THE STORY OF THE ODYSSEY

BY THE REV. ALFRED J. CHURCH, M. A. 

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE ODYSSEY:

I. THE COUNSEL OF ATHENE

II. THE ASSEMBLY

III. NESTOR'S TALE

IV. IN SPARTA

V. MENELAUS'S TALE

VI. ULYSSES ON HIS RAFT

VII. NAUSICAA

VIII. ALCINOUS

IX. THE PHAEACIANS

X. THE CYCLOPS

XI. AEOLUS; THE LAESTRYGONS; CIRCE

XII. THE DWELLINGS OF THE DEAD

XIII. THE SIRENS; SCYLLA; THE OXEN OF THE SUN

XIV. ITHACA

XV. EUMAEUS, THE SWINEHERD

XVI. THE RETURN OF TELEMACHUS

XVII. ULYSSES AND TELEMACHUS

XVIII. ULYSSES IN HIS HOME

XIX. ULYSSES IN HIS HOME (_continued_)

XX. ULYSSES IS DISCOVERED BY HIS NURSE

XXI. THE TRIAL OF THE BOW

XXII. THE SLAYING OF THE SUITORS

XXIII. THE END OF THE WANDERING

XXIV. THE TRIUMPH OF ULYSSES

PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES

INTRODUCTION

Three thousand years ago the world was still young. The westerncontinent was a huge wilderness, and the greater part of Europewas inhabited by savage and wandering tribes. Only a few nationsat the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in the neighbouringparts of Asia had learned to dwell in cities, to use a writtenlanguage, to make laws for themselves, and to live in a moreorderly fashion. Of these nations the most brilliant was that ofthe Greeks, who were destined in war, in learning, in government, and in the arts, to play a great part in the world, and to be thereal founders of our modern civilization. While they were still arude people, they had noble ideals of beauty and bravery, of dutyand justice. Even before they had a written language, theirsingers had made songs about their heroes and their great deeds;and later these songs, which fathers had taught to children, andthese children to their children, were brought together into twolong and wonderful poems, which have ever since been the delightof the world, the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_. 

The _Iliad_ is the story of the siege of Ilium, or Troy, onthe western coast of Asia Minor. Paris, son of the king of Troy, had enticed Helen, the most beautiful of Grecian women, and thewife of a Grecian king, to leave her husband's home with him; andthe kings and princes of the Greeks had gathered an army and afleet and sailed across the Aegean Sea to rescue her. For tenyears they strove to capture the city. According to the fine oldlegends, the gods themselves took a part in the war, some sidingwith the Greeks, and some with the Trojans. It was finally throughUlysses, a famous Greek warrior, brave and fierce as well as wiseand crafty, that the Greeks captured the city. 

The second poem, the _Odyssey_, tells what befell Ulysses, orOdysseus, as the Greeks called him, on his homeward way. Sailingfrom Troy with his little fleet of ships, which were so small thatthey used oars as well as sails, he was destined to wander for tenyears longer before he could return to his rocky island of Ithaca, on the west shore of Greece, and to his faithful wife, Penelope. 

He had marvellous adventures, for the gods who had opposed theGreeks at Troy had plotted to bring him ill-fortune. Just as hisships were safely rounding the southern cape of Greece, a fiercestorm took them out of their course, and bore them to many strangelands--lands of giants, man-eating monsters, and wondrousenchantments of which you will delight to read. Through countlessperils the resolute wanderer forced his way, losing ship aftership from his little fleet, and companion after companion from hisown band, until he reached home friendless and alone, and foundhis palace, his property, and his family all in the power of aband of greedy princes. These he overcame by his cunning and hisstrength, and his long trials were ended. 

As you read these ancient tales, you must forget what knowledgeyou have of the world, and think of it as the Greeks did. It wasonly a little part of the world that they knew at all, --theeastern end of the Mediterranean, --but even that seemed to them agreat and marvellous region. Beyond its borders were strange andmysterious lands, in which wonders of all kinds were found, andround all ran the great world-river, the encircling stream ofOcean. 

In the mountains of Olympus, to the northward, lived the gods. There was Zeus, greatest of all, the god of thunder and the wideheavens; Hera, his wife; Apollo, the archer god; Athene, the wiseand clever goddess; Poseidon, who ruled the sea; Aphrodite, thegoddess of love; Hephaestus, the cunning workman; Ares, the god ofwar; Hermes, the swift messenger; and others still, whom you willlearn to know as you read. All these were worshipped by men withprayer and sacrifice; and, as in the early legends of many races, the gods often took the shape of men and women; they had theirfavourites and those whom they hated; and they ruled the fate ofmortals as they chose. 

If you let yourselves be beguiled into this old, simple way ofregarding earth and heaven, you will not only love these ancienttales yourself, but you will see why, for century after century, they have been the longest loved and the best loved of all tales--beloved by old and young, by men and women and children. For theyare hero-tales, --tales of war and adventure, tales of bravery andnobility, tales of the heroes that mankind, almost since thebeginning of time, have looked to as ideals of wisdom and strengthand beauty. 

THE ODYSSEY

CHAPTER I

THE COUNSEL [Footnote: counsel, advice. ] OFATHENE [Footnote: A-the'-ne. ]

When the great city of Troy had been taken, all the chiefs who hadfought against it set sail for their homes. But there was wrath inheaven against them, so that they did not find a safe and happyreturn. For one was shipwrecked, and another was shamefully slainby his false wife in his palace, and others found all things athome troubled and changed, and were driven to seek new dwellingselsewhere; and some were driven far and wide about the worldbefore they saw their native land again. Of all, the wise Ulysses[Footnote: U-lys'-ses. ] was he that wandered farthest and sufferedmost, for when ten years had well-nigh passed, he was still faraway from Ithaca [Footnote: Ith'-a-ca. ], his kingdom. 

The gods were gathered in council in the hall of Olympus [Footnote: O-lym'-pus. ], all but Poseidon, [Footnote: Po-sei'-don. ] the god of thesea, for he had gone to feast with the Ethiopians. Now Poseidon was hewho most hated Ulysses, and kept him from his home. 

Then spake Athene among the immortal gods: "My heart is rent forUlysses. Sore affliction doth he suffer in an island of the sea, where the daughter of Atlas keepeth him, seeking to make himforget his native land. And he yearns to see even the smoke risingup from the land of his birth, and is fain [Footnote: is fain, wishes to] to die. And thou regardest it not at all. Did he notoffer thee many sacrifices in the land of Troy? Wherefore hastthou such wrath against him?" To her Zeus, the father of the gods, made reply: "What is this that thou sayest, my daughter? It isPoseidon that hath great wrath against Ulysses, because he blindedhis son Polyphemus [Footnote: Pol-y-phe'-mus. ] the Cyclops. [Footnote: Cy'-clops. ] But come, let us take counsel together thathe may return to his home, for Poseidon will not be able to contendagainst us all. "

Then said Athene: "If this be thy will, then let us speed Hermes[Footnote: Her'-mes. ] the messenger to the island of Calypso[Footnote: Ca-lyp'-so. ], and let him declare to the goddess ourpurpose that Ulysses shall return to his home. And I will go toIthaca, and stir up the spirit of his son Telemachus [Footnote:Te-lem'-a-chus. ], that first he speak out his mind to the suitorsof his mother who waste his substance, [Footnote: substance, property. ] and next that he go to Sparta and to Pylos [Footnote:Py'-los. ], seeking tidings of his father. So shall the youth wingood report among men. "

So she went to Ithaca, and there she took upon her the form ofMentes [Footnote: Men'-tes. ], who was chief of the Taphians. [Footnote: Ta'-phi-ans. ]

Now there were gathered in the house of Ulysses many princes fromthe islands, suitors of the Queen Penelope [Footnote: Pe-nel'-o-pe. ], for they said that Ulysses was dead, and that she shouldchoose another husband. These were gathered together, and weresitting playing draughts [Footnote: draughts, checkers. ] andfeasting. And Telemachus sat among them, vexed at heart, for theywasted his substance; neither was he master in his house. But whenhe saw the guest at the door, he rose from his place, and welcomedhim, and made him sit down, and commanded that they should givehim food and wine. And when he had ended his meal, Telemachusasked him his business. 

Thereupon the false Mentes said: "My name is Mentes, and I am Kingof the Taphians, and I am sailing to Cyprus for copper, takingiron in exchange. Now I have been long time the friend of thishouse, of thy father and thy father's father, and I came trustingto see thy father, for they told me that he was here. But now Isee that some god hath hindered his return, for that he is yetalive I know full well. But tell me, who are these that I see? Isthis the gathering of a clan, or a wedding feast?"

Telemachus made answer: "O sir, while my father was yet alive, ourhouse was rich and honoured; but now that he is gone, things arenot well with me. I would not grieve so much had he fallen inbattle before Troy; for then the Greeks would have builded a greatburial mound for him, and he would thus have won great renown, even for his son. But now the storms of the sea have swept himaway, and I am left in sore distress. For these whom thou seestare the princes of the islands that come here to woo my mother. She neither refuseth nor accepteth; and meanwhile they sit here, and waste my substance. "

Then said the false Mentes: "Now may the gods help thee! Thou artindeed in sore need of Ulysses. But now hearken to my counsel. First call an assembly of the people. Bid the suitors go back, each man to his home; and as for thy mother, if she be moved towed, let her return to her father's house, that her kinsfolk mayfurnish a wedding feast, and prepare gifts such as a well-beloveddaughter should have. Afterwards do thou fit up a ship with twentyoars, and go, inquire concerning thy father; perhaps some man maygive thee tidings of him; or, may be, thou wilt hear a voice fromZeus concerning him. Go to Pylos first, and afterwards to Sparta, where Menelaus [Footnote: Me-ne-la'-us. ] dwelleth, who of all theGreeks came back the last to his home. If thou shouldest hear thathe is dead, then come back hither, and raise a mound for him, andgive thy mother to a husband. And when thou hast made an end ofall these things, then plan how thou mayest slay the suitors byforce or craft, for it is time for thee to have the thoughts of aman. "

Then said Telemachus: "Thou speakest these things out of afriendly heart, as a father might speak to his son, nor will Iever forget them. But now, I pray thee, abide here for a space, that I may give thee a goodly gift, such as friends give tofriends, to be an heirloom in thy house. "

But the false Mentes said, "Keep me no longer, for I am eager todepart; give me thy gift when I shall return. "

So the goddess departed; like to an eagle of the sea was she asshe flew. And Telemachus knew her to be a goddess as she went. 

Meanwhile Phemius [Footnote: Phe'-mi-us. ] the minstrel sang to thesuitors, and his song was of the unhappy return of the Greeks fromTroy. 

When Penelope heard the song, she came down from the upper chamberwhere she sat, and two handmaids bare her company. And when shecame to where the suitors sat, she stood by the gate of the hall, holding her shining veil before her face. Then spake she to theminstrel, weeping, and said: "Phemius, thou knowest many songsconcerning the deeds of gods and men; sing, therefore, one ofthese, and let the guests drink the wine in silence. But stay thispitiful strain, for it breaketh my heart to hear it. Surely, ofall women I am the most unhappy, so famous was the husband forwhom I mourn. "

But Telemachus made reply: "Why dost thou grudge the minstrel, mymother, to make us glad in such fashion as his spirit biddeth him?It is no blame to him that he singeth of the unhappy return of theGreeks, for men most prize the song that soundeth newest in theirears. Endure, therefore, to listen, for not Ulysses only missedhis return, but many a famous chief besides. Go, then, to thychamber, and mind thy household affairs, and bid thy handmaids plytheir tasks. Speech belongeth unto men, and chiefly to me that amthe master in this house. "

Then went she back to her chamber, for she was amazed at her son, with such authority did he speak. Then she bewailed her lord, tillAthene sent down sleep upon her eyes. 

When she was gone, Telemachus spake to the suitors, saying: "Letus now feast and be merry, and let there be no brawling among us. It is a good thing to listen to a minstrel that hath a voice asthe voice of a god. But in the morning let us go to the assembly, that I may declare my purpose, to wit, that ye leave this hall, and eat your own substance. But if ye deem it a better thing thatye should waste another man's goods, and make no recompense, thenwork your will. But certainly Zeus shall repay you. "

So he spake, and they all marvelled that he used such boldness. And Antinous [Footnote: An-ti'-no-us. ] answered: "Surely, Telemachus, it is by the bidding of the gods that thou speakest soboldly. Therefore I pray that Zeus may never make thee King inIthaca. "

Then said Telemachus: "It is no ill thing to be a king, for hishouse groweth rich, and he himself is honoured. But there areothers in Ithaca, young and old, who may have the kingship, nowthat Ulysses is dead. Yet know that I will be lord of my own houseand of the slaves which Ulysses won for himself with his ownspear. "

Thereupon spake Eurymachus [Footnote: Eu-rym'-a-chus. ], saying:"It is with the gods to say who shall be King in Ithaca; but noman can deny that thou shouldest keep thine own goods and be lordin thine own house. Tell me, who is this stranger that came butjust now to thy house? Did he bring tidings of thy father? Or camehe on some matter of his own? In strange fashion did he depart, nor did he tarry that we might know him. "

Telemachus made answer: "Verily, Eurymachus, the day of myfather's return hath gone by forever. As for this stranger, hesaid that he was Mentes, King of the Taphians. "

So spake Telemachus, but in his heart he knew that the strangerwas Athene. Then the suitors turned them to the dance and to thesong, making merry till the darkness fell. Then went they each tohis own house to sleep. 

But Telemachus went to his chamber, pondering many things in hisheart. And Eurycleia, [Footnote: Eu-ry-clei'-a] who had nursed himwhen he was little, went with him, bearing torches in her hands. He opened the door of the chamber, and took off his doublet, andput it in the wise woman's hands. She folded it, and smoothed it, and hung it on a pin, and went forth from the room, and pulled tothe door, and made it fast. And all the night Telemachus thoughtin his heart of the journey which Athene had showed him. 

CHAPTER II

THE ASSEMBLY

When the morning came, Telemachus bade the heralds call the peopleto the assembly. So the heralds called them, and they came inhaste. And when they were gathered together, he went his way tothe place of meeting, holding in his hand a spear, and two dogsfollowed him. Then did Athene shed a marvellous grace upon him, sothat all men wondered at him, as he sat him down in his father'splace. 

First spake Aegyptus [Footnote: AE-gyp'-tus. ], who was bowed withmany years, and was very wise. Four sons he had. One had gone withUlysses to Troy, and one was among the suitors of the Queen, andtwo abode with their father in the field. He said: "Hearken to me, men of Ithaca! Never hath an assembly been called in Ithaca sinceUlysses departed. Who now hath called us together? If it beTelemachus, what doth he want? Hath he heard any tidings of thecoming back of the host? He, methinks, is a true man. May Zeus bewith him and grant him his heart's desire!"

So spake the old man, and Telemachus was glad at his speech. Thenhe rose up and said:--

"I have great trouble in my heart, men of Ithaca, for first myfather, whom ye all loved, is dead; and next the princes of theislands come hither, making suit to my mother, but she waits everfor the return of her husband. And they devour all our substance;nor is Ulysses here to defend it, and I, in truth, am not able. And this is a grievous wrong, and not to be borne. "

Then he dashed his sceptre on the ground, and sat down weeping. And Antinous, who was one of the suitors, rose up and said:--

"Nay, Telemachus, blame not us, but blame thy mother, who indeedis crafty above all women. For now this is the fourth year that wehave come suing for her hand, and she has cheated us with hopes. Hear now this that she did. She set up a great web for weaving, and said to us: 'Listen, ye that are my suitors. Hasten not mymarriage till I finish this web to be a burial cloth for Laertes[Footnote: La-er'-tes. ], the father of Ulysses, for indeed itwould be foul shame if he who has won great possessions shouldlack this honour. ' So she spake, and for three years she cheatedus, for what she wove in the day she unravelled at night. But whenthe fourth year was come, one of her maidens told us of thematter, and we came upon her by night and found her unravellingwhat she had woven in the day. Then did she finish it, muchagainst her will. Send away, therefore, thy mother, and bid hermarry whom she will. But till this be done we will not depart. "

Then answered Telemachus: "How can I send away against her willher who bare me and brought me up? I cannot do this thing. "

So he spake; and there came two eagles, which flew abreast tillthey came over the assembly. Then did they wheel in the air, andshook out from each many feathers, and tare each other, and sodeparted. 

Then cried Alitherses [Footnote: A-li-ther'-ses. ], the prophet:"Beware, ye suitors, for great trouble is coming to you, and toothers also. And as for Ulysses, I said when he went to Troy thathe should return after twenty years; and so it shall be. "

And when the suitors would not listen, Telemachus said: "Give me aship and twenty rowers, that I may go to Pylos and to Sparta;perhaps I may hear news of my father. And if I hear that he isdead, then will I come back hither and raise up a mound for himand give my mother to a husband. "

Having thus spoken, he sat down, and Mentor [Footnote: Men'-tor. ], whom Ulysses, when he departed, set over his household, rose up inthe midst, and spake, saying: "Now henceforth never let any kingbe kind and gentle in his heart or minded to work righteousness. Let him rather be a hard man and unrighteous. For now no man ofall the people whose lord he was remembereth Ulysses. Yet he wasgentle as a father. If the suitors are minded to do evil deeds, Ihinder them not. They do them at the peril of their own heads. Itis with the people that I am wroth, to see how they sitspeechless, and cry not shame upon the suitors; and yet they aremany in number, and the suitors are few. "

Then Leocritus [Footnote: Le-oc'-ri-tus. ], who was one of thesuitors, answered: "Surely thy wits wander, O Mentor, that thoubiddest the people put us down. Of a truth, if Ulysses himselfshould come back, and should seek to drive the suitors from thehall, it would fare ill with him. An evil fate would he meet, ifhe fought with them. As for the people, let them go to their ownhouses. Let Mentor speed the young man's voyage, for he is afriend of his house. Yet I doubt whether he will ever accomplishit. "

So he spake, and the assembly was dismissed. 

But Telemachus went apart to the shore of the sea, and he washedhis hands in the water of the sea, and prayed to Athene, saying:"Hear me, thou who didst come yesterday to the house, and bid metake a ship, and sail across the sea, seeking tidings of myfather! The people delay my purpose, and the suitors stir them upin the wickedness of their hearts. "

And while he prayed, Athene stood by him, like to Mentor in shapeand speech. She spake, saying: "Thou art not without spirit, andart like to be a true son of Ulysses and Penelope. Therefore, Ihave good hopes that this journey of which thou speakest will notbe in vain. But as for the suitors, think not of them, for theytalk folly, and know not of the doom that is even now close uponthem. Go, therefore, and talk with the suitors as before, and getready food for a journey, wine and meal. And I will gather men whowill offer themselves freely for the journey, and I will find aship also, the best in Ithaca. "

Then Telemachus returned to the house, and the suitors wereflaying goats and singeing swine in the court. And Antinous caughthim by the hand and said, "Eat and drink, Telemachus, and we willfind a ship and rowers for thee, that thou mayest go where thouwilt, to inquire for thy father. "

But Telemachus answered: "Think ye that I will eat and drink withyou, who so shamefully waste my substance? Be sure of this, that Iwill seek vengeance against you, and if ye deny me a ship, I willeven go in another man's. "

So he spake, and dragged his hand from the hand of Antinous. 

And another of the suitors said, "Now will Telemachus go and seekhelp against us from Pylos or from Sparta, or may be he will putpoison in our cups, and so destroy us. "

And another said: "Perchance he also will perish, as his fatherhas perished. Then we should divide all his substance, but thehouse we should give to his mother and to her husband. "

So they spake, mocking him. But he went to the chamber of hisfather, in which were ranged many casks of old wine, and gold andbronze, and clothing and olive oil; and of these things theprudent Eurycleia, who was the keeper of the house, had care. Toher he spake: "Mother, make ready for me twelve jars of wine, notof the best, but of that which is next to it, and twenty measuresof barley-meal. At even will I take them, when my mother sleeps, for I go to Pylos and Sparta; perchance I may hear news of myfather. "

But the old woman said, weeping: "What meanest thou, being an onlyson, thus to travel abroad? Wilt thou perish, as thy father hasperished? For this evil brood of suitors will plot to slay theeand divide thy goods. Thou hadst better sit peaceably at home. "

Then Telemachus said: "'Tis at the bidding of the gods I go. Onlyswear that thou wilt say naught to my mother till eleven or twelvedays be past, unless, perchance, she should ask concerning me. "

And the old woman sware that it should be so. And Telemachus wentagain among the suitors. But Athene, meanwhile, taking his shape, had gathered together a crew, and also had borrowed a ship for thevoyage. And, lest the suitors should hinder the thing, she causeda deep sleep to fall upon them, so that they slept where they sat. Then she came in the shape of Mentor to the palace, and calledTelemachus forth, saying:

"The rowers are ready; let us go. "

Then Athene led the way, and they found the ship's crew upon theshore. To them spake Telemachus, saying, "Come now, my friends, let us carry the food on board, for it is all in the chamber, andno one knoweth of the matter; neither my mother, nor any of themaidens, but one woman only. "

So they went to the house with him, and carried all the provision, and stowed it in the ship. Then Telemachus climbed the ship andsat down on the stern, and Athene sat by him. 

And when he called to the crew, they made ready to depart. Theyraised the pine tree mast, and set it in the hole that was madefor it, and they made it fast with stays. Then they hauled up thewhite sails with ropes of ox-hide. And the wind filled out thesail, and the water seethed about the stem of the ship, as shehasted through the water. And when all was made fast in the ship, then they mixed wine in the bowl, and poured out drink offeringsto the gods, especially to Zeus. 

So all the night, and till the dawn, the ship sped through thesea. 

CHAPTER III

NESTOR

At sunrise the ship came to Pylos, where Nestor dwelt. Now it sochanced that the people were offering a great sacrifice upon theshore to Poseidon. Nine companies there were, and in each companyfive hundred men, and for the five hundred there were nine bulls. And they had tasted of the inner parts and were burning the slicesof flesh on the thigh-bones to the god, when Telemachus's companymoored the ship and came forth from it to the shore. Athene spaketo Telemachus, saying: "Now thou hast no need to be ashamed. Thouhast sailed across the sea to hear tidings of thy father. Go, therefore, to Nestor, and learn what counsel he hath in the deepof his heart. "

But Telemachus answered, "How shall I speak to him, being sountried and young?"

"Nay, " said the goddess; "but thou shalt think of somethingthyself, and something the gods will put into thy mouth. "

So saying she led the way, and they came to where Nestor sat, withhis sons, and a great company round him, making ready the feast. When these saw the strangers, they clasped their hands, and madethem sit down on soft fleeces of wool. And Nestor's sonPeisistratus [Footnote: Pei-sis'-tra-tus] brought to them food, and wine in a cup of gold. To Athene first he gave the wine, forhe judged her to be the elder of the two, saying, "Pray now to theLord Poseidon, and make thy drink offering, and when thou hast sodone, give the cup to thy friend that he may do likewise. "

Then Athene took the cup and prayed to Poseidon, saying: "Grantrenown to Nestor and his son, and reward the men of Pylos for thisgreat sacrifice. And grant that we may accomplish that for whichwe have come hither. "

And the son of Ulysses prayed in like manner. 

When they had eaten and drunk their fill, Nestor said: "Strangers, who are ye? Sail ye over the seas for trade, or as pirates thatwander at hazard of their lives?"

To him Telemachus made reply, Athene putting courage into hisheart: "We come from Ithaca, and our errand concerns ourselves. Iseek for tidings of my father, who in old time fought by thy side, and sacked the city of Troy. Of all the others who did battle withthe men of Troy, we have heard, whether they have returned, orwhere they died; but even the death of this man remains untold. Therefore am I come hither to thee; perchance thou mayest bewilling to tell me of him, whether thou sawest his death withthine own eyes, or hast heard it from another. Speak me no softwords for pity's sake, but tell me plainly what thou hast seen. "

Nestor made answer: "Thou bringest to my mind all that we endured, warring round Priam's mighty town. There the best of us wereslain. Valiant Ajax [Footnote: A'-jax. ] lies there, and thereAchilles [Footnote: A-chil'-les], and there Patroclus [Footnote:Pa-tro'-clus], and there my own dear son. Who could tell the taleof all that we endured? Truly, no one, not though thou shouldstabide here five years or six to listen. For nine whole years wewere busy, devising the ruin of the enemy, which yet Zeus broughtnot to pass. And always Ulysses passed the rest in craft, thyfather Ulysses, if indeed thou art his son, and verily thy speechis like to his; one would not think that a younger man could be solike to an elder. But listen to my tale. When we had sacked thetown, I returned across the sea without delay, leaving behind theothers, so that I know not of my own knowledge which of the Greekswas saved and which was lost. But wander not thou, my son, farfrom home, while strangers devour thy substance. Go to Menelaus, for he hath but lately come back from a far country; go and askhim to tell thee all that he knoweth. If thou wilt, go with thyships, or, if it please thee better, I will send thee with achariot and horses, and my sons shall be thy guides. "

Then said Athene: "Let us cut up the tongues of the beasts, andmix the wine, and pour offerings to Poseidon and the other gods, and so bethink us of sleep, for it is the time. "

So she spake, and they hearkened to her words. And when they hadfinished, Athene and Telemachus would have gone back to theirship. But Nestor stayed them, saying: "Now Zeus and all the godsforbid that ye should depart to your ships from my house, asthough it were the dwelling of a needy man that hath not rugs andblankets in his house, whereon his guests may sleep! Not so; Ihave rugs and blankets enough. Never shall the son of my friendUlysses lay him down on his ship's deck, while I am alive, or mychildren after me, to entertain strangers in my hall. "

Thereupon said the false Mentor: "This is good, dear father. LetTelemachus abide with thee; but I will go back to the ship, andcheer the company, and tell them all. There I will sleep thisnight, and to-morrow I go to the Cauconians [Footnote: Cau-co'-ni-ans. ], where there is owing to me a debt neither small nor ofyesterday. But do thou send this man on his way in thy chariot. "

Then the goddess departed in the semblance of a sea-eagle, and allthat saw it were amazed. 

