{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_24856/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_24856","id":"gutenberg_24856","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24856","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Classical literature","Classical poetry -- Translations into English","Epic poetry, Greek -- Translations into English","Homer -- Translations into English","Odysseus, King of Ithaca (Mythological character) -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"[Frontispiece: ODYSSEUS AS A YOUTH AT HOME WITH HIS MOTHER]\n\n\n\n\nODYSSEUS\nTHE HERO OF ITHACA\n\nADAPTED FROM THE THIRD BOOK OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF ATHENS, GREECE\n\n\nBY\n\nMARY E. BURT\n\n_Author of \"Literary Landmarks,\" \"Stories from Plato,\" \"Story of the\nGerman Iliad,\" \"The Child-Life Reading Study\"; Editor of \"Little\nNature Studies\"; Teacher in the John A. Browning School, New York\nCity_\n\nAND\n\nZENA\u00cfDE A. RAGOZIN\n\n_Author of \"The Story of Chaldea,\" \"The Story of Assyria,\" \"The Story\nof Media, Babylon, and Persia,\" \"The Story of Vedic India\"; Member\nof the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, of the\nAmerican Oriental Society, of the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Ethnologique of Paris,\netc._\n\n\n\n\nCHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS\nNEW YORK   CHICAGO   BOSTON\n\n\n\n\nCOPYRIGHT, 1898, BY\nCHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS\n\nPrinted in the United States of America\n\n\n\n\n                         To\n                    THE TEACHER\n       WHOSE INTEGRITY AND PEDAGOGICAL SPIRIT\n    HAVE CREATED A SCHOOL WHEREIN THE IDEAL MAY\n             PROVE ITSELF THE PRACTICAL\n                         AND\n             THOSE ENTHUSIASTIC PUPILS\n    WHO LOVE THE LOYALTY AND BRAVERY OF ODYSSEUS\n              THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n                                                                 PAGE\nINTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii\n\n\nPART I\nAN INTRODUCTION TO THE LIFE OF THE HERO, ODYSSEUS\n\nCHAPTER                                                          PAGE\n      I. About Troy and the Journey of Paris to Greece . . . . .    3\n\n     II. The Flight of Helen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    6\n\n    III. The Greeks Sail for Troy  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   10\n\n     IV. The Fall of Troy  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   13\n\n\nPART II\nTHE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS TO HIS OWN COUNTRY\n\nCHAPTER                                                          PAGE\n      V. Odysseus on the Island of Calypso . . . . . . . . . . .   21\n\n     VI. Odysseus Constructs a Raft and Leaves the Island  . . .   25\n\n    VII. Odysseus is Saved on the Island of Scheria  . . . . . .   29\n\n   VIII. Nausica\u00e4 is Sent to the River by Athena . . . . . . . .   31\n\n     IX. Odysseus Arrives at the Palace of Alkino\u00f6s  . . . . . .   38\n\n      X. Odysseus in the Halls of Alkino\u00f6s . . . . . . . . . . .   42\n\n     XI. The Banquet in Honor of Odysseus  . . . . . . . . . . .   47\n\n    XII. Odysseus Relates His Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . .   54\n\n   XIII. The Lotus-Eaters and the Cyclops  . . . . . . . . . . .   57\n\n    XIV. The Cave of the Cyclops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   60\n\n     XV. The Blinding of the Cyclops . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   64\n\n    XVI. Odysseus and His Companions Leave the Land of the\n           Cyclops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   67\n\n   XVII. The Adventures of Odysseus on the Island of \u00c6olus . . .   72\n\n  XVIII. Odysseus at the Home of Circ\u00e8 . . . . . . . . . . . . .   75\n\n    XIX. Circ\u00e8 Instructs Odysseus Concerning His Descent to\n           Hades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   78\n\n     XX. The Adventures of Odysseus in Hades . . . . . . . . . .   84\n\n    XXI. Odysseus Converses with His Mother and Agamemnon  . . .   87\n\n   XXII. Conversation with Achilles and Other Heroes . . . . . .   90\n\n  XXIII. The Return of Odysseus to the Island of Circ\u00e8 . . . . .   94\n\n   XXIV. Odysseus Meets the Sirens, Skylla, and Charybdis  . . .   98\n\n    XXV. Odysseus on the Island of H\u0113lios  . . . . . . . . . . .  101\n\n   XXVI. The Departure of Odysseus from the Island of Scheria  .  105\n\n  XXVII. Odysseus Arrives at Ithaca  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  108\n\n XXVIII. Odysseus Seeks the Swineherd  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  113\n\n\nPART III\nTHE TRIUMPH OF ODYSSEUS\n\nCHAPTER                                                          PAGE\n   XXIX. Athena Advises Telemachos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  123\n\n    XXX. Telemachos Astonishes the Wooers  . . . . . . . . . . .  128\n\n   XXXI. Penelope's Web  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  130\n\n  XXXII. The Journey of Telemachos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  135\n\n XXXIII. Telemachos in Pylos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  138\n\n  XXXIV. Telemachos in Sparta  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  141\n\n   XXXV. Menelaos Relates His Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . .  147\n\n  XXXVI. The Conspiracy of the Suitors . . . . . . . . . . . . .  151\n\n XXXVII. Telemachos Returns to Ithaca  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  155\n\nXXXVIII. Telemachos and the Swineherd  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  158\n\n  XXXIX. Telemachos Recognizes Odysseus  . . . . . . . . . . . .  161\n\n     XL. Telemachos Returns to the Palace  . . . . . . . . . . .  165\n\n    XLI. Odysseus is Recognized by His Dog . . . . . . . . . . .  169\n\n   XLII. Odysseus Comes, a Beggar, to His Own House  . . . . . .  172\n\n  XLIII. Conversation of Odysseus and Penelope . . . . . . . . .  176\n\n   XLIV. Eurycleia Recognizes Odysseus . . . . . . . . . . . . .  180\n\n    XLV. Penelope's Dream  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  183\n\n   XLVI. Athena Encourages Odysseus  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  185\n\n  XLVII. The Last Banquet of the Suitors . . . . . . . . . . . .  188\n\n XLVIII. Odysseus Bends the Bow  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  194\n\n   XLIX. Death of the Suitors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  201\n\n      L. Eurycleia Announces the Return of Odysseus to Penelope   203\n\n     LI. Odysseus Visits His Father  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  209\n\n         Vocabulary and Notes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  215\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\nODYSSEUS AS A YOUTH AT HOME WITH HIS MOTHER  . . . . . . Frontispiece\n\n                                                          FACING PAGE\nTHE SILVER-FOOTED THETIS RISING FROM THE WAVES . . . . . . . . .   10\n\nODYSSEUS AND MENELAOS PERSUADING AGAMEMNON TO SACRIFICE\n           IPHIGENEIA  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   12\n\nALPHEUS AND ARETHUSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  113\n\nTHE SWINEHERD TELLING HIS STORY TO ODYSSEUS  . . . . . . . . . .  119\n\nODYSSEUS FEIGNS MADNESS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  146\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nIt has long been the opinion of many of the more progressive teachers\nof the United States that, next to Herakles, Odysseus is the hero\nclosest to child-life, and that the stories from the \"Odyssey\" are\nthe most suitable for reading-lessons. These conclusions have been\nreached through independent experiments not related to educational\nwork in foreign countries.\n\nWhile sojourning in Athens I had the pleasure of visiting the best\nschools, both public and private, and found the reading especially\nspirited. I examined the books in use and found the regular\nreading-books to consist of the classic tales of the country, the\nstories of Herakles, Theseus, Perseus, and so forth, in the reader\nsucceeding the primer, and the stories of Odysseus, or Ulysses, as\nwe commonly call him, following as a third book, answering to our\nsecond or third reader. This book I brought home with me and had a\ncareful, literal translation made. I submitted this translation to\nthat notable scholar, Zena\u00efde A. Ragozin, with whom I faithfully\ntraversed the ground, word by word and sentence by sentence. This\nversion I have carefully compared with Bryant and rewritten, making\nthe language as simple as could be consistent with the dignity of\nthe subject-matter.\n\nThe introduction to the original book as I found it in Greece contains\nmany interesting points, since it shows that educators in foreign\ncountries, notably in Germany, had come to the same conclusion with\nour best American teachers. The editor of the little Greek\nreading-book says:\n\n\"In editing this work we have made use not only of Homer's 'Odyssey,'\n_but also of that excellent reader which is used in the public schools\nof Germany_, Willman's 'Lesebuch aus Homer.' We have divided the\nlittle volume into three parts, the first of which gives a short\n_resum\u00e9_ of the war against Troy and the destruction of that city,\nthe second the wanderings of Odysseus till his arrival in Ithaca,\nthe third his arrival and the killing of the wooers. We have no apology\nto make in presenting this book to the public as a school-book, since\nmany people superior to us have shown the need of such books in\nschool-work. The new public schools, as is well known, have a mission\nof the highest importance. They do not aim, as formerly, at absolute\nknowledge pounded into the heads of children in a mechanical way.\nTheir aim is the mental and ethical development of the pupils. Reading\nand writing lead but half way to this goal. With all nations the\nreaders used in the public schools are a collection of the noblest\nthoughts of their authors.\"\n\nThe Greek editor had never read the inane rat and cat stories of\nAmerican school \"readers\" when he wrote that. He continues:\n\n\"Happily the Greek nation, more than any other, abounds in literary\nmasterpieces. Nearly all of the Greek writings contain an abundance\nof practical wisdom and virtue. Their worth is so great that even\nthe most advanced European nations do not hesitate to introduce them\ninto their schools. The Germans do this, although their habits and\ncustoms are so different from ours. They especially admire Homer's\nworks. These books, above all others, afford pleasure to the young,\nand the reason for it is clearly set forth by the eminent educator\nHerbart:\n\n\"'The little boy is grieved when told that he is little. Nor does\nhe enjoy the stories of little children. This is because his\nimagination reaches out and beyond his environments. I find the\nstories from Homer to be more suitable reading for young children\nthan the mass of juvenile books, because they contain grand truths.'\n\n\"Therefore these stories are held in as high esteem by the German\nchildren as by the Greek. In no other works do children find the grand\nand noble traits in human life so faithfully and charmingly depicted\nas in Homer. Here all the domestic, civic, and religious virtues of\nthe people are marvellously brought to light and the national feeling\nis exalted. The Homeric poetry, and especially the 'Odyssey,' is\nadapted to very young children, not only because it satisfies so well\nthe needs which lead to mental development, but also for another\nreason. As with the people of olden times bravery was considered the\ngreatest virtue, so with boys of this age and all ages. No other\nethical idea has such predominance as that of prowess. Strength of\nbody and a firm will characterize those whom boys choose as their\nleaders. Hence the pleasure they derive from the accounts of\ncelebrated heroes of yore whose bravery, courage, and prudence they\nadmire.\"\n\nThe editor further extols the advantages arising from the study of\nHomer, it making the youthful students acquainted with the earliest\nperiods of Greek history, the manners and customs of the people, and\nhe ends by quoting from Herbart:\n\n\"Boys must first get acquainted with the noisy market-place of Ithaca\nand then be led to the Athens of Miltiades and Themistokles.\"\n\nWith equal truth the American can say that the child whose patriotism\nis kindled by the Homeric fire will the more gladly respond to the\nideals set forth in the history of a Columbus or a Washington.\n\nMARY E. BURT.\n\n\n\n\nPART I\nAN INTRODUCTION TO THE LIFE OF THE HERO, ODYSSEUS\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\nABOUT TROY AND THE JOURNEY OF PARIS TO GREECE\n\n\nOn the northern shore of Asia Minor there lies a plateau watered by\nmany small rivers and surrounded on all sides by mountains, only on\nthe north it slopes gently to the sea. On this plateau, between the\nSimois and Scamandros rivers, in the oldest times there stood a very\nrich and powerful city, whose name was Troy. It was the capital of\na large and fertile district, known as the Troad.\n\nThere, about 1200 B.C., reigned a king by the name of Priam, possessed\nof great power and boundless wealth. He had many sons and daughters.\nIt was said, indeed, that he had fifty sons who were all married and\nliving in their own homes, which they had built by the king's wish\naround the royal palace.\n\nThey were all handsome and heroic young men. One of the youngest,\nParis, also named Alexandros, surpassed the others in beauty. He was\na restless youth and not fond of his home, as were the others. He\nhad set his heart on travelling and seeing strange countries and\ncities. King Priam was extremely fond of his large family, and took\npride in having all his children about him, so that at first he was\ngreatly opposed to the wishes of Paris.\n\nBut the youth was so persistent and unhappy that the king at last\nconsented to let him go. Without delay, Paris called together a few\nfriends with tastes as adventurous as his own. They embarked in a\nnew ship well provided with all that travellers need, and set sail\nfor the famous land on the shores of the \u00c6gean Sea, of which they\nhad heard so many wonderful things, and which was called Hellas.\n\nNearly in the middle of the plain which forms the southern part of\nHellas was the city of Sparta. It was on the river Eurotas, and was\nthe capital of a large district called Laced\u00e6mon, and it was to this\ncity that Paris came.\n\nNow, there was a mysterious reason for this strange desire of\nParis--his passionate longing to travel. In his early youth, while\nhe was still minding his herds on the rich pastures of Mount Ida,\nhe received a visit from the three greatest goddesses of Olympos.\n\nHera, the queen of Heaven and consort of Zeus--Athena, the goddess\nof wisdom, and Zeus's favorite daughter--and Aphrodite, the goddess\nof love and beauty, had a dispute among themselves.\n\nEach thought herself the most beautiful of the three, and they would\nhave come to high words about it had not Athena proposed that they\nshould ask the handsomest man in the world to settle the question.\nThis happened to be the young royal shepherd, Paris. So the three\ngoddesses floated down to the slope of Mount Ida on a snowy cloud\nand placed the question before him, each promising to reward him\nroyally if he gave his verdict in her favor.\n\nParis, as might have been expected, decided in favor of Aphrodite,\nwho had promised him that the fairest woman living in the whole world\nshould be his wife. This promise had to be kept, being given by a\ngoddess, but it was the source of endless misfortune, for Paris had\na young and lovely wife who was tenderly attached to him, while the\nfairest of living women--acknowledged as such by fame in all known\ncountries--was Queen Helen of Sparta, herself the wife of another\nman.\n\nHer husband was one of the most renowned heroes of Hellas, King\nMenelaos, a son of Atreus and brother of the leader of the Greek chiefs,\nAgamemnon, King of Mycen\u00e6. It was Aphrodite, then, who inspired Paris\nwith an insane desire to forsake his parents, brothers, and wife.\nIt was her secret guidance which led him across the seas and through\nthe dangers lurking among the hundreds of islands of the Archipelagos\nstraight to the land of Laced\u00e6mon. This is the central of the three\npeninsulas in which the Peloponnesus ends, and might be called the\nmiddle finger of that large hand of which Arcadia is the palm.\n\nParis landed, with all his companions, on the shores of Laced\u00e6mon,\nwhere the people received him kindly and helped him on his journey\nto Sparta, where Menelaos and Helen gave him a cordial welcome.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\nTHE FLIGHT OF HELEN\n\n\nAphrodite, while leading Paris to the shores of Laced\u00e6mon, had not\nforgotten her promise, and in Sparta itself she was at work at its\nfulfilment. She inspired Queen Helen with a growing discontent and\nrestlessness of spirit. Menelaos had not noticed any change in her,\nand it was with an utterly unsuspicious mind that he received the\nfatal strangers and made them welcome guests in his land and home.\n\nMore than that, having heard the news from Crete that his presence\nthere was desirable on account of some urgent business, he did not\nhesitate to set sail for that island, in the expectation of finding\nParis and his companions still enjoying the hospitality of his palace\nafter a short absence.\n\nThis was the chance which wily Aphrodite had contrived for Paris.\nHe took the hint and carried Helen away to his ship, together with\nas much treasure as they could lay hands on, and then they sailed\nfor Troy. Little did he heed, in his mad desire to call the most\nbeautiful woman in the world his wife, that she was already the wife\nof a hero who had received him as an honored guest in his house, and\nthat he was about to destroy the peace and honor of his host.\n\nAs soon as Menelaos heard of the flight of his wife, he hastened back\nto Sparta, where he found his palace deserted and his treasure-house\nrobbed.\n\nThen his heart was filled with great wrath. He set out at once to\nsee his brother, Agamemnon, to consult with him about what was to\nbe done. Agamemnon was ruler over Mycen\u00e6, and highly respected in\nall Hellas on account of his power and riches.\n\nAfter the two brothers had talked over this grave affair, they\nannounced to all the leaders in Hellas the great and detestable crime,\nand asked them for their assistance. All the king's chiefs of Hellas\nlent a willing ear to this demand, for in this breach of hospitality,\ncommitted against one of them, each felt himself personally aggrieved\nand bound to help in the punishment of what, in those times, was\nconsidered the most unpardonable of all crimes. Only one of the kings\nheld back for awhile and needed much persuasion to join the league.\nThis was Odysseus of Ithaca, who could well consider himself at the\ntime the happiest of mortals, for he had lately married Penelope,\none of the fairest and most virtuous maidens of Greece. He had an\ninfant son of great beauty and promise, and he owned much land and\ncountless herds of cattle, sheep, and swine. Added to that, all the\npetty nobles of the island acknowledged him as their chief.\n\nBut a soothsayer, or seer, had greatly disturbed him by informing\nhim that if he went to a great war he would be kept away from his\nhome for the space of twenty years, and even then return to it in\nthe guise of a beggar, after having suffered wrecks, captivity,\nendless wanderings, and loss of comrades.\n\nNo one could doubt that Odysseus was brave, but no one could blame\nhim for wishing to be excused from taking part in the war against\nTroy. Menelaos and his brother, however, would accept no excuse from\nhim, as he was the wisest and craftiest of all the leaders, and when\nOdysseus finally consented to join them he set about arming and\ndirecting the young Greek warriors with all his heart and soul.\n\nThere was another young prince whom it was absolutely necessary to\nsecure, for a much venerated oracle had given it as a decree of the\ngods that Troy could never be taken without his help. This was Achilles,\nson of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons in Thessaly, and of the beauteous\nocean nymph, Thetis. Notwithstanding his extreme youth, his father\nwould not disappoint the whole country, and he let him go with those\nwho came for him. But he sent along with him his adopted son, Patroklos,\nwho was several years older, and to whom the boy was passionately\nattached, and also his oldest and most trusted servant, Ph\u0153nix. These\ntwo, the old man and the youth, he charged, as they hoped for the\nmercy of Zeus, to keep watchful guard over Achilles, whose exceedingly\nimpetuous and reckless temper exposed him to many dangers which might\nbe averted by a sensible and loving word spoken in time.\n\n[Illustration: THE SILVER-FOOTED THETIS RISING FROM THE WAVES]\n\nThe Greeks took counsel together, and it was resolved that Menelaos\nshould go in person to Troy and demand back his wife, Helen, as well\nas his treasure and a suitable apology for the wrong done to him and\nto all Hellas. He chose for his companion the cunning Odysseus. On\ntheir arrival in Troy, Menelaos and Odysseus presented themselves\nbefore Priam and demanded the return of Helen and the treasures.\n\nThe king at once called his people together to deliberate upon the\nmatter, and the two Greek kings bravely denounced the mean act of\nParis. But the Trojans, stirred up by that youth, abused the\nambassadors and drove them out of their city.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\nTHE GREEKS SAIL FOR TROY\n\n\nThe kings and chieftains of Hellas, having heard that Odysseus and\nMenelaos had been driven out of Troy, hastened to call together their\nfleets and armies at Aulis, a city of B\u0153otia on a ridge of rock running\nout into the sea between two little bays, each of which was a harbor\nfor many ships. A hundred thousand men and a thousand ships were\ngathered there under the leadership of the celebrated and heroic\nchiefs. The commander-in-chief of the whole army was Agamemnon.\n\nAmong the renowned leaders were Menelaos, the sagacious Odysseus,\nAjax, and many others. Just as they were offering a sacrifice to the\ngods, in order to start out to the war with their good will, a great\nmiracle happened. A fearful snake crept from under the altar and\nclimbed a tree in which there was a sparrow's nest nearly hidden by\nthe leaves. There were eight young sparrows in the nest, nine birds\nwith the mother. The snake devoured the fluttering little birds,\naround which the mother circled as if overcome by grief.\n\nThen the snake darted at the mother-bird and swallowed it, when Zeus\nchanged the reptile into a stone. The Greeks wondered at the sight,\nbut the soothsayer, Calchas, said to them: \"Why do ye wonder at this?\nThe all-powerful Zeus has sent us this sign because our deeds shall\nlive forever in the minds of men. Just as the snake has devoured the\neight little sparrows and their mother, so shall the war swallow up\nthe nine coming years, and in the tenth we shall overcome Troy.\"\n\nThe ships of the Greeks lay in the bays of Aulis while the warriors\nwaited impatiently to set sail. But the winds were contrary; they\nwould not blow, and the boats waited there year after year; for a\nsacred hind had been slain by Agamemnon, one that belonged to the\ngoddess Artemis, and it was ordered by that goddess that no wind should\narise to take them on toward Troy until her wrath had been appeased.\n\nSo Agamemnon went to Calchas, the seer, and asked his advice,\nwhereupon the old prophet told him to send for his lovely young\ndaughter, Iphigeneia, and offer her up on the altar as the only\nacceptable sacrifice to Artemis. When he had placed her upon the altar\nand the priest was raising his knife, the goddess took pity on\nAgamemnon and carried the girl away in a cloud, leaving a fine white\ndoe instead.\n\n[Illustration: ODYSSEUS AND MENELAOS PERSUADING AGAMEMNON TO\nSACRIFICE IPHIGENEIA]\n\nAnd now arose a favorable wind, and the Greeks arrived safely before\nTroy. How they fought with the Trojans, how many of the heroes outlived\nthe struggle, and how many fell in the battle, all this we can learn\nfrom an old book called the \"Iliad.\" We shall select from it only\nthose things which refer to our hero, Odysseus; and to complete the\nhistory of that hero we shall go to another book, called the \"Odyssey.\"\n\nBoth of these books are the work of the great poet Homer, who lived\nmany years after the war with Troy. That we may understand better\nwhat happened later on, we must give a short account of the fall of\nTroy and of the return of Menelaos and Agamemnon to their own country.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\nTHE FALL OF TROY\n\n\nThe war lasted nine years, and in the tenth the Greeks conquered Troy,\nnot in battle, but by means of a trick which had come into the mind\nof Odysseus. He told a skilful carpenter to build a wooden horse of\ngigantic size, and in it he hid the bravest Greek warriors. When he\nhad done this he advised all the other Greeks to depart without leaving\nanything behind them, and so lead the Trojans to believe that they\nhad given up the fight and gone home.\n\nSo the Greeks burned their tents and put off to sea, while the Trojans\nfrom their walls watched them with great joy, thinking themselves\nwell rid of an enemy. When the last ship had gone, the Trojans threw\nopen the gates of their city and rushed down into the plain where\nthe Greeks had had their camp, to see how the place looked.\n\nThere they found the wooden horse, and one of the Greeks tied to a\ntree, who told them he was left there as a punishment, and that the\nwooden horse was an offering to the gods. The Trojans made up their\nminds to carry it into their city and give it the best place on their\nhighest hill.\n\nThen Laoco\u00f6n, a priest of Apollo, stepped forth, and said to them:\n\"Unhappy people! what madness possesses you? Do ye think the enemy\ngone? Do ye know Odysseus so little? There are Greek warriors hidden\nin this horse, or else some other mischief is lurking there. Fear\nthe Greeks even when they bring gifts.\"\n\nWith these words, he thrust his spear into the flank of the horse,\nand the arms of the hidden enemy clashed with a loud noise. Just then\ntwo snakes of great size, sent by Athena, rose from the sea, and sprang\nupon Laoco\u00f6n and his two sons, and, coiling around them, bit them\nto death. The Trojans, in great fear at the sight, took this as a\nsign from the gods that the horse was sacred and that they must protect\nit, and they moved it at once into their city, breaking down a part\nof their wall to get it in.\n\nHaving done this, they gave themselves up to feasting and making merry,\nwithout the slightest thought that any evil was in store for them.\nBut when night had come, and all were in a deep sleep, the ships of\nthe Greeks, which had been hiding all the while behind a neighboring\nisland, came back. The warriors who were concealed in the wooden horse\nsprang out and rushing wildly through the city, slew the Trojans right\nand left without mercy. From all sides came wailings and groans, and\nthe flames of the burning city rose up to the sky.\n\nA deadly struggle took place between the Trojans and the Greeks. Priam\nwas slain, and Paris and many other heroes. The victory was to the\nGreeks. Troy fell never to rise again, and the women and children\nwere led off to become slaves to their conquerors.\n\nThus was destroyed in one night the great and glorious city of Troy,\nall on account of the crime which Paris had committed against the\nlaws of hospitality.\n\nThe trials of the Greeks were not yet at an end. After their victory\nat Troy they embarked in their ships and started eagerly for their\nhomes. But Zeus prepared a sad fate for them, because Ajax had\nviolently dragged Cassandra, the beautiful daughter of Priam, from\nthe altar of Athena and had made her his slave. Thus many of the leaders\nperished in the sea far from home, and some were cast on foreign shores\nto die.\n\nMenelaos was thrown by wind and waves on the island of Crete, and\nhe lost many of the ships on the cliffs. Thence he strayed to the\nisland of Cyprus, noted for its mines; and he roved through other\nlands until he came to Egypt, where he wandered about for eight years,\nwhen he returned to Sparta, taking Helen with him. He became\nreconciled to his wife, and they lived a quiet life far removed from\nthe enchantments of the wily Aphrodite.\n\nBut the saddest fate of all overtook Agamemnon, who met his death\nin his own house at the hands of his wife and brother.\n\nAgamemnon, without any accident at sea, reached his native land. Full\nof gratitude, he kissed the earth and wept tears of joy at the thought\nof meeting his wife and son.\n\nHe entered his home with a glad heart, and his faithless wife came\nto meet him, but she had prepared a hot bath for him, and there he\nmet his death, entangled in a net which she threw over him, for she\nhad not forgotten the loss of her beautiful daughter, Iphigeneia,\nwhom she believed to have been offered up as a sacrifice on the altar\nof Artemis.\n\nShe was assisted in this dreadful deed by her husband's brother, who\nbecame ruler over the land, holding sway eight years, when Orestes,\nthe son of Agamemnon, slew him and regained the kingdom.\n\nAnd now we come to the return of Odysseus, the wisest of the Greeks,\nwho wandered to the remotest part of the earth and learned the customs\nof many people, and who suffered terrible things by land and sea.\n\n\n\n\nPART II\nTHE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS TO HIS OWN COUNTRY\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\nODYSSEUS ON THE ISLAND OF CALYPSO\n\n\nAll the Greeks who had escaped from the destruction of Troy and had\nbeen spared the terrors of the sea returned to their homes. But the\nunfortunate Odysseus was delayed by the fair nymph Calypso on her\nisland, where she made her home in a cool and beautiful grotto. There\nhe wept and mourned, desiring to see his wife again and his native\nland. Each of the gods save one, Poseidon, god of the sea, wished\nto help him to find the way home. Odysseus had brought Poseidon's\nwrath upon himself through inflicting a terrible injury upon the\nfavorite son of that deity, and for that reason the wrath of the god\nfell on him and he was wrecked. One day all the other gods had assembled\nin the hall of Zeus, on Mount Olympos, when Athena, the favorite\ndaughter of Zeus and firm friend of Odysseus, knowing that her father\nin his heart was well-disposed toward the hero, began to plead for\nhim in a way to excite greater pity still.\n\n\"O my father, thou great king among the gods,\" she said, \"my heart\nis troubled on account of the wise Odysseus, who lingers on an island,\nfar away from home, and suffers greatly; for a nymph lives on the\nisland, the daughter of great Atlas, and with sweet words she strives\nto make Odysseus forget his native land. But he bewails his fate and\nis full of sorrow, his only wish being to have a glimpse of the smoke\nof his beloved country.\"\n\nZeus thereupon ordered Hermes to depart at once for the island and\ntell the nymph to send Odysseus to his home without delay. Hermes\nobeyed quickly. He bound his winged sandals to his feet, and, taking\nhis golden wand in his hand, flew like a meteor over land and sea\ntill he reached the island where the nymph Calypso made her abode.\nHe found her within the grotto, singing sweetly while she wove a fine\nweb on a golden loom.\n\nAll about the grotto there was a grove of cypress-trees in which birds\nof gay colors were sporting and springs of pure water bubbling, and\nthe fragrance of strange flowers filled the air. When Hermes had gazed\nupon these wonders he entered the grotto. It was bright with a blazing\nfire on a spacious hearth, and fragrant with the odor of burning cedar\nand cypress.\n\nCalypso saw him as he came in and knew him. She bade him sit down\non a throne dazzling with jewels, and, placing a table before him\nladen with nectar and ambrosia, invited him to eat and drink. After\nhe had finished his repast, Hermes told her that Zeus had sent him\nto her with the command that she should send Odysseus without delay\nto his native land. Having given this message, he disappeared, leaving\nCalypso in great grief.\n\nOdysseus in the meantime sat by the shore mourning and gazing out\nupon the sea. Calypso found him there, sitting alone, weeping and\nlonging for his home. She stood by him and said: \"Odysseus, my unhappy\nfriend, do not waste thy life any longer in sorrow. The end of thy\ngrief has come. Arise and prepare to depart for thy home. Build thee\na raft of the trunks of trees which thou shalt hew down. I will put\nbread and water and delicate wine on board; and I will clothe thee\nin comfortable garments, and send a favorable wind that thou mayest\nsafely reach thy native land.\"\n\nThus spoke the lovely goddess, but Odysseus could hardly believe her,\nand said: \"I fear, O goddess, that thou hast some other thought in\nthy mind, and that thou dost not wish to send me home when thou biddest\nme sail over this stormy and dangerous sea. I shall never go on to\nthe raft against thy wish, and thou must swear the great oath of the\ngods that no harm shall come to me.