HOW ODYSSEUS LEFT CALYPSO'S ISLAND AND CAME TO THE LAND OF THE
PHÆACIANS; HOW HE TOLD HE FARED WITH THE CYCLÔPES AND WENT PAST THE
TERRIBLE SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS AND CAME TO THE ISLAND OF THRINACIA WHERE
HIS MEN SLAUGHTERED THE CATTLE OF THE SUN; HOW HE WAS GIVEN A SHIP BY
THE PHÆACIANS AND CAME TO HIS OWN LAND; HOW HE OVERTHREW THE WOOERS WHO
WASTED HIS SUBSTANCE AND CAME TO REIGN AGAIN AS KING OF ITHAKA
[Illustration]
I
Ever mindful was Pallas Athene of Odysseus although she might not help
him openly because of a wrong he had done Poseidon, the god of the sea.
But she spoke at the council of the gods, and she won from Zeus a pledge
that Odysseus would now be permitted to return to his own land. On that
day she went to Ithaka, and, appearing to Telemachus, moved him, as has
been told, to go on the voyage in search of his father. And on that day,
too, Hermes, by the will of Zeus, went to Ogygia--to that Island where,
as the Ancient One of the Sea had shown Menelaus, Odysseus was held by
the nymph Calypso.
[Illustration]
Beautiful indeed was that Island. All round the cave where Calypso lived
was a blossoming wood--alder, poplar and cypress trees were there, and
on their branches roosted long-winged birds--falcons and owls and
chattering sea-crows. Before the cave was a soft meadow in which
thousands of violets bloomed, and with four fountains that gushed out of
the ground and made clear streams through the grass. Across the cave
grew a straggling vine, heavy with clusters of grapes. Calypso was
within the cave, and as Hermes came near, he heard her singing one of
her magic songs.
She was before a loom weaving the threads with a golden shuttle. Now she
knew Hermes and was pleased to see him on her Island, but as soon as he
spoke of Odysseus and how it was the will of Zeus that he should be
permitted to leave the Island, her song ceased and the golden shuttle
fell from her hand.
'Woe to me,' she said, 'and woe to any immortal who loves a mortal, for
the gods are always jealous of their love. I do not hold him here
because I hate Odysseus, but because I love him greatly, and would have
him dwell with me here,--more than this, Hermes, I would make him an
immortal so that he would know neither old age nor death.'
'He does not desire to be freed from old age and death,' said Hermes,
'he desires to return to his own land and to live with his dear wife,
Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. And Zeus, the greatest of the gods,
commands that you let him go upon his way.'
'I have no ship to give him,' said Calypso, 'and I have no company of
men to help him to cross the sea,'
'He must leave the Island and cross the sea--Zeus commands it,' Hermes
said.
'I must help him to make his way across the sea if it must be so,'
Calypso said. Then she bowed her head and Hermes went from her.
Straightway Calypso left her cave and went down to the sea. By the shore
Odysseus stayed, looking across the wide sea with tears in his eyes.
She came to him and she said, 'Be not sorrowful any more, Odysseus. The
time has come when thou mayst depart from my Island. Come now. I will
show how I can help thee on thy way.'
She brought him to the side of the Island where great trees grew and she
put in his hands a double-edged axe and an adze. Then Odysseus started
to hew down the timber. Twenty trees he felled with his axe of bronze,
and he smoothed them and made straight the line. Calypso came to him at
the dawn of the next day; she brought augers for boring and he made the
beams fast. He built a raft, making it very broad, and set a mast upon
it and fixed a rudder to guide it. To make it more secure, he wove out
of osier rods a fence that went from stem to stern as a bulwark against
the waves, and he strengthened the bulwark with wood placed behind.
Calypso wove him a web of cloth for sails, and these he made very
skilfully. Then he fastened the braces and the halyards and sheets, and
he pushed the raft, with levers down to the sea.
That was on the fourth day. On the fifth Calypso gave him garments for
the journey and brought provision down to the raft--two skins of wine
and a great skin of water; corn and many dainties. She showed Odysseus
how to guide his course by the star that some call the Bear and others
the Wain, and she bade farewell to him. He took his place on the raft
and set his sail to the breeze and he sailed away from Ogygia, the
island where Calypso had held him for so long.
But not easily or safely did he make his way across the sea. The winds
blew upon his raft and the waves dashed against it; a fierce blast came
and broke the mast in the middle; the sail and the arm-yard fell into
the deep. Then Odysseus was flung down on the bottom of the raft. For a
long time he lay there overwhelmed by the water that broke over him. The
winds drove the raft to and fro--the South wind tossed it to the North
to bear along, and the East wind tossed it to the West to chase.
In the depths of the sea there was a Nymph who saw his toils and his
troubles and who had pity upon him. Ino was her name. She rose from the
waves in the likeness of a seagull and she sat upon the raft and she
spoke to Odysseus in words.
'Hapless man,' she said, 'Poseidon, the god of the sea, is still wroth
with thee. It may be that the waters will destroy the raft upon which
thou sailest. Then there would be no hope for thee. But do what I bid
thee and thou shalt yet escape. Strip off thy garments and take this
veil from me and wind it around thy breast. As long as it is upon thee
thou canst not drown. But when thou reachest the mainland loose the veil
and cast it into the sea so that it may come back to me.'
[Illustration]
She gave him the veil, and then, in the likeness of a seagull she
dived into the sea and the waves closed over her. Odysseus took the veil
and wound it around his breast, but he would not leave the raft as long
as its timbers held together.
Then a great wave came and shattered the raft. He held himself on a
single beam as one holds himself on a horse, and then, with the veil
bound across his breast, he threw himself into the waves.
For two nights and two days he was tossed about on the waters. When on
the third day the dawn came and the winds fell he saw land very near. He
swam eagerly towards it. But when he drew nearer he heard the crash of
waves as they struck against rocks that were all covered with foam. Then
indeed was Odysseus afraid.
A great wave took hold of him and flung him towards the shore. Now would
his bones have been broken upon the rocks if he had not been
ready-minded enough to rush towards a rock and to cling to it with both
hands until the wave dashed by. Its backward drag took him and carried
him back to the deep with the skin stripped from his hands. The waves
closed over him. When he rose again he swam round looking for a place
where there might be, not rocks, but some easy opening into the land.
At last he saw the mouth of a river. He swam towards it until he felt
its stream flowing through the water of the sea. Then in his heart he
prayed to the river. 'Hear me, O River,' was what he said, 'I am come to
thee as a suppliant, fleeing from the anger of Poseidon, god of the sea.
Even by the gods is the man pitied who comes to them as a wanderer and
a hapless man. I am thy suppliant, O River; pity me and help me in my
need.'
Now the river water was smooth for his swimming, and he came safely to
its mouth. He came to a place where he might land, but with his flesh
swollen and streams of salt water gushing from his mouth and nostrils.
He lay on the ground without breath or speech, swooning with the
terrible weariness that was upon him. But in a while his breath came
back to him and his courage rose. He remembered the veil that the
Sea-nymph had given him and he loosened it and let it fall back into the
flowing river. A wave came and bore it back to Ino who caught it in her
hands.
But Odysseus was still fearful, and he said in his heart, 'Ah me! what
is to befall me now? Here am I, naked and forlorn, and I know not
amongst what people I am come. And what shall I do with myself when
night comes on? If I lie by the river in the frost and dew I may perish
of the cold. And if I climb up yonder to the woods and seek refuge in
the thickets I may become the prey of wild beasts.'
He went from the cold of the river up to the woods, and he found two
olive trees growing side by side, twining together so that they made a
shelter against the winds. He went and lay between them upon a bed of
leaves, and with leaves he covered himself over. There in that shelter,
and with that warmth he lay, and sleep came on him, and at last he
rested from perils and toils.
II
And while he rested the goddess, Pallas Athene, went to the City of the
Phæacians, to whose land Odysseus had now come.