Then the old man took Telemachus by the hand, and said: "No cowardor weakling art thou like to be, whom the gods attend even now inthy youth. This is none other than Athene, daughter of Zeus, thesame that stood by thy father in the land of Troy. "

After this the old man led the company to his house. Here he mixedfor them a bowl of wine eleven years old; and they prayed toAthene, and then lay down to sleep. Telemachus slept on a bedsteadbeneath the gallery, and Peisistratus slept by him. 

The next day, as soon as it was morning, Nestor and his sonsarose. And the old man said: "Let one man go to the plain for aheifer, and let another go to the ship of Telemachus, and bid allthe company come hither, leaving two only behind. And a thirdshall command the goldsmith to gild the horns of the heifer, andlet the handmaids prepare all things for a feast. "

They did as the old man commanded; and after they had offeredsacrifice, and had eaten and drunk, old Nester said, "Put now thehorses in the chariot, that Telemachus may go his way. "

So they yoked the horses, and the dame that kept the stores putinto the chariot food and wine and dainties, such as princes eat. And Peisistratus took the reins, and Telemachus rode with him. Andall that day they journeyed; and when the land grew dark they cameto the city of Pherae [Footnote: Phe'-rae. ], and there they rested;and the next day, travelling again, came to Lacedaemon [Footnote:La-ce-dae'-mon. ], to the palace of King Menelaus. 

CHAPTER IV

IN SPARTA

Now it chanced that Menelaus had made a great feast that day, forhis daughter, the child of the fair Helen, was married to the sonof Achilles, to whom she had been promised at Troy; and his sonhad also taken a wife. And the two wayfarers stayed their chariotat the door, and the steward spied them, and said to Menelaus:--

"Lo! here are two strangers who are like the children of kings. Shall we keep them here, or send them to another?"

But Menelaus was wroth, and said: "Shall we, who have eaten sooften of the bread of hospitality, send these strangers toanother? Nay, unyoke their horses and bid them sit down to meat. "So the squires loosed the horses from the yoke, and fastened themin the stall, and gave them grain to eat and led the men into thehall. Much did they marvel at the sight, for there was a gleam asof the sun or moon in the palace of Menelaus. And when they hadgazed their fill, they bathed them in the polished baths. Afterthat they sat them down by the side of Menelaus. Then a handmaidbare water in a pitcher of gold, and poured it over a basin ofsilver that they might wash their hands. Afterwards she drew apolished table to their side, and a dame brought food, and set itby them, laying many dainties on the board, and a carver placed bythem platters of flesh, and set near them golden bowls. 

Then said Menelaus: "Eat and be glad; afterwards I will ask youwho ye are, for ye seem like to the sons of kings. "

And when they had ended the meal, Telemachus, looking round at thehall, said to his companion:--

"See the gold and the amber, and the silver and the ivory. This islike the hall of Zeus. "

This he spake with his face close to his comrade's ear, butMenelaus heard him and said:--

"With the halls of the gods nothing mortal may compare. And amongmen also there may be the match of these things. Yet I havewandered far, and got many possessions in many lands. But woe isme! Would that I had but the third part of this wealth of mine, and that they who perished at Troy were alive again! And most ofall I mourn for the great Ulysses, for whether he be alive or deadno man knows. "

But Telemachus wept to hear mention of his father, holding up hispurple cloak before his eyes. This Menelaus saw, and knew who hewas, and pondered whether he should wait till he should himselfspeak of his father, or should rather ask him of his errand. Butwhile he pondered there came in the fair Helen, and three maidenswith her, of whom one set a couch for her to sit, and one spread acarpet for her feet, and one bare a basket of purple wool; but sheherself had a distaff of gold in her hand. And when she saw thestrangers she said:--

"Who are these, Menelaus? Never have I seen such likeness in manor woman as this one bears to Ulysses. Surely 'tis his sonTelemachus, whom he left an infant at home when ye went to Troyfor my sake!"

Then said Menelaus: "It must indeed be so, lady. For these are thehands and feet of Ulysses, and the look of his eyes and his hair. And but now, when I made mention of his name, he wept, holding hismantle before his face. "

Then said Peisistratus: "King Menelaus, thou speakest truth. Thisis indeed the son of Ulysses who is come to thee; perchance thoucanst help him by word or deed. "

And Menelaus answered: "Then is he the son of a man whom I lovedright well. I thought to give him a city in this land, bringinghim from Ithaca with all his goods. Then should naught havedivided us but death itself. But these things the gods haveordered otherwise. "

At these words they all wept--the fair Helen and Telemachus andMenelaus; nor could Peisistratus refrain himself, for he thoughtof his dear brother who was slain at Troy. 

Then said Menelaus: "Now we will cease from weeping; and to-morrowthere is much that Telemachus and I must say one to the other. "

Then the fair Helen put a mighty medicine in the wine whereof theydrank--nepenthe [Footnote: ne-pen'-the], men call it. So mighty isit that whoever drinks of it, weeps not that day, though fatherand mother die, and though men slay brother or son before hiseyes. 

And after this she said: "It would take long to tell all the wiseand valiant deeds of Ulysses. One thing, however, ye shall hear, and it is this: while the Greeks were before Troy he came into thecity, having disguised himself as a beggar-man, yea, and he hadlaid many blows upon himself, so that he seemed to have beenshamefully treated. I alone knew who he was, and questioned him, but he answered craftily. And I swore that I would not betray him. So he slew many Trojans with the sword, and learnt many things. And while other women in Troy lamented, I was glad, for my heartwas turned again to my home. "

Then Menelaus said: "Thou speakest truly, lady. Many men have Iseen, and travelled over many lands, but never have I seen one whomight be matched with Ulysses. Well do I remember how, when I andother chiefs of the Greeks sat in the horse of wood, thou didstcome. Some god who loved the sons of Troy put the thing into thyheart. Thrice didst thou walk round our hiding-place and call byname to each one of the chiefs, speaking marvellously like hiswife. Then would we have risen from our place or answered theestraightway. But Ulysses hindered us, and thus saved all theGreeks. "

But Telemachus said: "Yet all these things have not kept him, forhe has perished. "

And after that they slept. 

CHAPTER V

MENELAUS'S TALE

The next day Menelaus said to Telemachus: "For what end hast thoucome hither to fair Lacedaemon?"

Then Telemachus said: "I have come to ask if thou canst tell meaught of my father. For certain suitors of my mother devour mygoods, nor do I see any help. Tell me truly, therefore; knowestthou anything thyself about my father, or hast thou heard anythingfrom another?"

And Menelaus answered:--

"In the river AEgyptus I was stayed long time, though I was eagerto get home; the gods stayed me, for I had not offered to them duesacrifice. Now there is an island in the wash of the waves overagainst the land of Egypt--men call it Pharos [Footnote: Pha'-ros. ], and it is distant one day's voyage for a ship, if the windbloweth fair in her wake. Here did the gods keep me twenty days, nor did the sea winds ever blow. Then all my corn would have beenspent, and the lives also of my men lost, if the daughter ofProteus [Footnote: Pro'-teus. ]had not taken pity on me. Her heartwas moved to see me when I wandered alone, apart from my company, for they all roamed about the island, fishing with hooks becausehunger gnawed them. So she stood by me and spake, saying: 'Artthou foolish, stranger, and feeble of mind, or dost thou sit stillfor thine own pleasure, because it is sweet to thee to suffer?Verily, thou stayest long in this place, and canst find no escape, while the heart of thy people faileth within them. ' Then Ianswered: 'I will tell thee the truth, whosoever thou art. It isnot my own will that holdeth me here; I must have sinned againstthe gods. Tell me now which of the gods have I offended, and howshall I contrive to return to my own home?' So I spake, andstraightway the goddess made answer: 'I will tell thee all. Tothis place comes Proteus, my father, who knoweth the depths of allthe sea. If thou canst lay an ambush for him and catch him, hewill declare to thee thy way, and tell thee how thou mayest returnacross the deep. ' So she spake, and I made reply, 'Plan for methis ambush, lest by any chance he see me first and avoid me, forit is hard for a man to overcome a god. ' Then said the goddess:'When the sun in his course hath reached the midheaven, thencometh the old man from the sea; before the breath of the westwind he cometh, and the ripple covereth him. And when he is comeout of the sea, he lieth down in the caves to sleep, and all abouthim lie the seals, the brood of ocean, and bitter is the smell ofthe salt water that they breathe. Thither will I lead thee atbreak of day, thee and three of thy companions. Choose them fromthy ships, the bravest that thou hast. And now I will tell theethe old man's ways. First, he will count the seals, and then willlie down in the midst, as a shepherd in the midst of his flock. Now, so soon as ye shall see him thus laid down, then rememberyour courage, and hold him there. And he will take all manner ofshapes of creatures that creep upon the earth, and of waterlikewise, and of burning fire. But do ye grasp him fast, and presshim hard, and when he shall return to his proper shape, then lethim go free, and ask him which of the gods is angry with thee, andhow thou mayest return across the deep. ' Thereupon she divedbeneath the sea, and I betook me to the ships; but I was sorelytroubled in heart. The next morning I took three of my comrades, in whom I trusted most, and lo! she had brought from the sea theskins of four sea-calves, which she had newly flayed, for she wasminded to lay a snare for her father. She scooped hiding-placesfor us in the sand, and made us lie down therein, and cast theskin of a sea-calf over each of us. It would have been a grievousambush, for the stench of the skins had distressed us sore, --who, indeed, would lay him down by a beast of the sea?--but she wroughta deliverance for us. She took ambrosia [Footnote: ambrosia, thefood of the gods. ], very sweet, and put it under each man'snostrils, that it might do away with the stench of the beast. 

"So all the morning we waited with steadfast hearts. And the sealscame forth from the brine, and ranged them in order upon theshore. And at noon the old man came forth out of the sea, and wentalong the line of the sea-beasts, and counted them. Us, too, hecounted among them, and perceived not our device; and after thathe laid him down to sleep. Then we rushed upon him with a cry, andheld him fast; nor did he forget his cunning, for he became abearded lion, and a snake, and a leopard, and a great wild boar. Also he took the shape of running water, and of a flowering tree. And all the while we held him fast. When at last he was weary, hesaid, 'Which of the gods, son of Atreus [Footnote: A'-treus. ], bade thee thus waylay me?' But I answered him: 'Wherefore dostthou beguile me, old man, with crooked words? I am held fast inthis isle, and can find no escape therefrom. Tell me now which ofthe gods hindereth me, and how I may return across the sea?' Theold man made reply: 'Thou shouldst have done sacrifice to Zeus andthe other gods before embarking, if thou wouldst have reached thynative country with speed. But now thou must go again to the riverAEgyptus, and make offerings to the gods; then they will grantthat which thou desirest. ' Then was my spirit broken within me, when I heard that I must cross again this weary way, but I said:'Old man, I will do all thy bidding. But tell me now, I pray thee, did the other Greeks, whom Nestor and I left behind us in Troy, return safe to their homes, or perished any by an evil death onboard of his ship or among his friends?' To this the old man madereply: 'Thou doest ill to ask such things, for thou wilt weep tohear them. Thy brother indeed escaped from the fates of the sea;but the storm-wind carried him to the land where Aegisthus dwelt. And when Agamemnon [Footnote: Ag-a-mem'-non. ]set foot upon hisnative land, he kissed it, weeping hot tears, so glad was he tosee it again. And Aegisthus set an ambush for him, and slew himand all his companions. ' Then I wept sore, caring not to live anymore. But the old man said: 'Weep not, son of Atreus, for there isno help in tears. Rather make haste to return, that thou mayesttake vengeance on AEgisthus. '[Footnote: AE-gis'-thus. ] So hespake, and my heart was comforted within me, and I said: 'There isyet another of whom I would fain hear. Is he yet alive, wanderingon the deep, or is he dead? Speak, though it grieve me to hear. 'Straightway the old man answered: 'It is the son of Laertes ofwhom thou speakest. Him I saw in an island, even in the dwellingof Calypso; and he was shedding great tears, because the nymphkeeps him there by force, so that he may not come to his owncountry, for he hath neither ship nor comrades. ' So spake Proteus, and plunged into the sea. The next day we went back to the riverAEgyptus, the stream that is fed from heaven, and offeredsacrifice to the gods. And I made a great burial mound forAgamemnon, my brother, that his name might not be forgotten amongmen. And when these things had been duly performed, I set sail, and came back to my own country, for the gods gave me a fair wind. But do thou tarry now in my halls. And when thou art minded to go, I will give thee a chariot and three horses with it, and a goodlycup also, from which thou mayest pour offerings to the gods. "

To him Telemachus made reply: "Keep me not long, son of Atreus, for my company wait for me in Pylos, though indeed I would becontent to stay with thee for a whole year, nor would any longingfor my home come over me. And let any gift thou givest me be athing for me to treasure. But I will take no horses to Ithaca. Rather let them stay here and grace thy home, for thou art lord ofa wide plain where there is wheat and rye and barley. But inIthaca there is no meadow land. It is a pasture land of goats, yetverily it is more pleasant to my eyes than as if it were a fitfeeding-place for horses. "

Then said Menelaus: "Thou speakest well, as becometh the son ofthy father. Come, now, I will change the gifts. Of all thetreasures in my house, I will give thee the goodliest, especiallya bowl which the King of the Sidonians gave me. Of silver it is, and the lips are finished with gold. "

Now it had been made known meanwhile to the suitors in Ithaca thatTelemachus was gone upon this journey seeking his father, and thething displeased them much. And after they had held counsel aboutthe matter, it seemed best that they should lay an ambush againsthim, and should slay him as he came back to his home. So Antinoustook twenty men and departed, purposing to lie in wait in thestrait between Ithaca and Samos. [Footnote: Sa'-mos. ]

Nor was this plan unknown to Penelope, for the herald Medon[Footnote: Me'-don. ]had heard it, and he told her how Telemachushad gone seeking news of his father, and how the suitors purposedto slay him as he returned. And she called her women, old andyoung, and rebuked them, saying: "Wicked ye were, for ye knew thathe was about to go, and did not rouse me from my bed. Surely Iwould have kept him, eager though he was, from his journey!"

Then said Eurycleia: "Slay me, if thou wilt, but I will hidenothing from thee. I knew his purpose, and I furnished him withsuch things as he needed. But he made me swear that I would nottell thee till the eleventh or the twelfth day was come. But gowith thy maidens and make thy prayer to Athene that she will savehim, from death; for this house is not altogether hated by thegods. "

Then Penelope, having duly prepared herself, went with her maidensto the upper chamber, and prayed aloud to Athene that she wouldsave her son. And the suitors heard her praying, and said, "Surelythe Queen prays, thinking of her marriage, nor knows that death isnear to her son. "

Then she lay down to sleep, and while she slept Athene sent her adream in the likeness of her sister. And the vision stood over herhead and spake: "Sleepest thou, Penelope? The gods would not havethee grieve, for thy son shall surely return. "

And Penelope said: "How camest thou here, my sister? For thydwelling is far away. And how can I cease to weep when my husbandis lost? And now my son is gone, and I am sore afraid for him, lest his enemies slay him. "

But the vision answered: "Fear not at all; for there is a mightyhelper with him, even Athene, who hath bid me tell thee thesethings. "

Then Penelope said: "If thou art a goddess, tell me this. Is myhusband yet alive?"

But the vision answered, "That I cannot say, whether he be aliveor dead. " And so saying, it vanished into air. 

And Penelope woke from her sleep, and her heart was comforted. 

CHAPTER VI

ULYSSES ON HIS RAFT

Again the gods sate in council on high Olympus, and Athene spakeamong them, saying:

"Now let no king be minded to do righteously, for see how there isno man that remembereth Ulysses, who was as a father to hispeople. And he lieth far off, fast bound in Calypso's isle, andhath no ship to take him to his own country. Also the suitors areset upon slaying his son, who is gone to Pylos and to Lacedaemon, that he may get tidings of his father. "

To her Zeus made answer: "What is this that thou sayest? Didst notthou thyself plan this in order that the vengeance of Ulyssesmight be wrought upon the suitors? As for Telemachus, guide him bythy skill, as well thou mayest, so that he may come to his ownland unharmed, and the suitors may have their labour in vain. "

Also he said to Hermes: "Hermes, go to the nymph Calypso, and tellher my sure purpose that Ulysses shall now come back to his home. "

So Hermes put on his golden sandals, and took his wand in hishand, and came to the island of Ogygia [Footnote: O-gyg'-i-a. ], and to the cave where Calypso dwelt. A fair place it was. In thecave was burning a fire of sweet-smelling wood, and Calypso sat ather loom, and sang with a lovely voice. And round about the cavewas a grove of alders and poplars and cypresses, wherein manybirds, falcons and owls and sea crows, were wont to roost; and allabout the mouth of the cave was a vine with purple clusters ofgrapes; and there were four fountains which streamed four waysthrough meadows of parsley and violet. Very fair was the place, sothat even a god might marvel at it, and Hermes stood andmarvelled. Then went he into the cave, and Calypso knew him whenshe saw him face to face, for the gods know each other, eventhough their dwellings be far apart. But Ulysses was not there, for he sat, as was his wont, on the seashore, weeping andgroaning, because he might not see wife and home and country. 

Then Calypso said to Hermes: "Wherefore hast thou come hither, Hermes of the golden wand? Welcome thou art, but it is long sincethou hast visited me. Tell me all thy thought, that I may fulfilit if I may, but first follow me, that I may set food beforethee. "

So she spread a table with ambrosia, and set it by him, and mixedthe ruddy nectar [Footnote: nectar, the drink of the gods. ]forhim, and the messenger ate and drank. So, when he had comfortedhis soul with food, he spake, saying:--

"Thou questionest of my coming, and I will tell thee the truth. Itis by no wish of mine own that I come, for who would of his freewill pass over a sea so wide, wherein is no city of men that dosacrifice to the gods? Zeus bade me come, and none may go againstthe commands of Zeus. He saith that thou hast with thee a man morewretched than all his companions who fought against Troy for nineyears and in the tenth year departed homeward. All the rest of hiscompany were lost, but him the waves carried thither. Now, therefore, send him home with what speed thou mayest; for it isnot fated that he should die away from his friends. He shall seeagain the high roof of his home and his native country. "

It vexed Calypso much to hear this, for she would fain have keptUlysses with her always, and she said:--

"Ye gods are always jealous when a goddess loves a mortal man. Andas for Ulysses, did not I save him when Zeus had smitten his shipwith a thunderbolt, and all his comrades had perished? And now lethim go--if it pleases Zeus. Only I cannot send him, for I haveneither ship nor rowers. Yet will I willingly teach him how he maysafely return. "

And Hermes said, "Do this thing speedily, lest Zeus be wroth withthee. "

So he departed. And Calypso went seeking Ulysses, and found him onthe shore of the sea, looking out over the waters, and weeping, for he was weary of his life, so much did he desire to see Ithacaagain. She stood by him and said:--

"Weary not for thy native country, nor waste thyself with tears. If thou wilt go, I will speed thee on thy way. Take, therefore, thine axe and cut thee beams, and join them together, and make adeck upon them, and I will give thee bread and water and wine, andclothe thee also, so that thou mayest return safe to thy nativecountry, for the gods will have it so. "

"Nay, " said Ulysses, "what is this that thou sayest? Shall I passin a raft over the dreadful sea, over which even ships go notwithout harm? I will not go against thy will; but thou must swearthe great oath of the gods that thou plannest no evil against me. "

Then Calypso smiled and said: "These are strange words. I swearthat I plan no harm against thee, but only such good as I wouldask myself, did I need it; for indeed my heart is not of iron, butrather full of compassion. "

Then they two went to the cave and sat down to meat, and she setbefore him food such as mortal men eat, but she herself ateambrosia and drank nectar. And afterwards she said:--

"Why art thou so eager for thy home? Surely if thou knewest allthe trouble that awaits thee, thou wouldst not go, but wouldstrather dwell with me. And though thou desirest all the day long tosee thy wife, surely I am not less fair than she. "

"Be not angry, " Ulysses made reply. "The wise Penelope cannot, indeed, be compared to thee, for she is a mortal woman and thouart a goddess. Yet is my home dear to me, and I would fain see itagain. Yea, and if some god should wreck me on the deep, yet wouldI endure it with patient heart. Already have I suffered much, andtoiled much in perils of war and perils of the sea. And as to whatis yet to come, let it be added to what hath been. "

The next day Calypso gave him an axe with a handle of olive wood, and an adze, and took him to the end of the island, where therewere great trees, long ago sapless and dry, alder and poplar andpine. Of these he felled twenty, and lopped them and worked themby the line. Then the goddess brought him an auger, and he madeholes in the logs and joined them with pegs. And he made decks andside planking also; also a mast and a yard, and a rudder wherewithto turn the raft. And he fenced it about with a bulwark of willowtwigs against the waves. The sails Calypso wove, and Ulyssesfitted them with braces and halyards and sheets. Last of all hepushed the raft down to the sea with levers. 

On the fourth day all was finished, and on the fifth day hedeparted. And Calypso gave him goodly garments, and a skin ofwine, and a skin of water, and rich food in a bag of leather. Shesent also a fair wind blowing behind, and Ulysses set his sailsand proceeded joyfully on his way; nor did he sleep, but watchedthe stars, the Pleiades [Footnote: Plei'-a-des. ] and Bootes[Footnote: Bo-o'-tes. ], and the Bear, which turneth ever in oneplace, watching Orion. [Footnote: O-ri'-on. ] For Calypso had saidto him, "Keep the Bear ever on thy left as thou passest over thesea. "

Seventeen days he sailed; and on the eighteenth day appeared theshadowy hills of the island of the Phaeacians. [Footnote: Phae-a'-ci-ans. ] But now Poseidon, coming back from feasting with theEthiopians, spied him as he sailed, and it angered him to theheart. He shook his head, and spake to himself, saying: "Verily, the gods must have changed their purpose concerning Ulysses whileI was absent among the Ethiopians; and now he is nigh to theisland of the Phaeacians, and if he reach it, he will escape fromhis woes. Yet even now I will send him far enough on a way oftrouble. "

Thereupon he gathered the clouds, and troubled the waters of thedeep, holding his trident in his hand. And he raised a storm ofall the winds that blow, and covered the land and the sea withclouds. 

Sore troubled was Ulysses, and said to himself: "It was truth thatCalypso spake when she said that I should suffer many troublesreturning to my home. Would that I had died that day when many aspear was cast by the men of Troy over the dead Achilles. Thenwould the Greeks have buried me; but now shall I perishmiserably. "

And as he spake a great wave struck the raft and tossed him faraway, so that he dropped the rudder from his hand. Nor for a longtime could he rise, so deep was he sunk, and so heavy was thegoodly clothing which Calypso had given him. Yet at the last herose, and spat the salt water out of his mouth, and sprang at theraft, and caught it, and sat thereon, and was borne hither andthither by the waves. But Ino [Footnote: I'-no. ] saw him andpitied him--a woman she had been, and was now a goddess of thesea, --and rose from the deep like to a sea-gull upon the wing, andsat upon the raft, and spake, saying:--

"Luckless mortal, why doth Poseidon hate thee so? He shall notslay thee, though he fain would do it. Put off these garments, andswim to the land of Phaeacia, putting this veil under thy breast. And when thou art come to the land, loose it from thee, and castit into the sea. "

Then the goddess gave him the veil, and dived again into the deepas a sea-gull diveth, and the waves closed over her. Then Ulyssespondered the matter, saying to himself: "Woe is me! can it be thatanother of the gods is contriving a snare for me, bidding me leavemy raft? Verily, I will not yet obey her counsel, for the land, when I saw it, seemed a long way off. I am resolved what to do; solong as the raft will hold together, so long will I abide on it;but when the waves shall break it asunder, then will I swim, fornothing better may be done. "

But while he thought thus within himself, Poseidon sent anothergreat wave against the raft. As a stormy wind scattereth a heap ofhusks, so did the wave scatter the timbers of the raft. ButUlysses sat astride on a beam, as a man sitteth astride of ahorse; and he stripped off from him the goodly garments whichCalypso had given him, and put the veil under his breast, and soleapt into the sea, stretching out his hands to swim. 

And Poseidon, when he saw him, shook his head, and said: "Even sogo wandering over the deep, till thou come to the land. Thou wiltnot say that thou hast not had trouble enough. "

But Athene, binding up the other winds, roused the swift northwind, that so Ulysses might escape from death. 

So for two days and two nights he swam. But on the third day therewas a calm, and he saw the land from the top of a great wave, forthe waves were yet high, close at hand. But when he came near heheard the waves breaking along the shore, for there was no harbourthere, but only cliffs and rugged rocks. 

Then at last the knees of Ulysses were loosened with fear, and hisheart was melted within him, and in heaviness of spirit he spaketo himself: "Woe is me! for now, when beyond all hope Zeus hathgiven me the sight of land, there is no place where I may win toshore from out of the sea. For the crags are sharp, and the wavesroar about them, and the smooth rock riseth sheer from the sea, and the water is deep, so that I may gain no foothold. If I shouldseek to land, then a great wave may dash me on the rocks. And if Iswim along the shore, to find some harbour, I fear lest the windsmay catch me again and bear me out into the deep; or it may bethat some god may send a monster of the sea against me; and verilythere are many such in the sea-pastures, and I know that Poseidonis very wroth against me. "

While he pondered these things in his heart a great wave bare himto the rocks. Then would his skin have been stripped from him andall his bones broken, had not Athene put a thought into his heart. For he rushed in towards the shore, and clutched the rock withboth his hands, and clung thereto till the wave had passed. But asit ebbed back, it caught him, and carried him again into the deep. Even as a cuttle-fish is dragged from out its hole in the rock, sowas he dragged by the water, and the skin was stripped from hishand against the rocks. Then would Ulysses have perished, ifAthene had not put a plan in his heart. He swam outside thebreakers, along the shore, looking for a place where the wavesmight be broken, or there should be a harbour. At last he came towhere a river ran into the sea. Free was the place of rocks, andsheltered from the wind, and Ulysses felt the stream of the riveras he ran. Then he prayed to the river-god:--

"Hear me, O King, whosoever thou art. I am come to thee, fleeingfrom the wrath of Poseidon. Save me, O King. "

Thereupon the river stayed his stream, and made the water smoothbefore Ulysses, so that at last he won his way to the land. Hisknees were bent under him, and his hands dropped at his side, andthe salt water ran out from his mouth and nostrils. Breathless washe, and speechless; but when he came to himself, he loosed theveil from under his breast, and cast it into the salt stream ofthe river and the stream bare it to the sea, and Ino came up andcaught it in her hands. 