\"\n\nThe goddess smiled at these words, and, taking the hero by the hand,\nrejoined: \"Thou art a wise man, and thy answer is well made. I will\npledge thee a solemn oath, by the heavens and the earth, and the waters\nof the Styx, that I have no plan of evil against thee. And I advise\nthee to do as I have instructed thee, to be ready for any crisis.\"\n\nSpeaking thus, the goddess went into the grotto and Odysseus followed\nher. When he had come into the spacious hall, he sat down on his throne\nand the nymph brought him rich food and wine. Then she took a seat\nopposite him, and her attendants brought her ambrosia and nectar,\nwhich she would gladly have shared with Odysseus, that he, too, might\nbecome an immortal.\n\nWhen the repast was over, Calypso narrated to him all the trials he\nwould have to undergo before he could reach his native land. While\nshe was relating these things the sun sank down, and darkness came\nupon the island, and all who had their abode in the grotto sought\nrest and slumber.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\nODYSSEUS CONSTRUCTS A RAFT AND LEAVES THE ISLAND\n\n\nAt daybreak the goddess gave Odysseus a large axe and a sharp adze,\nand led him to the heights of the island, where the largest trees\ngrew. He went to work at once and cut down twenty trees, which he\nhewed into proper shape, and then tied them together with ropes which\nhe himself made of bark.\n\nIn this way he built a raft which was very large and strong enough\nto stand the onset of the waves. He wove a railing of willow and fitted\nit around the sides of the raft, to protect himself against the dashing\nwaves; and he raised a strong mast with sails shaped to it, and tightly\nbound by cords and ropes. He filled the crevices of the raft with\nwax and pitch and attached a rudder.\n\nAt the end of the fourth day his work was all done, and his little\nship was ready to be launched. On the fifth day the beautiful goddess\nprepared the hero a bath and gave him new garments fragrant with\nperfumes. She went down to the boat with him and put on board a skin\nof dark-red wine, a larger one full of water, and a bag of dainty\nfood. Then she bade Odysseus a kind farewell, and sent a gentle and\nfriendly wind to waft him over the waves.\n\nOdysseus was wild with joy at the thought that he was really on his\nway home once more. He spread his sails to catch the breeze and took\nhis seat at the helm, steering the vessel with great skill. He did\nnot dare to take any sleep, for he had to watch the sky and stars\nconstantly and use them as guides on his course. He sailed along in\nthis way seventeen days. On the eighteenth he spied land in the\ndistance. It was the land of the Ph\u00e6acians, lying like a dark spot\noff in the sea.\n\nThen Poseidon, who was returning from Ethiopia, saw him, and his wrath\ngrew hot against the hero. He raised up his head and said to himself:\n\"Alas! the gods have strangely changed their minds about Odysseus\nduring my absence in Africa. Behold! in a little while he will be\nin the land of the Ph\u00e6acians, where he will find an end to his troubles.\nNevertheless, it is in my power to chastise him.\"\n\nSpeaking thus, Poseidon called the clouds together, and seizing his\ntrident he stirred up the sea; then he set loose all the winds until\nthere was a general hurricane, and he wrapped heaven and earth in\nthe thick darkness of night.\n\nThe mighty waves dashed over the raft, and Odysseus sank on his knees\nand trembled. With a deep groan he said: \"Ah me, unhappy! Am I to\nbear more disasters? I fear that the warning of the goddess was too\ntrue, and that I shall be for a long time cast about on the waves\nbefore I reach home. With what dark clouds Zeus has shrouded the sky!\nThe storm grows wild. What terrible waves are these! Helplessly I\nmust perish. Happy the Greeks who fell before Troy, fighting for their\ncountry! Would that I, too, had met death the day when the Trojans\nhurled their spears at me as they strove to take the body of Achilles.\nIf I had died then, the Greeks would have buried me with great honors.\nNow I shall die an inglorious death.\"\n\nAs he spoke a huge wave struck the raft with such terrible force that\nit whirled it around and overturned it. The helm was wrung from his\nhand and he fell into the angry breakers. The mast was snapped in\ntwo and the ropes and sails flew off into the sea.\n\nOdysseus was under water a long time, striving in vain to come to\nthe surface. Finally he rose, spitting the bitter brine out of his\nmouth. Although he was in such a desperate plight, his mind was on\nthe raft. Battling bravely with the waves he reached it, and springing\non board sat down in the middle of it. Thus he escaped death.\n\nThe angry waves tossed him hither and thither as the wind scatters\nthe leaves over a field. Then Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, saw him\nand took pity on him. She took the form of a bird, and, perching on\nhis raft, she said to him: \"O, luckless man! why is Poseidon so angry\nwith thee? Fear nothing, however; he cannot take thy life. Obey me\nand thou shalt not suffer much longer. Lay aside thy clothes, leave\nthe raft to the mercy of the winds and waves, and swim to the land.\nTake my veil and wind it about thy breast, and thou shalt not have\nanything to fear. As soon as thou hast reached the land, take it off\nand throw it back into the sea. Then hurry away inland.\"\n\nOdysseus hesitated to follow Ino's advice, fearing some treachery.\nBut Poseidon sent a huge wave which struck him and scattered the raft\nas if it were dry chaff. Then Odysseus at once got astride of the\nswimming timber. He bound the veil around his breast and bravely\nplunged into the boiling waters.\n\nPoseidon saw him, and shaking his head he said: \"I verily believe\nthou wilt come out alive from the sea. But the sea has had thee long\nenough, so that thou wilt know its power hereafter and fear it.\" Saying\nthis he lashed up his horses and drove off.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\nODYSSEUS IS SAVED ON THE ISLAND OF SCHERIA\n\n\nAthena, the daughter of Zeus, seeing Odysseus struggling through the\nwaves, pitied him, and bade the winds become quiet. Two days and two\nnights Odysseus floated about, but on the third the wind calmed down\nand the sea became smooth.\n\nIn a short time he found himself near land once more. But the shore\nwas wild and full of sharp rocks and high cliffs. He could see no\nplace on which to set foot, and he grew downhearted. His knees gave\nway, and, groaning deeply, he cried out: \"O, luckless one! In vain\nhave I braved the dangers of the sea to escape death. Now all hope\nhas abandoned me, since there is no way for me to get out of the water.\nI fear that when I try to approach the land the waves will throw me\nagainst the cliffs, and should I try to find a safe landing-place\nby swimming, the surf may carry me back into the wild sea, where some\nsea-monster will swallow me up. Whatever I may do, I see no help for\nme.\"\n\nWhile he pondered over these things a huge wave cast him on the foamy\nshore. His bones were nearly broken, and he lay exhausted until the\nwave returned, when he was hurled again with great force back into\nthe sea. Now the unfortunate wanderer took to swimming as his last\nresort, and reached the mouth of a river, where he was able to land.\n\nToo tired to breathe or speak, he sank down in a swoon. His knees\nand arms trembled, and his whole body was bruised and swollen. When\nhis senses returned he rose and untied the veil that Ino had given\nhim and cast it back into the sea. Then he knelt down and kissed the\nearth, and moved to a sheltered spot where a wild and a tame olive-tree\nwere standing close together, whose branches had mingled with one\nanother, and there he found a safe hiding-place.\n\nThen the godlike Odysseus lay down on a bed of dry leaves, covering\nhimself up as one does an ember, lest it should go out. Athena came\nand poured sweet sleep over his eyes, that he might find quiet rest\nafter all his toils.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\nNAUSICA\u00c4 IS SENT TO THE RIVER BY ATHENA\n\n\nWhile Odysseus lay in a deep sleep, the goddess Athena went to the\nroyal dwelling of the king of the Ph\u00e6acians, Alkino\u00f6s, in order to\nhasten the return of Odysseus to his native land. She entered the\nhouse, where she found Nausica\u00e4, the king's daughter, sleeping in\nher beautiful chamber. Near her lay two maids who served her.\n\nAthena came as softly as a breath of air, and caused the maiden to\ndream that her marriage-day was near and that it was her duty to arise\nand hasten to the place by the river where they washed their clothing.\nIn her dream the princess seemed to hear Athena say: \"Nausica\u00e4, why\nart thou so slothful? Thy beautiful robes lie neglected and thy\nwedding-day is at hand, on which thou surely shouldst wear garments\nof dazzling whiteness, and thou shouldst give such garments to those\nmaidens who lead thee forth to thy bridegroom. Therefore, as soon\nas day breaks thou must ask thy father to give thee a pair of mules,\nand we will hasten to the washing-place down by the river.\"\n\nAt the first dawn of day Nausica\u00e4 went in haste to her father and\nmother to tell them of her dream. She found them in their splendid\nhall. Her mother sat with her maidens spinning, and the king stood\non the threshold, just going forth to meet his chiefs in council.\nThe princess approached her father and said: \"Dearest father, I pray\nthat thou wilt give me two mules and a wagon, that I may go with my\nmaids to the river and take all the clothes that need washing, for\nit becomes the king and his sons to wear clean garments when they\ngo to the council of the chiefs. Thou hast five sons, three of whom\nare youths not wedded, and they should be provided with fresh robes;\nthey will need them in the dance.\"\n\nThe king smiled, for he saw what was in her mind, and he ordered the\nmules. Then his beautiful daughter brought from the linen-room the\nsoiled garments and put them on the wagon, while the queen prepared\na goodly lunch of cold meat and bread and a skin of sweet wine.\n\nNausica\u00e4 further received from her mother a bottle of fragrant oil\nwith which to anoint herself after the washing. Then she mounted the\nwagon, seized the whip and reins, and drove out of the city, the\nmaidens of her train following her on foot.\n\nWhen they came to the place where the river was flowing bright and\nclear, they unhitched the mules and let them browse along the bank.\nThen they took their garments down from the wagon and tossed them\ninto the marble vats which they had filled with the limpid water of\nthe stream. When they had washed them clean they spread them on the\nwhite pebbles to dry. Having finished the task, they took a bath and\nanointed themselves with oil. Then they sat down on the shore and\nate their lunch.\n\nThe repast over, they began to play ball. First the white-armed\nNausica\u00e4 threw the ball. She looked as tall and royal among her maids\nas did Artemis, the daughter of Zeus, among her nymphs.\n\nNausica\u00e4 sang a song as they frolicked on the sand.\n\nWhen it was time to go home they put the clean garments upon the wagon\nand harnessed up the mules. Just as they started, Nausica\u00e4 once more\nthrew the ball to one of the maidens, who failed to catch it. The\nball rebounded from the rocks and fell into the river, at which the\ngirls raised such a shout that Odysseus, who was sleeping close by,\nawoke.\n\nHe opened his eyes and sat up, saying to himself: \"Woe is me! Have\nI reached a country where people dwell? Are they wild and inhospitable,\nor friendly to the stranger and god-fearing? It seems to me I heard\ncries of women. Perhaps they were those of the nymphs who inhabit\nthe mountain heights, the springs of rivers, and the green meadows,\nor those of people who live near by. But I will see who they are.\"\n\nSo Odysseus clothed himself as best he could, by winding slender\nbranches covered with leaves about him, and left the thicket where\nhe was hidden. He went in the direction of the voices, stalking along\nlike a great lion. When the girls saw him they shrieked and scattered\nin every direction. Nausica\u00e4 alone stood her ground, for Athena gave\nher courage. When Odysseus saw her he wondered which would be the\nbetter, to throw himself at the feet of the maiden and beg her to\ngive him some clothes and to show him the way to the city, or to speak\nto her with more formality.\n\nIt seemed better to him to remain at a distance, and so he addressed\nher gently, saying: \"O queen, I know not whether thou art a goddess\nor a woman. If thou art a goddess, I should take thee to be Artemis,\nbecause thou art so tall and graceful. If, however, thou art a mortal,\nthrice happy thy father and honored mother. Greatly must they rejoice\nwhen they see their beautiful child in the choral dance. But he will\nbe the happiest who shall win thee for a bride.\n\n\"I once saw a young palm-tree growing up beside Apollo's altar in\nthe island of D\u0113los. It was the most beautiful tree the earth ever\nproduced, and I gazed upon it with wonder and reverence. So am I amazed\nat thy beauty, and I fear to approach thee and throw myself as a\nsuppliant at thy feet, although I am in sore distress, for great\nmisfortunes have befallen me.\n\n\"It was only last night that I escaped from the sea. On my way from\nCalypso's isle I was driven about for twenty days by the angry waves\nin a violent storm. Now some god has cast me on this shore to make\nme undergo new trials, for I do not believe my sufferings have come\nto an end. Have pity on me, O queen, because thou art the first human\nbeing I have met after so many misfortunes.\n\n\"I do not know one person in this country. Show me thy city, I pray,\nand give me an old robe to wear, no matter how coarse and poor, and\nmay the gods bestow all blessings upon thee.\"\n\nNausica\u00e4 looked at Odysseus in pity and answered: \"Stranger, thou\ndost not seem to me to be a man of mean birth or breeding, and thou\nart surely in distress. But it is Zeus who distributes gifts to mortals,\nboth the good and the evil things of life, and thou must submit to\nhis will with patience.\n\n\"Since thou hast come into our land devoid of all things, even garments,\nand art helpless, I will give thee clothing and tell thee the way\nto the city. And I will tell thee about the people living in it, for\nI am the daughter of the king, Alkino\u00f6s, who reigns over this island.\"\nWhen Nausica\u00e4 had spoken thus to Odysseus, she turned to her maids\nand commanded them not to flee from the wanderer, but to bring him\nfood and drink, since Zeus sent the poor and the stranger to be cared\nfor.\n\nAnd she told them to lead him to some lonely spot by the side of the\nriver, where he might bathe at his ease. So the maids came back and\nled the hero to a sheltered place and laid a cloak and tunic on the\nsand, and the bottle of oil which the queen had given Nausica\u00e4, that\nOdysseus might anoint and clothe himself after his bath; then they\nran back to the princess.\n\nOdysseus bathed in the fresh water of the river and washed the salt\nsea-foam from his hair, and when the bath was over he put on the robes\nthat Nausica\u00e4 had sent. Athena shed a halo of beauty over him and\ncaused him to look taller and stronger than before.\n\nAs he walked along the beach to rejoin the maidens, they admired his\nnoble and kingly bearing, and Nausica\u00e4 said to her maids: \"Surely\nthis man does not come among our godlike brothers against the will\nof the gods. I thought him rough and homely, but now he seems like\none of the immortals. I would that I might call a man like him my\nhusband. Make haste to give him food and wine, for he has fasted a\nlong time.\"\n\nThe maids hastened to obey. They looked over what was left of the\nabundant lunch and bade Odysseus eat and drink, which he was glad\nto do. The princess then yoked up the mules and they started for home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\nODYSSEUS ARRIVES AT THE PALACE OF ALKINO\u00d6S\n\n\nAfter Nausica\u00e4 had mounted to her seat on the cart, she said to\nOdysseus: \"Get ready now, stranger, and we will lead thee to my\nfather's palace, where thou wilt meet the chiefs of the Ph\u00e6acians.\nIf thou art wise, take well to heart what I shall say to thee. As\nlong as we are at a good distance from the city there is no harm in\ngoing along with us. Just follow close to the wagon with my maids.\n\n\"But when we come near to the town thou must go more slowly and tarry\nbehind a little, till we have reached my father's hall, because I\ndread the gossip of the baser sort of people whom we may meet. After\nthou hast seen us enter the city, then thou mayest enter it also and\ninquire the way to the king's palace. It is very beautiful. Thou mayest\neasily find it by thyself, for there is no other house in the city\nas large as ours.\n\n\"Enter at once and find my mother and sue to her for protection and\nhelp, that thou mayest reach thy native land and thy dear ones again.\"\n\nHaving spoken these words, Nausica\u00e4 touched the mules with her long\nwhip and they quickly left the river, wending their way toward the\ncity. They reached it at sunset, but Odysseus sat down in the sacred\ngrove of Athena, outside of the city to wait, and prayed to the goddess\nthat he might receive pity from the people of Ph\u00e6acia.\n\nWhile he prayed, the damsels went on and soon reached the king's palace.\nNausica\u00e4's brothers came out and welcomed them, and unhitched the\nmules. When Odysseus had given them time to get home, he arose and\nfound his way to the town. He had hardly entered it when Athena, in\nthe form of a young girl carrying a pitcher of water, met him.\n\n\"My daughter,\" Odysseus said to her, \"canst thou show me the way to\nthe king's palace? I am a stranger, and here for the first time.\"\nAthena answered him: \"With pleasure, stranger; the king is our\nneighbor. Follow me, and I will lead thee thither. But on the way\ndo not greet anyone or ask questions, for the people here are not\nfond of those who come from other lands.\"\n\nThus spoke Athena and pursued her way with Odysseus following her.\nShe threw a veil of darkness over the hero to hide him from rude gazers.\nOdysseus beheld the beautiful port with astonishment--the large\nships, the great market-place, and the high walls of the city.\n\nWhen they reached the palace, the girl stopped and said: \"This is\nthe house of the king. Go in without any fear, for they love brave\nmen, even when they come from afar. The first thing to do is to find\nthe queen, whose name is Aret\u00e8.\n\n\"She is greatly honored by the king, and all the people treat her\nas if she were a goddess, on account of her gentleness and virtue.\nIn case the queen looks upon thee with favor, thou mayest be sure\nof safely reaching home.\"\n\nHaving spoken these words, the goddess took a friendly leave of the\nhero, and he entered the outer hall of Alkino\u00f6s, where he was\nbewildered by the splendor. The walls were of brass, the doors of\ngold, and the thresholds and lintels of pure silver. On each side\nof the main entrance gold and silver dogs stood guard. They were\nendowed with life and were immortal, the work and gift of the divine\nHeph\u00e6stus.\n\nThere were two rows of splendid seats in the large dining-hall. They\nwere covered with costly mats, and the Ph\u00e6acian leaders were wont\nto sit there and enjoy themselves. Golden statues of boys with lighted\ntorches in their hands stood on beautiful pedestals and spread light\nover the merry banquets. There were fifty maid-servants in the palace.\nSome of them were grinding corn in the mill. Some spent their time\nin spinning and weaving, for as the men were renowned sailors, the\nwomen also were famous for making fine cloth.\n\nThere was a large orchard all around the palace, surrounded by a thick\nhedge. In the orchard there was a great variety of fruit-trees--pear,\napple, pomegranate, olive, and fig. The trees were never bare of fruit,\neither in summer or in winter, for an ever-blowing west wind created\nsuch a mild climate that the trees were constantly blooming and\nripening their fruit.\n\nThere was to be seen a tree full of blossoms, while another bent down\nunder the load of ripe fruit. Thus it was with the grape-vines in\nthe vineyard close to the orchard. Some were blooming, others had\nonly begun to form fruit-buds, while some were loaded with ripe\nclusters ready for the wine-press. At the end of the orchard there\nwas a magnificent flower-garden, in which the most fragrant flowers\nwere blooming. Two springs also bubbled from the ground. One watered\nthe orchard, and the other ran to the very door of the palace, and\nall the people filled their pitchers there. Such were the gifts\nAlkino\u00f6s had received from the gods.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\nODYSSEUS IN THE HALLS OF ALKINO\u00d6S\n\n\nAfter Odysseus had contemplated these wonders to his heart's content,\nhe entered the main hall. There he found the leaders of the Ph\u00e6acians\nbringing offerings of wine to Hermes, as the hour of sleep had arrived,\nand this was always their last ceremony before seeking slumber. No\none saw Odysseus as he crossed the spacious room and came close to\nthe king and queen, for he was still concealed in the thick mist which\nAthena had thrown round him. Suddenly the cloud vanished, and Odysseus\nthrew himself at the feet of Aret\u00e8, and raised his voice in\nsupplication.\n\n\"Aret\u00e8,\" he prayed, \"I have come to thy husband and to thy feet through\nmany hardships and sorrows. May the gods give thee a long and happy\nlife. For many years I have been a wanderer from home and all I love.\nI beg that thou wilt give me a guide and send me to my own land.\"\n\nWhen Odysseus had spoken these words he sat down amidst the ashes,\nclose to the fire, and all the guests grew silent and looked at him\nwith wonder. Then the oldest of the chiefs arose and said: \"Alkino\u00f6s,\nthis is not a royal seat for a stranger, among the cinders of the\nhearth. I pray thee, raise him up and place him on a throne, and order\nthe heralds to fill a cup with wine, that we may pour a libation to\nZeus, the protector of suppliants, and bid the guest welcome to our\ngood cheer.\"\n\nThen Alkino\u00f6s arose and took Odysseus by the hand. He led him to a\nsplendid throne but little lower than his own, while the herald placed\na table before him loaded with dainty food. When Odysseus had eaten\nand drunk, the attendants filled the cups to pour libations in honor\nof Zeus, and Alkino\u00f6s said to them: \"Listen, ye leaders and chiefs\nof the Ph\u00e6acians. To-morrow we shall greet the stranger in our palace\nwith honors and offer a great sacrifice to the gods. And then we will\nconsider the best way of sending him home. But if we should find that\nhe is a god instead of a mortal, we will do what seems best, for the\ngods do sometimes visit us in human shape.\"\n\nThen said Odysseus: \"Nay, Alkino\u00f6s, I am not a god, nor like the gods\nin form or looks. I am only a wanderer, and I could tell of fearful\nsorrows; and I would willingly die if I could only see my home once\nmore.\"\n\nThe guests all greeted Odysseus with approving words, and promised\nto aid him. Then they rose, and each man went to his own home.\n\nOdysseus remained in the hall with Aret\u00e8 and Alkino\u00f6s. As they\nconversed, the queen noticed the garments of Odysseus, because she\nhad woven them herself, and she said to him: \"Stranger, who art thou,\nand from what land? Didst thou not say thou hadst come here after\nmany wanderings and voyages on the stormy sea? Who gave thee garments\nof my weaving?\"\n\nOdysseus answered her: \"It would not be easy, gracious queen, to tell\nabout all my hardships and sufferings. Yet I will do thy bidding.\nI was shipwrecked long since, and thrown upon an island far out in\nthe sea, where Calypso, the daughter of Atlas, lives. She cared for\nme most kindly, and would have made me, like herself, an immortal,\nbut I chose instead the hope of seeing my own native land.\n\n\"The goddess detained me seven long years on her island before she\nbade me start for home. I built a raft, which she stored with food,\nand she sent a pleasant breeze to carry me across the waters. But\nPoseidon stirred the winds and waves against me, and I was thrown\nupon the shores of this island, near the lavers, where thy daughter\nand her maids went to wash the household linen. There the princess\nfound me, and supplied me with food and the garments I have on.\"\n\n\"One duty my daughter left undone,\" Alkino\u00f6s said. \"She should have\nbrought thee home with her.\" \"Do not blame her, I entreat,\" replied\nOdysseus, \"for she bade me come with her maids, but I lingered in\na grove to offer a prayer to Athena.\" When Alkino\u00f6s had heard this\ntale from Odysseus, he promised once more to give him a ship and\nsailors to escort him home.\n\nMeanwhile the queen bade her servants prepare a bed for the hero out\non the portico, and they covered a couch with shaggy rugs and purple\ntapestries, where he could rest. With a grateful heart Odysseus arose,\nand, thanking the king for his generous hospitality, sought the bed,\nwhere he gave himself to happy dreams.\n\nOdysseus rose early the next morning and went with Alkino\u00f6s to the\nmarket-place, close to the sea, where all the Ph\u00e6acians had assembled.\nThe people gazed with admiration at their stranger-guest, for Athena\nlent him greater dignity and beauty, and she went among the crowds,\nmoving their hearts to sympathy with him.\n\nAlkino\u00f6s then addressed the assembled multitude: \"Hear me, ye chiefs\nof the Ph\u00e6acians,\" he said. \"This stranger has come to our land after\nmany wanderings and adventures. And he asks me to send him back to\nhis own country. Let us fit out a ship for him quickly and launch\nit, and give him fifty-two young men from among our best sailors,\nwho shall get everything ready for the long journey.\n\n\"While they are doing this the stranger shall come to my halls with\nthe chiefs and princes, where we will make a great banquet. Summon\nalso the bard, Demodokos, that he may enliven the festival with his\nharp and songs.\"\n\nHaving spoken, Alkino\u00f6s rose and led his guest back to the palace,\nthe princes following him. Fifty-two youths were soon chosen from\namong the best seamen, and they launched a ship speedily and went\nup to the royal palace.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\nTHE BANQUET IN HONOR OF ODYSSEUS\n\n\nAlkino\u00f6s now ordered a sumptuous feast in honor of his guest. When\nthe table was spread, the herald who had gone for Demodokos came in\nleading the bard, who was blind. The gods had deprived him of sight,\nbut had bestowed upon him the gift of song. They gave him a seat on\na silver throne, amid the guests, and hung his harp against a lofty\npillar, close above his head, where he could easily reach it.\n\nWhen all had eaten and drunk as much as they desired, Demodokos took\nhis lyre and began to sing about the heroes of Troy. It was a song\nwhose fame had reached over the whole world, the story of a friendly\nstrife between Achilles and Odysseus before Troy, in which Achilles\nheld that Troy would fall by force, but Odysseus maintained that it\nwould come to an end through the cunning of a few brave Greeks.\n\nAll the guests enjoyed listening to the thrilling song, but Odysseus\nwas deeply touched, and tears fell from his eyes. He brushed them\naway stealthily, so that no one should observe them, and drew a large\npurple veil over his face until the song was finished, when he put\nit away and took a goblet of wine, which he poured out on the ground\nas a libation to the gods.\n\nAgain the minstrel took his harp and sang, and again Odysseus wept.\nAlkino\u00f6s noticed that the song of Demodokos moved Odysseus to tears,\nand thought it might be well to stay the music awhile and begin the\ngames, that the stranger might witness the athletic skill of the\nPh\u00e6acians. All the princes instantly arose and walked down to the\nmarket-place, the king leading and the people following.\n\nWhen the chiefs had taken their seats a great number of young men\nhastened forward to begin the games. Some of them darted over the\nplain in a foot-race, raising a cloud of dust. Others strove with\nall their might in wrestling-matches, while some threw the quoit or\nplayed at boxing and leaping. After they had enjoyed looking at the\ngames, Laodamas, a son of Alkino\u00f6s, said to his friends: \"Let us ask\nthe stranger to take part in the games. His strong arms and legs and\npowerful neck show that he is no weakling. Nor has he lost his youthful\nvigor after all his hardships, although nothing tires a man so much\nas being tossed about on the sea.\"\n\nThen the friends of Laodamas advised him to challenge Odysseus to\ntake part in the games; and this seemed right to the prince, so he\nsaid to him: \"Father, I think thou must be skilful in these games.\nLet us see thee try them. We will not delay thee long. Thy ship is\nready for thee on the sea, and the crew is there, waiting. But there\nis no greater glory or pleasure for a man than to excel in swiftness\nof foot and strength of muscle.\"\n\nOdysseus answered him: \"Why dost thou urge me, O Laodamas? How can\nI take part in the games or find any pleasure in them after all that\nI have suffered? Here I sit, a suppliant, praying to be sent back\nto my wife and home.\" Then Euryalos scoffed at him, saying: \"Thou\nart right, stranger, for thy countenance shows thou art anything but\nan athlete.\n\n\"Methinks thou art the owner of some merchant-vessel. Thou art a\ntrader, whose head is full of bargains. Such men can take heed of\nnothing except how to increase wealth.\"\n\nThese mocking words vexed Odysseus, and he retorted: \"My friend, thou\ndost not speak like a man of good mind. The gods do not bestow their\ngifts equally on all men. To thee they have given great beauty, but\nthey have denied thee wit. Thy words carry no weight. Learn, then,\nthat I am not unskilled in the games. When I was young and strong\nI was one of the best athletes. But even now, after all my shipwrecks\nand hardships, I will strive with thee, for thy words are offensive\nand challenge me to the proof.\"\n\nHaving said this, Odysseus seized a much larger and heavier quoit\nthan the Ph\u00e6acian prince could use, and swinging it in his powerful\nhand he hurled it forth. The stone whirred through the air and fell\nto the ground away beyond the marks of the other disks. Then Athena\ntook the form of a Ph\u00e6acian and set a mark where the quoit fell, and\nexclaimed as she did so: \"Stranger, even a blind man could easily\nfind thy mark, for it is far beyond the others. Sit down in peace\nand do not fear that anybody else can throw so far.\" Odysseus was\npleased when he heard these friendly words. With a light heart he\nsaid to the Ph\u00e6acian youths: \"Reach my mark, if you can, young men,\nand I will send a stone farther yet. But if you cannot reach it, and\nprefer a match at boxing or wrestling or foot-race, come forth. I\nam ready to try any of the games with you. I can throw a spear farther\nthan any of you can shoot an arrow. I fear nothing unless it may be\nthe foot-race, for I have lost my strength with want of food and being\ntossed by the waves.\"\n\nHe ended, and King Alkino\u00f6s stepped forward, for the young men were\nall silent. \"Stranger,\" he said, \"thou art our dearly loved guest,\nand no one can doubt thy bravery. We do not boast that we are fine\nboxers or wrestlers. We excel in the dance and are unsurpassed in\nsailing ships. Come, then, young men, show your skill in dancing,\nthat our guest may tell his people when he reaches his home how much\nwe outdo all others in that art. And let a herald hasten to the palace\nand bring the lyre of Demodokos, which has been left there.\"\n\nThe young men arranged themselves in two rows on the polished floors\nand began the dance, while the minstrel, standing in their midst,\nplayed on the lyre and sang most sweetly. Odysseus looked on and\ngreatly admired the swift and rhythmical movements of their feet.\nAll danced very well; but two of the sons of the king came out and\ndanced alone, for none of the others equalled them. One of them held\na golden ball in his hand, and bending backward threw it so high that\nit seemed to touch the clouds. The other sprang up and caught it easily\nbefore it touched the ground.\n\nThey both danced, going through intricate and rhythmical figures,\nwhile the other young men stood around in a circle and clapped their\nhands, keeping time. Then Odysseus said to Alkino\u00f6s: \"Truly, no one\nexcels the Ph\u00e6acian princes in dancing. I see the twinkling of their\nfeet with amazement.\"\n\nThese words pleased Alkino\u00f6s greatly, and he said to his people:\n\"Listen, my chiefs, for our guest seems to be a wise man. It becomes\nus now to bestow upon him the gifts of hospitality. In this land there\nare twelve kings. I am the thirteenth. Let each one of us bring a\nfine cloak, and a tunic, and a talent of gold, that our guest may\nsee them before he partakes of the evening banquet. And let Euryalos,\nwho spoke such scoffing words to him, try to win back his friendship\nand bring a costly gift.\" All the chiefs approved the words of King\nAlkino\u00f6s, and each one sent a servant to his house to bring a valuable\npresent.\n\nEuryalos cheerfully obeyed the king. He brought a brass sword with\na silver hilt to Odysseus, and said: \"My father, if I have uttered\nany offensive word to thee, may the winds scatter all remembrance\nof it. May the gods grant thee a speedy return to thy country, where\nthou shalt see thy wife and friends from whom thou hast so long been\nseparated.