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The Odyssey

By Homer

Translated by Samuel Butler

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BOOK I

Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide

after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit,

and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted;

moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life

and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save

his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating

the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from

ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, O daughter

of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them.

So now all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got safely

home except Ulysses, and he, though he was longing to return to his

wife and country, was detained by the goddess Calypso, who had got

him into a large cave and wanted to marry him. But as years went by,

there came a time when the gods settled that he should go back to

Ithaca; even then, however, when he was among his own people, his

troubles were not yet over; nevertheless all the gods had now begun

to pity him except Neptune, who still persecuted him without ceasing

and would not let him get home.

Now Neptune had gone off to the Ethiopians, who are at the world's

end, and lie in two halves, the one looking West and the other East.

He had gone there to accept a hecatomb of sheep and oxen, and was

enjoying himself at his festival; but the other gods met in the house

of Olympian Jove, and the sire of gods and men spoke first. At that

moment he was thinking of Aegisthus, who had been killed by Agamemnon's

son Orestes; so he said to the other gods:

"See now, how men lay blame upon us gods for what is after all nothing

but their own folly. Look at Aegisthus; he must needs make love to

Agamemnon's wife unrighteously and then kill Agamemnon, though he

knew it would be the death of him; for I sent Mercury to warn him

not to do either of these things, inasmuch as Orestes would be sure

to take his revenge when he grew up and wanted to return home. Mercury

told him this in all good will but he would not listen, and now he

has paid for everything in full."

Then Minerva said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, it served

Aegisthus right, and so it would any one else who does as he did;

but Aegisthus is neither here nor there; it is for Ulysses that my

heart bleeds, when I think of his sufferings in that lonely sea-girt

island, far away, poor man, from all his friends. It is an island

covered with forest, in the very middle of the sea, and a goddess

lives there, daughter of the magician Atlas, who looks after the bottom

of the ocean, and carries the great columns that keep heaven and earth

asunder. This daughter of Atlas has got hold of poor unhappy Ulysses,

and keeps trying by every kind of blandishment to make him forget

his home, so that he is tired of life, and thinks of nothing but how

he may once more see the smoke of his own chimneys. You, sir, take

no heed of this, and yet when Ulysses was before Troy did he not propitiate

you with many a burnt sacrifice? Why then should you keep on being

so angry with him?"

And Jove said, "My child, what are you talking about? How can I forget

Ulysses than whom there is no more capable man on earth, nor more

liberal in his offerings to the immortal gods that live in heaven?

Bear in mind, however, that Neptune is still furious with Ulysses

for having blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the Cyclopes. Polyphemus

is son to Neptune by the nymph Thoosa, daughter to the sea-king Phorcys;

therefore though he will not kill Ulysses outright, he torments him

by preventing him from getting home. Still, let us lay our heads together

and see how we can help him to return; Neptune will then be pacified,

for if we are all of a mind he can hardly stand out against us."

And Minerva said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, if, then,

the gods now mean that Ulysses should get home, we should first send

Mercury to the Ogygian island to tell Calypso that we have made up

our minds and that he is to return. In the meantime I will go to Ithaca,

to put heart into Ulysses' son Telemachus; I will embolden him to

call the Achaeans in assembly, and speak out to the suitors of his

mother Penelope, who persist in eating up any number of his sheep

and oxen; I will also conduct him to Sparta and to Pylos, to see if

he can hear anything about the return of his dear father- for this

will make people speak well of him."

So saying she bound on her glittering golden sandals, imperishable,

with which she can fly like the wind over land or sea; she grasped

the redoubtable bronze-shod spear, so stout and sturdy and strong,

wherewith she quells the ranks of heroes who have displeased her,

and down she darted from the topmost summits of Olympus, whereon forthwith

she was in Ithaca, at the gateway of Ulysses' house, disguised as

a visitor, Mentes, chief of the Taphians, and she held a bronze spear

in her hand. There she found the lordly suitors seated on hides of

the oxen which they had killed and eaten, and playing draughts in

front of the house. Men-servants and pages were bustling about to

wait upon them, some mixing wine with water in the mixing-bowls, some

cleaning down the tables with wet sponges and laying them out again,

and some cutting up great quantities of meat.

Telemachus saw her long before any one else did. He was sitting moodily

among the suitors thinking about his brave father, and how he would

send them flying out of the house, if he were to come to his own again

and be honoured as in days gone by. Thus brooding as he sat among

them, he caught sight of Minerva and went straight to the gate, for

he was vexed that a stranger should be kept waiting for admittance.

He took her right hand in his own, and bade her give him her spear.

"Welcome," said he, "to our house, and when you have partaken of food

you shall tell us what you have come for."

He led the way as he spoke, and Minerva followed him. When they were

within he took her spear and set it in the spear- stand against a

strong bearing-post along with the many other spears of his unhappy

father, and he conducted her to a richly decorated seat under which

he threw a cloth of damask. There was a footstool also for her feet,

and he set another seat near her for himself, away from the suitors,

that she might not be annoyed while eating by their noise and insolence,

and that he might ask her more freely about his father.

A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful golden ewer

and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their hands, and

she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought them

bread, and offered them many good things of what there was in the

house, the carver fetched them plates of all manner of meats and set

cups of gold by their side, and a man-servant brought them wine and

poured it out for them.

Then the suitors came in and took their places on the benches and

seats. Forthwith men servants poured water over their hands, maids

went round with the bread-baskets, pages filled the mixing-bowls with

wine and water, and they laid their hands upon the good things that

were before them. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink

they wanted music and dancing, which are the crowning embellishments

of a banquet, so a servant brought a lyre to Phemius, whom they compelled

perforce to sing to them. As soon as he touched his lyre and began

to sing Telemachus spoke low to Minerva, with his head close to hers

that no man might hear.

