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03 - The Odyssey - Homer · Adventure Books Library

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Book three. But as the sun was rising from the fair sea into the
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firmament of heaven to shed light on mortals and immortals, they reached Pylos,
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the city of Nelius. Now the people of Pylos were gathered on the sea
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shore to offer sacrifice of black bulls to Neptune, lord of the earthquake.
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There were nine guilds with five hundred men in each, and there were nine
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bulls to each guild. As they were eating the inward meats and burning the
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thigh bones on the embers in the name of Neptune. Telemachus and his crew
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arrived, furled their sails, brought their ship to anchor, and went ashore.
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Minerva led the way, and Telemachus followed her. Presently, She said,
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Telemachus, you must not be in the least shy or nervous. You
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have taken this voyage to try and find out where your father is buried and
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how he came by his end. So go straight up to Nestor, that
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we may see what he has got to tell us. Beg of him to
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speak the truth, and he will tell no lies, for he is an
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excellent person. But how Mentor replied to Lemachus dare I go up to Nestor?
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And how am I to address him? I have never yet been used
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to holding long conversations with people, and am ashamed to begin questioning one who
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is so much older than myself some things, Telemachus answered, Minerva will be
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suggested to you by your own instinct, and Heaven will prompt you further,
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for I am assured that the gods have been with you from the time of
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your birth until now. She then went quickly on, and Telemachus followed in
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her steps till they reached the place where the guilds of the Pilian people were
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assembled. There they found Nestor sitting with his sons, while his company round
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him were busy getting dinner ready and putting pieces of meat onto the spits while
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other pieces were cooking. When they saw the strangers, they crowded round them,
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took them by the hand, and bade them take their places. Nestor's
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son, Pisistretus at once offered his hand to each of them and seated them
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on some soft sheepskins that were lying on the sands near his father and his
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brother Thricymides. Then he gave them their portions of the inward meats and poured
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wine for them into a golden cup, handing it to Minerva first, and
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saluting her at the same time. Offer a prayer, sir, said he
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to King Neptune. For it is his feast that you are joining. When
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you have duly prayed and made your drink offering, passed the cup to your
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friend, that he may do so also. I doubt not that he too
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lifts his hands in prayer, for man cannot live without God in the world.
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Still, he is younger than you are, and is much of an
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age with myself. So I he handed, I will give you the precedence.
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As he spoke, he handed her the cup. Minerva thought it very
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right and proper of him to have given it to herself first. She accordingly
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began praying heartily to Neptune, O Thou, She cried, that in circles
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the earth vouchsafe to grant the prayers of thy servants that call upon me.
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More especially, we pray thee send down thy grace on Nestor and on his
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sons. Thereafter, also make the rest of the Pylian people some handsome return
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for the goodly HECATU mayre offering you. Lastly, grant Telemachus and myself a
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happy issue in respect of the matter that has brought us in our to Pylos.
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When she had thus made an end of praying, she handed the cup
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to Telemachus, and he prayed likewise, by and bye. When the outer
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meats were roasted and had been taken off the spits, the carvers gave every
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man his portion, and they all made an excellent dinner. As soon as
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they had had enough to eat and drink, Nesser knight of Gerene, began
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to speak. Now, said he that our guests have done their dinner,
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it will be best to ask them who they are. Who, then,
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sir, strangers, are you and from what port have you sailed? Are
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you traders? Or do you sail the seas as rovers? With your hand
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against every man and every man's hand against you? Telemachus answered boldly, for
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Minerva had given him courage to ask about his father and get himself a good
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name. Nestor, said he, son of Nelius, honor to the Acaean
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name. You ask whence we come, and I will tell you. We
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come from Ithaca under Neretum. And the matter about which I would speak is
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of private not public import I seek news of my unhappy father Ulysses, who
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is said to have sacked the town of Troy in company with yourself. We
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know what fate befell each one of the other heroes who fought at Troy.
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But as regards Ulysses, Heaven has hidden from us the knowledge even that he
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is dead at all, for no one can certify us in what place he
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perished, nor say whether he fell in battle on the mainland, or was
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lost at sea amid the waves of Amphitrite. Therefore I am suppliant at your
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knees. If haply you may be pleased to tell me of his melancholy,
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and whether you saw it with your own eyes or heard it from some other
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traveler, For he was a man born to trouble. Do not soften things
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out of any pity for me, but tell me, in all plainness exactly
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what you saw. If my brave father Ulysses ever did you loyal service,
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either by word or deed, when you Achaeans were harassed among the Trojans,
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bear it in mind now as in my favor, and tell me truly all
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my friend answered Nestor you recall a time of much sorrow to my mind for
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the brave Achaeans suffered much, both at sea, while privateering under Achilles,
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and when fighting before the great city of King Priam. Our best men.
