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15 - The Odyssey - Homer · Adventure Books Collection

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Book fifteen. But Minerva went to the fair city of Lacedaemon to tell Ulysses's
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son that he was to return at once. She found him in Pisistitus,
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sleeping in the forecourt of Menealeus's house. Pisistitus was fast asleep, but Telemachus
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could get no rest all night for thinking of his unhappy father. So Minerva
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went close up to him and said, Telemachus, you should not remain so
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far away from home any longer, nor leave your property with such dangerous people
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in your house. They will eat up everything you have among them, and
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you will have been on a fool's Errand ask Menieus to send you home at
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once if you wish to find your excellent mother still there. When you get
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back, her father and brothers are already urging her to marry Euymicus, who
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was given more than any of the others, and has been greatly increasing his
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wedding presents. I hope nothing valuable may have been taken from the house in
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spite of you, But you know what woman are. They always want to
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do the best they can for the man who marries them, and never give
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another thought to the children of their first husband. Nor to their father either
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when he is dead and done with. Go home therefore, and put everything
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in charge of the most respectable woman servant that you have, until it shall
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please Heaven to send you a wife of your own. Let me tell you
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also of another matter which you had better attend to. The chief men among
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the suitors are lying in wait for you in the strait between Ithaca and Samos,
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and they mean to kill you before you can reach home. I do
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not much think they will succeed. It is more likely that some of those
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who are now eating up your property will find a grave themselves. Sail night
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and day, and keep your ship well away from the islands. The god
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who watches over you and protects you, will send you a fair wind as
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soon as you get to Ithaca. Send your ship and men on to the
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town. But yourself goes straight to the swineherd who has charged your pigs.
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He is well disposed towards you. Stay with him therefore or for the night,
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and then send him to Penelope to tell her that you have got back
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safe from Pelus. Then she went back to Olympus. But Telemachus stirred Persistitus
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with his heel to rouse him and said, wake up, Pisistitus, and
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yoke the horses to the chariot, for we must set off home. But
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Pasistitus said, no matter what hurry we are in, we cannot drive in
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the dark. It will be morning soon. Wait till Menelaus has brought his
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presents and put them in the chariot for us, and let him say good
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bye to us in the usual way. So long as he lives, I
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guess should never forget a host who has shown him kindness. As he spoke,
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day began to break, and Menelaus, who had already risen, leaving
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Helen in bed, came towards them. When Telemachus saw him, he put
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on his shirt as fast as he could, threw a great cloak over his
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shoulders, and went out to meet him. Menilaeus said, he let me
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go back now to my own country, for I want to get home.
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And Menelaeus answered Telemachus, if you insist on going, I will not detain
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you. I do not like to see a host either too fond of his
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guest or too rude to him. Moderation is best in all things, and
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not letting a man go when he wants to do so is as bad as
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telling him to go if he would like to stay. One should treat a
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guest well as long as he is in the house, and speed him when
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he wants to leave it. Wait then till I can get your beautiful presents
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into your chariot, and till you have yourself seen them. I will tell
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the woman to prepare a sufficient dinner for you, of what there may be
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in the house. It will be at once more proper and cheaper for you
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to get your dinner before setting out in such a long journey. If moreover
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you have a fancy for making a tour of Hellas or in the Peloponnese,
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I will yoke my horses and will conduct you myself through all our principal cities.
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No one will send us away empty handed. Every one will give us
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something a bronze tripod, a couple of mules, or a gold cup.
