§ OD.1.1  BOOK 1
Tell me, Muse, about the wily man who wandered
long and far after he sacked the sacred citadel of Troy.
He saw the cities and knew the minds of many men,
but suffered at sea many sorrows in his heart,

§ OD.1.5  struggling for his life and comrades' return home.
But he didn't save his comrades, much though he wanted to,
for by their own recklessness they perished,
childish fools, who devoured the cattle of the Sun, Hyperion,
who then deprived them of their homecoming day.

§ OD.1.10  Tell us also, goddess, daughter of Zeus, of sundry things.
Then all the rest, all who had escaped sheer destruction,
were home and had escaped both war and sea.
Him only, yearning for his wife and return home,
the nymph, lady Calypso, a goddess divine,

§ OD.1.15  detained in hollow caves, eager that he be her husband.
But as the years went round, there came a year at last
when the gods spun his destiny to return home
to Ithaca, but he wasn't safe from trials there,
even among his loved ones. All the gods felt pity for him

§ OD.1.20  except Poseidon. He was incessantly incensed
at godlike Odysseus until he reached his own land.
But Poseidon had gone to visit the far-off Ethiopians,
the Ethiopians, most remote of men, who are divided in two,
some at Hyperion's setting, others at his rising,

§ OD.1.25  to partake of a hecatomb of bulls and rams.
He sat there enjoying himself at the feast. The others by now
were together in the halls of Olympian Zeus.
The father of men and gods began speaking to them,
for in his heart he recalled noble Aegisthus,

§ OD.1.30  whom far-famed Orestes Agamemnonides had slain.
Remembering him, he addressed these words to the immortals:
“Humph! How mortals now blame gods,
for they say that evils are from us. Yet they themselves
have woes beyond their lot by their own recklessness,

§ OD.1.35  as even now, beyond his lot, Aegisthus
married Atreides' wedded wife and killed him when he came home,
sure of sheer destruction, after we told him beforehand,
sending Hermes, sharp-sighted Argeiphontes,
to neither woo his wife nor kill him,

§ OD.1.40  for there'd be revenge, from Atreides' son Orestes,
when he came of age and longed for his own land.
So Hermes said, but he didn't win over the mind of Aegisthus,
though he meant well. Now he's paid for it all all together.”
Then bright-eyed goddess Athena answered him:

§ OD.1.45  “Our father Cronides, your highness most supreme,
just as that one lies in fitting destruction,
may also any other one who does such things so perish!
But my heart is troubled about skilled Odysseus, the ill-fated one,
who, away from his loved ones a long time already, suffers misery

§ OD.1.50  on a sea-girt island, where the sea's navel is.
The island is forested, and on it a goddess makes her home,
the daughter of malign Atlas, he who knows the depths
of every sea and by himself holds the tall pillars
that hold apart heaven and earth.

§ OD.1.55  His daughter detains the unfortunate lamenter,
and ever with soft and wheedling words
enchants him in such a way that he'll forget Ithaca.
But Odysseus, eager for even the sight of smoke rising
from his land, longs to die. But there's now no care at all for him

§ OD.1.60  in your dear heart, Olympian. Did not Odysseus
please you he when he offered sacrifice beside the Argive ships
in wide Troy? Why now, Zeus, are you so incensed with him?”
Cloud-gatherer Zeus said to her in reply:
“My child, what kind of talk has fled your wall of teeth?

§ OD.1.65  How could I ever forget godlike Odysseus,
who is superior among mortals in mind and in giving sacrifice
to the immortal gods who hold wide heaven?
But earth-embracing Poseidon is ever relentless
in his rage because of the Cyclops whose eye Odysseus blinded,

§ OD.1.70  godlike Polyphemus, whose strength is greatest
of all Cyclops. The nymph Thoosa bore him.
Daughter of Phorkys, ruler of the barren sea,
she joined in hollow caves with Poseidon.
Earth-shaker Poseidon does not kill Odysseus on his account,

§ OD.1.75  but does drive him away from his father's land.
But come, let all of us contrive his return for him,
as he wishes. Poseidon will let go
of his anger, for he'll no way be able to contend
alone, opposed to all immortals, against the will of the gods.”

§ OD.1.80  Then bright-eyed goddess Athena answered him:
“Our father Cronides, your highness most supreme,
if this is now pleasing to the blessed gods,
that ingenious Odysseus would return to his home,
then let's dispatch Hermes, the runner Argeiphontes,

§ OD.1.85  to the island of Ogygia, to clearly speak
most quickly to the fair-haired nymph our will,
the return home of steadfast Odysseus, so that he may go.
Then I'll go to Ithaca, to spur his son on
more, and I'll put the courage in his heart

§ OD.1.90  to call the hairy-headed Achaeans to assembly
and speak out to all the suitors, who are always slaughtering
his thick-thronging sheep and shambling curved-horned cattle.
I'll send him to Sparta and to sandy Pylos,
to learn of his dear father's return home, in hope he'll somehow hear

§ OD.1.95  and so he'll have good repute among men.”
So saying, beneath her feet she tied fine sandals,
ambrosial, golden ones, that bore her, over water
and boundless land, with the breezes of the wind.
She grabbed a sharp spear, edged with sharp bronze,

§ OD.1.100  heavy, long, and thick, with which she routs regiments of men,
heroes against whom the great father's daughter bears resentment.
In a rush she came down from the peaks of Olympus,
and in the kingdom of Ithaca stood at the doorway of Odysseus,
at the courtyard's threshold. She held the bronze spear in her palm,

§ OD.1.105  disguised as a stranger, the Taphian chief Mentes.
Next she found the manly suitors, who were then
amusing their hearts with pebbles in front of the gate,
sitting on hides of oxen that they'd killed.
They had heralds and deft henchmen,

§ OD.1.110  some who mixed wine and water in mixing bowls,
while some, with sponges full of holes, cleaned
and set the tables and others cut up lots of meat.
Godlike Telemachus was first by far to see her,
for he sat among the suitors, dear heart grieving,

§ OD.1.115  seeing in his mind his good father, in hope he'd come from somewhere,
make a scattering of the suitors throughout the house,
and himself have honor and rule over his possessions.
Sitting among the suitors thinking this, he caught sight of Athena.
He made straight for the front doorway, displeased at heart

§ OD.1.120  that a stranger stand a long time at the door. He stood close,
took her right hand, and accepted her bronze spear.
And, voicing winged words, he said to her:
“Welcome, stranger, you'll be treated kindly by us, then
when you've eaten supper, you can tell us what you need.”

§ OD.1.125  So saying, he led the way, and Pallas Athena followed.
When they were inside the lofty dwelling
he stood the spear he carried against a tall pillar,
inside a well-wrought spear rack, where many spears
of steadfast Odysseus stood as well.

§ OD.1.130  He led her to a fine ornamented chair, spread a cloth beneath her,
and sat her down. There was a footstool underneath her feet.
He set himself a variegated couch beside her, apart from the others,
the suitors, lest the stranger, distressed by the din
and coming among the haughty, not be satisfied with supper

§ OD.1.135  and so he could ask her about his absent father.
A handmaid brought water for washing in a
fine golden pitcher and poured it above a silver basin
so they could wash, then pulled a polished table beside them.
A venerable housekeeper brought bread and set it before them

§ OD.1.140  placing many foods on it, pleasing them from her stores.
A carver raised and placed before them platters of meats
of all kinds and put golden cups beside them.
A herald came often and poured wine for them.
In came the manly suitors. Then, as they

§ OD.1.145  sat down in rows on chairs and couches,
heralds poured water on their hands,
slaves heaped bread in baskets beside them,
and boys filled mixing bowls to the brim with drink.
They threw their hands on the good things laid ready before them.

§ OD.1.150  Then after the suitors had dispatched desire for food
and drink, other things caught their minds' attention,
the performance and the dance, for they accompany a feast.
A herald placed a gorgeous cithara into the hands
of Phemius, who sang, under duress, for the suitors.

§ OD.1.155  Playing the lyre, he began to sing beautifully,
but Telemachus said to bright-eyed Athena,
holding his head close so others couldn't hear him:
“Dear stranger, will you resent me for what I'm going to say?
These things, the cithara and song, interest them

§ OD.1.160  easily, since they eat without payment the substance of another,
of a man whose white bones rot somewhere in a storm,
lying on dry land or rolling in the waves of the sea.
If they saw that one returning home to Ithaca,
all would pray to be lighter on their feet

§ OD.1.165  than to be richer in raiment and gold.
Now he's perished by an evil fate, and we have no
comfort, even if some earthly man
tells us he will come. His day of homecoming is done for.
But come, tell me this, and recount it exactly.

§ OD.1.170  What man and from where are you? Where are your city and parents?
In what kind of ship did you arrive and how did sailors
bring you to Ithaca? Who did they claim to be?
For I don't at all think you reached here on foot.
And speak this truly to me, so I may know well

§ OD.1.175  whether you're just visiting or are also a hereditary
guest-friend, since many other men used to come to our house
when that one too was one who had dealings with mankind.”
Bright-eyed goddess Athena said back to him:
“So then, I'll tell this to you quite exactly.

§ OD.1.180  I claim I'm Mentes, son of skilled Anchialus,
and I rule over the oar-loving Taphians.
I've come this way now with my ship and comrades,
sailing on the wine-dark sea to men of another language,
to Temese, after copper, and I bring gleaming iron.

§ OD.1.185  My ship stands over there, in the country, away from the city,
in Rheithron harbor beneath wooded Neion.
We claim that we're hereditary guest-friends of each other
from of old. Just go and ask the old man,
hero Laertes, whom they say no longer comes

§ OD.1.190  to town, but suffers misery on his farm far away,
with an old woman handmaid who puts food and drink
beside him whenever exhaustion takes hold of his limbs,
as he crawls up the hill of his wine-bearing plot.
Now I've come, for they said your father was at home,

§ OD.1.195  but, indeed, the gods impede him on his path.
For divine Odysseus has not yet died on land,
but still alive somewhere, he's held back by the wide sea
on a sea-girt island. Hard men hold him,
savages, who detain him against his will.

§ OD.1.200  But I'll now prophesy to you, as the immortals
put it in my heart and as I think that it will happen,
though I'm neither a seer nor clearly know about birds of omen.
He surely won't be away much longer from his beloved
fatherland, not even if bonds of iron hold him.

§ OD.1.205  Since he's resourceful, he'll figure out how to return.
But come, tell me this, and recount it exactly,
whether, big as you are, you're the son of Odysseus himself.
You're terribly like him in your head and fine eyes,
since we every so often got together with each other

§ OD.1.210  before he went to Troy, where the rest
of the best of the Argives went in their hollow ships.
Since then, I've not seen Odysseus nor has he seen me.”
Astute Telemachus said back to her in answer:
“Well then, I'll tell you, stranger, quite exactly.

§ OD.1.215  My mother says I'm his, but I don't know,
for no one ever knows for sure his parentage.
Would that I were the blessed son of some man
whom old age came upon among his possessions.
But, he who's been the unluckiest of all men,

§ OD.1.220  his they say I am, since you ask me about this.”
Bright-eyed goddess Athena said back to him:
“The gods did not establish your line to be nameless
hereafter, since Penelope gave birth to such as you.
But come, tell me this, and recount it exactly.

§ OD.1.225  What meal, what gathering is this? What has it to do with you?
A banquet or a wedding, since this is not a meal hosted by many?
They seem to me to dine haughtily, like wantons,
throughout the house. Any sensible man who came to visit
would be outraged seeing these many shameful deeds!”

§ OD.1.230  Astute Telemachus said back to her in turn:
“Stranger, since you question me and ask about this,
once upon a time this house was going to be
rich and noble, when that man was at home.
Now the gods, scheming evil, have willed otherwise;

§ OD.1.235  they've made him the most invisible of all
men. I wouldn't grieve so for him even if he'd died,
if he'd been tamed among his comrades in the Trojans' land
or in the hands of loved ones after he wound up the war.
The Panachaeans would have made a grave mound for him

§ OD.1.240  and he'd have won great fame hereafter even for his son.
But now the Snatchers [Harpies] have snatched him without tidings.
He goes, unseen, unheard of, and has left me pain
and lamentation. But I don't only lament and grieve for him
now, since the gods have made other evil troubles for me,

§ OD.1.245  for all the nobles who rule over the islands
of Doulichion, Same, and wooded Zacynthus,
and all who hold sway throughout rugged Ithaca,
all these woo my mother and consume my house.
She neither refuses hateful marriage nor can make

§ OD.1.250  an end of it. They, by their eating, are wasting away
my house. Quite soon they'll smash me to pieces, too.”
Finding this intolerable, Pallas Athena said to him:
“Humph! You fall far short of absent Odysseus,
who'd lay his hands on shameless suitors,

§ OD.1.255  if he came and stood now in the front door
of his home, holding a helmet, a shield and two spears,
as he was when I first saw him
drinking and enjoying himself in our house,
on his return from Ephyre and Ilus Mermerides.

§ OD.1.260  For he'd gone there in a swift ship
searching for a man-killing drug, to have it
to rub on bronze-tipped arrows. Ilus didn't
give it to him, since he feared the gods who are forever,
but my father gave it to him, for he loved him terribly.

§ OD.1.265  Should such an Odysseus engage the suitors,
all would be bitterly betrothed and swiftly doomed.
But indeed, these things lie on gods' knees,
whether he'll return, and make them pay in his palace,
or he won't. I urge you to consider

§ OD.1.270  how to drive the suitors out of the palace.
Come now, hear and heed my words.
Tomorrow, call the Achaean heroes to assembly,
declare your will to all, and the gods will be witnesses to it.
Order the suitors to disperse to their own places,

§ OD.1.275  and order your mother, if her heart moves her to marry,
to go immediately to her powerful father's great palace.
They'll arrange the wedding and assemble many bride gifts,
just as many as should follow a dear daughter.
I'll advise you shrewdly, if you'll trust me.

§ OD.1.280  Rig a ship, the best you can, with twenty oars,
and go inquire about your father, so long on his way.
Perhaps some mortal may tell you, or you may hear a rumor
from Zeus, which very often carries news to men.
First go to Pylos and ask divine Nestor,

§ OD.1.285  and from there go to Sparta, to blond Menelaus,
for of the bronze-clad Achaeans he was last to come home.
If you hear of your father's survival and return,
though you'd be impoverished, you should still hold out a year,
but if you hear he's dead and no longer alive,

§ OD.1.290  you should then return to your beloved fatherland,
pile up a barrow for him on which to pay his last rights,
as many, very many, as are fitting, and give your mother to a husband.
But once you've carried these things out and done them,
consider then in your mind and heart

§ OD.1.295  how to slay the suitors in your palace
by guile or openly. You must not in any way indulge
in childish ways, since you're no longer of an age for that.
Haven't you heard what kind of fame divine Orestes won
among all mankind, after he slew his father's killer,

§ OD.1.300  cunning Aegisthus, who'd slain his famous father?
You too, my friend, for I clearly see you're big and handsome,
be staunch, so those born after will speak well of you.
But I'll go down to my swift ship and comrades,
who are likely quite impatient waiting for me.

§ OD.1.305  Keep this in your mind and heed my words.”
Astute Telemachus said back to her in answer:
“Stranger, truly, you say these things with kindly thought,
like a father to his son, and I will never forget them.
But come now, stay a while, though you're eager for your journey,

§ OD.1.310  so that bathed and with dear heart at ease,
you'll go to your ship glad at heart, with a gift,
a precious, very fine one, that you'll have as a keepsake
from me, the kind dear guest-friends give to guest-friends.”
Then bright-eyed goddess Athena answered him:

§ OD.1.315  “Detain me now no longer, as I do want to be on my way.
Whatever gift your dear heart bids you give me,
give it, to be taken home, on my way back,
and pick a very fine one. You'll get one worth it in exchange.”
So saying, bright-eyed Athena departed,

§ OD.1.320  as a bird flies up and away, and she put in his heart
confidence and courage, and caused him to think of his father
even more than before. When he thought it over in his mind
he was astounded in his heart, for he supposed it was a god.
The godlike man at once approached the suitors.

§ OD.1.325  The far-famed singer sang to them, and they sat
listening in silence. He sang of the Achaeans'
sad return from Troy, that Pallas Athena imposed.
From an upper chamber, Icarius' daughter, prudent Penelope,
heard in her heart his wondrous song.

§ OD.1.330  She descended her home's high staircase,
not alone, but two handmaids followed with her.
When the woman divine reached the suitors,
she stood beside a column of the densely-built roof,
holding a shiny veil against her cheeks,

§ OD.1.335  and a devoted handmaid stood on either side.
Then, in tears, she said to the godlike singer:
“Phemius, since you know many other things that enchant mortals,
the deeds of men and gods that singers celebrate,
sing one of those, as you sit beside them, and let them drink

§ OD.1.340  their wine in silence. Cease this sad song
that ever distresses the dear heart in my chest,
since sorrow not to be forgotten comes especially upon me,
for I always long for such a head, when reminded of my husband,
whose fame is wide from Hellas to the middle of Argos.”

§ OD.1.345  Astute Telemachus said back to her in turn:
“My mother, why do you begrudge the trusty singer
entertaining whatever way his mind is spurred? Singers
are not at fault, but Zeus is probably to blame, who gives
to men who work for bread, to each one, however he wishes.