\"\n\nOdysseus answered: \"Hail to thee, also, my friend! May the gods give\nthee all that there is good, and may no need of this sword ever come\nto thee.\" Odysseus took the sword and threw it across his shoulders.\n\nThe sun had set, and the servants carried the gifts to the royal palace,\nwhere the queen took care of them. King Alkino\u00f6s led the way to the\npalace, his guest at his side and the princes following. When they\nhad taken their seats on high thrones, the king told his wife to lay\nthe royal presents in a chest, adding a much richer cloak and tunic\nthan anyone else had given as a gift from himself.\n\nAret\u00e8 did as her husband wished, and placed a beautiful cup of gold\nalso in the chest, and led Odysseus up to look at the presents. Then\nshe taught him how to lock the chest and unlock it, and her maids\ncalled him to a warm bath, after which he anointed himself with\nfragrant oil and put on fresh garments.\n\nWhile he was wending his way to the men who sat before their wine,\nhe met Nausica\u00e4 in her goddess-like beauty, standing near a pillar.\n\"Stranger, farewell,\" she said. \"I wish thee joy and a safe return\nto thy native land. Do not forget that I was the first to befriend\nthee in the land of the Ph\u00e6acians.\"\n\nOdysseus answered: \"May the gods be as sure to favor my return to\nmy home as I shall be to make a prayer daily in thy behalf, fair maiden,\nwho hath saved my life.\" Then Odysseus entered the great hall and\ntook his place at the feast.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\nODYSSEUS RELATES HIS ADVENTURES\n\n\nWhen they had all eaten and drunk to their hearts' content, the hero\nbegged Demodokos to sing about the invention of the wooden horse with\nwhich Odysseus had artfully tricked the Trojans to their own\ndestruction.\n\nThe minstrel felt the inspiration of the song, and began where the\nGreeks threw firebrands into their own tents and sailed away from\nTroy, pretending that they had given up the war.\n\nHe told how the Trojans wondered what to do with the huge wooden horse\nwhich the enemy had left in their city, whether to hew it to pieces\nand burn it, or to drag it to the edge of a high rock and throw it\nover, or whether to spare it as an act of reverence to the gods. This\nlast was done, and in the night Odysseus and his men came out of the\ngreat wooden trap and set fire to the city while the men of Troy slept.\n\nAs Demodokos sang, tears rolled down the cheeks of Odysseus. but no\none noticed his weeping except the king, who said: \"It is better to\nstop the song of Demodokos, as it does not delight us all. Ever since\nthe bard began to sing, our guest has been weeping. He carries some\ngreat trouble in his heart. Let the song cease, and let us all make\nmerry. Let no grief mar our banquet. And, honored stranger, tell us\nthe name of thy father, and the city which is thy home. Our seamen\nshall take thee safely to thine own land, although there is a prophecy\nthat one of our good ships shall be changed into a high rock, to stand\nforever in front of our city, if we show such courtesies to strangers.\n\n\"Tell us truly who thou art and whither thou hast roamed, what tribes\nof men thou hast seen, and why thou dost weep when the minstrel sings\nof Troy. Didst thou lose a noble kinsman there, or a dear friend?\nFor a friend is often dearer than a brother.\" Odysseus replied: \"In\ntruth, O king, it is a pleasant thing to listen to a bard like Demodokos,\nfor his voice is as sweet as the voice of a god.\n\n\"And I cannot think of anything more delightful than the joy of a\ncontented people listening to a great poet and singer while seated\nat a feast in a royal hall. But I pine to be at home, and I will declare\nmy name and tell the story of my sufferings.\n\n\"I am the chieftain Odysseus, son of Laertes, and widely known to\nfame. I dwell in sunny Ithaca, whose high mountains are seen from\nafar, covered with rustling trees. Around it are many smaller islands,\nfull of people. Ithaca has low shores on the east. It is a rugged\nisland, but it is the sweetest land on earth, and has a noble race\nof mortals. When the Trojan war was at an end, I started for home\nwith my twelve ships, but a contrary wind drove us to Ismaros, the\ncity of the Kikonians.\n\n\"We captured it and put the inhabitants to the sword. Then I exhorted\nmy comrades to fly, but, like madmen, they remained on the sea-shore.\nThen they slaughtered a large number of sheep and oxen and made a\nfeast. The Kikonians called on their strong neighbors to come and\nhelp them, and they came in swarms with their brazen spears. They\nfell upon our men and killed six of them from each ship, and drove\nthe rest back to their boats.\n\n\"Brisk handling of our oars soon carried us out into the sea, but\nJove sent a hurricane that tore our sails and split our masts, so\nthat our sailors drew them into the ships in fear. Two days and nights\nwe lay helpless in our boats, worn out with fear and grief, but the\nthird day the sun shone on us again, and we raised the masts and sails\nto take the breeze, hoping to reach our own land.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\nTHE LOTUS-EATERS AND THE CYCLOPS\n\n\n\"We sailed onward in a westerly direction, heading for the Grecian\nshore, and thought our trials would soon be at an end. But in this\nwe were disappointed, for when we were about to round the cape at\nthe southern point of Greece, we met an evil wind which always blows\nthere, and it drove us far to the east, beyond the island of Cythera.\n\n\"Nine days and nine nights we were driven about on the sea by the\nviolent storm, and on the tenth we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters.\nThese men eat flowers that look like water-lilies, and they have no\nother food. We landed on the shore of the mainland, and my comrades\ntook their evening meal close to the boats.\n\n\"When our hunger was satisfied, I sent out two of the best men to\nexplore the country about and find out what sort of people the\nLotus-eaters were. I sent a herald with them, whom they might send\nback with the news.\n\n\"They soon found themselves among the Lotus-eaters, who were gentle\nand friendly, and gave them the lotus plant to eat. This food is\npleasant to the taste, but dangerous; for anyone who eats of it loses\nall desire to return to his own home. He forgets his cares and troubles,\nbut also his friends.\n\n\"As soon as my comrades had eaten of the lotus, they became attached\nto the Lotus-eaters, and desired to remain with them. They wept\nbitterly when I commanded them to return to the ships, and I was\nobliged to force them to go.\n\n\"I bound them down to the benches in the ships, and the whole company\nwent on board in haste lest they should never think of their homes\nagain. Each man bent to his oars, and the waves were soon white with\nthe beating of the ships against them as we sailed with all haste\nin the direction of our own land.\n\n\"We sailed about on unknown seas and with sorrowing hearts until we\ncame to the land of the Cyclops. They are a wild people who have no\nlaws. They never plough the fields nor plant them, for everything\ngrows of its own accord--wheat, and barley, and the vine. The grapes\nyield good wine. The Cyclops do not come together in a friendly way,\nbut live in caves near the mountain tops, each one in his own den.\nThey do not care much for one another, and each rules his wife and\nchildren as he likes.\n\n\"There is a little woody island lying at the entrance to the land\nof the Cyclops, on which swarm numberless wild goats, never disturbed\nby human beings, for the Cyclops have no ships to take them over.\nThis island is very fertile, but there are no sheep to eat the grass\nand no people to plough the fields. The goats are the only inhabitants.\nThe island has a harbor which is safe, and the ships that enter it\nhave no need of anchors or fastenings.\n\n\"In the midst of the harbor there is a cliff, from which bubbles forth\na spring of excellent water, and poplar-trees grow all around it.\nThe soil is so rich it might bear all kinds of fruit, if there were\nanyone to plant them. There are beautiful meadows all along the coast,\nwhich are gay with yellow fruit and pink blossoms.\n\n\"We were shaping our course toward this island, and a good breeze\nbrought us there on a dark night. The moon did not shine and none\nof the crew saw the land until we were upon the shore. We lowered\nour sails and rested there until morning. When daylight appeared we\nbeheld with wonder the island where the wild goats abounded. My\ncomrades walked around, admiring the beauty of the place, while the\nnymphs, daughters of Zeus, roused the goats that they might give us\nmilk. We took our bows and arrows from the ships immediately and,\nforming three hunting-parties, killed a great number of the nimble\ncreatures. Each of my twelve ships received nine goats as its share,\nbut mine received ten. The remainder of the day we passed in eating\nand drinking.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\nTHE CAVE OF THE CYCLOPS\n\n\n\"The next day I started with twelve men, the crew of my own ship,\nto find out what kind of men inhabited the country opposite us, leaving\nall the other boats and their men on the island. When we sailed up\nto the coast of the mainland, we heard the voices of giants, and the\nbleating of their sheep and goats. And we saw a cave with a high roof,\nover whose entrance grew laurel shrubs, and many cattle, sheep, and\ngoats were lying around at rest. We found an enclosure of rough stone\nin the form of a court, with tall pines and leafy oaks at the mouth\nof the cave.\n\n\"The largest giant of all the race of Cyclops dwelt there and took\ncare of his cattle all alone. Usually he spent his time prowling all\nby himself around the mountains. He had nothing to do with his\nneighbors, but led a solitary life, plotting wicked deeds. He looked\nmore like a huge mountain top, with shaggy overhanging forests,\ntowering above other mountains, than a human being.\n\n\"We were soon inside the cave, but we did not find the owner at home.\nWe had carried with us a wine-skin full of wine which a priest of\nApollo had given us. The wine was very fragrant and so pleasant that\nno one who had once tasted it, could let it alone. We had taken along\na basket of food also, for fear of meeting with men of great strength\nand no sense of the courtesy due to strangers.\n\n\"As we looked around the cave we wondered at what we saw. There were\nbaskets all about heaped with cheeses, and pens of lambs separated\ninto three folds, the older in one pen, the younger in another, and\nthe youngest in a third. And there were pails full of whey, and buckets\nof milk. My companions ate as much of the cheese as they liked, after\nwhich they begged to drive all the lambs and kids down to the ship.\n\n\"But I would not allow this. It was my wish to stay there and see\nthe cave-dweller and find out what kind of a man he was. I thought\nhe would give me a handsome present, according to the laws of\nhospitality. It was cold in the cave, so we lit a fire and sat down\nto wait for the owner to arrive.\n\n\"He came toward evening, carrying a load of wood on his back, which\nhe threw down with such a crash that my men ran with terror into the\ncorners of the cave. The giant drove all such sheep and goats as would\ngive him milk into the cave, leaving the others in the outside court,\nand then closed up the entrance with a rock so large that twenty-four\nfour-wheeled wagons could not have moved it. Having done this, he\nsat down and milked the sheep and goats and gave to each its young\none.\n\n\"Next, he curdled half of the milk and put the curd into woven baskets,\nbut he kept the other half for his evening meal. When he had ended\nthis work he lit a fire, and seeing the strangers he began to ask\nthem questions, to find out who they were. His voice was deep and\nfrightful, like the rumbling of a volcano, and our hearts trembled,\nbut I found words to answer him: 'We are Greeks, and come from Troy.\nIt was our intention to return home, but contrary winds have driven\nus on this shore.\n\n\"'We belong to the army of Agamemnon, whose fame is very great because\nhe has overcome a strong city and conquered many nations. But now\nwe throw ourselves at thy feet and pray that thou wilt receive us\nas guests, or else give us the gifts that are due to strangers, lest\nthe gods avenge us.'\n\n\"Having said this, I stopped, but the Cyclops told us that we were\nfools to believe in the gods. 'The Cyclops,' he said, 'care nothing\nfor the gods. We are better than they are. If I spare thee it will\nbe of my own free will, and not for fear of the gods. But where are\nthy ships? Are they near here or far off?' This he said hoping to\ndeceive us, but I saw through his trick, and replied: 'The storm has\nthrown our ships upon the cliffs and broken them to pieces, and we\nhad to swim for our lives.'\n\n\"The cruel monster did not answer me again, but he seized two of my\ncompanions and dashed them to the ground with such force that they\ndied on the spot. He devoured them as a lion devours his prey. He\nleft nothing of them, neither bones nor flesh nor hair. We wept aloud\nand prayed to Zeus with our hearts full of despair.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\nTHE BLINDING OF THE CYCLOPS\n\n\n\"When the monster had filled himself with food, he stretched out on\nthe floor of the cave to sleep. Then the thought came to me to thrust\na sword into his heart. But this was not a wise course to take, because\nwe should never have been able to remove the stone from the entrance\nto the cave.\n\n\"We passed the night in mourning and lamentations. As soon as daylight\nappeared, the Cyclops woke up and lit a fire and milked his sheep\nagain. Then he seized two more of my companions and devoured them.\nWhen his morning meal was done he rolled the stone back from the door\nand drove his beasts out, not forgetting to secure the entrance. We\ncould hear his noisy shouts afar off as he led his flocks over the\ngrassy heights, and we began to make plans to destroy him.\n\n\"We found a great club of green olive-wood in the cave; one that the\nCyclops had cut for his own use. It was as large as the mast of a\nship, and he had laid it away to dry. I cut off a fathom's length\nfrom this club and handed the piece to my companions, who smoothed\noff its sides and sharpened it at one end. This being done, I put\nthe sharp end of it into the fire. The stick became very hard, and\nthen I hid the weapon under a heap of litter which was piled up in\nthe cave. We cast lots to see who should assist me to put out the\neye of the Cyclops when he was asleep.\n\n\"When evening came the Cyclops returned to the cave with his fat sheep\nand kids. He seemed to suspect that there was mischief afoot, for\nhe did not leave any of them outside. After milking the ewes and goats\nhe again seized two of my companions and made his supper of them.\nBut I filled a large drinking-vessel with the wine from our wine-skin\nand stepped boldly out and said to him: 'Here is a cup of wine which\nI brought, hoping that thou wouldst spare my life, O Cyclops, for\nthy wrath is boundless.' He took the cup and drank. The wine delighted\nhim greatly, and he handed me the cup after emptying it and said:\n'Give me another draught and tell me thy name. I will give thee a\ngenerous gift, such as becomes a host. We, too, have wine, but not\nsuch as yours. That tastes like nectar and ambrosia.'\n\n\"Three times I filled the cup and brought it to him, and three times\nthe Cyclops drank it like a madman. When the wine had overpowered\nhim, I said to him: 'Cyclops, thou dost wish to know my name, and\nI will tell it, but thou must give me the present thou hast promised.\nMy name is Nobody. My father and mother gave me this name and my friends\nall call me by it.' 'Then,' said the Cyclops, 'I shall eat Nobody\nlast of all. This is my present.'\n\n\"After these words he fell asleep and, being very drunk, he began\nto spew out the wine and flesh he had taken. I took the piece of\nolive-wood which my men had sharpened and put the point of it into\nthe fire and held it there until it was a glowing coal. My comrades\nstood near me and I encouraged them with brave words. We thrust the\nburning stick into the Cyclops' eye and put it out. He howled with\npain, and, stung to madness, he seized the stick and flung it across\nthe cave.\n\n\"He called to the other Cyclops, who lived in divers caves on the\nsurrounding mountains, while we hid ourselves in fear in the most\nremote corners of the cave. The giants heard him and came running\nto help him, but they could not get into the cave. They stood near\nthe stone, close to the door, and called out: 'What ails thee,\nPolyphemus? Is anyone trying to kill thee?' 'Woe is me!' cried\nPolyphemus, 'Nobody is trying to kill me.' 'Then why dost thou shout\nand cry for help?' said they. 'If nobody hurts thee, then thou art\nnot hurt.'\n\n\"With these words they went off, and we rejoiced greatly that my trick\nhad deceived them.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\nODYSSEUS AND HIS COMPANIONS LEAVE THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS\n\n\n\"Polyphemus, groaning with pain, tried to feel his way with his hands\nto the mouth of the cavern. Having succeeded in this, he rolled back\nthe stone and sat down at the entrance and stretched out his hands\nin order to catch us if we should happen to try to get out among the\nsheep.\n\n\"But we were not so foolish as to be caught in this way. There were\nin the cave a number of stout and woolly rams. Of these I put three\nabreast and tied them together with twigs that happened to be in the\ncave. Under each middle ram I tied one of my companions. The two sheep,\none on each side of him, hid the man completely. For myself I selected\nthe stoutest ram of the flock, and, seizing his long shaggy wool with\nmy hands, held fast to him with my knees and arms.\n\n\"The sun rose and the animals began to hasten out to the pastures.\nThe Cyclops, though nearly exhausted with pain, passed his hands over\nthe backs of the sheep to find out whether any of us were trying to\nride out of the cave. He did not find out our trick, and my companions\nall escaped safely. Last of all, the ram that carried me came to the\ndoor, because I was so heavy that he could hardly walk with me hanging\nto him.\n\n\"Polyphemus felt of his back and recognized him at once as his favorite\nram, and said: 'Dearest of all my sheep, why dost thou go last?\nCommonly thou wert the first of the flock to hasten to the rich pasture\nand the cool spring, just as thou wert the first in the evening to\nreturn to thy manger. But to-day thou art last of all. Dost thou grieve\nbecause thy master hath lost his eye, which Nobody has put out? But\nwait a little. He shall not escape death. Couldst thou only speak,\nmy ram, thou wouldst tell me at once where the scoundrel is; then\nthou shouldst see how I would dash him against the rocks.'\n\n\"Speaking such words as these, he let the ram go. When we were safely\nout of the cave, we gladly took to our feet and drove the fat sheep\ndown to our boat with all haste. Our friends received us with tears\nof joy, for they thought we had surely perished. I made signs to them\nnot to weep aloud, and to hurry the sheep on board the ship. They\ndid this with all haste, and each man took his place at the oars.\n\n\"When we were beyond the reach of the Cyclops, I called out to tease\nhim, 'Ha! Cyclops, Cyclops, thou hast not been entertaining a coward.\nZeus and the other gods have avenged the brave men whom thou didst\nso cruelly destroy.'\n\n\"The Cyclops heard my words and grew furious. He seized a large rock\nand threw it with all his might toward the place where he had heard\nmy voice.\n\n\"The rock fell in front of my ship, and the waves which it raised\ncarried us back on shore. I seized a large pole and shoved the boat\nback into the water, commanding my men to ply their oars vigorously,\nthat we might escape destruction. My companions begged me not to\nexcite the dangerous monster further; but when we were a long way\nout I shouted to him: 'Cyclops, if ever anybody asks thee who put\nout thine eye, tell him it was Odysseus, the son of Laertes, conqueror\nof Troy.'\n\n\"When Polyphemus heard these words he gave a deep groan, and said\nto me: 'Truly did the wise seer, Telemos, foretell that I was to be\nblinded by Odysseus. But I thought there would come a large and\npowerful man, not such an insignificant little fellow who would cheat\nme with wine. Come back, Odysseus, and let me bestow upon you the\ngifts which are due to strangers. I will pray to my father, Poseidon,\nto give thee a safe and speedy return to thy native land. He can restore\nmy eye whenever he will, so I cherish no anger against thee.'\n\n\"I knew his deceit, however, and replied: 'I would rather take thy\nlife, and send thee down to the dark halls of the dead, where thy\nfather could never restore thy sight.'\n\n\"As soon as Polyphemus heard this, he raised his hands to heaven and\nprayed to Poseidon, 'My father,' he said, 'hear me, if in truth I\nam thy son. Grant me this prayer. May Odysseus never return to his\nown country, or, if it be thy will that he reach home and friends\nagain, let his return be late and sorrowful. May his comrades all\nbe lost, and may he go back in a borrowed ship, and find new troubles\nwaiting for him in his house.'\n\n\"Poseidon was moved to wrath against me by this prayer, and determined\nto take vengeance on me. The Cyclops seized another stone, much larger\nthan the last, and swinging it round, threw it at us with tremendous\nstrength. It fell close to the ship, but this time it drove the boat\nout into the sea and in the direction of the island where we first\nlanded.\n\n\"When we reached the island we found the friends we had left there\nwaiting anxiously for our return. My men drew their boat up on to\nthe smooth sand and stepped upon the beach, taking the sheep along\nwith them. Each man took an equal share, but they gave me the ram\nwhich had saved my life. We took him out upon the beach and offered\nhim up as a sacrifice to Zeus.\n\n\"But sacrifices were vain, for Zeus had more evil for us in his mind.\nWe spent the rest of the day on the island, eating and drinking, and\nwhen the sun went down we camped on the shore for the night. In the\nmorning I called my men to climb the decks and cut the ropes that\nkept us fastened to the shore. With all speed they went aboard and\ntook their oars in hand and set sail for home, glad to escape, but\nsorrowing for our lost companions.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\nTHE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS ON THE ISLAND OF \u00c6OLUS\n\n\n\"We sailed about on unknown seas for many days, when we reached the\nisland where \u00c6olus made his abode. This island was surrounded by\nsmooth rocks and guarded by a wall of shining brass.\n\n\"\u00c6olus had twelve children, six sons and six daughters, and they\nbanqueted on an endless variety of meats from day to day all the year\nround. \u00c6olus was a kindly, genial god; he was master of the winds,\nand one could hear the music of sweet pipes in his halls all day,\nand the air was fresh and fragrant there.\n\n\"\u00c6olus welcomed us hospitably and kept us with him a whole month.\nHe inquired of the fate of all our companions in the war with Troy,\nand we stated what had happened to them. Then we prayed him to send\nus home, and the god very kindly gave us a sack made of skin in which\nhe had tied up all the contrary winds, leaving only the west wind\nfree to carry us safely home.\n\n\"I took the great bag of winds and bound it fast to the main mast\nof the ship with a silver chain, so that no rude wind could escape\nand blow us out of our way. We sailed along nine days and nine nights,\nblown by the friendly breeze from the west, and on the tenth we saw\nin the distance the mountain tops of Ithaca and the fires along the\nshore.\n\n\"And now I was overcome by a heavy sleep, for I had been guiding the\nship, not daring to trust it to the hand of any of the crew. While\nI lay unconscious of what was going on, my companions talked among\nthemselves and said they believed that the bag which \u00c6olus had given\nme contained vast amounts of gold and silver. And they spoke with\ngreat jealousy of the prizes which I had received wherever we had\nlanded, while they went empty-handed.\n\n\"The more they talked to one another the more jealous and angry they\ngrew. They untied the sack and the winds rushed out, much to their\nastonishment, and seized the ship, driving it round and round in a\nfurious storm. I started out of my sleep suddenly and found the bag\nopen I had so carefully guarded and my companions weeping bitterly.\n\n\"For a moment I had a mind to throw myself into the sea and make an\nend of my troubles forever. But the thought came to me that such an\naction would not be noble, so I hid my head in my mantle and lay down\nin the bottom of the ship while the violent winds and towering waves\ndrove us back to the island we had left. We landed there again, and,\nhaving partaken of some food and wine, I sought the halls of \u00c6olus.\n\n\"I found the king and his wife and children at table taking their\nevening meal. When \u00c6olus saw me he was amazed, and asked me what had\nhappened to me. I told him about the senseless action of my companions,\nand begged him to assist me once more. But with a terrible voice he\nreplied: 'Begone as fast as thou canst out of my island. I will not\nbefriend a man who is hated of the gods.' In this unkind way he sent\nme off, and we sadly entered our ships and made for the open sea,\ntrusting to the mercy of the winds.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\nODYSSEUS AT THE HOME OF CIRC\u00c8\n\n\n\"For six days and six nights we sailed without interruption, but on\nthe seventh day we reached the city of the L\u00e6strygonians. There the\npastures are so rich in grass that the fields, which are grazed by\none flock of sheep during the day, yield abundant food for another\nflock by night. The inhabitants were not only inhospitable, but they\nreceived us with a shower of stones, which they hurled at us and at\nour galleys. They broke our ships and killed my companions, spearing\nthem like fish. Then they carried them ashore to be devoured. With\nthe greatest difficulty I succeeded in saving one ship and a few\ncompanions from the hands of these giants, and I fled with them out\nto the high sea.\n\n\"Sadly we continued our course until we reached an island, where the\ngoddess Circ\u00e8, a daughter of the Sun and Ocean, lived. We landed\nsilently, and gave two days and nights to rest, for we were worn out\nwith toil and grief. On the third day I climbed to the top of a high\nhill and looked over the island. Down below I saw a marble palace,\nsurrounded by a thick forest. There was smoke rising from the grounds,\nso I resolved to return to my men and send out some of them to look\nabout and explore.\n\n\"A large stag ran down into my path, on his way to a river to drink,\nand I thrust my spear through him and flung him across my neck and\ntook him to the ship. I threw him at the feet of my men, who were\nastonished at his size. They prepared a banquet at once, and we feasted\nupon the meat.\n\n\"That night we slept on the shore again, and in the morning I told\nthem that I had seen a palace standing in a thick wood, and that I\nwanted to send several men there to try to get food. When my companions\nthought of all their comrades who had been slain they wept aloud.\nBut their tears were useless. I divided them into two equal bands,\nand we cast lots to see which party should make the adventure.\n\n\"The lot fell to Eurylochos and his band of men. They started forth,\nand soon came to a beautiful valley, in which was the splendid house\nof Circ\u00e8, which was built of well-hewn stone. There were beasts of\nprey, lions and wolves, around it. The animals were tame; they wagged\ntheir tails and fawned like dogs, but the men were afraid of them.\nCirc\u00e8 was weaving in the palace and singing a beautiful song. She\nhad bright, sunny hair and a sweet voice. The men heard her as she\nwent back and forth weaving, and they called aloud. She came to the\ndoor and threw it wide open and bade them enter.\n\n\"Eurylochos alone did not go in, for he feared that some evil would\ncome of it. The others followed her, and Circ\u00e8 seated them on thrones\nand gave them food and wine, but in the wine she had secretly infused\na magic juice which made them forget home and friends and all desire\nto see their native land.\n\n\"When they had eaten and drunk to their hearts' content, she waved\nher wand over them, and at once the poor wretches were changed into\ngrunting pigs, which she shut up in pigsties and threw acorns and\nother food fit for swine before them. Although thus transformed and\ncovered with bristles, they still retained the human mind.\n\n\"Eurylochos stayed a long time outside awaiting the return of his\ncompanions. But as they tarried so long, he hastened back to the ship\nto tell the news. Thereupon I quickly hung my sword over my shoulder\nand, taking my bow and arrows, hurried off alone, and soon found myself\nnot far from Circ\u00e8's palace.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\nCIRC\u00c8 INSTRUCTS ODYSSEUS CONCERNING HIS DESCENT TO HADES\n\n\n\"As I lingered in that dangerous valley there appeared to me a youth\nwhom I knew at once to be Hermes, the messenger of the gods. He gently\ntook hold of my hand and, looking compassionately on me, said: 'Thou\nmost unhappy man! Why art thou roaming alone in these wild parts?\nOr art thou bound on the errand of delivering thy friends who have\nall been changed by Circ\u00e8 into swine? Much do I fear that thou mayest\nmeet with the same fate. Listen to my words and heed them well if\nthou wouldst destroy the treacherous schemes of Circ\u00e8.\n\n\"'Take this little flower. Its name is Moly among the gods, and no\nwicked sorcery can hurt the man who treasures it carefully. Its root\nis black. Its blossom is as white as milk, and it is hard for men\nto tear it from the ground. Take this herb and go fearlessly into\nthe dwelling of the sorceress; it will guard thee against all mishap.\nShe will bring thee a bowl of wine mingled with the juice of\nenchantment, but do not fear to eat or drink anything she may offer\nthee, and when she touches thy head with her magic wand, then rush\nupon her quickly with drawn sword as though about to slay her. She\nwill crouch in fear and entreat thee with soft words to spare her.\nBut do not give way to her until she has pledged herself by the great\noath of the gods to do thee no harm.'\n\n\"When Hermes had spoken thus he left me, to return to high Olympos,\nand I walked to the house of Circ\u00e8 with a braver heart. As I came\nnear the palace I called out to the goddess with a loud voice, and\nshe threw open the doors for me to enter. She bade me sit down on\na beautiful throne and placed a golden foot-stool under my feet. Then\nshe gave me the dangerous cup and I drank it off, but her charm did\nnot work.\n\n\"Scarcely had I drained the cup when the goddess struck me with her\nwand and said: 'Off with you! Go to the pigsty, where friends await\nthy coming!' In a twinkling I had my sword in hand and rushed upon\nher as if to kill her. Circ\u00e8 shrieked with fear and fell on her knees\nto implore my mercy. 'Who art thou and whence dost thou come?' said\nCirc\u00e8. 'Thou art the first man over whom my magic wine has had no\npower. Art thou really that Odysseus of whom Hermes told me that he\nwas to come here after many wanderings? But put up thy sword and cease\nto be angry with me and let us trust each other.'\n\n\"I answered her: 'O, goddess, how can I have faith in thy words, since\nthou hast changed my companions into swine and dost plot the same\nfate for me? Swear me the great oath that thou wilt not harm me, and\nI shall trust thy words.'\n\n\"Circ\u00e8 at once took the great oath, that she would never again try\nto do me any harm, and she ordered her servants to spread a feast\nbefore me. But I had no desire to eat. I sat down in silence, my mind\nfull of grief and doubt.\n\n\"When Circ\u00e8 saw that I did not touch the food she said: 'Why art thou\nso quiet and speechless? And why dost thou not taste the food and\nwine? I have pledged myself by the great oath to do thee no harm!'\nBut I answered: 'What man with a loyal heart, O goddess, could eat\nand drink with any pleasure while his comrades are kept in bondage\nand degradation? If thou art really kind and wouldst have me enjoy\nthis bounteous feast, O let me see my dear companions free once more!'\n\n\"The goddess took her wand and went to the pen and drove out the swine.\nShe then anointed them with a magic ointment, and their bristles fell\noff and they stood up and were men again. They knew me, and each one\nseized my hand, shedding tears of joy. Then I sent for the rest of\nmy men at the ship, who eagerly came up, and together we entered the\nhalls of Circ\u00e8, all of us weeping with joy.\n\n\"Circ\u00e8's heart was softened also, and she said to me: 'Son of Laertes,\nnoble Odysseus, do not weep and grieve any longer. I know what\nhardships thou hast endured on land and sea. Take courage, for thy\nsufferings will soon be at an end. Go down to the sea and hide thy\nboat near the shore and come back to my halls, thou and all thy men,\nwhere I will make it a happy home for all until thou art rested and\nready to sail again for thy native land.'