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All of them fell there, Ajax, Achilles, Patroclus, peer of gods,
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in council, and my own dear son Antilochus, a man singularly fleet
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of foot and in fight valiant. But we suffered much more than this.
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What mortal tongue could tell the whole story. Though you were to stay here
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and question me for five years or even six, I could not tell you
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all that the Achaeans suffered, and you would turn homeward weary of my tale
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before it ended. Nine long years did we try every kind of stratagem,
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but the hand of Heaven was against us. During all this time there was
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not one who could compare with your father in subtlety. If indeed you are
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his son, I can hardly believe my eyes, and you talk just like
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him too. No one would say that people of such different ages could speak
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so much alike. He and I never had any kind of difference from first
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to last, neither in camp nor council. But in singleness of heart and
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purpose we advised the archives. How all might be ordered for the best.
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When, however, we had sacked the city of Priam and were setting sail
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in our ships as Heaven had dispersed us. Then Jove saw fit to vex
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the archives on their homeward voyage, for they had not all been either wise
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or understanding, and hence many came to a bad end through the displeasure of
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Jove's daughter, Minerva, who brought about a quarrel between the two sons of
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Atreus. The sons of Atreus called a meeting, which was not as it
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should be, for it was sunset, and the Achaeans were heavy with wine.
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When they explained why they had the people together, it seemed that Menelaus
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was for sailing homeward at once, and this displeased Agamemnon, who thought that
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we should wait until we had offered hecatombs to appease the anger of Minerva.
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Fool that he was, he might have known that he would not prevail with
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her, for when the gods have made up their minds, they do not
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change them lightly. So the two stood bandying hard words, whereon the Achaeans
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sprang to their feet with a cry that rent the air, and were of
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two minds as to what they should do. That night, we rested and
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nursed our anger, for Jove was hatching mischief against us. But in the
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morning some of us drew our ships into the water and put our goods with
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our women on board, while the rest, about half in number, stayed
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behind with Agamemnon. We the other half embarked and sailed, and the ships
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went well, for Heaven had smoothed the sea. When we reached Tenedos,
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we offered sacrifices to the gods, for we were longing to get home.
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Cruel Jove, however, did not yet mean that we should do so,
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and raised a second quarrel, in the course of which some among us turned
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their ships back again and sailed away under ulysses to make their peace with Agamemnon.
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But I and all the ships that were with me pressed forward, for
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I saw that mischief was brewing. The son of Taideus went on also with
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me, and his crews with him. Later on, Menelaeus joined us at
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Lesbos and found us making up our minds about our course, for we did
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not know whether to go outside Chios by the island of Syra, keeping this
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to our left, or inside Chios over against the stormy headland of Mimas.
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So we asked Heaven for a sign, and were shown one to the effect
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that we should be soonest out of danger if we headed our ships across the
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open sea to Eubia. This we therefore did, and a fair wind sprang
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up, which gave us a quick passage during the night to Geraistus, where
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we offered many sacrifices to Neptune for having helped us so far on our way.
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Four days later, Diomede and his men stationed their ships in Argos,
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but I held on for Pylos, and the wind never fell light from the
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day when Heaven first made it fair for me. Therefore, my dear young
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friend, I returned without hearing anything about the others. I know neither who
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got home safely nor who were lost. But as in duty bound, I
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will give you without reserve, the reports that have reached me since I have
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been here in my own house. They say the Mirmadons returned home safely under
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Achilles son Neoptolemus. So also did the valiant son of Poeus Phylactides. Idominius
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again lost no men at sea, and all his followers who escaped death in
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the field got home safe with him to crete. No matter how far out
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of the world you live, you will have heard of Agamemnon and the bad
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end he came to at the hands of Agisthus, and a fearful reckoning did
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Agisthus presently pay. See what a good thing it is for a man to
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leave a son behind him, to do as Orestes did, who killed false
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Agisthus, the murderer of his noble father. You too, then, for
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you are a tall, smart looking fellow, Show your metal and make yourself
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a name. In story, Nestor, son of Nelius, answered to Lemachus,
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honor to the Achaean name. The Achaeans applaud Orestes, and his name
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will live through all time, for he has avenged his father. Nobly would
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that Heaven might grant me to do like vengeance on the insolence of the wicked
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suitors who are ill treating me and plotting my ruin. But the gods have
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no such happiness in store for me and my father, so we must bear
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it as best we may. My friend, said Nestor, now that you
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remind me, I remember to have heard that your mother has many suitors who
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are ill disposed towards you, and are making havoc of your estate. Did
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you submit to this tamely or our public feeling in the voice of Heaven against
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you? Who knows but what Ulysses may come back after all and pay these
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scoundrels in full, either single handed or with a force of Achaeans behind him,
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if Minerva were to take as great a liking to you as she did
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to Ulysses when we were fighting before Troy. For I never yet saw the
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gods so openly fond of any one as Minerva then was of your father.