§ OD.1.350  This one's singing Danaans' evil doom is no cause
for reproach, for people more applaud the song
that's newest to float about the hearers.
Let your heart and soul endure the hearing of it.
For Odysseus was not the only one to lose his day of homecoming

§ OD.1.355  in Troy, but many other men also perished.
So go into the house and tend to your own work,
the loom and distaff, and bid your handmaids
go about their work. Speaking is of concern to men,
to all, especially to me, for the power in this house is mine.”

§ OD.1.360  Astonished, she went back to the house,
for she put in her heart the astute words of her son.
When she'd gone up to the upper floor with her handmaid women,
she then wept for Odysseus, her beloved husband,
until bright-eyed Athena cast sweet sleep upon her eyelids.

§ OD.1.365  The suitors raised an uproar throughout the shadowy palace,
and all prayed to lie in bed beside her.
Then astute Telemachus was first to speak among them:
“Suitors of my mother, with your arrogant wantonness,
let's now enjoy our feasting, and let there be no uproar,

§ OD.1.370  since it is a fine thing, listening to a singer
such as this one is, in voice just like the gods.
But at dawn let's go and sit down in assembly,
all of us, so I may declare outright my will to you,
that you leave my palace. Find other meals,

§ OD.1.375  and eat your own possessions, and take turns at your houses.
But if this seems more desirable and better to you,
to destroy one man's substance without compensation,
then consume it. I'll cry out to the everlasting gods,
in hope that somehow Zeus grant that there be deeds of requital.

§ OD.1.380  Then, without compensation, inside this house you'll perish!”
So said he, and all bit their lips and marveled
at Telemachus, because he spoke undaunted.
Eupeithes' son Antinous said back to him:
“Telemachus, it must be that the gods themselves teach you

§ OD.1.385  to be a bold talker and to speak undaunted.
Let Cronion not make you king in sea-girt Ithaca,
which is hereditary to your family!”
Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:
“Antinous, even if you'll be offended by what I say,

§ OD.1.390  I'd be willing to take this for myself, if Zeus should give it.
Do you think this the worst thing in the world that can happen?
For there's nothing bad in being king. Suddenly, one's house
becomes wealthy and oneself more esteemed.
But, there are indeed Achaean kings, and also many

§ OD.1.395  others in sea-girt Ithaca, young and old,
any of whom may have this, once divine Odysseus has died.
But I'll be lord of our house and of the slaves
whom divine Odysseus took by pillage for me!”
Polybus' son Eurymachus said back to him in turn:

§ OD.1.400  “Telemachus, indeed, these things lie on gods' knees,
whichever Achaean will be king in sea-girt Ithaca,
but may you yourself have your property and rule over your house.
For let the man not come, to take by force against your will
your property from you, while Ithaca is still a place to live in.

§ OD.1.405  But I want to ask you, most noble sir, about the stranger.
This man, where is he from, from what country does he claim to be,
where is his father's farm and family,
and did he bring some news of your father's coming,
or did he come here wanting to do business of his own?

§ OD.1.410  How quickly he sprang up and left and didn't hang around
to be recognized, for he seemed nothing like a coward to my eye.”
Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:
“Eurymachus, my father's return home is surely done for.
So, I neither believe news, if it comes from anywhere,

§ OD.1.415  nor attend to prophecy, whatever my mother
may ask about when she calls a prophet to our hall.
This stranger is of my father's family from Taphos
and claims he's Mentes, son of wise Anchialus,
and that he rules the oar-loving Taphians.”

§ OD.1.420  So said Telemachus, but in his heart he recognized the immortal goddess.
Turning to dancing and delightful song,
they enjoyed themselves and waited for evening to come.
Dark evening came upon them as they enjoyed themselves.
Then each went home to rest.

§ OD.1.425  Telemachus, where a chamber had been built for him
in an open place high above the gorgeous courtyard,
went to bed, and in his mind he pondered many things.
Devoted Eurycleia, daughter of Ops Peisenorides,
carried burning torches by his side.

§ OD.1.430  Laertes had bought her with his own possessions once upon a time,
when she was still in the bloom of youth. He'd given twenty oxen,
and in his palace valued her as equal to his devoted wife,
but he avoided his wife's anger and never took her to bed.
She carried burning torches by his side. Of the bondswomen,

§ OD.1.435  she had loved him the most and nursed him when he was little.
He opened the door of the carefully made room,
sat down on the bed, took off his soft tunic,
and dropped it into the crafty old woman's hands.
Smoothing and folding his tunic,

§ OD.1.440  she hung it on a peg beside the perforated bedframe,
made her way from the room, pulled the door closed
by its silver handle, and shot the bolt by its strap.
There through the night, wrapped in sheep's wool,
he considered in his mind the path Athena had shown him.

§ OD.2.1  BOOK 2
When early-born rose-fingered Dawn appeared,
Odysseus' beloved son arose from bed,
put on his clothes, slung a sharp sword around his shoulder,
tied fine sandals beneath sleek feet,

§ OD.2.5  and made his way from the bedroom looking like a god.
At once he bid his clear-voiced heralds
to summon to assembly the hairy-headed Achaeans.
They summoned, and they assembled very quickly.
Then after they assembled and were together,

§ OD.2.10  he made his way to the assembly holding a bronze spear in his palm,
not alone; flashing-footed dogs followed with him.
Athena poured abundant grace upon him,
so all men gazed at him as he approached.
He sat in his father's seat as the old men gave way.

§ OD.2.15  The hero Aegyptius, who was bent with old age
and had seen countless things, was the first of them to speak,
for his beloved son had gone with godlike Odysseus
in the hollow ships to fine-foaled Ilium,
the spearman Antiphus, whom the savage Cyclops killed

§ OD.2.20  in his hollow cave, the last he made a meal of.
He had three others, and while one, Eurynomus, consorted
with the suitors, the other two always kept their father's farm,
but even so, in grief and lamentation, he did not forget him.
Shedding tears for him, he spoke and said:

§ OD.2.25  “Hear me now, Ithacans, hear what I say!
Neither an assembly or session of ours has ever occurred
from when divine Odysseus left in his hollow ship.
Who's gathered us this way now? On whom has such a need come,
either of the young men or of those who are older?

§ OD.2.30  Or has he heard a message of the army on the way,
which he might clearly tell us, that he'd heard before us?
Or does he declare and speak about some other public matter?
He seems a good one, a blessed one, to me. Would that Zeus
accomplish good for him, whatever he has on his mind.”

§ OD.2.35  So said he, and Odysseus' dear son rejoiced at the omen,
and did not stay seated long. He meant to speak,
and stood in the middle of the assembly. The herald Peisenor,
wise in astute counsel, put a scepter in his hand.
Then he addressed the old man first and said to him:

§ OD.2.40  “Old man, this man is not far off, as you'll soon know yourself.
I'm the one who gathered the men, and sorrow comes especially to me.
I neither heard any message of an army on the way
that I could tell you clearly, that I'd heard before you,
nor do I declare or speak about some other public matter,

§ OD.2.45  but of business of my own, that evil has befallen my house,
in two ways. I've lost my good father, who once upon a time
was king among you here and was kind as a father to you.
Now an even much greater evil will soon dash my entire house
completely to pieces and completely destroy my substance.

§ OD.2.50  Suitors harass my mother, who doesn't want them,
beloved sons of the men who are the best here,
who've shrunk shivering from going to the house of her father
Icarius, so he could accept bride gifts for his daughter
and give her to whom he wished, the one who came and pleased him,

§ OD.2.55  but they come and go every day to our house,
and slaughter our cattle and fat goats and sheep,
and drink our sparkling wine in revelry with reckless abandon.
These many things are wasted, for there's no man here,
such as Odysseus used to be, to keep this curse from our house.

§ OD.2.60  We're not, in any way, such as to ward it off. Yes, in that case
we'll be pitiful, not even trained in martial prowess.
Yes, I'd ward it off myself, if the power were in me,
for deeds bearable no longer have been done, and more unfairly,
my house has been destroyed. You yourselves should be indignant too,

§ OD.2.65  and be ashamed before the other neighbor men
who live around you and cower in dread of the gods' wrath,
lest they in some way turn in anger to punish evil deeds.
I beg you, by both Olympian Zeus and Themis,
who both seats and breaks up men's assemblies,

§ OD.2.70  check them, friends, and let me be afflicted by wretched sadness
by myself, unless by chance in some way my good father,
Odysseus, in ill will did evil to the well-greaved Achaeans,
for whom you take revenge on me and in ill will do me evil
by urging on those men. It would be better for me

§ OD.2.75  that you yourselves eat both my treasures and my herds.
If you were to eat them, there'd sometime soon be compensation too,
for we'd accost you throughout the city with words,
demanding our possessions until all were given back,
but now you cast impossible pains upon me!”

§ OD.2.80  So said he in anger and threw the scepter to the ground,
breaking out in tears. Sympathy seized each and every man.
Then all the rest were silent, and none dared
answer Telemachus with harsh words,
but only Antinous said to him in answer:

§ OD.2.85  “Telemachus, you blowhard, unrestrained in fury, what kind of thing
you've said, defaming us, as you wished to fasten blame.
But the Achaean suitors aren't at all at fault regarding you,
but your beloved mother is, who exceedingly knows wiles.
For it's the third year already, and the fourth is coming soon,

§ OD.2.90  since she's wronged the heart in the Achaeans' chests.
She offers hope to all, and makes promises to each man,
sending messages, but her mind is intent on other things.
In her mind she devised this other trick.
She set up a great web in the palace, delicate and long-threaded,

§ OD.2.95  started to weave, then soon said among us:
'Young men, my suitors, since Odysseus has died,
wait, though eager for my wedding, until I can complete
this cloth, lest my weaving be ruined and in vain,
a burial cloth for hero Laertes, for the time when

§ OD.2.100  baneful doom, of death that brings long woe, takes him down,
lest any Achaean woman throughout the kingdom resent me,
should he who won many things lie without a shroud.'
So said she, and our manly spirit yielded in turn.
Then by day she wove her great web,

§ OD.2.105  but at night, when she had torches placed beside it, she unraveled it.
Three years she went unnoticed in her trick, and so persuaded
the Achaeans, but when a fourth year came, and seasons came round,
right at that time, one of her women who knew it clearly told us,
and we discovered her unraveling the splendid web.

§ OD.2.110  So, she finished it, albeit unwillingly, under compulsion.
The suitors answer you this way, so you yourself know it
in your heart, and all Achaeans know.
Send away your mother, and order her to marry
whomever her father bids her, who also pleases her.

§ OD.2.115  But if she annoys the son of the Achaeans much longer,
though she knows in her heart what Athena has given her
exceedingly, skill in making gorgeous works, a good disposition,
and cunning wiles, such as none we've ever heard of, not even
of the ancients, who were fair-haired Achaean women of old,

§ OD.2.120  Tyro, Alcmene, and fair-crowned Mycene,
none of whom knew thoughts like those of Penelope,
but in this, at least, she has not rightly thought.
For they'll therefore eat your substance and possessions
as long as that one holds to this idea, that certain one the gods

§ OD.2.125  place in her chest now. She makes great fame for herself,
but the loss of much substance for you,
and we won't go back, either to our fields or anywhere else,
until she gets married to the Achaean she wishes.”
Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:

§ OD.2.130  “Antinous, it's not possible to drive away unwilling from our home
she who bore me, who raised me. My father, whether he's alive or dead,
is somewhere else on earth. It would be bad, for me to pay much back
to Icarius, if I myself of my free will sent my mother back.
For I'll suffer evils from her father, and a divinity will give me others,

§ OD.2.135  after my mother has prayed to the loathsome Furies
when she leaves our house. There'll be righteous anger
for me from men. So, I'll never speak this command to her.
If your heart feels indignation at your own conduct,
leave my palace. Find other meals

§ OD.2.140  and eat your own possessions, as you take turns at your houses.
But if this seems to you more desirable and better,
to destroy one man's substance without compensation,
then consume it. I'll cry out to the everlasting gods,
that Zeus somehow grant that there be deeds of requital,

§ OD.2.145  then, without compensation, inside this house you'll perish!”
So said Telemachus, and far-seeing Zeus sent two eagles
for him from on high, flying from a mountain peak.
The two flew a while with the breezes of the wind,
with outstretched wings, next to each other,

§ OD.2.150  but when they reached the middle of the loud-voiced assembly,
they whirled around, flapping their thick wings,
then came toward the heads of all, and foreboded destruction.
Tearing about with their talons at their cheeks and throats,
they shot off to the right, across the homes and city of the men.

§ OD.2.155  They were astounded at the birds when they saw them with their eyes,
and pondered in their heart just what was going to happen.
And among them spoke an old man, the hero Halitherses
Mastorides, for he uniquely surpassed those of his generation
in understanding birds and explaining omens.

§ OD.2.160  With good intent, he spoke and said to them:
“Hear me now, Ithacans, hear what I say!
I speak mostly to the suitors when I declare these things,
since great trouble rolls toward them, for Odysseus
will not long be far from his loved ones, instead, he's likely near

§ OD.2.165  already, planting death and doom for all of them.
There'll be evil too, for many others of us
who live in clear Ithaca. So, long before then
let's consider how we can stop them. But let them rather stop
themselves, for right now that is even better for them.

§ OD.2.170  For I don't prophesy unproven, but I know it well.
For I say to him that each and every thing has been fulfilled,
as I told him when the Argives went up into Ilium
and resourceful Odysseus went with them.
I said that after he suffered many evils and lost all his comrades

§ OD.2.175  he'd come home in the twentieth year,
unbeknown to all. All this is now coming to pass.”
Eurymachus, the son of Polybus, said back to him in turn:
“Come on, old man, go home and prophesy to your children,
lest they by chance suffer any evil in the future.

§ OD.2.180  I'm much better than you in prophesying this.
Many birds go to and fro beneath the bright rays of the sun,
but not all are ominous. Odysseus, though, has perished
far away, and how I wish that you had perished with him!
You wouldn't speak so many oracles,

§ OD.2.185  nor incite Telemachus this way in his anger,
looking to get a gift for your house, if he'll give one.
But I'll speak out to you, and it'll be fulfilled too.
If you, knowing things ancient and many, advise a younger man
and spur him on with words to be violently angry,

§ OD.2.190  first, for him himself it will be more distressing,
but all the same, he won't be able to do anything because of them,
and on you, old man, we'll set a penalty that you'll be grieved
at heart to pay and hard will be your sorrow.
I myself, among you all, admonish Telemachus.

§ OD.2.195  Let him order his mother go back to her father's.
They'll arrange the wedding and assemble many bride gifts,
just as many as should follow a dear daughter.
For I don't think the sons of the Achaeans will cease from
grievous wooing beforehand, since we fear no one, at any rate

§ OD.2.200  not Telemachus, though he's very full of words,
nor do we care about an oracle that you, old man,
may tell of, that won't happen, as you become hated still more.
His possessions will still be cruelly eaten, and things will never be
equal as long as she puts off the Achaeans

§ OD.2.205  from her marriage and we in expectation vie every day
for the sake of her excellence and don't go after others
whom it's suitable for each of us to marry.”
Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:
“Eurymachus, and the rest of you illustrious suitors,

§ OD.2.210  I no longer beg you and speak of these things,
for the gods and all Achaeans know them already.
But come, give me a swift ship and twenty comrades
to take me on a voyage there and back.
For I'm going to Sparta and sandy Pylos,

§ OD.2.215  to inquire about the return of my father, so long on his way.
Perhaps some mortal may tell me or I'll hear a rumor
from Zeus, which very often carries news to men.
If I hear of my father's survival and return,
yes, though I'd be impoverished, I'd still hold out a year,

§ OD.2.220  but if I hear he's dead and no longer alive,
I'd then return to my beloved fatherland,
pile up a barrow for him on which to pay his last rights,
as many, very many, as are fitting, and give my mother to a husband.”
So saying, he sat down, and up among them rose

§ OD.2.225  Mentor, who was a noble comrade of Odysseus,
and to whom, when he went in his ships, he handed his entire house,
that it obey the old man and that Mentor preserve everything intact.
With good intent he spoke and said among them:
“Hear me now, Ithacans, hear what I say!

§ OD.2.230  Let no sceptered king ever be earnestly
gentle and kind or know justice in his mind,
but may he always be hard and do injustice,
seeing that none of the people whom he ruled
remembers godlike Odysseus, who was kind as a father to them.

§ OD.2.235  But in truth I don't at all begrudge the manly suitors
their doing deeds of violence in the evil scheming of their mind,
for they place at risk their own heads and violently devour
the house of Odysseus, whom they say returns no more.
Now I hold it against the rest of the kingdom, how all of you sit

§ OD.2.240  in silence and don't with words in any way accost
the few suitors and restrain them, many as you are.”
Leocritos Eunorides said to him in turn:
“Mentor, mischief maker, crazed in mind, what a thing
you've said, urging them to stop us. It's difficult

§ OD.2.245  to battle with more men than you about a feast.
For if even Ithacan Odysseus himself came,
eager in his heart to drive from his hall
the illustrious suitors who are dining in his home,
his wife, despite her great longing, would have no joy

§ OD.2.250  at his coming, but right where he was he'd meet unseemly fate
if he battled with a greater number. You have not duly spoken.
But come, people, scatter, each one to his fields,
then Mentor and Halitherses will speed this one on his journey,
who are comrades of his father from the start.

§ OD.2.255  But I think he'll sit quite a long time, learning things
from messages in Ithaca, but he'll never make that journey!”
So said he, and immediately broke up the assembly.
Then while they scattered, each to his own house,
the suitors went to the house of godlike Odysseus.