She came to the Palace of the King, and, passing through all the doors,
came to the chamber where the King's daughter, Nausicaa slept. She
entered into Nausicaa's dream, appearing to her in it as one of her
girl-comrades. And in the dream she spoke to the Princess:
'Nausicaa,' she said, 'the garments of your household are all uncared
for, and the time is near when, more than ever, you have need to have
much and beautiful raiment. Your marriage day will be soon. You will
have to have many garments ready by that time--garments to bring with
you to your husband's house, and garments to give to those who will
attend you at your wedding. There is much to be done, Nausicaa. Be ready
at the break of day, and take your maidens with you, and bring the
garments of your household to the river to be washed. I will be your
mate in the toil. Beg your father to give you a wagon with mules to
carry all the garments that we have need to wash.'
[Illustration]
So in her dream Pallas Athene spoke to the Princess in the likeness of
her girl-friend. Having put the task of washing into her mind, the
goddess left the Palace of the King and the country of the Phæacians.
Nausicaa, when she rose thought upon her dream, and she went through the
Palace and found her father. He was going to the assembly of the
Phæacians. She came to him, but she was shy about speaking of that which
had been in her dream--her marriage day--since her parents had not
spoken to her about such a thing. Saying that she was going to the river
to wash the garments of the household, she asked for a wagon and for
mules. 'So many garments have I lying soiled,' she said. 'Yes and thou
too, my father, should have fresh raiment when you go forth to the
assembly of the Phæacians. And in our house are the two unwedded youths,
my brothers, who are always eager for new washed garments wherein to go
to dances.'
Her father smiled on her and said, 'The mules and wagon thou mayst have,
Nausicaa, and the servants shall get them ready for thee now.'
He called to the servants and bade them get ready the mules and the
wagon. Then Nausicaa gathered her maids together and they brought the
soiled garments of the household to the wagon. And her mother, so that
Nausicaa and her maids might eat while they were from home, put in a
basket filled with dainties and a skin of wine. Also she gave them a jar
of olive-oil so that they might rub themselves with oil when bathing in
the river.
Young Nausicaa herself drove the wagon. She mounted it and took the
whip in her hands and started the mules, and they went through fields
and by farms and came to the river-bank.
The girls brought the garments to the stream, and leaving them in the
shallow parts trod them with their bare feet. The wagon was unharnessed
and the mules were left to graze along the river side. Now when they had
washed the garments they took them to the sea-shore and left them on the
clean pebbles to dry in the sun. Then Nausicaa and her companions went
into the river and bathed and sported in the water.
When they had bathed they sat down and ate the meal that had been put on
the wagon for them. The garments were not yet dried and Nausicaa called
on her companions to play. Straightway they took a ball and threw it
from one to the other, each singing a song that went with the game. And
as they played on the meadow they made a lovely company, and the
Princess Nausicaa was the tallest and fairest and noblest of them all.
Before they left the river side to load the wagon they played a last
game. The Princess threw the ball, and the girl whose turn it was to
catch missed it. The ball went into the river and was carried down the
stream. At that they all raised a cry. It was this cry that woke up
Odysseus who, covered over with leaves, was then sleeping in the shelter
of the two olive trees.
[Illustration]
He crept out from under the thicket, covering his nakedness with leafy
boughs that he broke off the trees. And when he saw the girls in the
meadow he wanted to go to them to beg for their help. But when they
looked on him they were terribly frightened and they ran this way and
that way and hid themselves. Only Nausicaa stood still, for Pallas
Athene had taken fear from her mind.
Odysseus stood a little way from her and spoke to her in a beseeching
voice. 'I supplicate thee, lady, to help me in my bitter need. I would
kneel to thee and clasp thy knees only I fear thine anger. Have pity
upon me. Yesterday was the twentieth day that I was upon the sea, driven
hither and thither by the waves and the winds.'
And still Nausicaa stood, and Odysseus looking upon her was filled with
reverence for her, so noble she seemed. 'I know not as I look upon
thee,' he said, 'whether thou art a goddess or a mortal maiden. If thou
art a mortal maiden, happy must thy father be and thy mother and thy
brothers. Surely they must be proud and glad to see thee in the dance,
for thou art the very flower of maidens. And happy above all will he be
who will lead thee to his home as his bride. Never have my eyes beheld
one who had such beauty and such nobleness. I think thou art like to the
young palm-tree I once saw springing up by the altar of Apollo in
Delos--a tree that many marvelled to look at. O lady, after many and
sore trials, to thee, first of all the people, have I come. I know that
thou wilt be gracious to me. Show me the way to the town. Give me an
old garment to cast about me. And may the gods grant thee thy wish and
heart's desire--a noble husband who will cherish thee.'
She spoke to him as a Princess should, seeing that in spite of the evil
plight he was in, he was a man of worth. 'Stranger,' she said, 'since
thou hast come to our land, thou shalt not lack for raiment nor aught
else that is given to a suppliant. I will show thee the way to the town
also.'
He asked what land he was in. 'This, stranger,' she said, 'is the land
of the Phæacians, and Alcinous is King over them. And I am the King's
daughter, Nausicaa.'
Then she called to her companions. 'Do not hide yourselves,' she said.
'This is not an enemy, but a helpless and an unfriended man. We must
befriend him, for it is well said that the stranger and the beggar are
from God.'
The girls came back and they brought Odysseus to a sheltered place and
they made him sit down and laid a garment beside him. One brought the
jar of olive oil that he might clean himself when he bathed in the
river. And Odysseus was very glad to get this oil for his back and
shoulders were all crusted over with flakes of brine. He went into the
river and bathed and rubbed himself with the oil. Then he put on the
garment that had been brought him. So well he looked that when he came
towards them again the Princess said to the maids:
'Look now on the man who a while ago seemed so terrifying! He is most
handsome and stately. Would that we might see more of him. Now, my
maidens, bring the stranger meat and drink.'
They came to him and they served him with meat and drink and he ate and
drank eagerly, for it was long since he had tasted food. And while he
ate, Nausicaa and her companions went down to the seashore and gathered
the garments that were now dried, singing songs the while. They
harnessed the mules and folded the garments and left them on the wagon.
When they were ready to go Nausicaa went to Odysseus and said to him,
'Stranger, if thou wouldst make thy way into the city come with us now,
so that we may guide thee. But first listen to what I would say. While
we are going through the fields and by the farms walk thou behind,
keeping near the wagon. But when we enter the ways of the City, go no
further with us. People might speak unkindly of me if they saw me with a
stranger such as thou. They might say, "Who does Nausicaa bring to her
father's house? Someone she would like to make her husband, most
likely." So that we may not meet with such rudeness I would have thee
come alone to my father's house. Listen now and I will tell thee how
thou mayst do this.'
'There is a grove kept for the goddess Pallas Athene within a man's
shout of the city. In that grove is a spring, and when we come near I
would have thee go and rest thyself by it. Then when thou dost think we
have come to my father's house, enter the City and ask thy way to the
palace of the King. When thou hast come to it, pass quickly through the
court and through the great chamber and come to where my mother sits
weaving yarn by the light of the fire. My father will be sitting near,
drinking his wine in the evening. Pass by his seat and come to my
mother, and clasp your hands about her knees and ask for her aid. If she
become friendly to thee thou wilt be helped by our people and wilt be
given the means of returning to thine own land.'
So Nausicaa bade him. Then she touched the mules with the whip and the
wagon went on. Odysseus walked with the maids behind. As the sun set
they came to the grove that was outside the City--the grove of Pallas
Athene. Odysseus went into it and sat by the spring. And while he was in
her grove he prayed to the goddess, 'Hear me, Pallas Athene, and grant
that I may come before the King of this land as one well worthy of his
pity and his help.'