Then he lay down on the rushes by the bank of the river and kissedthe earth, thinking within himself: "What now shall I do? for if Isleep here by the river, I fear that the dew and the frost mayslay me; for indeed in the morning-time the wind from the riverblows cold. And if I go up to the wood, to lay me down to sleep inthe thicket, I fear that some evil beast may devour me. "

But it seemed better to go to the wood. So he went. Now this wasclose to the river, and he found two bushes, one of wild olive, and the other of fruitful olive. So thickly grown together werethey that the winds blew not through them, nor did the sun piercethem, nor yet the rain. Ulysses crept thereunder, and found agreat pile of leaves, shelter enough for two or three, even inwinter time, when the rain is heavy. Then did Ulysses rejoice, laying himself in the midst, and covering himself with leaves. AndAthene sent down upon his eyelids deep sleep, that might ease himof his toil. 

CHAPTER VII

NAUSICAA [Footnote: Nau-sic'-a-a. ]

Meanwhile Athene went to the city of Phaeacians, to the palace ofAlcinous [Footnote: Al-cin'-o-us. ], their King. There she betookher to the chamber where slept Nausicaa, daughter of the King, amaiden fair as are the gods. The goddess stood above the maiden, in the likeness of a girl that was of equal age with her, and hadfound favour in her sight. 

Athene spake, saying: "Why hath thy mother so careless a child, Nausicaa? Lo! thy raiment lieth unwashed, and yet the day of thymarriage is at hand, when thou must have fair clothing forthyself, and to give to them that shall lead thee to thybridegroom's house; for thus doth a bride win good repute. Do thoutherefore arise with the day, and go to wash the raiment, and Iwill go with thee. Ask thy father betimes in the morning to givethee mules and a wagon to carry the raiment and the robes. Also itis more becoming for thee to ride than to go on foot, for thewashing places are far from the city. "

And when the morning was come, Nausicaa awoke, marvelling at thedream, and went seeking her parents. Her mother she found busywith her maidens at the loom, spinning yarn dyed with purple ofthe sea, and her father she met as he was going to the councilwith the chiefs of the land. Then she said: "Give me, father, thewagon with the mules, that I may take the garments to the river towash them. Thou shouldest always have clean robes when thou goestto the council; and there are my five brothers also, who love tohave newly washed garments at the dance. "

But of her own marriage she said nothing. And her father, knowingher thoughts, said: "I grudge thee not, dear child, the mules oraught else. The men shall harness for thee a wagon with strongwheels and fitted also with a frame. "

Then he called to the men, and they made ready the wagon, andharnessed the mules; and the maiden brought the raiment out of herchamber, and put it in the wagon. Also her mother filled a basketwith all manner of food, and poured wine in a goat-skin bottle. Olive oil also she gave her, that Nausicaa and her maidens mightanoint themselves after the bath. And Nausicaa took the reins, andtouched the mules with the whip. Then was there a clatter ofhoofs, and the mules went on with their load, nor did they growweary. 

When they came to the river, where was water enough for thewashing of raiment, the maidens loosed the mules from the chariot, and set them free to graze in the sweet clover by the river-bank. Then they took the raiment from the wagon, and bare it to theriver, and trod it in the trenches. And when they had cleansed allthe garments, they laid them on the shore of the sea, where thewaves had washed the pebbles clean. After that they bathed, andanointed themselves; and then they sat down to eat and drink bythe river-side; and after the meal they played at ball, singing asthey played, and Nausicaa led the song. And Nausicaa was fairerthan all the maidens. And when they had ended their play, and wereyoking the mules, and folding up the raiment, then Athenecontrived that the princess, throwing the ball to one of hermaidens, cast it so wide that it fell into the river. Thereuponthey all cried aloud, and Ulysses awoke. And he said to himself:"What is this land to which I have come? Are they that dwelltherein fierce or kind to strangers? Just now I seemed to hear thevoice of nymphs [Footnote: nymphs, spirits of the woods andwaters], or am I near the dwellings of men?"

Then he twisted a leafy bough about his loins, and rose up andwent towards the maidens, who were frightened to see him (for hewas wild-looking), and fled hither and thither. But Nausicaa stoodand fled not. Then Ulysses cried, saying:--

"O Queen, whether thou art a goddess, I know not. But if thou arta mortal, happy are thy father and mother, and happy thy brothers, and happiest of all he who shall win thee in marriage. Never haveI seen man or woman so fair. Thou art like a young palm tree thatbut lately I saw springing by the temple of the god. But as forme, I have been cast on this shore, having come from the island ofOgygia. Pity me, then, and lead me to the city, and give mesomething, a wrapper of this linen, maybe, to put about me. So maythe gods give thee all blessings!"

And Nausicaa made answer: "Thou seemest, stranger, to be neitherevil nor foolish. Thou shalt not lack clothing or food, and I willtake thee to the city. Know also that this land is Phaeacia, andthat I am daughter to Alcinous, who is king thereof. "

Then she called to her maidens: "What mean ye to flee when ye seea man? No enemy comes hither to harm us, for we are dear to thegods, and also we live in an island of the sea, so that men maynot approach to work us wrong. If one cometh here overcome bytrouble, it is well to help him. Give this man, therefore, foodand drink, and wash him in the river, where there is shelter fromthe wind. "

So they brought him down to the river, and gave him clothing, andalso olive-oil in a flask of gold. Then, at his bidding, theydeparted a little space, and he washed the salt from his skin andout of his hair, and anointed himself, and put on the clothing. And Athene made him taller and fairer to see, and caused the hairto be thick on his head, in colour as a hyacinth. Then he sat downon the seashore, right beautiful to behold, and the maiden said:--

"Not without the bidding of the gods comes this man to our land. Before, indeed, I deemed him uncomely, but now he seems like tothe gods. I should be well content to have such a man for ahusband, and maybe he might will to abide in this land. Give him, ye maidens, food and drink. "

So they gave him, and he ate ravenously, having fasted long. ThenNausicaa bade yoke the mules, and said to Ulysses:--

"Arise, stranger, come with me, that I may bring thee to the houseof my father. But do thou as I shall tell thee. So long as weshall be passing through the fields, follow quickly with themaidens behind the chariot. But when we shall come to the city, --thou wilt see a high wall and a harbour on either side of thenarrow way that leadeth to the gate, --then follow the chariot nomore. Hard by the wall is a grove of Athene, a grove of poplars, with a spring in the midst, and a meadow round about; there abidetill I have reached the house of my father. For I would not thatthe people should speak lightly of me. And I doubt not that werethou with me some one would say: `Who is this stranger, tall andfair, that cometh with Nausicaa? Will he be her husband? Perchanceit is some god who has come down at her prayer, or a man from faraway; for she scorns us men of Phaeacia. ' It would be a shame thatsuch words should be spoken. But when thou shalt judge that I havecome to the palace, then go up thyself and ask for my father'shouse. Any one, even a child, can show it thee, for the otherPhaeacians dwell not in such. And when thou art come within thedoors, pass quickly through the hall to where my mother sits. Close to the hearth is her seat, and my father's hard by, where hesits with the wine-cup in his hand as a god. Pass him by, andkneel to my mother, and pray her that she give thee safe return tothy country. "

Then she smote the mules with the whip. Quickly did they leave theriver behind them; but the maiden was heedful to drive them sothat Ulysses and the maidens might be able to follow on foot. Atsunset they came to the sacred grove of Athene, and there Ulyssessat him down, and prayed to Athene, saying, "Hear me, now, Odaughter of Zeus, and grant that this people may look upon me withpity. "

So he spake, and Athene heard him, but showed not herself to him, face to face, for she feared the wrath of her uncle Poseidon. 

CHAPTER VIII

ALCINOUS

Nausicaa came to her father's house, and there her brothersunyoked the mules from the wagon, and carried the garments intothe house; and the maiden went to her chamber, where a nursekindled for her a fire, and prepared a meal. 

At the same time Ulysses rose to go to the city; and Athene spreada mist about him, for she would not that any of the Phaeaciansshould see him and mock him. And when he was now about to enterthe city, the goddess took upon herself the shape of a youngmaiden carrying a pitcher, and met him. 

Then Ulysses asked her: "My child, canst thou tell me where dwellsAlcinous? for I am a stranger in this place. "

She answered: "I will show thee, for he dwells near to my ownfather. But be thou silent, for we Phaeacians love not strangersover much. "

Then Athene led the way, and Ulysses followed after her; and muchhe marvelled, as he went, at the harbours, and the ships, and theplaces of assembly, and the walls. And when they came to thepalace, Athene said: "This is the place for which thou didstinquire. Enter in; here thou shalt find kings at the feast; but benot afraid; the fearless man ever fares the best. And look thoufirst for Queen Arete. [Footnote: A-re'-te. ] If she be welldisposed to thee, doubtless thou wilt see thy native countryagain. "

Having thus spoken, Athene departed, and Ulysses entered thepalace. In it there was a gleam as of the sun or the moon. 

A wondrous place it was, with walls of brass and doors of gold, hanging on posts of silver; and on either side of the door weredogs of gold and silver, and against the wall, all along from thethreshold to the inner chamber, were set seats, on which sat thechiefs of the Phaeacians, feasting; and youths wrought in goldstood holding torches in their hands, to give light in thedarkness. Fifty women were in the house, grinding corn and weavingrobes, for the women of the land are no less skilled to weave thanare the men to sail the sea. And round about the house werebeautiful gardens, with orchards of fig, and apple, and pear, andpomegranate, and olive. Drought hurts them not, nor frost, andharvest comes after harvest without ceasing. Also there was avineyard; and some of the grapes were parching in the sun, andsome were being gathered, and some again were but just turningred. And there were beds of all manner of flowers; and in themidst of all were two fountains which never failed. 

These things Ulysses regarded for a space, and then passed intothe hall. And there the chiefs of Phaeacia were drinking theirlast cup to Hermes. Quickly he passed through them, and put hishands on the knees of Arete and said--and as he spake the mistcleared from about him, and all that were in the hall beheldhim:--

"I implore thee, and thy husband, and thy guests, to send me hometo my native country. The gods bless thee and them, and grant youto live in peace, and that your children should come peacefullyafter you!"

And he sat down in the ashes of the hearth. Then for a space allwere silent, but at the last spake Echeneus [Footnote: E-che-ne'-us. ], who was the oldest man in the land:--

"King Alcinous, this ill becomes you that this man should sit inthe ashes of the hearth. Raise him and bid him sit upon a seat, and let us pour out an offering to Father Zeus, who is the friendof strangers, and let the keeper of the house give him meat anddrink. "

And Alcinous did so, bidding his eldest born, Laodamas [Footnote:La-o'-da-mas. ], rise from his seat. And an attendant poured wateron his hands, and the keeper of the house gave him meat and drink. Then, when all had poured out an offering to Father Zeus, KingAlcinous spake, saying: "In the morning we will call an assemblyof the people, and consider how we may take this stranger to hishome, so that he may reach it without trouble or pain. Home willwe take him without hurt, but what things may befall him there, weknow not; these shall be as the Fates spun his thread. But, if heis a god and not a man, then is this a new device of the gods. Forheretofore they have shown themselves openly in our midst, when weoffer sacrifice, and sit by our sides at feasts. Yea, and if atraveller meet them on the way, they use no disguise, for indeedthey are near of kin to us. "

Then spake Ulysses: "Think not such things within thy heart, OKing! I am no god but one that is most miserable among the sons ofmen. Of many woes might I tell. Nevertheless, suffer me to eat;for, however sad a man may be, yet he must eat and drink. But whenthe day cometh, bestir yourselves, and carry me to my home. Fainwould I die if I could see my home again!"

And they answered that it should be so, and went each to his home. Only Ulysses was left in the hall, and Alcinous and Arete withhim. And Arete recognized his clothing, and said:--

"Whence art thou, stranger? and who gave thee these garments?"

So Ulysses told her how he had come from the island of Calypso, and what he had suffered, and how Nausicaa had found him on theshore, and had guided him to the city. 

And Alcinous blamed the maiden because she had not herself broughthim to the house. "Nay, " said Ulysses, "she would have brought me, but I would not, fearing thy wrath. " For he would not have themaiden blamed. 

Then said Alcinous: "I am not one to be angered for such cause. Gladly would I have such a one as thou art to be my son-in-law, and I would give him house and wealth. But no one would I holdagainst his will. As for sending thee to thy home, that is easy;thou shalt lay thee down to sleep, and my men shalt smite the seawith oars, and take thee whithersoever thou wilt, even though itbe to the furthest of all lands. For verily my ships are the bestthat sail the sea, and my young men the most skilful of all thatply the oar. "

So he spake, and Ulysses rejoiced to hear his words. And he prayedwithin himself, "Grant, Father Zeus, that Alcinous may fulfil allthat he hath said, and that I may come to my own land!"

Then Arete bade her handmaids prepare a bed for the stranger. Sothey went from the hall, with torches in their hands, and made itready. And when they had ended they called Ulysses, saying, "Up, stranger, and sleep, for thy bed is ready. "

Right glad was he to sleep after all that he had endured. 

CHAPTER IX

THE PHAEACIANS

The next day the King arose at dawn, as also did Ulysses, and theKing led the way to the place of assembly. Meanwhile Athene, wearing the guise of the King's herald, went throughout the city, and to each man she said, "Come to the assembly, captains andcounsellors of the Phaeacians, that ye may learn concerning thisstranger, who hath lately come to the hall of Alcinous. "

So she roused their desire, and the place of assembly was filledto the utmost; much did the men marvel to see Ulysses, for Athenehad poured marvellous grace upon him, making him fairer and tallerand stronger to see. 

Then the King rose up and spake: "Hearken, captains andcounsellors of the people, to what I say. This stranger hath cometo my hall; I know not who he is or whence he comes, whether it befrom the rising or the setting of the sun; and he prays that hemay be safely carried to his home. Let us therefore choose a shipthat hath never sailed before, and two and fifty youths that arethe best to ply the oar; and when ye have made ready the ship, then come to my house and feast; I will provide well for all. Bid. Also, Demodocus [Footnote: De-mod'-o-cus. ] the minstrel to come, for the gods have given to him above all others the gift of songwherewith to rejoice the hearts of men. "

Then they did as the King counselled. They made ready the ship, and moored her by the shore, and after that they went to thepalace of the King. From one end thereof to the other it wascrowded, for many were there, both young and old. And Alcinousslew for them twelve sheep, and eight swine, and two oxen; and hismen prepared for the people a goodly feast. 

Then came the servants of the King, leading the blind minstrel bythe hand. The servants set him in a silver chair, in the midst ofthe guests, and hung a harp above his head, and showed him how hemight reach his hand to take it. And close by his side they placeda table and a basket and a cup of wine, that he might drink at hispleasure. 

So the Phaeacians feasted in the hall; and when they had hadenough of meat and drink, then the minstrel sang. He sang a song, the fame of which had reached to heaven, of the quarrel betweenUlysses and Achilles, when they were fighting to capture Troy. 

But as the minstrel sang, Ulysses held his purple cloak before hisface, for he was ashamed to weep in the sight of the people. Whensoever the singer ceased from his song, then did Ulysses wipeaway the tears; but when he began again, for the chiefs loved tohear the song, then again he covered his face and wept. But nonenoted the thing but Alcinous. 

Then the King said to the chiefs, "Now that we have feasted anddelighted ourselves with song, let us go forth, that this strangermay see that we are skilful in boxing and wrestling and running. "

Then stood up many Phaeacian youths, and the fairest and strongestof them all was Laodamas, eldest son to the King, and they ran arace, and wrestled, and threw quoits, and leaped. 

Then Laodamas said to Ulysses, "Wilt thou not try thy skill insome game, and put away the trouble from thy heart?"

But Ulysses answered: "Why askest thou this? I think of mytroubles rather than of sport, and care only that I may see againmy home. "

Then said another: "And in very truth, stranger, thou hast not thelook of a wrestler or boxer. Rather would one judge thee to besome trader, who sails over the sea for gain. "

"Nay, " answered Ulysses, "this is ill said. True it is that thegods give not all gifts to all men, beauty to one, and sweetspeech to another. Fair of form art thou; no god could betterthee; but thou speakest idle words. I am not unskilled in thesethings, but stood among the first in the old days; but since haveI suffered much in battle and shipwreck. Yet will I make trial ofmy strength, for thy words have angered me. "

Whereupon, clad in his mantle as he was, he took a quoit, heavierfar than such as the Phaeacians were wont to throw, and sent itwith a whirl. It flew through the air, so that the bravePhaeacians crouched to the ground in fear, and it fell far beyondall the rest. 

Then Athene, for she had taken upon herself the guise of aPhaeacian man, marked the place where it fell, and spake, saying:"Stranger, verily, even a blind man might find this token of thystrength, for it is not lost among the others, but lies far beyondthem. Be of good courage, therefore, in this contest; none of thePhaeacians shall surpass thee. "

Then was Ulysses glad, seeing that he had a friend among thepeople, and he said: "Now match this throw, young men, if ye can. Soon will I cast another after it, as far, or further yet. And, ifany man is so minded, let him rise up and contend with me, for Iwill match myself in wrestling or boxing, or even in the race, with any man in Phaeacia, save Laodamas only, for he is my friend. I can shoot with the bow; and I can cast a spear as far as othermen can shoot an arrow. But as for the race, it may be that someone might outrun me, for I have suffered much on the sea. "

But they were all silent, till the King stood up and said: "Thouhast spoken well. But we men of Phaeacia are not mighty to wrestleor to box; only we are swift of foot and skilful to sail upon thesea. And we love feasts, and dances, and the harp, and gayclothing, and the bath. In these things no man may surpass us. "

Then the King bade Demodocus the minstrel to sing again. And whenhe had done so, the King's two sons danced together; andafterwards they played with the ball, throwing it into the air, cloud high, and catching it right skilfully. 

And afterwards the King said: "Let us each give this stranger amantle and a tunic and a talent of gold. "

Then all the princes brought their gifts. And Alcinous said to theQueen: "Lady, bring hither a chest, the best that thou hast, andput therein a robe and a tunic. And I will give our guest a fairgolden cup of my own, that he may remember me all the days of hislife, when he poureth out offerings to the gods. "

Then the Queen brought from her chamber a fair chest, and puttherein the gifts which the princes had given; also with her ownhands she put therein a robe and a tunic. And she said:--

"Look now to the lid, and tie a knot, that no man rob thee by theway, when thou sleepest in the ship. "

So Ulysses fixed well the lid, and tied it with a cunning knotwhich Circe had taught him. After that he went to the bath. As hecame from the bath Nausicaa met him by the entering in of thehall, and marvelled at him, so fair was he to look upon. And shespake, saying: "Stranger, farewell. But when thou comest to thineown country, think upon me once and again, for indeed thou owestto me the price of thy life. "

Ulysses made answer to her, "Nausicaa, if Zeus grant me safereturn to my home, I will do honour to thee as to a goddess, forever; for indeed I owe thee my life. "

Then he went into the hall, and sat down by the side of the King, and the squire came leading the blind minstrel by the hand. NowUlysses had cut off a rich portion from the chine [Footnote:chine, backbone. ] of a boar that had been set before him, and hesaid to the squire: "Take this and give it to Demodocus, for theminstrel should be held in honour by men. "

So the squire bare the dish, and set it on the knees of theminstrel, rejoicing his heart. 

When they all had had enough of food and drink, then Ulysses spaketo the minstrel, saying: "Demodocus, I know not whether the godshave taught thee, but of a truth thou singest of all the toil andtrouble that the Greeks endured before the great city of Troy asif thou hadst thyself been there. Come, now, sing to us of theHorse of Wood, and how Ulysses contrived that it should be takenup into the citadel of Troy when he had filled it with the bravestof the chiefs. Sing me this aright, and I will bear witness forthee that thou art indeed a minstrel whom the gods have taught. "

Then did the minstrel sing this song. He told how one part of theGreeks set fire to their camp, and embarked upon their ships, andsailed away; and how the other part--Ulysses and his comrades--sathidden in the Horse which the men of Troy had dragged with theirown hands into their place of assembly. All about sat the people, and three counsels were given. The first was to cleave the wood, and the second to drag it to the brow of the hill and cast it downthence, and the third to leave it as an offering to the gods; andthe third counsel prevailed, for it was the doom of the city thatit should perish through the Horse. 

Also the minstrel sang how the chiefs came forth from the Horse, and went through the city, wasting it; and much also of Ulyssesand his brave deeds. 

Thus did the minstrel sing, and the heart of Ulysses was meltedwithin him as he listened, and the tears ran down his cheeks. 

But none of the company, save King Alcinous only, noticed this. Then the King spake, saying: "Hearken, ye princes of thePhaeacians, and let Demodocus cease from his singing, for since heset his hand to the harp, this stranger hath not ceased to weep. Let, therefore, the minstrel cease, and let us make merry andrejoice as it is fitting to do. Are we not met together that wemay give gifts to this stranger, and send him to his home? Andhide not thou, stranger, from us aught that I shall ask thee. Tellus by what name they call thee at home, for no man lacketh a name. Tell us also of thy land and thy city, that our ships may shapetheir course to take thee thither. For these are not as the shipsof other men, that have steersmen and rudders. They have anunderstanding of their own, and know all the cities of men, andthey pass over the deep, covered with cloud, and have no fear ofwreck. But my father was wont to say that Poseidon bore a grudgeagainst us because we carry all men safely to their homes; andthat one day he would smite a ship of ours as it came home fromsuch an errand, changing it to a rock that should overshadow ourcity. But thou, stranger, tell us of thyself, --whither thou hastwandered, and what cities thou hast seen, be they cities of theunrighteous, or cities of them that are hospitable to strangersand fear the gods. Tell us, too, why thou didst weep at hearing ofthe tale of Troy. Hadst thou, perchance, a kinsman, or a friend--for a wise friend is ever as a brother--among those that perishedat Troy?"

CHAPTER X

THE CYCLOPS

(THE TALE OF ULYSSES)

Then Ulysses answered the King, saying: "What shall I tell theefirst, and what last, for many sorrows have the gods laid upon me?First, I will tell my name, that ye may know it, and that theremay be friendship between us, even when I shall be far away. I amULYSSES, SON OF LAERTES. In Ithaca I dwell. Many islands lie aboutit, but Ithaca is furthest to the west, and the others face thesun-rising. Very rugged is this island of Ithaca, but it is themother of brave men; verily, there is nothing dearer to a man thanhis own country. Calypso, the fair goddess, would have had meabide with her, to be her husband; but she did not prevail, because there is nothing that a man loves more than his countryand his parents. But now I will tell thee of all the troubles thatthe gods laid upon me as I journeyed from Troy. 

"The wind that bare me from Troy brought me to Ismarus [Footnote:Is'-ma-rus. ], which is a city of the Cicones. [Footnote: Ci'-co-nes. ] This I sacked, slaying the people that dwelt therein. Butthe people of the city fetched their kinsmen that dwelt in themountains, and they overcame us, and drave us to our ships. Sixfrom each ship perished, but the remainder of us escaped fromdeath. 

"Then we sailed, stricken with grief for our dear comrades, yetrejoicing that we had escaped from destruction. When we had saileda little space, Zeus sent the north wind against us with a mightystorm, covering with clouds both land and sea, and the ships weredriven before it. So we lowered the sails, and rowed the ships tothe land with all our might. For two days we endured much distressand sorrow, but on the third, when the morning light appeared, wehoisted the sails and rested. Then I should have come to my owncountry, but the north wind and the sea drave me from my course. For nine days did the wind carry us before it. 

"And on the tenth day we came to the land where the lotus grows--awondrous fruit, for whoever eats of it cares not to see country orwife or children again. Now the Lotus-eaters, for so the people ofthe land are called, were a kindly folk, and gave of the fruit tosome of the sailors, not meaning them any harm, but thinking it tobe the best that they had to give. These, when they had eaten, said that they would not sail any more over the sea; and, when Iheard this, I bade their comrades bind them and carry them, sadlycomplaining, to the ships. 

"Then, the wind having abated, we took to our oars, and rowed formany days till we came to the country where the Cyclopes[Footnote: Cy-clo'-pes. ] dwell. Now a mile or so from the shorethere was an island, very fair and fertile, but no man dwellsthere or tills the soil, and in the island a harbour where a shipmay be safe from all winds, and at the head of the harbour astream falling from a rock, and whispering alders all about it. Into this the ships passed safely, and were hauled up on thebeach, and the crews slept by them, waiting for the morning. 

"When the dawn appeared, we wandered through the island; and theNymphs of the land started the wild goats, that my company mighthave food to eat. Thereupon we took our bows and our spears fromthe ships, and shot at the goats; and the gods gave us plenty ofprey. Twelve ships I had in my company, and each ship had ninegoats for its share, and my own portion was ten. 

"Then all the day we sat and feasted, drinking sweet wine which wehad taken from the city of the Cicones, and eating the flesh ofthe goats; and as we sat we looked across to the land of theCyclops, seeing the smoke and hearing the voices of the men and ofthe sheep and of the goats. And when the sun set and darkness cameover the land, we lay down upon the seashore and slept. 

"The next day I gathered my men together, and said, 'Abide yehere, dear friends; I with my own ship and my own company will goand find whether the folk that dwell in yonder island are just orunjust. '

"So I climbed into my ship, and bade my company follow me: so wecame to the land of the Cyclops. Close to the shore was a cave, with laurels round about the mouth. This was the dwelling of theCyclops. Alone he dwelt, a creature without law. Nor was he liketo mortal men, but rather to some wooded peak of the hills thatstands out apart from all the rest. 