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Menelaus replied, t Lemachus, I want to go home at once, for
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when I came away, I left my property without protection, and fear that
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while looking for my father I shall come to ruin myself or find that something
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valuable has been stolen during my absence. When Menelaeus heard this, he immediately
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told his wife and servants to prepare a sufficient dinner from what there might be
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in the house. At this moment, Etionius joined him, for he lived
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close by and had just got up, So Menelaeus told him to light the
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fire and cook some meat, which he at once did. Then Menelaeus went
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down into his fragrance store room, not alone, but Helen went too with
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Megapenthes. When he reached a place where the treasures of his house were kept,
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he selected a double cup and told his son Megapenthes to bring also a
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silver mixing bowl. Meanwhile, Helen went to the chest where she kept the
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lovely dresses which she had made with her own hands, and took out one
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that was the largest and most beautifully enriched with embroidery. It glittered like a
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star and lay at the very bottom of the chest. Then they all came
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back through the house again until they got to Telemachus and Meneleeus said, Telemachus,
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may Jove, the mighty husband of Juno, bring you safely home according
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to your desire. I will now present you with the finest and most precious
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piece of plate in all my house. It is a mixing bowl of pure
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silver, except the rim, which is inlaid with gold. And it is
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the work of Vulcan. Fadimus, king of the Sidonians, made me a
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present of it in the course of a visit that I paid him while I
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was on my return home. I should like to give it to you.
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With these words, he placed the double cup in the hands of Telemachus,
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while Megapenthes brought the beautiful mixing bowl and set it before him. Hard By
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stood lovely Helen, with the robe ready in her hand. I to my
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son, said, she have something for you as a keepsake from the hand
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of Helen. It is for your bride to wear upon her wedding day.
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Till then get your dear mother to keep it for you. Thus may you
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go back rejoicing to your own country and to your home. So saying,
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she gave the robe over to him, and he received it gladly. Then
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Pisistitus put the presents into the chariot and admired them all as he did so.
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Presently, Menelaeus took Telemachus and Pisisitus into the house, and they both
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of them sat down to table. A maid servant brought them water in a
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beautiful golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their
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hands, and she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought
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them bread and offered them many good things of what there was in the house.
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Etionius carved the meat and gave them each their portions, while Megapenthes poured
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out the wine. Then they laid their hands upon the good things that were
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before them. But as soon as they had had enough to eat and drink,
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Telemachus and Posisitus yoked the horses and took their places in the chariot.
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They drove out through the inner gateway and under the echoing gatehouse of the outer
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court. A Menilaeus came after them with a golden goblet of wine in his
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right hand, that they might make a drink offering. Before they set out,
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he stood in front of the horses and pledged them, saying, farewell
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to both of you. See that you tell Nestor how I have treated you,
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For he was kind to me as any father could be. While we
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Akenes were fighting before Troy. We will be sure, sir, answered Telemachus,
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to tell him everything as soon as we see him. I wish I
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were as certain of finding Ulysses returned when I get back to Ithaca, that
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I might tell him of the very great kindness you have shown me, and
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of the many beautiful presents I am taking with me. As he was thus
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speaking, a bird flew on his right hand, an eagle with a great
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white goose in its talons, which it had carried off from the farm yard,
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and all the men and women were running after it and shouting. It
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came quite close up to them and flew away on their right hands, in
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front of the horses. When they saw it, they were glad, and
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their hearts took comfort within them. Whereon, Posisitus said, tell me,
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Menelaeus, has Heaven sent this omen for us or for you? Menilaeus was
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thinking what would be the most proper answer for him to make, but Helen
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was too quick for him, and said, I will read this matter as
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Heaven has put it in my heart, and as I doubt not that it
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will come to pass. The eagle came from the mountain where it was bred,
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and has its nest an in like manner. Ulysses, having traveled far
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and suffered much, will return to take his revenge, if indeed he is
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not back already and hatching mischief for the suitors. May jove so grant,
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it, replied Telemachus. If it should prove to be so, I will
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make vows to you as though you were a god, even when I am
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at home. As he spoke, he lashed his horses, and they started
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off at full speed through the town towards the open country. They swayed the
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yoke upon their necks and traveled the whole day long till the sun set and
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darkness was over all the land. Then they reached Fury, where Diocles lived,
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who was son of Artilochus, the son of Alpheus. There they passed
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the night and were treated hospitably. When the child of morning, rosy fingered
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dawn appeared, they again yoked their horses and their places in their chariot.
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They drove out through the inner gateway and under the echoing gatehouse of the outer
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court. Then Pisistitus lashed his horses on, and they flew towards nothing loathe.