III
About the time that the maiden Nausicaa had come to her father's house,
Odysseus rose up from where he sat by the spring in the grove of Pallas
Athene and went into the City. There he met one who showed him the way
to the palace of King Alcinous. The doors of that palace were golden and
the door-posts were of silver. And there was a garden by the great door
filled with fruitful trees--pear trees and pomegranates; apple trees and
trees bearing figs and olives. Below it was a vineyard showing
clusters of grapes. That orchard and that vineyard were marvels, for in
them never fruit fell or was gathered but other fruit ripened to take
its place; from season to season there was fruit for the gathering in
the king's close.
[Illustration]
Odysseus stood before the threshold of bronze and many thoughts were in
his mind. But at last with a prayer to Zeus he crossed the threshold and
went through the great hall. Now on that evening the Captains and the
Councillors of the Phæacians sat drinking wine with the King. Odysseus
passed by them, and stayed not at the King's chair, but went where
Arete, the Queen, sat. And he knelt before her and clasped her knees
with his hands and spoke to her in supplication:
'Arete, Queen! After many toils and perils I am come to thee and to thy
husband, and to these, thy guests! May the gods give all who are here a
happy life and may each see his children in safe possession of his
halls. I have come to thee to beg that thou wouldst put me on my way to
my own land, for long have I suffered sore affliction far from my
friends.'
Then, having spoken, Odysseus went and sat down in the ashes of the
hearth with his head bowed. No one spoke for long. Then an aged
Councillor who was there spoke to the King.
'O Alcinous,' he said, 'it is not right that a stranger should sit in
the ashes by thy hearth. Bid the stranger rise now and let a chair be
given him and supper set before him.'
Then Alcinous took Odysseus by the hand, and raised him from where he
sat, and bade his son Laodamas give place to him. He sat on a chair
inlaid with silver and the housedame brought him bread and wine and
dainties. He ate, and King Alcinous spoke to the company and said:
'To-morrow I shall call you together and we will entertain this stranger
with a feast in our halls, and we shall take counsel to see in what way
we can convoy him to his own land.'
The Captains and Councillors assented to this, and then each one arose
and went to his own house. Odysseus was left alone in the hall with the
King and the Queen. Now Arete, looking closely at Odysseus, recognized
the mantle he wore, for she herself had wrought it with her handmaids.
And when all the company had gone she spoke to Odysseus and said:
'Stranger, who art thou? Didst thou not speak of coming to us from
across the deep? And if thou didst come that way, who gave thee the
raiment that thou hast on?'
Said Odysseus, 'Lady, for seven and ten days I sailed across the deep,
and on the eighteenth day I sighted the hills of thy land. But my woes
were not yet ended. The storm winds shattered my raft, and when I strove
to land the waves overwhelmed me and dashed me against great rocks in a
desolate place. At length I came to a river, and I swam through its
mouth and I found a shelter from the wind. There I lay amongst the
leaves all the night long and from dawn to mid-day. Then came thy
daughter down to the river. I was aware of her playing with her friends,
and to her I made my supplication. She gave me bread and wine, and she
bestowed these garments upon me, and she showed an understanding that
was far beyond her years.'
Then said Alcinous the King, 'Our daughter did not do well when she did
not bring thee straight to our house.'
Odysseus said, 'My Lord, do not blame the maiden. She bade me follow
with her company, and she was only careful that no one should have cause
to make ill-judged remarks upon the stranger whom she found.'
Then Alcinous, the King, praised Odysseus and said that he should like
such a man to abide in his house and that he would give him land and
wealth, in the country of the Phæacians. 'But if it is not thy will to
abide with us,' he said, 'I shall give thee a ship and a company of men
to take thee to thy own land, even if that land be as far as Eubæa,
which, our men say, is the farthest of all lands.' As he said this
Odysseus uttered a prayer in his heart, 'O Father Zeus, grant that
Alcinous the King may fulfil all that he has promised--and for that may
his fame never be quenched--and that I may come to my own land.'
Arete now bade the maids prepare a bed for Odysseus. This they did,
casting warm coverlets and purple blankets upon it. And when Odysseus
came to the bed and lay in it, after the tossing of the waves, rest in
it seemed wonderfully good.
At dawn of day he went with the King to the assembly of the Phæacians.
When the Princes and Captains and Councillors were gathered together,
Alcinous spoke to them saying:
'Princes and Captains and Councillors of the Phæacians! This stranger
has come to my house in his wanderings, and he desires us to give him a
ship and a company of men, so that he may cross the sea and come to his
own land. Let us, as in times past we have done for others, help him in
his journey. Nay, let us even now draw down a black ship to the sea, and
put two and fifty of our noblest youths upon it, and let us make it
ready for the voyage. But before he departs from amongst us, come all of
you to a feast that I shall give to this stranger in my house. And
moreover, let us take with us the minstrel of our land, blind Demodocus,
that his songs may make us glad at the feast.'
So the King spoke, and the Princes, Captains and Councillors of the
Phæacians went with him to the palace. And at the same time two and
fifty youths went down to the shore of the sea, and drew down a ship and
placed the masts and sails upon it, and left the oars in their leathern
loops. Having done all this they went to the palace where the feast was
being given and where many men had gathered.
The henchman led in the minstrel, blind Demodocus. To him the gods had
given a good and an evil fortune--the gift of song with the lack of
sight. The henchman led him through the company, and placed him on a
seat inlaid with silver, and hung his lyre on the pillar above his seat.
When the guests and the minstrel had feasted, blind Demodocus took down
the lyre and sang of things that were already famous--of the deeds of
Achilles and Odysseus.
Now when he heard the words that the minstrel uttered, Odysseus caught
up his purple cloak and drew it over his head. Tears were falling down
his cheeks and he was ashamed of their being seen. No one marked his
weeping except the King, and the King wondered why his guest should be
so moved by what the minstrel related.
When they had feasted and the minstrel had sung to them, Alcinous said,
'Let us go forth now and engage in games and sports so that our stranger
guest may tell his friends when he is amongst them what our young men
can do.'
All went out from the palace to the place where the games were played.
There was a foot-race, and there was a boxing-match, and there was
wrestling and weight-throwing. All the youths present went into the
games. And when the sports were ending Laodamas, the son of King
Alcinous, said to his friends:
'Come, my friends, and let us ask the stranger whether he is skilled or
practised in any sport,' And saying this he went to Odysseus and said,
'Friend and stranger, come now and try thy skill in the games. Cast care
away from thee, for thy journey shall not be long delayed. Even now the
ship is drawn down to the sea, and we have with us the company of youths
that is ready to help thee to thine own land.'
[Illustration]
Said Odysseus, 'Sorrow is nearer to my heart than sport, for much have I
endured in times that are not far past'
Then a youth who was with Laodamas, Euryalus, who had won in the
wrestling bout, said insolently, 'Laodamas is surely mistaken in
thinking that thou shouldst be proficient in sports. As I look at thee I
think that thou art one who makes voyages for gain--a trader whose only
thought is for his cargo and his gains,'
Then said Odysseus with anger. 'Thou hast not spoken well, young man.
Thou hast beauty surely, but thou hast not grace of manner nor speech.
And thou hast stirred the spirit in my breast by speaking to me in such
words.'
Thereupon, clad as he was in his mantle, Odysseus sprang up and took a
weight that was larger than any yet lifted, and with one whirl he flung
it from his hands. Beyond all marks it flew, and one who was standing
far off cried out, 'Even a blind man, stranger, might know that thy
weight need not be confused with the others, but lies far beyond them.
In this bout none of the Phæacians can surpass thee.'
And Odysseus, turning to the youths, said, 'Let who will, pass that
throw. And if any of you would try with me in boxing or wrestling or
even in the foot-race, let him stand forward--anyone except Laodamas,
for he is of the house that has befriended me. A rude man he would
surely be who should strive with his host.'
[Illustration]
All kept silence. Then Alcinous the King said, 'So that thou shalt
have something to tell thy friends when thou art in thine own hand, we
shall show thee the games in which we are most skilful. For we Phæacians
are not perfect boxers or wrestlers, but we excel all in running and in
dancing and in pulling with the oar. Lo, now, ye dancers! Come forward
and show your nimbleness, so that the stranger may tell his friends,
when he is amongst them, how far we surpass all men in dancing as well
as in seamanship and speed of foot.'