§ OD.2.260  Telemachus went far off to the sea's shore,
washed his hands in the gray water, and prayed to Athena:
“Hear me, you who came yesterday to our house as a god,
and bid me go in a ship upon the misty sea,
to find out about the return of my father, long on his way.

§ OD.2.265  But the Achaeans hinder me in all of this,
especially the suitors, evilly wanton in their arrogance!”
So said he in prayer, and Athena came near him,
disguised as Mentor both in form and voice,
and voicing winged words, she said to him:

§ OD.2.270  “Telemachus, you'll be neither a coward nor a dolt hereafter,
if your father's spirit is well instilled in you,
such a man was he in fulfilling word and deed,
then your journey will be neither in vain nor without result.
But if you're not the offspring of him and of Penelope,

§ OD.2.275  then I don't suppose you'll accomplish what you mean to.
For few sons are truly like their father.
A few are better than their father; the majority are worse.
But since you'll be neither a coward nor a dolt hereafter,
and the shrewdness of Odysseus has not completely failed you,

§ OD.2.280  then there's hope you'll accomplish these deeds.
“So, let the plan and purpose of the senseless suitors be,
since they're not at all thoughtful or just
and know nothing of the death and black doom
that's near them, that they'll all perish in a day.

§ OD.2.285  You won't much longer be without the journey that you're bent on,
for I'm surely such a comrade of your father
that I'll equip a swift ship for you and come along myself.
But, you, go home and mingle with the suitors,
prepare provisions, and store them all in containers,

§ OD.2.290  wine in two-handled jugs and men's marrow, barley,
in thick leather bags. I'll go through the kingdom and quickly
gather comrades, volunteers. There are many ships
in sea-girt Ithaca, new ones and old.
I'll look at them for you, for the one that's best,

§ OD.2.295  then we'll quickly stow things and launch her on the wide sea.”
So said the daughter of Zeus, Athena, and Telemachus
delayed no longer when he heard the goddess's voice.
He made his way to his house, his dear heart sorrowing,
and found the manly suitors in his palace

§ OD.2.300  flaying goats and singeing hogs in the courtyard.
With a laugh, Antinous went straight for Telemachus,
put his hand in his, called out his name, and said:
“Telemachus, you blowhard, unrestrained in fury, don't let any
other evil, either word or deed, concern you in your chest,

§ OD.2.305  but eat and drink with me, as we used to before.
The Achaeans will very fully make these things happen for you,
a ship and chosen oarsmen, so you can the more quickly
go to sacred Pylos after news of your illustrious father.”
Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:

§ OD.2.310  “Antinous, it's no way possible to dine in silence
and make merry at my ease among you haughty ones.
Suitors, isn't it enough that in the past you wasted my possessions,
good and many, when I was still a child?
Now, when I'm big, and learn by listening to the words

§ OD.2.315  of others, and my temper grows inside me,
I'll try to loose the evil spirit of death upon you,
either by going to Pylos or in this kingdom here.
I'm going, and the trip I speak of won't be without result,
as a passenger, for I don't have at my disposal oarsmen

§ OD.2.320  or a ship, as no doubt seemed better to you.”
He spoke and drew his hand easily from the hand of Antinous,
as throughout the house the suitors worked at getting dinner ready.
They taunted and mocked him with their words,
and one of the wantonly arrogant young men kept saying so:

§ OD.2.325  “Very surely, Telemachus plans murder for us.
Either he'll bring some supporters from sandy Pylos
or even from Sparta, since he's so grimly eager for it,
or he wants to go to Ephyre, the rich farmland,
so he can bring life-destroying drugs from there,

§ OD.2.330  to throw them in the mixing bowl and destroy us all!”
Another of the wantonly arrogant young men kept saying back:
“Who knows? If he himself goes on a hollow ship far from his loved ones,
he too may wander and perish, just like Odysseus.
That way he'd make our hard work even harder,

§ OD.2.335  for we'd have to divide his possessions and give his house back
to his mother, and whoever marries her, to have.”
So said they, and Telemachus went down to the high-roofed chamber
of his father, the wide one where gold and bronze lay piled,
and clothing in chests, and fragrant olive oil in abundance.

§ OD.2.340  Jars of vintage wine, sweet to drink, stood in there,
holding the unmixed divine drink inside,
fastened in rows against the wall, in case Odysseus should ever
return home even after suffering many sorrows.
There was a double door that could be fastened tightly to close it,

§ OD.2.345  a doubly-folding one, and a housekeeper woman stayed in it
night and day, who guarded everything with the wisdom of her mind,
Eurycleia, the daughter of Ops Peisenorides.
Telemachus then called toward the chamber and said to her:
“Madam, come, draw wine for me into two-handled jars,

§ OD.2.350  sweet wine, the best tasting after that which you guard
with that ill-fated one in mind, in hope he'll come from somewhere,
Zeus-born Odysseus, escaping death's spirits and death.
Fill twelve, and fit each and every one with covers,
then pour barley for me into well-stitched leather bags,

§ OD.2.355  and let there be twenty measures of mill-ground barley meal.
But only you must know. Let all this be brought together,
for I'll pick it up this evening when my mother
goes to her upper chamber and has her mind on bed.
For I'm going to Sparta and sandy Pylos, to inquire

§ OD.2.360  about the return of my dear father, in hope I'll hear of it somewhere.”
So said he, and dear nurse Eurycleia shrieked
and spoke winged words to him in lamentation:
“Dear child, why has this thought come into your mind?
Where on the wide earth do you want to go,

§ OD.2.365  alone and beloved as you are? He perished far from his fatherland,
Zeus-born Odysseus, in a foreign kingdom.
They'll devise evils for you, as soon as you go, for later,
so you'll be killed by guile and they'll divide all of this themselves.
Sit right here upon your own things instead. There's no need at all

§ OD.2.370  that you wander the barren sea and suffer evils!”
Astute Telemachus said back to her in turn:
“Take heart, madam, since this plan of mine is not without a god's
approval. But swear to not tell these things to my dear mother
at least until the eleventh or the twelfth day comes

§ OD.2.375  or she misses me and hears that I've departed,
so she won't mar her fair flesh with weeping.”
So said he, and the old woman swore a great oath on the gods.
Then after she'd sworn and completed the oath,
she then at once drew wine for him into jars with two handles

§ OD.2.380  and poured barley groats for him into well-stitched leather bags.
Telemachus now went into the house and joined the suitors.
Then bright-eyed goddess Athena thought of something else.
Disguised as Telemachus, she went throughout the city, everywhere,
and to each man she stood beside she spoke a word,

§ OD.2.385  and ordered them to gather at the swift ship in the evening.
Then she asked Noemon, the brilliant son of Phronius,
for a swift ship, and he in earnest promised it to her.
And the sun went down, and all the ways were dark.
Right then she hauled the swift ship to the sea and stowed

§ OD.2.390  in it all the gear that well-benched ships carry.
She moored it at the edge of the harbor, then the good comrades
gathered together around her, and the goddess spurred each on.
Then bright-eyed goddess Athena thought of something else
and made her way to the home of godlike Odysseus.

§ OD.2.395  There she poured sweet sleep upon the suitors,
dazed them as they drank and knocked cups from their hands.
They got up to go to sleep throughout the city and didn't stay seated
much longer, once sleep fell upon their eyelids.
Then bright-eyed Athena said to Telemachus,

§ OD.2.400  when she called him out of his well-placed palace,
disguised as Mentor both in form and voice:
“Telemachus, your well-greaved comrades sit
already at their oars and await your signal to start,
so let's go, let's not long delay our journey!”

§ OD.2.405  So saying, Pallas Athena led quickly
and he followed in the footsteps of the goddess.
Then after they'd gone down to the ship and sea,
they then found their hairy-headed comrades on the shore.
The sacred force of Telemachus spoke among them:

§ OD.2.410  “Come, friends, let's fetch our provisions, for they're all
already gathered in my hall and my mother knows nothing of it,
nor do the rest of the slave women, but only one has heard my word.”
So saying, he led, and they followed with him.
They fetched everything and stowed it

§ OD.2.415  on the well-benched ship, as Odysseus' dear son ordered.
As Telemachus went aboard the ship, Athena led
and sat down in the ship's stern, then Telemachus sat
near her. They freed the stern cables,
then went aboard and sat down at the oarlocks.

§ OD.2.420  Bright-eyed Athena sent them a favorable fair wind,
steady West Wind, blustering over the wine-dark sea.
Telemachus urged his comrades on and bid them
secure the rigging. They heard his urging,
raised the fir mast, set it inside the hollow mast box,

§ OD.2.425  tied it down with the forestays,
and hoisted the white sail with the well-twisted ox-leather halyards.
The wind swelled out the middle of the sail, the waves
splashed loudly about the prow of the ship as she went on her way,
and she sped through the waves and completed her voyage.

§ OD.2.430  When they'd secured the rigging throughout the swift black ship,
they set up mixing bowls filled to the brim with wine
and made libation to the immortal everlasting gods,
but most of all to Zeus's bright-eyed daughter.
She cleaved her way all night and through the dawn.

§ OD.3.1  BOOK 3
Leaving the gorgeous surface of the sea, the sun rose
into the coppery sky to shine for immortals
and mortal men upon grain-giving farmland.
They'd now reached Pylos, the well-built citadel

§ OD.3.5  of Neleus. On the sea's shore some were making sacrifice
of pitch-black bulls to the dark-haired Earthshaker.
There were nine companies, and five hundred sat in each,
and at each place they had nine bulls before them.
While these tasted the entrails and burned the thighs to the god,

§ OD.3.10  they made straight in, raised and furled the balanced ship's sail,
moored her, and went ashore themselves.
Telemachus stepped from the ship, and Athena led him.
Bright-eyed goddess Athena spoke to him first:
“Telemachus, you need no longer feel bashful, not a bit,

§ OD.3.15  for you've sailed upon the sea just for this, to find out about
your father, where the earth covered him and what fate he met.
But come now, go straight to Nestor, the tamer of horses.
Let's see what counsel he has hidden in his chest.
Entreat him yourself, so he'll speak infallibly.

§ OD.3.20  Since he's very astute, he will not tell a lie.”
Astute Telemachus said back to her in turn:
“Mentor, how should I go to him, how should I greet him?
I've never had any experience with cunning words,
and it's disgraceful for a young man to interrogate his elder.”

§ OD.3.25  Bright-eyed goddess Athena said back to him:
“Telemachus, you'll figure out some of this yourself, in your own mind,
and a divinity will advise you on the rest, for, no, I don't think
that you were born and raised against the will of the gods.”
So saying, Pallas Athena led

§ OD.3.30  quickly, and he followed in the footsteps of the goddess.
They came to a gathering and companies of men of Pylos.
Nestor sat there with his sons, as his comrades about him
were preparing a feast, roasting some meat and spitting the rest.
When they saw the strangers, they came all together,

§ OD.3.35  took their hands in greeting and bid them to sit down.
Peisistratus Nestorides came close first,
took each one's hand, and seated them at the feast
on soft fleeces on the sea's sand,
beside his brother Thrasymedes and his father.

§ OD.3.40  He gave them portions of the entrails, poured wine
into a golden goblet, and toasting her, said
to Pallas Athena, daughter of Aegis-bearer Zeus:
“Pray now to lord Poseidon, stranger,
for it's his feast that you've come upon in coming here.

§ OD.3.45  Then once you've prayed and made libation, as is the custom,
then give the goblet of honey-sweet wine to that one
to make libation, since I think he also prays to the immortals.
All men need the gods.
Since he's younger, the same age as I myself,

§ OD.3.50  I'll therefore give you the golden chalice first.”
So saying, he put the goblet of sweet wine in her hand
and Athena rejoiced at the astute man, the just one,
because he'd given her the chalice first.
She immediately prayed hard to lord Poseidon:

§ OD.3.55  “Listen, Earthshaker Poseidon, and don't begrudge
those of us who pray for them the doing of these deeds.
First of all, to Nestor and his sons, grant glory,
then to the rest, grant graceful recompense,
to each and every Pylian, for their glorious hecatomb.

§ OD.3.60  Further, grant that Telemachus and I go home, having done
that which we came here, in a swift black ship, to do.”
So she then prayed, while she herself was making it all happen.
She gave Telemachus the fine double-handled goblet
so the dear son of Odysseus could pray in the same way.

§ OD.3.65  After they'd roasted the outer meats and pulled them off,
they divided the portions and dined at a glorious feast.
Then after they'd dispatched desire for food and drink,
Gerenian horseman Nestor was the first of them to speak:
“It's now more fitting to inquire and ask

§ OD.3.70  the strangers who they are, since they've enjoyed their food.
Who are you, strangers? From where did you sail the watery ways?
On some business, or did you roam at random,
even as pirates over the sea, who roam
and risk their lives and bring evil to foreigners?”

§ OD.3.75  Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn,
emboldened, for Athena herself had put courage in his heart
so he would ask about his absent father
and so he'd have good repute among men:
“Nestor Neleides, great glory of Achaeans,

§ OD.3.80  you ask where we're from, and I'll tell you.
We've come from Ithaca, under mount Neion.
This business that I speak of is my own, not the kingdom's.
I'm after the wide rumor of my father, in hope I'll hear somewhere
of divine Odysseus, the steadfast one, whom they say

§ OD.3.85  fought along with you and sacked the Trojans' city once upon a time.
For we've heard of all the other ones, all who warred with Trojans,
where each perished in wretched destruction,
but of that one Cronion has made unknown even his destruction.
For no one can tell us clearly where he died,

§ OD.3.90  whether he was tamed by hostile men on land
or even on the sea among the waves of Amphitrite.
I've come to your knees because of this, in hope you'd be willing
to tell of his wretched destruction, if perhaps you saw it
with your eyes or heard a story from another

§ OD.3.95  of his wandering, for his mother bore him to be unhappy beyond others.
Don't, out of respect, soften your words in any way and don't pity me,
but tell me well how you got sight of him.
I beg you, if ever my father, good Odysseus,
promised and fulfilled either any word or deed

§ OD.3.100  in the Trojan kingdom, where you Achaeans suffered sorrows,
recall them for me now and tell me infallibly.”
Then Gerenian horseman Nestor answered him:
“Friend, since you remind me of the sorrow we endured
in that kingdom, we sons of the Achaeans, irresistible in fury,

§ OD.3.105  all the things, when we roamed upon the misty sea
with our ships, wherever Achilles led us,
and all the things, when we fought around lord Priam's
great city, how many of the best men were killed there then!
There lies warlike Ajax; there, Achilles;

§ OD.3.110  there, Patroclus, a counselor equal to the gods;
there, my beloved son, both noble and mighty,
Antilochus, swift in running beyond others and a warrior.
We suffered many other evils besides these.
What mortal man could tell them all?

§ OD.3.115  Not even if you stayed here five years or even six
and asked how many evils the divine Achaeans suffered there,
until you'd be vexed and go to your fatherland.
For nine years we plotted evils for them and busied ourselves
with all kinds of stratagems, and Cronion at last brought them to pass.

§ OD.3.120  There no one wished to match him face to face in counsel,
since divine Odysseus very much surpassed them
in all kinds of stratagems, your father, if it's true
that you're his son. Wonder holds me when I look at you.
For yes, your words at least are like his, nor would you think

§ OD.3.125  a younger man would say things so like his.
Yes, all the time divine Odysseus and I were there
we never spoke at odds in either assembly or council,
but had one temperament, in mind and sage counsel,
and thought out how things could happen best by far for Argives.

§ OD.3.130  Then after we sacked Priam's lofty city
and went off in our ships, a god scattered the Achaeans.
Right then Zeus in his mind resolved a wretched homecoming
for Argives, since not at all reasonable or righteous
were all. So, many of them met an evil fate

§ OD.3.135  from the wrath of the bright-eyed daughter of a powerful father,
who caused discord between both of the Atreidae.
The two called all Achaeans to assembly,
recklessly and not in an orderly way, at sunset.
The sons of the Achaeans came, heavy with wine,

§ OD.3.140  and the two spoke their speech, for which they'd gathered the men.
There Menelaus ordered all Achaeans
to remember their return home upon the broad back of the sea,
but he didn't at all please Agamemnon, for he planned
to detain the men and offer sacred hecatombs

§ OD.3.145  to appease the dread anger of Athena.
The fool, he didn't know he wasn't going to persuade her,
for the mind of the gods who are forever is not turned suddenly.
So while the two stood there exchanging hard words
the well-greaved Achaeans got up

§ OD.3.150  with an awful din, and the council pleased them in two different ways.
That night we rested, contemplating in our minds hard things
against each other, for Zeus was preparing a calamity of evil.
At dawn, some of us hauled our ships to the divine sea
and loaded both possessions and deep-girdled women aboard.

§ OD.3.155  Then, half the men held back and stayed
beside Atreides Agamemnon, the shepherd of men.
Half of us got aboard and drove our ships, which very quickly
sailed, and a god smoothed the great-mawed sea.
We came to Tenedos and offered victims to the gods,

§ OD.3.160  eager to go home, but Zeus did not yet intend our return,
stubborn one, who sent evil discord to us a second time again.
Some turned their double-curved ships around and left,
skilled lord Odysseus, the wily conniver, and his company,
back to Atreides Agamemnon, showing their support.

