living man, the Gods sent Hermes to Calypso. So Hermes bound on his feet
his fair golden sandals, that wax not old, and bear him, alike over wet
sea and dry land, as swift as the wind. Along the crests of the waves he
flew, like the cormorant that chases fishes through the sea deeps, with
his plumage wet in the sea brine. He reached the island, and went up to
the cave of Calypso, wherein dwelt the nymph of the braided tresses,
and he found her within. And on the hearth there was a great fire
burning, and from afar, through the isle, was smelt the fragrance of
cleft cedar blazing, and of sandal wood. And the nymph within was
singing with a sweet voice as she fared to and fro before the loom, and
wove with a shuttle of gold. All round about the cave there was a wood
blossoming, alder and poplar and sweet smelling cypress. Therein roosted
birds long of wing--owls and falcons and chattering sea-crows, which
have their business in the waters. And lo! there, about the hollow cave,
trailed a gadding garden vine, all rich with clusters. And fountains,
four set orderly, were running with clear water hard by one another,
turned each to his own course. Around soft meadows bloomed of violets
and parsley; yea, even a deathless God who came thither might wonder at
the sight and be glad at heart.
There the messenger, the slayer of Argos, stood and wondered. Now when
he had gazed at all with wonder, he went into the wide cave; nor did
Calypso, that fair Goddess, fail to know him when she saw him face to
face; for the Gods use not to be strange one to another, not though one
have his habitation far away. But he found not Ulysses, the
great-hearted, within the cave, who sat weeping on the shore even as
aforetime, straining his soul with tears and groans and griefs, and as
he wept he looked wistfully over the unharvested deep. And Calypso, that
fair Goddess, questioned Hermes, when she had made him sit on a bright
shining star:
'Wherefore, I pray thee, Hermes of the golden wand, hast thou come
hither, worshipful and welcome, whereas as of old thou wert not wont to
visit me? Tell me all thy thought; my heart is set on fulfilling it, if
fulfil it I may, and if it hath been fulfilled in the counsel of fate.
But now follow me further, that I may set before thee the entertainment
of strangers.'
Therewith the goddess spread a table with ambrosia and set it by him,
and mixed the ruddy nectar. So the messenger, the slayer of Argos, did
eat and drink. Now after he had supped and comforted his soul with food,
at the last he answered, and spake to her on this wise:
'Thou makest question of me on my coming, a Goddess of a God, and I will
tell thee this my saying truly, at thy command. 'Twas Zeus that bade me
come hither, by no will of mine; nay, who of his free will would speed
over such a wondrous space of sea whereby is no city of mortals that do
sacrifice to the gods. He saith that thou hast with thee a man most
wretched beyond his fellows, beyond those men that round the city of
Priam for nine years fought, and in the tenth year sacked the city and
departed homeward. Yet on the way they sinned against Athene, and she
raised upon them an evil blast and long waves of the sea. Then all the
rest of his good company was lost, but it came to pass that the wind
bare and the wave brought him hither. And now Zeus biddeth thee send him
hence with what speed thou mayest, for it is not ordained that he die
away from his friends, but rather it is his fate to look on them even
yet, and to come to his high-roofed home and his own country.'
[Illustration: CALYPSO TAKES PITY ON ULYSSES.]
So spake he, and Calypso, that fair Goddess, shuddered and spake unto
him: 'Hard are ye Gods and jealous exceeding, who ever grudge Goddesses
openly to mate with men. Him I saved as he went all alone bestriding the
keel of a bark, for that Zeus had crushed and cleft his swift ship
with a white bolt in the midst of the wine-dark deep. There all the rest
of his good company was lost, but it came to pass that the wind bare and
the wave brought him hither. And him have I loved and cherished, and I
said that I would make him to know not death and age for ever. But I
will give him no despatch, not I, for I have no ships by me with oars,
nor company to bear him on his way over the broad back of the sea. Yet
will I be forward to put this in his mind, and will hide nought, that
all unharmed he may come to his own country.'
Then the messenger, the slayer of Argos, answered her: 'Yea, speed him
now upon his path and have regard unto the wrath of Zeus, lest haply he
be angered and bear hard on thee hereafter.'
