ODYSSEUS RELATES HIS ADVENTURES
When they had all eaten and drunk to their hearts' content, the hero
begged Demodokos to sing about the invention of the wooden horse with
which Odysseus had artfully tricked the Trojans to their own
destruction.
The minstrel felt the inspiration of the song, and began where the
Greeks threw firebrands into their own tents and sailed away from
Troy, pretending that they had given up the war.
He told how the Trojans wondered what to do with the huge wooden horse
which the enemy had left in their city, whether to hew it to pieces
and burn it, or to drag it to the edge of a high rock and throw it
over, or whether to spare it as an act of reverence to the gods. This
last was done, and in the night Odysseus and his men came out of the
great wooden trap and set fire to the city while the men of Troy slept.
As Demodokos sang, tears rolled down the cheeks of Odysseus. but no
one noticed his weeping except the king, who said: "It is better to
stop the song of Demodokos, as it does not delight us all. Ever since
the bard began to sing, our guest has been weeping. He carries some
great trouble in his heart. Let the song cease, and let us all make
merry. Let no grief mar our banquet. And, honored stranger, tell us
the name of thy father, and the city which is thy home. Our seamen
shall take thee safely to thine own land, although there is a prophecy
that one of our good ships shall be changed into a high rock, to stand
forever in front of our city, if we show such courtesies to strangers.
"Tell us truly who thou art and whither thou hast roamed, what tribes
of men thou hast seen, and why thou dost weep when the minstrel sings
of Troy. Didst thou lose a noble kinsman there, or a dear friend?
For a friend is often dearer than a brother." Odysseus replied: "In
truth, O king, it is a pleasant thing to listen to a bard like Demodokos,
for his voice is as sweet as the voice of a god.
"And I cannot think of anything more delightful than the joy of a
contented people listening to a great poet and singer while seated
at a feast in a royal hall. But I pine to be at home, and I will declare
my name and tell the story of my sufferings.
"I am the chieftain Odysseus, son of Laertes, and widely known to
fame. I dwell in sunny Ithaca, whose high mountains are seen from
afar, covered with rustling trees. Around it are many smaller islands,
full of people. Ithaca has low shores on the east. It is a rugged
island, but it is the sweetest land on earth, and has a noble race
of mortals. When the Trojan war was at an end, I started for home
with my twelve ships, but a contrary wind drove us to Ismaros, the
city of the Kikonians.
"We captured it and put the inhabitants to the sword. Then I exhorted
my comrades to fly, but, like madmen, they remained on the sea-shore.
Then they slaughtered a large number of sheep and oxen and made a
feast. The Kikonians called on their strong neighbors to come and
help them, and they came in swarms with their brazen spears. They
fell upon our men and killed six of them from each ship, and drove
the rest back to their boats.
"Brisk handling of our oars soon carried us out into the sea, but
Jove sent a hurricane that tore our sails and split our masts, so
that our sailors drew them into the ships in fear. Two days and nights
we lay helpless in our boats, worn out with fear and grief, but the
third day the sun shone on us again, and we raised the masts and sails
to take the breeze, hoping to reach our own land."