"Then I bade the rest of my comrades abide by the ship, and keepit, but I took twelve men, the bravest that there were in thecrew, and went forth. I had with me a goat-skin full of the wine, dark red, and sweet, which the priest of Apollo [Footnote: A-pol'-lo. ] at Ismarus had given me. So precious was it that none in hishouse knew of it saving himself and his wife. When they drank ofit they mixed twenty measures of water with one of wine, and thesmell that went up from it was wondrous sweet. No man could easilyrefrain from drinking it. With this wine I filled a great skin andbore it with me; also I bare corn in a pouch, for my heart withinme told me that I should need it. 

"So we entered the cave, and judged that it was the dwelling ofsome rich and skilful shepherd. For within there were pens for theyoung of the sheep and of the goats, divided all according totheir age, and there were baskets full of cheeses, and fullmilkpails ranged along the wall. But the Cyclops himself was awayin the pastures. Then my companions besought me that I woulddepart, taking with me, if I would, a store of cheeses and some ofthe lambs and of the kids. But I would not, for I wished to seewhat manner of host this strange shepherd might be, and, if itmight be, to take a gift from his hand, such as is the due ofstrangers. Verily, his coming was not to be a joy to my company. 

"It was evening when the Cyclops came home, a mighty giant, verytall of stature, and when we saw him we fled into the cave ingreat fear. On his shoulder he bore a vast bundle of pine logs forhis fire, and threw them down outside the cave great crash, anddrove the flocks within, and closed the entrance with a huge rock, which twenty wagons and more could not bear. Then he milked theewes and all the she-goats, and half of the milk he curdled forcheese, and half he set ready for himself, when he should sup. Next he kindled a fire with the pine logs, and the flame lightedup all the cave, showing to him both me and my comrades. 

"'Who are ye?' cried Polyphemus [Footnote: Pol-y-phe'-mus. ], forthat was the giant's name. 'Are ye traders or pirates?'

"I shuddered at the dreadful voice and shape, but bare me bravely, and answered: 'We are no pirates, mighty sir, but Greeks sailingback from Troy, and subjects of the great King Agamemnon, whosefame is spread from one end of heaven to the other. And we arecome to beg hospitality of thee in the name of Zeus, who rewardsor punishes hosts and guests according as they be faithful the oneto the other, or no. '

"'Nay, ' said the giant; 'it is but idle talk to tell me of Zeusand the other gods. We Cyclopes take no account of gods, holdingourselves to be much better and stronger than they. But come, tellme where have you left your ship?'

"But I saw his thought when he asked about the ship, for he wasminded to break it, and take from us all hope of flight. ThereforeI answered him craftily:--

"Ship have we none, for that which was ours King Poseidon brake, driving it on a jutting rock on this coast, and we whom thou seestare all that are escaped from the waves. "

"Polyphemus answered nothing, but without more ado caught up twoof the men, as a man might catch up the pups of a dog, and dashedthem on the ground, and tare them limb from limb, and devouredthem, with huge draughts of milk between, leaving not a morsel, not even the very bones. But we that were left, when we saw thedreadful deed, could only weep and pray to Zeus for help. And whenthe giant had filled his maw with human flesh and with the milk ofthe flocks, he lay down among his sheep and slept. 

"Then I questioned much in my heart whether I should slay themonster as he slept, for I doubted not that my good sword wouldpierce to the giant's heart, mighty as he was. But my secondthought kept me back, for I remembered that if I should slay him, I and my comrades would yet perish miserably. For who could moveaway the great rock that lay against the door of the cave? So wewaited till the morning, with grief in our hearts. And the monsterwoke, and milked his flocks, and afterwards, seizing two men, devoured them for his meal. Then he went to the pastures, but putthe great rock on the mouth of the cave, just as a man puts downthe lid upon his quiver. 

"All that day I was thinking what I might best do to save myselfand my companions, and the end of my thinking was this. There wasa mighty pole in the cave, green wood of an olive tree, big as aship's mast, which Polyphemus purposed to use, when the smokeshould have dried it, as a walking-staff. Of this I cut off afathom's length, and my comrades sharpened it and hardened it inthe fire, and then hid it away. At evening the giant came back, and drove his sheep into the cave, nor left the rams outside, ashe had been wont to do before, but shut them in. And having dulydone his shepherd's work, he took, as before, two of my comrades, and devoured them. And when he had finished his supper, I cameforward, holding the wine-skin in my hand, and said:--

"'Drink, Cyclops, now that thou hast feasted. Drink, and see whatprecious things we had in our ship. But no one hereafter will cometo thee with such, if thou dealest with strangers as cruelly asthou hast dealt with us. '

"Then the Cyclops drank, and was mightily pleased, and said: 'Giveme again to drink, and tell me thy name, stranger, and I will givethee a gift such as a host should give. In good truth this is arare liquor. We, too, have vines, but they bear not wine likethis, which, indeed, must be such as the gods drink in heaven. '

"Then I gave him the cup again, and he drank. Thrice I gave it tohim, and thrice he drank, not knowing what it was, and how itwould work within his brain. 

"Then I spake to him: 'Thou didst ask my name, Cyclops. My name isNo Man. And now that thou knowest my name, thou shouldest give methy gift. '

"And he said: 'My gift shall be that I will eat thee last of allthy company. '

"And as he spake, he fell back in a drunken sleep. Then I bade mycomrades be of good courage, for the time was come when theyshould be delivered. And they thrust the stake of olive wood intothe fire till it was ready, green as it was, to burst into flame, and they thrust it into the monster's eye; for he had but one eyeand that was in the midst of his forehead, with the eyebrow belowit. And I, standing above, leaned with all my force upon thestake, and turned it about, as a man bores the timber of a shipwith a drill. And the burning wood hissed in the eye, just as thered-hot iron hisses in the water when a man seeks to temper steelfor a sword. 

"Then the giant leapt up, and tore away the stake, and criedaloud, so that all the Cyclopes who dwelt on the mountain-sideheard him and came about his cave, asking him: `What aileth thee, Polyphemus, that thou makest this uproar in the peaceful night, driving away sleep? Is any one robbing thee of thy sheep, orseeking to slay thee by craft or force?' And the giant answered, `No Man slays me by craft. '

"`Nay, but, ' they said, `if no man does thee wrong, we cannot helpthee. The sickness which great Zeus may send, who can avoid? Prayto our father, Poseidon, for help. '

"So they spake, and I laughed in my heart when I saw how I haddeceived them by the name that I had given. 

"But the Cyclops rolled away the great stone from the door of thecave, and sat in the midst, stretching out his hands, to feelwhether perchance the men within the cave would seek to go outamong the sheep. 

"Long did I think how I and my comrades should best escape. Atlast I lighted upon a plan that seemed better than all the rest, and much I thanked Zeus because this once the giant had driven therams with the other sheep into the cave. For, these being greatand strong, I fastened my comrades under the bellies of thebeasts, tying them with willow twigs, of which the giant made hisbed. One ram I took, and fastened a man beneath it, and two othersI set, one on either side. So I did with the six, for but six wereleft out of the twelve who had ventured with me from the ship. Andthere was one mighty ram, far larger than alt the others, and tothis I clung, grasping the fleece tight with both my hands. So weall waited for the morning. And when the morning came, the ramsrushed forth to the pasture; but the giant sat in the door andfelt the back of each as it went by, nor thought to try what mightbe underneath. Last of all went the great ram. And the Cyclopsknew him as he passed, and said:--

"'How is this, thou who art the leader of the flock? Thou art notwont thus to lag behind. Thou hast always been the first to run tothe pastures and streams in the morning, and the first to comeback to the fold when evening fell; and now thou art last of all. Perhaps thou art troubled about thy master's eye, which somewretch--No Man, they call him--has destroyed. He has not escaped, and I would that thou couldest speak, and tell me where he islurking. Of a truth, I would dash out his brains upon the ground, and avenge me on this No Man. '

"So speaking, he let the ram pass out of the cave. But when wewere now out of reach of the giant, I loosed my hold of the ram, and then unbound my comrades. And we hastened to our ship, notforgetting to drive the sheep before us, and often looking backtill we came to the seashore. Right glad were those that had abodeby the ship to see us. Nor did they lament for those that haddied, though we were fain to do so, for I forbade, fearing lestthe noise of their weeping should betray where we were to thegiant. Then we all climbed into the ship, and sitting well inorder on the benches smote the sea with our oars, laying to rightlustily, that we might the sooner get away from the accursed land. And when we had rowed a hundred yards or so, so that a man's voicecould yet be heard by one who stood upon the shore, I stood up inthe ship and shouted:--

"'He was no coward, O Cyclops, whose comrades thou didst so foullyslay in thy den. Justly art thou punished, monster, that devourestthy guests in thy dwelling. May the gods make thee suffer yetworse things than these!'

"Then the Cyclops in his wrath brake off the top of a great hill, a mighty rock, and hurled it where he had heard the voice. Rightin front of the ship's bow it fell, and a great wave rose as itsank, and washed the ship back to the shore. But I seized a longpole with both hands, and pushed the ship from the land, and bademy comrades ply their oars, nodding with my head, for I would notspeak, lest the Cyclops should know where we were. Then they rowedwith all their might and main. 

"And when we had gotten twice as far as before, I made as if Iwould speak again; but my comrades sought to hinder me, saying:'Nay, my lord, anger not the giant any more. Surely we thoughtbefore that we were lost, when he threw the great rock, and washedour ship back to the shore. And if he hear thee now, he may stillcrush our ship and us. '

"But I would not be persuaded, but stood up and said: 'Hear, Cyclops! If any man ask who blinded thee, say that it was thewarrior Ulysses, son of Laertes, dwelling in Ithaca. '

"And the Cyclops answered with a groan: 'Of a truth, the oldprophecies are fulfilled; for long ago there came to this land aprophet who foretold to me that Ulysses would rob me of my sight. But I looked for a great and strong man, who should subdue me byforce, and now a weakling has done the deed, having cheated mewith wine. '

"Then the Cyclops lifted up his hands to Poseidon and prayed:'Hear me, Poseidon, if I am indeed thy son and thou my father. Maythis Ulysses never reach his home! or, if the Fates have orderedthat he should reach it, may he come alone, all his comrades lost, and come to find sore trouble in his house!'

"And as he ended, he hurled another mighty rock, which almostlighted on the rudder's end, yet missed it as by a hair's breadth. And the wave that it raised was so great that it bare us to theother shore. 

"So we came to the island of the wild goats, where we found ourcomrades, who, indeed, had waited long for us in sore fear lest wehad perished. Then I divided amongst my company all the sheepwhich we had taken from the Cyclops. And all, with one consent, gave me for my share the great ram which had carried me out of thecave, and I sacrificed it to Zeus. And all that day we feastedright merrily on the flesh of sheep and on sweet wine, and whenthe night was come, we lay down upon the shore and slept. 

CHAPTER XI

AEOLUS;[Footnote: AE'-o-lus. ]THE LAESTRYGONS;[Footnote: Laes'-try-gons. ]CIRCE [Footnote: Cir'-ce. ]

(THE TALE OF ULYSSES)

"The next morning we set sail, and came, after a while, to theisland where dwelleth AEolus. A floating island it is, and it hathabout it an unbroken wall of bronze. For a whole month did theKing entertain me in friendly fashion, and I told him the wholestory of the things that had been done at Troy. 

"Afterwards I told him of my journey, and asked help of him. Andhe gave me the skin of an ox nine years old, in which he had boundall the winds that were contrary to me, for Zeus hath made himkeeper of the winds, that he may rouse them or put them to rest ashe will. This pouch of ox-hide he bound fast to the deck of theship with a thong of silver, that not a wind might escape from it. But he let a gentle west wind blow, that it might carry me and mycomrades to our home. For nine days it blew, and now we were nearto Ithaca, our country, so that we saw the men that tended thebeacon-lights, for it was now near to the dawn on the tenth day. 

"But now, by an ill chance, I fell asleep, being wholly weariedout, for I had held the helm for nine days, nor trusted it to anyof my comrades. And while I slept my comrades, who had cast eyesof envy on the great ox-hide, said one to another:--

"`Strange it is how men love and honour this Ulysses whithersoeverhe goes. And now he comes back from Troy with much spoil, but wewith empty hands. Let us see what it is that AEolus hath givenhim, for doubtless in this ox-hide is much silver and gold. '

"So they loosed the great bag of ox-hide, and lo! all the windsrushed out, and carried us far away from our country. And I, waking with the tumult, doubted much whether I should not throwmyself into the sea and so die. But I endured, thinking it betterto live. Only I veiled my face and so lay still while the shipsdrave before the winds, till we came again to the island ofAEolus. Then we landed, and fetched water, and ate our meal by theside of our ships. And when our meal was ended, I took a heraldand one of my company, and went to the palace of the King, andfound him feasting with his wife and children, and I sat down onthe threshold. Much did they wonder to see me, saying, 'What evilpower has hindered thee, that thou didst not reach thy country andhome?'

"Then I answered: 'Blame not me, but the evil counsels of mycomrades, and sleep, which mastered me to my hurt. But do ye helpme again. '

"But he said, 'Begone! we may not help him whom the gods hate; andhated of them thou surely art. '

"So AEolus sent me away. Then again we launched our ships and setforth, toiling wearily at the oars, and sad at heart. 

"Six days we rowed, nor rested at night; and on the seventh wecame to Lamos [Footnote: La'-mos. ], which was a city of theLaestrygons, in whose land the night is as the day, so that a manmight earn double wages, if only he wanted not sleep. There was afair haven with cliffs about it, and a narrow mouth with greatrocks on either side. And within are no waves. 

"Now I made fast my ship to the rocks that were without, but theothers entered the haven. Then I sent two men, and a herald withthem, and these came upon a smooth road by which wagons broughtdown wood from the mountain to the city. Here they met a maiden, the daughter of the king of the land, and asked of her who waslord of that country. Thereupon she showed them her father's loftypalace. And they, entering this, saw the maiden's mother, big as amountain, and horrible to behold, who straightway called to herhusband. Then the messengers fled to the ships; but he made agreat shout, and the giant Laestrygons came flocking about him. And these broke off great stones from the cliffs, each stone asmuch as a man could carry, and cast them at the ships, so thatthey were broken. And the men they speared, as if they werefishes, and devoured them. So it happened to all the ships in thehaven. I only escaped, for I cut the hawser with my sword, andbade my men ply their oars, which indeed they did right willingly. 

"After a while we came to the island where Circe dwelt, who is thedaughter of the Sun. Two days and nights we lay upon the shore ingreat trouble and sorrow. On the third I took my spear and swordand climbed a hill, for I wished to see to what manner of land wehad come. And having climbed it, I saw the smoke rising from thepalace of Circe, where it stood in the midst of a wood. Then Ithought awhile: should I go straightway to the palace that I saw, or first return to my comrades on the shore. And it seemed thebetter plan to go to the ship and bid my comrades make theirmidday meal, and afterwards send them to search out the place. Butas I went, some god took pity on me, and sent a great stag, withmighty antlers, across my path. The stag was going down to theriver to drink, for the sun was now hot; and casting my spear atit I pierced it through. Then I fastened together the feet withgreen withes and a fathom's length of rope, and slinging the beastround my neck, so carried it to the ship, leaning on my spear; forindeed it was heavy to bear, nor was it possible for me to carryit on my shoulder with one hand. And when I was come to the ship, I cast down my burden. Now the men were sitting with their facesmuffled, so sad were they. But when I bade them be of good cheer, they looked up and marvelled at the great stag. And all that daywe feasted on deer's flesh and sweet wine, and at night lay downto sleep on the shore. But when morning was come, I called mycomrades together, and spake: 'I know not, friends, where we are. Only I know, having seen smoke yesterday from the hill, that thereis a dwelling in this island. '

"It troubled the men much to hear this, for they thought of theCyclops and of the Laestrygons; and they wailed aloud. Then Idivided them into two companies. I set Eurylochus [Footnote: Eu-ryl'-o-chus. ] over the one, and I myself took command of theother, and I shook lots in a helmet to see who should go andsearch out the island, and the lot of Eurylochus leapt out. So hewent, and comrades twenty and two with him. And in an open spacein the wood they found the palace of Circe. All about were wolvesand lions; yet these harmed not the men, but stood up on theirhind legs, fawning upon them, as dogs fawn upon their master whenhe comes from his meal, because he brings the fragments with himthat they love. And the men were afraid. And they stood in theporch and heard the voice of Circe as she sang with a lovely voiceand plied the loom. Then said Polites [Footnote: Po-li'-tes. ], whowas dearest of all my comrades to me, in whom also I most trusted:'Some one within plies a great loom, and sings with a loud voice. Some goddess is she or a woman. Let us make haste and call. '

"So they called to her, and she came out and beckoned to them thatthey should follow. So they went, in their folly, all exceptEurylochus. And she bade them sit, and mixed for them red wine andbarley-meal and cheese and honey, and mighty drugs, of which, if aman drank, he forgot all that he loved. And when they had drunk, she smote them with her wand. And lo! they had of a sudden theheads and the voices and the bristles of swine, but the heart of aman was in them still. And Circe shut them in sties, and gave themacorns to eat. 

"But Eurylochus fled back to the ship, bringing tidings of whathad befallen his comrades. For a time he could not speak a word, so full was his heart of grief, and his eyes of tears. But, atlast, when we had asked him many questions, he told us his tale. 

"Thereupon I cast about my shoulder my silver-studded sword, andtook my bow also, and bade him lead me by the way by which he hadgone. But he caught me by both my hands, and besought me, saying:'Take me not thither against my will; for I am persuaded that thouthyself wilt not return again, nor bring any of thy comrades. Letus that remain flee, and escape death. ' Then I said, 'Stay here bythe ship, eating and drinking, if it be thy will, but I must go. '

"And when I had come to the house, there met me Hermes of thegolden wand, the messenger of the gods, in the shape of a fairyouth, who said to me:--

"'Art thou come to rescue thy comrades that are now swine inCirce's house? Nay, but thou shalt never go back thyself. Yetstay; I will give thee a drug which shall give thee power toresist all her charms. For when she shall have mixed thee drink, and smitten thee with her wand, then do thou rush upon her withthy sword, as if thou wouldest slay her. And when she shall prayfor peace, do thou make her swear by the great oath that binds thegods that she will not harm thee. '

"Then Hermes showed me a certain herb, whose root was black, butthe flower white as milk. 'Moly, ' the gods call it, and very hardit is for mortal man to find; but to the gods all things arepossible. 

"Thereupon Hermes departed to Olympus, but I went on to the palaceof the goddess, much troubled in heart. When I came thither Istood in the porch and called, and Circe came, and opened thedoors, and bade me come in. 

"Then she set me on a great chair, skilfully carven, with afootstool for my feet. Afterward she gave me drink in a cup ofgold, but she had mixed in it a deadly charm. This I drank, butwas not bewitched, for the herb saved me. Then she smote me withher wand, saying: 'Go now to the sty and lie there with thyfellows. ' Thereto upon I drew my sword, and rushed upon her, asthough I would have slain her. Then she caught me by the knees, and cried aloud: 'Who art thou? What is thy race? I marvel thatthou couldest drink of this drink that I have charmed, and yettake no hurt. I thought that there was no mortal man that could sodo. Thou must have a soul against which there is no enchantment. Verily, thou must be that Ulysses who was to come to this islandas he returned from Troy, for so Hermes told me. But come, let usbe friends. ' Then I said to her: 'Nay, goddess, but how can we twobe friends, when thou hast turned my companions into swine. I fearthee that thou hast some deceit in thy heart, and thou wilt takeme unawares, and do me a great mischief. But swear a mighty oath, even the oath by which the gods are bound, that thou wilt not harmme. '

"Then Circe sware the mighty oath, even the oath by which the godsare bound. 

"After this her handmaids, who were fair women born of the springsand streams and woods, prepared a feast. One set coverlets ofpurple on the chairs, and another brought up tables of silver tothe chair, and set on the tables baskets of gold. A third mixedsweet wine in a bowl of silver, and set thereby cups of gold; andthe fourth filled a great kettle with water, and put fire underit. And when it boiled, she prepared a bath, and the bath tookaway the weariness from my limbs. And when I had bathed, ahandmaid bare water in a pitcher of gold, and poured it over abasin of gold, that I might wash my hands. Then the housekeeperbrought me wheaten bread, and set many dainties on the table; andCirce bade me eat; but I sat silent and sorrowful, having otherthoughts in my mind. 

"And when the goddess perceived that I was silent and ate not, shesaid: 'Why dost thou sit, Ulysses, as though thou wert dumb?Fearest thou any craft of mine? Nay, but that may not be, for haveI not sworn the great oath that binds the gods?'

"Then I made answer, 'Nay, but who could think of meat and drinkwhen such things had befallen his companions?'

"Then Circe led the way, holding her wand in her hand, and openedthe doors of the sties, and drove out the swine that had been men. Then she rubbed on each another mighty drug, and the bristles fellfrom their bodies and they became men, only younger and fairerthan before. And when they saw me, they clung to me and wept forjoy, and Circe herself was moved with pity. 

"Then said she to me: 'Go, Ulysses, to thy ship, and put away allthe goods and tackling in the caves that are on the shore, butcome again hither thyself, and bring thy comrades with thee. '

"Then I went. Right glad were they who had stayed to see me, gladas are the calves who have been penned in the fold-yard when theirmothers come back in the evening. 

"So we went to the dwelling of Circe, who feasted us royally, sothat we remained with her for a whole year, well content. 

"But when the year was out my companions said to me, 'It is wellto remember thy country, if it is indeed the will of the gods thatthou shouldest return thither. '

"Then I besought Circe that she would send me on my way homewards, as indeed she had promised to do. And she answered, saying:--

"'I would not have you abide in my house unwillingly. Yet mustthou first go on another journey, even to the dwellings of thedead, there to speak with the seer [Footnote: seer, prophet]Teiresias [Footnote: Tei-re'-si-as]. '

"But I was sore troubled to hear such things, and wept aloud, saying, 'Who shall guide us in this journey?--for never yet didship make such a voyage as this. '

"Then Circe made answer: 'Son of Laertes, trouble not thyselfbecause thou hast no guide, only set up the mast in thy ship, andspread out the sails, and sit thee down with thy companions, andthe north wind shall carry thee to the place whereto thou artbound. When thou shalt have sailed across the stream of ocean, thou shalt come to a waste shore, where are many tall poplar treesand willows. Beach there thy ship on the shore of ocean, and gothyself to the dwelling of Hades. [Footnote: Ha'-des] There is acertain rock, and near to it meet two streams, the river of fire, and the river of wailing. Dig there a trench; it shall be a cubit[Footnote: cubit, a foot and a half] long and a, cubit broad; pourout therein a drink-offering to the dead; and sprinkle whitebarley thereon. And as thou doest these things, entreat the dead, and promise that when thou shalt come again to Ithaca, thou wiltoffer a barren heifer, even the best thou hast, and that thou wiltsacrifice to Teiresias alone a black ram, the goodliest in theflock. And after thou hast made thy prayers to the dead, offer upa black ram and a black ewe. Then will come many spirits of thedead, but suffer them not to drink of the blood till thou shalthave spoken to Teiresias. Speedily will the seer come to thee, andwill tell thee how thou mayest return to thy home. ' The nextmorning I roused my companions, saying, 'Sleep no more; we will goon our way, for Circe hath shown to me the whole matter. '

"So I spake, and they consented to my words. Yet did not I takeall my company safe from the dwelling of the goddess. There was acertain Elpenor [Footnote: El-pe'-nor. ], who was the youngest ofthem all, and was neither valiant nor of an understanding mind. Hewas sleeping apart from his fellows, on the housetop, for he hadcraved for the coolness of the air. He, hearing our voices, andthe sound of the men's feet, as they moved hither and thither, leapt up of a sudden, and thought not to come down by the ladderby which he had gone up, but fell down from the roof, so that hisneck was broken, and he went down to the dwellings of the dead. 

"But as my men were on their way, I spake to them, saying: 'Yethink that ye are going to your native country; not so, for Circehath showed me another journey that we must take, even to thedwelling of Hades, that I may speak with the spirit of Teiresiasthe seer. '

"So I spake, and their spirit was broken within them, and they satdown where they were, and mourned, and tare their hair. But theirweeping profited nothing. 

"Meanwhile Circe had gone, and made fast a ram and a black ewe tothe ship, passing on as we went, for none may mark the goings ofthe immortal gods. "

CHAPTER XII

THE DWELLINGS OF THE DEAD

(THE TALE OF ULYSSES)

"After this we made ready the ship for sailing, and put the blacksheep on board, and so departed; and Circe sent a wind from behindthat filled the sails; and all the day through our ship passedquickly over the sea. 

"And when the sun had set we came to the utmost border of theocean. Then I bade two of my comrades make ready the sheep forsacrifice; and I myself dug a pit of a cubit every way, and pouredin it a drink-offering of honey and milk, and sweet wine, andwater, and sprinkled barley upon the drink-offering. Afterwards Itook the sheep and slew them, so that their blood ran into thetrench. And the dead were gathered to the place, --maidens, and oldmen who had borne the sorrows of many years, and warriors that hadbeen slain in battle, having their arms covered with blood. Allthese gathered about the pit with a terrible cry; and I was soreafraid. Then I bade my comrades burn the carcasses of the sheepand pray to the gods of the dead; but I myself sat down by thepit's side, and would not suffer the souls of the dead to comenear unto the blood until I had inquired of Teiresias. 

"First of all came the soul of my comrade Elpenor. Much did Iwonder to see him, and I asked, 'How comest thou hither, Elpenor, to the land of darkness? and how have thy feet outstripped myship?' Then said Elpenor: 'I fell from the roof of the palace ofCirce, not bethinking me of the ladder, and so brake my neck. Butnow, I pray thee, if thou lovest wife and father and son, forgetme not, when thou returnest to the island of Circe. Burn me withfire and my arms with me; and make a mound for me by the shore ofthe sea, that men may hear of me and of my fate in after time. Andset up my oar upon my tomb, even the oar which I was wont to plyamong my comrades. '

"Then I said to him, 'All this shall be done as thou desirest. '

"And we sat on either side of the trench as we talked, and I heldmy sword over the blood. 