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Ere long they came to Pilos, and then Telemachus said, Pisistitus,
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I hope you will promise to do what I am going to ask you.
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You know, our fathers were old friends before us. Moreover, we are
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both of an age, and this journey has brought us together still more closely.
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Do not, therefore take me past my ship, but leave me there,
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For if I go to your father's house, he will try to keep
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me in the warmth of his good will towards me, and I must go
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home at once. Pasisiciitus thought how he should do what he was asked,
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and in the end he deemed it best to turn his horses towards the ship
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and put Menelaeus's beautiful presence of gold and raiment in the stern of the vessel.
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Then he said, go on board at once, and tell your men
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to do so also, before I can reach home to tell my father.
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I know how obstinate he is, and am sure he will not let you
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go. He will come down here to fetch you, and he will not
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go back without you, but he will be very angry with this. He
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drove his goodly steeds back to the city of the Pilians, and soon reached
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his home. Telemachus called the men together and gave his orders. Now my
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men, said he get everything in order on board the ship, and let
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us set out home. Thus did he speak, and they went on board
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even as he had said. But as Telemachus was thus busied praying also and
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sacrificing to Minerva in the ship's stern, there came to him a man from
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a distant country, a seer, who was flying from Argos because he had
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killed a man. He was descended from Melampus, who used to live in
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Pilas, the land of sheep. He was rich and owned a great house,
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but he was driven into exile by the great and powerful king Nelius.
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Nelius seized his goods and held them for a whole year, during which he
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was a close prisoner in the house of King Philicus, and in much distress
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of mind, both on account of the daughter of Nelius and because he was
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haunted by a great sorrow that dread Irinies had laid upon him. In the
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end, however, he escaped with his life, drove the cattle from Phyllis
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to Pelus, avenged the wrong that had been done to him, and gave
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the daughter of Nelius to his brother. Then he left the country and went
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to Argus, where it was ordained that he should reign over much people.
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There he married, established himself, and had two famous sons Antipides and Mantius.
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Antipides became father of Oeclius and Oeclius of Amphioreus, who was dearly loved
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by both Jove and by Apollo. But he did not live to an old
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age, for he was killed in Thebes by reasons of a woman's gifts.
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His sons were Achmion and Amphilicus. Mantius, the other son of Melampus,
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was father to Polyphides and Cletus. Aurora, throned in gold, carried off
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Clidus for his beauty's sake, that he might dwell among the immortals. But
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Apollom made Polyphides the greatest seer in the whole world. Now that Amphioreus was
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dead, he quarreled with his father and went to live in Hyperasia, where
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he remained and prophesied for all men. His son, Theoclemenus, it was
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who now came up to Telemachus as he was making drink offerings and praying in
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his ship. Friend said he, now that I find you sacrificing in this
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place, I beseech you, by your sacrifices themselves and by the God to
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whom you make them, I pray you also by your own head and by
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those of your followers. Tell me the truth and nothing but the truth.
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Who and whence are you? Tell me also of your town and parents,
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Telemachus said, I will answer you quite truly. I am from Ithaca,
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and my father is Ulysses, as surely as that he ever lived, but
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he has come to some miserable end. Therefore I have taken this ship and
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got my crew together to see if I can hear any news of him,
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for he has been away a long time. I too, answered Theoclemenus,
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am in exile, for I have killed a man of my own race.
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He has many brothers and kinsmen in Argus, and they have great power among
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the Argives. I am flying to escape death at their hands, and am
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thus doomed to be a wanderer on the face of the earth. I am
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your suppliant. Take me therefore on board your ship, that they may not
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kill me, for I know that they are in pursuit. I will not
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refuse you, replied Telemachus. If you wish to join us, come therefore,
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and in Ithaca. We will treat you hospitably according to what we have
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on this He received Theoclemenus's spear and laid it down on the deck of the
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ship. He went on board and sat in the stern, bidding Theoclemenus sit
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beside him. Then the men let go the hawsers. Telemachus told them to
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catch hold of the ropes, and they made all haste to do so.