"I hope, sir," said he, "that you will not be offended with what I

am going to say. Singing comes cheap to those who do not pay for it,

and all this is done at the cost of one whose bones lie rotting in

some wilderness or grinding to powder in the surf. If these men were

to see my father come back to Ithaca they would pray for longer legs

rather than a longer purse, for money would not serve them; but he,

alas, has fallen on an ill fate, and even when people do sometimes

say that he is coming, we no longer heed them; we shall never see

him again. And now, sir, tell me and tell me true, who you are and

where you come from. Tell me of your town and parents, what manner

of ship you came in, how your crew brought you to Ithaca, and of what

nation they declared themselves to be- for you cannot have come by

land. Tell me also truly, for I want to know, are you a stranger to

this house, or have you been here in my father's time? In the old

days we had many visitors for my father went about much himself."

And Minerva answered, "I will tell you truly and particularly all

about it. I am Mentes, son of Anchialus, and I am King of the Taphians.

I have come here with my ship and crew, on a voyage to men of a foreign

tongue being bound for Temesa with a cargo of iron, and I shall bring

back copper. As for my ship, it lies over yonder off the open country

away from the town, in the harbour Rheithron under the wooded mountain

Neritum. Our fathers were friends before us, as old Laertes will tell

you, if you will go and ask him. They say, however, that he never

comes to town now, and lives by himself in the country, faring hardly,

with an old woman to look after him and get his dinner for him, when

he comes in tired from pottering about his vineyard. They told me

your father was at home again, and that was why I came, but it seems

the gods are still keeping him back, for he is not dead yet not on

the mainland. It is more likely he is on some sea-girt island in mid

ocean, or a prisoner among savages who are detaining him against his

will I am no prophet, and know very little about omens, but I speak

as it is borne in upon me from heaven, and assure you that he will

not be away much longer; for he is a man of such resource that even

though he were in chains of iron he would find some means of getting

home again. But tell me, and tell me true, can Ulysses really have

such a fine looking fellow for a son? You are indeed wonderfully like

him about the head and eyes, for we were close friends before he set

sail for Troy where the flower of all the Argives went also. Since

that time we have never either of us seen the other."

"My mother," answered Telemachus, tells me I am son to Ulysses, but

it is a wise child that knows his own father. Would that I were son

to one who had grown old upon his own estates, for, since you ask

me, there is no more ill-starred man under heaven than he who they

tell me is my father."

And Minerva said, "There is no fear of your race dying out yet, while

Penelope has such a fine son as you are. But tell me, and tell me

true, what is the meaning of all this feasting, and who are these

people? What is it all about? Have you some banquet, or is there a

wedding in the family- for no one seems to be bringing any provisions

of his own? And the guests- how atrociously they are behaving; what

riot they make over the whole house; it is enough to disgust any respectable

person who comes near them."

"Sir," said Telemachus, "as regards your question, so long as my father

was here it was well with us and with the house, but the gods in their

displeasure have willed it otherwise, and have hidden him away more

closely than mortal man was ever yet hidden. I could have borne it

better even though he were dead, if he had fallen with his men before

Troy, or had died with friends around him when the days of his fighting

were done; for then the Achaeans would have built a mound over his

ashes, and I should myself have been heir to his renown; but now the

storm-winds have spirited him away we know not wither; he is gone

without leaving so much as a trace behind him, and I inherit nothing

but dismay. Nor does the matter end simply with grief for the loss

of my father; heaven has laid sorrows upon me of yet another kind;

for the chiefs from all our islands, Dulichium, Same, and the woodland

island of Zacynthus, as also all the principal men of Ithaca itself,

are eating up my house under the pretext of paying their court to

my mother, who will neither point blank say that she will not marry,

nor yet bring matters to an end; so they are making havoc of my estate,

and before long will do so also with myself."

"Is that so?" exclaimed Minerva, "then you do indeed want Ulysses

home again. Give him his helmet, shield, and a couple lances, and

if he is the man he was when I first knew him in our house, drinking

and making merry, he would soon lay his hands about these rascally

suitors, were he to stand once more upon his own threshold. He was

then coming from Ephyra, where he had been to beg poison for his arrows

from Ilus, son of Mermerus. Ilus feared the ever-living gods and would

not give him any, but my father let him have some, for he was very

fond of him. If Ulysses is the man he then was these suitors will

have a short shrift and a sorry wedding.

"But there! It rests with heaven to determine whether he is to return,

and take his revenge in his own house or no; I would, however, urge

you to set about trying to get rid of these suitors at once. Take

my advice, call the Achaean heroes in assembly to-morrow -lay your

case before them, and call heaven to bear you witness. Bid the suitors

take themselves off, each to his own place, and if your mother's mind

is set on marrying again, let her go back to her father, who will

find her a husband and provide her with all the marriage gifts that

so dear a daughter may expect. As for yourself, let me prevail upon

you to take the best ship you can get, with a crew of twenty men,

and go in quest of your father who has so long been missing. Some

one may tell you something, or (and people often hear things in this

way) some heaven-sent message may direct you. First go to Pylos and

ask Nestor; thence go on to Sparta and visit Menelaus, for he got

home last of all the Achaeans; if you hear that your father is alive

and on his way home, you can put up with the waste these suitors will

make for yet another twelve months. If on the other hand you hear

of his death, come home at once, celebrate his funeral rites with

all due pomp, build a barrow to his memory, and make your mother marry

again. Then, having done all this, think it well over in your mind

how, by fair means or foul, you may kill these suitors in your own

house. You are too old to plead infancy any longer; have you not heard

how people are singing Orestes' praises for having killed his father's

murderer Aegisthus? You are a fine, smart looking fellow; show your

mettle, then, and make yourself a name in story. Now, however, I must

go back to my ship and to my crew, who will be impatient if I keep

them waiting longer; think the matter over for yourself, and remember

what I have said to you."

"Sir," answered Telemachus, "it has been very kind of you to talk

to me in this way, as though I were your own son, and I will do all

you tell me; I know you want to be getting on with your voyage, but

stay a little longer till you have taken a bath and refreshed yourself.

I will then give you a present, and you shall go on your way rejoicing;

I will give you one of great beauty and value- a keepsake such as

only dear friends give to one another."

