CONVERSATION WITH ACHILLES AND OTHER HEROES
"While we were conversing thus, the shades of Achilles and Patroklos
came near. The soul of Achilles recognized me, and he said: 'Odysseus,
son of Laertes, how darest thou descend into the gloomy habitation
of the dead? This is the greatest labor thou hast undertaken.'
"I answered: 'Godlike Achilles, I came here to consult the seer
Tiresias about my return to my own country, for I have never yet
reached Grecian soil, but have wandered about suffering great
misfortunes. No one is happier than thou art, O Achilles. When thou
wert alive all men honored thee as if thou wert a god, and now thou
art a king and rulest over the dead.'
"Then he replied: 'Do not try to console me, Odysseus. I would rather
be the slave of a poor man, and in the light of the sun, than to be
in Hades and rule over all the dead. But tell me, Odysseus, how fares
my noble son? Does he fight in the wars, and is he in the front ranks?
And Peleus, my aged father, tell me of him. Is he still king of the
Myrmidons? Or do they hold him in contempt, now that he is old, and
I am not there to uphold him?'
"I answered him: 'I know nothing about thy aged father, O Achilles,
but I have many things to tell thee about thy son. I brought him from
Skyros, myself, in a ship to Troy, and placed him in the Greek army.
There he surpassed everyone except Nestor and myself in the wisdom
of his advice, and when we went forth to battle he fought among the
foremost, slaying many illustrious foes.
"'Above all, his powers shone forth when we were hidden in the wooden
horse. All the other leaders of the Greeks gave signs of fear. They
grew white and shed tears; but his face never turned pale, and no
tear came into his eyes. He called on me to leave the horse and rush
upon the foe, and he smote the Trojans, carrying death and destruction
among them. When we finally subdued the city, thy son took rich booty
and safely reached his own country.'
"As soon as Achilles heard this news he rejoiced. He strode proudly
off over the field of Elysian asphodels, well pleased that he had
left such a mighty son on earth.
"After Achilles had departed, many other souls came and talked with
me. Only the soul of Ajax kept aloof, still angry over a victory which
I gained near the ships when I took the weapons of Achilles as my
share of the booty. Little did that victory and the arms please me,
since they caused the grave to close over such a hero as Ajax.
"I spoke to his soul in gentle words: 'Ajax, son of Telamon, did not
even death appease the anger against me which thou didst feel on
account of my receiving the arms that brought such a calamity upon
the Greeks? For thou wast our tower of strength, and the weapons proved
fatal to thee. Come nearer and speak to me, for I bewail thy death.'
I spoke soothingly yet Ajax gave no answer. His spirit vanished away
among the other spirits.
"Then I beheld Minos, the lawgiver of Crete, who held a golden sceptre
in his hand and judged the dead. He had under him the great wrong-doers
of one part of Hades. With him I saw Tantalos, who stood in a pool
of water, suffering at the same time a painful thirst. As often as
he tried to put his lips to the water it sank down away from him so
that he could not reach it.
"I saw Sisyphos, also, who suffered great punishment, for he rolled
a large rock uphill with both hands, straining every muscle of his
body to the utmost to move it. No sooner had he pushed it to the top
of the hill than it rolled back with deafening noise to the bottom
of the valley. Again the unfortunate man toiled to move it upward,
the sweat covering his body and clouds of dust hovering over his head.
"Then I saw the shade of Herakles, but the hero himself sits among
the gods on Mount Olympos. And there came myriads of souls, making
a terrible noise, which filled me with dread, lest I might look upon
the Gorgon, and I hastened back to the ship. I ordered the crew to
go on board, and they took their oars and rowed until we reached the
open sea, where favorable winds caught by the sails wafted us back
to Circè's isle."