ITHACA
When Ulysses had ended his tale there was silence for a space
throughout the hall. And after a while King Alcinous spake,
saying: "Ulysses, now thou art come to my house, thou shalt no
longer be kept from thy return. And on you, chiefs of the
Phaeacians, I lay this command. Garments and gold are already
stored for this stranger in a chest. Let us now, also, give him
each a gift."
This saying pleased the princes, and they went each man to his
house; and the next day they brought the gifts; and the King
himself bestowed them under the benches, that the rowers might not
be hindered in their rowing.
When these things were finished, the princes betook them to the
palace of the King; and he sacrificed an ox to Zeus, and they
feasted, and the minstrel sang. But still Ulysses would ever look
to the sun, as if he would have hastened his going down; for
indeed he was very desirous to return as a man desireth his
supper, when he hath been driving the plough all day through a
field with a yoke of oxen before him, and is right glad when the
sun sinketh in the west, so Ulysses was glad at the passing of the
daylight. And he spake, saying:--
"Pour out, now, the drink-offering, my lord the King, and send me
on my way. Now do I bid you farewell, for ye have given me all
that my heart desired, noble gifts and escort to my home. May the
gods give me with them good luck, and grant, also, that I may find
my wife and my friends in my home unharmed! And may ye abide here
in joy with your wives and children, and may ye have all manner of
good things and may no evil come near you."
Then spake the King to his squire: "Mix, now, the bowl, and serve
out the wine, that we may pray to Zeus, and send the stranger on
his way."
So the squire mixed the wine, and served it out; and they all made
offering, and prayed.
Then Ulysses rose in his place, and placed the cup in the hand of
Arete, the Queen, and spake: "Fare thee well, O Queen, till old
age and death, which no man may escape, shall come upon thee! I go
to 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 Alcinous
sent with him a squire to guide him to the ship, and Arete sent
maidens, bearing fresh clothing, and bread and wine. When they
came to the ship, the rowers took the things, and laid them in the
hold. Also they spread for Ulysses a rug and a linen sheet in the
hinder part of the ship, that his sleep might be sound.
When these things were ended Ulysses climbed on board, and lay
down; and the men sat upon the benches, and unbound the hawser.
And it came to pass that so soon as they touched the water with
the oars, a deep sleep fell upon him. As four horses carry a
chariot quickly over the plain, so quick did the ship pass over
the waves Not even a hawk, that is the swiftest of all flying
things, could have kept pace with it.
And when the star that is the herald of the morning came up in the
heaven, then did the ship approach the island. There is a certain
harbour in Ithaca, the harbour of Phorcys [Footnote: Phor'-cys],
the sea-god, where two great cliffs on either side break the force
of the waves; a ship that can win her way into it can ride safely
without moorings. And at the head of this harbour there is an
olive tree, and a cave hard by which is sacred to the nymphs. Two
gates hath the cave, one looking towards the north, by which men
may enter, and one towards the south, which belongeth only to the
gods. To this place the Phaeacians guided the ship, for they knew
it well. Half the length of the keel did they run her ashore, so
quickly did they row her. Then they lifted Ulysses out of the
stern as he lay in the sheet and the rug which the Queen had given
him. And still he slept. They took out also the gifts which the
princes of the Phaeacians had given him, and laid them in a heap
by the trunk of the olive tree, a little way from the road, lest
some passer-by should rob him while he slept. After this they
departed homeward.
But Poseidon still remembered his anger, and said to Zeus: "Now
shall I be held in dishonour among the gods, for mortal men, even
these Phaeacians, who are of my own kindred, pay me no regard. I
said that this Ulysses should return in great affliction to his
home; and now they have carried him safely across the sea, with
such a store of gifts as he never would have won out of Troy, even
had he come back unharmed with all his share of the spoil."
To him Zeus made answer: "What is that thou sayest, lord of the
sea? How can the gods dishonour thee, who art the eldest among
them? And if men withhold from thee the worship that is due, thou
canst punish them after thy pleasure. Do, therefore, as thou
wilt."
Then said Poseidon: "I would have done so long since, had not I
feared thy wrath. But now I will smite this ship of the Phaeacians
as she cometh back from carrying this man to his home. So shall
they learn henceforth not to send men homeward; and their city
will 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 there
he tarried till the ship came near, speeding swiftly on her way.
Thereupon he struck her, changing her into a stone, and rooting
her to the bottom of the sea.
But the Phaeacians said one to another: "Who is this that hath
hindered our ship, as she journeyed homeward? Even now she was
plain to see."