Therewith the great slayer of Argos departed, but the lady nymph went on
her way to the great-hearted Ulysses, when she had heard the message of
Zeus. And there she found him sitting on the shore, and his eyes were
never dry of tears, and his sweet life was ebbing away as he mourned for
his return. In the daytime he would sit on the rocks and on the beach,
straining his soul with tears, and groans, and griefs, and through his
tears he would look wistfully over the unharvested deep. So, standing
near him, that fair goddess spake to him:
'Hapless man, sorrow no more I pray thee in this isle, nor let thy good
life waste away, for even now will I send thee hence with all my heart.
Nay, arise and cut long beams, and fashion a wide raft with the axe, and
lay deckings high thereupon, that it may bear thee over the misty deep.
And I will place therein bread and water, and red wine to thy heart's
desire, to keep hunger far away. And I will put raiment upon thee, and
send a fair gale, that so thou mayest come all unharmed to thine own
country, if indeed it be the good pleasure of the gods who hold wide
heaven, who are stronger than I am both to will and to do.'
Then Ulysses was glad and sad: glad that the Gods took thought for him,
and sad to think of crossing alone the wide unsailed seas. Calypso said
to him:
'So it is indeed thy wish to get thee home to thine own dear country
even in this hour? Good fortune go with thee even so! Yet didst thou
know in thine heart what thou art ordained to suffer, or ever thou reach
thine own country, here, even here, thou wouldst abide with me and keep
this house, and wouldst never taste of death, though thou longest to see
thy wife, for whom thou hast ever a desire day by day. Not, in sooth,
that I avow me to be less noble than she in form or fashion, for it is
in no wise meet that mortal women should match them with immortals in
shape and comeliness.'
And Ulysses of many counsels answered, and spake unto her: 'Be not wroth
with me, goddess and queen. Myself I know it well, how wise Penelope is
meaner to look upon than thou in comeliness and stature. But she is
mortal, and thou knowest not age nor death. Yet, even so, I wish and
long day by day to fare homeward and see the day of my returning. Yea,
and if some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep, even so I will
endure, with a heart within me patient of affliction. For already have I
suffered full much, and much have I toiled in perils of waves and war;
let this be added to the tale of those.'
Next day Calypso brought to Ulysses carpenters' tools, and he felled
trees, and made a great raft, and a mast, and sails out of canvas. In
five days he had finished his raft and launched it, and Calypso placed
in it skins full of wine and water, and flour and many pleasant things
to eat, and so they kissed for that last time and took farewell, he
going alone on the wide sea, and she turning lonely to her own home. He
might have lived for ever with the beautiful fairy, but he chose to live
and die, if he could, with his wife Penelope.
VI
HOW ULYSSES WAS WRECKED, YET REACHED PHAEACIA
As long as the fair wind blew Ulysses sat and steered his raft, never
seeing land or any ship of men. He kept his eye at night on the Great
Bear, holding it always on his left hand, as Calypso taught him.
Seventeen days he sailed, and on the eighteenth day he saw the shadowy
mountain peaks of an island called Phaeacia. But now the Sea god saw
him, and remembered how Ulysses had blinded his son the Cyclops. In
anger he raised a terrible storm: great clouds covered the sky, and all
the winds met. Ulysses wished that he had died when the Trojans gathered
round him as he defended the dead body of Achilles. For, had he died
then, he would have been burned and buried by his friends, but if he
were now drowned his ghost would always wander alone on the fringes of
the Land of the Dead, like the ghost of Elpenor.
As he thought thus, the winds broke the mast of his raft, and the sail
and yardarm fell into the sea, and the waves dragged him deep down. At
last he rose to the surface and swam after his raft, and climbed on to
it, and sat there, while the winds tossed the raft about like a feather.
The Sea goddess, Ino, saw him and pitied him, and rose from the water
as a seagull rises after it has dived. She spoke to him, and threw her
bright veil to him, saying, 'Wind this round your breast, and throw off
your clothes. Leap from the raft and swim, and, when you reach land,
cast the veil back into the sea, and turn away your head.'