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If she would take as good care of you as she did of him,
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these wooers would soon some of them forget their wooing. Telemachus answered, I
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can expect nothing of the kind. It would be far too much to hope,
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for I dare not let myself think of it, even though the gods
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themselves willed it. No such good fortune could befall me on this, Minerva,
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said Telemachus, what are you talking about. Heaven has a long arm
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if it is minded to save a man, and if it were me,
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I should not care how much I suffered before getting home, provided I could
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be safe when I was once there. I would rather this than get home
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quickly and then be killed in my own house, as Agamemnon was by the
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treachery of Agisthus and his wife. Still death is certain, and when a
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man's hour is come, not even the gods can save him, no matter
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how fond they are of him. Mentor, answered Telemachus. Do not let
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us talk about it any more. There is no chance of my father's ever
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coming back. The gods have long since counseled his destruction. There is something
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else, however, about which I should like to ask Nestor, for he
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knows much more than any one else does. They say he has reigned for
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three generations, so that it is like talking to an immortal. Tell me,
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therefore, Nestor, and tell me true, how did Agamemnon come to
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die in that way? What was Menilaeus doing? And how came false Egistus
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to kill so far a better man than himself was Menilaeus away from Machay and
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Argos voyaging elsewhither among mankind that Egisthus took heart and killed Agamemnon. I will
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tell you, truly, answered Nestor, And indeed you have divined yourself how
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it all happened. If Menelaeus, when he got back from Troy, had
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found Agistus still alive in his house, there would have been no barrow heaped
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up for him, not even when he was dead. But he would have
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been thrown outside the city to dogs and vultures, and not a woman would
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have mourned him, for he had done indeed of great wickedness. But we
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were over there fighting hard at Troy, and Egisthus, who was taking his
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ease quiet in the heart of Argos, cajoled Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra with incessant
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flattery. At first, she would have nothing to do with his wicked scheme,
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for she was of a good natural disposition. Moreover, there was a
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bard with her, to whom Agamemnon had given strict orders on setting out for
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Troy, that he was to keep guard over his wife. But when Heaven
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had counseled her destruction, Egisthus thus this barred off to a desert island and
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left him there for crows and sigulls to batten upon, after which she went
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willingly enough to the house of Egisthus. Then he offered many burnt sacrifices to
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the gods and decorated many temples with tapestries and gilding, for he had succeeded
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far beyond his expectations. Meanwhile, Menelaeus and I were on our way home
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from Troy, on good terms with one another. When we got to Sunium,
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which is the point of Athens, Apollo, with his painless shafts,
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killed Phrontis, the steersman of menelaeus ship, And never man knew better how
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to handle a vessel in rough weather, so that he died then and there
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with the helm in his hand. And Menelaeus, though very anxious to press
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forward, had to wait in order to bury his comrade and give him his
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due funeral. Rites. Presently, when he too could put to sea again,
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and had sailed on as far as the Malayan heads, Jove counseled evil
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against him and made it blow hard till the waves ran mountains high. Here
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he divided his fleet and took the one half towards Crete, where the Sidonians
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dwell round the waters of the river Yardanus. There is a high headland hereabouts,
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stretching out into the sea from a place called Gorton, and all along
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this part of the coast as far as Fastus, the sea runs high when
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there is a south wind blowing, but after Paestus the coast is more protected,
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for a small headland can make a great shelter. Here. This part
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of the fleet was driven on to the rocks and wrecked, but the crews
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just managed to save themselves. As for the other five ships, they were
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taken by wind and seas to Egypt, where Menelaeus gathered much gold and substance
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among people of an alien speech. Meanwhile, Aegithus here at home, plotted
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his evil deed. For seven years. After he had killed Agamemnon, he
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ruled in Mycene, and the people were obedient under him. But in the
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eighth year, Orestes came back from Athens to be his bane and killed the
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murderer of his father. Then he celebrated the funeral rites of his mother and
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of false Agisthus by a banquet to the people of Argos. And on that
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very day Menelaeus came home with as much treasure as his ships could carry.