\n\n\"We stayed a whole year on the island of Circ\u00e8, feasting and enjoying\nourselves, and fully recovered our strength. The desire of reaching\nmy beloved Ithaca grew stronger within me day by day, and at last\nI begged Circ\u00e8 to allow us to depart. 'I am not willing, O son of\nLaertes,' Circ\u00e8 answered, 'that thou shouldst remain here against\nthy wish, but it is necessary that thou shouldst, before departing\nfrom my island, descend into Hades, to the palace of Pluto and\nPersephone, to consult the spirit of the Theban seer, Tiresias, on\nwhom Persephone has bestowed the priceless gift of preserving his\nmemory even in Hades, whereas all the other souls are moving about\nas empty shadows.'\n\n\"Hearing this, I grew desperate and no longer had any desire to live\nor see the light of day. I said to the goddess: 'Who will show me\nthe way to Hades? for no living mortal has ever gone there before.'\nShe replied: 'Do not worry about a guide, Odysseus, for there will\nbe no need of one. Launch thy boat, unfurl the sails, and quietly\nsit down. The north wind will waft thee to the shore of Hades. There\nflows the river Styx, black and terrible. It flows between the poplars\nand willows in the groves of Persephone, and meets the broad waters\nof Okeanos. Sail up its dark stream until thou dost reach the rock\nwhere its two branches meet and swirl and roar. There leave thy boat\nand dig a ditch in the ground, a foot deep and a foot wide, in which\nthou shalt pour honey, milk, wine, and water as an offering to the\ndead.\n\n\"'At the same time pray to the gods of Hades, and promise the shades\nof the dead that after thou hast arrived in Ithaca thou wilt sacrifice\nto them a whole heifer, the best of thy flock, and to Tiresias\nespecially a black ram. Then take two sheep, a male and a female,\nkill them, and burn them as a sacrifice to the nations of the dead.\n\n\"'At once there will arrive the souls of the departed. They will come\nby thousands, anxious to drink of the blood, that they may have their\nminds again. But draw thy sword and hold them back until the spirit\nof Tiresias arrives. He will tell thee how to get back to thy native\nland.'\n\n\"As Circ\u00e8 said this the daylight appeared, and I woke my companions\nand told them to make ready to go with me. We started at once for\nour ship, and got everything in readiness to leave. I told them that\nbefore setting out for our own country we had, by the advice of Circ\u00e8,\nto go down to Hades in order to consult the seer Tiresias about our\njourney. When they heard this they sat down, and wept, and began to\ntear the hair from their heads.\n\n\"Circ\u00e8 meantime came up by stealth, and put two sheep into the ship,\nand we sailed sadly away.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\nTHE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS IN HADES\n\n\n\"With a heavy heart we sailed from Circ\u00e8's island bound for the gloomy\nHades. As the wind was favorable, we soon reached the place of which\nthe goddess had told us. There we left the ship and did those things\nwhich Circ\u00e8 had counselled us to do. As soon as the dark blood of\nthe sheep began to flow into the trench countless souls came flocking\nfrom Hades and begged to taste of the blood, that their mortal minds\nmight be restored to them.\n\n\"Young wives and girls, old men and young warriors who had fallen\nin battle, airy forms, ghosts of all kinds of people, flitted like\nbats around me in that dark place with fearful cries, and I turned\npale with fear. I drew my sword and waved them back until I should\nquestion the soul of Tiresias.\n\n\"But first came the soul of Elpenor, one of my companions who had\ngone with me to the palace of Circ\u00e8. We had left him dead in the halls\nof the goddess, since we had no time to bury him. Now, when I saw\nhim a great pity stirred my heart, and I shed tears and said to him:\n'Elpenor, how didst thou come into these dread regions of darkness?\nThou hast come more quickly on foot than I in my quick ship.'\n\n\"The phantom knew me, for, being as yet unburied, he was not one of\nthe shades, and had not lost his memory or voice, nor did he need\nto drink of the blood. He moaned and replied: 'Noble Odysseus, it\nwas an evil fate which the gods had decreed for me. I drank too much\nwine and that caused my death. I lay down to sleep on the roof of\nCirc\u00e8's palace and could not remember the way to the stairs when thou\ndidst call us to the ships. In my haste I fell from the roof and broke\nmy neck, and my soul came down to Hades.\n\n\"'I pray thee now by all those whom thou dost love--thy wife, thy\nfather, and thy son--that thou leave not my body unburied in the palace\nhalls, lest I bring on thee the anger of the gods. But on thy return\nto Circ\u00e8's isle burn my body, together with my armor, and pile up\na mound of earth over my ashes. Plant my oar upon my tomb--the oar\nwith which I used to row while I was living.'\n\n\"I made the promise, but at this moment the soul of my mother, whom\nI had left hale and strong among the living when I went to the war,\napproached and tried to get at the trench. I wept to see her, but\nwith a heavy heart I forbade her coming nearer until I had spoken\nwith Tiresias. At this moment troops of souls came flocking out of\nHades, and from the countless throng the Theban seer came leaning\non a golden staff, and he ordered me to lay aside my sword and permit\nhim to drink of the blood.\n\n\"When he had drunk, he spoke to me and said: 'Odysseus, man of many\nwoes, why dost thou leave the light of the sun and come down among\nthe dead? Doubtless thy heart's desire is to return safely home. But\nmuch suffering is in store for thee. Poseidon will not permit it,\nbecause thou hast blinded his son, Polyphemus. Still, thou mayest\novercome all difficulties and see Ithaca at last, if thou dost not\nharm the cattle and fat sheep of the Sun on the island of Trinacria.\n\n\"'But if thou dost kill them and eat of their flesh, I warn thee that\nnothing will save thy comrades or thy ships. Even then thou mayest\nbe saved, but it will be on a strange ship, alone, and after dreadful\nsufferings. And at home thou wilt find other misfortunes awaiting\nthee.\n\n\"'There will be a mob of lawless men rioting in thy house, squandering\nthy riches, and trying to get thy wife to marry one of them. Thou\nshalt kill these violent men in thy halls by craft or in open fight.\nAfter that thou shalt reach a good and prosperous old age, and find\na peaceful death far away from the sea. All that I tell thee shall\nsurely happen.'\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\nODYSSEUS CONVERSES WITH HIS MOTHER AND AGAMEMNON\n\n\n\"When Tiresias had gone, my mother came back to the dark trench and\ndrank of the blood. She knew me at once and cried out: 'Oh, my child,\nhow didst thou ever come down to this gloomy place alive? Art thou\non thy way home from Troy? And hast thou not seen Ithaca yet, nor\nthy wife and child?'\n\n\"I answered her: 'Dear mother, I was compelled to come down here in\norder to consult the soul of the prophet Tiresias about my return;\nfor I have not yet touched foot to Grecian soil. I have been driven\nabout on strange seas from year to year, and have suffered misfortune\nafter misfortune. Oh, tell me, my mother, how didst thou die? Did\nsome lingering disease waste thy life, or didst thou meet a sudden,\npainless death?\n\n\"'Tell me of my father and of my son. Do they still hold rule over\nIthaca? Or has someone snatched it away from them, thinking I was\nnever to return? How fares my wife, Penelope? Is she still faithful\nto the husband of her youth, or has she married another?'\n\n\"To all this my mother answered: 'My son, Penelope is in the home\nwhere thou didst leave her, and she weeps for thee day and night.\nNobody has usurped thy kingdom, and Telemachos has charge of thy royal\nestates. But thy father dwells on thy farm, and shares the life of\nthe servants. He seldom goes down to the city. The grief he feels\nfor loss of thee has made him old, and will hasten his death, as it\ncaused mine, for I could not live without thee.'\n\n\"So spake my mother, and I longed to clasp her to my heart. Three\ntimes I threw my arms around her, and three times she passed through\nthem like a shadow. Then I cried out in sorrow: 'Oh, my dear mother!\nwhy can I not clasp thee to my heart and hold thee in my arms, that\nwe may lose for a while our sense of loneliness and misery?'\n\n\"My mother spoke and said: 'It is the lot of all our race when they\nare dead. When life departs we have no bones and flesh, but the soul\nflies off and flits about from one place to another. Hasten back to\nthe pleasant daylight, and when thou dost reach home tell thy wife\nwhat I have said.'\n\n\"When my mother had gone, I saw the soul of Agamemnon approaching,\ntogether with the shades of those of his companions who had perished\nwith him. The moment he had drunk of the blood he knew me and raised\na loud wail. He stretched out his hands to me, and I tried to seize\nthem, but I clutched only the empty air.\n\n\"Then I began to weep, too, and said to him: 'Famous son of Atreus,\nKing Agamemnon, tell me how thou didst die. Did Poseidon wreck thee\non the sea in a terrible storm, or didst thou fall in war, fighting\non the land?'\n\n\"Whereupon the king told me the dire story of his home-coming and\nhis death at traitors' hands. 'When I trod my native soil again after\na long absence,' he said, 'I was overcome with joy at the thought\nof seeing my wife and children once more. But I was slain in my own\nhome, and my wife did not even close my eyes as my soul came on its\nway to these dark realms.'\n\n\"I answered: 'Alas! how the gods must hate the family of Atreus on\naccount of the unfaithfulness of its women!'\n\n\"Agamemnon replied: 'Oh, son of Laertes, thou art a fortunate man,\nfor thou hast a faithful wife. Penelope is wise and virtuous. I\nremember, when we were ready to start for Troy she was a young wife\nwith a little babe in her arms, which she pressed to her bosom. He\nmust be a man now. Thou art a happy father. Thou wilt see thy son\nat home in Ithaca.\n\n\"'No such good fortune can ever come to me. My wife did not even let\nme see my son before she slew me. Tell me about him, I beseech thee,\nhow he is. Does he still live in Sparta?'\n\n\"'Son of Atreus,' I said, 'do not ask me where thy son is. I cannot\ntell whether he is alive or not, and this is no time for idle\nconjectures;' and we wept as I spoke.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\nCONVERSATION WITH ACHILLES AND OTHER HEROES\n\n\n\"While we were conversing thus, the shades of Achilles and Patroklos\ncame near. The soul of Achilles recognized me, and he said: 'Odysseus,\nson of Laertes, how darest thou descend into the gloomy habitation\nof the dead? This is the greatest labor thou hast undertaken.'\n\n\"I answered: 'Godlike Achilles, I came here to consult the seer\nTiresias about my return to my own country, for I have never yet\nreached Grecian soil, but have wandered about suffering great\nmisfortunes. No one is happier than thou art, O Achilles. When thou\nwert alive all men honored thee as if thou wert a god, and now thou\nart a king and rulest over the dead.'\n\n\"Then he replied: 'Do not try to console me, Odysseus. I would rather\nbe the slave of a poor man, and in the light of the sun, than to be\nin Hades and rule over all the dead. But tell me, Odysseus, how fares\nmy noble son? Does he fight in the wars, and is he in the front ranks?\nAnd Peleus, my aged father, tell me of him. Is he still king of the\nMyrmidons? Or do they hold him in contempt, now that he is old, and\nI am not there to uphold him?'\n\n\"I answered him: 'I know nothing about thy aged father, O Achilles,\nbut I have many things to tell thee about thy son. I brought him from\nSkyros, myself, in a ship to Troy, and placed him in the Greek army.\nThere he surpassed everyone except Nestor and myself in the wisdom\nof his advice, and when we went forth to battle he fought among the\nforemost, slaying many illustrious foes.\n\n\"'Above all, his powers shone forth when we were hidden in the wooden\nhorse. All the other leaders of the Greeks gave signs of fear. They\ngrew white and shed tears; but his face never turned pale, and no\ntear came into his eyes. He called on me to leave the horse and rush\nupon the foe, and he smote the Trojans, carrying death and destruction\namong them. When we finally subdued the city, thy son took rich booty\nand safely reached his own country.'\n\n\"As soon as Achilles heard this news he rejoiced. He strode proudly\noff over the field of Elysian asphodels, well pleased that he had\nleft such a mighty son on earth.\n\n\"After Achilles had departed, many other souls came and talked with\nme. Only the soul of Ajax kept aloof, still angry over a victory which\nI gained near the ships when I took the weapons of Achilles as my\nshare of the booty. Little did that victory and the arms please me,\nsince they caused the grave to close over such a hero as Ajax.\n\n\"I spoke to his soul in gentle words: 'Ajax, son of Telamon, did not\neven death appease the anger against me which thou didst feel on\naccount of my receiving the arms that brought such a calamity upon\nthe Greeks? For thou wast our tower of strength, and the weapons proved\nfatal to thee. Come nearer and speak to me, for I bewail thy death.'\nI spoke soothingly yet Ajax gave no answer. His spirit vanished away\namong the other spirits.\n\n\"Then I beheld Minos, the lawgiver of Crete, who held a golden sceptre\nin his hand and judged the dead. He had under him the great wrong-doers\nof one part of Hades. With him I saw Tantalos, who stood in a pool\nof water, suffering at the same time a painful thirst. As often as\nhe tried to put his lips to the water it sank down away from him so\nthat he could not reach it.\n\n\"I saw Sisyphos, also, who suffered great punishment, for he rolled\na large rock uphill with both hands, straining every muscle of his\nbody to the utmost to move it. No sooner had he pushed it to the top\nof the hill than it rolled back with deafening noise to the bottom\nof the valley. Again the unfortunate man toiled to move it upward,\nthe sweat covering his body and clouds of dust hovering over his head.\n\n\"Then I saw the shade of Herakles, but the hero himself sits among\nthe gods on Mount Olympos. And there came myriads of souls, making\na terrible noise, which filled me with dread, lest I might look upon\nthe Gorgon, and I hastened back to the ship. I ordered the crew to\ngo on board, and they took their oars and rowed until we reached the\nopen sea, where favorable winds caught by the sails wafted us back\nto Circ\u00e8's isle.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\nTHE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS TO THE ISLAND OF CIRC\u00c8\n\n\n\"When we reached Circ\u00e8's isle, we dragged our vessel up on to the\nbeach, and lay down to sleep on the shore. At break of day I sent\nmy comrades forth to bring the body of Elpenor from the palace. We\ntook it out to a rocky place on the shore, and cut down trees to build\na funeral pyre. There we burned the body and performed the funeral\nrites, and we built a tomb and placed an oar at the top of it.\n\n\"All this was done quietly, but Circ\u00e8 saw us and came with her maids,\nbringing a generous supply of food and wine. Standing in our midst,\nshe said: 'Brave men, who living have gone down to Hades, all men\ndie once, but you are permitted to die twice. Take food, eat and drink\nall day long, and to-morrow at daylight depart for your native land.\nI will show you the way and teach you how to avoid all danger.'\n\n\"We spent the whole day on the shore, eating and drinking, but when\nthe sun sank down and the earth was covered with darkness my companions\nwent near the ship to seek rest. But I sat down by Circ\u00e8, who questioned\nme about my visit to Hades. After I had told her everything, she said:\n'Odysseus, so far all is well, but there are a great many new dangers\nahead. Listen carefully to what I say. First, thou must pass the Sirens,\nwho bewitch with their melodious voices all who listen to them. Woe\nto him who allows his ship to go near them! He will never reach his\nnative land, or see his wife and children again. The Sirens sit in\na green field and sing, while the bones of dead men lie in heaps near\nthem. Do not listen to them, but pass them by unnoticed.\n\n\"'Or, if thou wouldst enjoy the matchless singing and not pay the\nforfeit with thy life, let thy men bind thee hand and foot to the\nmast of thy ship, so that thou canst not by any effort stir a limb\nwhen the great longing seizes thee. And give thy men strict orders\nto make thy bonds tighter shouldst thou entreat them to loose thee.\nBefore thou art bound, thou shalt knead soft wax in thy palms and\nfill the ears of thy companions with it, that no sound may enter.\n\n\"'Thence thou wilt come to the narrows where Skylla and Charybdis\ndwell. On each side of the narrows is a steep cliff, one of which\nis so high that its sharp top reaches the sky. It is so slippery that\nno one is able to climb up or down its sides, nor could he if he had\ntwenty hands and feet. Not even a bird can safely perch on it.\n\n\"'No boat has ever come to the spot and left it without being wrecked,\nexcept Jason's, when he was in search of the Golden Fleece, and he\nescaped because a goddess was his guide, to pilot him through. A dark\ngray fog forever broods over the head of the cliff, and on its western\nside there yawns a fearful cave, where Skylla lives.\n\n\"'She is a terrible monster that barks like a savage dog, day and\nnight. She has twelve shapeless feet, and six heads set on long necks.\nEach of her mouths shows three rows of deadly teeth. Half of her body\nis hidden in the rock, but she thrusts out her heads and snatches\nher prey, fish, whales, dolphins, or men. No sailor escapes, or,\nindeed, any living creature that passes that way.\n\n\"'The other cliff is not so high, but is still more dangerous. There,\nunder the foliage of a wild fig-tree, Charybdis dwells, who sucks\nin the dark waters of the sea three times a day and belches them forth\nagain three times with a terrible noise. Woe to thee if thou art near\nwhen she sucks the waters down, for not even Poseidon himself could\nsave thee. It would be better far to steer close to Skylla, for then\nonly six of thy men would be snatched from the benches, but if\nCharybdis seizes thy ship all must perish.\n\n\"'These pests are immortal. Do not try to overcome them. They cannot\ndie. It is better to fly from them with all haste. It would be rashness\nand not courage to attack them.\n\n\"'Next in thy voyage thou wilt come to the island of Trinacria, where\nthe fine flocks of H\u0113lios are feeding. Two shining nymphs, daughters\nof the Sun, tend them. There are seven herds of oxen and seven herds\nof sheep, fifty in each herd and flock. These creatures are immortal,\nand greatly beloved of H\u0113lios, who will send destruction to thy ship\nand crew if any harm come to them. Forbid thy men to touch the cattle,\neven though suffering for food. If thou art wise enough to escape\nthese dangers, thou shalt reach thy home without further mischance.'\n\n\"As the goddess finished, day broke. Circ\u00e8 sought her own dwelling,\nwhile we put to sea with a favorable wind, and soon the island faded\nfrom our sight.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\nODYSSEUS MEETS THE SIRENS, SKYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS\n\n\n\"When I saw that we were near the home of the Sirens, I said to my\nmen: 'It is not wise that only one of us should know the oracles of\nCirc\u00e8, and I will tell you all she said to me, that ye may escape\nfrom the perils before us; and I disclosed her sayings to them. Then\nI took a handful of wax and warmed it in the sun until it was soft,\nand carefully clogged up their ears.\n\n\"They, in turn, tied me to the mast, hand and foot, so firmly that\nI could not stir a limb, having first received my command that they\nshould not loose my bonds on any account. Then they bent to their\noars, and rowed close to the Sirens, so that they could see me and\nI could hear their bewitching songs.\n\n\"'Come to us, O renowned Odysseus,' they sang; 'pride of the Greeks,\ncome and listen to our voices. No one ever yet passed us without\nstopping and admiring our sweet songs. Come, that we may sing to thee\nabout Troy and thy friends, for we know everything that is going on\nin the whole world.'\n\n\"Thus they sang, and their songs thrilled me. A great desire came\nover me to stop and listen to them, and with nods I entreated my\ncomrades to set me free. But they sprang up and bound other cords\nabout me, so that I struggled in vain. Then all the men plied their\noars until the water was white with foam, and when we were out of\nsight of the island and could no longer hear the songs of the Sirens,\nmy men set me free, and I took the wax from their ears.\n\n\"Hardly had we escaped from the Sirens when we beheld a black fog\nand towering waves and heard a frightful noise. My men were so scared\nthat the oars fell from their hands and the ship stood still. I\nhastened from one end of the boat to the other, speaking cheerful\nwords to each rower. 'My dear friends,' I said, 'have no fear. This\nis not the first time we have encountered danger. We have been saved\nfrom the hands of the Cyclops through our own valor and clever devices,\nand we are not going to break down now. Listen, and I will tell you\nwhat is to be done. Keep your seats and ply your oars with all your\nmight; but thou, O helmsman, steer thy ship clear of that fog and\nthe whirling waves.' Thus I spoke, and they willingly obeyed my words.\n\n\"Yet I said nothing to them about Skylla, lest they should lose heart\nand hide in the bottom of the ship. Thus we passed in between the\ntwo cliffs, the one of which harbored Skylla and the other Charybdis,\nwho, with a terrible noise, swallowed the brine of the sea and belched\nit out again with a roar like the mingling of fire and water.\n\n\"But I forgot the command of Circ\u00e8 to fly from these monsters without\nfighting. I put on my shining armor and took a spear in each hand,\nand went on deck, and stood in warlike attitude ready to attack Skylla\nif she should raise a hand to seize one of my men. I looked for a\nlong time, but I could not see her.\n\n\"We sailed on, the uproar increasing. My men grew white with fear.\nThe salt waters whirled so that we could look into a deep watery pit\nand see the blue sand. The rocks were hidden by a thick mist. Suddenly\nSkylla thrust forth a mighty hand and snatched six of my brave men,\nas a fisherman pulls out fish with a hook. I saw their hands\noutstretched toward me as they were lifted up into the air, and I\nheard their cries for help. Woe is me! This sight will haunt me as\nlong as I have life.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV\nODYSSEUS ON THE ISLAND OF H\u0112LIOS\n\n\n\"When we had escaped from the terrible Skylla and Charybdis, we came\nto the island of H\u0113lios, the island of the Sun, and heard from afar\nthe lowing of the cattle and the bleating of the sheep. Then I\nremembered the words of Tiresias and Circ\u00e8, and I advised my\ncompanions not to land there at all, but to go right on, lest we suffer\nsome new disaster.\n\n\"My crew would not listen to me. They commanded me to land on the\nisle. I then made them take an oath not even to look at any of the\ncattle. We prepared our evening meal, and when it was over we talked\nof our dear companions whom Skylla had devoured, and we mourned over\nthem until we fell asleep.\n\n\"We remained a whole month on this island, on account of unfavorable\nwinds. We found the roomy grot where the nymphs danced, and the seats\nwhere they sat--the nymphs who tended the flocks of H\u0113lios.\n\n\"As long as we had a plenty of bread and wine my comrades were satisfied\nand spared the cattle. But when our store of food was exhausted they\nroamed all over the island to see what they could get to appease their\nhunger. They snared birds and caught fish with hooks, and lived on\nthem or anything else that came to hand. But they grew poor and lean\nwith hunger and nearly starved. I went off alone into the island,\nwhere I had found a quiet nook, and sent up prayers to the gods to\nshow us the way out of our difficulties. There I fell asleep.\n\n\"While I slumbered, Eurylochos called my men together, and said: 'All\nkinds of death are bad enough, my brave friends, but death by\nstarvation is the worst. Let us kill the best of these cattle and\noffer sacrifices to the gods, and then eat and live. If we ever get\nto Ithaca we will make restitution, for we will build altars to the\nSun and place costly gifts upon his shrine. But if it is his will\nto destroy us in his anger, then let us die amid the billows of the\ndeep, for that is better than to die by famine.'\n\n\"Thus spoke Eurylochos, and the others lent a willing ear. They seized\nthe best of the cattle at once, and slaughtered them, and prepared\na hearty meal. They offered up petitions to the gods, standing round\ntheir victims with young oak-leaves in their hands. Then they covered\nthe thighs with caul, and laid slices of fat over these, and poured\non water and roasted it until it was consumed. All the rest was cut\ninto smaller portions and scorched on iron prongs.\n\n\"At this moment I awoke and hurried down to the ship, and with horror\nfound the dreadful meal prepared. One of the nymphs, immortal\nshepherdess, flew to the Sun to tell him that my men had slain his\ncattle. H\u0113lios was deeply angered, and spoke thus before the assembled\ngods: 'Father Zeus and all ye immortal gods, behold the comrades of\nOdysseus! They have slaughtered my heifers, which gladdened my heart\nas I went up to heaven and down to earth.\n\n\"'If they do not pay me well for this great wrong, I shall go down\namong the dead and give them light, but I will give no light to the\nliving.' 'Shine on, O Sun, in the bright sky,' said Zeus, 'for I will\ncut their ship to pieces with a thunder-bolt, as it tosses on a black\nsea.' I could only chide my comrades. I could not think of any\nsufficient redress, for the cattle were dead.\n\n\"And here happened a wonder which amazed my comrades. The skins of\nthe dead animals crawled over the ground, and the flesh lowed as they\nhad done when alive. Nevertheless, my companions continued to kill\nand eat the best oxen in the herds for six days, when a favorable\nwind sprang up, and we went on board and set sail once more.\n\n\"After we had lost sight of land, and nothing was before us but sky\nand sea, a sudden darkness shrouded the heavens, and there arose a\nviolent storm. The vessel was hurled hither and thither by the\ntowering billows; the hurricane tore the sails and dashed the mast\nagainst the pilot's head, crushing the bones, and he was cast headlong\ninto the sea.\n\n\"Then Zeus sent a thunder-bolt into the ship, and broke it nearly\nin two. The boat was filled with a sulphurous smoke, and my comrades\nwere shaken off into the sea and drowned. They floated round me, but\nI moved about in the ship until the bottom and the sides had broken\naway from each other and the mast had snapped off at its base. I took\nthe mast, which had a thong of bull's-hide round it, and tied it to\nthe keel. I took my seat upon this frail craft, and the storm whirled\nme about.\n\n\"After awhile the west wind ceased, and the south wind began to blow,\nwhich was still worse for me, since it took me back to dread Charybdis.\nAll night long I was tossed on the waves, and at dawn I drew near\nto Charybdis. As the monster was swallowing the salt brine, I caught\nhold of the fig-tree and clung to it like a bat till she should throw\nup my poor raft. I waited long, but at last the timbers were thrown\nout of the whirlpool, and I dropped down upon them, and sat on them\nand rowed with my hands. I floated about on the waters for nine long\ndays, and on the tenth I came to Calypso's island. She welcomed me,\nand detained me seven years, as I have already told thee, O Aret\u00e8,\nand why should I repeat a tale already narrated?\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI\nTHE DEPARTURE OF ODYSSEUS FROM THE ISLAND OF SCHERIA\n\n\nAll the guests had listened with deep attention to the recital of\nOdysseus; all were greatly interested, and when he ended they did\nnot stir or speak a word. Alkino\u00f6s was the first to break the silence,\nand he said: \"Renowned Odysseus, since thou hast come to our country,\nI hope that thy sufferings are at an end and that thou wilt reach\nthy native land safely and soon.\" Then the King turned to his guests\nand addressed them: \"Ph\u00e6acians, let us each present one more gift,\na large tripod and a vase, to the hero who has come among us.\"\n\nThe Ph\u00e6acians received his words approvingly, and each went at once\nto his home to sleep. But when morning came they all sent their gifts\nto the ship, where they were packed carefully under the benches by\nthe King himself, and the guests returned to the palace, where a\nbanquet was spread for them.\n\nAlkino\u00f6s sacrificed an ox to Zeus, and they sat down at the table.\nThe enjoyment ran high, and the old poet, Demodokos, sang sweet songs.\nThey feasted all day, and when the sun was near its setting Odysseus\nsaid: \"King Alkino\u00f6s, let us pour out the last libation and offer\nup the last prayer, for all things have come to pass that my soul\ndesired. May the gods bless thy gifts. May I find my home, my wife\nand child, and friends. I pray the gods to grant thee all that is\ngood, and may no evil ever befall thy land. Be pleased to send me\nhence, and fare thee well.\"\n\nThus he spoke, right glad that the day was done and eager to set sail.\nThe people approved his timely words, and seizing their goblets they\npoured out wine on to the ground, an offering to the gods, and they\nwished godspeed to their guest. Odysseus arose and placed a goblet\nin the hands of the Queen, addressing her thus: \"Farewell, O Queen,\nI wish thee a long and happy life, a peaceful old age down to the\ngrave, from which no one may escape; rejoice in the possession of\nthy home, thy people, thy children, and the King, thy husband.\"\n\nSo spoke Odysseus, and left the hall. The King sent a herald to show\nhim the way to the port where the ship was waiting for him. At the\nsame time Aret\u00e8 also sent down some maids, who carried a new cloak\nand tunic, a well-wrought coffer full of gifts, and an abundance of\nfood for the journey.\n\nThese things the crew took from their hands and stowed away in the\nhold of the vessel. They spread a nice bed for him on the deck, where\nhe might sleep quietly. When every thing was ready, Odysseus embarked,\nand the sailors slipped the cables and took their seats at the oars.\nOdysseus fell into a deep, sweet slumber, but the ship flew forward\nfaster than a bird could fly, making rapid headway toward the island\nof Ithaca.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII\nODYSSEUS ARRIVES AT ITHACA\n\n\nWhen the morning star arose the ship reached Ithaca. It entered a\nharbor called Phorkys, where there was a grotto sacred to the nymphs,\nand it was shaded at the entrance by an olive-tree. Stone vases stood\naround in the grotto, and there bees had stored up honey. The nymphs\nspun their fine thread from stone spindles there, and wove their\nsea-purple robes. Springs of cool water flowed through the grotto,\nand there was an entrance for mortals and one which was kept holy\nfor the gods.\n\nWhen the ship touched the beach the sailors disembarked and carried\nthe sleeping Odysseus on a rug on to the shore and laid him down.\nThey brought his presents also from under the ship's benches and laid\nthem under the olive-tree, a short distance from the road, for fear\nthat some evil-minded person would take them before Odysseus woke\nup.\n\nThen the crew sailed homeward, but Poseidon saw them and was angry\nbecause his purpose to cause Odysseus endless suffering had been\nthwarted. He at once complained to Zeus that the Ph\u00e6acians had\nrestored Odysseus to his native land, with gifts finer and more\nvaluable than anything he could have brought from Troy. Zeus listened\nto his complaint and gave him authority to destroy the Ph\u00e6acian boat\nand its crew. Poseidon promptly repaired to the island of Scheria,\nand when the ship came in sight of the town he transformed it into\na towering rock, that it might hide the island from mariners and the\nPh\u00e6acians would no longer be tempted to escort strangers to their\nhomes.\n\nThe ship had gone, and it was broad daylight when Odysseus awoke.\nHe did not recognize his own country, he had been away from it for\nsuch a long time, and besides that, Athena had spread a dense fog\nover it. His first thought was that the Ph\u00e6acians had deceived him\nand left him on an unknown shore. He began to accuse them of treachery,\nand prayed to Zeus to punish them. He looked around and found that\nhis gifts had been carefully placed, so he knew that he had not been\nrobbed. He counted his gifts and examined them.\n\nThere were tripods and vases of gold and brass and beautiful\nhand-woven garments. He paced up and down the shore and wept and wailed\naloud. Then Athena appeared to him disguised as a shepherd lad.\n\nWhen Odysseus saw her, he hastened to her and said: \"Hail, fair youth!\nI am a stranger and find myself for the first time in this place.\nI entreat thee to tell me the name of this country, and what kind\nof people inhabit it.