A place was levelled for the dance, and the blind minstrel, Demodocus,
took the lyre in his hands and made music, while youths skilled in the
dance struck the ground with their feet. Odysseus as he watched them
marvelled at their grace and their spirit. When the dance was ended he
said to the King, 'My Lord Alcinous, thou didst boast thy dancers to be
the best in the world, and thy word is not to be denied. I wonder as I
look upon them.'
At the end of the day Alcinous spoke to his people and said, 'This
stranger, in all that he does and says, shows himself to be a wise and a
mighty man. Let each of us now give him the stranger's gift. Here there
are twelve princes of the Phæacians and I am the thirteenth. Let each of
us give him a worthy gift, and then let us go back to my house and sit
down to supper. As for Euryalus, let him make amends to the stranger for
his rudeness of speech as he offers him his gift.'
All assented to the King's words, and Euryalus went to Odysseus and
said, 'Stranger, if I have spoken aught that offended thee, may the
storm winds snatch it and bear it away. May the gods grant that thou
shalt see thy wife and come to thine own country. Too long hast thou
endured afflictions away from thy friends.'
So saying, Euryalus gave Odysseus a sword of bronze with a silver hilt
and a sheath of ivory. Odysseus took it and said, 'And to you, my
friend, may the gods grant all happiness, and mayst thou never miss the
sword that thou hast given me. Thy gracious speech hath made full
amends.'
Each of the twelve princes gave gifts to Odysseus, and the gifts were
brought to the palace and left by the side of the Queen. And Arete
herself gave Odysseus a beautiful coffer with raiment and gold in it,
and Alcinous, the King, gave him a beautiful cup, all of gold.
In the palace the bath was prepared for Odysseus, and he entered it and
was glad of the warm water, for not since he had left the Island of
Calypso did he have a warm bath. He came from the bath and put on the
beautiful raiment that had been given him and he walked through the
hall, looking a king amongst men.
[Illustration]
Now the maiden, Nausicaa, stood by a pillar as he passed, and she knew
that she had never looked upon a man who was more splendid. She had
thought that the stranger whom she had saved would have stayed in her
father's house, and that one day he would be her husband. But now she
knew that by no means would he abide in the land of the Phæacians. As he
passed by, she spoke to him and said, 'Farewell, O Stranger! And when
thou art in thine own country, think sometimes of me, Nausicaa, who
helped thee.' Odysseus took her hand and said to her, 'Farewell,
daughter of King Alcinous! May Zeus grant that I may return to my own
land. There every day shall I pay homage to my memory of thee, to whom I
owe my life.'
He passed on and he came to where the Princes and Captains and
Councillors of the Phæacians sat. His seat was beside the King's. Then
the henchman brought in the minstrel, blind Demodocus, and placed him on
a seat by a pillar. And when supper was served Odysseus sent to
Demodocus a portion of his own meat. He spoke too in praise of the
minstrel saying, 'Right well dost thou sing of the Greeks and all they
wrought and suffered--as well, methinks, as if thou hadst been present
at the war of Troy. I would ask if thou canst sing of the Wooden Horse
that brought destruction to the Trojans. If thou canst, I shall be a
witness amongst all men how the gods have surely given thee the gift of
song.'
Demodocus took down the lyre and sang. His song told how one part of the
Greeks sailed away in their ships and how others with Odysseus to lead
them were now in the center of Priam's City all hidden in the great
Wooden Horse which the Trojans themselves had dragged across their
broken wall. So the Wooden Horse stood, and the people gathered around
talked of what should be done with so wonderful a thing--whether to
break open its timbers, or drag it to a steep hill and hurl it down on
the rocks, or leave it there as an offering to the gods. As an offering
to the gods it was left at last. Then the minstrel sang how Odysseus and
his comrades poured forth from the hollow of the horse and took the
City.
As the minstrel sang, the heart of Odysseus melted within him and tears
fell down his cheeks. None of the company saw him weeping except
Alcinous the King. But the King cried out to the company saying, 'Let
the minstrel cease, for there is one amongst us to whom his song is not
pleasing. Ever since it began the stranger here has wept with tears
flowing down his cheeks.'
The minstrel ceased, and all the company looked in surprise at Odysseus,
who sat with his head bowed and his mantle wrapped around his head. Why
did he weep? each man asked. No one had asked of him his name, for each
thought it was more noble to serve a stranger without knowing his name.
Said the King, speaking again, 'In a brother's place stands the stranger
and the suppliant, and as a brother art thou to us, O unknown guest. But
wilt thou not be brotherly to us? Tell us by what name they call thee in
thine own land. Tell us, too, of thy land and thy city. And tell us,
too, where thou wert borne on thy wanderings, and to what lands and
peoples thou earnest. And as a brother tell us why thou dost weep and
mourn in spirit over the tale of the going forth of the Greeks to the
war of Troy. Didst thou have a kinsman who fell before Priam's City--a
daughter's husband, or a wife's father, or someone nearer by blood? Or
didst thou have a loving friend who fell there--one with an
understanding heart who wast to thee as a brother?'
Such questions the King asked, and Odysseus taking the mantle from
around his head turned round to the company.
IV
Then Odysseus spoke before the company and said, 'O Alcinous, famous
King, it is good to listen to a minstrel such as Demodocus is. And as
for me, I know of no greater delight than when men feast together with
open hearts, when tables are plentifully spread, when wine-bearers pour
out good wine into cups, and when a minstrel sings to them noble songs.
This seems to me to be happiness indeed. But thou hast asked me to speak
of my wanderings and my toils. Ah, where can I begin that tale? For the
gods have given me more woes than a man can speak of!'
'But first of all I will declare to you my name and my country. I am
ODYSSEUS, SON OF LAERTES, and my land is Ithaka, an island around which
many islands lie. Ithaka is a rugged isle, but a good nurse of hardy
men, and I, for one, have found that there is no place fairer than a
man's own land. But now I will tell thee, King, and tell the Princes
and Captains and Councillors of the Phæacians, the tale of my
wanderings.'
'The wind bore my ships from the coast of Troy, and with our white sails
hoisted we came to the cape that is called Malea. Now if we had been
able to double this cape we should soon have come to our own country,
all unhurt. But the north wind came and swept us from our course and
drove us wandering past Cythera.'
'Then for nine days we were borne onward by terrible winds, and away
from all known lands. On the tenth day we came to a strange country.
Many of my men landed there. The people of that land were harmless and
friendly, but the land itself was most dangerous. For there grew there
the honey-sweet fruit of the lotus that makes all men forgetful of their
past and neglectful of their future. And those of my men who ate the
lotus that the dwellers of that land offered them became forgetful of
their country and of the way before them. They wanted to abide forever
in the land of the lotus. They wept when they thought of all the toils
before them and of all they had endured. I led them back to the ships,
and I had to place them beneath the benches and leave them in bonds. And
I commanded those who had ate of the lotus to go at once aboard the
ships. Then, when I had got all my men upon the ships, we made haste to
sail away.'
[Illustration]
'Later we came to the land of the Cyclôpes, a giant people. There is a
waste island outside the harbour of their land, and on it there is a
well of bright water that has poplars growing round it. We came to that
empty island, and we beached our ships and took down our sails.'
'As soon as the dawn came we went through the empty island, starting the
wild goats that were there in flocks, and shooting them with our arrows.
We killed so many wild goats there that we had nine for each ship.
Afterwards we looked across to the land of the Cyclôpes, and we heard
the sound of voices and saw the smoke of fires and heard the bleating of
flocks of sheep and goats.'