Minerva answered, "Do not try to keep me, for I would be on my way

at once. As for any present you may be disposed to make me, keep it

till I come again, and I will take it home with me. You shall give

me a very good one, and I will give you one of no less value in return."

With these words she flew away like a bird into the air, but she had

given Telemachus courage, and had made him think more than ever about

his father. He felt the change, wondered at it, and knew that the

stranger had been a god, so he went straight to where the suitors

were sitting.

Phemius was still singing, and his hearers sat rapt in silence as

he told the sad tale of the return from Troy, and the ills Minerva

had laid upon the Achaeans. Penelope, daughter of Icarius, heard his

song from her room upstairs, and came down by the great staircase,

not alone, but attended by two of her handmaids. When she reached

the suitors she stood by one of the bearing posts that supported the

roof of the cloisters with a staid maiden on either side of her. She

held a veil, moreover, before her face, and was weeping bitterly.

"Phemius," she cried, "you know many another feat of gods and heroes,

such as poets love to celebrate. Sing the suitors some one of these,

and let them drink their wine in silence, but cease this sad tale,

for it breaks my sorrowful heart, and reminds me of my lost husband

whom I mourn ever without ceasing, and whose name was great over all

Hellas and middle Argos."

"Mother," answered Telemachus, "let the bard sing what he has a mind

to; bards do not make the ills they sing of; it is Jove, not they,

who makes them, and who sends weal or woe upon mankind according to

his own good pleasure. This fellow means no harm by singing the ill-fated

return of the Danaans, for people always applaud the latest songs

most warmly. Make up your mind to it and bear it; Ulysses is not the

only man who never came back from Troy, but many another went down

as well as he. Go, then, within the house and busy yourself with your

daily duties, your loom, your distaff, and the ordering of your servants;

for speech is man's matter, and mine above all others- for it is I

who am master here."

She went wondering back into the house, and laid her son's saying

in her heart. Then, going upstairs with her handmaids into her room,

she mourned her dear husband till Minerva shed sweet sleep over her

eyes. But the suitors were clamorous throughout the covered cloisters,

and prayed each one that he might be her bed fellow.

Then Telemachus spoke, "Shameless," he cried, "and insolent suitors,

let us feast at our pleasure now, and let there be no brawling, for

it is a rare thing to hear a man with such a divine voice as Phemius

has; but in the morning meet me in full assembly that I may give you

formal notice to depart, and feast at one another's houses, turn and

turn about, at your own cost. If on the other hand you choose to persist

in spunging upon one man, heaven help me, but Jove shall reckon with

you in full, and when you fall in my father's house there shall be

no man to avenge you."

The suitors bit their lips as they heard him, and marvelled at the

boldness of his speech. Then, Antinous, son of Eupeithes, said, "The

gods seem to have given you lessons in bluster and tall talking; may

Jove never grant you to be chief in Ithaca as your father was before

you."

Telemachus answered, "Antinous, do not chide with me, but, god willing,

I will be chief too if I can. Is this the worst fate you can think

of for me? It is no bad thing to be a chief, for it brings both riches

and honour. Still, now that Ulysses is dead there are many great men

in Ithaca both old and young, and some other may take the lead among

them; nevertheless I will be chief in my own house, and will rule

those whom Ulysses has won for me."

Then Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered, "It rests with heaven to

decide who shall be chief among us, but you shall be master in your

own house and over your own possessions; no one while there is a man

in Ithaca shall do you violence nor rob you. And now, my good fellow,

I want to know about this stranger. What country does he come from?

Of what family is he, and where is his estate? Has he brought you

news about the return of your father, or was he on business of his

own? He seemed a well-to-do man, but he hurried off so suddenly that

he was gone in a moment before we could get to know him."

"My father is dead and gone," answered Telemachus, "and even if some

rumour reaches me I put no more faith in it now. My mother does indeed

sometimes send for a soothsayer and question him, but I give his prophecyings

no heed. As for the stranger, he was Mentes, son of Anchialus, chief

of the Taphians, an old friend of my father's." But in his heart he

knew that it had been the goddess.

The suitors then returned to their singing and dancing until the evening;

but when night fell upon their pleasuring they went home to bed each

in his own abode. Telemachus's room was high up in a tower that looked

on to the outer court; hither, then, he hied, brooding and full of

thought. A good old woman, Euryclea, daughter of Ops, the son of Pisenor,

went before him with a couple of blazing torches. Laertes had bought

her with his own money when she was quite young; he gave the worth

of twenty oxen for her, and shewed as much respect to her in his household

as he did to his own wedded wife, but he did not take her to his bed

for he feared his wife's resentment. She it was who now lighted Telemachus

to his room, and she loved him better than any of the other women

in the house did, for she had nursed him when he was a baby. He opened

the door of his bed room and sat down upon the bed; as he took off

his shirt he gave it to the good old woman, who folded it tidily up,

and hung it for him over a peg by his bed side, after which she went

out, pulled the door to by a silver catch, and drew the bolt home

by means of the strap. But Telemachus as he lay covered with a woollen

fleece kept thinking all night through of his intended voyage of the

counsel that Minerva had given him.

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BOOK II

Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Telemachus

rose and dressed himself. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet,

girded his sword about his shoulder, and left his room looking like

an immortal god. He at once sent the criers round to call the people

in assembly, so they called them and the people gathered thereon;

then, when they were got together, he went to the place of assembly

spear in hand- not alone, for his two hounds went with him. Minerva

endowed him with a presence of such divine comeliness that all marvelled

at him as he went by, and when he took his place' in his father's

seat even the oldest councillors made way for him.

Aegyptius, a man bent double with age, and of infinite experience,

the first to speak His son Antiphus had gone with Ulysses to Ilius,

land of noble steeds, but the savage Cyclops had killed him when they

were all shut up in the cave, and had cooked his last dinner for him,

He had three sons left, of whom two still worked on their father's

land, while the third, Eurynomus, was one of the suitors; nevertheless

their father could not get over the loss of Antiphus, and was still

weeping for him when he began his speech.