\" The goddess answered him: \"Truly, stranger,\nthou must come from a far-off land that thou dost not know Ithaca,\nwhich is known from the rising to the setting of the sun.\n\n\"It is indeed a stony island but it is not barren, nor is it a good\nplace for raising horses. It is rich in grain and grapes. It has an\nabundance of dew and rain, and most delicious wine is made here.\nNowhere can be found handsomer goats or finer cattle. Every kind of\ntree grows in its forests, and its springs are never dry. The fame\nof Ithaca has reached even as far as Troy itself which, I am told,\nlies far from Hellas.\"\n\nOdysseus was overjoyed to find that he was in his own country. But\nhe did not venture to tell his name to the shepherd, nor whence he\ncame. Instead of that he told a long story that he came from Crete,\nwhich he had been obliged to leave because he had killed the King's\nson, who had robbed him.\n\nAthena smiled and, assuming the form of a beautiful woman, took him\nby the hand and said: \"Thou crafty man, why dost thou tell such lies?\nDost thou not know Athena, daughter of Zeus, who has protected thee\neverywhere and saved thee from all danger? I have just come again\nto assist thee in hiding thy treasures and to tell thee what thou\nmust encounter in thine own palace. But thou must not repeat anything\nwhich I tell thee, nor make thyself known to any man or woman. And\nthou must bear many indignities in silence until the right time comes,\nfor there are many violent men in thy halls.\"\n\nOdysseus's heart was filled with joy. He knelt down and kissed the\nsoil of his native land. \"Tell me, is it true,\" he said, \"that I am\nin my own beloved Ithaca? I pray thee, goddess, do not jest with me.\"\n\n\"Thy native land! Such ever is thy thought,\" answered the goddess.\n\"Any other man would have hastened with all speed to his wife and\nhome. But thou must wait and come not at once into the presence of\nPenelope. She sits within thy palace, weeping night and day because\nthou dost not come. Hide thy gifts here in this grotto, and I will\ntell thee what to do next.\"\n\nWith a glad heart Odysseus saluted the nymphs of the cave and spring:\n\"Hail to you, nymphs of my native land, daughters of Zeus! I thought\nI should never see you again. I shall bring you rich gifts in days\nto come, if it please Athena to keep me from harm.\" After he had carried\nthe presents into the grotto and carefully hidden them, he sat down\nwith the goddess among the gnarled roots of the olive-tree, and they\nlaid plots to destroy Penelope's impudent suitors. Athena told him\nabout the trouble they had caused her; how they had established\nthemselves in her own home, trying to win her for a wife. For three\nyears the noble Penelope had kept these arrogant men in suspense,\ndeluded with empty hopes, while she waited for her husband's return.\nWhen Odysseus heard these words he was greatly disturbed, and said:\n\"Woe is me! I might have been slain in my own home but for these timely\nwords. Now I am forearmed. Stand by me, I pray, in my great need,\nand give me strength to meet my enemies. If thou art my helper, I\ncan resist, single-handed, three hundred foes.\"\n\n\"Take courage,\" said the goddess. \"But to carry out our plans I must\nchange thee to a miserable old man with a wrinkled face and clad in\nragged garments, so that no one can recognize thee.\n\n\"Then must thou go to thy faithful swineherd, Eumaios, who loves thy\nwife and child and thy whole house.\n\n\"Thou wilt find him as he feeds the swine on acorns in a field near\nthe mountain, Korax, and the spring, Arethusa. He will tell thee all\nthe doings in thy house. Meantime I will take my way to Sparta.\nTelemachos, thy son, is there. He went to visit Menelaos and try to\nfind out if there were any news of thee. I will call him to return\nto Ithaca.\"\n\nThe goddess touched Odysseus with her magic wand. At once he shrank\nand withered into a wrinkled, shabby, old beggar. Then she gave him\na staff and a tattered sack and sent him to his loyal swineherd while\nshe took her way to Sparta.\n\n[Illustration: ALPHEUS AND ARETHUSA]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII\nODYSSEUS SEEKS THE SWINEHERD\n\n\nOdysseus left the haven by a narrow stony path and took his way to\nthe dwelling of his faithful swineherd, who thought more of the\nwelfare of his master than did all the rest of the servants whom\nOdysseus had. He found him seated in the yard which he himself had\nmade of stone for the swine of the absent King, and had enclosed with\na thick hedge of thorns. He had driven strong posts of oak around\nit, also. Inside the yard he had made twelve sties, and in each sty\nthere were fifty sows with their little ones. The males were kept\noutside and were fewer in number, for Eumaios was compelled to send\na very fat one to the suitors every day, and therefore there were\nonly eighteen score.\n\nNear them were four large savage dogs as guards. They were more like\nwolves than dogs. Eumaios was busy making a pair of sandals from an\nox-hide, for his own use. The other swineherds had gone on errands,\nthree of them to drive pigs to pasture, while the fourth had taken\na hog to the suitors in the city.\n\nWhen the dogs saw Odysseus they barked and rushed upon him, and they\nwould have torn him to pieces, but Eumaios drove them off with stones\nand said: \"Thou poor old man, the dogs came very near tearing thee\nlimb from limb, and that would have been a great shame and sorrow\nto me.\n\n\"The gods have already sent me trouble enough. Here I sit weeping\nand mourning for my beloved master, and take care of his swine in\norder that strangers may eat them. Who knows where he may be wandering\nas a beggar among people who speak another tongue? But come, old man,\nlet us go into my lodge and eat, and then thou mayest tell me who\nthou art and what misfortunes thou hast suffered.\"\n\nOdysseus followed the swineherd into the cabin. Eumaios threw an\narmful of rushes on the floor and covered it with a rug of goat-skin\nand bade his guest be seated.\n\nOdysseus was gratified at this kind reception, and said to the\nswineherd: \"May Zeus and all the other immortal gods give thee, my\nhost, all the good of earth for thy hospitality.\"\n\nThe good swineherd answered him: \"My guest, I should consider it a\ngreat sin not to receive a stranger hospitably, even if he looked\nmore miserable than thou. Strangers and beggars are children of Zeus.\nThe hospitality I can extend to thee is slight but sincere, for\nservants have little to offer, especially when, like me, they have\nnew masters. Odysseus loved me much. Would that the gods might send\nhim back to us. He would have paid me for my toil. He would have given\nme a home, a little land, and a wife. But he is dead. May the whole\nrace of Helen be destroyed, for it was she who brought noble men to\ndestruction.\"\n\nThe swineherd drew his belt around him and hastened to the pen where\nthe pigs were shut up. He seized two little pigs and slew them and\nroasted them on a spit over the fire. He sprinkled salt over the savory\nmeat and brought it to Odysseus. And he brought delicate wine in a\nwooden cup, as well.\n\nThen he said: \"Eat, stranger, for this is the best I have to give.\nThe suitors, who fear neither god nor man, eat the fat hogs. They\ngorge themselves with the costliest food in the house, both wine and\nmeat, and only these little lean porkers are left for us. Yet there\nis still an abundance, for my master was very rich. He had twelve\nherds of horned cattle and as many swine on the mainland, and twelve\nflocks of sheep and goats. Here, on the island, graze eleven flocks\nof goats, tended by as many trusty herdsmen, each of whom has to send\na fattened goat for the table of the suitors every day. As for myself,\nI take care of these swine, and each day I choose the best to send\nto the city.\"\n\nOdysseus ate the flesh and drank the wine while Eumaios was telling\nhim these things, and could hardly keep from giving vent to his anger.\nBut he kept silence and meditated vengeance on the suitors. When the\nmeal was done he said: \"Tell me, I pray thee, all about thy rich and\nkind master. Thou didst say that he went out with Agamemnon to fight\nthe Trojans. Perhaps I know him and can give thee some information\nconcerning him.\"\n\nThe noble swineherd answered: \"Be silent, aged man, for we have ceased\nto believe the tales told us by wanderers. Every beggar who comes\nthis way calls on my mistress and tells her falsehoods about seeing\nOdysseus, and tries to make her think that he will come home in a\nshort time. Then she treats him kindly and loads him with gifts.\n\n\"How shall we know but thou dost make up just such a story in order\nto receive a tunic and a mantle? It is a fact that my master does\nnot return. Who knows on what spot of the earth his bones are\nmouldering, or what dogs and birds have devoured him? I shall never\ncease to grieve for him. He loved me as he would have loved a son.\nI shall never find such a kind master again. Even my father and mother\nwere not so good to me. Although he will never be with us any more,\nI keep on doing his will.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE SWINEHERD TELLING HIS STORY TO ODYSSEUS]\n\nOdysseus replied: \"Thou dost see that I am half naked for want of\nclothing, but I will never take a reward, even though I am in rags,\nuntil Odysseus is really here. I hate the wretch who tells lies to\nenrich himself as I hate death. I call Zeus to witness, and this\nhospitable board and the hearth of Odysseus, that what I tell thee\nwill come true. Odysseus will be here at the end of this month, and\nhe will be avenged on those men who have robbed him and insulted his\nwife and son.\"\n\n\"And yet I will not give thee any reward for thy news, old man,\" said\nEumaios, \"for Odysseus is dead. He will never come again. Drink in\npeace and let us talk of other things. Do not take this great oath,\nas much as we wish--Laertes, Penelope, Telemachos, and I--that\nOdysseus might come. But now, as if we had not troubles enough, a\nnew one has come upon us. I know not what evil demon put it into the\nmind of Telemachos to go to Sparta to inquire about his father. And\nthe ungodly suitors have sent out a ship to watch for him, and kill\nhim on his return. We shall lose him, too, if Zeus does not hold a\nprotecting hand over him.\n\n\"But tell me, dear old man, from what country dost thou come? Who\nare thy parents? Tell me of thy toils and sufferings.\"\n\nThe time had not yet come when Odysseus thought it best to reveal\nhimself. He wanted to stay with the swineherd until his son should\nreturn, and he had had the opportunity of making the best plan for\nridding his house of the suitors. So he told the swineherd a long\nstring of stories. He said he was a son of the King of Crete; that\nhe went to Troy, where he met Odysseus and fought by his side.\nReturning, he wandered about, and, after many adventures, met\nOdysseus again getting ready to return to Ithaca. As for himself,\nhe had been robbed even to his clothing and cast on this island.\n\nHe told the tale so well that the swineherd believed him, and even\nkilled a fat hog in his honor. And he made him welcome to his lodge\nand prepared a good bed for him near the fire, and covered him with\ngoat-skins. The night was cold and damp, and a cutting wind was blowing\noutside. The other servants lay down near Odysseus to sleep, but\nEumaios took a sharp sword and thick mantle and went out near the\npens to watch the swine all night. Odysseus saw with gratitude how\nfaithfully this servant attended to his duty.\n\n\n\n\nPART III\nTHE TRIUMPH OF ODYSSEUS\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX\nATHENA ADVISES TELEMACHOS\n\n\nAt the time when Odysseus was wrecked, after his comrades had eaten\nof the cattle of H\u0113lios, and he was cast up on to the island of Calypso,\nAthena prayed to Zeus, her mighty sire, that he might be restored\nto Ithaca, his native land. She prayed that Hermes, the messenger\nof the gods, might be sent to Calypso with the express command that\nshe should send Odysseus home. Zeus smiled and granted the request.\n\nThen Athena tied golden sandals under her feet and taking a long,\nheavy spear, she rushed like a whirlwind down from the heights of\nOlympos and stood at the doorway of Odysseus' house, among the men\nof Ithaca. She found the haughty suitors assembled there eating and\ndrinking.\n\nTelemachos saw the goddess before anyone else. She was disguised to\nresemble Mentor, a wise chief who had led the Taphians in the Trojan\nwar. Telemachos rose at once, like a gracious host, and took the right\nhand of the stranger and gave him a hearty welcome. Athena saw with\nanger how the ungodly wooers ate and drank and rioted gluttonously,\nwhile the servants of Telemachos were obliged to administer to their\nwants. Some of them were kept mixing the wines and water in large\ncraters; others had to clear and clean the tables, and others again\nprepared and carved the meats and carried them round to the suitors.\n\nTelemachos led the stranger away from this noisy hall, that he might\nnot be annoyed by their boisterous behavior. He bade him sit down\non a throne, and placed a foot-stool under his feet. Then he drew\nhis own chair from among the suitors and sat near the stranger, hoping\nto hear news of his absent father. A maid brought a silver pitcher\nand basin and let the stranger wash his hands. A table was placed\nbefore him, laden with the choicest viands, while a herald filled\na goblet with wine for him. When they had enjoyed their meal,\nTelemachos asked the stranger his name and country.\n\n\"I am Mentor, son of the Taphian King,\" said Athena. \"I came here\nin my ship with a crew of friends, on a journey to the Isle of Cyprus,\nin search of copper, and I brought iron to give in exchange. I am\nan old friend of Odysseus. I have left my ship in the bay, back of\nthe forest. Laertes will tell thee who I am. It is said that he does\nnot come to the palace any more, but lives alone in the country,\nmourning over the loss of his son day and night. It seems that the\ngods have long delayed Odysseus. Who knows where he is? I am sure\nthat he is not dead. And now tell me, what feast is going on here,\nand who are these men? Are they invited guests? Is it a banquet I\nsee, or is there to be a wedding? It is not a pleasant sight in any\ncase, for the men are coarse in their actions and ungodly in their\nspeech. Every friend of Odysseus must feel sad to see them in this\nplace.\"\n\n\"As long as my father was here,\" answered Telemachos, \"our house was\nrespectable and rich. But the gods have forsaken us, and we are\ndestined to destruction. No news of my father's death has ever reached\nus; nevertheless, all the young men of the first families of Ithaca\nand the surrounding isles flock to our house and seek my mother for\na wife and squander my father's riches. My mother does not favor the\nidea of another marriage, and has not promised herself to any of the\nsuitors. She fears them, and so she does not reject their suits, yet\nshe will not end the trouble by marrying one of them. They will not\ngo away, but make themselves at home here and eat up my inheritance.\nThey only want a favorable opportunity to kill me.\"\n\nAthena grew angry at this, and said: \"I would that Odysseus might\ncome this very moment to chastise these atrocious fellows. Woe to\nthem if he should appear at the door with his helmet and shield and\ntwo tough spears, just as he looked when I first beheld him in my\nown home. Then these suitors would find a bitter marriage-feast and\na speedy end. Vengeance, however, rests with the gods.\n\n\"Now, let me consider the best way to get these suitors out of the\nhouse. As an old friend of thy father, let me advise thee. To-morrow\ncall thy people together in council and tell the suitors to depart.\nIf thy mother has any inclination to wed again, send her to her\nfather's house. He is rich and powerful, and can give her a splendid\nwedding, such as is suitable for the daughter of a king, and bestow\nan ample dower.\n\n\"Then launch thy finest ship. Man it with twenty good oarsmen and\nput out to sea in search of thy father. Sail to Pylos first and consult\nwith Nestor, and go to Sparta next and see Menelaos, who has returned\nfrom Troy recently. Stay with him awhile if he can assure thee that\nthy father lives. But if he tells thee that thy father is surely dead,\nreturn as quickly as possible and build a mound to him, and cause\nthe altar to be piled high with sacrifices and the funeral games to\ntake place. Then let thy mother marry again.\n\n\"Thou art no longer a child, and it is not seemly to allow such\nindignities. Be brave and act without fear, that men may honor thee.\nWhen thou hast performed these deeds, let thy care be to drive out\nthe suitors. But now I must return to my ship, for my companions will\nbe uneasy over my long absence.\"\n\n\"Thou hast spoken to me as a father speaks to a son,\" answered\nTelemachos. \"I shall bear thy words in mind. And now I pray thee stay\nawhile to rest and bathe. I cannot let thee go to thy ship without\nsome handsome gift, such as one always bestows upon an honored guest.\"\n\n\"Telemachos, do not detain me longer,\" replied Athena. \"I must depart\nat once. Keep thy gift until I return, and then I will take it to\nmy home.\" She vanished as she spoke, and all that Telemachos saw was\na fleet-winged bird flying upward high in the air. Telemachos was\nastonished, and knew that he had been talking face to face with some\ndeity. He thought over all that the goddess had told him, and resolved\nto do exactly as he had been instructed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX\nTELEMACHOS ASTONISHES THE WOOERS\n\n\nThe feast continued. The wooers ate and drank but were silent, for\nan illustrious bard was singing to them of the Trojan war. Telemachos\nwalked forth in the midst of them, his heart inspired with courage.\nPenelope had heard the song as she sat in her chamber over the hall,\nand she came down the lofty stairway attended by two maids. She\nimplored the bard, with tears to change the song, since it was the\none most sacred to her and made her sad.\n\nThen said Telemachos: \"My mother, let thy heart be strong to bear\nthis song which all men love. The bard must sing the song with which\nhe is inspired. Retire now, I pray thee, to thy room, and take thy\nmaids with thee. There teach them to spin and weave--a task meet for\na princess. But leave to me the ordering of the feast and the care\nof the suitors. Such a duty belongs to a man, and the authority is\nmine.\" Penelope was amazed at his words. She withdrew to her own rooms\nwith her attendants and wept and mourned for her absent lord until\nshe fell asleep.\n\nWhen the minstrel had finished his song, the suitors began to be noisy\nand riotous again. Telemachos could no longer restrain himself. \"Ye\ninsolent suitors of my mother,\" he said to them, \"cease your uproar.\nYour lawlessness knows no bounds. To-morrow I will call a general\nassembly of all the Ithacans and warn you to depart. If ye remain\nin my house wasting my goods and eating food that is not your own\nI will call down vengeance from the gods, and ye shall die in this\nvery palace.\"\n\nThe suitors were astonished at his courage and his words. He had never\nbefore spoken out with authority. Antino\u00f6s and Eurymachos, the most\ninsolent of them, began to ridicule him and excite the others to make\nfun of him. And they asked Telemachos what guest he had been\nentertaining so secretly and what news he had brought from his father.\nThe suitors danced and sang, eating and drinking, until evening,\nbefore they went home.\n\nTelemachos then sought his own couch. His old nurse, Eurycleia, led\nthe way with two torches. She had been a faithful servant since Laertes,\nin his early manhood, had bought her for the price of a hundred oxen.\n\nTelemachos sat down on his bed, and removing his tunic handed it to\nthe nurse, who folded it and smoothed it and hung it up. He lay down\nand covered himself with soft fleeces, while Eurycleia went out and\ncarefully locked the door. But sleep did not come to him. All night\nhe thought of what the coming day would bring.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI\nPENELOPE'S WEB\n\n\nThe next morning, at dawn of day, Telemachos rose from his bed and\nput on his garments. He hung his sword over his shoulder and fastened\nhis sandals on his feet and strode bravely forth. He summoned his\nheralds at once and bade them call a council of the Ithacans. The\npeople came at the appointed time, and Telemachos, sceptre in hand,\ntook his place before the assembly and called it to order.\n\n\"I have not summoned you, my friends,\" he said, \"in order that ye\nmay see some entertaining show, but out of dire necessity. I bring\nno news of war and I have nothing to say that concerns the public\ngood. You all know the grief which has befallen me on account of my\nfather, your king and leader, who loved you as a parent loves his\nchildren. But Odysseus is gone and there is no hope of his return.\nThis misfortune is not enough, for every day the young men of the\nleading families of Ithaca and the surrounding isles meet in my house\nand vex my mother with unseemly and importunate offers of marriage.\n\n\"There they are now installed, eating our food, drinking our wine,\nand wasting our money, for Odysseus is not here to drive them out.\nI have no way of expelling them from my home. My friends, consider\nthese wrongs and help me to drive these robbers from the house of\nyour king. It would be a shame to the people of Ithaca if it were\nnoised around that they left the son of their chief in the hands of\nplunderers without giving him help.\"\n\nThus spoke Telemachos, the tears running down his cheeks, and he threw\nthe sceptre on the ground. The people were greatly moved, and felt\npity for the youth who had to suffer such wrongs, but they were silent.\nOnly Antino\u00f6s, the most insolent of the suitors, took up the word\nand said: \"Shameless Telemachos, how dost thou dare to chide us for\nthis state of things! Thy mother is the one to blame. She has been\nleading us on for three whole years. She is skilful and crafty. She\npromised, three years ago, to choose one of us for a husband as soon\nas she should finish the winding-sheets for old Laertes in case of\nhis death.\n\n\"Then she began to weave upon her loom a dainty web of vast length\nand width. And she said to each one of us: 'Do not urge me to marry,\nI pray, until I finish these shrouds for the hero Laertes, when his\nhour of death shall come. I have spun an abundance of fine thread,\nand it must not be wasted. Besides that, the dames of Greece would\nspeak ill of me if I should leave my husband's father without a shroud,\nfor he has had great wealth all his life.' In this way Penelope gave\nus hope, and we were too generous to persist in forcing her to choose\nat once.\n\n\"She went on in this way, weaving the great web by day, and every\nnight she unravelled by torchlight all that she had woven by sunlight.\nShe has deceived us long enough. We have discovered her fraud; for\na woman who has seen her unravelling the web has told us all about\nit. She must finish the work and make her choice among her suitors.\nIf thou dost wish us to leave thy house, thou shalt send thy mother\nto her parents and let her father command her to marry one of us,\naccording to her choice. When this is done no one will disturb thee\nany longer.\n\n\"If, however, Penelope prefers to treat the noble sons of Greece with\nsuch malice and craft, we will go right on consuming thy goods. She\nwill thus make a great name for herself, but she will impoverish thee.\"\n\n\"I shall never send my mother away from her husband's house,\" rejoined\nTelemachos. \"Living or dead, my father is in distant lands, and if\nI should dismiss his wife of my own will, I should invite the hatred\nof the gods on my guilty head. She would call upon the Furies to haunt\nme; all men would curse me; and her father would demand ample\nsatisfaction of me. I will never speak the word to send her forth.\nNow, get you gone and cease squandering my riches or I will call down\nthe wrath of the gods on you.\"\n\nHaving said this, Telemachos sat down, and Zeus sent two eagles flying\nover the heads of the wooers, close to each other. They looked down\nupon the crowd of people and tore each other's heads and vanished.\nThe Ithacans saw the deadly omen, and a venerable prophet among them\nstood up and said: \"Noble youths, I advise you seriously to depart\nfrom this royal house, for this is a sign that Odysseus is coming\nhome. Woe to you if he finds you in his palace. You will all meet\na direful end.\"\n\nEurymachos answered him: \"Old man, keep thy advice and thy forebodings\nfor thine own children. We do not need them. Advise Telemachos to\nchange his mind and send his mother home to her father, instead of\nprating foolishly to us. As long as he keeps her here we shall continue\nto consume his wealth, until he has nothing left. And we will punish\nthee severely if thou dost incite this young man to violence.\"\n\nTelemachos, thinking it best to be discreet, replied: \"Now hear me,\nEurymachos, and all ye suitors. Give me a good ship and twenty men,\nthat I may go from land to land in search of my father. If I find\nthat he lives and may return, I will wait one year longer for him\nto reach home. But if I hear that he is not alive, I will come back\nand build a mound to his memory and give him a funeral worthy of such\na king. Then shall my mother make her choice and wed.\"\n\nMentor, the stanch friend and adviser of Odysseus, sat among the\nIthacans in the assembly. When he saw how Telemachos was put to shame,\nhe grew angry. He rose to his feet, and addressed the people: \"No\nking ever again should be wise and good. He should be hard and unjust,\nsince no one of you has enough love for Odysseus to stand by his son.\nI am less ashamed of the impudent suitors, than I am of the weaklings\nwho see what they are doing and who dare not interfere.\"\n\n\"Foolish old Mentor,\" said one of the suitors, \"what art thou saying!\nIf Odysseus, himself, should come hither, he would not be able to\ndrive us out. If anyone thinks himself strong enough to do it, let\nhim try it. Ye Ithacans disperse to your homes, and leave Mentor to\nprovide the boy with a ship.\" So saying he dispersed the crowd, and\nthe wooers all went into the palace to continue their revelry.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII\nTHE JOURNEY OF TELEMACHOS\n\n\nTelemachos left the assembly and went down to the sea-shore alone,\nand washing his hands in the surf called on the goddess who had\nappeared to him the day before to come to his assistance. At once\nAthena stood by his side in the guise and with the voice of Mentor.\nShe urged him to hasten his journey. Telemachos took new courage,\nand returned at once to his house where he found his old nurse,\nEurycleia, alone. He revealed to her his intention, and asked her\nto assist him in getting everything ready for the journey. He bade\nher draw twelve jars of the best wine, and twelve skins of the finest\nmeal to put aboard the ship.\n\nWhen the old nurse heard this she wept and beat her breast. \"Dear\nchild,\" she said, \"who has put such a thought into thy mind? Why\nshouldst thou, an only son and well beloved, wander off to a distant\nland? Be warned by what thy father had to suffer because he left his\nown country. The suitors will plot to kill thee and divide thy wealth.\nStay here, at home; there is no need that thou shouldst venture over\nthe fearful sea.\"\n\nTelemachos answered her: \"Take courage, my good nurse; this journey\nis advised of a god. Do not let my mother know of my departure for\neleven or twelve days, lest she weep and mourn.\"\n\nThe nurse promised most solemnly that she would keep his secret and\nexecute his orders. She drew the wine into the jars and filled the\nstrong skins with meal. Meantime, Athena, blue-eyed goddess, taking\nthe form of Telemachos, went through the city and urged the men to\nrepair to the ships at sundown, for she had chosen the best boats\nin Ithaca for the youth, and found for him a crew that was glad to\nserve him.\n\nThen the blue-eyed maid went to the palace and poured sleep upon the\neyelids of the drunken suitors. They gladly sought their beds in their\nown homes. Taking the form of Mentor, she next appeared to Telemachos\nand bade him follow her to the beach. When they reached the galley,\nhe found his comrades waiting. They hurried up to the palace for the\nwine and meal, which they soon brought to the ship and stored in the\nhold. Then the crew slipped the cables which held the ship to the\nshore. Athena took her seat at the stern and Telemachos sat near her.\nThe sails were spread and the sailors began to ply their oars. Athena\nraised a favorable breeze and the vessel glided forward cutting her\nway through the roaring waters.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII\nTELEMACHOS IN PYLOS\n\n\nAt sunrise the ship arrived at Pylos. The people of that town were\nall assembled on the shore, where they were sacrificing coal-black\noxen to Poseidon. Some were burning fat upon the altar, and others\nwere distributing food among those who were offering up the sacrifices,\nwhile all were eating.\n\nThe Ithacans touched land. Telemachos and Athena disembarked,\nleaving the crew to guard the ship, and went up to the crowd. On the\nway Athena cheered Telemachos and advised him what to say to the people.\nWhen they had come near enough to the inhabitants to be seen by them,\nthe people rose and came to meet the strangers. First of all, the\nson of Nestor, Peisistratos, approached and took each of them by the\nhand and led them to the feast. He bade them be seated near his father\nand brought them the choicest meat.\n\nAfter the strangers had eaten, Peisistratos filled a golden goblet\nwith wine, and handed it to Mentor, as the elder. Mentor was pleased\nwith the young man's good breeding and he took the goblet and poured\nout a part of it on the ground as a sacrifice to Poseidon, with a\nprayer for a safe return. Then he handed the goblet to Telemachos,\nand he did likewise.\n\nWhen the feast was over, Nestor, the King of Pylos, said to his guests:\n\"The time has come, dear strangers, when it is fitting to ask your\nnames, and from what land you come. Do you roam the seas as pirates,\nor do you come on an errand?\"\n\n\"We are Greeks,\" said Telemachos. \"We come from Ithaca to seek tidings\nof my father, the unfortunate Odysseus, who went to war against Troy\nwith thee and the other Greek chiefs. We have never heard anything\nof him during all these long years and do not know whether he is living\nor dead. I pray thee tell me anything thou may'st know about him,\nand conceal nothing.\"\n\n\"My son,\" Nestor replied, \"thou dost call to mind the great sufferings\nborne by the men of Greece ere we succeeded in conquering Priam's\ntown. It would take years to tell thee of the brave deeds of the Greeks,\nhow they fought and where they fell. We passed nine years in worrying\nthe enemy, and there was no man who gave better counsel or performed\nnobler deeds than did Odysseus. Art thou then his son? I look on thee\nin wonder. Yes, thou art like him. How strange to hear so young a\nman speak as he did!\n\n\"After the destruction of Troy, the surviving Greeks embarked, and\nwe set out for home. But when we reached Tenedos, thy father returned\nto Troy to join Agamemnon and the others, who had stayed behind, to\nappease the wrath of Athena, for a Greek had committed sacrilege in\nher temple.\n\n\"Our voyage was prosperous, and we all reached home except Menelaos,\nwho wandered about in Crete and Egypt for a long time. It is said\nthat the noble son of Achilles returned home safely, and that\nAgamemnon was slain in his own house, and his son took vengeance on\nhis murderers. There is a rumor, too, that many suitors hang about\nthy mother, and, in spite of thy remonstrances, consume thy riches.\nBe brave, my son, and yield not. Odysseus may come again. Go at once\nto Menelaos, for he may have news of thy father. I will give thee\nswift horses and a chariot, and my sons will drive.\"\n\nAll day Telemachos discoursed with Nestor, and when the sun went down,\nthey poured wine on the earth and burned an offering to the gods.\nTelemachos and Mentor arose to retire to their ship, but Nestor begged\nthem to be his guests and go to the royal palace. Mentor, as the elder\nof the two, excused himself, in order to join the crew, and suddenly\ndisappeared. Nestor recognized that Telemachos was attended by the\ngoddess, and offered a prayer to her. The assembly dispersed, and\nNestor, with his guest and his sons, retired to his palace.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV\nTELEMACHOS IN SPARTA\n\n\nBefore the sun was fairly up, they all arose and seated themselves\non the smooth stone benches that loomed up in the gloaming, white\nand shining, before the gates of the palace. Nestor bade one of his\nsons to prepare an offering to Athena, of the best heifer in the fields.\nHe sent another son to call a skilled workman to plate the heifer's\nhorns with gold, and two others yet to bring the crew from the ship.\nHe told the remaining two sons to bid the maids prepare a sumptuous\nfeast in honor of their guest.\n\nIn a moment there was a busy scene. The heifer was brought up from\nthe fields, and her horns were adorned with pure gold in hopes that\nAthena would see it and be pleased. The sailors came from the ship,\nexcept two who were left as guards. The heifer was slain and parts\nwere burned as an offering to the goddess, and cakes and wine also\nwere thrown into the flames to complete the sacrifice. They roasted\nthe flesh on long iron forks with five prongs, and feasted upon it.