'I called my companions together and I said, "It would be well for some
of us to go to that other island. With my own ship and with the company
that is on it I shall go there. The rest of you abide here. I will find
out what manner of men live there, and whether they will treat us kindly
and give us gifts that are due to strangers--gifts of provisions for our
voyage."' E embarked and we came to the land. There was a cave near the
sea, and round the cave there were mighty flocks of sheep and goats. I
took twelve men with me and I left the rest to guard the ship. We went
into the cave and found no man there. There were baskets filled with
cheeses, and vessels of whey, and pails and bowls of milk. My men wanted
me to take some of the cheeses and drive off some of the lambs and kids
and come away. But this I would not do, for I would rather that he who
owned the stores would give us of his own free will the offerings that
were due to strangers.'
'While we were in the cave, he whose dwelling it was, returned to it. He
carried on his shoulder a great pile of wood for his fire. Never in our
lives did we see a creature so frightful as this Cyclops was. He was a
giant in size, and, what made him terrible to behold, he had but one
eye, and that single eye was in his forehead. He cast down on the ground
the pile of wood that he carried, making such a din that we fled in
terror into the corners and recesses of the cave. Next he drove his
flocks into the cave and began to milk his ewes and goats. And when he
had the flocks within, he took up a stone that not all our strengths
could move and set it as a door to the mouth of the cave.'
'The Cyclops kindled his fire, and when it blazed up he saw us in the
corners and recesses. He spoke to us. We knew not what he said, but our
hearts were shaken with terror at the sound of his deep voice.'
'I spoke to him saying that we were Agamemnon's men on our way home from
the taking of Priam's City, and I begged him to deal with us kindly, for
the sake of Zeus who is ever in the company of strangers and suppliants.
But he answered me saying, "We Cyclôpes pay no heed to Zeus, nor to any
of thy gods. In our strength and our power we deem that we are mightier
than they. I will not spare thee, neither will I give thee aught for the
sake of Zeus, but only as my own spirit bids me. And first I would have
thee tell me how you came to our laud."'
'I knew it would be better not to let the Cyclops know that my ship and
my companions were at the harbour of the island. Therefore I spoke to
him guilefully, telling him that my ship had been broken on the rocks,
and that I and the men with me were the only ones who had escaped utter
doom.'
'I begged again that he would deal with us as just men deal with
strangers and suppliants, but he, without saying a word, laid hands upon
two of my men, and swinging them by the legs, dashed their brains out on
the earth. He cut them to pieces and ate them before our very eyes. We
wept and we prayed to Zeus as we witnessed a deed so terrible.'
'Next the Cyclops stretched himself amongst his sheep and went to sleep
beside the fire. Then I debated whether I should take my sharp sword in
my hand, and feeling where his heart was, stab him there. But second
thoughts held me back from doing this. I might be able to kill him as he
slept, but not even with my companions could I roll away the great stone
that closed the mouth of the cave.'
'Dawn came, and the Cyclops awakened, kindled his fire and milked his
flocks. Then he seized two others of my men and made ready for his
mid-day meal. And now he rolled away the great stone and drove his
flocks out of the cave.'
[Illustration]
'I had pondered on a way of escape, and I had thought of something that
might be done to baffle the Cyclops. I had with me a great skin of
sweet wine, and I thought that if I could make him drunken with wine I
and my companions might be able for him. But there were other
preparations to be made first. On the floor of the cave there was a
great beam of olive wood which the Cyclops had cut to make a club when
the wood should be seasoned. It was yet green. I and my companions went
and cut off a fathom's length of the wood, and sharpened it to a point
and took it to the fire and hardened it in the glow. Then I hid the beam
in a recess of the cave.'
'The Cyclops came back in the evening, and opening up the cave drove in
his flocks. Then he closed the cave again with the stone and went and
milked his ewes and his goats. Again he seized two of my companions. I
went to the terrible creature with a bowl of wine in my hands. He took
it and drank it and cried out, "Give me another bowl of this, and tell
me thy name that I may give thee gifts for bringing me this
honey-tasting drink."'
'Again I spoke to him guilefully and said, "Noman is my name. Noman my
father and my mother call me."'
'"Give me more of the drink, Noman," he shouted. "And the gift that I
shall give to thee is that I shall make thee the last of thy fellows to
be eaten."'
'I gave him wine again, and when he had taken the third bowl he sank
backwards with his face upturned, and sleep came upon him. Then I, with
four companions, took that beam of olive wood, now made into a hard and
pointed stake, and thrust it into the ashes of the fire. When the
pointed end began to glow we drew it out of the flame. Then I and my
companions laid hold on the great stake and, dashing at the Cyclops,
thrust it into his eye. He raised a terrible cry that made the rocks
ring and we dashed away into the recesses of the cave.'
His cries brought other Cyclôpes to the mouth of the cave, and they,
naming him as Polyphemus, called out and asked him what ailed him to
cry. "Noman," he shrieked out, "Noman is slaying me by guile." They
answered him saying, "If no man is slaying thee, there is nothing we can
do for thee, Polyphemus. What ails thee has been sent to thee by the
gods." Saying this, they went away from the mouth of the cave without
attempting to move away the stone.'
'Polyphemus then, groaning with pain, rolled away the stone and sat
before the mouth of the cave with his hands outstretched, thinking that
he would catch us as we dashed out. I showed my companions how we might
pass by him. I laid hands on certain rams of the flock and I lashed
three of them together with supple rods. Then on the middle ram I put a
man of my company. Thus every three rams carried a man. As soon as the
dawn had come the rams hastened out to the pasture, and, as they passed,
Polyphemus laid hands on the first and the third of each three that went
by. They passed out and Polyphemus did not guess that a ram that he did
not touch carried out a man.'
'For myself, I took a ram that was the strongest and fleeciest of the
whole flock and I placed myself under him, clinging to the wool of his
belly. As this ram, the best of all his flock, went by, Polyphemus,
laying his hands upon him, said, "Would that you, the best of my flock,
were endowed with speech, so that you might tell me where Noman, who has
blinded me, has hidden himself." The ram went by him, and when he had
gone a little way from the cave I loosed myself from him and went and
set my companions free.'
'We gathered together many of Polyphemus' sheep and we drove them down
to our ship. The men we had left behind would have wept when they heard
what had happened to six of their companions. But I bade them take on
board the sheep we had brought and pull the ship away from that land.
Then when we had drawn a certain distance from the shore I could not
forbear to shout my taunts into the cave of Polyphemus. "Cyclops," I
cried, "you thought that you had the company of a fool and a weakling to
eat. But you have been worsted by me, and your evil deeds have been
punished."'
'So I shouted, and Polyphemus came to the mouth of the cave with great
anger in his heart. He took up rocks and cast them at the ship and they
fell before the prow. The men bent to the oars and pulled the ship away
or it would have been broken by the rocks he cast. And when we were
further away I shouted to him:
'"Cyclops, if any man should ask who it was set his mark upon you, say
that he was Odysseus, the son of Laertes."'
[Illustration]
'Then I heard Polyphemus cry out, "I call upon Poseidon, the god of the
sea, whose son I am, to avenge me upon you, Odysseus. I call upon
Poseidon to grant that you, Odysseus, may never come to your home, or if
the gods have ordained your return, that you come to it after much toil
and suffering, in an evil plight and in a stranger's ship, to find
sorrow in your home."'
'So Polyphemus prayed, and, to my evil fortune, Poseidon heard his
prayer. But we went on in our ship rejoicing at our escape. We came to
the waste island where my other ships were. All the company rejoiced to
see us, although they had to mourn for their six companions slain by
Polyphemus. We divided amongst the ships the sheep we had taken from
Polyphemus' flock and we sacrificed to the gods. At the dawn of the next
day we raised the sails on each ship and we sailed away,'
V
We came to the Island where Æolus, the Lord of the Winds, he who can
give mariners a good or a bad wind, has his dwelling. With his six sons
and his six daughters Æolus lives on a floating island that has all
around it a wall of bronze. And when we came to his island, the Lord of
the Winds treated us kindly and kept us at his dwelling for a month. Now
when the time came for us to leave, Æolus did not try to hold us on the
island. And to me, when I was going down to the ships, he gave a bag
made from the hide of an ox, and in that bag were all the winds that
blow. He made the mouth of the bag fast with a silver thong, so that no
wind that might drive us from our course could escape. Then he sent the
West Wind to blow on our sails that we might reach our own land as
quickly as a ship might go.'