"After him came to me the soul of my mother, whom I had left alivewhen I sailed to Troy. Sorely I wept to see her, yet suffered hernot to come near and drink of the blood till I had inquired ofTeiresias. Then came Teiresias, holding a golden sceptre in hishand, and spake, saying: 'Why hast thou left the light of day, andcome hither to this land of the dead, wherein is no delight? Butcome, depart from the pit, and take away thy sword, that I maycome near and tell thee true. '

"So I thrust my sword into the scabbard; and Teiresias drank ofthe blood; and when he had drunk, he spake: 'Thou seekest to hearof thy going back to thy home. Know, therefore, that it shall bewith peril and toil. For Poseidon will not easily lay aside hiswrath against thee, because thou didst take from his dear son, theCyclops, the sight of his eye. Yet for all this ye may yet comesafe to your home, if only thou canst restrain thyself and thycomrades when ye come to the island of the Three Capes, and findthere the oxen and the sheep of the Sun. If ye let them be andharm them not, then may ye yet return to Ithaca, though afterdreadful toil. But if not, then shall ye perish. And if thouescape thyself, after long time shalt thou return, having lost allthy comrades, and the ship of strangers shall carry thee; and thoushalt find trouble in thy house, men of violence who devour thysubstance while they seek thy wife in marriage. '

"To him I made answer: 'So be it, Teiresias. All these things thegods have ordered after their own will. But tell me this. Here Isee the soul of my mother that is dead; and she sits near theblood, but regards me not, nor speaks to me. How can she know thatI am indeed her son?'

"Then said Teiresias: 'Whomsoever of the dead thou shalt suffer todrink of the blood, he will speak to thee; but whomsoever thousufferest not, he will depart in silence. '

"So I abode in my place; and the soul of my mother came near anddrank of the blood. And when she had drunk, she knew her son, andsaid: 'My son, why hast thou come into the land of darkness, beingyet alive? Hast thou not yet returned to thy home?'

"To her I made answer: 'I came hither to inquire of Teiresias ofThebes, and my home have I not seen. Truly trouble hath followedme from the day that I first went with King Agamemnon to the landof Troy. But tell me, how didst thou die? Did a wasting diseaseslay thee, or did Artemis [Footnote: Ar'-te-mis] smite thee with asudden stroke of her arrow? And my father and my son, have theyenjoyment of that which is mine, or have others taken it fromthem? And my wife, is she true to me, or hath she wedded someprince among the Greeks?'

"Then said my mother: 'Thy wife is true, and sits weeping for theeday and night. And thy son hath enjoyment of thy possessions, andhath his due place at the feasts of the people. But thy fathercometh no longer to the city, but abideth in the country. Nor hathhe any couch for his bed, but in winter-time he sleeps, even assleep the slaves, in the ashes near unto the fire, and when thesummer comes, in the corner of the vineyard upon leaves. Greatlydoth he sorrow, waiting for thy return, and the burden of old agelies heavy upon him. But as for me, no wasting disease slew me, nor did Artemis smite me with her arrows; but I died of longingfor thee, so sorely did I miss thy wisdom and thy love. '

"Then I was fain to lay hold upon the soul of my mother. Thrice Isprang forward, eager to embrace her, and thrice she passed fromout my hands, even as passeth a shadow. And when I said, 'How isthis, my mother? art thou then but a phantom that the queen of thedead hath sent me?' my mother answered me: 'Thus it is with thedead, my son. They have no more any flesh and bones; for these thefire devours; but their souls are even as dreams, flying hitherand thither. But do thou return so soon as may be to the light, and tell all that thou hast seen and heard to thy wife. '

"Thereupon I departed from the place, and bade my comrades embarkupon the ships and loose the ropes. And we embarked and sat uponthe benches; and the great stream of Ocean bare us onward, rowingat the first, and afterwards hoisting the sails. "

CHAPTER XIII

THE SIRENS; SCYLLA;[Footnote: Scyl'-la] THE OXEN OF THE SUN

(THE TALE OF ULYSSES)

"It was now evening when we came back to the island of Circe. Therefore we beached the ship, and lay down by the sea, and slepttill the morning. And when it was morning we arose, and went tothe palace of Circe, and fetched thence the body of our comradeElpenor. We raised the funeral pile where the farthest headlandruns out into the sea, and burned the dead man and his arms; thenwe raised a mound over his bones, and put a pillar on the top ofthe mound, and on the top of the pillar his oar. 

"But Circe knew of our coming, and of what we had done, and shecame and stood in our midst, her handmaids coming with her, andbearing flesh and bread and wine in plenty. Then she spake, saying: 'Overbold are ye, who have gone down twice into the houseof death which most men see but once. Come now, eat and drink thisday; to-morrow shall ye sail again over the sea, and I will tellyou the way, and declare all that shall happen, that ye may sufferno hindrance as ye go. '

"So all that day we ate and feasted. And when the darkness cameover the land, my comrades lay them down by the ship and slept. But Circe took me by the hand, and led me apart from my company, and inquired of what I had seen and done. And when I had told herall my tale, she spake, saying: 'Hearken now to what I shall tellthee. First of all thou shalt come to the Sirens, who bewitch allmen with their singing. For whoever cometh nigh to them, andlisteneth to their song, he seeth not wife or children any more;for the Sirens enchant him, and draw him to where they sit, with agreat heap of dead men's bones about them. Speed thy ship pastthem, and first fill the ears of thy comrades with wax, lest anyshould hear the song; but if thou art minded thyself to hear thesong, let them bind thee fast to the mast. So shalt thou hear thesong, and take no harm. And if thou shalt entreat thy comrades toloose thee, they must bind the bonds all the faster. 

"'When thou shalt have passed the island of the Sirens, then thoumust choose for thyself which path thou shalt take. On the oneside are the rocks that men call the Wandering Rocks. By these noteven winged creatures can pass unharmed. No ship can pass them byunhurt; all round them do the waves toss timbers of broken shipsand bodies of men that are drowned. One ship only hath ever passedthem by, even the ship Argo, and even her would the waves havedashed upon the rocks, but that Hera [Footnote: He'-ra], for loveof Jason [Footnote: Ja'-son], caused her to pass by. 

"'These there are on the one side, and on the other are two rocks. The first rock reacheth with a sharp peak to the heavens, andabout the peak is a dark cloud that passeth not away from it, no, not in summer time or harvest. This rock no man could climb, eventhough he had twenty hands and feet, for it is steep and smooth. In the midst of this cliff is a cave wherein dwelleth Scylla, thedreadful monster of the sea. Her voice is but as the voice of anew-born dog, and her twelve feet are small and ill-grown, but shehath six necks, exceeding long, and on each a head dreadful tobehold, and in each head three rows of teeth, thick set and fullof death. She is hidden up to her middle in the cave, but sheputteth her heads out of it, fishing for dolphins, or sea-dogs, orother creatures of the sea, for indeed there are countless flocksof them. No ship can pass her by unharmed, for with each head shecarrieth off a man, snatching them from the ship's deck. Hard by, even a bow-shot off, is the other rock, lower by far, and with agreat fig tree growing on the top. Beneath it Charybdis [Footnote:Cha-ryb'-dis] thrice a day sucketh in the water, and thrice a dayspouteth it forth. If thou chance to be there when she sucks itin, not even Poseidon's help could save thee. See, therefore, thatthou guide thy ship near to Scylla rather than to the other, forit is better 'for thee to lose six men out of thy ship than allthy company together. '

"So Circe spake, and I said: 'Tell me, goddess, can I by any meansescape from Charybdis on the one hand, and. On the other, avengeme on this monster, when she would take my comrades for a prey?'

"But the goddess said: 'Overbold thou art, and thinkest ever ofdeeds of battle. Verily, thou wouldest do battle with the godsthemselves; and surely Scylla is not of mortal race, and againsther there is no help. Thou wilt do better to flee. For if thoutarry to put on thy armour, then will she dart forth again, andtake as many as before. Drive on thy ship, therefore, with whatspeed may be. 

"'After this, thou wilt come to the island of the Three Capes, where are the herds and the flocks of the Sun. Seven herds of kinethere are and seven flocks of sheep, and fifty in each. Theseneither are born, nor die, and they have two goddesses to herdthem. If ye do these no hurt, then shall ye return, all of you, toIthaca, but if ye harm them, then shall thy ship be broken, andall thy company shall perish, and thou shalt return alone andafter long delay. '

"Having so spoken, the goddess departed. Then I roused my men andthey launched the ship, and smote the water with their oars, andthe goddess sending a favourable wind, we hoisted the sails, andrested. 

"But, as we went, I spake to my companions, saying: 'Friends, itis not well that one or two only should know the things that Circeprophesied to me. Therefore I will declare them to you, that wemay know beforehand the things that shall come to pass, and soeither die or live. '

"And first I told them of the Sirens; and while I spake we came tothe Sirens' Island. Then did the breeze cease, and there was awindless calm. So my comrades took down the sails and put out theoars, and I cleft a great round of wax with my sword, and, meltingit in the sun, I filled the ears of my men; afterwards they boundme by hands and feet, as I stood upright by the mast. And when wewere so near the shore that the shout of a man could be heardtherefrom, the Sirens perceived the ship, and began their song. And their song was this:--

"'Hither, come hither, renowned Odysseus, great glory of theGreeks. Here stay thy bark that thou mayest listen to the voice ofus twain. For none hath ever driven by this way in his black ship, till he hath heard from our lips the voice sweet as the honeycomb, and hath had joy thereof and gone on his way the wiser. For lo, weknow all things, all that the Greeks and the Trojans have sufferedin wide Troy-land, yea, and we know all that shall hereafter beupon the fruitful earth. '

"Then I motioned my men to loose me, for their ears were stopped;but they plied their oars, and Eurylochus put new bonds upon me. And when we had passed by the island, then they took the wax fromtheir ears, and loosed my bonds. 

"After this they saw a smoke and surf, and heard a mighty roar, and their oars dropped out of their hands for fear; but I badethem be of good heart, because by my counsel they had escapedother dangers in past time. And the rowers I bade row as hard asthey might. But to the helmsman I said: 'Steer the ship outsidethe smoke and the surf, and steer close to the cliffs. ' But ofScylla I said nothing, fearing lest they should lose heart, andcease rowing altogether. Then I armed myself, and stood in theprow waiting till Scylla should appear. 

"So we sailed up the strait; and there was sore trouble in myheart, for on the one side was Scylla, and on the other Charybdis, sucking down the water in a terrible fashion. Now would she vomitit forth, boiling the while as a great kettle boils upon the fire, and the spray fell on the very tops of the cliffs on either side. And then again she gulped the water down, so that we could see toher very depths, even the white sand that was at the bottom of thesea. Towards her we looked, fearing destruction, and while welooked, Scylla caught out of my ship six of my companions, thestrongest and bravest of them all. When I looked to my ships tofind my crew, then I saw their feet and hands, and I heard themcall me by name, speaking to me for the last time. Even as afisher, standing on some headland, lets down his long line with abait, that he may ensnare the fishes of the sea, and each, as hecatches it, he flings writhing ashore, so did Scylla bear the menwrithing up the cliff to her cave. There did she devour them; andthey cried to me terribly the while. Verily, of all the thingsthat I have seen upon the sea, this was the most piteous of all. 

"After this we came to the island of the Three Capes; and from myship I heard the lowing of the kine and the bleating of the sheep. Thereupon I called to mind the saying of Teiresias, how he chargedme to shun the island of the Sun. So I spake to my comrades, saying: 'Hear now the counsels of Teiresias and Circe. Theycharged me to sail by the island of the Sun; for they said thatthere the most dreadful evil would overtake us. Do ye then row theship past. '

"So I spake; but Eurylochus made answer in wrath: 'Surely, Ulysses, thou knowest not weariness, and art made of iron, forbidding us, weary though we be with toil and watching, to landupon this island, where we might well refresh ourselves. Rash, also, art thou in that thou commandest us to sail all night; atnight deadly winds spring up, and how shall we escape, if somesudden storm from the west or the south smite our ship, and breakit in pieces? Rather let us stay, and take our meal and sleep bythe ship's side, and to-morrow will we sail again across the sea. '

"Thus he spake, and all consented to his speech. Then I knew thatthe gods were minded to work us mischief, and I made answer: 'Yeforce me, being many against one. But swear ye all an oath, thatif ye find here either herd or flock, ye will not slay eitherbullock or sheep, but will rest content with the food that Circegave us. '

"Then they all made oath that they would so do; and when they hadsworn, they moored the ship within a creek, where there was aspring of fresh water; and so we took our meal. But when we hadenough of meat and drink, we remembered our comrades whom Scyllahad snatched from the ship and devoured and we mourned for themtill slumber fell upon us. 

"The next morning I spake to my company, saying: 'Friends, we haveyet food, both bread and wine. Keep, therefore, your hands fromthe flocks and herds, lest some mischief overtake us, for they arethe flocks and herds of the Sun, a mighty god whose eye none mayescape. '

"With these words I persuaded them. But for a month the south windblew without ceasing; there was no other wind, unless it werehaply the east. So long, indeed, as the bread and wine failed notthe men, they harmed not the herds, fearing to die. Andafterwards, when our stores were consumed, they wandered about theisland, and searched for food, snaring fishes and birds withhooks, for hunger pressed them sorely. But I roamed by myself, praying to the gods that they would send us deliverance. So itchanced one day that slumber overcame me, and I slept far awayfrom my companions. 

"Meanwhile Eurylochus spake to the others, using fatal craft:'Friends, listen to one who suffers affliction with you. Always isdeath a thing to be avoided; but of all deaths the most to befeared is death by hunger. Come, therefore, let us sacrifice tothe gods in heaven the best of the oxen of the Sun. And we willvow to build to the Sun, when we shall reach the land of Ithaca, agreat temple which we will adorn with gifts many and precious. Butif he be minded to sink our ship, being wroth for his oxen's sake, verily I would rather drown than waste slowly to death upon thisisland. '

"To this they all gave consent. Then Eurylochus drave the fattestof the kine, --for they grazed near the ship, --and the mensacrificed it to the gods. 

"And one of the nymphs that herded the kine flew to the Sun withtidings of that which had been done. Then spake the Sun among theother gods: 'Avenge me now on the guilty comrades of Ulysses; forthey have slain the herds which I delight to see both when I mountthe heavens and when I descend therefrom. Verily, if they pay notthe due penalty for their wrong-doing, I will go down and give mylight to the regions of the dead. '

"Then Zeus made answer: 'Shine, thou Sun, as aforetime, on theearth. Verily, my thunderbolt can easily reach the bark of thesesinners, and break it in the middle of the sea. '

"All these things I heard afterwards from the nymph Calypso, andshe had heard them from Hermes, the messenger. 

"With angry words did I rebuke my comrades, but found no remedyfor their wrong-doing, seeing that the kine were dead. For sixdays my friends feasted on the cattle of the Sun; but when theseventh day came, we launched our ship upon the sea, and set sail. 

"When we were now out of sight of the island of the Three Capes, and no other land appeared, Zeus hung a dark cloud over us, andsuddenly the west wind came fiercely down upon the ship, andsnapped the shrouds on either side. Thereupon the mast fellbackward and brake the skull of a pilot, so that he plunged, as adiver plunges, into the sea. Meantime Zeus hurled his thunderboltinto the ship, filling it with sulphur from end to end. Then mycomrades fell from the ship; I saw them carried about it like sea-gulls. But I still abode on the ship, till the sides were partedfrom the keel; then I bound myself with a leathern thong to themast and the keel--for these were fastened together. On these Isat, being driven by the wind. All night long was I driven; andwith the morning I came again to Scylla and to Charybdis. It wasthe time when she sucked in the waves; but I, borne upward by awave, took fast hold of the branches of the wild fig tree thatgrew upon the rock. To this I clung for a long time, but knew nothow to climb higher up. So I watched till she should vomit forthagain the keel and the mast, for these she had swallowed up. Andwhen I saw them again, then I plunged down from the rock, andcaught hold of them, and seated myself on them; I rowed hard withthe palms of my hands; and the father of the gods suffered notScylla to espy me, or I should surely have perished. For nine daysI floated, and on the tenth the gods carried me to the island ofCalypso. "

CHAPTER XIV

ITHACA

When Ulysses had ended his tale there was silence for a spacethroughout the hall. And after a while King Alcinous spake, saying: "Ulysses, now thou art come to my house, thou shalt nolonger be kept from thy return. And on you, chiefs of thePhaeacians, I lay this command. Garments and gold are alreadystored for this stranger in a chest. Let us now, also, give himeach a gift. "

This saying pleased the princes, and they went each man to hishouse; and the next day they brought the gifts; and the Kinghimself bestowed them under the benches, that the rowers might notbe hindered in their rowing. 

When these things were finished, the princes betook them to thepalace of the King; and he sacrificed an ox to Zeus, and theyfeasted, and the minstrel sang. But still Ulysses would ever lookto the sun, as if he would have hastened his going down; forindeed he was very desirous to return as a man desireth hissupper, when he hath been driving the plough all day through afield with a yoke of oxen before him, and is right glad when thesun sinketh in the west, so Ulysses was glad at the passing of thedaylight. And he spake, saying:--

"Pour out, now, the drink-offering, my lord the King, and send meon my way. Now do I bid you farewell, for ye have given me allthat my heart desired, noble gifts and escort to my home. May thegods give me with them good luck, and grant, also, that I may findmy wife and my friends in my home unharmed! And may ye abide herein joy with your wives and children, and may ye have all manner ofgood things and may no evil come near you. "

Then spake the King to his squire: "Mix, now, the bowl, and serveout the wine, that we may pray to Zeus, and send the stranger onhis way. "

So the squire mixed the wine, and served it out; and they all madeoffering, and prayed. 

Then Ulysses rose in his place, and placed the cup in the hand ofArete, the Queen, and spake: "Fare thee well, O Queen, till oldage and death, which no man may escape, shall come upon thee! I goto my home; and do thou rejoice in thy children and in thy people, and in thy husband, the King. "

When he had so said, he stepped over the threshold. And Alcinoussent with him a squire to guide him to the ship, and Arete sentmaidens, bearing fresh clothing, and bread and wine. When theycame to the ship, the rowers took the things, and laid them in thehold. Also they spread for Ulysses a rug and a linen sheet in thehinder part of the ship, that his sleep might be sound. 

When these things were ended Ulysses climbed on board, and laydown; and the men sat upon the benches, and unbound the hawser. And it came to pass that so soon as they touched the water withthe oars, a deep sleep fell upon him. As four horses carry achariot quickly over the plain, so quick did the ship pass overthe waves Not even a hawk, that is the swiftest of all flyingthings, could have kept pace with it. 

And when the star that is the herald of the morning came up in theheaven, then did the ship approach the island. There is a certainharbour in Ithaca, the harbour of Phorcys [Footnote: Phor'-cys], the sea-god, where two great cliffs on either side break the forceof the waves; a ship that can win her way into it can ride safelywithout moorings. And at the head of this harbour there is anolive tree, and a cave hard by which is sacred to the nymphs. Twogates hath the cave, one looking towards the north, by which menmay enter, and one towards the south, which belongeth only to thegods. To this place the Phaeacians guided the ship, for they knewit well. Half the length of the keel did they run her ashore, soquickly did they row her. Then they lifted Ulysses out of thestern as he lay in the sheet and the rug which the Queen had givenhim. And still he slept. They took out also the gifts which theprinces of the Phaeacians had given him, and laid them in a heapby the trunk of the olive tree, a little way from the road, lestsome passer-by should rob him while he slept. After this theydeparted homeward. 

But Poseidon still remembered his anger, and said to Zeus: "Nowshall I be held in dishonour among the gods, for mortal men, eventhese Phaeacians, who are of my own kindred, pay me no regard. Isaid that this Ulysses should return in great affliction to hishome; and now they have carried him safely across the sea, withsuch a store of gifts as he never would have won out of Troy, evenhad he come back unharmed with all his share of the spoil. "

To him Zeus made answer: "What is that thou sayest, lord of thesea? How can the gods dishonour thee, who art the eldest amongthem? And if men withhold from thee the worship that is due, thoucanst punish them after thy pleasure. Do, therefore, as thouwilt. "

Then said Poseidon: "I would have done so long since, had not Ifeared thy wrath. But now I will smite this ship of the Phaeaciansas she cometh back from carrying this man to his home. So shallthey learn henceforth not to send men homeward; and their citywill I overshadow with a great mountain. "

And Zeus made answer to him, "Do as thou wilt. "

Then Poseidon came down to the land of the Phaeacians, and therehe tarried till the ship came near, speeding swiftly on her way. Thereupon he struck her, changing her into a stone, and rootingher to the bottom of the sea. 

But the Phaeacians said one to another: "Who is this that hathhindered our ship, as she journeyed homeward? Even now she wasplain to see. "

But King Alcinous spake, saying: "Now are the prophecies fulfilledwhich my father was wont to speak. For he said that Poseidon waswroth with us because we carried men safely across the sea, andthat one day the god would smite one of our ships, and change itinto a stone, and that he would also overshadow our city with agreat mountain. Now, therefore, let us cease from conveying men totheir homes, and let us do sacrifice to Poseidon, slaying twelvebulls, that he overshadow not our city with a great mountain. "

So the King spake, and the princes did as he commanded them. 

Meanwhile Ulysses awoke in the land of Ithaca, and he knew not theplace, for Athene had spread a great mist about it, doing it, aswill be seen, with a good purpose, that he might safely accomplishthat which it was in his heart to do. Then Ulysses started up, andmade lament, saying: "Woe is me! To what land am I come? Are themen barbarous and unjust, or are they hospitable and righteous?Whither shall I carry these riches of mine? And whither shall I gomyself? Surely the Phaeacians have dealt unfairly with me, forthey promised that they would carry me back to my own country, butnow they have taken me to a strange land. May Zeus punish themtherefor! But let me first see to my goods, and reckon them up, lest the men should have taken some of them. "

Thereupon he numbered the treasure and found that nothing waswanting. But not the less did he bewail him for his country. 

But as he walked, lamenting, by the shore, Athene met him, havingthe likeness of a young shepherd, fair to look upon, such as arethe sons of kings. Ulysses was glad when he saw her, though heknew her not, and said: "Friend, thou art the first man that Ihave seen in this land. Now, therefore, I pray thee to save mysubstance, and myself also. But first, tell me true--what land isthis to which I am come, and what is the people? Is it an island, or a portion of the mainland?"

And the false shepherd said: "Thou art foolish, or, may be, hastcome from very far, not to know this country. Many men know it, both in the east and in the west. Rocky it is, not fit for horses, nor is it very broad; but it is fertile land, and good for wine;nor does it want for rain, and a good pasture it is for oxen andgoats; and men call it Ithaca. Even in Troy, which is very far, they say, from this land of Greece, men have heard of Ithaca. "

This Ulysses was right glad to hear. Yet he was not minded to saywho he was, but rather to feign a tale. 

So he said: "Yes, of a truth, I heard of this Ithaca in Crete, from which I am newly come, with all this wealth, leaving also asmuch behind for my children. For I slew the son of the King, because he would have taken from me my spoil. And certainPhoenicians [Footnote: Phoe-ni'-ci-ans] agreed to take me to Pylosor to Elis;[Footnote: E'-lis] but the wind drave them hither, andwhile I slept they put me upon the shore, and my possessions withme, and departed. "

This pleased Athene much, and she changed her shape, becoming liketo a woman, tall and fair, and said to Ulysses:--

"Right cunning would he be who could cheat thee. Even now in thynative country thou dost not cease thy cunning words and deceits!But let these things be; for thou art the wisest of mortal men, and I excel among the gods in counsel. For I am Athene, daughterof Zeus, who am ever wont to stand by thee and help thee. And nowwe will hide these possessions of thine; and thou must be silent, nor tell to any one who thou art, and endure many things, so thatthou mayest come to thine own again, "

To her Ulysses made answer: "It is hard for a mortal man to knowthee, O goddess, however wise he may be, for thou takest manyshapes. While I was making war against Troy with the other Greeks, thou wast ever kindly to me. But from the time that we took thecity of Priam, and set sail for our homes, I saw thee not, untilthou didst meet me in the land of the Phaeacians, comforting me, and guiding me thyself into the city. And now I beseech thee, bythy Father Zeus, to tell me truly: is this Ithaca that I see, forit seems to me that I have come to some other country, and thatthou dost mock me. Tell me, therefore, whether in very deed I amcome to mine own country. "

Then Athene answered him: "Never will I leave thee, for indeedthou art wise and prudent above all others. For any other man, socoming back after many wanderings, would have hastened to see hiswife and his children; but thou will first make trial of thy wife. Come now, I wilt show thee this land of Ithaca, that thou mayestbe assured in thy heart. Lo! here is the harbour of Phorcys; hereat the harbour's head is the olive tree; here also is the pleasantcave that is sacred to the nymphs, and there, behold, is thewooded hill. "

Then the goddess scattered the mist, so that he saw the land. Then, indeed, he knew it for Ithaca, and he kneeled down andkissed the ground, and prayed to the nymphs, saying: "Never did Ithink to see you again; but now I greet you lovingly. Many giftsalso will I give you, if Athene be minded, of her grace, to bringme to my own again. " Then said Athene: "Take heart, and be nottroubled. But first let us put away thy goods safely in the secretplace of the cave. "

Then Ulysses brought up the brass, and the gold, and the raimentthat the Phaeacians had given him, and they two stored it in thecave, and Athene laid a great stone upon the mouth. 