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And do not go traveling about for long so far from home, nor leave
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your property with such dangerous people in your house. They will eat up everything
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you have among them, and you will have been on a fool's Errand still
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I should advise you by all means, to go and visit Menelaeus, who
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has lately come off a voyage among such distant peoples as no man could ever
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hope to get back from, when the winds had once carried him so far
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out of his reckoning. Even birds cannot fly the distance in a twelve months,
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so vast and terrible are the seas that they must cross. Go to
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him, therefore, by sea, and take your own men with you,
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Or if you would rather travel by land, you can have a chariot,
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you can have horses. And here are my sons who can escort you to
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Lacedaemon, where Menelaeus lives. Beg of him to speak the truth, and
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he will tell you no lies, for he is an excellent person. As
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he spoke, the sun set and it came on dark whereon Minerva said,
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sir, all that you have said is well. Now, however, order
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the tongues of the victims to be cut and mix wine, that we may
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make drink offerings to Neptune and the other immortals, and then go to bed,
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For it is bedtime. People should go away early, and not keep
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late hours at a religious festival. Thus spoke the daughter of Jove, and
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they obeyed her, saying, men servants poured water over the hands of the
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guests, while pages filled the mixing bowls with wine and water and handed it
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round. After giving every man his drink offering, then they threw the tongue
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of the victims into the fire and stood up to make their drink offerings.
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When they had made their offerings and had drunk each as much as he was
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minded, Minerva and Telemachus were foregoing on board their ship, but Nestor caught
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them up at once and stayed them heaven and the immortal gods. He exclaimed,
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forbid that you should leave my house to go on board of a ship.
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Do you think I am so poor and short of clothes, or that
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I have so few cloaks and as to be unable to find comfortable beds,
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both for myself and for my guests. Let me tell you I have store
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both of rugs and cloaks, and shall not permit the son of my old
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friend Ulysses to camp down on the deck of a ship, not while I
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live, nor yet will my sons after me, But they will keep open
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house as I have done. Then, Minerva answered, sir, you have
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spoken well, and it will be much better that Telemachus should do as you
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have said. He therefore shall return with you and sleep at your house.
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But I must go back to give orders to my crew and keep them in
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good heart. I am the only older person among them. The rest are
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all young men of Telemachus's own age, who have taken this voyage out of
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friendship. So I must return to the ship and sleep there. Moreover,
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tomorrow I must go to the Calconians, where I have a large sum of
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money long owing to me. As for Telemachus, now that he is your
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guest, send him to Lacedaemon in a chariot, and let one of your
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sons go with him. Be pleased also to provide him with your best and
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fleetest horses. When she had thus spoken, she flew away in the form
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of an eagle, and all marveled as they beheld it. Nestor was astonished
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and took Telemachus by the hand. My friend said, he, I see
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that you are going to be a great hero some day, since the gods
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wait upon you. Thus, while you are still so young, this can
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have been none other of those who dwell in heaven than Jove's redoubtable daughter,
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the Triton born, who showed such favor towards your brave father among the argives,
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Holy Queen, He continued, vouchsafe to send down thy grace upon my
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myself, my good wife, and my children. In return, I will
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offer you in sacrifice a broad browed heifer of a year old, unbroken and
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never yet brought by man under the yoke. I will gild her horns and
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will offer her up to you in sacrifice. Thus did he pray, and
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Minerva heard his prayer. He then led the way to his own house,
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followed by his sons and sons in law. When they had got there and
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had taken their places on the benches and seats, he mixed them a bowl
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of sweet wine that was eleven years old. When the housekeeper took the lid
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off the jar that held it. As he mixed the wine, he prayed
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much and made drink offerings to Minerva, daughter of aegis bearing Jove. Then,
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when they had made their drink offerings and had drunk each as much as
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he was minded, the others went home to bed, each in his own
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abode. But Nestor put to Lemachus to sleep in the room that was over
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the gateway, along with Pisistratus, who was the only unmarried son. Now
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left him as for himself, he slept in an inner room of the house,
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with the queen his wife by his side. Now, when the child
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of morning, rosy fingered dawn, appeared, Nestor left his couch and took
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his seat on the benches of white and polished marble that stood in front of
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his house. Here aforetime sat Nelaeus, peer of gods in council, but
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he was now dead and had gone to the House of Hades. So Nestor
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sat in his seat, scepter in hand, as guardian of the public.