'For nine days we sailed with the West Wind driving us, and on the tenth
day we came in sight of Ithaka, our own land. We saw its coast and the
beacon fires upon the coast and the people tending the fires. Then I
thought that the curse of the Cyclops was vain and could bring no harm
to us. Sleep that I had kept from me for long I let weigh me down, and I
no longer kept watch.'
'Then even as I slept, the misfortune that I had watched against fell
upon me. For now my men spoke together and said, "There is our native
land, and we come back to it after ten years' struggles and toils, with
empty hands. Different it is with our lord, Odysseus. He brings gold and
silver from Priam's treasure-chamber in Troy. And Æolus too has given
him a treasure in an ox-hide bag. But let us take something out of that
bag while he sleeps."'
'So they spoke, and they unloosed the mouth of the bag, and behold! all
the winds that were tied in it burst out. Then the winds drove our ship
towards the high seas and away from our land. What became of the other
ships I know not. I awoke and I found that we were being driven here and
there by the winds. I did not know whether I should spring into the sea
and so end all my troubles, or whether I should endure this terrible
misfortune. I muffled my head in my cloak and lay on the deck of my
ship.'
'The winds brought us back again to the floating Island. We landed and I
went to the dwelling of the Lord of the Winds. I sat by the pillars of
his threshold and he came out and spoke to me. "How now, Odysseus?" said
he. "How is it thou hast returned so soon? Did I not give thee a fair
wind to take thee to thine own country, and did I not tie up all the
winds that might be contrary to thee?"'
'"My evil companions," I said, "have been my bane. They have undone all
the good that thou didst for me, O King of the Winds. They opened the
bag and let all the winds fly out. And now help me, O Lord Æolus, once
again."'
'But Æolus said to me, "Far be it from me to help such a man as thou--a
man surely accursed by the gods. Go from my Island, for nothing will I
do for thee." Then I went from his dwelling and took my way down to the
ship.'
We sailed away from the Island of Æolus with heavy hearts. Next we came
to the Æean Island, where we met with Circe, the Enchantress. For two
days and two nights we were on that island without seeing the sign of a
habitation. On the third day I saw smoke rising up from some hearth. I
spoke of it to my men, and it seemed good to us that part of our company
should go to see were there people there who might help us. We drew lots
to find out who should go, and it fell to the lot of Eurylochus to go
with part of the company, while I remained with the other part.'
'So Eurylochus went with two and twenty men. In the forest glades they
came upon a house built of polished stones. All round that house wild
beasts roamed--wolves and lions. But these beasts were not fierce. As
Eurylochus and his men went towards the house the lions and wolves
fawned upon them like house dogs.'
'But the men were affrighted and stood round the outer gate of the
court. They heard a voice within the house singing, and it seemed to
them to be the voice of a woman, singing as she went to and fro before a
web she was weaving on a loom. The men shouted, and she who had been
singing opened the polished doors and came out of the dwelling. She was
very fair to see. As she opened the doors of the house she asked the men
to come within and they went into her halls.'
[Illustration]
'But Eurylochus tarried behind. He watched the woman and he saw her give
food to the men. But he saw that she mixed a drug with what she gave
them to eat and with the wine she gave them to drink. No sooner had they
eaten the food and drunk the wine than she struck them with a wand, and
behold! the men turned into swine. Then the woman drove them out of
the house and put them in the swine-pens and gave them acorns and mast
and the fruit of the cornel tree to eat.'
'Eurylochus, when he saw these happenings, ran back through the forest
and told me all. Then I cast about my shoulder my good sword of bronze,
and, bidding Eurylochus stay by the ships, I went through the forest and
came to the house of the enchantress. I stood at the outer court and
called out. Then Circe the Enchantress flung wide the shining doors, and
called to me to come within. I entered her dwelling and she brought me
to a chair and put a footstool under my feet. Then she brought me in a
golden cup the wine into which she had cast a harmful drug.'
'As she handed me the cup I drew my sword and sprang at her as one eager
to slay her. She shrank back from me and cried out, "Who art thou who
art able to guess at my enchantments? Verily, thou art Odysseus, of whom
Hermes told me. Nay, put up thy sword and let us two be friendly to each
other. In all things I will treat thee kindly."'
'But I said to her, "Nay, Circe, you must swear to me first that thou
wilt not treat me guilefully."'
[Illustration]
'She swore by the gods that she would not treat me guilefully, and I put
up my sword. Then the handmaidens of Circe prepared a bath, and I bathed
and rubbed myself with olive oil, and Circe gave me a new mantle and
doublet. The handmaidens brought out silver tables, and on them set
golden baskets with bread and meat in them, and others brought cups of
honey-tasting wine. I sat before a silver table but I had no pleasure in
the food before me.'
'When Circe saw me sitting silent and troubled she said, "Why, Odysseus,
dost thou sit like a speechless man? Dost thou think there is a drug in
this food? But I have sworn that I will not treat thee guilefully, and
that oath I shall keep."'
'And I said to her, "O Circe, Enchantress, what man of good heart could
take meat and drink while his companions are as swine in swine-pens? If
thou wouldst have me eat and drink, first let me see my companions in
their own forms."'
'Circe, when she heard me say this, went to the swine-pen and anointed
each of the swine that was there with a charm. As she did, the bristles
dropped away and the limbs of the man were seen. My companions became
men again, and were even taller and handsomer than they had been
before.'
'After that we lived on Circe's island in friendship with the
enchantress. She did not treat us guilefully again and we feasted in her
house for a year.'
'But in all of us there was a longing to return to our own land. And my
men came to me and craved that I should ask Circe to let us go on our
homeward way. She gave us leave to go and she told us of the many
dangers we should meet on our voyage.'
VI
When the sun sank and darkness came on, my men went to lie by the
hawsers of the ship. Then Circe the Enchantress took my hand, and,
making me sit down by her, told me of the voyage that was before us.'
'"To the Sirens first you shall come," said she, "to the Sirens, who sit
in their field of flowers and bewitch all men who come near them. He who
comes near the Sirens without knowing their ways and hears the sound of
their voices--never again shall that man see wife or child, or have joy
of his home-coming. All round where the Sirens sit are great heaps of
the bones of men. But I will tell thee, Odysseus, how thou mayst pass
them."'
'"When thou comest near put wax over the ears of thy company lest any of
them hear the Sirens' song. But if thou thyself art minded to hear, let
thy company bind thee hand and foot to the mast. And if thou shalt
beseech them to loose thee, then must they bind thee with tighter bonds.
When thy companions have driven the ship past where the Sirens sing then
thou canst be unbound."'
'"Past where the Sirens sit there is a dangerous place indeed. On one
side there are great rocks which the gods call the Rocks Wandering. No
ship ever escapes that goes that way. And round these rocks the planks
of ships and the bodies of men are tossed by waves of the sea and storms
of fire. One ship only ever passed that way, Jason's ship, the Argo, and
that ship would have been broken on the rocks if Hera the goddess had
not helped it to pass, because of her love for the hero Jason."'
'"On the other side of the Rocks Wandering are two peaks through which
thou wilt have to take thy ship. One peak is smooth and sheer and goes
up to the clouds of heaven. In the middle of it there is a cave, and
that cave is the den of a monster named Scylla. This monster has six
necks and on each neck there is a hideous head. She holds her heads over
the gulf, seeking for prey and yelping horribly. No ship has ever passed
that way without Scylla seizing and carrying off in each mouth of her
six heads the body of a man."'
'"The other peak is near. Thou couldst send an arrow across to it from
Scylla's den. Out of the peak a fig tree grows, and below that fig tree
Charybdis has her den. She sits there sucking down the water and
spouting it forth. Mayst thou not be near when she sucks the water down,
for then nothing could save thee. Keep nearer to Scylla's than to
Charybdis's rock. It is better to lose six of your company than to lose
thy ship and all thy company. Keep near Scylla's rock and drive right
on."'