And Athene said: "Think, man of many devices, how thou wilt layhands on these men, suitors of thy wife, who for three years havesat in thy house devouring thy substance. And she hath answeredthem craftily, making many promises, but still waiting for thycoming. "

Then Ulysses said: "Truly I should have perished but for thee. Butdo thou help me, as of old in Troy, for with thee at my side Iwould fight with three hundred men. "

Then said Athene: "Lo! I will cause that no man shall know thee, for I will wither the fair flesh on thy limbs, and take the brighthair from thy head, and make thine eyes dull. And the suitorsshall take no account of thee, neither shall thy wife nor thy sonknow thee. But go to the swineherd Eumaeus [Footnote: Eu-mae'-us. ], where he dwells by the fountain of Arethusa [Footnote: A-re-thu'-sa. ], for he is faithful to thee and to thy house. And I willhasten to Sparta, to the house of Menelaus, to fetch Telemachus, for he went thither, seeking news of thee. "

But Ulysses said to the goddess: "Why didst thou not tell him, seeing that thou knewest all? Was it that he too might wander overthe seas in great affliction, and that others meanwhile mightconsume his goods?"

Then Athene made reply: "Trouble not thyself concerning him. Iguided him myself that he might earn a good report, as a sonsearching for his father. Now he sitteth in peace in the hall ofMenelaus. And though there are some that lie in wait for him toslay him, yet shall they not have their will. Rather shall theyperish themselves and others with them that have devoured thygoods. "

Then she touched him with her rod. She caused his skin to wither, and wasted the hair upon his head, and made his skin as the skinof an old man, and dimmed his eyes. His garments she changed sothat they became torn and filthy and defiled with smoke. Over allshe cast the skin of a great stag from which the hair was worn. Astaff also she gave him, and a tattered pouch, and a ropewherewith to fasten it. 

CHAPTER XV

EUMAEUS, THE SWINEHERD

Athene departed to Lacedaemon that she might fetch Telemachus, andUlysses went to the house of Eumaeus, the swineherd. A greatcourtyard there was, and twelve sties for the sows, and fourwatch-dogs, fierce as wild beasts. In each sty were penned fiftyswine; but the hogs were fewer in number, for the suitors everdevoured them at their feasts. There were but three hundred andthreescore in all. The swineherd himself was shaping sandals, andof his men three were with the swine in the fields, and one wasdriving a fat beast to the city, to be meat for the suitors. Butwhen Ulysses came near, the dogs ran upon him, and he dropped hisstaff and sat down, and yet would have suffered harm, even on hisown threshold; but the swineherd ran forth and drave them awaywith stones, and spake unto his lord, though, indeed, he knew himnot, saying:--

"Old man, the dogs came near to killing thee. That would, indeed, have been a shame and a grief to me; and, verily, I have othergriefs in plenty. Here I sit and sorrow for my lord, and rear thefat swine for others to devour, while he, perchance, wandershungry over the deep, or in the land of strangers, if, indeed, helives. But come now, old man, to my house, and tell me who thouart, and what sorrows thou hast thyself endured. "

Then the swineherd led him to his dwelling, and set him down on aseat of brushwood, with the hide of a wild goat spread on it. Thehide was both large and soft, and he was wont himself to sleep onit. 

Greatly did Ulysses rejoice at this welcome, and he said, "Now mayZeus and the other gods grant thee thy heart's desire, with suchkindness hast thou received me!"

The swineherd made answer: "It were a wicked thing in me to slighta stranger, for the stranger and the beggar are from Zeus. Butfrom us that are thralls and in fear of our master, even a littlegift is precious. And the gods have stayed the return of mymaster. Had he come back he would surely have given me a house, and a portion of land, and a fair wife withal; for such things dolords give to servants that serve them well. Well would my lordhave rewarded me, had he tarried at home. But now he hathperished. For he, too, went to Troy, that Agamemnon and Menalaus, his brother, might take vengeance on the Trojans. "

Then he went away to the sties, and brought from thence two youngpigs, and singed them, and cut them into pieces, and broiled themupon spits. And when he had cooked them, he set them before thebeggar man. He also mixed wine in a bowl of ivy-wood, and sat downopposite his guest, and bade him eat, saying: "Eat now such foodas I can give thee; as for the fat hogs, them the suitors devour. Truly these men have no pity, nor fear of the gods. They must haveheard that my lord is dead, so wickedly do they behave themselves. They do not woo as other suitors woo, nor do they go back to theirown houses, but they sit at ease, and devour our wealth withoutstint. Once my lord had possessions beyond all counting; none inIthaca nor on the mainland had so much. Hear now the sum of them:on the mainland twenty herds of kine, and flocks of sheep as many, and droves of swine as many, and as many herds of goats. Also hereat this island's end he had eleven flocks of goats. Day by day dothey take one of the goats for the suitors, and I take for themthe best of the hogs. "

So he spake, and Ulysses ate flesh and drank wine the while; butnot a word did he speak, for he was planning the suitors' death. But at the last he spake: "My friend, who was this, thy lord, ofwhom thou speakest? Thou sayest that he perished, seeking to getvengeance for King Menelaus. Tell me now, for it may be that Ihave seen him, for I have wandered far. "

But Eumaeus said: "Nay, old man, thus do all wayfarers talk, yetwe hear no truth from them. Not a vagabond fellow comes to thisisland but our Queen must see him, and ask him many things, weeping the while. And thou, I doubt not, would tell a wondroustale. But Ulysses, I know, is dead, and either the fowls of theair devour him, or the fishes of the sea. "

But the false beggar said: "Hearken now, I swear to thee thatUlysses will return. And so soon as this shall come to pass thoushalt let me have the reward of good tidings. A mantle and a tunicshalt thou give me. But before it shall happen, I will takenothing, though my need be sore. Now Zeus be my witness, and thishospitable hearth of Ulysses to which I am come, that all thesethings shall come to pass even as I have said. This year shallUlysses return; yea, while the moon waneth he shall come, and takevengeance on all who dishonour his name. "

But Eumaeus made answer: "It is not I, old man, that shall everpay the reward of good tidings. Truly, Ulysses will never morecome back to his home. But let us turn our thought to otherthings. Bring thou not these to my remembrance any more; for, indeed, my heart is filled with sorrow, if any man put me in mindof my lord. As for thine oath, let it be. Earnestly do I pray thatUlysses may indeed return; for this is my desire, and the desireof his wife, and of the old man Laertes, and of Telemachus. Andnow I am troubled concerning Telemachus also. I thought that hewould be no worse a man than his father; but some one, whether itwere god or man I know not, took away his wits, and he went toPylos, seeking news of his father. And now the suitors lie in waitfor him, desiring that the race of Ulysses may perish utterly outof the land. Come now, old man, and tell me who art thou, andwhence? On what ship did thou come, for that by ship thou earnestto Ithaca I do not doubt. "

Then Ulysses answered: "Had we food and wine to last us for ayear, and could sit quietly here and talk, while others go totheir work, so long I should be in telling thee fully all mytroubles that I have endured upon the earth. "

Then he told a false tale, --how he was a Cretan who had beenshipwrecked, and after many sufferings had reached Thesprotia[Footnote: Thes-pro'ti-a. ], where he had heard of Ulysses. Andwhen he sailed thence, the sailors were minded to sell him as aslave, but he had broken his bonds, and swam ashore, when theywere near the island, and had hidden himself in the woods. 

Then said the swineherd: "Stranger, thou hast stirred my heartwith the tale of all that thou hast suffered. But in this thing, Ifear, thou speakest not aright, saying that Ulysses will return. Well I know that he was hated of the gods, because they smote himnot when he was warring against the men of Troy, nor afterwardsamong his friends, when the war was ended. Then would the hosthave builded for him a great mound; and he would have won greatrenown for himself and for his children. But now he hath perishedingloriously by the storms of the sea. As for me, I dwell apartwith the swine, and go not into the city, save when there havebeen brought, no man knows whence, some tidings of my master. Thenall the people sit about the bringer of news, and question him, both those who desire their lord's return, and those who delightin devouring his substance without recompense. But I care not toask questions, since the time when a certain AEtolian [Footnote:AE-to'-li-an. ] cheated me with his story. He too had slain a man, and had wandered over many lands, and when he came to my house, Idealt kindly with him. This fellow said that he had seen my lordwith the King of Crete, and that he was mending his ships whichthe storm had broken. Also he said that he would come home when itwas summer, or harvest time, and would bring much wealth with him. But thou, old man, seek not to gain my favour with lies, nor tocomfort me with idle words. "

But Ulysses answered: "Verily, thou art slow of heart to believe. Even with an oath have I not persuaded thee. But come, let us makean agreement together, and the gods shall be our witnesses. If thylord shall return, then shalt thou give me a mantle and a tunic, and send me on my way, whither I desire to go. But if he come notback according to my word, then let thy men throw me down from agreat rock, that others may fear to deceive. "

Then the swineherd said: "Much credit, truly, should I gain amongmen, if, having entertained thee in my house, I should turn andslay thee; and with a good heart, hereafter, should I pray toZeus. But it is time for supper, and I would that my men werereturned that we might make ready a meal. "

While he spake, the swine and the swineherds drew near; andEumaeus called to his fellows, saying: "Bring the best of theswine, for I would entertain a guest who comes from far. Verily, we endure much toil for these beasts, while others devour them, and make no return. "

So they brought a hog of five years old; and the swineherd kindleda fire, and when he had cast bristles from the hog into the fire, to do honour to the gods, he slew the beast, and made ready theflesh. Seven portions he made; one he set apart for the nymphs andfor Hermes, and of the rest he gave one to each. But Ulysses hadthe chief portion, even the chine. 

Then was Ulysses glad, and spake, saying, "Eumaeus, mayest thou bedear to Zeus, for thou hast dealt kindly with me. "

And Eumaeus answered: "Eat, stranger, and make merry with whatthou hast. The gods give some things, and some things theywithhold. "

Now the night was cold, and it rained without ceasing; for thewest wind, that ever bringeth rain, was blowing; and Ulysses wasminded to try the swineherd, whether he would give him his ownmantle, or bid another do so. Therefore, when they were about tosleep, he said:--

"Listen to me. O that I was young, and my strength unbroken, as inthe days when we fought before the city of Troy. 

"Once upon a time we laid an ambush near to the city of Troy. AndMenelaus and Ulysses and I were the leaders of it. In the reeds wesat, and the night was cold, and the snow lay upon our shields. Now all the others had cloaks, but I had left mine behind at theships. So, when the night was three parts spent, I spake toUlysses, 'Here am I without a cloak; soon, methinks, shall Iperish with the cold. ' Soon did he bethink him of a remedy, for hewas ever ready with counsel. Therefore he said: 'Hush, lest someone hear thee; and to the others, 'I have been warned in a dream. We are very far from the ships, and in peril. Therefore, let someone run to the ships, to King Agamemnon, that he send more men tohelp. ' Then one rose up and ran, casting off his cloak; and this Itook, and slept warmly therein. Were I this night such as then Iwas, I should not lack such kindness even now. "

Then said Eumaeus: "This is well spoken, old man. Thou shalt havea cloak to cover thee. But in the morning thou must put on thy ownrags again. Yet, perchance, when the son of Ulysses shall come, hewill give thee new garments. "

Thereupon he arose, and set a bed for Ulysses, making it withsheepskins and goatskins, near to the fire; and when Ulysses laydown, he cast a thick cloak over him, that he had in case a greatstorm should arise. But he himself slept beside the boars, toguard them; and Ulysses was glad to see that he was very carefulfor his master's substance, even though he was so long time away. 

CHAPTER XVI

THE RETURN OF TELEMACHUS

Now all this time Telemachus tarried in Sparta with King Menelaus, and the son of Nestor was with him. To him, therefore, Athenewent. Nestor's son she found overcome with slumber, but Telemachuscould not sleep for thoughts of his father. And Athene stood nearhim, and spake:--

"It is not well, Telemachus, that thou shouldest tarry longer awayfrom thy home, for there are some who spoil and devour thysubstance. Come, therefore, rouse thy host Menelaus, and pray himthat he send thee on thy way. For thy mother's father and herbrethren urge her to take Eurymachus [Footnote: Eu-rym'-a-chus. ]for her husband, seeing that he hath far surpassed all the othersuitors in his gifts. Hearken also to another matter. The bravestof the suitors lie in wait for thee in the strait that is betweenIthaca and Samos, desirous to slay thee before thou shalt comeagain to thy home. Keep thy ship, therefore, far from the place, and sail both by night and by day, and one of the gods shall sendthee a fair breeze. Also, when thou comest to the land of Ithaca, send thy ship and thy company to the city, but seek thyself theswineherd Eumaeus, for he hath been ever true to thee. Rest therethe night, and bid him go to the city on the day following, andcarry tidings to thy mother of thy safe return. "

Then Telemachus woke the son of Nestor, touching him with hisheel, and saying: "Awake, son of Nestor, bring up thy horses, andyoke them to the chariot, that we may go upon our way. "

But Peisistratus made answer: "We may not drive through thedarkness, how eager soever we be to depart. Soon will it be dawn. Tarry thou till Menelaus shall bring his gifts and set them on thecar, and send thee on thy way, for a guest should take thought ofthe host that showeth him kindness. "

And when the morning was come, and Menelaus was risen from hisbed, Telemachus spake to him, saying, "Menelaus, send me now withall speed to my own country, for I am greatly desirous to gothere. "

To him Menelaus made answer: "I will not keep thee long, seeingthat thou desirest to return. But stay till I bring my gifts andset them in the chariot. Let me also bid the women prepare themeal in my hall, for it is both honour to me and a profit to youthat ye should eat well before ye set forth on a far journey. Butif thou wilt go further through the land, then let me go withthee; to many cities will we go, and none will send us emptyaway. "

But Telemachus said: "Not so, Menelaus; rather would I go backstraightway to mine own land, for I left none to watch over mygoods. It were ill done were I to perish seeking my father, or tolose some precious possession out of my house. "

Then Menelaus bade his wife and the maids prepare the meal, andhis squire he bade kindle a fire and roast flesh; and he himselfwent to his treasury, and Helen and his son with him. He himselftook therefrom a double cup, and bade his son bear a mixing-bowlof silver; as for Helen, she took from her chests a robe that shehad wrought with her own hands. The fairest it was of all, andshone as shines a star, and it lay beneath all the rest. 

Then said Menelaus: "Take this mixing-bowl; it is wrought ofsilver, but the lips are finished with gold; the god Hephaestus[Footnote: He-phaes'-tus. ] wrought it with his own hands, and theKing of the Sidonians [Footnote: Si-do'-ni-ans. ] gave it me. Thiscup also I give thee. "

And beautiful Helen came, holding the robe in her hands, andspake, saying: "Take, dear child, this memorial of Helen'shandiwork; keep it against thy marriage day, for thy bride towear. Meanwhile, let thy mother have charge of it. And now mayestthou return with joy to thy native country and thy home!"

Then they sat down to eat and drink; and when they had finished, then did Telemachus and Nestor's son yoke the horses and climbinto the chariot. 

But Menelaus came forth bringing wine in a cup of gold, that theymight pour out an offering to the gods before they departed. Andhe stood before the horses, and spake, saying:--

"Farewell, gallant youths, and salute Nestor for me; verily, hewas as a father to me, when we were waging war against Troy. "

To him Telemachus made answer: "That will we do; and may the godsgrant that I find my father at home and tell him what grace I havefound in thy sight!"

But even as he spake there flew forth at his right hand an eagle, carrying a goose in his claws, that he had snatched from the yard, and men and women followed it with loud shouting. Across thehorses it flew, still going to the right; and they were glad whenthey saw it. 

Then said Nestor's son: "Think, Menelaus! Did Zeus send this signto us or thee?"

But while Menelaus pondered the matter, Helen spake, saying: "Hearme while I say what the gods have put in my heart. Even as thiseagle came down from the hill where he was bred, and snatched awaythe goose from the house, so shall Ulysses come back to his homeafter many wanderings, and take vengeance; yea, even now he isthere, plotting evil for the suitors. "

Then they departed and sped across the plain. But when they camethe next day to Pylos, Telemachus said to Peisistratus: "Son ofNestor, wilt thou be as a friend to me, and do my bidding? Leaveme at my ship; take me not past, lest the old man, thy father, keep me out of his kindness against my will, for, indeed, I amdesirous to go home. "

And Nestor's son did so. He turned his horses towards the shoreand the ship. And coming there, he took out the gifts, and laidthem in the hinder part of the ship. This done, he calledTelemachus and said: "Climb now into thy ship, and depart, ere Ican reach my home. Well I know that my father will come down, andbid thee return with him to his house; nor, indeed, if he findthee here, will he go back without thee, so wilful is he ofheart. "

And Telemachus bade his companions climb on the ship; and they didso. 

So they departed; and Athene sent a wind that blew from behind, and they sped on their way. 

Meanwhile Ulysses sat with the swineherd and his men, and supped. And Ulysses, willing to try the man's temper, said: "In themorning I would fain go to the city, to the house of Ulysses, forI would not be burdensome to thee. Perchance the suitors mightgive me a meal. Well could I serve them. No man can light a fire, or cleave wood, or carve flesh, or pour out wine, better than I. "

"Nay, " said the swineherd, "thou hadst best not go among thesuitors, so proud and lawless are they. They that serve them arenot such as thou. They are young, and fair, and gaily clad, andtheir heads are anointed with oil. Abide here; thou art notburdensome to us; and when the son of Ulysses shall come, he willgive thee, may be, a mantle and a tunic. "

Ulysses answered: "Now may Zeus bless thee for thy kindness, forthou makest me to cease from my wanderings. Surely, nothing ismore grievous to a man than to wander; but hunger compels him. Tell me now about the mother of Ulysses and about his father. Arethey yet alive?"

Then said the swineherd: "I will tell thee all. Laertes, thefather of Ulysses, yet lives; yet doth he daily pray to die, forhe sorroweth for his son, who is far away from his home, and forhis wife, who is dead. Verily, it was her death that brought himto old age before his time. And it was of grief for her son thatshe died. Much kindness did I receive at her hands, while she yetlived; but now I lack it. As for my lady Penelope, a great troublehath fallen upon her house, even a plague of evil-minded men. "

CHAPTER XVII

ULYSSES AND TELEMACHUS

Telemachus in his ship came safe to the island of Ithaca, at theplace that was nearest to the swineherd's house. There theybeached the ship, and made it fast with anchors at the fore partand hawsers at the stern, and they landed, and made ready a meal. 

When they had had enough of meat and drink, Telemachus said: "Takenow the ship to the city. I will come thither in the evening, having first seen my farm; and then I will pay you your wages. "

Now the herdsman and Ulysses had kindled a fire, and were makingready breakfast. 

And Ulysses heard the steps of a man, and, as the dogs barked not, he said to Eumaeus, "Lo! there comes some comrade or friend, forthe dogs bark not. "

And as he spake, Telemachus stood in the doorway; and theswineherd let fall from his hand the bowl in which he was mixingwine, and ran to him and kissed his head and his eyes and hishands. As a father kisses his only son, coming back to him from afar country after ten years, so did the swineherd kiss Telemachus. And when Telemachus came in, the false beggar, though indeed hewas his father, rose, and would have given place to him; butTelemachus allowed him not to do so. And when they had eaten anddrunk, Telemachus asked of the swineherd who this stranger mightbe. 

Then the swineherd told him what he had heard, and afterwardssaid, "I hand him to thee; do as thou wilt. "

But Telemachus answered: "Nay, Eumaeus. For am I master in myhouse? Do not the suitors devour it? And does not my mother doubtwhether she will abide with me, remembering the great Ulysses, whowas her husband, or will follow some one of those who are suitorsto her? I will give this stranger, indeed, food and clothing and asword, and will send him whithersoever he will, but I would notthat he should go among the suitors, so haughty are they andviolent. "

Then said Ulysses: "But why dost thou bear with these men? Do thepeople hate thee, that thou canst not avenge thyself on them? andhast thou not kinsmen to help thee? As for me, I would rather diethan see such shameful things done in a house of mine. "

And Telemachus answered: "My people hate me not; but as forkinsmen, I have none, for my grandfather had but one son, Laertes, and he but one, Ulysses, and Ulysses had none other but me. Therefore do these men spoil my substance, and, it may be, willtake my life also. These things, however, the gods will order. Butdo thou, Eumaeus, go to Penelope, and tell her that I am returned;and let no man know thereof, for they plan evil against me; but Iwill stay here meanwhile. "

So Eumaeus departed. And when he had gone, Athene came, like awoman tall and fair; but Telemachus saw her not, for it is notgiven to all to see the immortal gods; but Ulysses saw her, andthe dogs saw her, and whimpered for fear. She signed to Ulysses, and he went forth, and she said:--

"Hide not the matter from thy son, but plan with him how ye mayslay the suitors, and lo! I am with you. "

Then she touched him with her golden wand. First she put about hima fresh robe of linen and new tunic. Also she made him larger andfairer to behold. More dark did he grow, and his cheeks wererounded again, and the beard spread out black upon his chin. 

Having so done, she passed away. But when Ulysses went into thehut, his son looked at him, greatly marvelling. Indeed, he fearedthat it might be some god. 

"Stranger, " he said, "surely thou art not what thou wast but amoment since; other garments hast thou, and the colour of thy skinis changed. Verily, thou must be some god from heaven. Stayawhile, that we may offer to thee sacrifice, so shalt thou havemercy on us!"

Ulysses made answer, "I am no god; I am thy father, for whom thouhast sought with much trouble of heart. "

So saying, he kissed his son, and let fall a tear, but before hehad kept in his tears continually. 

But Telemachus, doubting yet whether this could indeed be hisfather, made reply: "Thou canst not be my father; some goddeceiveth me that I may have sorrow upon sorrow. No mortal mancould contrive this, making himself now young, now old, at hispleasure. A moment since thou wast old, and clad in vile garments;now thou art as one of the gods in heaven. "

But Ulysses answered him, saying: "Telemachus, it is not fittingfor thee to marvel so much at thy father's coming home. It isindeed my very self who am come, now at last in the twentiethyear, having suffered many things and wandered over many lands. And this at which thou wonderest is Athene's work; she it is thatmaketh me now like to an old man and a beggar and now to a youngman clad in rich raiment. "

So speaking, he sat him down again, and Telemachus threw himselfupon his father's neck and wept, and his father wept also. Andwhen they had dried their tears, Telemachus said, "Tell me howthou camest back, my father?"

So Ulysses told him, saying: "The Phaeacians brought me back fromtheir country while I slept. Many gifts did they send with me. These have I hidden in a cave. And to this place have I come bythe counsel of Athene, that we may plan together for the slayingof the suitors. But come, tell me the number of the suitors, howmany they are and what manner of men. Shall we twain be able tomake war upon them or must we get the help of others?"

Then said Telemachus: "Thou art, I know, a great and wise warrior, my father, but this thing we cannot do; for these men are not ten, no, nor twice ten, but from Dulichium [Footnote: Du-lich'-i-um. ]come fifty and two, and from Samos four and twenty, and fromZacynthus [Footnote: Za-cyn'-thus. ] twenty, and from Ithacatwelve; and they have Medon, the herald, and a minstrel also, andattendants. "

Then said Ulysses: "Go thou home in the morning and mingle withthe suitors, and I will come as an old beggar; and if they treatme shamefully, endure to see it, yea, if they drag me to the door. Only, if thou wilt, speak to them prudent words; but they will notheed thee, for indeed their doom is near. Heed this also: when Igive thee a sign, take all the arms from the dwelling and hidethem in thy chamber. And when they shall ask thee why thou doestthus, say that thou takest them out of the smoke, for that theyare not such as Ulysses left behind him when he went to Troy, butthat the smoke has soiled them. Say, also, that perchance theymight stir up strife sitting at their cups, and that it is notwell that arms should be at hand, for that the very steel draws ona man to fight. But keep two swords and two spears and twoshields--these shall be for thee and me. Only let no one know ofmy coming back--not Laertes, nor the swineherd; no, nor Penelopeherself. "

Meanwhile the ship of Telemachus came to the city, and a heraldwent to the palace with tidings for Penelope, lest she should betroubled for her son. So these two, the herald and the swineherd, came together, having the same errand. The herald spake out amongthe handmaids, saying: "O Queen, thy son is returned from Pylos!"But the swineherd went up to Penelope by herself, and told her allthat Telemachus had bidden him to say. When he had so done, heturned about, and went home to his house and to the swine. 

But the suitors were troubled in heart; and Eurymachus said: "Thisis a bold thing that Telemachus hath done. He hath accomplishedhis journey, which we said he never would accomplish. Let us, therefore, get rowers together, and send a ship, that we may bidour friends come back with all the speed they may. "

But even while he spake, Amphinomus [Footnote: Am-phi'-no-mus. ]turned him about, and saw the ship in the harbour, and the menlowering the sails. Then he laughed and said: "No need is there tosend a message, for the men themselves have come. Maybe some godhath told them; maybe they saw the ship of Telemachus go by, andcould not overtake it. "

Then all the suitors went together to the place of assembly, andAntinous stood up and spake: "See how the gods have delivered thisman! All day long our scouts sat and watched upon the headlands, one man taking another's place; and at sunset we rested not on theshore, but sailed on the sea, waiting for the morning. Yet somegod hath brought him home. Nevertheless, we will bring him to anevil end, for so long as he liveth we shall not accomplish ourend. Let us make haste before he assemble the people and tell themhow we plotted against him. Then will they hate us, and we shallbe driven forth from the land. Let us slay him, therefore, eitherin the field or by the way; and let us divide his possessions, buthis house will we give to his mother and to him who shall marryher. "

Then spake Amphinomus, --not one of the suitors was of a moreunderstanding heart than he, --"Friends, I would not thatTelemachus should be slain; it is a fearful thing to slay the sonof a king. First, let us ask counsel of the gods. If the oraclesof Zeus approve, then will I slay him with mine own hand; but ifthey forbid, then I would have you refrain. "

Thereupon they departed from the place of assembly, and went tothe house of Ulysses. 