"Men of Ithaca," he said, "hear my words. From the day Ulysses left

us there has been no meeting of our councillors until now; who then

can it be, whether old or young, that finds it so necessary to convene

us? Has he got wind of some host approaching, and does he wish to

warn us, or would he speak upon some other matter of public moment?

I am sure he is an excellent person, and I hope Jove will grant him

his heart's desire."

Telemachus took this speech as of good omen and rose at once, for

he was bursting with what he had to say. He stood in the middle of

the assembly and the good herald Pisenor brought him his staff. Then,

turning to Aegyptius, "Sir," said he, "it is I, as you will shortly

learn, who have convened you, for it is I who am the most aggrieved.

I have not got wind of any host approaching about which I would warn

you, nor is there any matter of public moment on which I would speak.

My grieveance is purely personal, and turns on two great misfortunes

which have fallen upon my house. The first of these is the loss of

my excellent father, who was chief among all you here present, and

was like a father to every one of you; the second is much more serious,

and ere long will be the utter ruin of my estate. The sons of all

the chief men among you are pestering my mother to marry them against

her will. They are afraid to go to her father Icarius, asking him

to choose the one he likes best, and to provide marriage gifts for

his daughter, but day by day they keep hanging about my father's house,

sacrificing our oxen, sheep, and fat goats for their banquets, and

never giving so much as a thought to the quantity of wine they drink.

No estate can stand such recklessness; we have now no Ulysses to ward

off harm from our doors, and I cannot hold my own against them. I

shall never all my days be as good a man as he was, still I would

indeed defend myself if I had power to do so, for I cannot stand such

treatment any longer; my house is being disgraced and ruined. Have

respect, therefore, to your own consciences and to public opinion.

Fear, too, the wrath of heaven, lest the gods should be displeased

and turn upon you. I pray you by Jove and Themis, who is the beginning

and the end of councils, [do not] hold back, my friends, and leave

me singlehanded- unless it be that my brave father Ulysses did some

wrong to the Achaeans which you would now avenge on me, by aiding

and abetting these suitors. Moreover, if I am to be eaten out of house

and home at all, I had rather you did the eating yourselves, for I

could then take action against you to some purpose, and serve you

with notices from house to house till I got paid in full, whereas

now I have no remedy."

With this Telemachus dashed his staff to the ground and burst into

tears. Every one was very sorry for him, but they all sat still and

no one ventured to make him an angry answer, save only Antinous, who

spoke thus:

"Telemachus, insolent braggart that you are, how dare you try to throw

the blame upon us suitors? It is your mother's fault not ours, for

she is a very artful woman. This three years past, and close on four,

she has been driving us out of our minds, by encouraging each one

of us, and sending him messages without meaning one word of what she

says. And then there was that other trick she played us. She set up

a great tambour frame in her room, and began to work on an enormous

piece of fine needlework. 'Sweet hearts,' said she, 'Ulysses is indeed

dead, still do not press me to marry again immediately, wait- for

I would not have skill in needlework perish unrecorded- till I have

completed a pall for the hero Laertes, to be in readiness against

the time when death shall take him. He is very rich, and the women

of the place will talk if he is laid out without a pall.'

"This was what she said, and we assented; whereon we could see her

working on her great web all day long, but at night she would unpick

the stitches again by torchlight. She fooled us in this way for three

years and we never found her out, but as time wore on and she was

now in her fourth year, one of her maids who knew what she was doing

told us, and we caught her in the act of undoing her work, so she

had to finish it whether she would or no. The suitors, therefore,

make you this answer, that both you and the Achaeans may understand-'Send

your mother away, and bid her marry the man of her own and of her

father's choice'; for I do not know what will happen if she goes on

plaguing us much longer with the airs she gives herself on the score

of the accomplishments Minerva has taught her, and because she is

so clever. We never yet heard of such a woman; we know all about Tyro,

Alcmena, Mycene, and the famous women of old, but they were nothing

to your mother, any one of them. It was not fair of her to treat us

in that way, and as long as she continues in the mind with which heaven

has now endowed her, so long shall we go on eating up your estate;

and I do not see why she should change, for she gets all the honour

and glory, and it is you who pay for it, not she. Understand, then,

that we will not go back to our lands, neither here nor elsewhere,

till she has made her choice and married some one or other of us."

Telemachus answered, "Antinous, how can I drive the mother who bore

me from my father's house? My father is abroad and we do not know

whether he is alive or dead. It will be hard on me if I have to pay

Icarius the large sum which I must give him if I insist on sending

his daughter back to him. Not only will he deal rigorously with me,

but heaven will also punish me; for my mother when she leaves the

house will calf on the Erinyes to avenge her; besides, it would not

be a creditable thing to do, and I will have nothing to say to it.

If you choose to take offence at this, leave the house and feast elsewhere

at one another's houses at your own cost turn and turn about. If,

on the other hand, you elect to persist in spunging upon one man,

heaven help me, but Jove shall reckon with you in full, and when you

fall in my father's house there shall be no man to avenge you."

As he spoke Jove sent two eagles from the top of the mountain, and

they flew on and on with the wind, sailing side by side in their own

lordly flight. When they were right over the middle of the assembly

they wheeled and circled about, beating the air with their wings and

glaring death into the eyes of them that were below; then, fighting

fiercely and tearing at one another, they flew off towards the right

over the town. The people wondered as they saw them, and asked each

other what an this might be; whereon Halitherses, who was the best

prophet and reader of omens among them, spoke to them plainly and

in all honesty, saying:

"Hear me, men of Ithaca, and I speak more particularly to the suitors,

for I see mischief brewing for them. Ulysses is not going to be away

much longer; indeed he is close at hand to deal out death and destruction,

not on them alone, but on many another of us who live in Ithaca. Let

us then be wise in time, and put a stop to this wickedness before

he comes. Let the suitors do so of their own accord; it will be better

for them, for I am not prophesying without due knowledge; everything

has happened to Ulysses as I foretold when the Argives set out for

Troy, and he with them. I said that after going through much hardship

and losing all his men he should come home again in the twentieth

year and that no one would know him; and now all this is coming true."