\n\nThen Nestor said to his sons: \"Bring now the chariot and horses and\nlet our guest depart in search of news concerning his renowned\nfather.\" The horses were soon harnessed to the car, which was stored\nwith wine and bread and dainties fit for a prince. Telemachos climbed\ninto the seat. Peisistratos took his place beside him and grasped\nthe reins. The horses dashed off in high spirit, and Pylos was soon\nleft in the distance. All day the horses sped along. At night they\nrested by the way and early the next morning went on again as swiftly\nas before. As the sun went down they found themselves in Sparta, the\nland of plenty, and at the gates of Menelaos, the king.\n\nHere they found many guests assembled at the wedding banquet of\nHermione, the daughter of Menelaos. That day she had been given as\na bride to Neoptolemos, the son of Achilles. A minstrel was playing\na harp and singing, while two dancers performed graceful feats to\ngive life to the feast.\n\nOne of the attendants of Menelaos saw the strangers drive up, and\nstepped out to see who was coming. Then he hastened back to Menelaos\nand told him that two strangers of princely bearing were at the palace\ngate, and asked if he should unharness their horses or send them on\ntheir way. Menelaos was vexed that any of his servants should be so\nlax in hospitality, and told him he had acted like a foolish child,\nand reminded him of the gifts that had been showered on them when\nthey wandered so long in foreign lands. And he bade him hasten to\nunharness the steeds, and give them oats and barley, and bid the\nstrangers welcome to the feast.\n\nTelemachos and Peisistratos were amazed at the beauty of the palace.\nThey bathed in the marble baths, rubbed themselves with oil and put\non the splendid tunics that were brought them. After that they entered\nthe great hall, where each was seated on a throne near the king. A\nhandmaid brought a golden pitcher and a silver bowl for their hands,\nand a table was placed before them laden with choice food. When they\nhad eaten enough, golden beakers of wine were handed them, and then\nthe monarch gave his hand to each of them, saying: \"Ye have come in\ngood time, my friends. As soon as ye have finished your feast, I will\nask your names and whence ye come, for ye look like sons of kings.\"\n\nAs they sat there Telemachos, bending his head toward Peisistratos,\nsaid, in a low tone, so that he thought no one else would hear: \"Surely,\nO son of Nestor, the Olympian home of Zeus himself could not be more\nglorious than this palace. See the gold and ivory, and shining brass.\nThese things are beyond price in richness.\" Menelaos caught the words,\nalthough he spoke so low, and said: \"My sons, there is no palace that\ncan compare with the home of the gods. The riches which you look at\nin astonishment I collected while wandering in Egypt and in Crete.\nI find no pleasure in them, however, for I found my brother, King\nAgamemnon slain when I reached home. Would that the men who fought\nbefore Troy had their share of this wealth! I often weep and mourn\nfor them in my palace, and am unable to eat or sleep on account of\nthe misery I have brought upon my friends.\n\n\"For none of them do I mourn so much as I do for Odysseus, who suffered\nthe most of all on my behalf. I would gladly give all my wealth, if\nI only knew him to be safe. But we do not know whether he is dead\nor living. How much his old father must have grieved for him. How\nmany tears his wife, Penelope, must have shed, and his high-minded\nson, Telemachos, what sorrow he has suffered.\"\n\nNew despair filled the heart of Telemachos, and tears fell from his\neyes. He held his purple mantle to hide his grief and wept in silence.\nWhen Menelaos saw this, he at once suspected that the young man was\nno other than the sorrowing son of Odysseus, and he felt perplexed\nfor want of suitable words. He could not decide whether to question\nhim about his father, or to wait and let the youth speak out of his\nown will.\n\nJust then Helen entered the hall from her high-roofed chamber, looking\nlike a goddess in her dazzling beauty. She sat down at her husband's\nfeet, while servants ran to bring the mat which she was weaving and\nthe distaff filled with fine-spun purple thread. Her fingers flew\nover the dainty work while she questioned the king: \"Didst thou ask\nthe strangers their names? It is not possible that there can be any\nman so like to Odysseus except his son, as is this youth! I see him\nwith astonishment. His father left him at home a little babe, when\nthe Greeks went forth to war for my sake. Is it not true that this\nis Telemachos?\"\n\nMenelaos replied: \"My wife, I think thou hast spoken truly. The young\nman has the hands, the feet, and the features of Odysseus, and he\ncannot hide his grief at the mention of that hero's name.\"\nPeisistratos took up the word and said: \"He is, indeed, the son of\nOdysseus, O king! My father, Nestor, sent me with him to inquire what\nyou might know of the long-lost chieftain, and to beg you to give\nhim advice, for he has to suffer great wrongs in his house and there\nis no one to assist him.\"\n\nMenelaos was heartily glad to hear that his guest was really\nTelemachos. But the remembrance of his old friend overcame him and\nhe wept bitter tears. \"I thought when I was in Troy,\" he said, \"that\nI should one day welcome Odysseus to my home. I would have given him\nland and cities and brought to Sparta all his people and his wealth.\nThen we would always have lived close together and nothing could have\nparted us. But he has never returned.\" The tears fell from his eyes\nand Helen wept as well. Peisistratos then said to Menelaos: \"Son of\nAtreus, my father says that thou art good and wise. Let us not, I\nentreat, continue this sad discourse, since this is a day that should\nnot be given to lamentations. I lost a brother, also, at Troy. But\nwe will honor these heroes at a proper time, with tears and by cutting\noff our locks. Let us not spoil the feast with mourning.\"\n\nThey spent the rest of the day in making the festival as cheerful\nas if there were no grief to be hidden, and when night came the Argive\nHelen ordered the servants to prepare beds for them in the portico\nand cover them with tapestries, while she poured for them a soothing\nwine and dismissed them to their slumbers. The heralds led them to\ntheir couches, where they found a welcome rest.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV\nMENELAOS RELATES HIS ADVENTURES\n\n\nThe next morning Menelaos rose from his couch very early, put on his\ngarments, hung his sword over his shoulder, laced his sandals, and\nwent into his hall looking like a god. He sat down near Telemachos,\nand asked him to tell him frankly why he had come to Sparta.\n\nTelemachos then told him of the evil deeds of the suitors, and besought\nhim to give him every possible clew to his father's whereabouts.\nMenelaos was indignant over the young man's wrongs.\n\n\"Shame on the cowards who wish to rule over thy father's house,\" he\nsaid. \"Let Odysseus return and he will tear them to pieces as a lion\ntears a young deer. Grant, O father Zeus, and Athena, and Apollo,\nthat Odysseus may yet give those ungodly suitors a bitter wedding\nfeast. But I will tell thee of my travels and what was told me by\nthe Ancient Spirit of the sea.\n\n\"It happened that the gods detained me many days in Egypt to sacrifice\nand do penance, for I had forgotten to make proper offerings to them.\nThe island of Pharos lies just off the coast of Egypt. There I remained\nuntil the daughter of the Ancient Sea King, seeing my distress, came\nto my rescue.\n\n\"My men and I had wandered over the island in search of food until\nwe were nearly starved, when she discovered us, and told us that our\nefforts would be useless unless we consulted with her father. 'If\nthou canst ensnare him and hold him in thy grasp,' she said, 'he will\ntell thee how to reach thy home. He is a seer, and can tell thee all\nthat has taken place there during thy absence. At noon-tide he comes\nout from the ocean caves covered with brine, and lies down among the\nsea-calves, rank with the smell of salt. He counts them five at a\ntime, and then he stretches himself out among them and goes to sleep.\nHe is very shrewd, and when thou hast caught him he will struggle\nand take all sorts of forms to escape thee. He will turn into a reptile,\nand into fire and then will change to water. But hold him fast, and\nwhen he looks as he did when first perceived by thee, ask him how\nto find thy home.'\n\n\"The next morning, I sought the aged sea-god as I had been bidden.\nI took three old comrades whom I knew to be trusty, and we went down\ninto the depths of the sea. The goddess brought us four fresh hides\nthat had just been taken from sea-calves newly slaughtered, and we\ndressed ourselves in them to deceive her father. She scooped out\nplaces for us to lie in on the sands and we waited for him to come.\nThe smell was sickening and beyond endurance, so the goddess put\nambrosia under our noses. When the sun was highest in the heavens,\nthe sea-calves came in groups and ranged themselves around in rows\non the sand. The old seer came out and counted all, and did not notice\nour fraud. Then he lay down to sleep. At once, we rushed upon him\nand caught him. He began to take all kinds of shapes. First, he was\na lion; then a serpent, a panther, a boar, a fountain of water, and\na tree. We held on until he was tired of trying to escape.\n\n\"At last he took his proper form, and began to question me. 'Son of\nAtreus,' he said, 'who hath taught thee how to make me a prisoner?\nWhat is it thou wouldst know?' 'Tell me what god is angry with me,\nO Proteus,' I replied. 'Why am I detained on this island? Why can\nI not reach my home?' 'Thou didst not make acceptable sacrifices to\nZeus,' said Proteus. 'And thou wilt never see thy home again until\nthou hast offered up a hundred oxen to the immortal gods.'\n\n\"'I will perform that rite speedily, oh prophet,' I replied. 'But\ntell me about my comrades in the Trojan war. Did they reach home in\nsafety?'\n\n\"Then Proteus told me all; how Ajax died amid his ships; how Agamemnon\nwas slain in his own hall; and of Laertes' son he said that he had\nseen him sitting in a grotto on Calypso's Isle. There upon the rocks\nor at the ocean-side he weeps and mourns day after day, and gazes\nout upon the deep. His comrades are lost, and he has no ship with\nwhich to return to Ithaca. And after he had spoken he plunged into\nthe sea while I returned to my ships, offered up the hundred oxen\nto Zeus and sailed for home. And now, Telemachos, I pray thee remain\nawhile with me, and I will dismiss thee with a chariot and swift horses,\nand a cup of priceless worth with which to pour libations to the gods.\"\n\nTelemachos took new courage when he heard that his father still lived,\nand begged that he might go back at once to Pylos to join his crew.\nIn a moment all were busy in the palace of Menelaos preparing gifts\nand a feast that the youths might depart on the morrow.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI\nTHE CONSPIRACY OF THE SUITORS\n\n\nOne day while Telemachos was in Sparta, the guest of Menelaos, the\nsuitors were more riotous than usual. They diverted themselves in\nthe palace of Odysseus by throwing the discus and javelin. Only\nAntino\u00f6s and the handsome Eurymachos kept apart from them. Then No\u00ebmon,\nwho had given Telemachos his ship a few days before, approached them\nand said: \"Antino\u00f6s, I would gladly know when Telemachos will return\nfrom Pylos. I lent him my ship, and I need it for I intend to go to\nElis, where I have business.\"\n\nThe suitors were completely taken by surprise, for they had not heard\nthat Telemachos had gone to Pylos. They thought that he was out at\nthe farm with his swineherd. Antino\u00f6s asked: \"When did Telemachos\nsail, and what crew did he take? Did he use force in getting thy ship\nor didst thou lend it willingly?\"\n\n\"He was welcome to the ship,\" replied No\u00ebmon. \"Who would not have\ndone such a service to a man who has had so much to endure? The young\nmen who went with him belong to the best families of Ithaca.\" No\u00ebmon\ncould not get any news of Telemachos, so he went home; but the suitors\nconspired to kill Telemachos. They decided that Antino\u00f6s should man\na ship with a crew of twenty men, and lie in ambush in the waters\nnear Ithaca, in order that they might catch Telemachos, on his return.\n\nThis wicked plot of the suitors was betrayed to the queen, by her\nfaithful herald, Medon. Penelope was overcome with grief, and wept\nbitterly, and her loyal attendants mourned with her. \"What new grief\nis this which befalls me now?\" she said. \"Is it not enough that death\nhas robbed me of my husband? Am I also to lose my only child, without\neven having seen him before his departure? Alas! why did no one tell\nme he was going, that I might have prevented his journey? Haste ye\nto Laertes and tell him what has happened, that he may make some plan\nto upset this plot to destroy his heir, the son of Odysseus.\"\n\nThen Eurycleia, the nurse, tried to console her with these soothing\nwords: \"My daughter, I will not hide the truth from thee any longer.\nI gave Telemachos a generous supply of food and wine, all that he\ncould use on his journey. And I promised him solemnly that I would\nnot tell thee of his departure, since he had a great dread that thou\nwouldst weep and mourn, and spoil thy lovely face and injure thy health.\nNow dry thy tears and bathe, and put on fresh robes. Then go to thine\naltar in the upper chamber with thy maids. There pray to Athena and\nburn incense to her. Do not alarm good old Laertes needlessly.\"\n\nPenelope followed the old nurse's advice. She went to the altar, at\nthe highest part of the house, and there she prayed to Athena: \"Hear\nme, daughter of Zeus! If ever my beloved husband has sacrificed to\nthee the fat limbs of oxen or sheep, and has built thee altars, save\nmy son, Telemachos, and destroy the suitors, who fain would destroy\nhim.\" The goddess heard her prayer, and sent sweet slumber and a\npleasant dream to assuage her grief. In her sleep she saw her sister,\nwho said to her: \"Be of good cheer, Penelope; no harm will come to\nthy son, for a god goes with him.\" To her, the wise Penelope, yet\ndreaming, answered: \"My sister, why is it thou hast never come to\nme before? Thy home is far away. I weep because I have lost my noble\nhusband, and now his enemies conspire to slay my only son.\" The dream\nreplied: \"Take heart. Do not fear. Athena sent me to tell thee that\nshe will protect thy son.\"\n\n\"Oh, tell me,\" cried the queen, in her dreams, \"tell me if my husband\nlives, since thou art sent by a goddess.\" But the shadow vanished\nthrough the closed door, and mingled with the air. Penelope awoke\nwith a glad heart, cheered by the prophetic dream.\n\nIn the meantime the suitors spoke among themselves, for they were\ntoo foolish to understand the spirit of the queen. \"Surely,\" they\nsaid, \"Penelope is making ready for her wedding. She does not suspect\nthat we have planned to kill her son.\" \"Do not deceive yourselves,\nmy friends,\" said Antino\u00f6s. \"Be silent and act.\" Then he chose twenty\nmen, and they went down to a well-fitted ship, and took their places\nat the oars. They waited until it was dark, when they quietly rowed\nout into a narrow strait, through which, they thought, Telemachos\nwas sure to sail on his return, and there they waited.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII\nTELEMACHOS RETURNS TO ITHACA\n\n\nHaving encouraged Penelope, the goddess Athena sped to Sparta, where\nshe found Telemachos, with Nestor's son, asleep upon the porch. She\nstood beside his bed, and warned him that he ought to return home,\nsince Penelope's father had given her counsel to wed the richest of\nthe suitors, and had promised a generous dower. \"Do not delay,\" the\ngoddess said to him; \"no one can tell what a woman will do to help\nthe man she is to marry.\n\n\"And also beware of the suitors, whom thou hast offended. They lie\nin wait in the narrow passage between Samos and Ithaca. They hope\nto catch thee on thy way home and slay thee. Do not go that way. Sail\nonly when it is dark. A god will watch over thee. When thou dost come\nto the first harbor in Ithaca, disembark, and let thy crew go on in\nthe ship and take it back to the town. But thou shalt make thy way\nto the hut of thy loyal swineherd, and he will take tidings of thy\nsafe return to thy mother.\"\n\nAthena said this and vanished. Telemachos turned to Peisistratos and\nsaid: \"Let us arise and set forth on our journey with all haste, oh\nson of Nestor.\" But Peisistratos begged him to wait until it was fairly\nlight. Menelaos had slept lightly, he was so agitated with the great\nevent of seeing his beloved comrade's son, and he rose as soon as\nit was light. Telemachos heard him approaching, and hastily threw\non his tunic and cloak and went to meet him.\n\nTelemachos urged a hasty departure and Menelaos did not think it\nproper to try to detain him. He said: \"A host is hateful who is too\naffectionate. It is as wrong to keep a guest who is in a hurry to\ngo as it is to thrust a stranger out when he wants to stay. Let me\nbring thee costly gifts, and when thou hast had thy morning meal I\nwill hasten thee on thy way.\" The car was heaped with gifts, a golden\ngoblet, a silver beaker, a robe that glistened with hand-wrought\nembroidery, the work of Helen, a goblet of silver with golden lips.\nPeisistratos gazed with wonder at their beauty as he placed them in\nthe car.\n\nThey washed their hands in a silver bowl and ate and drank from the\nbounty which had been placed before them. Then they mounted the car\nwhich had been brought to the palace gates. Nestor's son took the\nreins, Menelaos poured wine on the ground, an offering to the gods\nfor their safety and prosperity, and off they sped over the plain.\nTwo birds flew on before them, an eagle that had clutched a goose\nand bore it off in its talons, a sign that Odysseus would come and\nput an end to the suitors, and this omen cheered Telemachos.\n\nAll day the horses bounded on shaking their splendid harness. The\nson of Nestor plied the lash. At night they rested in a friendly lodge\nand the second day they reached Pylos. They drove directly to the\nship, lest Nestor, in his great love for his guest, should detain\nhim. With an offering and a prayer to Athena he set sail. A prospering\nbreeze swept over the sea and bore them rapidly along. At night\nTelemachos landed at the nearest port and sent the crew on to take\nthe ship to the town.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII\nTELEMACHOS AND THE SWINEHERD\n\n\nWhen daylight appeared Odysseus and Eumaios rose from their beds and\nsent the serving men out into the fields with their swine, but they\nthemselves remained at home and prepared breakfast. In a little while\nthey heard footsteps outside. The dogs pricked up their ears and\nwagged their tails without barking.\n\nOdysseus, perceiving this, said to the swineherd: \"There must be some\nfriend of thine coming, since the dogs do not bark.\" The words had\nhardly passed his lips when Telemachos entered the hut. Eumaios\nstarted to his feet and hastened to welcome his young master. He took\nhim in his arms as a father would a son who had been away a long time,\nand kissed his face and hands.\n\nTears dropped from his eyes and he said: \"My dear Telemachos, I did\nnot dare to hope ever to behold thee again. Come in that I may rejoice\nwith all my heart at seeing thee once more enter my cabin after thy\nreturn from a strange country. Seldom dost thou come to see thy\nservants, for thou dost live in town, where thou must watch the suitor\ntrain consume thy wealth day by day.\"\n\nTo this Telemachos made answer: \"This is quite true, my father; but\nI come here to learn of thee how matters are at the palace. Is my\nmother there, or has some wooer won her for a bride?\"\n\n\"Thy mother is still at home,\" replied the sturdy swineherd. \"She\nhas a loyal heart, but she wastes her life in weeping.\" Saying this\nhe took the lance from the young prince, who had come farther into\nthe cabin. Odysseus arose to give him his seat, but Telemachos said\nto him: \"Keep thy seat, stranger, I will sit elsewhere.\"\n\nOdysseus sat down again. The swineherd took an armful of twigs and\ncovered it with fleeces, and Telemachos seated himself upon it. Next\nhe brought bread and meat and set them before his young master, who,\nwhen he had eaten, asked his faithful servant who the stranger was\nand whence he came.\n\n\"The stranger says that he came from Crete,\" answered Eumaios. \"Lately\nhe has run away from a ship where he was robbed, and has come here.\nI leave him to thee, however; do with him as thou dost like.\" \"Thy\nwords do not please me, Eumaios,\" said Telemachos. \"How can I receive\na stranger in my house, since I cannot protect him there if any of\nthe godless wooers insult him. It would be better for him to stay\nhere; and lest he be a burden to you I will send out food and clothes\nfor him, and I will help him to go wherever he wishes.\"\n\nTo him the sagacious Odysseus replied: \"My friend, I hear with grief\nthe story of thy wrongs. Art thou willing to let this go on? If I\nwere as young as thou art I would lose my life before I would suffer\nsuch things--thy guests insulted, thy servants beaten, thy riches\nthrown away, thy food consumed by gluttons.\"\n\n\"Thy words are sharp, dear stranger, and I shall answer them with\nthe truth,\" said Telemachos. \"Thou dost not yet understand that there\nis a great crowd of suitors; not simply five or ten. What can I do\nsingle-handed against such a multitude? But you, Eumaios, hasten to\nthe city, secretly, and tell my mother that I have returned and am\nstaying here. Then come back at once and let no one know where I am,\nfor the lovers are plotting a bloody death for me.\" The swineherd\nhastily bound his sandals on to his feet, took his staff, and hurried\noff.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX\nTELEMACHOS RECOGNIZES ODYSSEUS\n\n\nIt was not long after Eumaios had left the cabin when Athena, in the\nguise of a beautiful woman, appeared to Odysseus and beckoned him\nto come outside. Telemachos was opposite to her, but he did not see\nher, for the gods are not visible to all. Only Odysseus and the dogs\nwere conscious of her presence. The dogs did not bark but ran into\na corner of the cabin, crouching and whining. Odysseus left the room\nand stood before the goddess, who spoke to him in these words: \"Son\nof Laertes, of noble birth and great wisdom, make thyself known to\nthy son. Tell him all the truth. Advise with him how to put an end\nto that insolent crowd of suitors. I shall never be far from thee\nmyself and will help thee. I long to see them attacked.\"\n\nWhen she had finished speaking she touched Odysseus with her golden\nwand. That touch changed him instantly into a handsome, well-made\nman in the full vigor of robust manhood. His rags became seemly\ngarments. His cheeks flushed with renewed health and the heavy beard\non his chin grew dark again. After the goddess had done this she\nvanished and Odysseus went back into the lodge. His son glanced at\nhim in amazement and then turned his eyes away from him lest he should\nirreverently look upon a god.\n\n\"Stranger,\" he said, \"I think thou art an immortal whose home is in\nthe heavens, for thou hast been transformed in looks and garb. Let\nme bring a sacrifice and offer it to thee, together with beautiful\ngifts, and perhaps thou wilt be gracious to us and keep us from harm.\"\n\nOdysseus replied: \"Nay, I am not a god, nor like the gods. I am thy\nfather, he for whom thou hast mourned and endured so many sufferings.\"\nSaying this he kissed his son and wept.\n\n\"I pray thee do not deceive me,\" said Telemachos. \"Thou surely art\na deity and not my father. No mortal could change from a ragged old\nbeggar to a young and stately man in a moment.\"\n\nOdysseus answered him: \"Telemachos, it is not like a son to gaze upon\nthy father with astonishment. No other Odysseus will ever come into\nthis cabin. I am thy father. I have wandered twenty years in foreign\nlands, and now have come to my own home. Thou hast seen a miracle\nwhich Athena wrought, for she makes me look like a beggar or a king\nas she pleases. The gods have all power to put men in high places\nor to humble them.\"\n\nOdysseus sat down and his dear son approached him and threw his arms\naround him in a loving embrace, and together they wept tears of joy.\nAt last Telemachos inquired: \"Dear father, in what ship hast thou\ncome, and what sailors brought thee hither? Thou couldst not have\ncome on foot.\"\n\n\"The Ph\u00e6acians brought me across the sea and left me sleeping on the\nshore in Ithaca,\" replied Odysseus. \"And they gave me rich presents\nof gold, and silver, and brass, and embroidered garments hand-woven\nfrom their own looms.\n\n\"These have I hidden, and Athena has sent me to advise with thee how\nbest to destroy the arrogant crew of suitors that so long has robbed\nmy house and vexed my wife. Tell me now how many there are and what\nkind of men, so that I can judge whether we two alone may attack them,\nor whether we need the help of others.\"\n\n\"My father,\" answered Telemachos, \"thy sweet fame has resounded\nthrough our halls, my whole life long. How often have I heard of thy\ncourage and the strength of thy powerful arm. But how is it possible\nfor us two to fight against such a multitude? Fifty-two of the wooers\ncome from one town with six servants. Twenty-four come from Samos,\nand twenty more from Zakynthos, and twelve from Ithaca. If we attack\nthem all I fear that we shall come to grief. It is better for us to\nlook around and find an ally.\"\n\nAgain Odysseus made reply: \"Dear son, take courage. Zeus and Athena,\nmost powerful of the gods, are on our side. Early to-morrow thou must\ngo to the city and mingle with the suitors. The swineherd shall lead\nme disguised as an old beggar to my palace. Keep down thy wrath if\nthe wooers speak insultingly to me. Do not resent it except to\nadminister a gentle reproof, though they strike me with their spears\nand abuse me with bad language. The day of their death is at hand.\nWhen Athena gives me the sign, I will nod to thee and thou shalt remove\nmy weapons from the great hall to an upper room. Tell the suspicious\nsuitors that the arms gather too much dust where they now hang on\nthe walls, and besides that, a god has warned thee that in their\ndrunken brawls, the wooers may harm each other. Let no one know of\nmy arrival, not even Laertes, Eumaios, or my wife, Penelope.\"\n\nAll day the illustrious father and his son conversed and laid their\nplans. At noon they killed a yearling pig, and roasted it and made\na hearty lunch. Once more Athena touched Odysseus with her wand and\nchanged him into a poor old beggar, that Eumaios should not recognize\nhim. At evening the swineherd returned. On entering his cabin he told\nhis young master that the suitors had learned of his safe return to\nIthaca. Then he prepared a supper for them, and they ate and drank\nto their hearts' content, when they retired to rest.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XL\nTELEMACHOS RETURNS TO THE PALACE\n\n\nEarly the next morning Telemachos rose, tied his shining sandals under\nhis feet, took his spear and stood ready to go to the city. He called\nthe swineherd to him, and said: \"Eumaios, I am going back to the town\nto see my mother. I know that she will not cease to be anxious about\nme until she sees me in my own home. Take this stranger there, too,\nwhere he may beg, and thus supply his wants. I cannot receive every\npoor man into my own house; my trials are too great. It makes no\ndifference to me whether he likes it or not. I am forced to tell the\ntruth about it.\"\n\n\"My friend,\" said Odysseus, \"I do not care to stay any longer. I think\nmyself it is better for me to go to the city, where a beggar may have\na fair chance. I am too old to be of service here. Go thy way, my\nson, and let thy servant lead me hence, as thou hast commanded. But\nlet me first warm me at the fire, for I am cold and the way is long.\"\n\nThen Telemachos went out of the lodge and sped toward the city. His\nold nurse, Eurycleia, was the first to see him, and she ran out to\nwelcome him, and the other servants came around rejoicing. Next came\nPenelope, as beautiful as Artemis, and threw her arms about her son,\nand kissed him on his brow and eyes. \"Hast thou indeed returned,\nTelemachos, my son? I never hoped to see thee again. Tell me about\nthy father. Hast thou any news of him? What has happened? What hast\nthou seen?\" So did the queen greet her son.\n\n\"Dear mother, do not waken my grief again,\" Telemachos replied. \"I\nhave barely escaped a cruel death. But go to thy bath and put fresh\ngarments on, and then pray to the gods and promise them great\nsacrifices if Zeus will avenge our wrongs.\" Penelope willingly did\nher son's bidding, but Telemachos betook himself to the market place\nto show himself to the people.\n\nWhen Telemachos came into the public square the suitors thronged\naround him with smooth speeches, but in their hearts they kept on\nplotting his death. He wanted them to see that he was in Ithaca, but\nhe did not care to be in their company, so he took his place among\nsome friends of his father. One of the crew came up to ask where he\nmight deposit the splendid gifts of Menelaos, and Telemachos told\nhim to hide them until the suitors had been defeated or had won the\nvictory.\n\nThen Telemachos came back to the palace in company with a stranger\nwho had joined his crew at Pylos, and they sat down near the queen,\nwho was spinning. The servants brought them wine and food, and after\nthey had eaten, Penelope begged that her son would recite to her the\nstory of his journey. In the meantime Odysseus and Eumaios had started\nfor the city. When they reached the spring where the citizens of the\ncity went for water, they encountered Melanthios, a goatherd, driving\ngoats into town. Two servants followed, helping him. As soon as he\nsaw Eumaios and his guest, he said: \"Look! There is one knave leading\nanother. Verily, the gods bring like and like together. Thou miserable\nswineherd, whither dost thou take that worthless beggar, this\nvagabond who rubs his shoulders on every door-post, asking for crusts,\neating gluttonously, and telling tales of woe?\n\n\"Just hand him over to me to guard my stables and clean my yard, and\nI will give him whey to drink, which will fatten his limbs. But work\ndoes not suit such a fellow. He would rather ramble idly about and\nbeg for food to fill his empty stomach. Let him once come to the palace\nof Odysseus and the guests that woo the queen will fling footstools\nat him.\" With that Melanthios kicked him in the thigh. Odysseus\nhesitated a moment and considered whether it were better to slay the\ngoatherd with a blow from his staff, or whether he should submit to\nthe indignity in silence. The latter seemed the better course.\n\nBut Eumaios grew angry and said: \"Melanthios, wait till Odysseus\nreturns. He will give thee thy deserts, thou villain! All day long\ndost thou loaf in the city, leaving thy master's flocks to take care\nof themselves.\" Melanthios answered him: \"Just hear what this cur\nhas to say! I shall take him off and sell him for a slave some day.\nWould that Telemachos might die this moment under the hands of the\nsuitors, and go down to Hades to join his father!\" With these words\nhe hurried off to the house of his master where he sat down among\nthe crowd of wooers.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLI\nODYSSEUS IS RECOGNIZED BY HIS DOG\n\n\nAfter awhile Odysseus and Eumaios came to the house. As they drew\nnear they waited a little to listen to the music, for a minstrel had\nbegun a song, and while singing he played the lyre. \"Surely, Eumaios,\"\nsaid Odysseus, \"anyone would know that this is the palace of a king.\nSee how stately the structure is, and how spacious the court beyond\nthe massive gates! And there are walls and towers and countless rooms.\nNo one but Odysseus could have built such a fortress. I hear the sound\nof the lute and perceive the tempting odor of roasting meat, and there\nare crowds of guests coming and going. There must be a banquet within.\"\n\nEumaios replied: \"True, my friend, this is the house of Odysseus.\nNow, let us consider what we are to do. Shall I take the lead and\ngo in first, or wilt thou go first and let me follow?\" Odysseus, the\nsagacious, made answer: \"Go in before me, and I will follow by and\nby.\"\n\nThey were standing near the stable doors while talking. The filth\nfrom the stalls of the mules and oxen had been piled there by slovenly\nservants, who should have removed it day by day to fertilize the fields.\nThere, on the unwholesome heap, a poor, neglected dog was lying,\ndevoured by noxious insects and vermin. It was Argus, whom Odysseus\nhimself had raised before he went to Troy. In times gone by, the young\nmen of Ithaca had made him most useful in the chase. He had scented\nthe stag, the hare, and the wild goat for them many a time. But now\nthat he was old no one cared for him, and he was left to die.\n\nAs soon as he saw Odysseus drawing near he pricked up his ears and\nwagged his tail. But he had not strength enough to get up and come\nto his master, although he moved as if he would gladly have done so.