Now Penelope had heard from Medon, the herald, how the suitors hadplotted to slay her son; therefore she went to the hall, and hermaidens with her, and stood in the door, holding her veil beforeher face, and spake, saying:--

"Antinous, men say that thou art the best in counsel and speech ofall the princes of Ithaca. But, in truth, I do find thee thus. Dost thou plot against the life of my son, having no regard forthe gods, nor any memory of good deeds? Dost thou not remember howthy father fled to this house, fearing the anger of the people?Yet it is this man's house that thou dost waste, and his son thatthou wouldest slay. "

But Eurymachus made answer: "Take courage, wise Penelope, and letnot thy heart be troubled. The man is not, nor shall be born, whoshall raise a hand against Telemachus, so long as I live upon theearth. Many a time hath Ulysses set me upon his knees, and givenme roasted flesh, and held the wine-cup to my lips. ThereforeTelemachus is the dearest of men to me. Fear not death for himfrom the suitors. "

So he spake, as if he would comfort her; but all the while heplotted the death of her son. 

After this she went to her chamber, and wept for her lord tillAthene dropped sweet sleep upon her eyes. 

Meanwhile the swineherd went back to his home. But before he cameAthene changed Ulysses again into the likeness of a beggar man, lest he should know him and tell the matter to Penelope. 

Telemachus spake to him, saying: "What news is there in the city?Are the suitors come back from their ambush, or do they stillwatch for my ship?"

Eumaeus answered: "I did not think to go about the city askingquestions; but I will tell what I know. The messenger from thycompany joined himself to me, and, indeed, was the first to tellthe news to the Queen. This also I know, that I saw a shipentering the harbour, and that there were many men in her, andspears, and shields. These, perchance, were the suitors, but Iknow not of a certainty. "

Then Telemachus looked to his father, but the swineherd's eye heshunned. 

CHAPTER XVIII

ULYSSES IN HIS HOME

When the morning came, Telemachus said to the swineherd: "I go tothe city, for my mother will not be satisfied till she see my veryface. And do thou lead this stranger to the city, that he maythere beg his bread from any that may have the mind to give. "

Thereupon Ulysses spake, saying, "I too, my friend, like not to beleft here. It is better for a man to beg his bread in the townthan in the fields. Go thou, and I will follow, so soon as the sunshall wax hot, for my garments are exceeding poor, and I fear lestthe cold overcome me. "

So Telemachus went his way, devising evil against the suitors allthe while. And when he came to the house his nurse Eurycleia sawhim first, and kissed him. Penelope also came down from herchamber, and cast her arms about him, and kissed him on the face, and on both the eyes, and spake, saying: "Thou art come, Telemachus, light of mine eyes! I thought not ever to see theeagain. But tell me, what news didst thou get of thy father?"

And Telemachus related what Nestor and Menelaus had told him. 

Meanwhile the suitors were disporting themselves, casting weightsand aiming with spears in a level place. And when it was the timefor supper, Medon, the herald, said, "Come now, let us sup; meatin season is a good thing. "

So they made ready a feast. 

Now in the meanwhile Eumaeus and the false beggar were coming tothe city. And when they were now near to it, Melanthius [Footnote:Me-lan'-thi-us. ], the goatherd, met them, and spake evil toEumaeus, rebuking him because he brought this beggar to the city. And he came near and smote Ulysses with his foot on the thigh, butmoved him not from the path. And Ulysses thought awhile, should hesmite him with his club and slay him, or dash him on the ground. But it seemed to him better to endure. 

So they went on to the palace. And at the door of the court therelay the dog Argus, whom in the old days Ulysses had reared withhis own hand. But ere the dog grew to his full, Ulysses had sailedto Troy. And while he was strong, men used him in the chase, hunting wild goats and roe-deer and hares. But now he lay on adunghill, and vermin swarmed upon him. Well he knew his master, and, although he could not come near to him, he wagged his tailand drooped his ears. 

And Ulysses, when he saw him, wiped away a tear, and said, "Surelythis is strange, Eumaeus, that such a dog of so fine a breedshould lie here upon a dunghill. "

And Eumaeus made reply: "He belongeth to a master who died faraway. For, indeed, when Ulysses had him of old, he was thestrongest and swiftest of dogs; but now my dear lord has perishedfar away, and the careless women tend him not. For when the masteris away the slaves are careless of their duty. Surely a man, whenhe is made a slave, loses half the virtue of a man. "

And as he spake the dog Argus died. Twenty years had he waited, and saw his master at the last. After this the two entered thehall. And Telemachus, when he saw them, took from the basket breadand meat, as much as his hands could hold, and bade carry them tothe beggar, and also to tell him that he might go round among thesuitors, asking alms. So he went, stretching out his hand, asthough he were wont to beg; and some gave, having compassion uponhim, and some asked who he was. But of all, Antinous was the mostshameless. For when Ulysses came to him and told him how he hadhad much riches and power in former days, and how he had gone toEgypt, and had been sold a slave into Cyprus, Antinous mocked him, saying:--

"Get thee from my table, or thou shalt find a worse Egypt and aharder Cyprus than before. "

Then Ulysses said, "Surely thy soul is evil though thy body isfair; for though thou sittest at another man's feast, yet wiltthou give me nothing. "

Then Antinous caught up the footstool that was under his feet, andsmote Ulysses therewith. But he stood firm as a rock; and in hisheart he thought on revenge. So he went and sat down at the door. And being there, he said:--

"Hear me, suitors of the Queen! Antinous has smitten me becausethat I am poor. May the curse of the hungry light on him therefor, ere he come to his marriage day!"

Then spake Antinous, "Sit thou still, stranger, and eat thy breadin silence, lest the young men drag thee from the house, or stripthy flesh from off thy bones. "

So he spake in his insolence; but the others blamed him, saying:"Antinous, thou didst ill to smite the wanderer; there is a doomon such deeds, if there be any god in heaven. Verily, the gods ofttimes put on the shape of men, and go through cities, spying outwhether there is righteous dealing or unrighteous among them. "

But Antinous heeded not. As for Telemachus, he nursed a greatsorrow in his heart to see his father so smitten; yet he shed nota tear, but sat in silence, meditating evil against the suitors. 

When Penelope also heard how the stranger had been smitten in thehall, she spake to her maidens, saying, "So may Apollo, thearcher, smite Antinous!"

Then Eurynome [Footnote: Eu-ryn'-o-me. ], that kept the house, madeanswer: "O that our prayers might be fulfilled! Surely not one ofthese evil men should see another day. "

To her replied Penelope: "Yea, nurse, all are enemies, butAntinous is the worst. Verily, he is as hateful as death. "

Then Penelope called to the swineherd and said: "Go now, and bringthis stranger to me; I would greet him, and inquire of him whetherhe has heard tidings of Ulysses, or, it may be, seen him with hiseyes, for he seems to have wandered far. "

Eumaeus made answer: "Truly this man will charm thy heart, OQueen! Three days did I keep him in my dwelling, and he neverceased from telling of his sorrows. As a singer of beautiful songscharmeth men, so did he charm me. He saith that he is a Cretan, and that he hath heard of Ulysses, that he is yet alive, and thathe is bringing much wealth to his home. "

Then said Penelope: "Go, call the man, that I may speak with him. O that Ulysses would indeed return! Soon would he and his sonavenge them of these men, for all the wrong that they have done!"

And as she spake, Telemachus sneezed, and all the house rang withthe noise. And Penelope said again to Eumaeus: "Call now thisstranger; didst thou not mark the good omen, how my son sneezedwhen I spake? Verily, this vengeance shall be wrought, nor shallone escape from it. And as for this stranger, if I shall perceivethat he hath spoken truth, I will give him a new mantle andtunic. "

So the swineherd spake to the stranger, saying: "Penelope wouldspeak with thee, and would inquire concerning her husband. And ifshe find that thou hast spoken truth, she will give thee a mantleand a tunic, and thou shalt have freedom to beg throughout theland. "

But the false beggar said: "Gladly would I tell to Penelope thestory of her husband, for I know him well. But I fear thesesuitors. Even now, when this man struck me, and for naught, nonehindered the blow, no, not Telemachus himself. Go, therefore, andbid the Queen wait till the setting of the sun. "

So the swineherd went, and as he crossed the threshold Penelopesaid: "Thou bringest him not! What meaneth the wanderer? A beggarthat is shamefaced knoweth his trade but ill. "

But the swineherd answered: "He doeth well, O lady, in that hefearest the wrong-doing of these insolent men. He would have theewait till the setting of the sun, and indeed it is better for theeto have speech with him alone. "

Then said Penelope: "It is well; the stranger is a man ofunderstanding. Verily, these men are insolent above all others. "

Then the swineherd went into the throng of the suitors, and spaketo Telemachus, holding his head close that none should hear: "I goto see after matters at the farm. Take thou heed of what befallethhere. Many of the people have ill-will against us. May Zeusconfound them!"

Telemachus made answer, "Go, as thou sayest and come again in themorning, bringing beasts for sacrifice. "

So the swineherd departed; and the suitors made merry in the hall. 

CHAPTER XIX

ULYSSES IN HIS HOME (_continued_)

After awhile there came a beggar from the city, huge of bulk, mighty to eat and drink, but his strength was not according to hissize. The young men called him Irus [Footnote: I'-rus], because hewas their messenger, after Iris [Footnote: I'-ris], the messengerof Zeus. He spake to Ulysses:--

"Give place, old man, lest I drag thee forth; the young men evennow would have it so, but I think it shame to strike such an oneas thee. "

Then said Ulysses, "There is room for thee and for me; get whatthou canst, for I do not grudge thee aught, but beware lest thouanger me, lest I harm thee, old though I am. "

But Irus would not hear words of peace, but still challenged himto fight. 

And when Antinous saw this he was glad, and said: "This is thegoodliest sport that I have seen in this house. These two beggarswould fight; let us haste and match them. "

And the saying pleased them; and Antinous spake again: "Hear me, ye suitors of the Queen! We have put aside these paunches of thegoats for our supper. Let us agree, then, that whosoever of thesetwo shall prevail, shall have choice of these, that which pleasethhim best, and shall hereafter eat with us, and that no one elseshall sit in his place. "

Then said Ulysses: "It is hard for an old man to fight with ayoung. Yet will I do it. Only do ye swear to me that no one shallstrike me a foul blow while I fight with this man. "

Then Telemachus said that this should be so, and they allconsented to his words. And after this Ulysses girded himself forthe fight. And all that were there saw his thighs, how great andstrong they were, and his shoulders, how broad, and his arms, howmighty. And they said one to another, "There will be little ofIrus left, so stalwart seems this beggar man. " But as for Irushimself, he would have slunk out of sight, but they that were setto gird him compelled him to come forth. 

Then said Antinous: "How is this, thou braggart, that thou fearestthis old man, all woebegone as he is?"

So the two came together. And Ulysses thought whether he shouldstrike the fellow and slay him, or fell him to the ground. Andthis last seemed the better of the two. So when Irus had dealt himhis blow, he smote him on the jaw, and brake the bone, so that hefell howling on the ground, and the blood poured from his mouth. 

Then all the suitors laughed aloud. But Ulysses dragged the fellowout of the hall, and propped him by the wall of the courtyard, putting a staff in his hand, and saying, "Sit there, and keep dogsand swine from the door, but dare not hereafter to lord it overmen, no, not even ov'r strangers and beggars, lest some worsething befall thee. "

Then Antinous gave Ulysses a great paunch, and Amphinomus gave twoloaves, and pledged him in a cup, saying, "Good luck to thee, hereafter, though now thou seemest to have evil fortune!"

CHAPTER XX

ULYSSES IS DISCOVERED BY HIS NURSE

And when the suitors had departed, Ulysses spake to Telemachus, saying: "Come now, let us hide away the arms that are in the hall. And if any of the suitors ask concerning them, thou shalt say, 'Ihave put them away out of the smoke, for they are not such as theywere when Ulysses departed, for the breath of fire hath marredthem. And for this cause also have I put them away, lest ye shouldquarrel and wound one another when ye are heated with wine; forthe sight of iron tempteth a man to strike. ' So shalt thou speakto the suitors. "

Then said Telemachus to Eurycleia, the nurse, "Shut up the womenin their chambers, till I have put away in the armoury the weaponsof my father, for the smoke in the hall hath made them dim. "

The nurse made answer: "I wish, my child, that thou wouldest everhave such care for thy father's possessions! But say, who shallbear the light, if thou wilt not have any of the women to gobefore thee?"

Then said Telemachus, "This stranger shall do it, for I will nothave any man eat my bread in idleness. "

So the nurse shut up the women in their chambers, and Ulysses andhis son set themselves to carry the shields and the helmets andthe spears, from the hall into the armoury. And Athene went everbefore them, holding a lamp of gold, that shed a very fair light. Thereupon said Telemachus: "Surely, my father, this is a greatwonder that I behold! See the walls, and the beams, and thepillars are bright, as it were with flames of fire. This must bethe doing of a god. "

But Ulysses made answer: "Hold thy peace; keep the matter in thineheart, and inquire not concerning it. And now lie down and sleep, for I would talk with thy mother. "

So Telemachus went to his chamber, and slept, and Ulysses was leftalone in the hall, devising in his heart how he might slay thesuitors. 

And now Penelope came down, and sat by the fire, on a chaircunningly wrought of silver and ivory, with a footstool that waspart of the chair. And soon the maidens came in, and took away thefragments of food that were left, and the cups from which thesuitors drank, and piled fresh logs on the fire. 

Then Penelope called to the nurse, saying, "Nurse, bring me now asettle with a fleece upon it, that the stranger may sit and tellme his story. "

So the nurse brought the settle and the fleece, and Ulysses sathim down; and Penelope spake, saying: "Stranger, I will ask theefirst who art thou? Whence didst thou come? What is thy city andthy father's name?"

Ulysses made answer: "Ask me now other things as thou wilt; butask me not of my name, or my race, or my native country, lest Iweep as I think thereon, for I am a man of many sorrows; and it isnot fitting to mourn and weep in the house of another. "

To him Penelope made reply: "Stranger, I am sore beset withtroubles. For the princes of the islands round about, yea and ofIthaca itself, woo me against my will, and devour my house. Vainlyhave I sought to escape their wooing. For Athene put this into myheart that I should say to them: 'Noble youths that would wed me, now that Ulysses is dead, abide patiently, though ye be eager tohasten the marriage, till I shall have finished this winding-sheetfor Laertes; for it were a shame, if he, having had great wealth, should lie in his grave without a winding-sheet. ' So I spake, andthey gave consent. Three years did I deceive them, weaving the webby day, and by night unravelling it; but in the fourth year myhandmaids betrayed me. And now I have no escape from marriage, formy parents urge me, and my son is vexed because these men devourhis substance, and he is now of an age to manage his own house. But come, tell me of what race thou art; thou art not born of anoak tree or a rock, as the old fables have it. "

Then said Ulysses: "If thou wilt still ask me of my race, thenwill I tell thee; but thou wilt so bring sorrow upon me beyondthat to which I am bound; for it is grief to a man who hathwandered far and suffered much to speak of the matter. "

So Ulysses told his tale. False it was, but it seemed to be true. And Penelope wept to hear it. As the snow melts upon the hillswhen the southeast wind bloweth, and the streams run full, so didPenelope weep for her lord. And Ulysses had compassion on hiswife, when he saw her weep; but his own eyes he kept as if theyhad been horn or iron. 

But Penelope said: "Friend, suffer me to make trial of thee, whether this was indeed my husband Ulysses. Tell me now with whatraiment he was clothed, and what manner of man he was, and whathis company. "

Then Ulysses made answer: "I remember that he had a mantle, twofold, woollen, of sea-purple, clasped with a brooch of gold, whereon was a dog that held a fawn by the throat; marvellouslywrought was the dog and the fawn. Also he had a tunic, white andsmooth, even as the skin of an onion when it is dry, which thewomen much admired to see. But whether some one had given himthese things I know not, for, indeed, many gave him gifts, and Ialso, even a sword and a tunic. Also he had a herald with him, oneEurybates [Footnote: Eu-ryb'-a-tes. ], older than he, dark-skinned, round in the shoulders, with curly hair. "

When Penelope heard this she wept yet more, for she knew by thesetokens that this man was indeed her lord. "This is true, " shesaid, "O stranger, for I myself gave him these garments, and Ifolded them myself, and I also gave him the jewel. And now, alas!I shall see him no more. "

But Ulysses made answer: "Nay, wife of Ulysses, say not so. Ceasefrom thy mourning, for Ulysses is yet alive. Near at hand is he, in the land of the Thesprotians, and is bringing many gifts withhim. So the king of the land told me, and showed me the giftswhich he had gathered; many they were and great, and will enrichhis house to the tenth generation. But Ulysses himself, when I wasthere, had gone to Dodona [Footnote: Do-do'-na. ], to inquire ofZeus--for there is the oracle of the god in the midst of an oaktree--whether he shall return to his home openly or by stealth. Be sure, O lady, that in this tenth year Ulysses shall come, evenwhen the old moon waneth and the new is born. "

Then said Penelope: "May thy words be accomplished, O stranger!Verily, thou shouldest have much kindness at my hands and manygifts. Yet I have a boding in my heart that it shall not be. Butnow the handmaids shall spread a bed for thee with mattress andblankets that thou mayest sleep warm till morning shall come. Andthey shall wash thy feet. "

But Ulysses spake, saying: "Mattress and blankets have beenhateful to me since I left the land of Crete. I will lie as I havebeen wont to lie for many nights, sleepless and waiting for theday. And I have no delight in the bath; nor shall any of thesemaidens touch my feet. Yet if there be some old woman, faithful ofheart, her I would suffer to touch my feet. "

Then said Penelope: "Such an one there is, even the woman whonursed my lord, and cherished him, and carried him in her arms, from the time when his mother bare him. She is now weak with age, but she will wash thy feet. "

And she spake to the nurse, saying, "Up, now, and wash this man, who is of like age with thy master. "

Then the old woman covered her face with her hands and wept, saying: "Willingly will I wash thy feet both for Penelope's sakeand thine own. Many strangers, worn with travel, have come hither, but never saw I one that was so like to Ulysses in voice and infeet. "

And Ulysses made answer, "Even so have I heard before; men saidever that we were most like one to the other. "

But when she had made ready the bath, then Ulysses sat aloof fromthe hearth, and turned his face to the darkness, for he feared inhis heart lest, when the old woman should handle his leg, shemight know a great scar thereon, where he had been rent by thetusks of a wild boar. 

By this scar, then, the old nurse knew that it was Ulysseshimself, and said, "O Ulysses, O my child, to think that I knewthee not!"

And she looked towards the Queen, as meaning to tell the thing toher. But Ulysses laid his hand on her throat and said softly:"Mother, wouldest thou kill me? I am returned after twenty years, and none must know till I shall be ready to take vengeance. "

And the old woman held her peace. And after this Penelope talkedwith him again, telling him her dreams, how she had seen a flockof geese in her palace, and how that an eagle had slain them, andwhen she mourned for the geese, lo! a voice that said, "Thesegeese are thy suitors, and the eagle thy husband. "

And Ulysses said that the dream was well. And then she said thaton the morrow she must make her choice, for she had promised tobring forth the great bow of Ulysses, and whosoever should draw itmost easily, and shoot an arrow best at a mark, he should be herhusband. 

And Ulysses made answer to her: "It is well, lady. Put not offthis trial of the bow, for before one of them shall draw thestring, the great Ulysses shall come and duly shoot at the markthat shall be set. "

After this Penelope slept. 

CHAPTER XXI

THE TRIAL OF THE BOW

Ulysses laid him down to sleep in the gallery of the hall. On abull's hide he lay, and over him he put fleeces of sheep that hadbeen slain for sacrifice and feast, and the dame that kept thehouse threw a mantle over him. 

And he slept not, for he had many thoughts in his heart, butturned him from side to side, thinking how, being one againstmany, he might slay the suitors in his hall. 

Then Athene came down from Olympus, and stood over his head, having taken upon herself the likeness of a woman. And she spake, saying: "Wakest thou still, man of many troubles? Is not this thyhouse? And is not thy wife within, and thy son, a noble lad?"

Ulysses made answer: "This is true, O goddess. But I think how I, being one against many, can slay the suitors in my hall. "

Then answered the goddess: "Verily, thou art weak in faith. Someput trust in men, yet men are weaker than the gods; why trustestnot thou in me? Verily, I am with thee, and will keep thee to theend. But now sleep, for to watch all the night is vexation ofspirit. "

So saying, she poured sleep upon his eyes and went back toOlympus. 

When the morning came Ulysses awoke, and he took up the fleeces, and set them on a seat in the hall, and the bull's hide he carriedwithout. Then he lifted up his hands to Zeus, and prayed, saying, "O Father Zeus, if thou hast led me to mine own country of goodwill, then give me a sign. "

And even as he spake Zeus thundered from Olympus; and Ulyssesheard it, and was glad. Also a woman at the mill spake a word ofomen. Twelve women there were that ground the meal, wheat, andbarley. Eleven of these were now sleeping, for they had finishedtheir task; but this one, being weakest of all, was stillgrinding. And now she stayed her work, and said: "Surely, FatherZeus, this is a sign, for thou hast thundered in a clear sky. Grant now that this be the last meal that I shall grind for thesuitors in the house of Ulysses!"

Afterwards came Telemachus, and spake to the nurse, saying, "Hastthou given to the guest food and bedding, or doth he lie uncaredfor?"

The nurse made answer: "The stranger drank as much as he would, and ate till he said that he had had enough; but blankets and amattress he would not have; on an hide he slept, with fleeces ofsheep above. Also we cast a mantle over him. "

Next came the swineherd, leading three fatted hogs, the best ofall the herd. And he said. "Stranger, do these men treat theewell?"

Ulysses made answer, "May the gods repay them as they have dealtinsolently with me!"

Afterwards came Melanthius, the goatherd, having goats for thefeast of the day. And he spake to Ulysses bitter words: "Wilt thoustill plague us, stranger, with thy begging? Verily, I think thatwe shall not part till we have made trial of each other with ourfists. Thy begging is not to be borne; and there are other feastswhither thou mightest go. "

But Ulysses answered him not a word. 

Last came Philoetius [Footnote: Phi-loe'-ti-us. ], the cattleherd, bringing a heifer for the feast of the suitors. He spake toUlysses, saying: "May happiness come to thee, stranger, hereafter!Now thou art encompassed with sorrows. Mine eyes are full of tearsas I behold thee, for it may be that Ulysses is clad in vilegarments like to these, wandering about among men, if, indeed, heis yet alive. But if he is dead, that, indeed, is a great sorrow. For he set me over his cattle, and these are now increased beyondall counting; never have herds increased more plentifully. Nevertheless, it vexeth my heart because strangers are everdevouring them in his hall. Verily, I would have fled long since, for the thing is past all enduring, but that I hope to see Ulyssesyet come again to his own. "

Then Ulysses made answer: "Cattleherd, thou art a man of anunderstanding heart. Now hearken to what I shall say. While thouart still in this place, Ulysses shall come home, and thou shaltsee it with thine eyes, yea, and the slaying of the suitors also. "

And after awhile the suitors came and sat down, as was their wont, to the feast. And the servants bare to Ulysses, as Telemachus hadbidden, a full share with the others. And when Ctesippus, a princeof Samos, saw this (he was a man heedless of right and of thegods), he said: "Is it well that this fellow should fare even aswe? Look now at the gift that I shall give him. " Thereupon hetook a bullock's foot out of a basket wherein it lay, and castit at Ulysses. 

But he moved his head to the left and shunned it, and it flew on, marking the wall. And Telemachus cried in great wrath:--

"It is well for thee, Ctesippus [Footnote: Cte-sip'-pus. ], thatthou didst not strike this stranger. For surely, hadst thou donethis thing, my spear had pierced thee through, and thy father hadmade good cheer, not for thy marriage, but for thy burial. "

Then said Agelaus [Footnote: A-ge-la'-us. ]: "This is well said. Telemachus should not be wronged, no, nor this stranger. But, onthe other hand, he must bid his mother choose out of the suitorswhom she will, and marry him, nor waste our time any more. "

Telemachus said: "It is well. She shall marry whom she will. Butfrom my house I will never send against her will. "

After this Penelope went to fetch the great bow of Ulysses. Fromthe peg on which it hung she took it with its sheath, and, sittingdown, she laid it on her knees and wept over it, and after thisrose up and went to where the suitors sat feasting in the hall. The bow she brought, and also the quiver full of arrows, and, stalling by the pillar of the dome, spake thus:--

"Ye suitors, who devour this house, lo! here is a proof of yourskill. Here is the bow of the great Ulysses. Whoever shall bend iteasiest in his hands, and shoot an arrow most easily through theholes in the heads of the twelve axes that Telemachus shall setup, him will I follow, leaving this house, which I shall rememberonly in my dreams. "

Then she bade Eumaeus bear the bow and the arrows to the suitors. And the good swineherd wept to see his master's bow, andPhiloetius, the herdsman of the kine, wept also, for he was a goodman, and loved the house of Ulysses. 

Then Telemachus planted in order the axes wherein were the holes, and was minded himself to draw the bow; and indeed would have donethe thing, but Ulysses signed to him that he should not. Thereforehe said, "Methinks I am too weak and young; ye that are eldershould try the first. "

Then first Leiodes [Footnote: Lei-o'-des. ], the priest, who aloneamong the suitors hated their evil ways, made trial of the bow. But he moved it not, but wearied his hands with it, for they weretender, and unaccustomed to toil. And he said, "I cannot bend thisbow; let some other try; but I think that it shall be grief andpain to many this day. "

And Antinous was wroth to hear such words, and bade Melanthiusbring forth a roll of fat, that they might anoint the string andsoften it. So they softened the string with fat, but still couldthey not bend it, for they all of them tried in vain, till onlyAntinous and Eurymachus were left, who, indeed, were the bravestand the strongest of them all. 

Now the swineherd and the herdsman of the kine had gone forth outof the yard, and Ulysses came behind them and said: "What would yedo if Ulysses were to come back to his home? Would ye fight forhim or for the suitors?"

And both said that they would fight for him. 