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They set the mast in its socket in the cross plank, raised it and
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made it fast for the forestays, and they hoisted their white sails with sheets
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of twisted ox hide. Minerva sent them a fair wind that blew fresh and
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strong, to take the ship on her course as fast as possible. Thus,
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then they passed by Croney and Chalcis. Presently the sunset and darkness was
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over all the land. The vessel made a quick passage to Fee and thence
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on to Elis, where the Apians rule. Telemachus then headed her for the
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Flying Islands, wandering within himself whether he should escape death or should be taken
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prisoner. Meanwhile, Ulysses and the swineherd were eating their supper in the hut,
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and the men supped with them. As soon as they had had to
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eat and drink. Ulysses began trying to prove the swineherd and to see whether
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he would continue to treat him kindly, and to ask him to stay on
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at the station or pack came off to the city. So he said,
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Eumaeus and all of you, tomorrow, I want to go away and begin
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begging about the town, so as to be no more trouble to you or
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to your men. Give me your advice therefore, and let me have a
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good guide to go with me and show me the way. I will go
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the round of the city, begging as I needs must to see if any
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one will give me a drink and a piece of bread. I should like
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also to go to the house of Ulysses and bring news of her husband to
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Queen Penelope. I could then go about among the suitors and see if,
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out of all their abundance, they will give me a dinner. I should
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soon make them an excellent servant in all sort of ways. Listen and believe
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when I tell you that, by the blessing of Mercury, who gives grace
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and good name to the works of all men, there is no one living
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who would make a more handy servant than I should. To put fresh wood
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on their fire, chop fuel, carve, cook, pour out wine,
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and do all those services that poor men have to do for their betters.
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The swineherd was very much disturbed when he heard this. Heaven help me,
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he exclaimed, whatever can have put such a notion as that into your head?
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If you go near the suitors, you will be undone to a certainty,
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for their pride and insolence reached the very heavens. They would never think
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of taking a man like you for a servant. Their servants are all young
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men, well dressed, wearing good cloaks and shirts, with well looking faces,
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and their hair always tidy. The tables are kept quite clean, and
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are loaded with bread, meat, and wine. Stay where you are,
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then you are not in anybody's way. I do not mind your being here,
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no more do any of the others. And when Telemachus comes home,
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he will give you a shirt and cloak, and will send you wherever you
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want to go. Ulysses answered, I hope you may be as dear to
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the gods as you are to me, for having saved me from going about
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and getting into trouble. There is nothing worse than being always on the tramp.
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Still, when men have once got low down in the world, they
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will go through a great deal on behalf of their miserable bellies. Since,
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however, you press me to stay here and wait the return of Telemachus.
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Tell about Ulysses's mother and his father, whom he left on the threshold of
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old age when he set out for Troy. Are they still living or are
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they already dead? And in the house of Hades, I will tell you
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all about them, replied Eumaeus. Laertes is still living, and praise Heaven
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to let him depart peacefully his own house, for he is terribly distressed about
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the absence of his son, and also about the death of his wife,
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which grieved him greatly and aged him more than anything else did. She came
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to an unhappy end through sorrow for her son. May no friend or neighbor
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who has dealt kindly by me come to such an end as she did.
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As long as she was living, though she was always grieving. I used
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to like seeing her and asking her how she did, for she brought me
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up along with her daughter, Sintimmony, the youngest of her children. We
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were boy and girl together, and she made little difference between us. When,
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however, we both grew up. They sent Sentimody to Sammy and received
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a splendid diary for her. As for me, my mistress gave me a
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good shirt and cloak with a pair of sandals from my feet, and send
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me off to the country. But she was just as fond as me.
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As ever, this is all over now. Still it has pleased Heaven to
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prosper my work in the situation which I now hold. I have enough to
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eat and drink, and can find something for any respectable stranger who comes here.