Eurymachus son of Polybus then said, "Go home, old man, and prophesy

to your own children, or it may be worse for them. I can read these

omens myself much better than you can; birds are always flying about

in the sunshine somewhere or other, but they seldom mean anything.

Ulysses has died in a far country, and it is a pity you are not dead

along with him, instead of prating here about omens and adding fuel

to the anger of Telemachus which is fierce enough as it is. I suppose

you think he will give you something for your family, but I tell you-

and it shall surely be- when an old man like you, who should know

better, talks a young one over till he becomes troublesome, in the

first place his young friend will only fare so much the worse- he

will take nothing by it, for the suitors will prevent this- and in

the next, we will lay a heavier fine, sir, upon yourself than you

will at all like paying, for it will bear hardly upon you. As for

Telemachus, I warn him in the presence of you all to send his mother

back to her father, who will find her a husband and provide her with

all the marriage gifts so dear a daughter may expect. Till we shall

go on harassing him with our suit; for we fear no man, and care neither

for him, with all his fine speeches, nor for any fortune-telling of

yours. You may preach as much as you please, but we shall only hate

you the more. We shall go back and continue to eat up Telemachus's

estate without paying him, till such time as his mother leaves off

tormenting us by keeping us day after day on the tiptoe of expectation,

each vying with the other in his suit for a prize of such rare perfection.

Besides we cannot go after the other women whom we should marry in

due course, but for the way in which she treats us."

Then Telemachus said, "Eurymachus, and you other suitors, I shall

say no more, and entreat you no further, for the gods and the people

of Ithaca now know my story. Give me, then, a ship and a crew of twenty

men to take me hither and thither, and I will go to Sparta and to

Pylos in quest of my father who has so long been missing. Some one

may tell me something, or (and people often hear things in this way)

some heaven-sent message may direct me. If I can hear of him as alive

and on his way home I will put up with the waste you suitors will

make for yet another twelve months. If on the other hand I hear of

his death, I will return at once, celebrate his funeral rites with

all due pomp, build a barrow to his memory, and make my mother marry

again."

With these words he sat down, and Mentor who had been a friend of

Ulysses, and had been left in charge of everything with full authority

over the servants, rose to speak. He, then, plainly and in all honesty

addressed them thus:

"Hear me, men of Ithaca, I hope that you may never have a kind and

well-disposed ruler any more, nor one who will govern you equitably;

I hope that all your chiefs henceforward may be cruel and unjust,

for there is not one of you but has forgotten Ulysses, who ruled you

as though he were your father. I am not half so angry with the suitors,

for if they choose to do violence in the naughtiness of their hearts,

and wager their heads that Ulysses will not return, they can take

the high hand and eat up his estate, but as for you others I am shocked

at the way in which you all sit still without even trying to stop

such scandalous goings on-which you could do if you chose, for you

are many and they are few."

Leiocritus, son of Evenor, answered him saying, "Mentor, what folly

is all this, that you should set the people to stay us? It is a hard

thing for one man to fight with many about his victuals. Even though

Ulysses himself were to set upon us while we are feasting in his house,

and do his best to oust us, his wife, who wants him back so very badly,

would have small cause for rejoicing, and his blood would be upon

his own head if he fought against such great odds. There is no sense

in what you have been saying. Now, therefore, do you people go about

your business, and let his father's old friends, Mentor and Halitherses,

speed this boy on his journey, if he goes at all- which I do not think

he will, for he is more likely to stay where he is till some one comes

and tells him something."

On this he broke up the assembly, and every man went back to his own

abode, while the suitors returned to the house of Ulysses.

Then Telemachus went all alone by the sea side, washed his hands in

the grey waves, and prayed to Minerva.

"Hear me," he cried, "you god who visited me yesterday, and bade me

sail the seas in search of my father who has so long been missing.

I would obey you, but the Achaeans, and more particularly the wicked

suitors, are hindering me that I cannot do so."

As he thus prayed, Minerva came close up to him in the likeness and

with the voice of Mentor. "Telemachus," said she, "if you are made

of the same stuff as your father you will be neither fool nor coward

henceforward, for Ulysses never broke his word nor left his work half

done. If, then, you take after him, your voyage will not be fruitless,

but unless you have the blood of Ulysses and of Penelope in your veins

I see no likelihood of your succeeding. Sons are seldom as good men

as their fathers; they are generally worse, not better; still, as

you are not going to be either fool or coward henceforward, and are

not entirely without some share of your father's wise discernment,

I look with hope upon your undertaking. But mind you never make common

cause with any of those foolish suitors, for they have neither sense

nor virtue, and give no thought to death and to the doom that will

shortly fall on one and all of them, so that they shall perish on

the same day. As for your voyage, it shall not be long delayed; your

father was such an old friend of mine that I will find you a ship,

and will come with you myself. Now, however, return home, and go about

among the suitors; begin getting provisions ready for your voyage;

see everything well stowed, the wine in jars, and the barley meal,

which is the staff of life, in leathern bags, while I go round the

town and beat up volunteers at once. There are many ships in Ithaca

both old and new; I will run my eye over them for you and will choose

the best; we will get her ready and will put out to sea without delay."

Thus spoke Minerva daughter of Jove, and Telemachus lost no time in

doing as the goddess told him. He went moodily and found the suitors

flaying goats and singeing pigs in the outer court. Antinous came

up to him at once and laughed as he took his hand in his own, saying,

"Telemachus, my fine fire-eater, bear no more ill blood neither in

word nor deed, but eat and drink with us as you used to do. The Achaeans

will find you in everything- a ship and a picked crew to boot- so

that you can set sail for Pylos at once and get news of your noble

father."

"Antinous," answered Telemachus, "I cannot eat in peace, nor take

pleasure of any kind with such men as you are. Was it not enough that

you should waste so much good property of mine while I was yet a boy?