Ulysses caught the veil, and wound it about his breast, but he
determined not to leave the raft while the timbers held together. Even
as he thought thus, the timbers were driven asunder by the waves, and he
seized a plank, and sat astride it as a man rides a horse. Then the
winds fell, all but the north wind, which drifted Ulysses on for two
days and nights. On the third day all was calm, and the land was very
near, and Ulysses began to swim towards it, through a terrible surf,
which crashed and foamed on sheer rocks, where all his bones would be
broken. Thrice he clasped a rock, and thrice the back wash of the wave
dragged him out to sea. Then he swam outside of the breakers, along the
line of land, looking for a safe place, and at last he came to the mouth
of the river. Here all was smooth, with a shelving beach, and his feet
touched bottom. He staggered out of the water and swooned away as soon
as he was on dry land. When he came to himself he unbound the veil of
Ino, and cast it into the sea, and fell back, quite spent, among the
reeds of the river, naked and starving. He crept between two thick olive
trees that grew close together and made a shelter against the wind, and
he covered himself all over thickly with fallen dry leaves, till he grew
warm again and fell into a deep sleep.
While Ulysses slept, alone and naked in an unknown land, a dream came to
beautiful Nausicaa, the daughter of the King of that country, which is
called Phaeacia. The dream was in the shape of a girl who was a friend
of Nausicaa, and it said: 'Nausicaa, how has your mother such a careless
daughter? There are many beautiful garments in the house that need to be
washed, against your wedding day, when, as is the custom, you must give
mantles and tunics to the guests. Let us go a washing to the river
to-morrow, taking a car to carry the raiment.'
When Nausicaa wakened next day she remembered the dream, and went to her
father, and asked him to lend her a car to carry the clothes. She said
nothing about her marriage day, for though many young princes were in
love with her, she was in love with none of them. Still, the clothes
must be washed, and her father lent her a waggon with a high frame, and
mules to drive. The clothes were piled in the car, and food was packed
in a basket, every sort of dainty thing, and Nausicaa took the reins and
drove slowly while many girls followed her, her friends of her own age.
They came to a deep clear pool, that overflowed into shallow paved runs
of water, and there they washed the clothes, and trod them down in the
runlets. Next they laid them out to dry in the sun and wind on the
pebbles, and then they took their meal of cakes and other good things.
When they had eaten they threw down their veils and began to play at
ball, at a game like rounders. Nausicaa threw the ball at a girl who was
running, but missed her, and the ball fell into the deep swift river.
All the girls screamed and laughed, and the noise they made wakened
Ulysses where he lay in the little wood. 'Where am I?' he said to
himself; 'is this a country of fierce and savage men? A sound of girls
at play rings round me. Can they be fairies of the hill tops and the
rivers, and the water meadows?' As he had no clothes, and the voices
seemed to be voices of women, Ulysses broke a great leafy bough which
hid all his body, but his feet were bare, his face was wild with
weariness, and cold, and hunger, and his hair and beard were matted and
rough with the salt water.
The girls, when they saw such a face peering over the leaves of the
bough, screamed, and ran this way and that along the beach. But
Nausicaa, as became the daughter of the King, stood erect and unafraid,
and as Ulysses dared not go near and kneel to her, he spoke from a
distance and said:
'I pray thee, O queen, whether thou art a goddess or a mortal! If indeed
thou art a goddess of them that keep the wide heaven, to Artemis, then,
the daughter of great Zeus, I mainly liken thee for beauty and stature
and shapeliness. But if thou art one of the daughters of men who dwell
on earth, thrice blessed are thy father and thy lady mother, and thrice
blessed thy brethren. Surely their souls ever glow with gladness for thy
sake each time they see thee entering the dance, so fair a flower of
maidens. But he is of heart the most blessed beyond all other who shall
prevail with gifts of wooing, and lead thee to his home. Never have mine
eyes beheld such an one among mortals, neither man nor woman; great awe
comes upon me as I look on thee. Yet in Delos once I saw as goodly a
thing: a young sapling of a palm tree springing by the altar of Apollo.
For thither, too, I went, and much people with me, on that path where my
sore troubles were to be. Yea! and when I looked thereupon, long time I
marvelled in spirit--for never grew there yet so goodly a shoot from
ground--even in such wise as I wonder at thee, lady, and am astonished
and do greatly fear to touch thy knees, though grievous sorrow is upon
me.
[Illustration: HOW ULYSSES MET NAUSICAA.]