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But there is no getting a kind word or deed out of my mistress,
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for the house has fallen into the hands of wicked people. Servants want
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sometimes to see their mistress and have a talk with her. They like to
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have something to eat and drink at the house, and something too to take
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back with them into the country. This is what will keep so servants in
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a good humor. Ulysses answered, then you must have been a very little
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fellow, Eumaeus, when you were taken so far away from your home and
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parents. Tell me, and tell me true, was the city in which
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your father and mother lived sacked and pillaged? Or did some enemies carry you
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off? When you are alone tending sheep or cattle? Ship you off here
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and sell you for whatever your master gave them. Stranger, replied Eumaeus.
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As regards your question, sit still, make yourself comfortable, drink your wine,
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and listen to me. The nights are now at their longest. There
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is plenty of time for both sleeping and sitting up talking together. You ought
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not to go to bed till bedtime. Too much sleep is as bad as
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too little. If any one of the others wishes to go to bed,
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let him leave us and do so. He can then take my master's pigs
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out when he has done breakfast. In the morning, we too will sit
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here, eating and drinking in the hut and telling one another's stories about Arma's
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fortune. For when a man has suffered much and been buffeted about in the
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world, he takes pleasure in recalling the memory of sorrows that have long gone
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by. As regards your question, then my tale is as follows. You
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may have heard of an island called Syria that lies over above Rotigia, where
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the land begins to turn round and look in another direction. It is not
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very thickly peopled, but the soil is good, with much pasture, fit
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for cattle and sheep, and It abounds with wine and wheat. Earth never
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comes there, nor are the people plagued by any sickness. But when they
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grow old, Apollo comes with Diana and kills them with his painless shafts.
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It contains two communities, and the whole country is divided between these two.
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My father Setisius, son of Ormenius, a man comparable to the gods,
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reigned over both. Now to this place, there came some cunning traitors from
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Phoenicia. For the Phoenicians are great mariners, and a ship which they had
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freighted with gagas of all kinds. There happened to be a Phoenician woman in
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my father's house, very tall and comely, and an excellent servant. These
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scoundrels got hold of her one day when she was washing near their ship,
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seduced her and cajolder in a way that no woman can resist, no matter
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how good she may be in nature. The man who seduced her asked her
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who she was and where she came from, And on this she told him
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her father's name. I come from Siddon, she said, and am daughter
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to Erebis, a man rolling in wealth. One day, as I was
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coming into the town, from the country. Some Taphian pirates seized me and
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took me here over the sea, where they sold me to the man who
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owns this house, and he gave them their price for me. The man
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who had seduced her then said, would you like to come along with us
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to see the house of your parents? And your parents themselves they are both
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alive and are said to be well off. I will do so, gladly,
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answered she, if you men will first swear me a solemn oath that
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you will do me no harm. By the way, they all swore as
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she told them, And when they had completed their oath, the woman said,
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hush, and if any of your men meets me in the streets are
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at the well, do not let him speak to me, for fear some
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one should go and tell my master, in which case he would suspect something.
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He would put me in prison and would have all of you murdered.
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Keep your counsel. Therefore, buy your merchandise as fast you can, and
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send me word when you have done loading. I will bring as much gold
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as I can lay my hands on. And there is something else also that
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I can do towards paying my fare. I am nursed the son of the
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good man of the house, a funny little fellow, just able to run
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about. I will carry him off in your ship, and you will get
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a great deal of money for him if you take him and sell them in
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foreign parts. On this she went back to the house. The Phoenicians stayed
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a whole year till they had loaded their ship with much precious merchandise, and
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then when they had got freight enough, they sent to tell the woman.
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Their messenger, a very cunning fellow, came to my father's house bringing a
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necklace of gold with amber beads strung among it, And while my mother and
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the servants had it in their hands, admiring it and bargaining about it,
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he made a sign quietly to the woman, and then went back to the
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ship, whereon she took me by the hand and led me out of the
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house. In the fore part of the house, she saw the tables set
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with the cups of guests who had been feasting with my father as being in
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attendance on him. These were now all gone to a meeting of the public
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assembly. So she snatched up three cups and carried them off in the bosom
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of her dress. While I followed her, for I knew no better.
