my eyes with looking long 
 And eagerly upon those dusky cliffs. aSo 
 
 " Sadly we sailed into the strait, where stood 
 On one hand Scylla, and the dreaded rock 
 
Book xii. 313 
 
 Charybdis on the other, drawing down 
 
 Into her horrid gulf the briny flood ; 
 
 And as she threw it forth again, it tossed 285 
 
 And murmured as upon a glowing fire 
 
 The water in a caldron, while the spray. 
 
 Thrown upward, fell on both the summit-rocks ; 
 
 And when once more she swallowed the salt sea. 
 
 It whirled within the abyss^ while far below 29° 
 
 The bottom of blue sand was seen. My men 
 
 Grew pale with fear ; we looked into the gulf 
 
 And thought our end was nigh. Then Scylla snatched 
 
 Six of my comrades from our hollow bark. 
 
 The best in valor and in strength of arm, 29s 
 
 I looked to my good ship ; I looked to them. 
 
 And saw their hands and feet still swung in air 
 
 Above me, while for the last time on earth 
 
 They called my name in agony of heart. 
 
 As when an angler on a jutting rock 3°° 
 
 Sits with his taper rod, and casts his bait 
 
 To snare the smaller fish, he sends the horn 
 
 Of a wild bull that guards his line afar 
 
 Into the water, and jerks out a fish. 
 
 And throws it gasping shoreward ; so were they 30s 
 
 Uplifted gasping to the rocks, and there 
 40 
 
3 1 4 The Odyssey. 
 
 Scylla devoured them at her cavern's mouth. 
 Stretching their hands to me with piercing cries 
 Of anguish. 'T v^as in truth the saddest sight. 
 Whatever I have suffered and vv^here'er 31° 
 
 Have roamed the waters, that mine eyes have seen. 
 
 " Escaping thus the rocks, the dreaded haunt 
 Of Scylla and Charybdis, we approached 
 The pleasant island of the Sun, where grazed 
 The oxen with broad foreheads, beautiful, 31s 
 
 And flocks of sheep, the fatlings of the god 
 Who makes the round of heaven. While yet at sea 
 I heard from my black ship the low of herds 
 In stables, and the bleatings of the flocks. 
 And straightway came into my thought the words 3^° 
 Of the blind seer Tiresias, him of Thebes, 
 And of Mxan Circe, who had oft 
 Warned me to shun the island of the god 
 Whose light is sweet to all. And then I said 
 To my companions with a sorrowing heart : — 3^5 
 
 " ' My comrades, sufferers as ye are, give ear. 
 I shall disclose the oracles which late 
 Tiresias and JExa.n CircS gave. 
 The goddess earnestly admonished me 
 Not to approach the island of the Sun, 330 
 
Book xii. 315 
 
 Whose light is sweet to all, for there she said 
 Some great misfortune lay in wait for us. 
 Now let us speed the ship and pass the isle.' 
 
 " I spake ; their hearts were broken as they heard, 
 And bitterly Eurylochus replied : — 335 
 
 " ' Austere art thou, Ulysses ; thou art strong 
 Exceedingly ; no labor tires thy limbs ; 
 They must be made of iron, since thy will 
 Denies thy comrades, overcome with toil 
 And sleeplessness, to tread the land again, 34° 
 
 And in that isle amid the waters make 
 A generous banquet. Thou wouldst- have us sail 
 Into the swiftly coming night, and stray 
 Far from the island, through the misty sea. 
 By night spring up the mighty winds that make 34s 
 
 A wreck of ships, and how can one escape 
 Destruction, should a sudden hurricane 
 Rise from the south or the hard-blowing west. 
 Such as, in spite of all the sovereign gods, 
 Will cause a ship to founder in the deep ? 35° 
 
 Let us obey the dark-browed Night, and take 
 Our evening meal, remaining close beside 
 Our gallant bark, and go on board again 
 When morning breaks, and enter the wide sea.' 
 
3i6 The Odyssey. 
 
 " So spake Eurylochus ; the rest approved. 355 
 
 And then I knew that some divinity- 
 Was meditating evil to our band. 
 And I bespake him thus in winged words : — 
 
 " ' Eurylochus, ye force me to your will. 
 Since I am only one. Now all of you 360 
 
 Bind yourselves to me firmly, by an oath. 
 That if ye haply here shall meet a herd 
 Of beeves or flock of sheep, ye will not dare 
 To slay a single ox or sheep, but feed 
 Contented on the stores that Circe gave.' 365 
 
 " I spake, and readily my comrades swore 
 As I required ; and when that solemn oath 
 Was taken, to the land we brought and moored 
 Our galley in a winding creek, beside 
 A fountain of sweet water. From the deck 37° 
 
 Stepped my companions and made ready there 
 Their evening cheer. They ate and drank till thirst 
 And hunger were appeased, and then they thought 
 Of those whom Scylla from our galley's deck 
 Snatched and devoured; they thought and wept till sleep 
 Stole softly over them amid their tears. 376 
 