Now that I am older and know more about it, I am also stronger, and

whether here among this people, or by going to Pylos, I will do you

all the harm I can. I shall go, and my going will not be in vain though,

thanks to you suitors, I have neither ship nor crew of my own, and

must be passenger not captain."

As he spoke he snatched his hand from that of Antinous. Meanwhile

the others went on getting dinner ready about the buildings, jeering

at him tauntingly as they did so.

"Telemachus," said one youngster, "means to be the death of us; I

suppose he thinks he can bring friends to help him from Pylos, or

again from Sparta, where he seems bent on going. Or will he go to

Ephyra as well, for poison to put in our wine and kill us?"

Another said, "Perhaps if Telemachus goes on board ship, he will be

like his father and perish far from his friends. In this case we should

have plenty to do, for we could then divide up his property amongst

us: as for the house we can let his mother and the man who marries

her have that."

This was how they talked. But Telemachus went down into the lofty

and spacious store-room where his father's treasure of gold and bronze

lay heaped up upon the floor, and where the linen and spare clothes

were kept in open chests. Here, too, there was a store of fragrant

olive oil, while casks of old, well-ripened wine, unblended and fit

for a god to drink, were ranged against the wall in case Ulysses should

come home again after all. The room was closed with well-made doors

opening in the middle; moreover the faithful old house-keeper Euryclea,

daughter of Ops the son of Pisenor, was in charge of everything both

night and day. Telemachus called her to the store-room and said:

"Nurse, draw me off some of the best wine you have, after what you

are keeping for my father's own drinking, in case, poor man, he should

escape death, and find his way home again after all. Let me have twelve

jars, and see that they all have lids; also fill me some well-sewn

leathern bags with barley meal- about twenty measures in all. Get

these things put together at once, and say nothing about it. I will

take everything away this evening as soon as my mother has gone upstairs

for the night. I am going to Sparta and to Pylos to see if I can hear

anything about the return of my dear father.

When Euryclea heard this she began to cry, and spoke fondly to him,

saying, "My dear child, what ever can have put such notion as that

into your head? Where in the world do you want to go to- you, who

are the one hope of the house? Your poor father is dead and gone in

some foreign country nobody knows where, and as soon as your back

is turned these wicked ones here will be scheming to get you put out

of the way, and will share all your possessions among themselves;

stay where you are among your own people, and do not go wandering

and worrying your life out on the barren ocean."

"Fear not, nurse," answered Telemachus, "my scheme is not without

heaven's sanction; but swear that you will say nothing about all this

to my mother, till I have been away some ten or twelve days, unless

she hears of my having gone, and asks you; for I do not want her to

spoil her beauty by crying."

The old woman swore most solemnly that she would not, and when she

had completed her oath, she began drawing off the wine into jars,

and getting the barley meal into the bags, while Telemachus went back

to the suitors.

Then Minerva bethought her of another matter. She took his shape,

and went round the town to each one of the crew, telling them to meet

at the ship by sundown. She went also to Noemon son of Phronius, and

asked him to let her have a ship- which he was very ready to do. When

the sun had set and darkness was over all the land, she got the ship

into the water, put all the tackle on board her that ships generally

carry, and stationed her at the end of the harbour. Presently the

crew came up, and the goddess spoke encouragingly to each of them.

Furthermore she went to the house of Ulysses, and threw the suitors

into a deep slumber. She caused their drink to fuddle them, and made

them drop their cups from their hands, so that instead of sitting

over their wine, they went back into the town to sleep, with their

eyes heavy and full of drowsiness. Then she took the form and voice

of Mentor, and called Telemachus to come outside.

"Telemachus," said she, "the men are on board and at their oars, waiting

for you to give your orders, so make haste and let us be off."

On this she led the way, while Telemachus followed in her steps. When

they got to the ship they found the crew waiting by the water side,

and Telemachus said, "Now my men, help me to get the stores on board;

they are all put together in the cloister, and my mother does not

know anything about it, nor any of the maid servants except one."

With these words he led the way and the others followed after. When

they had brought the things as he told them, Telemachus went on board,

Minerva going before him and taking her seat in the stern of the vessel,

while Telemachus sat beside her. Then the men loosed the hawsers and

took their places on the benches. Minerva sent them a fair wind from

the West, that whistled over the deep blue waves whereon Telemachus

told them to catch hold of the ropes and hoist sail, and they did

as he told them. They set the mast in its socket in the cross plank,

raised it, and made it fast with the forestays; then they hoisted

their white sails aloft with ropes of twisted ox hide. As the sail

bellied out with the wind, the ship flew through the deep blue water,

and the foam hissed against her bows as she sped onward. Then they

made all fast throughout the ship, filled the mixing-bowls to the

brim, and made drink offerings to the immortal gods that are from

everlasting, but more particularly to the grey-eyed daughter of Jove.

Thus, then, the ship sped on her way through the watches of the night

from dark till dawn.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

BOOK III

But as the sun was rising from the fair sea into the firmament of

heaven to shed light on mortals and immortals, they reached Pylos

the city of Neleus. Now the people of Pylos were gathered on the sea

shore to offer sacrifice of black bulls to Neptune lord of the Earthquake.

There were nine guilds with five hundred men in each, and there were

nine bulls to each guild. As they were eating the inward meats and

burning the thigh bones [on the embers] in the name of Neptune, Telemachus

and his crew arrived, furled their sails, brought their ship to anchor,

and went ashore.

Minerva led the way and Telemachus followed her. Presently she said,

"Telemachus, you must not be in the least shy or nervous; you have

taken this voyage to try and find out where your father is buried

and how he came by his end; so go straight up to Nestor that we may

see what he has got to tell us. Beg of him to speak the truth, and

he will tell no lies, for he is an excellent person."

"But how, Mentor," replied Telemachus, "dare I go up to Nestor, and

how am I to address him? I have never yet been used to holding long

conversations with people, and am ashamed to begin questioning one

who is so much older than myself."