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Well. His sons, as they left their rooms, gathered round him etchephron
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Stratius, Perseus, Aretas, and Thrysymides. The sixth son was Pisistratus,
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and when Telemachus joined them, they made him sit with them. Nestor then
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addressed them, my sons, said, he make haste to do as I
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shall bid you. I wish first and foremost to propitiate the great goddess Minerva,
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who manifested herself visibly to me during yesterday's festivities. Go, then,
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one or the other of you to the plain. Tell the stockman to look
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me out a heifer and come on here with it. At once. Another
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must go to Telemachus's ship and invite all the crew, leaving two men only
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in charge of the vessel. Some one else will run and fetch Lercius,
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the goldsmith to gild the horns of the heifer. The rest stay all of
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you where you are. Tell the maids in the house to prepare an excellent
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dinner, and to fetch seats and logs of wood for a burnt offering.
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Tell them also to bring me some clear spring water. On this they hurried
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off on their several errands. The heifer was brought in from the plain,
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and Telemachus's crew came in from the ship. The goldsmith brought the anvil,
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hammer and tongs with which he worked his gold, and Minerva herself came to
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the sacrifice. Nestor gave out the gold, and the smith gilded the horns
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of the heifer, that the goddess might have pleasure in their beauty. Then
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Stratius and a Cheffrin brought her in by the horns. Aretas fetched water from
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the house in a ewer that had a flower pattern on it, and in
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his other hand he held a basket of barleymeal. Sturdy. Thrisimites stood by
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with a sharp axe, ready to strike the heifer, while Perseus held a
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bucket, then netting his hands and sprinkling the barley meal, and he offered
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many a prayer to Minerva as he threw a lock from the heifer's head upon
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the fire. When they had done praying and sprinkling the barleymeal, Thrisymides dealt
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his blow and brought the heifer down with a stroke that cut through the tendons
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at the base of her neck, whereon the daughters and daughters in law of
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Nestor and his venerable wife Eurydice, she was eldest daughter to Clemenus, screamed
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with delight. Then they lifted the heifer's head from off the ground, and
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Pisistratus cut her throat. When she had done bleeding and was quite dead,
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they cut her up. They cut out the thigh bones all in due course,
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wrapped them round in two layers of fat, and set some pieces of
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raw meat on the top of them. Then Nestor laid them upon the wood
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fire and poured wine over them, while the young men stood near him with
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five pronged spits in their hands. When the thighs were burned and they had
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tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest of the meat up small,
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put the pieces on the spits, and toasted them over the fire. Meanwhile,
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lovely polycasste Nestor's youngest daughter, washed Telemachus. When she had washed him
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and anointed him with oil, she brought him a fair mantle and shirt,
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and he looked like a god as he came from the bath and took his
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seat by the side of Nestor. When the outer meats were done, they
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drew them off the spits and sat down to dinner, where they were waited
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upon by some worthy henchmen, who kept pouring them out their wine in cups
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of gold. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink,
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Nestor said, sons, put te Lemachus's horses to the chariot, that he
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may start at once. Thus did he speak, and they did even as
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he had said, and yoked the fleet horses to the chariot. The housekeeper
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packed them up a provision of bread, wine, and sweetmeats fit for the
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sons of princes. Then Telemachus got into the chariot, while Pisistratus gathered up
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the reins and took his seat beside him. He lashed the horses on,
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and they flew forward, nothing loathe, into the open country, leaving the
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high citadel of Pylos behind them. All that day did they travel swaying the
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yoke upon their necks, till the sun went down and darkness was over all
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the land. Then they reached Ferrey, where Diocles lived, who was son
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to Ortilochus and grandson to Alpheus. Here they passed the night, and Diocles
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entertained them hospitably. When the child of morning, rosy fingered dawn appeared,
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they again yoked their horses and drove out through the gateway under the echoing gatehouse.
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Pisistratus lashed the horses on, and they flew forward, nothing loath.
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Presently they came to the corn lands of the open country, and in the
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course of time completed their journey. So well did their steeds take them.
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Now, when the sun had set and darkness was over the land continued in
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book four. End of book three