But King Alcinous spake, saying: "Now are the prophecies fulfilled
which my father was wont to speak. For he said that Poseidon was
wroth with us because we carried men safely across the sea, and
that one day the god would smite one of our ships, and change it
into a stone, and that he would also overshadow our city with a
great mountain. Now, therefore, let us cease from conveying men to
their homes, and let us do sacrifice to Poseidon, slaying twelve
bulls, 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 the
place, for Athene had spread a great mist about it, doing it, as
will be seen, with a good purpose, that he might safely accomplish
that which it was in his heart to do. Then Ulysses started up, and
made lament, saying: "Woe is me! To what land am I come? Are the
men barbarous and unjust, or are they hospitable and righteous?
Whither shall I carry these riches of mine? And whither shall I go
myself? Surely the Phaeacians have dealt unfairly with me, for
they promised that they would carry me back to my own country, but
now they have taken me to a strange land. May Zeus punish them
therefor! 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 was
wanting. But not the less did he bewail him for his country.
But as he walked, lamenting, by the shore, Athene met him, having
the likeness of a young shepherd, fair to look upon, such as are
the sons of kings. Ulysses was glad when he saw her, though he
knew her not, and said: "Friend, thou art the first man that I
have seen in this land. Now, therefore, I pray thee to save my
substance, and myself also. But first, tell me true--what land is
this 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, hast
come 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 and
goats; 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 say
who 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 as
much behind for my children. For I slew the son of the King,
because he would have taken from me my spoil. And certain
Phoenicians [Footnote: Phoe-ni'-ci-ans] agreed to take me to Pylos
or to Elis;[Footnote: E'-lis] but the wind drave them hither, and
while I slept they put me upon the shore, and my possessions with
me, and departed."
This pleased Athene much, and she changed her shape, becoming like
to a woman, tall and fair, and said to Ulysses:--
"Right cunning would he be who could cheat thee. Even now in thy
native 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, daughter
of Zeus, who am ever wont to stand by thee and help thee. And now
we will hide these possessions of thine; and thou must be silent,
nor tell to any one who thou art, and endure many things, so that
thou mayest come to thine own again,"
To her Ulysses made answer: "It is hard for a mortal man to know
thee, O goddess, however wise he may be, for thou takest many
shapes. While I was making war against Troy with the other Greeks,
thou wast ever kindly to me. But from the time that we took the
city of Priam, and set sail for our homes, I saw thee not, until
thou didst meet me in the land of the Phaeacians, comforting me,
and guiding me thyself into the city. And now I beseech thee, by
thy Father Zeus, to tell me truly: is this Ithaca that I see, for
it seems to me that I have come to some other country, and that
thou dost mock me. Tell me, therefore, whether in very deed I am
come to mine own country."
Then Athene answered him: "Never will I leave thee, for indeed
thou art wise and prudent above all others. For any other man, so
coming back after many wanderings, would have hastened to see his
wife and his children; but thou will first make trial of thy wife.
Come now, I wilt show thee this land of Ithaca, that thou mayest
be assured in thy heart. Lo! here is the harbour of Phorcys; here
at the harbour's head is the olive tree; here also is the pleasant
cave that is sacred to the nymphs, and there, behold, is the
wooded hill."
Then the goddess scattered the mist, so that he saw the land.
Then, indeed, he knew it for Ithaca, and he kneeled down and
kissed the ground, and prayed to the nymphs, saying: "Never did I
think to see you again; but now I greet you lovingly. Many gifts
also will I give you, if Athene be minded, of her grace, to bring
me to my own again." Then said Athene: "Take heart, and be not
troubled. But first let us put away thy goods safely in the secret
place of the cave."
Then Ulysses brought up the brass, and the gold, and the raiment
that the Phaeacians had given him, and they two stored it in the
cave, and Athene laid a great stone upon the mouth.
And Athene said: "Think, man of many devices, how thou wilt lay
hands on these men, suitors of thy wife, who for three years have
sat in thy house devouring thy substance. And she hath answered
them craftily, making many promises, but still waiting for thy
coming."
Then Ulysses said: "Truly I should have perished but for thee. But
do thou help me, as of old in Troy, for with thee at my side I
would 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 bright
hair from thy head, and make thine eyes dull. And the suitors
shall take no account of thee, neither shall thy wife nor thy son
know 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 will
hasten 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 over
the seas in great affliction, and that others meanwhile might
consume his goods?"
Then Athene made reply: "Trouble not thyself concerning him. I
guided him myself that he might earn a good report, as a son
searching for his father. Now he sitteth in peace in the hall of
Menelaus. And though there are some that lie in wait for him to
slay him, yet shall they not have their will. Rather shall they
perish themselves and others with them that have devoured thy
goods."
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 skin
of an old man, and dimmed his eyes. His garments she changed so
that they became torn and filthy and defiled with smoke. Over all
she cast the skin of a great stag from which the hair was worn. A
staff also she gave him, and a tattered pouch, and a rope
wherewith to fasten it.