 Now came the third part of the night ; the stars 
 Were sinking when the Cloud-compeller Jove 
 
Book XIL 317 
 
 Sent forth a violent wind with eddying gusts, , 
 
 And covered both the earth and sky with clouds, 380 
 
 And darkness fell from heaven. When Morning came. 
 The rosy-fingered daughter of the Dawn, 
 We drew the ship into a spacious grot. 
 There were the seats of nymphs, and there we saw 
 The smooth fair places where they danced. I called 385 
 A council of my men, and said to them : — 
 
 " ' My friends, in our good ship are food and drink ; 
 Abstain we from these beeves, lest we be made 
 To suffer ; for these herds and these fair flocks 
 Are sacred to a dreaded god, the Sun, — 39° 
 
 The all-beholding and all-hearing Sun.' 
 
 " I spake, and all were swayed by what I said 
 Full easily. A month entire the gales 
 Blew from the south, and after that no wind 
 Save east and south. While yet we had our bread 395 
 
 And ruddy wine, my comrades spared the beeves. 
 Moved by the love of life. But when the stores 
 On board our galley were consumed, they roamed 
 The island in their need, and sought for prey, 
 And snared with barbed hooks the fish and birds, — 400 
 Whatever came to hand, — till they were gaunt 
 With famine. Meantime I withdrew alone 
 
3 1 8 The Odyssey. 
 
 Into the isle, to supplicate the gods. 
 
 If haply one of them might yet reveal 
 
 The way of my return. As thus I strayed 405 
 
 Into the land, apart from all the rest, 
 
 I found a sheltered nook where no wind came. 
 
 And prayed v/ith washen hands to all the gods 
 
 Who dwell in heaven. At length they bathed my lids 
 
 In a soft sleep. Meantime, Eurylochus 410 
 
 With fatal counsels thus harangued my men : — 
 
 " ' Hear, my companions, sufferers as ye are. 
 The words that I shall speak. All modes of death 
 Are hateful to the wretched race of men ; 
 But this of hunger, thus to meet our fate, 415 
 
 Is the most fearful. Let us drive apart 
 The best of all the oxen of the Sun, 
 And sacrifice them to the immortal ones 
 Who dwell in the broad heaven. And if we come 
 To Ithaca, our country, we will there 4^° 
 
 Build to the Sun, whose path is o'er our heads, 
 A sumptuous temple, and endow its shrine 
 With many gifts and rare. But if it be 
 His will, approved by all the other gods. 
 To sink our bark in anger, for the sake 425 
 
 Of these his high-horned oxen, I should choose 
 
Book XII. 319 
 
 Sooner to gasp my life away amid 
 
 The billows of the deep, than pine to death 
 
 By famine in this melancholy isle.' 
 
 " So spake Eurylochus ; the crew approved. 430 
 
 Then from the neighboring herd they drove the best 
 Of all the beeves ; for near the dark-prowed ship 
 The fair broad-fronted herd with crooked horns 
 Were feeding. Round the victims stood my crew. 
 And, offering their petitions to the gods, 435 
 
 Held tender oak-leaves in their hands, just plucked 
 From a tall tree, for in our good ship's hold 
 Was no white barley now. When they had prayed. 
 And slain and dressed the beeves, they hewed away 
 The thighs and covered them with double folds 440 
 
 Of caul, and laid raw slices over these. 
 Wine had they not to pour in sacrifice 
 Upon the burning flesh ; they poured instead 
 Water, and roasted all the entrails thus. 
 Now when the thighs were thoroughly consumed, 445 
 And entrails tasted, all the rest was carved 
 Into small portions, and transfixed with spits. 
 
 "Just then the gentle slumber left my lids. 
 I hurried to the shore and my good ship. 
 And, drawing near, perceived the savory steam 45° 
 
320 The Odyssey. 
 
 From the burnt-offering. Sorrowfully then 
 I called upon the ever-living gods : — 
 
 " * O Father Jove, and all ye blessed gods. 
 Who live forever, 't was a cruel sleep 
 In which ye lulled me to my grievous harm ; 455 
 
 My comrades here have done a fearful wrong.' 
 
 " Lampetia, of the trailing robes, in haste 
 Flew to the Sun, who journeys round the earth. 
 To tell him that my crew had slain his beeves. 
 And thus in anger he bespake the gods : — 460 
 
 " ' O Father Jove, and all ye blessed gods 
 Who never die, avenge the wrong I bear 
 Upon the comrades of Laertes' son, 
 Ulysses, who have foully slain my beeves. 
 In which I took delight whene'er I rose 46s 
 
 Into the starry heaven, and when again 
 I sank from heaven to earth. If for the wrong 
 They make not large amends, I shall go down 
 To Hades, there to shine among the dead.' 
 
 " The cloud-compelling Jupiter replied : — 47° 
 
 ' Still shine, O Sun ! among the deathless gods 
 And mortal men, upon the nourishing earth. 
 Soon will I cleave, with a white thunderbolt. 
 Their galley in the midst of the black sea.' 
 