'Yesterday, on the twentieth day, I escaped from the wine-dark deep, but
all that time continually the wave bare me, and the vehement winds drave
from the isle Ogygia. And now some god has cast me on this shore that
here too, methinks, some evil may betide me; for I think not that
trouble will cease; the gods ere that time will yet bring many a thing
to pass. But, queen, have pity on me, for, after many trials and sore,
to thee first of all am I come, and of the other folk, who hold this
city and land, I know no man. Nay, show me the town; give me an old
garment to cast about me, if thou hadst, when thou camest here, any wrap
for the linen. And may the gods grant thee all thy heart's desire: a
husband and a home, and a mind at one with his may they give--a good
gift, for there is nothing mightier and nobler than when man and wife
are of one heart and mind in a house, a grief to their foes, and to
their friends great joy, but their own hearts know it best.'
Then Nausicaa of the white arms, answered him, and said:
'Stranger, as thou seemest no evil man nor foolish--and it is Olympian
Zeus himself that giveth weal to men, to the good and to the evil, to
each one as he will, and this thy lot doubtless is of him, and so thou
must in anywise endure it--now, since thou hast come to our city and our
land, thou shalt not lack raiment nor aught else that is the due of a
hapless suppliant when he has met them who can befriend him. And I will
show thee the town, and name the name of the people. The Phaeacians hold
this city and land, and I am the daughter of Alcinous, great of heart,
on whom all the might and force of the Phaeacians depend.'
Thus she spake, and called to her maidens of the fair tresses: 'Halt, my
maidens, whither flee ye at the sight of a man? Ye surely do not take
him for an enemy? That mortal breathes not, and never will be born, who
shall come with war to the land of the Phaeacians, for they are very
dear to the gods. Far apart we live in the wash of the waves, the
outermost of men, and no other mortals are conversant with us. Nay, but
this man is some helpless one come hither in his wanderings, whom now we
must kindly entreat, for all strangers and beggars are from Zeus, and a
little gift is dear. So, my maidens, give the stranger meat and drink,
and bathe him in the river, where there is a shelter from the winds.'
So she spake, but they halted and called each to the other, and they
brought Ulysses to the sheltered place, and made him sit down, as
Nausiaca bade them, the daughter of Alcinous, high of heart. Beside him
they laid a mantle and a doublet for raiment, and gave him soft olive
oil in the golden cruse, and bade him wash in the streams of the river.
Then goodly Ulysses spake among the maidens, saying: 'I pray you stand
thus apart while I myself wash the brine from my shoulders, and anoint
me with olive oil, for truly oil is long a stranger to my skin. But in
your sight I will not bathe, for I am ashamed to make me naked in the
company of fair-tressed maidens.'
Then they went apart and told all to their lady. But with the river
water the goodly Ulysses washed from his skin the salt scurf that
covered his back and broad shoulders, and from his head he wiped the
crusted brine of the barren sea. But when he had washed his whole body,
and anointed him with olive oil, and had clad himself in the raiment
that the unwedded maiden gave him, then Athene, the daughter of Zeus,
made him greater and more mighty to behold, and from his head caused
deep curling locks to flow, like the hyacinth flower. And, as when some
skilful man overlays gold upon silver--one that Hephaestus and Pallas
Athene have taught all manner of craft, and full of grace is his
handiwork--even so did Athene shed grace about his head and shoulders.
Then to the shore of the sea went Ulysses apart, and sat down, glowing
in beauty and grace, and the princess marvelled at him, and spake among
her fair-tressed maidens, saying:
'Listen, my white-armed maidens, and I will say somewhat. Not without
the will of all the gods who hold Olympus has this man come among the
godlike Phaeacians. Erewhile he seemed to me uncomely, but now he is
like the gods that keep the wide heaven. Would that such an one might be
called my husband, dwelling here, and that it might please him here to
abide! But come, my maidens, give the stranger meat and drink.'
Thus she spake, and they gave ready ear and hearkened, and set beside
Ulysses meat and drink, and the steadfast goodly Ulysses did eat and
drink eagerly, for it was long since he had tasted food.
Now Nausicaa of the white arms had another thought. She folded the
raiment and stored it in the goodly wain, and yoked the mules, strong of
hoof, and herself climbed into the car. Then she called on Ulysses, and
spake and hailed him: 'Up now, stranger, and rouse thee to go to the
city, that I may convey thee to the house of my wise father, where, I
promise thee, thou shalt get knowledge of all the noblest of the
Phaeacians. But do thou even as I tell thee, and thou seemest a discreet
man enough. So long as we are passing along the fields and farms of
men, do thou fare quickly with the maidens behind the mules and the
chariot, and I will lead the way. But when we set foot within the city,
whereby goes a high wall with towers, and there is a fair haven on
either side of the town, and narrow is the entrance, and curved ships
are drawn up on either hand of the mole, thou shalt find a fair grove of
Athene, a poplar grove, near the road, and a spring wells forth therein,
and a meadow lies all around.