\nOdysseus saw this and burst into tears, but he turned his face away\nin hopes that Eumaios would not notice it.\n\nBut the good swineherd saw it and so Odysseus questioned him: \"Eumaios,\nwhat dog is this that lies upon this filth? He is well built, and\nsurely is of a fine stock. Is he fleet in the chase or a mere house-dog\nkept for show?\"\n\n\"This dog, stranger,\" answered Eumaios, \"belongs to my dear master.\nIf thou hadst only seen him before Odysseus went to Troy thou wouldst\nhave been astonished at his swiftness. He performed wonders in the\nchase. No wild animal was able to escape him. But his master has died\nfar from home, and the careless servants will not even throw him a\nbone.\"\n\nThe swineherd passed on into the hall where the suitors sat, but\nOdysseus stood looking at the faithful beast, the only creature that\nhad recognized him. The joy of seeing his old master was too great,\nand Argus sank down and died.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLII\nODYSSEUS COMES, A BEGGAR, TO HIS OWN HOUSE\n\n\nTelemachos was the first to notice the swineherd entering the hall,\nand he made a sign for him to come and sit by him. Presently Odysseus,\ntoo, entered in the guise of a forlorn old beggar, and sat down near\nthe door. Telemachos handed Eumaios a whole loaf of bread and as much\nmeat as he could hold in his two hands, and bade him take it to the\nbeggar. And he told him to tell the poor old man to ask a pittance\nfrom every suitor present.\n\nOdysseus took the food, and after thanking Telemachos, prayed to the\ngods to give him everything good. Then he placed his food in a wallet\non the ground, and began to eat, while a minstrel entertained the\nassembly with sweet music. When the bard ceased his singing, the\nsuitors began a noisy conversation, and having a signal from Athena,\nOdysseus arose and went from one wooer to another asking alms. Each\none gave him something, and asked him who he was and whence he came.\n\nMelanthios, the goatherd, and the favorite of Eurymachos, wishing\nto make mischief, told them that Eumaios had brought the old man along\nbut did not, himself, know who he was. Antino\u00f6s hearing this, said:\n\"Eumaios, foolish swineherd, why didst thou bring that vile beggar\nhere? Are there not beggars enough to eat up the wealth of thy master\nwithout him?\"\n\nEumaios answered him most courteously: \"Antino\u00f6s, though thou art\nhigh born thou art not well bred. Thou hast always spoken\ncontemptuously to all the servants of Odysseus, but chiefly to me.\nBeggars come as they like. No one expects to invite them. Only people\nof rank are invited to a feast. But I heed not thy abuse so long as\nI can serve the wise Penelope and her powerful son.\"\n\nThen Telemachos, seeing that a quarrel was brewing, interposed: \"Hold\nthy peace, Eumaios, make no words with Antino\u00f6s. He takes delight\nin ugly words. Nothing pleases him more than to stir up ill-feeling.\nSurely Antino\u00f6s, thou art a father to me when thou dost bid me turn\na stranger into the street and insult him. Pray let the old beggar\napproach thee and receive a pittance, for thou shouldst not feast\non the food belonging to others and never bestow any gifts. All the\nsuitors except thyself have given him a dole.\"\n\nAntino\u00f6s made response: \"Telemachos, thou boaster, if each suitor\nwould bestow upon him such a gift as I will make, he would not come\nhere again very soon.\" With that he seized a footstool and held it\nup where all could see it. The beggar approached him with a pitiful\nstory of wanderings and hardships. Antino\u00f6s spurned him saying: \"What\ndemon hath brought this chattering beggar to spoil our pleasure? Get\nthee gone, or thou wilt soon be much the worse for coming. Thou art\na bold and impudent old beggar.\"\n\nOdysseus withdrew, saying as he went: \"How strange it is that so fine\na form can conceal so foul a mind. Thou wouldst not give even salt\nto a suppliant, nor a crust of bread from thine own table, without\nbegrudging it. But thou dost feed gluttonously at the table of an\nabsent chief.\" Antino\u00f6s grew more angry, and rejoined: \"Thou insolent\nbeggar, thou shalt not leave this hall unpunished.\" With that he\nraised the footstool and struck Odysseus on the shoulder. The chief\nstood like a rock, not in the least disturbed. But he made menacing\nmotions with his head and retired to the door, where he put down his\nwallet and lifted up his voice to call down vengeance from the gods.\n\nAntino\u00f6s spoke again with insulting words, and one of the guests\nrebuked him. He was so angry, however, that he did not heed it.\nTelemachos saw the blow, and could hardly restrain his anger. Word\nwas carried to Penelope that a penniless stranger had been insulted\nand struck in her halls, and she said to her maids: \"I would that\nApollo with his bow might strike Antino\u00f6s down.\"\n\nThen she called the swineherd to her apartment and said: \"Bring the\nbeggar hither. I should like to speak with him. It may be that he\nhas seen Odysseus, for he seems to have wandered far.\"\n\nThe swineherd took the queen's message to the stranger, but he begged\nthat he might not comply with the request until the suitors had left\nthe house. \"I knew Odysseus well,\" he said, \"but I dread these violent\nmen. Therefore, ask Penelope to let me wait until sunset when I can\nsit by the fire and warm myself, and tell her all that she shall\ninquire.\"\n\nThe queen thought the beggar's answer was a prudent one, and was\nsatisfied. At sundown the swineherd left the palace to return to his\nhut. The suitors kept up the revel until late in the evening, and\nthen went home leaving Odysseus in his own palace.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIII\nCONVERSATION OF ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE\n\n\nAfter the revellers had left the palace, Odysseus said to his son:\n\"Now is the time to hide all these weapons where the suitors cannot\nfind them, when their hour of need shall come. If they ask for them\ntell them that the arms were losing their polish in these smoky rooms,\nand also that the gods had warned thee to remove them since some\ndispute might arise in which the wooers heated with wine and anger\nwould attack each other.\"\n\nTelemachos at once obeyed. He called his old nurse to see that the\nservants were in their own apartments and the doors of the palace\nmade fast while he removed the arms to an upper room. Then he retired\nto rest, leaving Odysseus sitting by the hearth in the large\ndining-hall awaiting the arrival of Penelope. She was not long in\ncoming. Her maids placed a chair, inlaid with silver and ivory, for\nher near the fire, and threw a large woolly rug before it for her\nfeet.\n\nThe queen, stately as a goddess, took her seat there while her maids\ncarried away the dishes and food left by the suitors. They heaped\ngreat logs on the fire. Then Melantho, an impudent maid, said to\nOdysseus: \"Art thou here, thou beggar! Begone, or I will take a\nfirebrand and drive thee out!\" Odysseus rejoined: \"Such is the fate\nof beggars. They must wander far and take abuse. It is true that I\nam ragged, but I am not unclean. Once I was rich and had my own palace.\nI often gave to beggars and I had many servants. But it pleased the\ngods to make me poor. Thou pert woman, surely the queen, Penelope,\nnever taught thee, and thy bad conduct will not escape the eye of\nTelemachos.\"\n\nPenelope saw and heard all this and the high-breeding of the beggar\ndid not escape her keen notice. She turned to the saucy maid and said:\n\"Shame on thee, thou bold creature. Thou dost know full well that\nthis stranger has remained here at my own request, that I might inquire\nif he knows aught of my husband.\"\n\nThen the queen asked her matron to spread a rug for the poor old man.\nOdysseus sat down and Penelope began to question him. \"Who art thou,\nstranger?\" she asked. \"Where is thy home? Whence hast thou come?\"\nOdysseus answered her: \"My gracious queen, I am the son of a king\nand I come from Crete. I am a man of sorrows and have wandered far.\nBut do not ask me of these things, for I do not wish to lament over\nunhappy days.\n\n\"Strong ties of friendship bind me to Odysseus. Twenty years ago,\nwhen he went to Troy, I received him as a guest in my house, because\ncontrary winds and a stormy sea had thrown him upon my island. I led\nhim to my palace and gave him the best of food and wine. Twelve days\nhe remained with me, both himself and his companions. On the\nthirteenth a favorable wind arose and they went on to Troy.\"\n\nOdysseus kept on inventing one tale after another, such as might seem\nprobable, and the tears rolled down Penelope's cheeks. Odysseus could\nhave wept, too, when he saw how deep her loyalty and affection were\nrooted. The lady had no doubt of the genuine character of her guest,\nbut she cautiously strove to prove the truth of his words, so she\nquestioned him yet farther, asking him to describe Odysseus and his\ncomrades--how he looked and what dress he wore.\n\nOdysseus responded truthfully: \"He wore a cloak of purple wool, with\ntwo clasps of gold, hand-wrought. The pattern showed a hound\nstruggling with a spotted fawn, intent to kill it. Besides this he\nhad on a delicate tunic of shining cloth, spun, doubtless, by his\nqueen, for the women gazed at it in wonder.\n\n\"He was accompanied by a herald named Eurybates, a hunchback with\na dark complexion, but Odysseus seemed to value him above all the\nrest, for he was a clever and a faithful man.\"\n\nWhen Odysseus had finished speaking, Penelope exclaimed, with a burst\nof passionate grief: \"Stranger, I was moved to pity when I first saw\nthee in my halls, but thou shalt be held as an honored guest from\nthis time forward. Thou hast spoken truly of the garments, for I shaped\nthe folds in them myself and put on the clasps. Alas! I shall never\nsee him again. It was a cruel fate that took him from me.\"\n\nOdysseus was deeply moved, and tried to speak consoling words. \"Weep\nnot,\" he said, \"for grief will wear away thy beauty and thy health.\nOdysseus lives and will return. I met him lately on his homeward way,\nladen with wealth which he had gathered in the country of the\nThesprotians.\n\n\"He will come alone, for his comrades were destroyed off the island\nof Trinacria, for they had slain the oxen of the Sun. He would have\narrived here before me, only that he stopped to consult an oracle\nwhether to come secretly or not. He is safe and will not long remain\naway from thee. Here I take the great oath that Odysseus will come\nwithin a month.\"\n\nThe wise queen answered him: \"I would that thy words might prove true,\nO stranger, but the thought is deep in my heart that Odysseus is no\nmore. My maidens, lead this guest to the bath and spread a couch for\nhim where he can rest quietly, and to-morrow he shall share the morning\nmeal with Telemachos.\"\n\nThen said Odysseus to her: \"Fair queen, I care not for fine covers\nand soft beds. Wilt thou permit me to lie down on the floor near the\nfire, as I am used to do? I care not for the bath, either, unless\nthere is some old servant who knows how to give a foot-bath to aged\nfeet.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIV\nEURYCLEIA RECOGNIZES ODYSSEUS\n\n\nPenelope admired the prudence of the poor old beggar, and called\nEurycleia, bidding her to bathe the stranger's feet as carefully as\nif they were the feet of her master. The nurse filled a bright brass\nbasin with warm water and knelt down to execute the command of her\nroyal mistress, saying: \"My poor Odysseus! My heart is sore for him.\nWho knows but he may be wandering like thee, weary and footsore!\nPerhaps he is an object of ridicule among serving-women who will not\nsuffer him to come near the bath.\n\n\"Stranger, I will wash thy feet for the sake of my absent master,\nand to please that gracious queen who has commanded me to do so; but\nmost of all because thou art in need of it through suffering. Surely\nI never saw anyone who bore so close a resemblance to my lord as thou.\"\n\nOdysseus replied: \"It has often been said that I look like Odysseus\nby those who knew us both, O aged dame.\" Then he turned his feet away\nfrom the light, for fear that Eurycleia would recognize a scar and\ndiscover who he was. But it was in vain, for as soon as she passed\nher hand over it she knew it. It was a scar that came where a wild\nboar had once torn the flesh when Odysseus was hunting on Parnassos.\n\nThe old servant was so overcome with joy that she laughed and cried\nat the same time. She let his foot fall against the basin, which was\nupset with a loud clang, while the water was spilled over the floor.\nShe laid her hand on Odysseus' beard, and said in a voice trembling\nwith emotion: \"Dear son, thou art Odysseus. I knew thee the moment\nthat I touched the scar.\"\n\nThen Eurycleia turned to tell Penelope that her lord had come, for\nthe queen had not seen the upsetting of the basin. But Odysseus laid\nhis finger on the old servant's lips, and with his left hand drew\nher closer and said: \"Be silent. Let no one know that I have come,\nfor I must slay the suitors by stratagem. If they know that I am here\nthey will prevent me and destroy us all.\"\n\nThe loyal handmaid arose to bring another basin of water. She bathed\nhis feet and anointed them. And he moved to the fire and took his\nseat, while he pulled his ragged garments over the scar to hide it,\nlest it might betray him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLV\nPENELOPE'S DREAM\n\n\nWhen Odysseus was again seated by the hearth, Penelope began to speak\nto him further: \"Stranger, one more question I must ask thee, and\nthen I will leave thee, for the hour of sleep is near. All day long\nI keep at my tasks to try to forget my grief, for the gods have visited\nme with sore misfortunes. I teach my maids to spin and weave and care\nfor the palace. But when night comes strange dreams flit through my\nmind, and new sorrows spring up in my heart.\n\n\"There are from day to day assembled in my home all the young men\nof the best families of Ithaca and the neighboring isles, who insist\nthat I shall choose one of them for a husband. But as I am not willing\nto comply, they remain in my house and destroy my property. I am not\nable to drive them out, and do not know how to help myself. Listen\nto a dream I had the other night. Perhaps thou canst explain it to\nme.\n\n\"I dreamt that there was a flock of twenty geese in my court-yard,\nand they picked corn out of the water and ate greedily. Suddenly an\neagle swooped down upon them from above and broke their necks and\ntore them to pieces. Then he flew off, leaving them scattered about\nthe yard. I bitterly bewailed the loss of my geese, and so did my\nmaids. After awhile the eagle came back and, perching on the roof,\nsaid to me: 'Take courage, Penelope, this is no dream. The geese are\nthe wooers, but I, the eagle, am thy husband, and I have come to kill\nthose impudent robbers that vex thee.'\"\n\nOdysseus answered her: \"The eagle gave the right explanation, O lady.\nThe dream could not have had any other meaning. Odysseus will come\nand slay the wooers, and not one shall escape him.\"\n\n\"Dreams do not always come to pass,\" rejoined Penelope, \"but I\nheartily wish that this might be fulfilled. Be patient a little longer,\nfor I have one thing more to say. To-morrow is a decisive day, for\nit may be the one that drives me from the palace. I shall propose\na contest for my hand. Twenty years ago Odysseus set up twelve axes,\none behind the other, in the court. Through the rings of the handles\nhe shot an arrow, although he stood at a great distance. I will\nchallenge the suitors to take the same bow and send the arrow through\nthe rings as Odysseus did. He who succeeds shall lead me forth a bride,\nto his own palace.\"\n\nOdysseus responded: \"Do not let the contest be put off. Odysseus will\nbe at hand a long time before any of the suitors can bend his bow.\"\n\n\"Thy words, O stranger, are comforting,\" said Penelope. \"I could sit\nand listen to thee all night. But as thou art in need of rest, I will\nretire to my apartment, and the maids shall spread rugs before the\nfire for thee.\" Penelope, having said this, went up to her room, her\nmaids following her, and she wept, thinking of her royal lord, until\nAthena closed her eyes in sleep.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVI\nATHENA ENCOURAGES ODYSSEUS\n\n\nOdysseus was lying on his bed, but he could not sleep, for he was\nthinking how he might destroy the suitors. Suddenly Athena appeared\nto him, and said: \"Odysseus, why dost thou lie awake? Thou art in\nthine own house and near thy wife and child.\" \"All this is true, O\ngoddess,\" answered Odysseus. \"But I am only one and the suitors are\nmany. How shall I, single-handed, meet this multitude of men?\"\n\n\"Sleep in peace, Odysseus,\" returned Athena. \"To lie awake saps the\nlife and strength of men. The time has come when all thy sufferings\nshall end. The gods protect thee and they are stronger than armed\nwarriors.\" Thus spoke the goddess, and, closing his eyelids with sweet\nslumber, she flew up to Olympos.\n\nWhile Odysseus was sleeping, his wife had waked, and, sitting on her\nbed, addressed a prayer to Artemis: \"Rather let me die, O goddess,\nthan become the wife of any other man than Odysseus. The very thought\nvexes me day and night. Just now I had a dream. I seemed to see Odysseus\njust as he was when he started out for Troy. I was so glad that I\ncould not believe that it was not a reality.\"\n\nShe prayed aloud, and soon daylight appeared. Odysseus heard the voice\nand it filled his heart with anxiety. He arose and hastily placed\nthe rugs on which he had slept on a bench in the palace. Then he went\nout into the open air. Telemachos had risen also, and he went forth\nto the market-place. Eurycleia called the servants together and\nordered them to be quick about their work, for a festival was to be\ncelebrated that day and the wooers would come early.\n\nThere was a busy time. The menials obeyed, some bringing water, some\nsweeping the floors, others polishing the benches and covering them\nwith royal tapestries. The servants of the suitors came also and cut\nwood for the fires. Eumaios arrived early, driving three fat hogs.\nHe saluted Odysseus and asked him if he were well treated by the\nsuitors, or if they continued to scoff at him. Odysseus answered him:\n\"May the gods punish the ruthless men who perpetrate such wrongs in\na stranger's home.\" While they were talking together the goatherd\njoined him, and repeated the sneers and abuse of the preceding day.\nOdysseus took no notice of it, except to shake his head as one who\nplans direful things.\n\nThe master herdsman now came along with a fat heifer and choice goats\nfor the day's banquet. Offering his hand to Odysseus, he exclaimed:\n\"Hail to thee, stranger! A long and happy life be thine! Methinks\nmy master must be clothed in rags and wandering like thee. Thou dost\nbring his image to my mind. I hope he may return and drive these suitors\nout of his palace.\" \"Be sure that he will come, herdsman; thou wilt\nsee him with thine own eyes, when he slays the ruthless suitors, and\nthen thou wilt know who is lord of the palace,\" replied Odysseus.\n\nThe suitors were talking apart from the rest and conspiring to take\nthe life of Telemachos, when an eagle wheeled over their heads,\ntearing a timid dove. With hearts foreboding ill at this omen, they\nwent into the hall to begin the banquet, while the herdsman went his\nway first saying, \"When Odysseus comes, call on me, and I will show\nhow strong my arm is to deal a blow at his enemies.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVII\nTHE LAST BANQUET OF THE SUITORS\n\n\nThe suitors had now arrived in the great banquet-hall and taken their\nplaces at the tables. The servants brought bread and meat and placed\nit before them, while Melanthios filled their goblets with wine.\nTelemachos placed Odysseus near the door, and gave him an ample supply\nof food, saying: \"Eat and drink, stranger, without fear. None of the\nwooers shall assail thee, for I will stand guard.\"\n\nOne of the suitors, an evil-minded man with a rich father, said to\nhis companions: \"My friends, this stranger enjoys his meal greatly.\nIt does not become any one of us to begrudge good things to the guests\nof Telemachos. I, too, wish to give him a present, which he in turn\nmay bestow on some other beggar.\" With that he seized an ox's foot\nand hurled it at Odysseus.\n\nOdysseus dodged it by holding down his head. Telemachos grew angry\nand rebuked the suitor in these words: \"Ktesippos, thou hast escaped\ndeath. It is well that this stranger avoided thy blow, for if thou\nhadst struck him, my sharp spear would have pinned thee to the wall,\nand thy father would have prepared a burial instead of a wedding for\nthee.\"\n\nDreadful forebodings of woe began to fill the hearts of the suitors.\nTheir speech became rambling and they laughed insanely. They ate and\ndrank like men deranged.\n\nPenelope now entered the great hall and took her seat upon a\nmagnificent throne, right in front of the suitors. She heard the\nmaudlin laughter and saw the gluttonous feasting as the revel ran\nhigh. Then Athena came and moved her mind to immediate action, and\nshe went up to the farthest chamber with her maids, where the arms\nof Odysseus were stored. His bow and deadly arrows, so long unused,\nwere there, with rich treasures and perfumed garments. She wept as\nshe took the bow from its case and went out, followed by the servants,\nwho carried down costly prizes, such as Odysseus gave when festivals\nwith games were held in his halls.\n\nShe took her place, standing before the suitors, and addressed them:\n\"Ye noble suitors, listen to my words. Cease to eat and drink and\ncome to the contest. Too long have ye lived at my table, giving as\nan excuse that ye would win me as a bride. The suitor who can bend\nthis bow and send this arrow through these twelve axes shall claim\nme as his wife, and I will follow him to his home.\"\n\nPenelope called to the swineherd and the herdsmen to place the rings\nand carry the bow to the suitors. Each in turn tried to do so, but\nwere overcome with grief at seeing their master's weapons, and laid\nthem down.\n\nAntino\u00f6s lifted up his voice and chid them: \"Ye foolish peasants,\nmust your eyes flow with tears at this feast? Bring the bow or leave\nthe palace. Methinks we shall have hard work to bend this bow, for\nnone of us have such sinews as had Odysseus.\"\n\nThen Telemachos took up the bow and laughed. \"I must have lost my\nwits,\" he said, \"for I am glad that this contest will take place.\nThere is not such another woman in Greece as my stately mother. Make\nno delay then. I long to see the man who can bend the bow. I would\nthat I might bend it myself and win the right to keep her in her own\nhome. Then I should be spared the grief of losing her.\"\n\nTelemachos took off his cloak and laid his sword aside. He placed\nthe axes in a row and took the bow and made three attempts to bend\nit, but did not succeed. He would have accomplished the feat if he\nhad made one more effort, but Odysseus made a sign to him to desist,\nso he set the bow against the wall and went back to his seat.\n\nThe first suitor to make the trial had never been pleased with the\ninsolence of the wooers, and had great foresight and was called their\nseer. His hands were soft and delicate. He could not bend the bow,\nbut he predicted that it would be the instrument to bring death to\nthe whole crew.\n\nAntino\u00f6s reproached him for his prophecies, and ordered Melanthios\nto light a fire and bring a slice of fat, that the bow might be warmed\nand oiled to make it pliable. They warmed it and rubbed it with oil,\nand tried to bend it. One after another, each in turn, they made trials,\nbut all in vain.\n\nIn the meantime Odysseus went to the swineherd and the master of the\nherds, who had displayed such loyalty. He said to them: \"My friends,\nwhat if Odysseus should come; would you take part with him, or join\nthe crowd of suitors? Speak truly.\" The two men answered, appealing\nto the gods to bear witness, that they would stand by their master\nto the end.\n\n\"Behold,\" said Odysseus, \"I am the master that you love. I have come\nto my own land after twenty years of suffering, and among all my\nservants I hear none pray for my return save you two. And now that\nyou may surely recognize me I will show you the scar made by a boar\non Parnassos.\" He raised his ragged tunic for a moment and they looked\nat the scar. They recognized their long-lost master, and threw their\narms around him and wept, and kissed his hands and feet.\n\nOdysseus begged them to desist, lest the suitors should notice it\nand discover him. And he instructed them to bring the bow to him and\nplace it in his hands, after all the wooers had failed to bend it.\nAnd he told them to shut and lock the doors, so that the maid-servants\ncould not hear the groans of the dying men, for they might run out\nand warn the town.\n\nEurymachos and Antino\u00f6s were the last to make trial of the bow.\nEurymachos sat before the fire and warmed it on both sides, but he\ncould not bend it. He was vexed beyond measure, and said: \"It is not\nthat I care for Penelope, for there are other women that would suit\nme just as well, but if we are weaker than Odysseus our sons will\nhear of it in future times and be ashamed of us.\"\n\nAntino\u00f6s took up the word: \"Eurymachos,\" he said, \"this is a day held\nsacred to Apollo, god of the silver bow. He should have no rival.\nLet the bow alone, lest the god be angry and leave the axes standing\nin a row. No one will dare to touch them. Let Melanthios bring goats,\nand we will offer up sacrifices to the god and invite his aid. Then\nwe shall have strength to win in this struggle.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVIII\nODYSSEUS BENDS THE BOW\n\n\nThe suitors approved the words of Antino\u00f6s. The heralds filled their\ncups with wine, and the wise Odysseus waited until they had drunk\nto their hearts' content.\n\nThen he lifted up his voice and said: \"Hear me, ye suitors of Penelope,\nwhile I advise that you defer this trial of your strength until another\nday. Apollo will then bestow the power on one of you to triumph over\nthe others. Let me practise with the bow to-day, to see if I have\nany of my youthful strength, or if I have lost it through suffering\nand want.\"\n\nThe suitors were moved with desperate fear and anger. \"Thou senseless\nbeggar,\" said Antino\u00f6s, \"is it not enough that we allow thee to sit\nat a banquet with the proudest men alive? Thou art drunk and thy mind\nwanders. What would come to thee if thou shouldst bend this bow? Verily\nwe would sell thee for a slave to the great enemy of men.\"\n\nThen said Penelope: \"Indeed, Antino\u00f6s, it is not large-minded to deny\nthis poor old man the pleasure of trying the bow.\n\n\"Dost thou think I would go forth as the wife of a beggar? Nay, the\nstranger has no hope of that. Do not let your minds be teased with\nsuch thoughts.\"\n\nEurymachos, the leading suitor, rejoined: \"Our care is not that thou\nwilt wed this man. But we fear the ridicule of the people, who will\nsay, 'These are great men, indeed, who are outdone in strength and\nskill by a miserable old beggar.' It would be a never-ending shame\nto us.\"\n\n\"Nay, Eurymachos,\" replied Penelope, \"real shame comes on him who\nrobs a good man and brings trouble to his family. This beggar claims\nto be of good blood, and his arm is sinewy. Let him try the bow. I\nmake a solemn promise that if Apollo grant him the honor of bending\nthe bow, I shall do no less than bestow upon him a tunic and a cloak,\nand sandals, and I will give him a sword with which he can defend\nhimself. Then he can go where he likes.\"\n\nTelemachos saw that the great crisis was at hand. \"Mother,\" he said,\n\"it rests with me to give the bow or withhold it. Such matters belong\nto men, and in this palace the authority is mine. Take thy maids,\nthen, and retire to thy apartments, and ply the tasks most suitable\nto women.\"\n\nThe queen recognized her son's wisdom, and withdrew with her maids\nto the upper rooms. There she wept for the beloved monarch, her absent\nlord, until Athena sent a soothing sleep to comfort her.\n\nIn the meanwhile the swineherd took up the bow and undertook to carry\nit to Odysseus. The suitors shouted their disapproval, and he became\nconfused and set it down. Telemachos called out above the clamor and\ngave command for him to carry it along. The suitors laughed to hear\nthe young man's voice ring out like a trumpet and drown all other\nnoises. Odysseus took the bow and turned it from side to side,\nexamining it in every part. Telemachos, in a low tone, bade Eurycleia\nmake fast all the doors, and the master herdsman tied the gates of\nthe outer court with a ship's cable.\n\nThe suitors grew uneasy, and one of them said to another: \"See the\nbeggar, how he turns the bow this way and that! He would have us think\nthat he is an expert in the use of bows.\" Odysseus stretched the cord\nand made it fast from end to end. He put it to his ear to try its\ntenseness as a minstrel tunes his harp. It sang like a bird. With\nperfect ease he drew the cord and let the arrow fly. It screamed like\na swallow and went through every ring from the first one to the last.\nThe suitors turned pale. Zeus sent a loud thunder-clap and Odysseus\nrejoiced at the omen. He sprang to the threshold with his bow in hand\nand a quiver full of arrows at his side, and shouted: \"The contest\nis ended. Now I will choose another target.\"\n\nAntino\u00f6s had just put a golden goblet to his lips, and was about to\ndrink the delicious wine. An arrow pierced his throat. He dropped\nthe cup and fell to the ground, and as he fell his feet struck the\ntable. The bread and meat were scattered in every direction over the\nfloor. The suitors sprang to their feet and looked for the weapons\non the walls. The spears were gone, and the lances and all the armor.\n\nEven yet they were blind to the fact that the stranger had slain\nAntino\u00f6s purposely. They poured out threats. \"Fool,\" they said, \"what\nart thou doing? How couldst thou be so careless! Thou hast slain the\nnoblest man in Ithaca. Dogs and vultures shall devour thee. Never\nagain shalt thou be allowed a trial with the bow.\"\n\n\"Dogs,\" cried Odysseus, \"ye little thought your chief would ever\nreturn from Troy, and therefore ye have robbed me of my wealth and\nvexed my wife with offers of marriage, regardless of the laws of god\nand man. But now the hour of your death has come and your doom is\ncertain.\"\n\nThe suitors trembled and looked for some open door through which to\nfly for safety. Only Eurymachos took courage to make a defence. \"If\nthou art indeed Odysseus, thou hast good cause to complain of wrongs,\"\nhe said. \"But thou hast slain the leader, Antino\u00f6s, who prompted us\nto do these wrongs. He had no thought of love for thy wife. He wanted\nto gain thy land and rule over thy people. Spare the rest of us and\nwe will make ample restitution.\"\n\nA dreadful frown spread over Odysseus' face, and he replied:\n\"Eurymachos, I will not take thy wealth nor will I spare thy life.\nNow choose between the two, either to fight or fly from death. Be\nsure no suitor shall escape my vengeance.\"\n\nThe suitors all grew faint with fear. Eurymachos cried out to them:\n\"Ye Ithacans, this man will stand there at the door and shoot us all\ndown one by one. Out with your swords! Hold up the tables for shields,\nand rush upon him, all of you, at once. Drive him out of the gates,\nand then hurry through the city and give a general alarm.\"\n\nWith a fearful shout Eurymachos then drew his own sword and sprang\ntoward Odysseus. A deadly arrow from the famous bow met him and he\nfell upon the table, upsetting it, and he went spinning round with\nit on the paved floor, while the food and cup of wine were scattered\nall about. His head struck upon a stone and his feet against a chair.\nDeath closed his eyes.\n\nAnother suitor drew his sword and rushed toward Odysseus. Telemachos\nmet him with a lance and slew him. Then Telemachos sprang to his\nfather's side and said: \"My father, I will bring thee javelins and\na shield, and I will arm myself and the swineherd and the master\nherdsmen.\" \"Make haste, my son,\" responded Odysseus, \"for I have but\nfew arrows left.\"\n\nTelemachos hastened to the room where the arms had been stored and\nclothed himself in brass. His loyal herdsmen also put on splendid\narmor, and they hastened back to Odysseus with a complete outfit for\nhim. The chief had used up his arrows, and now he dressed himself\nin armor and took the lances. Just then he perceived that the suitors\nhad by some means been supplied with armor also. He called to\nTelemachos, who had left the door ajar leading to the apartment where\nthe arms had been placed for safety.\n\nMelanthios, the goatherd, had sneaked in and was slyly bringing\nshields and helmets down to them. Telemachos saw him, and gave orders\nto the herdsmen to lock the doors of the armory and secure the spy.\nThey hastened to the armory and found Melanthios, who had come back\nfor a second load. They cast him on the floor and tied his arms down\nso that he could not move them. Then they took a rope and made two\nloops in it and swung him safely to the timbers in the roof, saying:\n\"Melanthios, thou hast a soft bed, and it is where thou canst keep\nwatch. In the morning thou canst drive thy goats to the suitors'\nbanquet.\" They locked the doors and left him there and took their\nplaces at Odysseus' side.