Book xii. 321 
 
 " This from Calypso of the radiant hair 475 
 
 I heard thereafter ; she herself, she said. 
 Had heard it from the herald Mercury. 
 
 "When to the ship I came, beside the sea, 
 I sternly chid them all, man after man. 
 Yet could we think of no redress ; the beeves 480 
 
 Were dead ; and now with prodigies the gods 
 Amazed my comrades, — the skins moved and crawled, 
 The flesh both raw and roasted on the spits 
 Lowed with the voice of oxen. Six whole days 
 My comrades feasted, taking from the herd 485 
 
 The Sun's best oxen. When Saturnian Jove 
 Brought the seventh day, the tempest ceased ; the wind 
 Fell, and we straightway went on board. We set 
 The mast upright, and, spreading the white sails, 
 We ventured on the great wide sea again. 49° 
 
 "When we had left the isle, and now appeared 
 No other land, but only sea and sky. 
 The son of Saturn caused a lurid cloud 
 To gather o'er the galley, and to cast 
 Its darkness on the deep. Not long our ship 495 
 
 Ran onward, ere the furious west wind rose 
 And blew a hurricane. A strong blast snapped 
 Both ropes that held the mast ; the mast fell back ; 
 41 
 
322 The Odyssey. 
 
 The tackle dropped entangled to the hold ; 
 
 The mast, in falling on the galley's stern, 50° 
 
 Dashed on the pilot's head and crushed the bones. 
 
 And from the deck he plunged like one who dives 
 
 Into the deep ; his gallant spirit left 
 
 The limbs at once. Jove thundered from on high. 
 
 And sent a thunderbolt into the ship, 5°5 
 
 That, quaking v^ith the fearful blow^, and filled 
 
 With stifling sulphur, shook my comrades off 
 
 Into the deep. They floated round the ship 
 
 Like seamews ; Jupiter had cut them off 
 
 From their return. I moved from place to place, s'o 
 
 Still in the ship, until the tempest's force 
 
 Parted the sides and keel. Before the w^aves 
 
 The naked keel was swept. The mast had snapped 
 
 Just at the base, but round it was a thong 
 
 Made of a bullock's hide ; with this I bound s's 
 
 The mast and keel together, took my seat 
 
 Upon them, and the wild winds bore me on. 
 
 " The west wind ceased to rage ; but in its stead 
 The south wind blew, and brought me bitter grief. 
 I feared lest I must measure back my way 5^° 
 
 To grim Charybdis. All night long I rode 
 The waves, and with the rising sun drew near 
 
Book XII. 323 
 
 The rock of Scylla and the terrible 
 
 Charybdis as her gulf was drawing down 
 
 The waves of the salt sea. There as I came s^s 
 
 I raised myself on high till I could grasp 
 
 The lofty fig-tree, and I clung to it 
 
 As clings a bat, — for I could neither find 
 
 A place to plant my feet, nor could I climb. 
 
 So distant were the roots, so far apart 53° 
 
 The long huge branches overshadowing 
 
 Charybdis. Yet I firmly kept my hold 
 
 Till she should throw the keel and mast again 
 
 Up from the gulf. They, as I waited long. 
 
 Came up again, though late, — as late as one 535 
 
 Who long has sat adjudging strifes between 
 
 Young suitors pleading in the market-place 
 
 Rises and goes to take his evening meal; 
 
 So late the timbers of my bark returned, 
 
 Thrown from Charybdis. Then I dropped amid 54° 
 
 The dashing waves, and came with hands and feet 
 
 On those long timbers in the midst, that they 
 
 Might bear my weight. I sat on them and rowed 
 
 With both my hands. The father of the gods 
 
 And mortals suffered not that I should look 545 
 
 On Scylla's rock again, else had I not 
 
324 The Odyssey. 
 
 Escaped a cruel death. For nine long days 
 
 I floated on the waters ; on the tenth 
 
 The gods at nightfall bore me to an isle, — 
 
 Ogygia, where Calypso, amber-haired, 55° 
 
 A mighty goddess, skilled in song, abides. 
 
 Who kindly welcomed me, and cherished me. 
 
 Why should I speak of this ? Here in these halls 
 
 I gave the history yesterday to thee 
 
 And to thy gracious consort, and I hate sss 
 
 To tell again a tale once fully told." 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 Cambridge : Electrotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, and Co. 
 
324 The Odyssey. 
 
 Escaped a cruel death. For nine long days 
 
 I floated on the waters ; on the tenth 
 
 The gods at nightfall bore me to an isle, — 
 
 Ogygia, where Calypso, amber-haired, 55° 
 
 A mighty goddess, skilled in song, abides. 
 
 Who kindly welcomed me, and cherished me. 
 
 Why should I speak of this ? Here in these halls 
 
 I gave the history yesterday to thee 
 
 And to thy gracious consort, and I hate 55s 
 
 To tell again a tale once fully told." 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 Cambridge : Electrotyped and Printed by Welcb, Bigelow, and Co.