There is my father's land, and his fruitful close, within the sound of a
man's shout from the city. Sit thee down there and wait until such time
as we may have come into the city, and reached the house of my father.
But when thou deemest that we are got to the palace, then go up to the
city of the Phaeacians, and ask for the house of my father, Alcinous,
high of heart. It is easily known, and a young child could be thy guide,
for nowise like it are builded the houses of the Phaeacians, so goodly
is the palace of the hero Alcinous. But when thou art within the shadow
of the halls and the court, pass quickly through the great chamber till
thou comest to my mother, who sits at the hearth in the light of the
fire, weaving yarn of sea-purple stain, a wonder to behold. Her chair is
leaned against a pillar, and her maidens sit behind her. And there my
father's throne leans close to hers, wherein he sits and drinks his
wine, like an immortal. Pass thou by him, and cast thy hands about my
mother's knees that thou mayest see quickly and with joy the day of thy
returning, even if thou art from a very far country. If but her heart be
kindly disposed towards thee, then is there hope that thou shalt see thy
friends, and come to thy well-builded house, and to thine own country.'
She spake and smote the mules with the shining whip, and quickly they
left behind them the streams of the river; and well they trotted and
well they paced, and she took heed to drive in such wise that the
maidens and Ulysses might follow on foot, and cunningly she plied the
lash. Then the sun set, and they came to the famous grove, the sacred
place of Athene; so there the goodly Ulysses sat him down. Then
straightway he prayed to the daughter of mighty Zeus: 'Listen to me,
child of Zeus, lord of the aegis, unwearied maiden; hear me even now,
since before thou heardest not when I was smitten on the sea, when the
renowned earth-shaker smote me. Grant me to come to the Phaeacians as
one dear and worthy of pity.'
So he spake in prayer, and Pallas Athene heard him; but she did not yet
appear to him face to face, for she had regard unto her father's
brother, who furiously raged against the god-like Ulysses till he should
come to his own country.
While Nausicaa and her maidens went home, Ulysses waited near the temple
till they should have arrived, and then he rose and walked to the city,
wondering at the harbour, full of ships, and at the strength of the
walls. The Goddess Athene met him, disguised as a mortal girl, and told
him again how the name of the king was Alcinous, and his wife's name was
Arete: she was wise and kind, and had great power in the city. The
Goddess caused Ulysses to pass unseen among the people till he reached
the palace, which shone with bronze facings to the walls, while within
the hall were golden hounds and golden statues of young men holding
torches burning to give light to those who sat at supper. The gardens
were very beautiful, full of fruit trees, and watered by streams that
flowed from two fountains. Ulysses stood and wondered at the beauty of
the gardens, and then walked, unseen, through the hall, and knelt at the
feet of Queen Arete, and implored her to send him in a ship to his own
country.
A table was brought to him, and food and wine were set before him, and
Alcinous, as his guests were going home, spoke out and said that the
stranger was to be entertained, whoever he might be, and sent safely on
his way. The guests departed, and Arete, looking at Ulysses, saw that
the clothes he wore were possessions of her house, and asked him who he
was, and how he got the raiment? Then he told her how he had been
shipwrecked, and how Nausicaa had given him food, and garments out of
those which she had been washing. Then Arete said that Nausicaa should
have brought Ulysses straight to her house; but Ulysses answered: 'Chide
not, I pray you, the blameless damsel,' and explained that he himself
was shy, and afraid that Nausicaa's parents might not like to see her
coming with an unknown stranger. King Alcinous answered that he was not
jealous and suspicious. To a stranger so noble as Ulysses he would very
gladly see his daughter married, and would give him a house and plenty
of everything. But if the stranger desired to go to his own country,
then a ship should be made ready for him. Thus courteous was Alcinous,
for he readily saw that Ulysses, who had not yet told his name, was of
noble birth, strong and wise. Then all went to bed, and Ulysses had a
soft bed and a warm, with blankets of purple.