§ OD.3.165  Then I fled with the ships that followed me, crowded together,
since I knew that a divinity intended evil,
and Tydeus' warlike son fled and urged on his comrades.
Blond Menelaus came after us long afterwards
and caught up with us in Lesbos debating our long voyage,

§ OD.3.170  whether we should sail north of rugged Chios,
by the island of Psyria, keeping it on our left,
or south of Chios, past windy Mimas.
We asked god to show us a sign. Then he showed one
to us, and ordered us to cut the middle of the sea

§ OD.3.175  to Euboea, so we'd escape the soonest from distress.
A whistling fair wind at once began to blow. Our ships
very quickly crossed the fishy ways and brought us at night
into Geraestus. We offered many bulls' thighs
to Poseidon, since we'd measured the great sea.

§ OD.3.180  It was the fourth day when the comrades of Tydeides,
Diomedes the tamer of horses, moored their balanced ships
in Argos. Then I held on course toward Pylos, and the fair wind
never quelled, after the god first sent it out to blow.
So I came, dear child, without tidings, and I know nothing

§ OD.3.185  of the others, which Achaeans were saved and which perished.
Now, as much as I've heard sitting in my palace,
you'll learn it, that's right, and I won't hide it from you.
They say the Myrmidons came safely, the raging spearmen
whom the brilliant son of great-hearted Achilles led,

§ OD.3.190  and safely Philoctetes, Poias' splendid son.
Idomeneus brought to Crete all his comrades
who'd escaped from war, and the sea took no one from him.
Even you yourselves, distant as you are, heard of Atreides,
how he came and how Aegisthus meant wretched destruction.

§ OD.3.195  But, yes indeed, that one paid miserably for it,
how good it is that even a child of a man who's died be left behind,
since even that one took vengeance on his father's killer
cunning Aegisthus, who'd slain his famous father.
You too, my friend, for I clearly see you're big and handsome,

§ OD.3.200  be staunch, so those born after will speak well of you.”
Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:
“Nestor Neleades, great glory of Achaeans,
in truth that one took revenge, and the Achaeans
will carry his fame widely, even as a song for those to be.

§ OD.3.205  If only the gods would cast such strength about me
to take vengeance on the suitors for their grievous trespass,
who in their wanton arrogance devise reckless things for me,
but the gods have not spun such happiness for me,
for me or for my father. And now we must endure it nonetheless.”

§ OD.3.210  Then Gerenian horseman Nestor answered him:
“Friend, since you've spoken these things and reminded me of them,
they do say that many suitors for the hand of your mother,
in your palace against your will, are devising evils.
Tell me whether you accept subjection willingly, or do the people

§ OD.3.215  throughout the kingdom hate you, following the voice of a god?
Who knows if Odysseus will ever come and repay them
for their violence, either he all by himself, or all Achaeans too?
If only bright-eyed Athena cared to love you as much
as she cared about gloried Odysseus then,

§ OD.3.220  in the kingdom of the Trojans, where we Achaeans suffered sorrows.
For I never saw gods love as openly
as when Pallas Athena openly came to Odysseus' aid.
If she cared to love you this way and cared for you in her heart,
then at least some of the suitors might as well forget marriage!”

§ OD.3.225  Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:
“Old man, I doubt this word of yours will ever come to pass.
What you've said is much too big. Wonder holds me. What I hope for
wouldn't happen to me, not even if the gods were to will it so.”
Bright-eyed goddess Athena said back to him:

§ OD.3.230  “Telemachus, what kind of talk has fled your wall of teeth?
It's easy for a god to save a man, if he wishes, even from afar.
Even if I suffered many sorrows, I would rather
go home and see homecoming day,
than be slain at the hearth on coming home, as Agamemnon

§ OD.3.235  was killed by Aegisthus and the guile of his own wife.
But yes, not even gods can ward off death,
common to all, even from a dear man, when
baneful doom, of death that brings long woe, takes him down.”
Astute Telemachus said back to her in turn:

§ OD.3.240  “Mentor, let's speak of this no longer, despite our sorrow.
His return is real no longer, but immortals
have already devised black doom and death for him.
Now I want to inquire about a different story and ask Nestor,
since he beyond others knows righteousness and wisdom.

§ OD.3.245  For they say he's ruled three men's generations
and he seems to me like an immortal to behold.
You, Nestor Neleides, tell the truth.
How did wide-ruling Atreides Agamemnon die?
Where was Menelaus? What destruction did cunning Aegisthus

§ OD.3.250  devise for himself, since he killed a much better man?
Wasn't Menelaus in Achaean Argos, or was he wandering
somewhere else among mankind, so Aegisthus took heart and killed?”
Then Gerenian horseman Nestor answered him:
“Well then, child, I'll tell you the whole truth.

§ OD.3.255  Yes, you can imagine for yourself how it would have gone
had he found Aegisthus still alive in his palace,
Atreides, blond Menelaus, on his return from Troy.
They'd not have heaped a mound of earth upon him, even dead,
but the dogs and birds of prey would have devoured him

§ OD.3.260  lying on the plain far from the city, and no Achaean woman
would have mourned him, for he devised a very monstrous deed.
For while we sat over there and completed many trials,
he, at his ease in a corner of horse-grazing Argos,
often tried to charm the wife of Agamemnon with his words.

§ OD.3.265  Yes, at first divine Clytemnestra disdained
the shameful deed, for she was endowed with good judgment,
and there was also a singer man beside her, whom Atreides
on his way to Troy had ordered many times to keep watch on his wife.
But when at last the gods' doom bound her to be tamed,

§ OD.3.270  then Aegisthus led that singer to a desert island
and left him behind to become the spoil and carrion for birds of prey,
then he brought her, as willing as he was, to his own house.
He burned many thighs on altars of the gods
and hung up many ornaments, woven webs and gold,

§ OD.3.275  on accomplishing a monstrous deed he'd never expected in his heart.
Now we sailed together on our way from Troy,
Atreides and I, with friendly feelings toward each other,
but when we reached the cape of Athens, sacred Sunium,
there Phoebus Apollo attacked with his gentle darts

§ OD.3.280  and killed Menelaus' steersman
as he held in his hands the steering oar of the running ship,
Phrontis Onetorides, who surpassed the tribes of men
in steering a ship when storm winds blow.
So he stopped there, though eager for the way,

§ OD.3.285  to bury his comrade and perform funeral rites over him.
But when at last he too went on the wine-dark sea
in his hollow ships and on the run reached the steep mount
of Maleia, far-seeing Zeus then contrived a loathsome voyage
and poured the breaths of whistling winds upon him

§ OD.3.290  and waves swollen monstrously, like mountains.
Then he split his ships in two and drove some to Crete
where the Cydonians lived about Iardanus' streams.
There is a certain smooth rock, sheer into the sea,
on the edge of Gortyn, in the misty sea.

§ OD.3.295  There South Wind pushes a great wave against the headland
on the left toward Phaestus, and a small stone holds back the great wave.
The ships got there, and with great effort the men avoided destruction,
but waves shattered the ships against the reefs.
Then wind and water carried and drove

§ OD.3.300  the other five dark-prowed ships to Egypt.
So he gathered much substance and gold there
and wandered with his ships through foreign men,
while Aegisthus devised these maleficent things at home.
He ruled for seven years over Mycenae, rich with gold,

§ OD.3.305  after he killed Atreides, and the people were tamed beneath him.
But in the eighth divine Orestes came back from Athens
as an evil for him and slew his father's killer,
cunning Aegisthus, who'd slain his famous father.
Yes, he killed him and held a funeral banquet for the Argives,

§ OD.3.310  for his loathsome mother and cowardly Aegisthus.
Battle-cry-brave Menelaus came to him the same day,
bringing many possessions, all that his ships held as cargo.
And you, friend, don't wander for a long time far away from home,
having left in your house your possessions

§ OD.3.315  and such haughty men, lest they divide and devour
all your possessions and you make a fruitless journey.
Instead, I bid and order you to go to Menelaus,
for he's newly come from elsewhere,
from the men from whom one wouldn't hope in his heart

§ OD.3.320  to return, whomever storm winds drive off course
into a sea so big not even birds of prey get out of it
in a single year, since it's great and terrible.
But go now with your ship and your comrades.
If you want to go on foot, a chariot and horses are before you,

§ OD.3.325  and before you are my sons, who'll be your escorts
to divine Lacedaemon, where blond Menelaus is.
Entreat him yourself, so he'll speak infallibly.
Since he's very astute, he will not tell a lie.”
So said he, and the sun went down and dusk came on,

§ OD.3.330  and bright-eyed goddess Athena said among them:
“Yes, old man, you've recounted this duly,
but come, cut their tongues and mix the wine,
so we can make libation to Poseidon and other immortals
and think of rest, since it's time for it.

§ OD.3.335  For the light already goes under the darkness, and it's not fitting
to sit long at a feast of the gods, but to go.”
Zeus's daughter spoke, and they listened as she spoke.
Heralds poured water on their hands,
and boys filled mixing bowls to the brim with drink

§ OD.3.340  then passed it out to all after pouring drops in their goblets.
They threw the tongues in the fire, stood up, and poured libation on them.
Then after they'd made libation and drunk as much as hearts desired,
right then Athena and godlike Telemachus
both got up to go to their hollow ship.

§ OD.3.345  Nestor held them back and addressed them with these words:
“May Zeus and the rest of the immortal gods avert this,
that you'd go from my house to your swift ship
as from someone poor and completely without clothing,
who hasn't cloaks and many rugs in his house

§ OD.3.350  for either him or his guests to sleep on softly.
But I do have robes and beautiful blankets beside me.
Surely now, the dear son of that man Odysseus
won't lie down on a ship's deck, as long as I'm alive
and sons are left in my palace after me

§ OD.3.355  to treat strangers as guests, whoever may come to my house!”
Bright-eyed goddess Athena said back to him:
“You've said this well, dear old man. It's fitting that Telemachus
obey you, since it's much better this way.
But while he'll now follow with you, so he can sleep

§ OD.3.360  in your palace, I'm going to our black ship
to encourage our comrades and tell them every thing.
For I claim to be the only older one among them,
but the others, younger men, follow him in friendship,
all of them the same age as great-hearted Telemachus.

§ OD.3.365  I'll lie there beside the hollow swift ship now.
Then at dawn I'll go after the great-hearted Cauconians,
where a debt is owed me, nothing new
or small. You, send this one, since he's reached your house,
with a chariot and also your son. Give him horses,

§ OD.3.370  the nimblest you have in running and best in strength.”
So saying, bright-eyed Athena departed,
disguised as a vulture. Wonder took hold of all the Achaeans,
and the old man marveled at what his eyes had seen.
He grabbed Telemachus' hand, called out his name, and said:

§ OD.3.375  “Friend, I don't suppose that you'll be mean and cowardly
if the gods already go with one as young as you as escorts.
For this one is none other, of those who have Olympian homes,
than Zeus's daughter, most glorious Tritogeneia,
who honored your good father too among the Argives.

§ OD.3.380  So, my queen, be gracious and grant me good fame,
to me myself and my children and my venerable wife.
I'll sacrifice a heifer to you, a wide-browed yearling,
an unbroken one, that no man's ever led beneath a yoke.
I'll sacrifice her to you and pour gold around her horns!”

§ OD.3.385  So said he in prayer, and Pallas Athena heard him.
Gerenian horseman Nestor acted as their guide,
for his sons and sons-in-law, to his beautiful home.
But when they reached the lord's very famous home,
they sat down in rows on chairs and couches

§ OD.3.390  and the old man mixed up a mixing bowl for them when they came,
of wine, sweet to drink, which, in the eleventh year,
the housekeeper loosened the lid string and opened.
The old man mixed a mixing bowl of it, and prayed hard to Athena,
to Aegis-bearer Zeus's daughter, as he made libation.

§ OD.3.395  Then after they'd made libation and drunk as much as hearts desired,
they each went home to rest,
but Gerenian horseman Nestor put him to bed there where he was,
Telemachus, the dear son of divine Odysseus,
beneath the echoing portico in a perforated bed,

§ OD.3.400  and a leader of men beside him, Peisistratus of the good ash spear,
who still unwed was one of his sons in the palace.
He himself slept back in an inner room of the lofty house
and his mistress wife shared his bed and bedding.
When early-born rose-fingered Dawn appeared,

§ OD.3.405  Gerenian horseman Nestor arose from bed,
went out and sat down upon the smooth stones
that he had in front of the lofty doors,
white stones, that glistened with oil, on which Neleus,
a counselor equal to the gods, used to sit before.

§ OD.3.410  But, tamed by fate, he'd already gone to Hades.
Now in turn Gerenian Nestor, Achaean watchman, sat
holding a scepter. His sons gathered in a throng around him,
when they came from their chambers: Echephron and Stratius,
Perseus and Aretus, and godlike Thrasymedes too.

§ OD.3.415  Then came their sixth, the hero Peisistratus,
and they led and seated godlike Telemachus beside him.
Gerenian horseman Nestor was the first of them to speak:
“Quickly, dear children, make my wish come true for me,
so I can first, of all the gods, seek the favor of Athena

§ OD.3.420  who came incarnate to me to the god's abundant feast.
So come, have one go to the plain for a cow, so it may come
very soon, and let a man, a cattle herdsman, drive it.
Have one go to great-hearted Telemachus' black ship
and bring all his comrades leaving only two behind.

§ OD.3.425  Have one order the goldsmith Laerces to come here
to pour gold around the cow's horns.
The rest of you, stay here together, and tell the slave women
inside to prepare a splendid feast throughout the house,
seats and logs on both sides, and to carry shining water!”

§ OD.3.430  So said he, then all of them got busy. The cow came
from the plain. From the swift balanced ship came the comrades
of great-hearted Telemachus. The smith came,
holding smith's tools in his hands, implements of his art,
anvil, hammer, and well-made tongs,

§ OD.3.435  with which he worked gold. Athena came
to take part in the sacred rites. The old man, horseman Nestor,
gave him gold, and the smith then fashioned it, and poured it around
the cow's horns, so the goddess would be gloriously glad at its sight.
Stratius and divine Echephron led the cow by the horns,

§ OD.3.440  Aretus came from his chamber, bringing water for washing
in a flowery basin, and he had barley groats in a basket
in his other hand. Valiant Thrasymedes stood by,
holding a sharp axe in his hand for striking the cow.
Perseus held a bowl for the blood. The old man, horseman Nestor,

§ OD.3.445  began the rite with the groats and water, then prayed hard to Athena
as he cut hairs from the cow's head and threw them in the fire.
Then after they prayed and threw barley groats before it,
Nestor's son, high-spirited Thrasymedes, at once
stood near and struck. The axe cut away the tendons

§ OD.3.450  of the neck and broke the cow's strength. They ululated now,
Nestor's daughters, sons' daughters, and venerable wife,
Eurydice, the eldest of the daughters of Clymenus.
The men then lifted it up from the wide-wayed earth
and held it, then Peisistratus, a leader of men, cut its throat.

§ OD.3.455  After the black blood flowed from her and life left her bones
they carved her up, immediately cut out the thighs,
all in due order, covered them with fat,
making a double fold, then laid raw flesh upon them.
The old man burned them on wooden sticks and poured sparkling wine

§ OD.3.460  upon them. Young men beside him held five-pronged forks in their hands.
Then after the thighs were burned up and they'd tasted the entrails,
they cut up the rest, pierced them with spits on both sides,
and roasted them, holding the sharp-pointed spits in their hands.
Meanwhile, beautiful Polycaste, youngest daughter

§ OD.3.465  of Nestor Neleides, bathed Telemachus.
Then after she bathed him and anointed him richly with olive oil,
she threw a fine cloak and tunic about him,
then he went from the tub like immortals in form
and went and sat down beside Nestor, the shepherd of men.

§ OD.3.470  After they'd roasted the outer meats and pulled them off,
they sat and dined, as good men waited on them
pouring wine in golden goblets.
Then after they'd dispatched desire for food and drink,
Gerenian horseman Nestor was the first of them to speak:

§ OD.3.475  “Come, my sons, bring fair-maned horses for Telemachus
and yoke them under a chariot, so he can get on his way!”
So said he, and they listened to him with care and obeyed
and quickly yoked swift horses under a chariot.
A woman, the housekeeper, put food and wine in it,

§ OD.3.480  and cooked meats, the kinds Zeus-nurtured kings eat.
Telemachus then got on the gorgeous chariot
and Peisistratos Nestorides, a leader of men,
got into the chariot beside him and took the reins in his hands.
He whipped the horses to drive them, and the two flew, not unwilling,

§ OD.3.485  into the plain and left the sheer citadel of Pylos.
Now all day long they shook the yoke as they held it on both sides.
And the sun went down, and all the ways were dark.
They came to Pherae, to the house of Diocles,
the son of Ortilochus, whom Alpheius fathered as his son.

§ OD.3.490  They rested there for the night, and he showed them hospitality.
When early-born rose-fingered Dawn appeared,
they yoked the horses and climbed into the ornamented chariot,
drove out of the gateway and the echoing portico, and Peisistratus
whipped the horses to drive them, and the two flew, not unwilling.

§ OD.3.495  They reached the wheat-bearing plain, then after that
finished their journey, so fast their swift horses sped on.
And the sun went down, and all the ways were dark.

§ OD.4.1  BOOK 4
They now reached hollow hilly Lacedaemon,
then rode toward the house of gloried Menelaus.
They found him hosting many clansmen for a wedding
in his own house for his son and noble daughter.