"Some things, Telemachus," answered Minerva, "will be suggested to

you by your own instinct, and heaven will prompt you further; for

I am assured that the gods have been with you from the time of your

birth until now."

She then went quickly on, and Telemachus followed in her steps till

they reached the place where the guilds of the Pylian people were

assembled. There they found Nestor sitting with his sons, while his

company round him were busy getting dinner ready, and putting pieces

of meat on to the spits while other pieces were cooking. When they

saw the strangers they crowded round them, took them by the hand and

bade them take their places. Nestor's son Pisistratus at once offered

his hand to each of them, and seated them on some soft sheepskins

that were lying on the sands near his father and his brother Thrasymedes.

Then he gave them their portions of the inward meats and poured wine

for them into a golden cup, handing it to Minerva first, and saluting

her at the same time.

"Offer a prayer, sir," said he, "to King Neptune, for it is his feast

that you are joining; when you have duly prayed and made your drink-offering,

pass the cup to your friend that he may do so also. I doubt not that

he too lifts his hands in prayer, for man cannot live without God

in the world. Still he is younger than you are, and is much of an

age with myself, so I he handed I will give you the precedence."

As he spoke he handed her the cup. Minerva thought it very right and

proper of him to have given it to herself first; she accordingly began

praying heartily to Neptune. "O thou," she cried, "that encirclest

the earth, vouchsafe to grant the prayers of thy servants that call

upon thee. More especially we pray thee send down thy grace on Nestor

and on his sons; thereafter also make the rest of the Pylian people

some handsome return for the goodly hecatomb they are offering you.

Lastly, grant Telemachus and myself a happy issue, in respect of the

matter that has brought us in our to Pylos."

When she had thus made an end of praying, she handed the cup to Telemachus

and he prayed likewise. By and by, when the outer meats were roasted

and had been taken off the spits, the carvers gave every man his portion

and they all made an excellent dinner. As soon as they had had enough

to eat and drink, Nestor, knight of Gerene, began to speak.

"Now," said he, "that our guests have done their dinner, it will be

best to ask them who they are. Who, then, sir strangers, are you,

and from what port have you sailed? Are you traders? or do you sail

the seas as rovers with your hand against every man, and every man's

hand against you?"

Telemachus answered boldly, for Minerva had given him courage to ask

about his father and get himself a good name.

"Nestor," said he, "son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean name, you

ask whence we come, and I will tell you. We come from Ithaca under

Neritum, and the matter about which I would speak is of private not

public import. I seek news of my unhappy father Ulysses, who is said

to have sacked the town of Troy in company with yourself. We know

what fate befell each one of the other heroes who fought at Troy,

but as regards Ulysses heaven has hidden from us the knowledge even

that he is dead at all, for no one can certify us in what place he

perished, nor say whether he fell in battle on the mainland, or was

lost at sea amid the waves of Amphitrite. Therefore I am suppliant

at your knees, if haply you may be pleased to tell me of his melancholy

end, whether you saw it with your own eyes, or heard it from some

other traveller, for he was a man born to trouble. Do not soften things

out of any pity for me, but tell me in all plainness exactly what

you saw. If my brave father Ulysses ever did you loyal service, either

by word or deed, when you Achaeans were harassed among the Trojans,

bear it in mind now as in my favour and tell me truly all."

"My friend," answered Nestor, "you recall a time of much sorrow to

my mind, for the brave Achaeans suffered much both at sea, while privateering

under Achilles, and when fighting before the great city of king Priam.

Our best men all of them fell there- Ajax, Achilles, Patroclus peer

of gods in counsel, and my own dear son Antilochus, a man singularly

fleet of foot and in fight valiant. But we suffered much more than

this; what mortal tongue indeed could tell the whole story? Though

you were to stay here and question me for five years, or even six,

I could not tell you all that the Achaeans suffered, and you would

turn homeward weary of my tale before it ended. Nine long years did

we try every kind of stratagem, but the hand of heaven was against

us; during all this time there was no one who could compare with your

father in subtlety- if indeed you are his son- I can hardly believe

my eyes- and you talk just like him too- no one would say that people

of such different ages could speak so much alike. He and I never had

any kind of difference from first to last neither in camp nor council,

but in singleness of heart and purpose we advised the Argives how

all might be ordered for the best.

"When however, we had sacked the city of Priam, and were setting sail

in our ships as heaven had dispersed us, then Jove saw fit to vex

the Argives on their homeward voyage; for they had Not all been either

wise or understanding, and hence many came to a bad end through the

displeasure of Jove's daughter Minerva, who brought about a quarrel

between the two sons of Atreus.

"The sons of Atreus called a meeting which was not as it should be,

for it was sunset and the Achaeans were heavy with wine. When they

explained why they had called- the people together, it seemed that

Menelaus was for sailing homeward at once, and this displeased Agamemnon,

who thought that we should wait till we had offered hecatombs to appease

the anger of Minerva. Fool that he was, he might have known that he

would not prevail with her, for when the gods have made up their minds

they do not change them lightly. So the two stood bandying hard words,

whereon the Achaeans sprang to their feet with a cry that rent the

air, and were of two minds as to what they should do.

"That night we rested and nursed our anger, for Jove was hatching

mischief against us. But in the morning some of us drew our ships

into the water and put our goods with our women on board, while the

rest, about half in number, stayed behind with Agamemnon. We- the

other half- embarked and sailed; and the ships went well, for heaven

had smoothed the sea. When we reached Tenedos we offered sacrifices

to the gods, for we were longing to get home; cruel Jove, however,

did not yet mean that we should do so, and raised a second quarrel

in the course of which some among us turned their ships back again,

and sailed away under Ulysses to make their peace with Agamemnon;

but I, and all the ships that were with me pressed forward, for I

saw that mischief was brewing. The son of Tydeus went on also with

me, and his crews with him. Later on Menelaus joined us at Lesbos,

and found us making up our minds about our course- for we did not

know whether to go outside Chios by the island of Psyra, keeping this

to our left, or inside Chios, over against the stormy headland of

Mimas. So we asked heaven for a sign, and were shown one to the effect

that we should be soonest out of danger if we headed our ships across

the open sea to Euboea. This we therefore did, and a fair wind sprang

up which gave us a quick passage during the night to Geraestus, where

we offered many sacrifices to Neptune for having helped us so far

on our way. Four days later Diomed and his men stationed their ships

in Argos, but I held on for Pylos, and the wind never fell light from

the day when heaven first made it fair for me.