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The sun was now set and darkness was over all the land, so we
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hurried on as fast as we could, till we reached the harbor where the
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Phoenician's ship was lying. When they had got on board, they sailed their
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ways over the sea, taking us with them, and Jove sent them a
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fair wood. Six days did we sail, both night and day. But
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on the seventh day Diana struck the woman, and she fell heavily down onto
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the ship's hold, as though she were a seagull alighting on the water.
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So they threw her overboard to the seals and fishes, and I was left
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all sorrowful and alone. Presently, the winds and waves took the ship to
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Ithaca, where Laites gave sundry of his chattels for me. And thus it
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was that I ever came to set eyes upon this country. Ulysses answered Eumaeus,
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I have heard the story of your misfortunes with the most lively interest and
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pity. But Jove has given you good as well as evil, For in
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spite of everything you have a good master who sees that you always have enough
25:45
to eat and drink, and you lead a good life, whereas I am
25:48
still going about begging my way from city to city. Thus did they converse,
25:53
and they had only a very little time left for sleep, for soon
25:56
it was daybreak. In the meantime, Telemachus and his crew were nearing land,
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so they loosed the sails, took down the mast, and rowed the
26:07
ship into the harbor. They cast out their mooring stones and made fast for
26:11
the hawsers. They then got out upon the sea shore, mixed their wine,
26:15
and got dinner ready. As soon as they had had enough to eat
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and drink, Telemachus said, take the ship on to the town, but
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leave me here, for I want to look after the herdsmen in one of
26:26
my farms. In the evening. When I have seen all I want,
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I will come down to the city, and tomorrow morning, in return for
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your trouble, I will give you all a good dinner with meat and wine.
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Then Theoclemenus said, and what my dear young friend, is to become
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of me? To whose house among all your chief men am I to repair?
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Or shall I go straight to your house and to your mother? At
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any other time, replied Telemachus, I should have bidden you to go to
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my own house, for you would find no want of hospitality. At the
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present moment, however, you would not be comfortable there, for I shall
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be away and my mother will not see you. She does not often show
27:07
herself even to the suitors, but sits at our loom, weaving in an
27:11
upper chamber, out of their way. But I can tell you a man
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whose house you can go to. I mean Eurymicus, the son of Polybus,
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who is held in the highest estimation by every one in Ithaca. He
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is much the best man and the most persistent wooer of all those who are
27:26
paying court to my mother and trying to take Ulysses place. Jove, however,
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in Heaven alone knows whether or no they will come to a bad end
27:36
before the marriage takes place. As he was speaking, a bird flew by
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upon his right hand, a hawk, Apollo's messenger. It held a dove
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in its talons, and the feathers, as it tore them off, fell
27:48
to the ground midway between Telemachus and the ship. On this Theoclemanius called him
27:55
apart and caught him by the hand. Telemachus said he that bird did not
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fly in your right hand without having been sent here by some god. As
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soon as I saw it, I knew it was an omen. It means
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that you will remain powerful, and there will be no house in Ithaca more
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royal than your own. I wish it may prove so, answered Telemachus.
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If it does, I will show you so much good will and give you
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so many presents that all who meet you will congratulate you. Then he said
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to his friend Piius Perius, son of Clytius, you have throughout shown yourself
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the most willing to serve me of all those who have accompanied me to Pelos.
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I wish you would take this stranger to your own house and entertain him
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hospitably till I can come for him. And Piius answered Telemachus, you may
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stay away as long as you please, but I will look after him for
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you, and he shall find no lack of hospitality. As he spoke,
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he went on board and bade the others do so also, and loose the
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hawcers. So they took their places in the shop. But Telemachus bound on
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his sandals and took a long and doughty spear with a head of sharpened bronze
29:07
from the deck of the ship. Then they loosed the hawsers, thrust the
29:11
ship off from land, and made on towards the city, as they had
29:15
been told to do, while Telemachus strode on as fast as he could,
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till he reached the homestead where his countless herds of swine were feeding, and
29:22
where dwelt the excellent swineherd who was so devoted a servant to his master.
29:30
End of Book fifteen