§ OD.4.5  He was sending her to the son of man-breaker Achilles,
for in Troy he'd first nodded assent and promised to give her,
and the gods were making the wedding happen for them.
He was sending her there, to go with horses and chariots
to the far-famed city of the Myrmidons over whom he ruled.

§ OD.4.10  He was bringing Alector's daughter from Sparta for his son,
mighty Megapenthes, grown up, who'd been borne him
by a slave. The gods no longer made a child appear for Helen
after she gave birth to her first child, lovely Hermione,
who had the form of golden Aphrodite.

§ OD.4.15  So while the neighbors and clansmen of gloried Menelaus
feasted throughout the big high-roofed house
in enjoyment, a divine singer performed among them
on the lyre. Two tumblers whirled through them,
through the middle of them, beginning the performance.

§ OD.4.20  The hero Telemachus and Nestor's splendid son
stood with their two horses in the house's doorway,
and his majesty Eteoneus, deft cohort of gloried Menelaus,
came out and saw them, then made his way
through the house to announce them to the shepherd of people.

§ OD.4.25  He stood close by and spoke winged words to him:
“Zeus-nurtured Menelaus, there are some strangers over there,
two men, and they seem like the seed of great Zeus.
But tell me whether we should unharness their swift horses
or send them on their way to someone else who'd welcome them.”

§ OD.4.30  Vexed greatly, blond Menelaus said to him:
“You weren't a fool before this, Eteonus Boethoides,
but now you babble nonsense like a child.
We'd eaten many guest-meals of other men
before we got here, in hope that Zeus would

§ OD.4.35  somehow stop our sorrow. So, free the strangers' horses
and bring the men forward to be feasted inside.”
So said he, and he sped through the palace and bid
the other deft cohorts to follow along with him.
They freed the sweating horses from under the yoke,

§ OD.4.40  tethered them to the horse mangers,
threw grain before them, mixed white barley in it,
leaned the chariot against the gleaming inner wall,
and led the men into the divine house. They beheld
with wonder the house of the Zeus-nurtured king.

§ OD.4.45  For there was a radiance, as of the sun or moon,
throughout gloried Menelaus' high-roofed house.
Then after they'd looked and satisfied their eyes,
they stepped into well-polished tubs and bathed.
After slave women washed them, and anointed them with olive oil,

§ OD.4.50  and threw about them woolen robes and tunics,
they sat on chairs beside Atreides Menelaus.
A handmaid brought water for washing in a
fine golden pitcher and poured it above a silver basin
so they could wash then pulled a polished table beside them.

§ OD.4.55  A venerable housekeeper brought bread and set it before them,
placing many foods on it, pleasing them from her stores.
A carver raised and placed before them platters of meats
of all kinds, and put golden cups beside them.
Blond Menelaus said to them in greeting:

§ OD.4.60  “Take food for yourselves and be welcome. Then after
you've tasted supper we'll ask what men you are.
For your fathers' race is not lost in you,
but you're of the race of Zeus-nurtured men, of sceptered kings,
since mean ones couldn't father such as you.”

§ OD.4.65  So said he, and lifting the roast in his hands he placed the bull's
fat back beside them, the prize they'd set before him for himself.
They threw their hands on the good things laid ready before them.
Then after they'd dispatched desire for food and drink,
right then Telemachus spoke to Nestor's son,

§ OD.4.70  holding his head close so others couldn't hear him:
“Dear to my heart Nestorides, observe
the flash of bronze throughout the echoing house,
of gold and amber, of silver and ivory.
Such, I suppose, is Olympian Zeus's courtyard inside,

§ OD.4.75  untold many things as these. Wonder holds me as I behold them!”
Blond Menelaus heard him talking
and voicing winged words, he said to them:
“Dear children, no, no mortal could compete with Zeus,
for his houses and possessions are immortal.

§ OD.4.80  Some man might compete with me, or might not,
in property. For yes, suffering much and wandering far,
I brought it in my ships and came back in the eighth year.
I wandered to Cyprus and Phoenicia, and to the Egyptians,
and reached the Ethiopians, Sidonians, and Erembi,

§ OD.4.85  and Libya, where rams become horned suddenly,
for the sheep give birth three times in the course of a year.
There neither lord nor shepherd lacks any
cheese and meat, or sweet milk either,
but the sheep always produce ample milk for suckling.

§ OD.4.90  While I wandered around those places collecting
much substance, another murdered my brother
by stealth, unexpectedly, by a ruinous wife's treachery,
so I rule over these possessions without joy.
And you probably heard this from your fathers, whoever

§ OD.4.95  yours are, since I suffered very much and lost a house,
a very well-settled one containing many good things.
Would that I lived in my house with just a third part of it,
and that my men were safe, who perished then
in wide Troy, far from horse-grazing Argos.

§ OD.4.100  But as it is, I mourn and grieve for all of them
often, as I sit in our palace.
At times I soothe my mind with weeping, at other times
I stop. It's quick to come, one's fill of chilling lamentation.
Despite my grief, I don't mourn all of them as much as I do

§ OD.4.105  one of them, who makes food and sleep hateful to me
when I recall him, since no Achaean toiled as much
as Odysseus toiled, undertook, and achieved. But for that one
himself there'd be troubles, and for me an ever unforgettable sorrow
for him, that he's been gone so long and we don't know at all

§ OD.4.110  whether he's dead or alive. They must mourn him, I suppose,
the old man, Laertes, and discreet Penelope,
and Telemachus, whom he left newborn in his home.”
So said he, and roused in Telemachus the desire to weep for his father.
He let tears fall from his eyelids to the ground on hearing of his father,

§ OD.4.115  holding up his purple robe in front of his eyes
with both hands. Menelaus noticed him,
then pondered in his mind and heart
whether to let him mention his father himself
or first ask about every thing and test him.

§ OD.4.120  While he was turning this over in his mind and heart,
Helen came out of her fragrant chamber
looking like golden-bowed Artemis.
Along with her Adreste set up a well-made couch,
Alcippe brought a blanket of soft wool,

§ OD.4.125  Phylo brought a silver basket, that Polybus' wife,
Alcandre, who lived in Egyptian Thebes, where the most
possessions lie in houses, had given Helen.
Polybus gave Menelaus two silver bathtubs,
two tripods, and ten talents of gold.

§ OD.4.130  Besides this, his wife in turn gave beautiful gifts to Helen.
She sent with her a golden distaff and a basket with wheels
underneath, a silver one finished on its edges with gold.
Her handmaid Phylo brought it and placed it beside her,
stuffed with artfully fashioned yarn. The distaff,

§ OD.4.135  holding violet-dark wool, was laid out upon it.
She sat on the couch and a footstool was under her feet.
At once she asked her husband about every thing:
“Do we know, Zeus-nurtured Menelaus, who these men
who've come to our house claim to be?

§ OD.4.140  Will I speak wrong, or will I speak the truth? But my heart bids me speak,
for I don't think I've ever seen one who seems so alike,
neither a man nor a woman, and wonder holds me as I behold him,
as this one seems like the son of great-hearted Odysseus,
Telemachus, whom that man left newborn in his home,

§ OD.4.145  when you Achaeans, for the sake of dog-eyed me,
came under Troy, pondering brash war.”
Blond Menelaus said to her in reply:
“I notice it now too, wife, the same resemblance you see,
for such were that one's feet, such his hands,

§ OD.4.150  and the glances of his eyes, and his head and hair above it.
Yes, just now I spoke about Odysseus as I remembered him,
all that that one suffered and toiled at for my sake,
then this one shed thick tears from under his eyebrows
and held up his purple robe in front of his eyes.”

§ OD.4.155  Peisistratus Nestorides said back to him in turn:
“Atreides Menelaus, Zeus-nurtured leader of men,
it's true, this one is indeed the son of that one, as you say,
but he's discreet, and rejects as improper,
coming here for the first time, displaying words uninvited

§ OD.4.160  in front of you, whose voice we delight in as in a god's.
But Gerenian horseman Nestor sent me
to go with him as a guide, since he wished to see you
so you might suggest to him some word or deed.
For a son of an absent father has many sorrows

§ OD.4.165  in his palace, when he has no other helpers,
as now Telemachus has one who's gone and has no others
who might ward off evil throughout the kingdom.”
Blond Menelaus said to him in reply:
“Ah, yes, the son of a very, very dear man has come to my house,

§ OD.4.170  a man who suffered many trials on my account,
and whom I thought I'd welcome beyond other Argives
when he came, if the Olympian, far-seeing Zeus, granted
there be a return home for both of us in swift ships over the sea.
And I'd have established a city and built a house for him,

§ OD.4.175  brought him from Ithaca with his possessions, his son,
and his people, clearing out one of the cities
that stand about here and are ruled by me.
And being here, we'd have visited often, and nothing else
would have separated us in our friendship and enjoyment,

§ OD.4.180  until at last death's black cloud covered us.
But a god himself, I guess, must have begrudged him this,
who made that wretched one alone without homecoming.”
So said he, and roused in all the desire to weep.
Argive Helen, born of Zeus, wept.

§ OD.4.185  Telemachus wept, and Atreides Menelaus,
and Nestor's son did not have tearless eyes,
for he remembered in his heart noble Antilochus,
whom the splendid son of shining Dawn had slain.
He spoke winged words as he thought of him:

§ OD.4.190  “Atreides, that you're astute beyond other mortals
the old man, Nestor, used to say, when we spoke of you
in his palace and questioned each other.
And now, if it's at all possibly possible, oblige me, for I at least,
don't enjoy weeping after dinner. For that, the dawn

§ OD.4.195  will be early-born instead. I find nothing wrong with
crying for a mortal who's died and met his fate.
Indeed, this is the only prize at all for wretched mortals,
to cut one's hair and let tears fall from one's cheeks.
For my brother too has died, not at all the meanest

§ OD.4.200  of Achaeans. You probably knew him. As for me,
I never met or saw him, but they say Antilochus surpassed others,
surpassed them in running fast and as a warrior.”
Blond Menelaus said to him in reply:
“My friend, since you've said all that an astute man

§ OD.4.205  would say and do, even one who's older,
for you're from such a father also, so you speak astutely too.
Easily recognized is the line of a man to whom Cronion
spins happiness when he's born and when he marries,
as he's given Nestor now continuously all his days,

§ OD.4.210  that he himself grow old gently in his palace,
that his sons in turn are sensible and the best with spears.
Let's put aside the weeping that occurred before
and let's think again of supper and have them pour water
on our hands. There'll be stories too, from daybreak on,

§ OD.4.215  for Telemachus and me to tell completely to each other.”
So said he, and Asphalion, deft cohort
of gloried Menelaus, poured water on their hands.
They threw their hands on the good things laid ready before them.
Then Helen, born of Zeus, thought of another thing

§ OD.4.220  and immediately threw a drug into the wine which they were drinking,
a drug that relieves pain, calms anger, and makes one forget all evils.
He who swallowed it, once it was mixed in the mixing bowl,
would not throughout the day let tears fall from his cheeks,
not if his mother and his father died,

§ OD.4.225  not if in front of him they cleaved with bronze his brother
or beloved son and he saw it with his eyes.
Zeus's daughter had such helpful drugs,
good ones that an Egyptian, Thonus' wife Polydamna, gave her.
There grain-giving farmland bears drugs greatest in number,

§ OD.4.230  many good, when mixed; many others, maleficent.
Each Egyptian is a healer, surpassing all mankind
in knowledge, for they're of Paeeon's race.
Then after she threw it in and bid them pour the wine,
she said back to them in answer:

§ OD.4.235  “Zeus-born Atreides Menelaus, and you here,
good men's sons, since god Zeus at one time or another
gives both good and bad, for he can do everything,
sit now and dine in our palace
and enjoy my stories, for I'll tell ones suitable for you.

§ OD.4.240  I couldn't name and tell them all,
so many are the trials of steadfast Odysseus,
but what a thing this was the mighty man dared and did
in the Trojan kingdom where you Achaeans suffered sorrows!
He disfigured himself with grievous blows,

§ OD.4.245  threw a cloth around his shoulders, and disguised as a servant
entered the broad-streeted city of the enemy men,
then concealed himself as a different man, and pretended to be
a beggar, he who was no such thing at the Achaean ships.
He entered the Trojan city like that, and everyone ignored him.

§ OD.4.250  I alone recognized him, such as he was,
and I questioned him, but he eluded me with cunning.
But when at last I'd bathed him and anointed him with olive oil,
dressed clothing about him, and swore a great oath
not to make him known among the Trojans as Odysseus

§ OD.4.255  before he reached his huts and swift ships,
right then he told me in detail the Achaeans' intent.
He then killed many of the Trojans with sharp bronze,
went back among the Argives, and brought back much information.
Then the rest of the Trojan women shrieked loudly, but my heart

§ OD.4.260  rejoiced, since by now my heart had changed about going
back home and I regretted my mad blindness, that Aphrodite gave me,
when she led me there from my beloved fatherland,
and I deserted my daughter, my bedroom, and my husband,
who lacked nothing in either looks or wits.”

§ OD.4.265  Blond Menelaus said to her in reply:
“Yes, wife, you've said all these things duly.
By now I've learned the mind and will of many
hero men and traversed much of the earth,
but with my eyes I've never seen such a one

§ OD.4.270  as was the dear heart of steadfast Odysseus.
What a thing this was, that a mighty man dared to do and did
inside the polished horse, where we, all the best of the Argives,
sat bearing death and doom for Trojans.
Then you came there. A divinity, who planned to grant glory

§ OD.4.275  to the Trojans, must have urged you on,
and godlike Deiphobus went with when you came.
Three times you walked around and felt about the hollow ambush,
and called out to the best of the Danaans by their names,
making your voice like the voices of the wives of all the Argives.

§ OD.4.280  Then divine Odysseus, Tydeides, and I,
sitting in the middle, heard you as you shouted.
We were both eager, and set out to
either get out or immediately answer from inside,
but Odysseus restrained and checked us despite our eagerness.

§ OD.4.285  Then the rest of the sons of the Achaeans were silent.
Anticlus was the only one who wanted to answer,
but Odysseus pressed on his mouth continuously
with his mighty hands and saved all the Achaeans.
He held him until Pallas Athena led you off far away.”

§ OD.4.290  Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:
“Zeus-nurtured Atreides, Menelaus, leader of men,
it's worse, for this in no way kept sad destruction from him,
nor would it, even if he had a heart of iron inside him.
But come, turn us toward bed, so we can right now

§ OD.4.295  take our pleasure and be lulled to sleep by sweet sleep.”
So said he, then Argive Helen bid the slave women
set beds beneath the portico, throw fine purple cloths
upon them, spread blankets on top of them,
and put woolen cloaks on top to wrap in.

§ OD.4.300  They came out of the hall holding torches in their hands
and spread the beds. A herald led the guests out.
They went to bed right there in the doorway of the house,
the hero Telemachus and Nestor's splendid son.
Atreides slept in an inner part of his lofty house,

§ OD.4.305  and a woman divine, long-robed Helen, lay beside him.
When early-born rose-fingered Dawn appeared,
battle-cry-brave Menelaus arose from bed,
put on his clothes, slung a sharp sword around his shoulder,
tied fine sandals beneath sleek feet,

§ OD.4.310  and made his way from the bedroom looking like a god.
He sat beside Telemachus, spoke his name, and said:
“What need brought you here, hero Telemachus,
to divine Lacedaemon, upon the broad back of the sea,
the kingdom's or your own? Tell me this infallibly.”

§ OD.4.315  Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:
“Atreides Menelaus, Zeus-nurtured leader of men,
I came in hope you'd tell me some tidings of my father.
My house is being eaten, my rich fields destroyed.
My home is full of hostile men, who are always slaughtering

§ OD.4.320  my thick-thronging sheep and lumbering curved-horned cattle,
suitors of my mother, with their arrogant wantonness.
I've come to your knees because of this, in hope you'd be willing
to tell of his wretched destruction, if perhaps you saw it
with your eyes, or heard a story from another

§ OD.4.325  of his wandering, for his mother bore him to be unhappy beyond others.
Don't out of respect soften your words in any way and don't pity me,
but tell me well how you got sight of him.
I beg you, if ever my father, good Odysseus,
promised and fulfilled either any word or deed

§ OD.4.330  in the Trojan kingdom, where you Achaeans suffered sorrows,
recall them for me now and tell me infallibly.”
Vexed greatly, blond Menelaus said to him:
“Damn it! Yes indeed, in the bed of a strong-minded man
they wished to sleep, though they themselves are weaklings.

§ OD.4.335  As when a deer puts her newborn suckling fawns to sleep
in a mighty lion's woody lair
and forages the foothills and grassy glens
to graze, and afterwards the lion goes into his den
and sends disgraceful doom against both of them,

§ OD.4.340  so Odysseus will send disgraceful doom against those men.
For I wish, father Zeus, Athena, and Apollo,
that just as he was in well-founded Lesbos once upon a time
when on a dare he stood up and wrestled Philomeides
and threw him mightily, and all Achaeans were delighted,

§ OD.4.345  such an Odysseus would engage the suitors.
All would be bitterly betrothed and swiftly doomed.
About these things that you ask and entreat me, I won't speak
off point of other things besides them nor will I deceive you,
but of what the infallible old man of the sea told me

§ OD.4.350  I'll hide nothing from you and won't conceal a word.
“The gods kept me yet in Egypt, though I yearned to come here,
since I hadn't offered perfect hecatombs to them.
Gods always want their behests to be remembered.
Now there's an island in the much-surging sea

§ OD.4.355  in front of Egypt, and they call it Pharos,
as far off as a hollow ship goes in a whole day
when a whistling fair wind blows behind it.
On it is a harbor with good mooring, from which they send
balanced ships off into the sea, once they've drawn black water.