'"If thou shouldst win past the deadly rocks guarded by Scylla and
Charybdis thou wilt come to the Island of Thrinacia. There the Cattle of
the Sun graze with immortal nymphs to guard them. If them comest to
that Island, do no hurt to those herds. If thou doest hurt to them I
foresee ruin for thy ship and thy men, even though thou thyself shouldst
escape."'
'So Circe spoke to me, and having told me such things she took her way
up the island. Then I went to the ship and roused my men. Speedily they
went aboard, and, having taken their seats upon the benches, struck the
water with their oars. Then the sails were hoisted and a breeze came and
we sailed away from the Isle of Circe, the Enchantress.'
'I told my companions what Circe had told me about the Sirens in their
field of flowers. I took a great piece of wax and broke it and kneaded
it until it was soft. Then I covered the ears of my men, and they bound
me upright to the mast of the ship. The wind dropped and the sea became
calm as though a god had stilled the waters. My company took their oars
and pulled away. When the ship was within a man's shout from the land we
had come near the Sirens espied us and raised their song.'
'"Come hither, come hither, O Odysseus," the Sirens sang, "stay thy bark
and listen to our song. None hath ever gone this way in his ship until
he hath heard from our own lips the voice sweet as a honeycomb, and hath
joy of it, and gone on his way a wiser man. We know all things--all the
travail the Greeks had in the war of Troy, and we know all that
hereafter shall be upon the earth. Odysseus, Odysseus, come to our field
of flowers, and hear the song that we shall sing to thee."'
[Illustration]
'My heart was mad to listen to the Sirens. I nodded my head to the
company commanding them to unloose me, but they bound me the tighter,
and bent to their oars and rowed on. When we had gone past the place of
the Sirens the men took the wax from off their ears and loosed me from
the mast.'
But no sooner had we passed the Island than I saw smoke arising and
heard the roaring of the sea. My company threw down their oars in
terror. I went amongst them to hearten them, and I made them remember
how, by my device, we had escaped from the Cave of the Cyclops.
I told them nothing of the monster Scylla, lest the fear of her should
break their hearts. And now we began to drive through that narrow
strait. On one side was Scylla and on the other Charybdis. Fear gripped
the men when they saw Charybdis gulping down the sea. But as we drove
by, the monster Scylla seized six of my company--the hardiest of the men
who were with me. As they were lifted up in the mouths of her six heads
they called to me in their agony. 'But I could do nothing to aid them.
They were carried up to be devoured in the monster's den. Of all the
sights I have seen on the ways of the water, that sight was the most
pitiful.'
[Illustration]
'Having passed the rocks of Scylla and Charybdis we came to the Island
of Thrinacia. While we were yet on the ship I heard the lowing of the
Cattle of the Sun. I spoke to my company and told them that we should
drive past that Island and not venture to go upon it.'
'The hearts of my men were broken within them at that sentence, and
Eurylochus answered me, speaking sadly.'
'"It is easy for thee, O Odysseus, to speak like that, for thou art
never weary, and thou hast strength beyond measure. But is thy heart,
too, of iron that thou wilt not suffer thy companions to set foot upon
shore where they may rest themselves from the sea and prepare their
supper at their ease?"'
'So Eurylochus spoke and the rest of the company joined in what he said.
Their force was greater than mine. Then said I, "Swear to me a mighty
oath, one and all of you, that if we go upon this Island none of you
will slay the cattle out of any herd."'
'They swore the oath that I gave them. We brought our ship to a harbour,
and landed near a spring of fresh water, and the men got their supper
ready. Having eaten their supper they fell to weeping for they thought
upon their comrades that Scylla had devoured. Then they slept.'
'The dawn came, but we found that we could not take our ship out of the
harbour, for the North Wind and the East Wind blew a hurricane. So we
stayed upon the Island and the days and the weeks went by. When the corn
we had brought in the ship was all eaten the men went through the island
fishing and hunting. Little they got to stay their hunger.'
'One day while I slept, Eurylochus gave the men a most evil counsel.
"Every death," he said, "is hateful to man, but death by hunger is far
the worst. Rather than die of hunger let us drive off the best cattle
from the herds of the Sun. Then, if the gods would wreck us on the sea
for the deed, let them do it. I would rather perish on the waves than
die in the pangs of hunger."'
'So he spoke, and the rest of the men approved of what he said. They
slaughtered them and roasted their flesh. It was then that I awakened
from my sleep. As I came down to the ship the smell of the roasting
flesh came to me. Then I knew that a terrible deed had been committed
and that a dreadful thing would befall all of us.'
'For six days my company feasted on the best of the cattle. On the
seventh day the winds ceased to blow. Then we went to the ship and set
up the mast and the sails and fared out again on the deep.'
'But, having left that island, no other land appeared, and only sky and
sea were to be seen. A cloud stayed always above our ship and beneath
that cloud the sea was darkened. The West Wind came in a rush, and the
mast broke, and, in breaking, struck off the head of the pilot, and he
fell straight down into the sea. A thunderbolt struck the ship and the
men were swept from the deck. Never a man of my company did I see
again.'
'The West Wind ceased to blow but the South Wind came and it drove the
ship back on its course. It rushed towards the terrible rocks of Scylla
and Charybdis. All night long I was borne on, and, at the rising of the
sun? I found myself near Charybdis. My ship was sucked down. But I
caught the branches of the fig tree that grew out of the rock and hung
to it like a bat. There I stayed until the timbers of my ship were cast
up again by Charybdis. I dropped down on them. Sitting on the boards I
rowed with my hands and passed the rock of Scylla without the monster
seeing me.'
'Then for nine days I was borne along by the waves, and on the tenth day
I came to Ogygia where the nymph Calypso dwells. She took me to her
dwelling and treated me kindly. But why tell the remainder of my toils?
To thee, O King, and to thy noble wife I told how I came from Calypso's
Island, and I am not one to repeat a plain-told tale.'
VII
Odysseus finished, and the company in the hall sat silent, like men
enchanted. Then King Alcinous spoke and said, 'Never, as far as we
Phæacians are concerned, wilt thou, Odysseus, be driven from thy
homeward way. To-morrow we will give thee a ship and an escort, and we
will land thee in Ithaka, thine own country.' The Princes, Captains and
Councillors, marvelling that they had met the renowned Odysseus, went
each to his own home. When the dawn had come, each carried down to the
ship on which Odysseus was to sail, gifts for him.
[Illustration]
When the sun was near its setting they all came back to the King's hall
to take farewell of him. The King poured out a great bowl of wine as an
offering to the gods. Then Odysseus rose up and placed in the Queen's
hands a two-handled cup, and he said, 'Farewell to thee, O Queen! Mayst
thou long rejoice in thy house and thy children, and in thy husband,
Alcinous, the renowned King.'
He passed over the threshold of the King's house, and he went down to
the ship. He went aboard and lay down on the deck on a sheet and rug
that had been spread for him. Straightway the mariners took to their
oars, and hoisted their sails, and the ship sped on like a strong
sea-bird. Odysseus slept. And lightly the ship sped on, bearing that man
who had suffered so much sorrow of heart in passing through wars of men
and through troublous seas--the ship sped on, and he slept, and was
forgetful of all he had passed through.
When the dawn came the ship was near to the Island of Ithaka. The
mariners drove to a harbour near which there was a great cave. They ran
the ship ashore and lifted out Odysseus, wrapped in the sheet and the
rugs, and still sleeping. They left him on the sandy shore of his own
land. Then they took the gifts which the King and Queen, the Princes,
Captains and Councillors of the Phæacians had given him, and they set
them by an olive tree, a little apart from the road, so that no
wandering person might come upon them before Odysseus had awakened. Then
they went back to their ship and departed from Ithaka for their own
land.