"Therefore, my dear young friend, I returned without hearing anything

about the others. I know neither who got home safely nor who were

lost but, as in duty bound, I will give you without reserve the reports

that have reached me since I have been here in my own house. They

say the Myrmidons returned home safely under Achilles' son Neoptolemus;

so also did the valiant son of Poias, Philoctetes. Idomeneus, again,

lost no men at sea, and all his followers who escaped death in the

field got safe home with him to Crete. No matter how far out of the

world you live, you will have heard of Agamemnon and the bad end he

came to at the hands of Aegisthus- and a fearful reckoning did Aegisthus

presently pay. See what a good thing it is for a man to leave a son

behind him to do as Orestes did, who killed false Aegisthus the murderer

of his noble father. You too, then- for you are a tall, smart-looking

fellow- show your mettle and make yourself a name in story."

"Nestor son of Neleus," answered Telemachus, "honour to the Achaean

name, the Achaeans applaud Orestes and his name will live through

all time for he has avenged his father nobly. Would that heaven might

grant me to do like vengeance on the insolence of the wicked suitors,

who are ill treating me and plotting my ruin; but the gods have no

such happiness in store for me and for my father, so we must bear

it as best we may."

"My friend," said Nestor, "now that you remind me, I remember to have

heard that your mother has many suitors, who are ill disposed towards

you and are making havoc of your estate. Do you submit to this tamely,

or are public feeling and the voice of heaven against you? Who knows

but what Ulysses may come back after all, and pay these scoundrels

in full, either single-handed or with a force of Achaeans behind him?

If Minerva were to take as great a liking to you as she did to Ulysses

when we were fighting before Troy (for I never yet saw the gods so

openly fond of any one as Minerva then was of your father), if she

would take as good care of you as she did of him, these wooers would

soon some of them him, forget their wooing."

Telemachus answered, "I can expect nothing of the kind; it would be

far too much to hope for. I dare not let myself think of it. Even

though the gods themselves willed it no such good fortune could befall

me."

On this Minerva said, "Telemachus, what are you talking about? Heaven

has a long arm if it is minded to save a man; and if it were me, I

should not care how much I suffered before getting home, provided

I could be safe when I was once there. I would rather this, than get

home quickly, and then be killed in my own house as Agamemnon was

by the treachery of Aegisthus and his wife. Still, death is certain,

and when a man's hour is come, not even the gods can save him, no

matter how fond they are of him."

"Mentor," answered Telemachus, "do not let us talk about it any more.

There is no chance of my father's ever coming back; the gods have

long since counselled his destruction. There is something else, however,

about which I should like to ask Nestor, for he knows much more than

any one else does. They say he has reigned for three generations so

that it is like talking to an immortal. Tell me, therefore, Nestor,

and tell me true; how did Agamemnon come to die in that way? What

was Menelaus doing? And how came false Aegisthus to kill so far better

a man than himself? Was Menelaus away from Achaean Argos, voyaging

elsewhither among mankind, that Aegisthus took heart and killed Agamemnon?"

"I will tell you truly," answered Nestor, "and indeed you have yourself

divined how it all happened. If Menelaus when he got back from Troy

had found Aegisthus still alive in his house, there would have been

no barrow heaped up for him, not even when he was dead, but he would

have been thrown outside the city to dogs and vultures, and not a

woman would have mourned him, for he had done a deed of great wickedness;

but we were over there, fighting hard at Troy, and Aegisthus who was

taking his ease quietly in the heart of Argos, cajoled Agamemnon's

wife Clytemnestra with incessant flattery.

"At first she would have nothing to do with his wicked scheme, for

she was of a good natural disposition; moreover there was a bard with

her, to whom Agamemnon had given strict orders on setting out for

Troy, that he was to keep guard over his wife; but when heaven had

counselled her destruction, Aegisthus thus this bard off to a desert

island and left him there for crows and seagulls to batten upon- after

which she went willingly enough to the house of Aegisthus. Then he

offered many burnt sacrifices to the gods, and decorated many temples

with tapestries and gilding, for he had succeeded far beyond his expectations.

"Meanwhile Menelaus and I were on our way home from Troy, on good

terms with one another. When we got to Sunium, which is the point

of Athens, Apollo with his painless shafts killed Phrontis the steersman

of Menelaus' ship (and never man knew better how to handle a vessel

in rough weather) so that he died then and there with the helm in

his hand, and Menelaus, though very anxious to press forward, had

to wait in order to bury his comrade and give him his due funeral

rites. Presently, when he too could put to sea again, and had sailed

on as far as the Malean heads, Jove counselled evil against him and

made it it blow hard till the waves ran mountains high. Here he divided

his fleet and took the one half towards Crete where the Cydonians

dwell round about the waters of the river Iardanus. There is a high

headland hereabouts stretching out into the sea from a place called

Gortyn, and all along this part of the coast as far as Phaestus the

sea runs high when there is a south wind blowing, but arter Phaestus

the coast is more protected, for a small headland can make a great

shelter. Here this part of the fleet was driven on to the rocks and

wrecked; but the crews just managed to save themselves. As for the

other five ships, they were taken by winds and seas to Egypt, where

Menelaus gathered much gold and substance among people of an alien

speech. Meanwhile Aegisthus here at home plotted his evil deed. For

seven years after he had killed Agamemnon he ruled in Mycene, and

the people were obedient under him, but in the eighth year Orestes

came back from Athens to be his bane, and killed the murderer of his