And Ulysses said: "It is even I who am come back in the twentiethyear, and ye, I know, are glad at heart that I am come; nor know Iof any one besides. And if ye will help me as brave men to-day, wives shall ye have, and possessions and houses near to mine own. And ye shall be brothers and comrades to Telemachus. And for asign, behold this scar which the wild boar made. "

Then they wept for joy and kissed Ulysses, and he also kissedthem. And he said to Eumaeus that he should bring the bow to himwhen the suitors had tried their fortune therewith; also that heshould bid the women keep within doors, nor stir out if theyshould hear the noise of battle. And Philoetius he bade lock thedoors of the hall, and fasten them with a rope. 

After this he came back to the hall, and Eurymachus had the bow inhis hands, and sought to warm it at the fire. Then he essayed todraw it, but could not. And he groaned aloud, saying: "Woe is me!not for loss of this marriage only, for there are other women tobe wooed in Greece, but that we are so much weaker than the greatUlysses. This is, indeed, shame to tell. "

Then said Antinous: "Not so; to-day is a holy day of the god ofarchers; therefore we could not draw the bow. But to-morrow willwe try once more, after sacrifice to Apollo. "

And this saying pleased them all; but Ulysses said, "Let me trythis bow; for I would fain know whether I have such strength as Ihad in former days. "

At this all the suitors were wroth, and chiefly Antinous, butPenelope said that it should be so, and promised the man greatgifts if he could draw this bow. 

But Telemachus spake thus: "Mother, the bow is mine to give or torefuse. And no man shall say me nay, if I will that this strangermake trial of it. But do thou go to thy chamber with thy maidens, and let men take thought for these things. "

And this he said because he would have her depart from the hallforthwith, knowing what should happen therein. But she marvelledto hear him speak with such authority, and answered not, butdeparted. And when Eumaeus would have carried the bow to Ulysses, the suitors spake roughly to him, but Telemachus constrained himto go. Therefore he took the bow and gave it to his master. Thenwent he to Eurycleia, and bade her shut the door of the women'schambers and keep them within, whatsoever they might hear. 

Then Ulysses handled the great bow, trying it, whether it hadtaken any hurt, but the suitors thought scorn of him. Then, whenhe had found it to be without flaw, just as a minstrel fastens astring upon his harp and strains it to the pitch, so he strung thebow without toil; and holding the string in his right hand, hetried its tone, and the tone was sweet as the voice of a swallow. Then he took an arrow from the quiver, and laid the notch upon thestring and drew it, sitting as he was, and the arrow passedthrough every ring, and stood in the wall beyond. Then he said toTelemachus:--

"There is yet a feast to be held before the sun go down. "

And he nodded the sign to Telemachus. And forthwith the young manstood by him, armed with spear and helmet and shield. 

CHAPTER XXII

THE SLAYING OF THE SUITORS

Then spake Ulysses among the suitors: "This labour has beenaccomplished. Let me try at yet another mark. "

And he aimed his arrow at Antinous. But the man was just raising acup to his lips, thinking not of death, for who had thought thatany man, though mightiest of mortals, would venture on such adeed, being one among many? Right through the neck passed thearrow-head, and the blood gushed from his nostrils, and he droppedthe cup and spurned the table from him. 

And all the suitors, when they saw him fall, leapt from theirseats; but when they looked, there was neither spear nor shieldupon the wall. And they knew not whether it was by chance or ofset purpose that the stranger had smitten him. But Ulysses thendeclared who he was, saying:--

"Dogs, ye thought that I should never come back! Therefore have yedevoured my house, and made suit to my wife while I yet lived, andfeared not the gods nor regarded men. Therefore a suddendestruction is come upon you all. "

Then when all the others trembled for fear, Eurymachus said: "Ifthou be indeed Ulysses of Ithaca, thou hast said well. Foul wronghas been done to thee in the house and in the field. But lo! hewho was the mover of it all lieth here, even Antinous. Nor was itso much this marriage that he sought, as to be king of this land, having destroyed thy house. But we will pay thee back for all thatwe have devoured, even twenty times as much. "

But Ulysses said: "Speak not of paying back. My hands shall notcease from slaying till I have taken vengeance on you all. "

Then said Eurymachus to his comrades: "This man will not stay hishands. He will smite us all with his arrows where he stands. Butlet us win the door, and raise a cry in the city; soon then willthis archer have shot his last. "

And he rushed on, with his two-edged knife in his hand. But as herushed, Ulysses smote him on the breast with an arrow, and he fellforwards. And when Amphinomus came on, Telemachus slew him withhis spear, but drew not the spear from the body, lest some oneshould smite him unawares. 

Then he ran to his father and said, "Shall I fetch arms for us andour helpers?"

"Yea, " said he, "and tarry not, lest my arrows be spent. "

So he fetched from the armoury four shields and four helmets andeight spear. And he and the servants, Eumaeus and Philoetius, armed themselves. Also Ulysses, when his arrows were spent, donnedhelmet and shield, and took a mighty spear in each hand. ButMelanthius, the goatherd, crept up to the armoury and brought downthere from twelve helmets and shields, and spears as many. Andwhen Ulysses saw that the suitors were arming themselves, hefeared greatly, and said to his son:--

"There is treachery here. It is one of the women, or, it may be, Melanthius, the goatherd. "

And Telemachus said, "This fault is mine, my father, for I leftthe door of the chamber unfastened. "

And soon Eumaeus spied Melanthius stealing up to the chamberagain, and followed him, and Philoetius with him. There theycaught him, even as he took a helmet in one hand and a shield inthe other, and bound his feet and hands, and fastened him aloft bya rope to the beams of the ceiling. 

Then these two went back to the hall, and there also came Athene, having the shape of Mentor. Still, for she would yet further trythe courage of Ulysses and his son, she helped them not as yet, but, changing her shape, sat on the roof-beam like unto a swallow. 

And then cried Agelaus: "Friends, Mentor is gone, and helps themnot. Let us not cast our spears at random, but let six come ontogether; perchance we may prevail against them. "

Then they cast their spears, but Athene turned them aside, one tothe pillar, and another to the door, and another to the wall. ButUlysses and Telemachus and the two herdsmen slew each his man; andyet again they did so, and again. Only Amphimedon [Footnote: Am-phim'-e-don. ]wounded Telemachus, and Ctesippus grazed the shoulderof Eumaeus. But Telemachus struck down Amphimedon, and theherdsman of the kine slew Ctesippus, saying: "Take this, for theox-foot which thou gavest to our guest. " And all the while Athenewaved her flaming shield from above and the suitors fell as birdsare scattered and torn by eagles. 

Then Leiodes, the priest, made supplication to Ulysses, saying: "Inever wrought evil in this house, and would have kept others fromit, but they would not. Naught have I done save serve at thealtar; wherefore, slay me not. "

And Ulysses made reply, "That thou hast served at the altar ofthese men is enough, and also that thou wouldest wed my wife. "

So he slew him; but Phemius, the minstrel, he spared, for he hadsung among the suitors in the hall because he had been compelled, and not of his own will; and also Medon, the herald, bidding themgo into the yard without. There they sat, holding by the altar andlooking fearfully every way, for they still feared that theyshould die. 

So the slaughtering of the suitors was ended; and now Ulysses badecleanse the hall and wash the benches and the tables with water, and purify them with sulphur; and when this was done, thatEurycleia, the nurse, should go to Penelope and tell her that herhusband was indeed returned. 

CHAPTER XXIII

THE END OF THE WANDERING

Eurycleia went to the chamber of her mistress, bearing the gladtidings. She made haste in her great joy, and her feet stumbledone over the other. And she stood by the head of Penelope, andspake, saying: "Awake, dear child, and see with thine eyes thatwhich thou hast desired so long. For, indeed, Ulysses hath comeback, and hath slain the men that devoured his substance. "

But Penelope made answer: "Surely, dear nurse, the gods havebereft thee of thy sense; and verily, they can make the wisdom ofthe wise to be foolishness, and they can give wisdom to thesimple. Why dost thou mock me, rousing me out of my sleep, thesweetest that hath ever come to my eyes since the day when Ulyssessailed for Troy, most hateful of cities? Go, get thee to thechamber of the women! Had another of the maids roused me in thisfashion, I had sent her back with a sharp rebuke, But thine oldage protects thee. "

Then said the nurse: "I mock thee not, dear child. In very truthUlysses is here. He is the stranger to whom such dishonour wasdone. But Telemachus knew long since who he was, and hid thematter, that they might take vengeance on the suitors. "

Then was Penelope glad, and she leapt from bed, and fell upon theneck of the old woman, weeping, and saying, "Tell me now thetruth, whether, indeed, he hath come home, and hath slain thesuitors, he being but one man, and they many. "

The nurse made answer: "How it was done I know not; only I heardthe groaning of men that were slain. Amazed did we women sit inour chamber till thy son called me. Then I found Ulysses standingamong the dead, who lay one upon another. Verily, thou hadst beenglad at heart to see him, so like to a lion was he, all stainedwith blood and the labour of the fight. And now the suitors lie ina heap, and he is purifying his house with brimstone. But come, that ye may have an end of all the sorrow that ye have endured, for thy desire is fulfilled. Thy husband hath come back, and hathavenged him to the full on these evil men. "

But Penelope said: "Dear nurse, be not too bold in thy joy. Thouknowest how gladly I would see him. But this is not he; it is oneof the gods that hath slain the suitors, being wroth at theirinsolence and wrong-doing. But Ulysses himself hath perished. "

Then the nurse spake, saying: "What is that thou sayest? That thyhusband will return no more, when he is even now in his own house?Nay, thou art, indeed, slow to believe. Hear now this manifesttoken that I espied with mine eyes, --the scar of the wound thatlong since a wild boar dealt him with his tusk. I saw it when Iwashed his feet, and would fain have told thee, but he laid hishand upon my mouth, and in his wisdom suffered me not to speak. "

To her Penelope made answer: "It is hard for thee to know thepurposes of the gods. Nevertheless, I will go to my son, that Imay see the suitors dead, and the man that slew them. "

So she went and sat in the twilight by the other wall, and Ulyssessat by a pillar, with eyes cast down, waiting till his wife shouldspeak to him. But she was sore perplexed; for now she seemed toknow him, and now she knew him not, for he had not suffered thatthe women should put new robes upon him. 

And Telemachus said: "Mother, evil mother, sittest thou apart frommy father, and speakest not to him? Surely thy heart is harderthan a stone. "

But Ulysses said: "Let be, Telemachus. Thy mother will know thatwhich is true in good time. But now let us hide this slaughter forawhile, lest the friends of these men seek vengeance against us. Wherefore, let there be music and dancing in the hall, so that menshall say, 'This is the wedding of the Queen, and there is joy inthe palace, ' and know not of the truth. "

So the minstrel played and the women danced. And meanwhile Ulysseswent to the bath, and clothed himself in bright apparel, and cameback to the hall, and Athene made him fair and young to see. Thenhe sat him down as before, over against his wife, and said:--

"Surely, O lady, the gods have made thee harder of heart than allother women. Would another wife have kept away from her husband, coming back now after twenty years?"

And when she doubted yet, he spake again: "Hear thou this, Penelope, and know that it is I indeed. I will tell thee of thefashion of my bed. There grew an olive in the inner court, with astem of the bigness of a pillar. Round this did I build thechamber, and I roofed it over, and put doors upon it. Then Ilopped off the boughs of the olive, and made it into the bedpost. Afterwards, beginning from this, I wrought the bedstead till I hadfinished it, inlaying the work with gold and silver and ivory. Andwithin I fastened a band of ox-hide that had been dyed withpurple. Whether the bedstead be now fast in its place, or whethersome one hath moved it--and verily, it was no light thing to move--I know not. But this was its fashion of old. "

Then Penelope knew him, that he was her husband indeed, and ran tohim, and threw her arms about him and kissed him, saying: "Pardonme, my lord, if I was slow to know thee; for ever I feared thatsome one should deceive me, saying that he was my husband. But nowI know this, that thou art he and not another. "

And they wept over each other and kissed each other. So didUlysses come back to his home after twenty years. 

CHAPTER XXIV

THE TRIUMPH OF ULYSSES

Meanwhile, Ulysses went forth from his palace to the dwelling ofLaertes, that was in the fields. There the old man dwelt, and awoman of Sicily cared for him. And Ulysses spake to his son and tothe shepherds, saying: "Go ye into the house and prepare a meal ofswine's flesh, as savoury as may be; and I will make trial of myfather, whether he will know me. For it may well be that he hathforgotten me, seeing that I have been now a long time absent. "

So spake Ulysses, and gave also his arms to the men to keep forhim. So they went into the house. And Ulysses went to the orchard, making search for his father. There he found not Dolius [Footnote:Do'-li-us. ], that was steward to Laertes, nor any one of hisservants, nor of his sons, for they were gone to make a fenceabout the field. Only the old man he found; and he was busydigging about a tree. Filthy was the tunic that he had about himand sewn with thread; and he had coverings of ox-hide on his legsto keep them from the thorns, and gloves upon his hands, and a capof dog-skin on his head. And when Ulysses saw him, how that he wasworn with old age and very sorrowful, he stood under a pear treeand wept. Then for awhile he took counsel with himself, whether heshould kiss his father and embrace him, and make himself known, and tell him how he had come back to his home, or should firstinquire of him, and learn all that he would know. And he judged itbest first to inquire. So he came near to the old man; and the oldman was digging about a tree, having his head bent down. 

Then said Ulysses: "Verily, old man, thou lackest not skill todeal with an orchard. And truly, neither fig, nor vine, nor olive, nor pear may flourish in a garden without care. But yet anotherthing will I say to thee, and be not thou wroth when thou hearestit. Thy garden, indeed, is well cared for, but thou thyself art inevil plight. For old age lieth heavy upon thee, and thou art cladin filthy garments. Yet truly it is not because thou art idle thatthy master thus dealeth with thee; nor, indeed, art thou in anywise like unto a slave; for thy face and thy stature are as itmight be of a king. Such an one as thou art should wash himself, and sit down to meat, and sleep softly; for such is the right ofold age. But come, tell me truly, whose servant art thou? Whoseorchard dost thou tend? Tell me this also: is this, indeed, theland of Ithaca to which I am come? This, indeed, a certain manthat I met as I came hither told me, but he seemed to be but ofsimple mind, nor would he listen to my words, nor tell me of afriend that I have who dwelleth in this place, whether he be aliveor dead. I entertained him a long time since in my house, andnever was there stranger whom I loved more than him. And he saidthat he was the son of Laertes, and that he came from the land ofIthaca. "

To him Laertes made answer, weeping the while: "Doubt not, stranger, that thou art come to the land of which thou inquirest. But unrighteous and violent men have it in possession. But as forthe son of Laertes, hadst thou found him here, verily, he wouldhave sent thee away with many gifts. But tell me truly, is it longtime since thou didst give him entertainment? For, indeed, he ismy son, unhappy man that I am. Surely either he hath been drownedin the sea, and the fishes have devoured him, or wild beasts andbirds of the air have eaten him upon the land. And neither fathernor mother, nor his wife, Penelope, most prudent of women, couldmake lamentation for him and lay him out for his burial. But tellme, who art thou? Where is thy city, and what thy parentage? Didthine own ship bring thee hither, and thy companions with thee, ordidst thou come as a trader upon the ship of another?"

Then said Ulysses: "All this I will tell thee truly. My name isEperitus. [Footnote: E-per'-i-tus. ] It was of the doing of the godsthat I came hither from the land of Sicily, and not of mine ownwill. And my ship is moored hard by. As for Ulysses, it is now thefifth year since he left me. Yet verily, the omens were good whenhe went forth on his journey, so that we both rejoiced, thinkingthat he would journey safely, and that we should be friends theone to the other in the time to come. "

So spake Ulysses; and when the old man, his father, heard thesewords, great grief came upon him, and he took up the dust in hishands and poured it upon the white hairs of his head. And theheart of Ulysses was moved within him as he saw it, and he wasready to weep when he beheld his father. Then he threw his armsabout him and kissed him, and said: "My father, here am I, thy sonfor whom thou weepest. Lo! I am come back to my native countryafter twenty years, and I have avenged myself on them that soughtmy wife in marriage, slaying them all. "

To him the old man made answer, "If thou art my very son Ulysses, tell me some clear sign whereby I may know thee. "

Then said Ulysses: "See, now, this scar upon my thigh where thewild boar wounded me on Mount Parnassus. [Footnote: Par nas'-sus. ]For thou and my mother sent me to my grandfather, and I waswounded in the hunting. And let this also be a sign to thee. Iwill tell thee what trees of the orchard thou gavest me longsince, when I was a boy and walked with thee, inquiring of theetheir names. Thirteen pear trees didst thou give me, and ten appletrees, and of fig trees two score. Fifty rows also of vines didstthou promise to give me when the time of grapes should come. "

And the old man's heart was moved within him, and his knees failedhim, for he knew that the signs were true. And he threw his armsabout his son, and the spirit of the old man revived, and he said:"Now I know that there are gods in heaven when I hear that theseevil men have been punished for their wrong-doing. Nevertheless, Ifear much lest their kinsmen shall stir up the men of Ithaca andof the islands round about against us. "

Then said Ulysses: "Trouble not thyself with these matters, myfather. Let us go rather to the house. There are Telemachus andEumaeus, and the keeper of the herds, and they have made ready, that we may dine. "

So they went to the house, and found Telemachus and his companionscutting flesh for the dinner and mixing the wine. Then the womanof Sicily washed the old man Laertes and anointed him with oil, and clad him in a fair cloak. And Athene also stood by him, andmade him taller and sturdier to look on than before. And his sonmarvelled to behold him, so fair he was and like to the gods thatlive forever, so that he spake to him, saying, "O my father, surely one of the gods that live forever hath made thee fair tolook upon and tall!"

And Laertes made answer: "Would to God that I had stood by youyesterday, taking vengeance on the suitors, with the strength Ihad of old. Many a man would I have slain with my spear, and thouwouldest have rejoiced in thy heart. "

Thus spake they together. And when the dinner was ready they satdown to meat; and the old man Dolius, with his sons, approached, coming in from their labour; for the woman of Sicily, that was themother of the lads, had called them. And when they saw Ulysses, they stood amazed and speechless. And Ulysses said, "Cease towonder, old man, at this sight, and sit down to meat; truly we areready for our meat, and have waited long time for you. "

Then Dolius ran to him, stretching forth both his hands, andcaught the hand of Ulysses and kissed it on the wrist. And hespake, saying: "Right glad are we at thy coming, for we looked notfor thee. Surely it is of the gods that thou hast returned. Mayall things be well with thee. But tell me this. Knoweth QueenPenelope of thy coming, or shall I send a messenger to tell her?"

"Verily, she knoweth it, " said Ulysses. Then the old man sat downto meat, and his sons also, when they had greeted Ulysses. 

In the meanwhile there spread through the city the tidings how thesuitors had been slain; and the kindred of the men came to thehouse of Ulysses with many groans and tears, and carried away thedead bodies and buried them. But such as came from other landsthey put on shipboard, that they might carry them to thesepulchres of their fathers. And when these things were ended theygathered themselves together in the marketplace; and Eupeithes[Footnote: Eu-pei'-thes. ] stood up amongst them, being soretroubled in his heart for his son Antinous, whom Ulysses had slainfirst of all the suitors. He stood up, therefore, in the midst, and spake: "Surely this man hath wrought great evils in this land. First he took comrades with him to Troy, many in number and brave. These all he lost, and their ships also. And now he hath comehither and slain the princes of the people. Shame it were to us, yea, among the generations to come, if we avenge not ourselves onthem that have slain our sons and our brothers. Verily, I desirenot life, if such should go unpunished. Come, therefore, let usmake haste, lest they cross over the sea and so escape. "

So Eupeithes spake, weeping the while. And all the people had pityto hear him. But Medon, the herald, stood up in the assembly andspake, saying: "Hear me, men of Ithaca! Verily, Ulysses did notall these things without the helping of the gods that liveforever. I, indeed, saw with mine own eyes one of the godsstanding by Ulysses, being like to Prince Mentor in shape. ByUlysses there stood a god, and strengthened him; and another wasthere among the suitors, troubling them so that they fell. "

Thus spake Medon, the herald, and after him stood up Alitherses[Footnote: A-li-ther'-ses. ], the seer, that knew all things thathad been and should be hereafter, and spake, saying: "It is ofyour folly, ye men of Ithaca, that all these things have come topass. Ye would not hearken to me, no, nor to Mentor, nor would yerestrain your sons from their folly. Great wickedness did theywork, wasting the goods of a brave man, and making suit to hiswife, for they thought not that he would return. Come now, hearkenunto me, lest some worse evil befall you. "

Then some indeed rose up and made haste to depart; and these werethe greater part; but the others remained in their places, forthey liked not the counsel of Medon and the seer, but regarded thewords of Eupeithes. Then they clad themselves in their armour andmarched to the city, Eupeithes leading them. 

Then spake Athene to Zeus: "Tell me, my father, what dost thoupurpose in thy heart? Wilt thou that there be strife or friendshipbetween these two?"

To her Zeus made answer: "Why dost thou inquire this thing of me?Was it not of thy contriving that Ulysses slew the suitors in hispalace? Order it as thou wilt. But let there be peace andfriendship in the end, that Ulysses may prosper in the land, andthe people dwell in happiness about him. "

Then Athene departed, and came to the land of Ithaca. 

And when Ulysses and they that sat with him had made an end ofeating and drinking, the King said, "Let some one go forth and seewhether these men are near at hand. "

So the son of Dolius went forth. And as he stood on the thresholdhe saw them approaching, and cried: "They are even now close athand; let us arm ourselves in all haste. "

So they armed themselves. With Ulysses were Telemachus, andEumaeus, and the keeper of the herds. Also there stood with himsix sons of Dolius; and the two old men also, Laertes and Dolius, though their heads were white with age. And as they went forthfrom the house Athene came near, having the form and the voice ofPrince Mentor. And when Ulysses saw her, he was glad at heart, andspake to Telemachus, saying, "I know thee well, my son, that thouwilt bear thyself bravely, and do no dishonour to the house of thyfathers, that have ever been famous in the land for courage andmanhood. "

Telemachus answered, "This, my father, thou shalt see for thyself, if thou wilt. "

And Laertes was glad at heart, and said, "How happy is this day, in the which my son and my grandson contend one with the other invalour. "

Then Athene came near to the old man, and said, "Laertes, praythou first to Athene and Father Zeus, and then cast thy spear. "

So she spake, and breathed great strength into his heart. Andhaving prayed, he cast his spear, and smote Eupeithes through thehelmet, so that he fell dead upon the ground. Then Ulysses and hisson fell upon the men of Ithaca with swords and two-handed spears. Verily, they had slain them all, but that Athene cried aloud, saying: "Cease, men of Ithaca, from the battle, for it is too hardfor you. "

And the men were sore afraid when they heard her voice, and threwtheir arms upon the ground and fled, if haply they might escape tothe city. And when Ulysses would have pursued after them, Zeuscast a thunderbolt from heaven, so that it fell before the feet ofAthene. And Athene cried, "Cease from the battle, son of Laertes, lest Zeus be wroth with thee. "

So Ulysses was stayed from the battle; and Zeus and Athene madepeace between the King and the men of Ithaca. 

PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES

Pronounce _ae_, as in _Caesar_; _ei_ as _i_ in _island_; _oe_ as ae;_y_, when accented, as _i_ in _island_; when unaccented, as _i_ in_till_. 

Pronounce _ch_ as _k_. _C_ and _g_ are soft (as _s_ and _j_) before_ei_, _i_, _ae_, _oe_, _eu_; otherwise, hard, as _k_; and _g_ (in_gas_). 

A-chil'-les. AE-gis'-thus. AE-gyp'-tus. AE'-o-lus. AE-to'-li-an. Ag-a-mem'-non. A-ge-la'-us. A'-jax. Al-cin'-o-us. A-li-ther'-ses. Am-phim'-e-don. Am-phin'-o-mus. An-tin'-o-us. A-pol'-lo. A-re'-te. A-re-thu'-sa. Ar'-te-mis. A-the'-ne. A'-treus. 

Bo-o'-tes. 

Ca-lyp'-so. Cau-co'-ni-ans. Cha-ryb'-dis. Ci'-co-nes. Cir'-ce. Cte-sip'-pus. Cy-clo'-pes. Cy'-clops. 

De-mod'-e-cus. Do-do'-na. Do'-li-s. Du-lich'-i-um. 

E-che-ne'-us. E'-lis. El-pe'-nor. E-per'-i-tus. Eu-mae'-usEu-pei'-thes. Eu-ryb'-a-tes. Eu-ry-clei'-a. Eu-ryl'-o-dus. Eu-rym'-a-chus. Eu-ryn'-o-me. 

Ha'-des. He'-ra. Her'-mes. He-phaes-tus. 

I'-no. I'-ris. I-rus. Ith'-a-ca. 

Ja'-son. 

La-ce-dae'-mon. La-er'-tes. La'-mos. Laes'-try-gons. La-o'-da-mas. Lei-o'-des. Le-oc'-ri-tus. 

Me'-don. Me-lan'-thi-us. Me-ne-la'-us. Men'-tes. Men'-tor. 

Nau-sic'-a-a. 

O-gyg'-i-a. O-lym'-pus. O-ri'-on. 

Par-nas'-sus. Pa-tro'-clus. Pei-sis'-tra-tus. Pe-nel'-o-pe. Phae-a'-ci-aus. Pha'-ros. Phe'-mi-us. Phe'-rae. Phi-loe'-ti-us. Phoe-ni'-ci-aus. Phor'-cys. Plei'-a-des. Po-li'-des. Pol-y-phe'-mus. Po-sei'-don. Pro'-teus. Py'-los. 

Sa'-mos. Si-do'-ni-ans. Scyl'-la. 

Ta'-phi-ans. Tei-re'-si-as. Te-lem'-a-chus. Thes-pro'-ti-a. 

U-lys'-ses. 

Za-cyn'-thus. 

As many of the Greek gods are better known under the names givento them by the Romans, the following list is given:--

_Greek_ _Latin_

Zeus. Jupiter. Hera. Juno. (Pallas) Athene. Minerva. Aphrodite. Venus. Poseidon. Neptune. Ares. Mars. Hephaestus. Vulcan.