§ OD.4.360  The gods kept me twenty days there, and fair winds
never appeared or blew over the sea, the ones that are
ships' escorts on the broad back of the sea.
And indeed all my provisions and men's strength would have been spent
had not some god taken pity on me and been merciful to me,

§ OD.4.365  Eidothea, the daughter of mighty Proteus, the old man of the sea,
for I'd moved her heart most of all,
who met me wandering alone apart from my comrades,
for they always roamed around the island fishing
with curved fishhooks and hunger afflicted their bellies.

§ OD.4.370  She stood near me, spoke a word, and said:
'Are you a fool, stranger, and such a very slack-minded one,
or did you give up of your free will and enjoy suffering sorrows?
You've been held back on the island so long now and can't find
any end to it, as your comrades' heart grows smaller.'

§ OD.4.375  So said she, then I said to her in answer:
'I'll speak out and tell you, whatever goddess you are,
that I'm not held back at all by my free will, instead I surely must
have sinned against the immortals who hold wide heaven.
But you tell me, since gods know everything,

§ OD.4.380  what immortal binds me and kept me from my journey,
and of my return home, how I'll go upon the fishy sea.'
So said I, and the goddess divine immediately answered:
'Well then, stranger, I'll speak to you very exactly.
An infallible old man of the sea comes here often,

§ OD.4.385  immortal Proteus, the Egyptian, Poseidon's underling,
who knows the depths of every sea.
They say that he's my father and begot me.
If you can somehow capture him in ambush,
he'll tell you the way and stages of your journey,

§ OD.4.390  and of your return home, how you'll go upon the fishy sea.
And he'd tell you, Zeus-nurtured one, if you wanted,
what good and evil has been done in your palace
while you've been on your long and grievous journey.'
So said she, then I said to her in answer:

§ OD.4.395  You yourself devise now the divine old man's ambush,
lest he somehow see or learn beforehand and elude me,
for a god is difficult for a mortal man to tame.'
So said I, and the goddess divine immediately answered:
'Well then, I'll speak these things to you very exactly.

§ OD.4.400  When the sun straddles the midst of heaven,
then the infallible old man of the sea comes out of the sea
under West Wind's breath, hidden by a black ripple,
and when he comes out he sleeps beneath the hollow caves,
and seals, young ones of beautiful Halosydne,

§ OD.4.405  come up out of the sea and sleep huddled around him,
breathing out the very deep sea's pungent stench.
I'll take you there at the same time dawn appears
and set you in orderly ambush, and, you, choose three comrades
carefully, who are the best beside your well-benched ships.

§ OD.4.410  I'll tell you all the wiles of that old man.
First he'll go to the seals and count them,
then after he's seen them all and counted them by fives,
he'll lie in their midst like a herdsman with flocks of sheep.
As soon as you see he's lain down to rest,

§ OD.4.415  right then thereafter you must be careful of his might and power
and hold him right where he is, though he strives and rushes to escape.
He'll test you, becoming all things, all there are
that move upon the ground, and water, and wondrous fire,
then you must hold him firmly and squeeze harder.

§ OD.4.420  But when at last he speaks to you with words, as himself,
when he's like you saw him when he was lying down,
right then, hero, stop, and free the old man from your power,
then ask him what god oppresses you,
and of your return home, how you'll go upon the fishy sea.'

§ OD.4.425  So saying, she plunged under the billowing sea.
Then I went to the ships, where they stood on the sands,
and my heart was much troubled on my way.
Then after I came down to the ship and sea,
we made supper and ambrosial night came upon us.

§ OD.4.430  We laid down then to sleep at the edge of sea's surf.
When early-born rose-fingered Dawn appeared,
right then I went along the shore of the wide-wayed sea
and prayed hard to the gods. Then I brought the three comrades
I'd trusted most in every enterprise.

§ OD.4.435  Meanwhile, she'd plunged beneath the wide bosom of the sea
and out of the sea brought four seal skins,
and all were newly flayed. She was devising a trap for her father.
She scooped out beds in the sea sand
and sat waiting. We now came very close to her,

§ OD.4.440  and she bedded us in a row then threw a skin on each of us.
Then our ambush would have been most terrible, for the baneful stench
of the sea-bred seals oppressed us terribly.
For who would be laid beside a monster of the sea?
But she devised a great help and saved us.

§ OD.4.445  She brought ambrosia, put the very sweetly smelling stuff
under each one's nose, and destroyed the monster's stench.
With resolute hearts we waited there all morning.
The seals came in a herd out of the water, then bedded
in a row beside the edge of sea's surf.

§ OD.4.450  At noon the old man came out of the sea, found his well-fed seals,
went to them all, and counted their number.
He counted us first among the monsters and didn't at heart
think it was a trap. Then he laid himself down too.
We rushed at him with a shout and threw our arms

§ OD.4.455  around him, but the old man didn't forget his crafty art,
instead he first of all became a well-bearded lion,
then after that a serpent, a leopard, and a great boar,
then he became fluid water and a lofty, leafy tree.
But we held him firmly with resolute hearts.

§ OD.4.460  But when at last the old man, endowed with wily ways, grew weary,
right then he spoke to me and questioned me:
'What god took counsel with you, son of Atreus,
so you could seize me against my will in ambush? What do you need?'
So said he, then I said to him in answer:

§ OD.4.465  'You know, old man. Why speak of this misleadingly?
I've been held back on the island so long now and can't find
any end to it as my heart grows smaller inside me.'
But you tell me, since gods know everything,
what immortal binds me and kept me from my journey,

§ OD.4.470  and of my return home, how I'll go upon the fishy sea.'
So said I, and he immediately said to me in answer:
'Well, you really ought to have gone aboard after offering
fine victims to Zeus and other gods, so you'd soonest
reach your fatherland as you sailed the wine-dark sea.

§ OD.4.475  But it's not your lot to see your loved ones
and reach your well-built house and your fatherland
before you go back to the water of Egypt,
the Zeus-fallen river, and offer sacred hecatombs
to the immortal gods who hold wide heaven.

§ OD.4.480  Right then the gods will grant you the journey you desire.
So said he. Then my dear heart was broken,
because he'd bid me go again upon the misty sea
to Egypt, a long and grievous journey.
But even so, I said to him in answer:

§ OD.4.485  I'll do these things in this way, old man, as you bid,
but come, tell me this and recount it exactly,
whether all came unharmed with their ships, the Achaeans
whom Nestor and I left when we left Troy,
or did any perish in cruel destruction upon his ship

§ OD.4.490  or in the hands of loved ones after he wound up the war?'
So said I, and he immediately said to me in answer:
'Atreides, why ask me about this? There's no need at all
to know it or to learn my mind and I don't think
you'll be tearless for long after you've heard it all well.

§ OD.4.495  For while many were tamed, many others were left.
Only two of the leaders of the bronze-clad Achaeans
perished on their return home, and you too were at the battle.
One, still alive somewhere, is detained on the wide sea.
Ajax was tamed among his long-oared ships.

§ OD.4.500  First Poseidon drove him against the great rocks
of Gyrae and saved him from the sea,
and he'd indeed have escaped doom, though hateful to Athena,
if he hadn't been made mighty mindless and thrown out a haughty word.
He said he'd escaped, against gods' will, the great gulf of the sea.

§ OD.4.505  Poseidon heard him speaking loudly,
then at once took his trident in his well-knit hands,
drove it against the Gyraean rock and split it.
And one piece stayed where it was while the other fell into the sea,
the one on which Ajax first sat when he was made mighty mindless,

§ OD.4.510  and it bore him down into the boundless billowing sea.
So there he perished after he drank the briny water.
Your brother fled death's agents and escaped
in his hollow ships and lady Hera saved him.
But, as he was just about to reach the sheer mount

§ OD.4.515  of the Maleians, a windstorm snatched him up then
and bore him, groaning heavily, upon the fishy deep
to the border of the land where Thyestes had a home
before, but Aegisthus Thyestiades lived then.
But when at last even from there a safe return appeared,

§ OD.4.520  and the gods turned back a fair wind, and they reached home,
yes indeed, he set foot upon his fatherland with joy
and he took hold of his fatherland and kissed it. Many hot tears
poured from him when he saw his welcome land.
A lookout saw him from a lookout, whom cunning Aegisthus

§ OD.4.525  brought and posted and promised two talents of gold
as pay. He'd been watching for a year, lest he miss him
passing by and Agamemnon remember his impetuous prowess.
He made his way to the palace to report to the shepherd of men.
Aegisthus at once contrived a cunning design.

§ OD.4.530  He chose twenty of the best men throughout the kingdom
and set an ambush, then bid a feast be prepared elsewhere.
Then he went to summon the shepherd of people Agamemnon
with horses and a chariot, pondering shameless things.
He led him, unaware of destruction, made him dinner,

§ OD.4.535  and killed him, as one kills an ox at a trough.
Neither any of Atreides' comrades who were with him were left
nor any of Aegisthus', but they were killed in the palace.'
So said he. Then my dear heart was broken,
and I sat weeping on the sand, and truly my heart

§ OD.4.540  no longer wished to live and see sun's light.
Then after I'd had enough of weeping and writhing,
right then the infallible old man of the sea said to me:
'No longer, son of Atreus, weep a long time unrelentingly
this way, since we find that no accomplishment. But try

§ OD.4.545  very soon to reach your fatherland at last.
For either you'll find him alive or Orestes got to him before you
and killed him, and you might be present at his funeral.'
So said he, and my heart and manly spirit
again warmed in my chest even though I grieved.

§ OD.4.550  And voicing winged words, I said to him:
'Now at last I know of them, but name the third man,
who's held back by the wide sea still alive
or dead, for even though I grieve, I want to hear it.'
So said I, and he immediately said to me in answer:

§ OD.4.555  'The son of Laertes, who has a house in Ithaca,
whom I saw shedding thick tears on an island,
in the palace of nymph Calypso, who holds him back
by force. He's unable to reach his fatherland,
for he hasn't oared ships or comrades at his side

§ OD.4.560  to convoy him on the broad back of the sea.
But it's not ordained for you, Zeus-nurtured Menelaus,
to meet your fate and die in horse-grazing Argos,
but to the Elysian plain and the limits of the earth
the immortals will send you, where blond Rhadamanthus is,

§ OD.4.565  there where life is easiest for men,
no snow, and not much winter, and never rain,
but always gusts of clearly blowing West Wind
Ocean sends up to cool off men,
because you have Helen and are a son-in-law of Zeus to them.

§ OD.4.570  So saying, he dove beneath the surging sea,
then I went to the ships with my godlike comrades
and my heart was much troubled on my way.
Then after we'd gone down to the ship and sea
and made dinner, and ambrosial night came on,

§ OD.4.575  we laid down then to sleep at the edge of sea's surf.
When early-born rose-fingered Dawn appeared,
we first of all hauled our ships into the divine sea,
then in our balanced ships we put the masts and sails.
Then they went aboard and sat down at the oarlocks,

§ OD.4.580  and seated in rows beat the gray sea with their oars
back to Zeus-fallen river Egypt's water.
I moored my ships and offered perfect hecatombs.
Then after I ended the anger of the gods who are forever,
I heaped a grave mound for Agamemnon, so his fame be inextinguishable.

§ OD.4.585  When I'd done this I departed, and the immortals granted me
a fair wind and sent me swiftly to my beloved fatherland.
But come now, stay in my palace
until the eleventh and twelfth day come to be.
Right then I'll send you off well and give you splendid gifts,

§ OD.4.590  three horses and a well-polished chariot. Then afterward
I'll give you a beautiful chalice, so you can make libation to the gods
immortal and all your days remember me.”
Astute Telemachus said back to him in turn:
“Atreides, don't keep me here a long time

§ OD.4.595  even though I'd be content to sit beside you for a year
and longing for either home or parents wouldn't seize me,
since I terribly enjoy hearing your stories and your words.
But by now my comrades are becoming impatient
in sacred Pylos, and you do keep me here a while.

§ OD.4.600  Whatever gift you'd give me, let it be one to be treasured.
I won't take the horses to Ithaca, but I'll leave them here for you
yourself, as honors, for you rule over a wide plain
in which is much lotus and galingale
and wheat and spelt and broad-eared white barley.

§ OD.4.605  In Ithaca are neither wide courses nor any meadowland.
It's goat-grazing land and more lovely than horse-grazing,
for none of the islands are for good for horses or well-meadowed,
the islands that slope to the sea, Ithaca even more than all.”
So said he, and battle-cry-brave Menelaus smiled,

§ OD.4.610  caressed him with his hand, called out his name, and said:
“You're of good blood, dear child, in what you say,
therefore I'll change these things for you, since I can.
Of all the gifts that lie as treasures in my house,
I'll give the one that's most beautiful and honored.

§ OD.4.615  I'll give you a well-crafted mixing bowl. The whole thing's
silver, and the rim is finished with gold,
a work of Hephaestus. The hero Phaedimus, the Sidonian king,
gave it to me when his house sheltered me there
on my return, and I want to send it with you.”

§ OD.4.620  So while they said such things to one another,
the guests came to the home of the divine king.
They brought sheep and carried hearty wine,
and their finely-veiled wives sent food with them.
So they busied themselves about dinner in the palace

§ OD.4.625  while the suitors in front of Odysseus' hall
enjoyed themselves throwing with discuses and javelins
on leveled flat ground, where they had before, with wanton arrogance.
Antinous and godlike Eurymachus were seated,
the leaders of the suitors they were far the best in prowess.

§ OD.4.630  The son of Phronius, Noemon, came near them,
spoke to Antinous, and asked:
“Antinous, do we know it at all in our minds, or don't we,
when Telemachus may come from sandy Pylos?
He took my ship and left, but I need her

§ OD.4.635  to cross over to spacious Elis, where I have twelve horses,
females with untamed drudging mules under them,
one of whom I'd drive out and tame.”
So said he, and in their hearts they wondered, for they hadn't thought
he'd gone to Neleian Pylos, but was somewhere

§ OD.4.640  on his farm or with the swineherd.
Eupeithes' son Antinous said back to him:
“Tell me infallibly, when did he go and what young men
went with him? Chosen ones of Ithaca, or his own
hired hands and slaves? Even he would be able to do that.

§ OD.4.645  And tell me this truly, so I know it well,
whether he took away your black ship by force against your will
or you gave it to him willingly when he implored you.”
The son of Phronius, Noemon, said to him in turn:
“I gave it to him myself, willingly. What would any other do,

§ OD.4.650  when a man like this, with cares in his heart,
makes a request? It would be hard to refuse the giving.
Young men who are best among us throughout the kingdom
went with him. I noticed one getting on board as their leader,
Mentor, or a god who looked completely like him.

§ OD.4.655  But I wonder about it. I saw divine Mentor here
early yesterday, but at that time he'd boarded ship for Pylos.”
So saying, he departed to his father's house,
and the manly heart in both of them marveled.
They had the suitors stop their games and sit down together.

§ OD.4.660  Eupeithes' son Antinous spoke among them,
grieving. Both sides of his heart were filled black, full
of fury, and his eyes were like flashing fire:
“Damn it! Yes, a horrible deed has been haughtily done,
this journey by Telemachus. We didn't think he'd do it.

§ OD.4.665  A young boy goes out on his own, against the will of so many,
selects the best throughout the kingdom, and launches a ship.
He'll begin to be an even further evil. May Zeus instead destroy
his life for him before he reaches the measure of young manhood.
But come, give me a swift ship and twenty comrades,

§ OD.4.670  so I can watch and wait in ambush for him as he comes
in the strait between Ithaca and rugged Samos,
so to his own cost he sails for his father!”
So said he, and all concurred and commanded,
then got up at once and went into the house of Odysseus.

§ OD.4.675  Nor was Penelope for a long time without knowledge
of the words the suitors were brooding over in their minds,
for a herald told her, Medon, who was outside in the courtyard
and heard their plans as they wove their scheme inside.
He made his way through the palace to report to Penelope,

§ OD.4.680  and as he stepped down from the threshold Penelope said to him:
“Why have the illustrious suitors sent you, herald?
Was it to tell the slave women of divine Odysseus
to stop their work and get dinner ready for them?
Neither wooing me nor gathering another time,

§ OD.4.685  may they dine here for the last and final time!
You who gather often and shear away much substance,
the property of skilled Telemachus. Nor did you hear anything
from your fathers in the past when you were children,
how Odysseus was among your parents,

§ OD.4.690  neither doing or saying anything unfair
in his kingdom, which is the custom of divine kings,
who may hate one mortal and love another,
but Odysseus never did a completely wicked thing to any man.
But your heart and unseemly deeds are obvious

§ OD.4.695  nor is there any thanks for good deeds afterwards.”
Medon, endowed with wisdom, said back to her:
“Would that this were the greatest evil, my queen,
but the suitors are devising another much greater
and more grievous. May Cronion not bring it to pass!