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIX\nDEATH OF THE SUITORS\n\n\nThe combat grew more stubborn. Athena, in the guise of Mentor, stood\nnear Odysseus and cheered him on. \"Woe unto thee, Mentor, if thou\ndost dare to help Odysseus,\" cried one of the suitors. \"We will not\nspare thee when we have slain him. More yet, we will drive thy wife\nand children out of Ithaca and keep thy wealth.\" The goddess, in great\nanger at this audacity, turned toward Odysseus and said: \"Thou art\nnot so swift and terrible in fighting, O Chieftain, as thou wert before\nthe walls of Troy.\"\n\nAthena said this to spur Odysseus on, but she did not remain at his\nside. She changed herself into a swallow and perched upon a rafter\nof the great hall, to put his prowess to a greater test. When she\nhad gone, the suitors grew braver and threw their spears at Odysseus\nthick and fast. But their aim was uncertain, and they struck pillars\nand panels and the wall, for the goddess turned their shafts aside.\n\nOdysseus and Telemachos and their faithful servants hurled their\nlances, and the weapons always hit the mark. The cowherd struck\nKtesippos in the breast and exclaimed, as the suitor fell: \"Ktesippos,\nI give thee this spear in exchange for the ox's foot which thou didst\nthrow at Odysseus as a gift when he asked alms of thee.\"\n\nFour of the wooers fell to the ground at once and the remainder\nretreated to the farthest corner of the hall. Still they rallied for\nanother onset. Odysseus rushed in upon them and cut them down right\nand left, while Athena from above shook her fearful \u00e6gis. The\nsurviving wooers were stricken with terror and ran about like a herd\nof oxen chased by a swarm of gadflies. Only the minstrel Phemios and\nthe herald Medon were spared. Both of them had served the suitors\nmost unwillingly and had secretly advised with Telemachos.\n\nOdysseus searched up and down the hall to see if any suitor could\nbe found alive. As fishes lie upon the beach when they have been poured\nout from the nets upon the sand, so lay the multitude of wooers. Not\none survived.\n\nThen Odysseus called Eurycleia and bade her summon all of the impudent\nand unfaithful servants who had taken sides with the suitors. They\ncame into the hall and with loud laments took up the slain and carried\nthem out as they were commanded, and placed them in a walled court.\nThen they cleaned the hall with water and sponges, and polished the\nwood and set everything in order.\n\nWhen this was done, they were driven like a flock of birds into a\nnarrow place outside and hung to a beam to die wretchedly. Melanthios\nalso was brought down from the armory and cast among the dogs to die.\n\nThe palace now was purged with the smoke of sulphur, and the air was\npurified with incense. The loyal servants crowded about their\nchieftain and welcomed him with glad salutations. They kissed his\nhands and face, and wept and laughed for joy. Odysseus was deeply\nmoved and sobbed aloud.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER L\nEURYCLEIA ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS TO PENELOPE\n\n\nEurycleia, with an exulting heart, now hurried up the lofty stairs\nand stood by the queen in her royal chamber. \"Penelope,\" she cried,\n\"my child, Odysseus has come. Thy husband is here, and he has slain\nthe whole crew of insolent suitors who squandered his riches and\nscoffed at his son.\" Prudent Penelope answered her: \"Eurycleia, thou\nart mad. The gods have taken thy wits away. Do not mock me with such\nidle tales. If any other maid had come on such an errand and waked\nme from sleep, I would have dismissed her with anger.\"\n\n\"Nay, dear child, I do not mock thee; Odysseus has come and is now\nsitting by the hearth. The beggar whom they scoffed at in the hall\nwas Odysseus. Telemachos knew it, but dared not tell thee until the\nsuitors should be slain.\"\n\nPenelope rose from her couch and seized Eurycleia by the hands.\n\n\"Tell me, dear nurse,\" she said, \"tell me truly, if in fact my husband\nhas returned, how was it possible that he alone could destroy such\na multitude of haughty men!\" \"I did not see it,\" responded the old\nnurse, \"but I heard the groans of the dying men as I sat with the\nother maids in our own rooms. The doors were locked to bar us from\nthe hall. When Telemachos called me, I found Odysseus surrounded by\nthe slain. When we had washed the hall and purged it with smoke and\npurified the air with incense, thy husband ordered me to call thee.\nFollow me now, my child, that your heart may be gladdened after it\nhas been oppressed so long with sorrows.\"\n\nPenelope replied again: \"Nay, I cannot believe it. The gods may have\nslain the suitors under the guise of Odysseus, but he has perished\nfar away from home and never will return.\"\n\n\"My daughter,\" said the aged nurse, \"what words are these? I\nrecognized Odysseus myself by the well-known scar made by the boar's\ntusk. I turned to tell thee, but he laid his finger on my lips and\nsaid: 'Be silent. Let no one know that I am here until the suitors\nall are slain, or else they will destroy me.' Now follow me. I pledge\nmy life that I speak the truth.\"\n\nPenelope descended from her royal bower uncertain how to meet her\nlord. She crossed the threshold and sat down at the hearth, opposite\nOdysseus, who was seated beside a stately column in the blazing light\nof the fire. He did not lift his eyes to look at his wife, but waited\nfor her to make the way open for him to speak. Penelope was speechless.\nShe looked at her husband and seemed sometimes to recognize him, and\nthen the resemblance faded out and he did not seem at all like\nOdysseus.\n\nTelemachos became impatient and spoke to her, chiding her. \"Mother,\"\nhe said, \"thou art hard-hearted and unkind. Any other woman would\nextend a hearty welcome to her husband after he had suffered so many\nyears of hardship, wandering in foreign lands. Take thy place at my\nfather's side and question him. Verily thy heart is harder than a\nstone.\" \"My son,\" answered Penelope, \"I seem to have lost the power\nto speak. I am dazed and cannot even command myself to look at him.\nIf this is indeed Odysseus we soon shall know each other, for there\nare secrets known to us two only.\"\n\nOdysseus smiled and said: \"My son, be patient, and let thy mother\nput me to the test. She does not know me in these rags, but she will\nsoon be convinced that I am Odysseus. It is more important now to\nprevent the news that the suitors have been slain from spreading.\nThey have friends all over the city. Who knows but what they may rise\nup against us. I deem it best that we bathe and put on fresh garments,\nand let the servants do the same.\n\n\"And let the minstrel bring his lyre and strike up such music as\nprompts the dance, so that those living near us may report that a\nwedding is being celebrated. Then we may safely venture forth and\nsee what is to be done.\"\n\nThus spoke the monarch, and his commands were gladly obeyed.\nTelemachos and the servants went their way to the baths and arrayed\nthemselves in splendid clothing. The bard took his harp and woke the\npleasing strains, and the palace halls resounded with mirth and\ndancing.\n\nAfter awhile those outside were heard to say: \"Shame on Penelope!\nShe weds a second time, and does not even know whether her absent\nlord is dead or living. She might have waited for him to return.\"\n\nMeantime Odysseus followed a servant to the bath, and when he had\nbeen bathed and anointed he put on garments suitable for a king. Athena\ngave him a more majestic appearance, and caused his hair to fall in\nheavy curls, like the petals of the hyacinth. When he came back to\nthe great hall and stood before the queen, he looked like an immortal.\n\n\"Lady,\" he said, \"the gods have given thee a stubborn heart. Any other\nwoman would have given a glad welcome to her husband after he had\nbeen absent twenty years.\" To this Penelope responded: \"Not so; I\nhave no pride nor a cold heart. But I should be unworthy of my lord\nif I accepted a stranger without putting him to the proof. I remember\nwell when thou didst go to Troy. Thou didst command Eurycleia to carry\nthy massive bed out into the open air and cover it with fleeces.\"\n\n\"Nay, woman, no living man could perform such a feat. I built that\nmassive frame myself. It was a tall olive-tree that grew within one\nof the courts. Round it I built a royal bower, and, cutting off the\ngreat limbs of the tree, shaped them and fastened them to the trunk.\nIn this wise I built the frame, and no one could move it without\ndragging the tree out by the roots. That is a secret known only to\nthee and me.\"\n\nPenelope had put the final test, and knew that this was surely Odysseus.\nShe rose from where she sat and ran to him and threw her arms about\nhis neck and kissed his brow. \"Odysseus, do not be angry with me,\"\nshe said. \"Many are they who have tried to practise deception upon\nme. Thou hast made me believe in thee.\" These words pierced Odysseus'\nheart and brought him the relief of tears. He pressed his faithful\nwife to his bosom again and again.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LI\nODYSSEUS VISITS HIS FATHER\n\n\nEarly the next morning Odysseus dressed himself in his splendid armor\nand bade his son and servants accompany him to the farm. They took\ntheir weapons and went forth, Odysseus leading the way. It was not\nlong before they came to the green fields which were cared for by\nLaertes. He had built his house there, and surrounded it with cabins,\nwhere his servants slept.\n\nOdysseus was anxious to know whether his father would recognize him\nor not, so he said to one of the men: \"Go into the house and call\nmy father. Let me see whether he will know me, after I have been so\nlong away.\" Placing his weapons in their hands, he went down into\nthe orchard. There were no servants about, for they had all gone off\nto gather thorns with which to build a fence.\n\nThere Odysseus saw his father working around a young tree that he\nhad just planted. He was clad in old, coarse clothes that had been\nrepeatedly patched, a goat-skin cap, and gloves to protect his hands\nfrom the briers.\n\nIt was pitiful to see the want of hope in the old man's face as he\nmoved about brooding over his troubles. Odysseus was uncertain\nwhether he should throw his arms about his father's neck and clasp\nhim to his heart and kiss him, or whether it were better to question\nhim.\n\nHe approached Laertes gently and, having greeted him, said: \"My friend,\nthou art a skilful farmer. Every fig and vine and pear and olive has\nbeen carefully trained. But no one seems to care for thee. Thy master\ntreats thee badly, for thou art ill-clad and unkempt. An old man\ndeserves better things. Thy face does not look like the face of a\nservant. Indeed one might take thee for a king. Now tell me, who owns\nthis orchard? And tell me also if this land is Ithaca. I desire to\nlearn what became of Odysseus, the son of Laertes. He was once my\nguest and one that I made most welcome.\"\n\nLaertes wept. \"Thou art indeed in Ithaca, O stranger,\" he said. \"But\nthou dost seek in vain for Odysseus. The land is full of wicked men,\nand there is no host to load thee with generous gifts, a recompense\nfor thy hospitality. Oh, tell me of my son; when did he lodge with\nthee? Woe is me! The beasts and birds have long since devoured him.\nNo mother folded his shroud about him, nor did his father or his loyal\nwife weep upon his bier. Tell me, what is thy name? Where is thy ship?\nHow didst thou come here?\"\n\nOdysseus was overcome with pity, and invented a tale to prepare\nLaertes for his unexpected coming. Then he clasped the dear old man\nin his arms and kissed his trembling hands, and said: \"I am thy son,\nmy father; I am the Odysseus of whom thou dost inquire. Here is the\nscar given me by the wild boar as I hunted on Parnassos. And for further\nproof I will tell thee of the orchard-trees thou gavest me when I\nwas a child. There were thirteen pear-trees, forty fig-trees, and\nten apple-trees. Forbear thy weeping and cease to mourn. I have slain\nthe suitor-robbers who were destroying my riches, and I have taken\npossession of my house again.\"\n\nOverwhelmed with joy, the old king trembled from head to foot. The\nsturdy chieftain, Odysseus, saw it and drew him to his heart to keep\nhim from fainting, and held him there until his strength came back.\nThen they went up to the house, where a supper had been prepared,\nand Telemachos was waiting. Laertes went to the bath and came back\nclad like a king. The grief had left his face, and he took on his\nold majestic appearance. As they sat at the banquet, relating the\nexperiences of the past years, Dolius and his sons, the servants who\nhad gone in search of thorns, returned. Dolius recognized Odysseus\nand seized him by the hand and saluted him with joyful greetings,\nand his sons gathered round the chieftain eager to take his hand.\n\nMeantime the souls of the suitors had gone down to the abode of Pluto.\nHermes led them, and they followed, crying and wailing like bats in\na dark cave. The shades of Achilles, Agamemnon, Ajax, and other heroes\nsaw them and constrained them to relate the mishaps that had brought\nthem there. Then Agamemnon's ghost responded: \"Fortunate Odysseus!\nHis fame shall last forever, and poets shall sing the praises of\nPenelope in all the coming ages.\"\n\nEre Odysseus and Laertes had finished their feast, the news of the\ndreadful death of the suitors spread over the city. The wooers had\nmany friends, and they came to the palace weeping and mourning, ready\nto avenge their slaughter. Finding that Odysseus was not at home,\nthey proceeded to the market-place. The father of Antino\u00f6s arose and\nlifted up his voice crying for vengeance, but Medon, the herald,\nwarned them that a god had taken part against them and that strife\nwould be useless.\n\nHalitherses, a wise and reverend citizen, took up the word: \"Ye men\nof Ithaca,\" he said, \"give ear to what I have to say. Odysseus was\nnot the cause of your misfortunes, but you, yourselves. Ye would not\ncheck the insolence of the suitors, even when Mentor bade you do it.\nContend not with Odysseus nor bring down his wrath upon us.\"\n\nThe Ithacans were now divided against themselves. Half of them took\nup arms to make war on Odysseus, and started for his father's house.\nIn this adversity Athena did not forget her favorite chief, but armed\nherself, and, taking on the guise of Mentor, placed herself at\nOdysseus' side. A son of Dolius was first to announce that a crowd\nwas marching against them, when they all arose quickly, donned their\narmor, and went outside.\n\nThen Odysseus cried out to Telemachos: \"Now is the moment to show\nthyself a hero, my son. Do not bring disgrace upon thy forefathers,\nfor they are renowned over the whole world for their bravery.\"\nTelemachos responded: \"There is no danger of that, my dear father,\nas I shall show thee presently.\" When Laertes heard this he rejoiced\nand said: \"This is a happy day for me. How blest am I to see my son\nand grandson rivals in brave deeds.\"\n\nAthena now drew near to the old king, and inspired him with youthful\ncourage. He swung his spear aloft and threw it at the leader of the\nhost and smote him to the earth. Odysseus and Telemachos rushed into\nthe fray with double-edged swords. They would have made an end of\nthe whole multitude, but Athena called aloud: \"People of Ithaca, cease\nfrom fighting! Retire at once from this contest and shed no more\nblood.\"\n\nThe Ithacans grew pale with fright at hearing the voice of the goddess.\nThey threw down their weapons and ran toward the city in a panic of\nfear. Odysseus shouted in triumph as he gave chase, but Zeus sent\na thunder-bolt down as a sign to Athena that she should restrain him.\nThe goddess called to him to cease the pursuit, and, taking the guise\nof Mentor, she moved the minds of Odysseus and his enemies to mutual\npledges of peace and good-will.\n\n\n\n\nVOCABULARY AND NOTES\n\n\nA chil' les--also called Pelides, the hero of the \"Iliad.\" He was\nthe son of Peleus (king of Phthia in Thessaly) and the sea-nymph,\nThetis.\n\n\u00c6 g\u0113' an--a sea east of Greece.\n\n\u00c6' o lus--the keeper of the winds, and king of Lipara, one of the\n\u00c6olian isles north of Sicily.\n\nAg a mem' non--leader of all the Greek chiefs in the Trojan war.\n\nA' jax, or Aias--king of Salamis and cousin of Achilles. He was the\nson of Telamon and was called Ajax the Greater.\n\nAl ex \u0103n' dr\u014fs--Paris, son of Priam.\n\nAl kin' \u014f \u00f6s--king of Scheria, father of Nausica\u00e4. He gave aid to\nOdysseus when he was stranded on the island.\n\nAn tin' o \u00f6s--the boldest of the suitors.\n\nAph ro d\u012b' te--Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. The island of\nKythera (Cythera), south of Greece, was the seat of her worship.\n\nA p\u014fl' lo--the Sun-god, brother of Artemis and son of Zeus and Leto.\nThe island of D\u0113los was his mythical birthplace and his principal\noracle was at Delphi.\n\nAr ca' di a, or Arkadia--the central district of the Peloponnesus.\n\nA re' t\u00e8 (\u00e4 r\u0101' t\u0101)--wife of Alkino\u00f6s and queen of Scheria.\n\nAr e th\u016b' sa--a spring \"where the swine of Eumaios ate 'abundance\nof acorns and drank the black water.'\" (See Baedeker's\nGreece--Ithaca.) Arethusa was also the name of a water-nymph\ninhabiting the spring.\n\nAr' gus, or Argos--the most celebrated dog known to fame. He belonged\nto Odysseus.\n\nAr' te mis, or Diana--goddess of the moon and sister to Apollo. She\nwas called the hunter-goddess and the protector of animals.\n\nAs' ph\u014d del--a flower sacred to Persephone. The souls of the departed\nwere supposed to wander in meadows adorned with these beautiful\nflowers.\n\nA th\u0113' n\u0113, or Athena; Latin, Minerva--the patron deity of Athens.\nThe city was named for her. Ruskin calls her the \"Queen of the Air,\"\nand explains her real significance as being the inspiration of the\nsoul, which corresponds to the physical vigor and life received by\ninhaling the pure air. She is always called the \"Goddess of Wisdom.\"\n\nA' treus (a' tr\u016bse)--son of Pelops and father of Agamemnon.\n\nAu' lis--a bay and town on the coast of Greece, about thirty miles\nnorth of Athens. \"The scanty ruins of Aulis lie on the rugged ridge\nof rock which stretches into the sea between the two bays. The little\ntown never attained any importance, for its site was unfavorable for\nthe development of a community; but the two sheltered bays were\nexcellently adapted to be the rendezvous of a fleet.\" (See Baedeker's\nGreece--Aulis.)\n\nCad' mus, or Kadmos--the founder of Thebes in B\u0153otia. According to\ntradition, he came from Ph\u0153nicia and brought the alphabet to the\nGreeks and the knowledge of working in metals.\n\nCal' chas, or Kalchas--a soothsayer. He offended Agamemnon by\ndeclaring that the Greeks suffered from the wrath of the gods through\nhis offences.\n\nCa lyp' so--the goddess of Silence, daughter of Oceanos and Tethys,\nand queen of Ogygia. She tried by every art to detain Odysseus on\nhis way home from Troy.\n\nCas san' dra--a daughter of Priam, and a prophetess, taken captive\nin the Trojan war and awarded to Agamemnon.\n\nCha ryb' dis--a whirlpool off the coast of Sicily, a little to the\nnorth of Messina.\n\nCir' c\u00e8, or Kirk\u0113--the daughter of H\u0113lios, the Sun. She was an\nenchantress who lived on the island \u00c6\u00e6a. She infused into the vine\nthe intoxicating quality found in the juice of the grape. \"The grave\nof Circe used to be pointed out on the island of St. George, close\nto Salamis.\" (See Baedeker's Greece--Salamis.)\n\nCy' clops, or Kyklops, also called Polyphemus--a monstrous one-eyed\ngiant. He was the son of Poseidon. It was due to his prayer for revenge\nthat Odysseus was kept so long wandering on the sea.\n\nCy the' ra, or Kythera--a rocky island lying south of Greece. It was\nthe seat of the worship of Aphrodite.\n\nD\u0113' los--an island about sixty miles southeast of Athens. It is the\nmythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.\n\nD\u0113 mod' o kos--a bard at the court of Alkino\u00f6s.\n\nE' lis--a district and a city in the northwestern part of the\nPeloponnesus. Like Sparta, the city had no walls. It was protected\nby the sacred peace of Olympia.\n\nThe plain or precinct of Olympia is situated in the district of Elis.\nPyrgos is the nearest railroad station. \"Olympia owed its high\nimportance throughout the entire Grecian world to the famous Olympic\ngames in honor of Zeus, which took place periodically for centuries.\nExcavations there have brought to light many magnificent pieces of\nsculpture, among them the Hermes of Praxiteles.\"\n\nEl p\u0113' nor--one of the comrades of Odysseus. He fell from the roof\nof Circ\u00e8's palace and was killed.\n\nE lys' ian--pertaining to Elysium, the abode of dead heroes and other\nhappy spirits.\n\nEu mai' os, or Eum\u00e6us--the swineherd of Odysseus.\n\nEu r\u014d' tas--a river of southern Greece.\n\nEu ry' a los--a son of Alkino\u00f6s.\n\nEu ry clei' a (\u016b ry cl\u012b' \u00e4)--the nurse of Odysseus and Telemachos.\n\nEu ry' l\u014f chos, or Eurylochus--one of the companions of Odysseus.\n\nEu ry' ma chos, or Eurymachus--one of the suitors of Penelope.\n\nGor' gon--a monster of fearful aspect, a daughter of Phorkys and Ceto.\nHer hair was entwined with serpents, her hands were of brass, her\nbody covered with scales, and anyone gazing upon her was turned into\nstone.\n\nHel' en, or Helen\u0113--a daughter of Tyndareus and Leda. She was the\nwife of Menelaos and was always called \"the most beautiful woman in\nthe world.\"\n\nHel' las--Greece, the land of the Hellenes.\n\nH\u0113' li os--the god of the Sun.\n\nHe phais' tos, or Heph\u00e6stus--Vulcan. He was the blacksmith god, the\ngod of fire, and a worker in metals.\n\nH\u0113' ra, H\u0113r\u0113--Juno, the wife of Zeus. She was worshipped as the queen\nof heaven and was regarded as a model of womanly virtue. Argos was\nthe chief centre of the worship of Hera.\n\nH\u0113r' a kles, or Hercules--a celebrated hero whose deeds are connected\nwith many localities. There is a cave near Nemea where he is said\nto have slain a lion, not far from Stymphalos, where he put the Harpies\nto flight, and Erymanthos, the scene of the killing of the Erymanthian\nboar. There are traditions of his heroism connected with Thessaly\n(Thebes) and Locris, also.\n\nHer' bart--a German philosopher and pedagogian.\n\nHer' m\u0113s, or Mercury--the messenger of the gods, also their herald.\n\nHer mi' \u014f ne--the daughter of Menelaos and Helen.\n\nHo' mer--the greatest of the Greek poets and author of the \"Iliad\"\nand \"Odyssey.\"\n\nI' da--a mountain of Asia Minor, east of Troy.\n\nIl' i ad--an epic poem, probably the greatest ever written, devoted\nto the deeds of Achilles, and taken by the best scholars of modern\ntimes as an interpretation of Greek life, Greek thought, and the Greek\nreligion.\n\nI' no, or Leucothea--a daughter of Cadmus, a sea-nymph who helped\nOdysseus by giving him an enchanted veil.\n\nIph i gen ei' a--the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. \"Ulrichs\nhas discovered the site of the famous Temple of Artemis or Diana,\nwhere Agamemnon was on the point of sacrificing his daughter\nIphigeneia, before the departure of the Greek fleet for Troy.\" (See\nBaedeker's Greece--Aulis.) To appreciate the character of this\nfamous woman one must read the \"Iphigeneia in Aulis\" of Euripides\nand the \"Iphigeneia in Tauris\" of Goethe.\n\nIth' a ca, or Ithaka, Greek Ith\u00e1k\u0113--rocky island with an area of 37\u00bd\nsquare miles and 12,500 inhabitants. \"The world-wide fame of this\nlittle island is of course due to the Homeric epic of the Odyssey,\nin which the misfortunes and wiles, the wanderings, and home-coming\nof Ulysses (Odysseus), King of Ithaca, have been handed down to\nposterity in undying verse. Even if the person of the hero be relegated\nto the realm of myths, it is indisputable that the descriptions of\nthe poem rest upon a more or less exact local knowledge; and this\nis evident not only in the account of the situation and general\ncharacter of the island but also in numerous small details.... The\nisland became almost entirely depopulated in the middle ages, in\nconsequence of the raids of pirates and the Turkish wars, and did\nnot begin to recover until the Venetian epoch. But similar conditions\nof life make the modern islanders resemble the ancient. To this day\nthe Ithacans are distinguished by their bold seamanship, their love\nof home, and their hospitality.\" (See Baedeker's Greece--Ithaca.)\n\nJa' son, or Iason--the hero who undertook the expedition in search\nof the Golden Fleece.\n\nKtes ip' pos, or Ctesippus--one of the suitors of Penelope.\n\nLak e dai' mon, or Laced\u00e6mon--a district in southeastern Greece.\nSparta was its capital.\n\nLa \u00ebr' tes--the father of Odysseus.\n\nLa o' da m\u00e0s--a son of Alkino\u00f6s.\n\nLa o' co \u00f6n, or Laoko\u00f6n--a young priest of Apollo. He warned the\nTrojans not to accept the wooden horse left by the Greeks and was\ndestroyed by a serpent.\n\nLo' tus--the Egyptian water-lily, also a tree. The lotus-eaters ate\nof the fruit of the lotus-tree and forgot their homes and friends.\n\nMe l\u0103n' thi os--a servant of Odysseus, a goatherd who sympathized\nwith the suitors and served them.\n\nMen e l\u0101' os, or Menelaus--a son of Atreus and brother of Agamemnon.\nMenelaos was the king of Sparta and husband of Helen.\n\nMen' tor--the wise counsellor of Telemachos.\n\nMil t\u012b' \u00e4 des--the hero of the battle of Marathon, fought 490 B.C.\nIn this battle the Greeks, numbering 10,000 men, conquered ten times\nas many Persians.\n\nMi' nos--a son of Zeus and ruler over Crete.\n\nMo' ly--a fabulous plant having magic properties. It had a white\nblossom and a black root.\n\nMy c\u0113' n\u00e6, or Myk\u0113nai--an ancient city of Argolis, in the northeastern\nPeloponnesus. \"Dr. Henry Schliemann, in 1876, made rich discoveries\nthere, weapons, ornaments, vessels of gold, silver and clay,\"\nskeletons \"surrounded by bands of gold, golden shovels engraved with\nbattle-scenes,\" etc. (See Baedeker's Greece--Mycen\u00e6 and Athens.)\n\nMyr' m\u012d d\u014fns--a warlike people of Thrace, ruled by Achilles and taken\nby him to the Trojan war as followers.\n\nNau sic' a \u00e4--the daughter of Alkino\u00f6s.\n\nN\u0113 \u014fp t\u014fl' \u0115 m\u014fs--the son of Achilles.\n\nN\u0115s' tor--the leader of the warriors of Pylos, in southwestern Greece.\n\nO ke' a nos, or Oceanus--the god of the river Oceanus, and son of\nHeaven and Earth.\n\nOd ys' seus (s\u016bse), or Ulysses--the son of Laertes and Anticleia and\nthe hero of Homer's Odyssey. Being summoned to the Trojan war, he\nfeigned madness, and harnessed a mule and a cow to a plough and began\nploughing the sea-shore. Palamedes, to test his madness, placed his\ninfant son, Telemachos, in front of the plough, and Odysseus quickly\nturned it aside. He became famous for his bravery and craft in the\nwar. He is looked upon by critics as the most perfect type of adult\nGreek ideals.\n\n[Illustration: ODYSSEUS FEIGNS MADNESS]\n\nO lymp' os, or Olympus--a mountain in Thrace. The home of the gods.\n\nO r\u0115s' t\u0113s--the son of Agamemnon.\n\nPar' is, or Alexandros--a son of Priam. At his birth there was a\nprophecy that he would be the ruin of his country; hence he was cast\nout upon Mount Ida, where he was found and rescued by a shepherd.\n(See Introduction.)\n\nPar nas' sos--a mountain near the north coast of the Corinthian Gulf.\nIt is 8,070 feet high and commands a view of Mount Olympos to the\nnorth, Eub\u0153a on the east, the islands of the Archipelago, the\nPeloponnesus, and even Mount Korax.\n\nPat' r\u014f klos, or Patroclus--the intimate friend of Achilles. His death\nat the hands of the Trojans provoked Achilles to action.\n\nPei sis' tra tos--a son of Nestor.\n\nP\u0113' leus--the father of Achilles.\n\nPel op on n\u0113s' us--the peninsula of lower Greece.\n\nPe nel' o pe--the wife of Odysseus. The greatest heroine of ancient\nromance.\n\nP\u0115r s\u0115ph' \u014d ne, or Proserpine--daughter of Demeter (Ceres). \"She was\nthe goddess of Spring and was allowed to spend two-thirds of the year\nwith her mother, while the remaining time she dwelt with her husband,\nHades, in his underground abode.\" Eleusis, twelve miles west of Athens,\nwas the centre of the worship of Demeter and Persephone. (See\nBaedeker's Greece--Eleusis.)\n\nPhai a' ki ans, or Ph\u00e6acians--the people of the island of Scheria,\nover whom Alkino\u00f6s ruled.\n\nPh\u0113' mi os--a bard at the court of Odysseus.\n\nPhor' kys--the harbor where the Ph\u00e6acians landed Odysseus on his\nreturn to Ithaca. \"The Bay of Vathy,\" says Baedeker, \"disputes with\nthe Bay of Dexi\u00e1 the honor of being the Harbour of Phorkys.\"\n\nPlu' to, or Hades--a son of Rhea and Kronos and brother of Zeus and\nPoseidon. Pluto was the ruler of the lower world.\n\nPo sei' don, or Neptune--brother of Zeus and Hades. Poseidon was the\nruler of the seas and was the first to train and employ horses.\n\nPol y phe' mus, or Polyphemos or Cyclops--the son of Poseidon. He\nwas one of the Cyclops or Kyklops who were said to live in the heart\nof burning mountains, particularly in Mount \u00c6tna.\n\nPri' am, or Priamos--king of Troy and father of Paris.\n\nPro' teus--an ocean deity who lived at the bottom of the sea. He took\ncare of Poseidon's sea-calves and was famous for his evasiveness.\n\nPy' los--a town (and bay) in the southwestern part of lower Greece.\nIt was the centre of Nestor's kingdom.\n\nSa' mos--\"at present a little village on the island of Cephalonia,\nthe starting-point of the boats to Ithaca. In Homer, the _island_\nof Cephalonia, or its east part, is called Sam\u0113; and in the latter\npart of the Odyssey, Samos appears as belonging to the kingdom of\nIthaca.\" (Baedeker.) Samos, a large island near Asia Minor, is not\nrelated to the Samos of the Odyssey.\n\nSka man' dros, or Scamander--a river of the Troad or plains of Troy.\n\nScher' i a--an island northwest of Greece. \"The ancients identified\nCorf\u00f9 with the Ph\u00e6acian island of Scheria, mentioned in the 'Odyssey,'\nas ruled over by Alkino\u00f6s.\" (Baedeker.)\n\nSkyl' la--a rock in southwestern Italy. It was supposed to be the\nabode of a monster with many heads and hands.\n\nSky' ros--a large island east of Greece.\n\nSim' o is--a river in the Troad, and a branch of the Scamander.\n\nSi' rens--daughters of Achel\u00f6os and a Muse, or, according to another\naccount, daughters of Phorkys. They failed to care for Persephone\nwhen Pluto seized her to carry her off, and Demeter took revenge by\ntransforming them into monsters half woman and half bird.\n\nSis' y phos--a hero who secured a fountain to the citadel of Corinth\nby betraying Zeus. Sisyphos was punished by being obliged to roll\nstones up-hill in Hades.\n\nSpar' ta--a town in the southern part of the Peloponnesus, on the\nEurotas. It was the chief city of Laced\u00e6mon and the home of Menelaos\nand Helen. It had no walls, but its acropolis was covered with temples.\nAncient Sparta was noted for the bravery of its people. At present\nSparta has about 3,600 inhabitants. There are few relics of its\nancient greatness.\n\nStyx--a stream of water in central lower Greece. \"The thread of water\ndescends from a huge cliff against a background of dark moss, which\nhas earned for the brook the name of 'Black Water.' At the bottom\nof the cliff the water loses itself in a chaos of rocks. The ancients\nsaw in the icy coldness of the water and in the barren tract around\nan image of the underworld.\" (See Baedeker's Greece.) To swear by\nthe Styx was to take \"the great oath of the gods.\"\n\nTan' ta los--a king of Phrygia punished by the gods for treachery\nand for cruelty to his son. He was doomed to suffer from hunger and\nthirst while standing close to food and water which he could not reach.\n\nT\u0113 l\u0115' ma chos--the son of Odysseus and Penelope.\n\nTen' e dos--an island in the neighborhood of Troy or Ilium.\n\nThem is' to kles--a great statesman of Athens, and a leader of the\nGreeks in the Persian war when the Greeks won the battle of Salamis.\n\nThe' seus (Th\u0113' s\u016bse)--a son of \u00c6geus and \u00c6thra. Like his counterpart\nHerakles, Theseus performed wonderful deeds, and finally became\nruler of Athens.\n\nThes' sa ly--a large province of northern Greece.\n\nTh\u0115' tis--a sea-nymph, the mother of Achilles.\n\nTi res' ias, or Teiresias--a Theban seer. He retained his\nconsciousness after death, and Odysseus descended into Hades to\nconsult with him before he could reach Ithaca.\n\nTroy, Ilios, or Ilium--a city of Asia Minor and the scene of the Trojan\nwar. Dr. Schliemann has identified the city with Hissarlik, and in\nhis excavations there found many evidences of the war, such as spears,\nhelmets, etc.\n\nZeus, or Jupiter--a son of Kronos and Rhea. His abode was supposed\nto be on Mount Olympos, in Thessaly. He was considered the highest\nof the gods, ruler of the heavens and the earth.\n\nZa' kyn thos, or Zante--an island near Corf\u00f9.\n\n\n\n\n[Transcriber's note: The publishers of this book used an unusual\nconvention in which only a single pair of quotation marks surround\na quote, even when the quote extends over multiple paragraphs or\nmultiple chapters.  This transcription has conventional usage of\nquotation marks.]","title":"Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca: Adapted from the Third Book of the Primary Schools of Athens, Greece","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":49092}