Odysseus awakened on the beach of his own land. A mist lay over all, and
he did not know what land he had come to. He thought that the Phæacians
had left him forsaken on a strange shore. As he looked around him in his
bewilderment he saw one who was like a King's son approaching.
Now the one who came near him was not a young man, but the goddess,
Pallas Athene, who had made herself look like a young man. Odysseus
arose, and questioned her as to the land he had come to. The goddess
answered him and said, 'This is Ithaka, a land good for goats and
cattle, a land of woods and wells,'
Even as she spoke she changed from the semblance of a young man and was
seen by Odysseus as a woman tall and fair. 'Dost thou not know me,
Pallas Athene, the daughter of Zeus, who has always helped thee?' the
goddess said. 'I would have been more often by thy side, only I did not
want to go openly against my brother, Poseidon, the god of the sea,
whose son, Polyphemus, thou didst blind.'
As the goddess spoke the mist that lay on the land scattered and
Odysseus saw that he was indeed in Ithaka, his own country--he knew the
harbour and the cave, and the hill Neriton all covered with its forest.
And knowing them he knelt down on the ground and kissed the earth of his
country.
[Illustration]
Then the goddess helped him to lay his goods within the cave--the gold
and the bronze and the woven raiment that the Phæacians had given him.
She made him sit beside her under the olive tree while she told him of
the things that were happening in his house.
'There is trouble in thy halls, Odysseus,' she said, 'and it would be
well for thee not to make thyself known for a time. Harden thy heart,
that thou mayest endure for a while longer ill treatment at the hands of
men.' She told him about the wooers of his wife, who filled his halls
all day, and wasted his substance, and who would slay him, lest he
should punish them for their insolence. 'So that the doom of Agamemnon
shall not befall thee--thy slaying within thine own halls--I will change
thine appearance that no man shall know thee,' the goddess said.
Then she made a change in his appearance that would have been evil but
that it was to last for a while only. She made his skin wither, and she
dimmed his shining eyes. She made his yellow hair grey and scanty. Then
she changed his raiment to a beggar's wrap, torn and stained with smoke.
Over his shoulder she cast the hide of a deer, and she put into his
hands a beggar's staff, with a tattered bag and a cord to hang it by.
And when she had made this change in his appearance the goddess left
Odysseus and went from Ithaka.
It was then that she came to Telemachus in Sparta and counselled him to
leave the house of Menelaus and Helen; and it has been told how he went
with Peisistratus, the son of Nestor, and came to his own ship. His ship
was hailed by a man who was flying from those who would slay him, and
this man Telemachus took aboard. The stranger's name was Theoclymenus,
and he was a sooth-sayer and a second-sighted man.
And Telemachus, returning to Ithaka, was in peril of his life. The
wooers of his mother had discovered that he had gone from Ithaka in a
ship. Two of the wooers, Antinous and Eurymachus, were greatly angered
at the daring act of the youth. 'He has gone to Sparta for help,'
Antinous said, 'and if he finds that there are those who will help him
we will not be able to stand against his pride. He will make us suffer
for what we have wasted in his house. But let us too act. I will take a
ship with twenty men, and lie in wait for him in a strait between Ithaka
and Samos, and put an end to his search for his father.'
Thereupon Antinous took twenty men to a ship, and fixing mast and sails
they went over the sea. There is a little isle between Ithaka and
Samos--Asteris it is called--and in the harbour of that isle he and his
men lay in wait for Telemachus.
VIII
Near the place where Odysseus had landed there lived an old man who was
a faithful servant in his house. Eumæus was his name, and he was a
swineherd. He had made for himself a dwelling in the wildest part of the
island, and had built a wall round it, and had made for the swine pens
in the courtyard--twelve pens, and in each pen there were fifty swine.
Old Eumæus lived in this place tending the swine with three young men to
help him. The swine-pens were guarded by four dogs that were as fierce
as the beasts of the forest.
As he came near the dogs dashed at him, yelping and snapping; and
Odysseus might have suffered foul hurt if the swineherd had not run out
of the courtyard and driven the fierce dogs away. Seeing before him one
who looked an ancient beggar, Eumæus said, 'Old man, it is well that my
dogs did not tear thee, for they might have brought upon me the shame of
thy death. I have grief and pains enough, the gods know, without such a
happening. Here I sit, mourning for my noble master, and fattening hogs
for others to eat, while he, mayhap, is wandering in hunger through some
friendless city. But come in, old man. I have bread and wine to give
thee.'
The swineherd led the seeming beggar into the courtyard, and he let him
sit down on a heap of brushwood, and spread for him a shaggy goat-skin.
Odysseus was glad of his servant's welcome, and he said, 'May Zeus and
all the other gods grant thee thy heart's dearest wish for the welcome
that thou hast given to me.'
Said Eumæus the swineherd, 'A good man looks on all strangers and
beggars as being from Zeus himself. And my heart's dearest wish is that
my master Odysseus should return. Ah, if Odysseus were here, he would
give me something which I could hold as mine own--a piece of ground to
till, and a wife to comfort me. But my master will not return, and we
thralls must go in fear when young lords come to rule it over them.'
He went to the swine-pens and brought out two sucking pigs; he
slaughtered them and cut them small and roasted the meat. When all was
cooked, he brought portions to Odysseus sprinkled with barley meal, and
he brought him, too, wine in a deep bowl of ivy wood. And when Odysseus
had eaten and drunken, Eumæus the swineherd said to him:
'Old man, no wanderer ever comes to this land but that our lady Penelope
sends for him, and gives him entertainment, hoping that he will have
something to tell her of her lord, Odysseus. They all do as thou wouldst
do if thou earnest to her--tell her a tale of having seen or of having
heard of her lord, to win her ear. But as for Odysseus, no matter what
wanderers or vagrants say, he will never return--dogs, or wild birds, or
the fishes of the deep have devoured his body ere this. Never again
shall I find so good a lord, nor would I find one so kind even if I were
back in my own land, and saw the faces of my father and my mother. But
not so much for them do I mourn as for the loss of my master.'
Said Odysseus, 'Thou sayst that thy master will never return, but I
notice that thou art slow to believe thine own words. Now I tell thee
that Odysseus will return and in this same year. And as sure as the old
moon wanes and the young moon is born, he will take vengeance on those
whom you have spoken of--those who eat his substance and dishonour his
wife and son. I say that, and I swear it with an oath.'
[Illustration]
'I do not heed thine oath,' said Eumæus the swineherd. 'I do not listen
to vagrant's tales about my master since a stranger came here and
cheated us with a story. He told us that he had seen Odysseus in the
land of the Cretans, in the house of the hero Idomeneus, mending his
ships that had been broken by the storm, and that he would be here by
summer or by harvest time, bringing with him much wealth.'
As they were speaking the younger swineherds came back from the woods,
bringing the drove of swine into the courtyard. There was a mighty din
whilst the swine were being put into their pens. Supper time came on,
and Eumæus and Odysseus and the younger swineherds sat down to a meal.
Eumæus carved the swineflesh, giving the best portion to Odysseus whom
he treated as the guest of honour. And Odysseus said, 'Eumæus, surely
thou art counselled by Zeus, seeing thou dost give the best of the meat
even to such a one as I.'
And Eumæus, thinking Odysseus was praising him for treating a stranger
kindly, said, 'Eat, stranger, and make merry with such fare as is here.'
The night came on cold with rain. Then Odysseus, to test the kindliness
of the swineherd, said, 'O that I were young and could endure this
bitter night! O that I were better off! Then would one of you swineherds
give me a wrap to cover myself from the wind and rain! But now, verily,
I am an outcast because of my sorry raiment.'
Then Eumæus sprang up and made a bed for Odysseus near the fire.
Odysseus lay down, and the swineherd covered him with a mantle he kept
for a covering when great storms should arise. Then, that he might
better guard the swine, Eumæus, wrapping himself up in a cloak, and
taking with him a sword and javelin, to drive off wild beasts should
they come near, went to lie nearer to the pens.