§ OD.4.700  They intend to kill Telemachus with sharp bronze
on his way home. He went after news of his father
to sacred Pylos and divine Lacedaemon.”
So said he, and right there her knees and dear heart were undone,
and for a long time speechlessness took her words from her. Her two eyes

§ OD.4.705  were filled with tears, and her rich voice was held in check.
A long time later she said to him in answer:
“Why is my son gone, herald? There was no need at all
for him to board swift-sailing ships, that are horses of the sea
for men and make their way upon great water,

§ OD.4.710  so not even his name be left among mankind.”
Then Medon, endowed with wisdom, answered her:
“I don't know whether some god incited him or even if
his own heart was spurred to go to Pylos so he could find out
about his father, either of his return or whatever fate he met.”

§ OD.4.715  So saying, he departed through the house of Odysseus.
Heart-destroying grief poured over her, and she could no longer stand
to sit upon the seats, though there were many throughout the house,
and sat instead upon the threshold of her well-made chamber,
weeping pitifully. Her slave women all whimpered around her,

§ OD.4.720  all, young and old, who were in the house.
Sobbing thickly, Penelope said to them:
“Listen, dear ones, for the Olympian has given me sorrows
surpassing all who were born and bred along with me,
I, who first lost my lion-hearted husband,

§ OD.4.725  who excelled among Danaans in all kinds of good qualities,
a good man, whose fame is wide throughout Hellas and middle Argos.
Now again, windstorms have snatched up my lovable son,
without tidings, from our palace, but I heard not of his leaving.
Hard-hearted ones, not even one of you put it in your mind

§ OD.4.730  to wake me out of bed, though you knew it clearly,
when that one went aboard a hollow black ship.
For if I'd found out he was pondering this journey,
then surely he'd have either stayed, though eager for his way,
or left me dead in our palace.

§ OD.4.735  But let someone summon old man Dolios,
my slave whom my father gave me when I was on my way here
and who keeps for me an orchard full of trees, so he can very quickly
sit beside Laertes and recount all these things,
in the hope he may at last weave some plan in his mind

§ OD.4.740  and go out and complain to the people, who are minded
to waste away his and godlike Odysseus' progeny.”
Dear nurse Eurycleia said back to her:
“Dear bride, kill me with ruthless bronze
or let me live in your palace, but I won't conceal the story from you.

§ OD.4.745  I knew all of this, and gave him all he commanded,
food and sweet wine. He took from me a mighty oath,
not to tell you before the twelfth day came to be
or you yourself missed him and heard of his starting out,
so you wouldn't mar your beautiful flesh with weeping.

§ OD.4.750  But wash yourself with water, take clean clothes for your flesh,
go up into the upper chamber with your handmaid women,
and pray to Athena, daughter of Aegis-bearer Zeus,
for she might then save him, even from death.
And don't trouble a troubled old man. For I don't think

§ OD.4.755  the offspring of Arceisiades is wholly hated by the blessed gods,
but there'll still be one left, I imagine, who'll hold
the high-roofed house and rich fields far away.”
So said she, and stilled her weeping, and kept her eyes from weeping.
She washed herself with water, took clean clothes for her flesh,

§ OD.4.760  went up into the upper chamber with her handmaid women,
put barley groats in a basket, and prayed to Athena:
“Hear me, Atrytone, child of Aegis-bearer Zeus,
if ever for you in his halls adroit Odysseus burned
the fatty thighs of ox or sheep,

§ OD.4.765  recall this now for me and save my dear son for me.
Ward off the suitors in their evil arrogance.”
So saying, she ululated, and the goddess heard her prayer.
The suitors raised an uproar throughout the shadowy palace.
In this way, one of the young men, in wanton arrogance, would say:

§ OD.4.770  “Yes, very surely, our much-wooed queen's preparing a wedding
for us, but doesn't know at all that murder's prepared for her son.”
So one of them would say, but they didn't know how it happened.
Now Antinous spoke and said among them:
“Possessed ones, refrain from haughty speech,

§ OD.4.775  all of it alike, lest someone perhaps also report it inside.
But come, let's get up in silence then and carry out
our decision that suited all of us just now in our minds.”
So saying, he chose the twenty best men
and they made their way to the swift ship and sea's shore.

§ OD.4.780  First of all they hauled the ship toward the sea's depths,
put mast and sails on the black ship,
positioned oars in leather oar straps,
all in good order, and hoisted the white sail,
as their high-spirited cohorts carried their gear for them.

§ OD.4.785  They anchored her offshore in the south then went ashore themselves.
They had supper there as they waited for evening to come.
Back in the upper chamber, prudent Penelope
lay fasting, not tasting food and drink,
pondering whether her noble son would escape death

§ OD.4.790  or be tamed by the haughty suitors.
As much as a lion in a crowd of men broods anxiously
with fear when they draw their crafty circle around him,
that much she was pondering when sweet sleep came upon her.
All her joints were relaxed, she leaned back, and slept.

§ OD.4.795  Then bright-eyed goddess Athena thought of something else.
She created a phantom and in shape it looked like a woman,
Iphthime, the daughter of great-hearted Icarius,
whom Eumelus, who had a house in Pherae, wed.
She sent it to the home of divine Odysseus,

§ OD.4.800  to stop the wailing and lamenting Penelope
from her weeping and tearful lamentation.
It entered the bedroom past the bolt's strap,
stood above her head, and said to her:
“Are you sleeping, Penelope, your dear heart sorrowing?

§ OD.4.805  No, the gods who live easily won't let you
grieve and cry, since your son is still to have homecoming,
for he's not at all a sinner in gods' eyes.”
Then prudent Penelope answered her,
as she very sweetly slumbered at the gate of dreams:

§ OD.4.810  “Why have you come here, sister? You didn't visit much at all
before, since you have a home so very far away.
And you bid me cease from my grief and the many sorrows
that distress me in my mind and heart,
I, who first lost my lion-hearted husband,

§ OD.4.815  who excelled among Danaans in all kinds of good qualities,
a good man, whose fame is wide throughout Hellas and middle Argos.
Now again, my lovable son has gone aboard a hollow ship,
a child who knows well neither hard works nor assemblies.
I grieve for him even more than for the other.

§ OD.4.820  I tremble for him and fear lest he suffer something
in the kingdom of those where he's gone or on the sea.
For many enemies are plotting against him,
eager to kill him before he reaches his fatherland.”
The faint phantom said to her in reply:

§ OD.4.825  “Take heart, and don't in any way at all fear too much in your mind,
for such an escort goes with him, whom even other men
would pray to stand beside them, for she has power,
Pallas Athena. She feels pity for you in your lamentation.
She sent me now to tell these things to you.”

§ OD.4.830  Prudent Penelope said back to her:
“If then you are a god and have heard the goddess's voice,
then come tell me also of that wretched one,
whether he's still alive somewhere and sees the light of the sun
or is already dead and in the house of Hades.”

§ OD.4.835  The faint phantom said to her in reply:
“I won't tell you in detail about that one,
whether he's dead or alive. It's bad to talk like empty wind.”
So saying, it glided past the bolt of the doorpost
into gusts of winds. The daughter of Icarius got up

§ OD.4.840  from sleep and her dear heart was warmed
that a clear dream had sped to her in the gloom of night.
The suitors went aboard and sailed on the watery ways,
pondering in their minds sheer slaughter for Telemachus.
There's a certain rocky island in the middle of the sea,

§ OD.4.845  between Ithaca and rugged Samos,
not a big one, Asteris, with ship-sheltering harbors on it
on each side. The Achaeans waited for him there in ambush.

§ OD.5.1  BOOK 5
Dawn, from bed beside illustrious Tithonus,
arose to bring light to mortals and immortals.
The gods sat down in council, among them
Zeus whose power is the greatest.

§ OD.5.5  Athena spoke to them, Odysseus' many troubles
on her mind, for his being in the nymph's home troubled her:
“Father Zeus, and other blessed gods who are forever,
Let no sceptered king ever be earnestly
gentle and kind, or know justice in his mind,

§ OD.5.10  but may he always be hard and do injustice,
seeing that none of the people whom he ruled
remembers godlike Odysseus, who was kind as a father to them.
But he lies on an island, suffering mighty sorrows
in the palace of nymph Calypso, who holds him back

§ OD.5.15  by force. He's unable to reach his fatherland,
for he hasn't oared ships or comrades at his side
to convoy him on the broad back of the sea.
Now they intend to kill his lovable son
on his way home. He went after news of his father,

§ OD.5.20  to sacred Pylos and divine Lacedaemon.”
Cloud-gatherer Zeus said to her in reply:
“My child, what kind of talk is this that's fled your wall of teeth?
Didn't you yourself recommend this plan,
that Odysseus surely come and take vengeance on those men?

§ OD.5.25  Escort Telemachus skillfully, since you can,
so, quite unscathed he gets to his fatherland
and the suitors in their ship go back where they came from.”
He spoke, then facing Hermes, his beloved son, he said:
“Hermes, since you're our messenger for other things,

§ OD.5.30  to the fair-haired nymph clearly speak our will,
the return home of steadfast Odysseus, so he may go,
without escort of gods or mortal men.
Instead, he'll suffer miseries on a well-bound raft
and reach fertile Scheria on the twentieth day,

§ OD.5.35  the land of the Phaeacians, who are close to the gods,
who will honor him exceedingly in their heart like a god,
then will send him in a ship to his beloved fatherland,
and give him bronze, and gold aplenty, and clothing,
lots of it, and Odysseus could never have taken this much from Troy

§ OD.5.40  even if he'd gone unharmed and obtained his share of spoils.
For it's his lot to see his loved ones and reach
his high-roofed house and fatherland.”
So said he, and runner Argeiphontes did not disobey him.
At once he tied fine sandals underneath his feet,

§ OD.5.45  ambrosial, golden ones, that bore him, over water
and boundless land, with the breezes of the wind.
He raised his wand, with which he enchants the eyes of men,
of those he wishes, and wakes up again the sleeping.
Mighty Argeiphontes held it in his hands and flew.

§ OD.5.50  Stepping on Pieria from the upper air he fell upon the sea,
then sped over the waves like a bird, a cormorant,
that as it catches fish, down through the deep gulfs
of the barren sea, wets its thick feathers in the brine.
Like this, Hermes rode the many waves.

§ OD.5.55  But when he reached that island, which was far away,
then he stepped out of the violet sea upon the land
and went until he reached the great cave in which
the fair-haired nymph lived. He found her inside.
A great fire was burning on the hearth, and the scent

§ OD.5.60  of split cedar and pine spread throughout the island
as they burned. She was singing in a beautiful voice inside
as she plied the loom and wove with a golden shuttle.
A luxuriant wood grew around the cave,
alder, and aspen, and fragrant cypress.

§ OD.5.65  Birds with long wings nested there,
owls, and hawks, and long-tongued crows,
sea crows, who care about works upon the sea.
Right there, around the hollow cave, stretched
a vine in youthful vigor blooming with clusters of grapes.

§ OD.5.70  Four fountains in a row flowed with white water,
next to each other, but turned in different directions.
Soft meadows of violet and parsley
bloomed about them. Even an immortal, after coming there,
would gaze in admiration at what he saw and be delighted in his mind.

§ OD.5.75  Runner Argeiphontes stood there and gazed in admiration.
Then after he'd gazed at it all with his heart,
he went at once into the wide cave, and when she saw him
face to face, the goddess divine, Calypso, did not not recognize him,
for gods are not unknown to each other

§ OD.5.80  as immortals, not even if one lives in a home far away.
But he didn't see great-hearted Odysseus inside,
since he was sitting on the shore crying, there as before,
rending his heart with tears and groans and sorrows,
shedding tears as he looked out upon the barren sea.

§ OD.5.85  The goddess divine, Calypso, questioned Hermes
when she'd seated him in a shiny bright chair:
“Why have you come to me, Hermes of the golden wand,
venerable and dear one? You haven't often come at all before.
Speak whatever's on your mind. My heart orders me do it,

§ OD.5.90  if do it I can, and if it can be done.
But come further, so I can lay guest fare beside you.”
So saying, the goddess set a table beside him,
filled it with ambrosia, and mixed red nectar.
Then runner Argeiphontes ate and drank.

§ OD.5.95  Then after he'd dined and satisfied his appetite with food,
right then he said to her in answer:
“You ask me, goddess, why a god has come, so I'll tell you
the story infallibly, since you bid me.
Zeus ordered me to come here, though I didn't want to.

§ OD.5.100  Who'd run across so much briny water?
It's immense! Nor is there nearby any mortals' city,
who offer sacrifices and choice hecatombs to gods.
But there's surely no way for another god
to transgress or disappoint the mind of Aegis-bearer Zeus.

§ OD.5.105  He says the man with you is the most wretched of those others,
of the men who battled around Priam's city
for nine years, then sacked the city in the tenth, and headed home.
But on their return home they sinned against Athena,
who roused an evil wind and tall waves against them.

§ OD.5.110  All the rest of his good comrades perished there,
but wind and waves bore and drove him here.
Zeus has ordered that you send him off as soon as possible,
for it's not this one's destiny to perish far away from his loved ones,
but it's still his lot to see his loved ones and reach

§ OD.5.115  his high-roofed house and fatherland.”
So said he, then the goddess divine, Calypso, shuddered,
and voicing winged words, she said to him:
“You are merciless, you gods, jealous beyond others,
who resent goddesses that bed beside men

§ OD.5.120  openly, if any makes a beloved one her spouse.
So, when rose-fingered Dawn took Orion for herself,
you gods who live easily resented her
until in Ortygia chaste golden-throned Artemis
attacked with her painless darts and killed him.

§ OD.5.125  So, when fair-haired Demeter yielded to her heart
and mixed with Iasion in making love and love
in a thrice-plowed fallow field, but not for long was Zeus
unhearing of it, who struck him with white lightning and killed him.
So again now, gods, you resent me for being with a mortal man,

§ OD.5.130  whom I saved when he was sprawled around his keel,
alone, after Zeus impeded and split his swift ship
with white lightning in the midst of the wine-dark sea.
All the rest of his good comrades perished there,
but wind and waves bore and drove him here.

§ OD.5.135  I loved and cared for him and promised
to make him immortal and ageless all his days.
But, since there's no way for another god
to transgress or disappoint the mind of Aegis-bearer Zeus,
let him be gone, if he urges and bids it,

§ OD.5.140  upon the barren sea, but I won't convoy him anywhere,
for I haven't oared ships or comrades at my side
to convoy him on the broad back of the sea,
but I'll earnestly advise him, and not conceal it,
so, quite unscathed, he'll get to his fatherland.”

§ OD.5.145  Runner Argeiphontes said back to her:
“Send him off now in this way, and respect the wrath of Zeus,
lest he somehow in resentment be hard with you hereafter.”
So saying, mighty Argeiphontes departed.
The lady nymph went to great-hearted Odysseus

§ OD.5.150  after she heard Zeus' message.
She found him sitting on the shore, but his eyes were never dry
of tears and his sweet lifetime was passing from him
as he mourned for his return, since the nymph no longer pleased him.
But, yes, he spent the nights, by necessity,

§ OD.5.155  in her hollow caves, the unwilling beside the willing,
then by day he sat on the rocks and spits,
rending his heart with tears and groans and sorrows,
shedding tears as he looked out upon the barren sea.
The goddess divine stood close by and said to him:

§ OD.5.160  “Ill-fated one, mourn here no longer, and don't have your lifetime
waste away, for I'll quite sincerely send you off now.
But come, cut long timbers with bronze and join them
into a wide raft. Then fasten a deck on it, up high,
so it can carry you upon the misty sea.

§ OD.5.165  Then I'll put food, and water, and red wine in it,
in abundance, to keep hunger from you,
and dress you in raiment, then send a fair wind behind you,
so, quite unscathed, you can reach your fatherland,
if the gods who hold wide heaven are willing,

§ OD.5.170  who are mightier than I in both intention and fulfillment.”
So said she, and long-suffering divine Odysseus shuddered,
and voicing winged words, he said to her:
“Goddess, you intend this as something else, but not at all a convoy,
you who bid me cross upon a raft the great gulf of the sea,

§ OD.5.175  dread and grievous, over which swift-sailing balanced ships
don't pass, even glorying in a fair wind from Zeus.
But I won't set foot on a raft despite you,
unless, goddess, you dare to swear a great oath to me,
that you won't plan another evil misery for me.”

§ OD.5.180  So said he, and the goddess divine, Calypso, smiled,
caressed him with her hand, called out his name, and said:
“Yes, you're a wicked one, and not unsagacious,
to have the wit to speak such talk as this.
Let the earth now see this, and wide heaven above,

§ OD.5.185  and the flowing water of Styx, who is the greatest and most dread
witness to an oath among the blessed gods,
that I don't plan another evil misery for you.
Instead, I'm thinking of and will advise the things I'd have in mind
even for myself, should such a need come upon me.

§ OD.5.190  For my mind is righteous, and I myself don't have a heart
of iron in my chest, but one of compassion.”
So saying, the goddess divine led
quickly, and he followed in the footsteps of the goddess.
They reached the hollow cave, the goddess and the man,

§ OD.5.195  and he then sat upon the chair from which Hermes
had arisen, and the nymph laid all kind of food beside hi,
to eat and drink, such kinds as mortal men eat.
She sat opposite divine Odysseus
and her slave women set ambrosia and nectar beside her.

§ OD.5.200  They threw their hands on the good things laid ready before them.
Then after they'd had their fill of food and drink,
the goddess divine, Calypso, was the first of them to speak:
“Zeus-born Laertiades, resourceful Odysseus,
Do you wish to go homeward this way, right now,

§ OD.5.205  to your beloved fatherland? Then, fare you well, nonetheless.
If you only knew in your mind how many sorrows make up
your destiny before you reach your fatherland,
you'd stay right here with me, guard this home,
and be immortal, despite your eagerness to see

§ OD.5.210  your wife, whom you long for every day.
Surely, I claim I'm no worse than she
in either form or stature, since it's no way fitting
that mortals vie with immortals in form and appearance.”
Adroit Odysseus said to her in reply:

§ OD.5.215  “Lady goddess, don't be angry with me for this. I know this all
myself very well, because prudent Penelope is weaker than you
in appearance and size, when one sees her face to face,
for she is mortal, but you're immortal and unaging.
But even so, I want and wish for, every day,

§ OD.5.220  to go home and see homecoming day.
If some god again wrecks me on the wine-dark sea,
I'll endure it, with a heart in my chest that endures sorrows,
for I've already suffered very many and toiled much
in waves and war. Let this also be among them.”

§ OD.5.225  So said he, and the sun went down, and dusk came on.
The two, going to an inner recess of the hollow cave,
stayed by each other's side and delighted in love.
When early-born rose-fingered Dawn appeared,
Odysseus at once put on his cloak and tunic

§ OD.5.230  and the nymph herself put on a great white cloak,
delicate and lovely, threw a fine golden girdle
around her waist and a veil above her head.
Right then she planned the departure of great-hearted Odysseus.
She gave him a big axe that fit in his palms,

§ OD.5.235  a bronze one, sharpened on both sides, and a handle
of gorgeous olivewood was strongly fastened in it.
Then she gave him a well-made adze. She led the way
to the border of the island, where the tall trees grew,
alder and poplar, and where fir was reaching to the sky,

§ OD.5.240  dry long ago, very dry, that would float lightly for him.
Then after she showed him where the tall trees grew,
the goddess divine, Calypso, went to her home,
but he started cutting timbers, and took care of his work quickly.
He struck down twenty in all, then trimmed them with the bronze,

§ OD.5.245  planed them expertly and made them straight to the line.
Meanwhile the goddess divine, Calypso, brought augers,
and he bored all of them and fit them to each other,
then with pegs and cords pounded it together.
As wide as some man well skilled in carpentry

§ OD.5.250  would mark off the bottom of a wide freighter,
just as wide Odysseus made his raft.
Setting up the deck, fitting it to the closely-set ribs,
he worked, then finished it with long side planks.
He made a mast and yardarm that fit in it,

§ OD.5.255  then made a steering oar besides so he could steer.
He fenced it in throughout with wickerwork of willow
to be a defense against the waves, then piled up much wood for himself.
Meanwhile the goddess divine, Calypso, brought cloth
to make a sail. He fashioned that well too.

§ OD.5.260  On it he secured the braces, halyards, and sheets,
then he hauled the raft with levers down into the divine sea.
It was the fourth day, and everything he had to do was done.
Then on the fifth, divine Calypso sent him from the island
after she'd bathed him and dressed him in fragrant raiment.

§ OD.5.265  The goddess put a leather bag of black wine on board for him,
and another one, a big one of water, and provisions too,
in a sack in which she put many cooked meats in abundance,
and sent forth a fair wind, warm and gentle.
Joyful at the fair wind, divine Odysseus spread the sail.

§ OD.5.270  Then he sat and steered skillfully with the steering oar,
and sleep didn't fall upon his eyelids
as he looked at the Pleiades, and late setting Bootes,
and the Bear, which they also call the Wagon as another name,
that turns in its place and watches Orion,

§ OD.5.275  and is the only one without a share of Ocean's baths.
For the goddess divine, Calypso, had bid him keep it
on his left hand as he sailed the sea.
Seventeen days he sailed, sailing on the sea,
and on the eighteenth, the shadowy mountains of the Phaeacians'

§ OD.5.280  land appeared, where it was closest to him,
and it looked like a shield in the misty water.
Coming back from the Ethiopians, his majesty the Earth-shaker saw him
from far away, from the mountains of the Solymi, for he could be seen
sailing over the sea. He became the more enraged at heart,

§ OD.5.285  and with a shake of his head said to his own spirit:
“Humph! Yes, the gods have surely changed their minds
about Odysseus while I was among the Ethiopians,
and he's near the Phaeacians' land at last, where it's his destiny
to escape the great bond of misery that's come to him.

§ OD.5.290  But I think I'll yet drive him to his fill of evil.”
So saying, he gathered clouds, grasped his trident in his hands,
and stirred the sea into confusion. He incited all the gusts
of winds of every kind, and hid with clouds
both land and sea, as night rushed from heaven.

§ OD.5.295  East Wind and South Wind, and ill-blowing West Wind, and North Wind,
born of the upper air and rolling a great wave, fell together.
Right then Odysseus' knees and dear heart were undone,
and troubled, he said to his own great-hearted spirit:
“Oh my, wretched me, what surely may become of me at last?

§ OD.5.300  I fear the goddess spoke everything infallibly,
who said that on the sea, before I reached my fatherland,
I'd have my fill of sorrows, which are now all come to pass.
Zeus wreathes wide heaven with such clouds
and troubles the sea, and windstorms, of all kinds of winds,

§ OD.5.305  rush upon me. Sheer destruction is certain now for me!
Three and four times blessed were the Danaans, who perished
back then in wide Troy bringing favor to the Atreidae,
as I wish I'd died and met my fate
on that day when the greatest number of Trojans

§ OD.5.310  threw bronzed-tipped spears at me around the dead Peleion.
Then I'd have had funeral honors and Achaeans would have spread
my fame, but it had been fated that I now be caught by dismal death.”
As he said so, a great wave drove down on him from above,
and rushing at him dreadfully, spun his raft around.

§ OD.5.315  He himself fell far away from the raft and threw the steering oar
from his hands. A dread windstorm came,
of winds mixing together, and snapped his mast in the middle,
and the sail and yardarm fell far off into the sea.
The storm kept him underwater for a long time, and he wasn't able

§ OD.5.320  to emerge from under the wave's great onset very soon,
for the clothing divine Calypso gave him weighed him down.
He came up at last, and spit brine from his mouth,
bitter brine that gushed in great quantity from his head.
But even so, he didn't forget his raft despite his distress,

§ OD.5.325  but he rushed after it in the waves, grabbed hold of it,
and sat down in the middle to avoid the doom of death.
A great wave carried her to and fro through the current.
As when in late summer North Wind carries thistles
over the plain, and they hold on in clusters to each other,

§ OD.5.330  so the winds bore her to and fro on the sea.
At one time South Wind would cast it to North Wind to carry,
at another, East Wind would yield to West Wind to drive it.
Cadmus' daughter, fair-ankled Ino, saw him,
Leucothea, who was a mortal of human speech before,

§ OD.5.335  but in the sea's depths now has her share of honor from the gods.
She felt pity for Odysseus, as he wandered and had sorrows,
and disguised as a gull she went up in flight from the sea,
sat on the raft, and said to him:
“Ill-fated one, why does Earth-shaker Poseidon hate you

§ OD.5.340  so terribly, that he plants evils aplenty for you?
He won't destroy you, though he's very eager to.
You don't seem to me to be without sense, so act in just this way.
Strip off these clothes, abandon the raft to be borne by winds,
then swim with your hands and strive for a return

§ OD.5.345  to the Phaeacians' land, where it's your lot to escape.
Take this veil and stretch it under your chest.
It's immortal. Don't have any fear that you'll suffer or perish.
Then after you've laid hold of land with your hands,
loosen it from you and cast it back into the wine-dark sea,

§ OD.5.350  far from the land, and turn yourself away.”
So saying, the goddess gave him the veil,
then herself dove back into the billowing sea,
disguised as a gull, and dark wave covered her.
Then long-suffering divine Odysseus pondered,

§ OD.5.355  and troubled, he said to his own great-hearted spirit:
“Oh my me, may it not be that some immortal again weaves
a trap for me, whoever orders me get off my raft?
But I won't obey just yet, since I myself saw with my eyes
the land is far away, where she said I'd have safe refuge.

§ OD.5.360  Instead I'll do it just this way, as it seems best to me.
As long as the timbers are held together by the cables,
I'll stay where I am and endure it, suffering sorrows,
but after the waves break my raft into pieces,
I'll swim, since there's nothing better to plan besides that.”

§ OD.5.365  While he was turning this over in his mind and heart,
Earth-shaker Poseidon raised a great wave,
dread and grievous, overarching, and drove it against him.
As a stormy wind shakes a heap of dried chaff
and scatters it in one direction and another,

§ OD.5.370  so it scattered the long timbers. Then Odysseus
straddled one timber, as if riding a horse,
and took off the clothes divine Calypso gave him.
At once he stretched the veil beneath his chest,
dropped down headfirst into the sea, and spread out his arms,

§ OD.5.375  eager to swim. His majesty Earth-shaker saw him,
and with a shake of his head, said to his own spirit:
“So now, suffering many evils, wander on the sea
until you mingle with Zeus-nurtured men.
But even so, I don't expect you'll take your badness lightly.”

§ OD.5.380  So saying, he whipped his fair-maned horses
and went to Aegae, where he has a splendid home.
Then Zeus's daughter Athena thought of other things.
She tied down the courses of the other winds
and bid all of them to stop and go to sleep.

§ OD.5.385  She roused swift North Wind and broke the waves before him
until he could mingle with the oar-loving Phaeacians,
Zeus-born Odysseus, escaping death's spirits and death.
Then for two nights and two days he was driven off course
by the solid wave, and many times his heart foresaw destruction.

§ OD.5.390  But when fair-haired Dawn brought the third day on,
right then after that the wind stopped and there was
a windless calm. He caught sight of land nearby,
looking forward very keenly when lifted by a great wave.
As when life appears welcome to the children

§ OD.5.395  of a father who lies in sickness and suffers mighty pains,
wasting away a long time as some loathesome divinity assails him,
and then welcomely, the gods free him from the badness,
so welcome to Odysseus seemed the land and woodland,
and he swam in eager haste to set foot on the land.

§ OD.5.400  But when he was as far away as one shouting can be heard,
he heard the thud of the sea against the reefs,
for a great wave was crashing against the dry land,
belching terribly, and all was wrapped in sea's spray.
For there were no harbors, ships' holders, not even roadsteads,

§ OD.5.405  but there were jutting spits, rocks, and reefs.
Right then Odysseus' knees and dear heart were undone,
and troubled, he said to his own great-hearted spirit:
“O my, after Zeus has granted that I see unhoped for land,
and I've managed at last to cut through this gulf,

§ OD.5.410  no exit out of the gray sea appears anywhere.
For outside there are sharp rocks, and dashing waves
bellow about them, then the rock runs up smooth,
the sea is deep near shore, and it's not possible
to stand with both feet and escape distress,

§ OD.5.415  lest a great wave perhaps snatch me as I get out and throw me
against the stony rock and my effort will be in vain.
But if I swim along still further, in hope of finding
beaches, angled to the waves and harbors from the sea,
I'm afraid a windstorm may snatch me up again

§ OD.5.420  and bear me, groaning heavily, over the fishy sea,
or a divinity may set upon me some great monster
out of the sea, such as the many famed Amphitrite breeds,
for I know how the famed Earth-shaker hates me.”
While he was turning this over in his mind and heart,

§ OD.5.425  a great wave carried him to the rugged shore.
His skin would have been stripped off there, and his bones crushed with it,
if bright-eyed goddess Athena hadn't put this in his mind.
He rushed at the rock and grabbed it with both hands.
He held onto it, groaning, until the great wave passed.

§ OD.5.430  And this way he escaped it, but as it flowed back again
it rushed at him and struck him, then threw him far out on the sea.
As when pebbles cling thickly to the suckers
of an octopus pulled out of its hole,
so the skin was stripped away from his bold hands

§ OD.5.435  against the rocks. The great wave now covered him.
Then, wretched beyond his lot, Odysseus would have perished
had not bright-eyed Athena given him prudence.
Emerging from the wave as it belched toward the mainland,
he swam out along it, looking toward land in hope he'd find

§ OD.5.440  beaches, angled to the waves and harbors from the sea.
But when he swam and reached the mouth
of a fair-flowing river, there the place seemed best,
free of rocks, and there was shelter from the wind.
He recognized him flowing forth and in his heart he prayed:

§ OD.5.445  “Listen, lord, whoever you are. I reach you, long prayed for,
as I flee out of the sea from the threats of Poseidon.
He's worthy of compassion, even for immortal gods,
any man who comes as a wanderer, as I come too now
to your current and to your knees, after much toil.

§ OD.5.450  So have mercy, lord. I claim that I'm your suppliant.”
So said he, and he immediately stopped his current, held the wave,
made a calm before him, and brought him safely
into the river's outlet. He bent both his knees
and his well-knit hands, for his dear heart had been tamed by the sea.

§ OD.5.455  All his flesh was swollen, and much sea oozed
up through his nose and mouth. He lay breathless and speechless,
with barely strength to move, and grim exhaustion had reached him.
But when he came to and his spirit gathered in his heart,
right then he loosened the god's veil from him

§ OD.5.460  and threw it into the river as it flowed into the sea.
A great wave carried it back down the current, and Ino at once
received it in her dear hands. He drew back from the river,
leaned under a bed of reeds, kissed the grain-giving earth,
and troubled, said to his own great-hearted spirit:

§ OD.5.465  “Oh my me, what am I to suffer? What surely may become of me at last?
If I keep watch in the river through the uncomfortable night,
I'm afraid evil frost and fresh dew together will tame me,
when from weakness I gasp out my spirit,
and the breeze from the river blows chill early in the morning.

§ OD.5.470  If I climb the hillside to the thickly-shaded woods,
and lie down to sleep in the thick bushes, in hope that cold and exhaustion
let go of me and sweet sleep come upon me,
I'm afraid I'll become the spoil and prey for wild beasts.”
Upon consideration, this seemed better to him.

§ OD.5.475  He made his way to the woods. He found it near the water
in a clearing. He went under two bushes
growing out of the same place, one a wild olive, one an olive.
Neither the strength of wetly blowing wind would blow through them
nor would the shining sun ever beat them with its rays,

§ OD.5.480  nor would rain penetrate through them, they grew so thickly,
intertwined with each other. Odysseus crawled under them.
At once he scraped together a bed with his dear hands,
a wide one, for there was a pile of leaves big enough
to shelter either two or three men

§ OD.5.485  in wintertime, even if it was very hard.
Long-suffering divine Odysseus saw it and was glad,
then lay in the middle and poured a pile of leaves upon himself.
As when someone hides a firebrand in a black pile of ashes,
on a remote farm with no other neighbors beside him,

§ OD.5.490  to save a seed of fire, so not to get a light from somewhere else,
so did Odysseus hide himself with leaves. Then Athena
poured sleep upon his eyes, so she might most quickly give him rest
from toilsome exhaustion by shrouding his dear eyelids.

§ OD.6.1  BOOK 6
So, while long-suffering divine Odysseus slept there
worn out by sleep and exhaustion, Athena
came to the district and city of Phaeacian men,
who once upon a time dwelt in broad-lawned Hypereia,

§ OD.6.5  close by the Cyclopes, overbearing men,
who were stronger and used to harass them violently.
Getting them to migrate, godlike Nausithous led them from there
and settled them in Scheria far from men who work for bread.
He drove a wall around the city, had houses built,

§ OD.6.10  made temples of the gods, and parceled out fields.
But, tamed by fate, he had already gone to Hades.
Alcinous, wise in counsel from the gods, ruled then.
Bright-eyed goddess Athena made her way to his house
with a scheme for the return home of great-hearted Odysseus.

§ OD.6.15  She made her way to a richly-adorned chamber, in which a girl,
like immortals in shape and form, slept,
the daughter of great-hearted Alcinous, Nausicaa;
and beside her, two handmaids, having beauty from the Graces,
on each side of the doorposts. The shining doors were shut.

§ OD.6.20  Like a breath of wind, she rushed to the girl's bed,
stood above her head, and said to her,
disguised as ship-famed Dymas' daughter,
who was the same age and dear to her heart.
Imitating that one, bright-eyed Athena said to her:

§ OD.6.25  “Nausicaa, why did your mother bear you, careless one?
Your glittering clothes lie neglected,
but your wedding is nigh, so you must wear fine clothes
yourself and provide them to those who attend you.
For, from these things, good credit rises up for you

§ OD.6.30  among men, and your father and lady mother rejoice.
So let's go do laundry as soon as dawn appears,
and I'll come along with you as workmate, so you can get ready
very quickly, since you won't be a maiden much longer.
For already, throughout all Phaeacian districts,

§ OD.6.35  nobles woo you, since their race is yours, too.
But come, urge your famous father early in the morning
to ready mules and wagon, to take
girdles, robes and glittering fabrics.
And, going this way is much better for you than on foot,

§ OD.6.40  since the washing places are quite far from the city.
So saying, bright-eyed Athena departed
for Olympus, where they say the gods' abode is firm forever.
It is not shaken by winds or ever wet by rain,
and snow does not come near it, rather, cloudless clear air

§ OD.6.45  spreads, and white sunlight plays, upon it.
In it the blessed gods take pleasure every day.
There the bright-eyed one departed, after she talked to the girl.
Straightaway came fair-throned Dawn, who woke fair-robed
Nausicaa. She marveled much at once about the dream,

§ OD.6.50  then made her way through the house to report it to her parents,
her beloved father and mother. She found them inside.
Her mother was sitting at the hearth with handmaid women
spinning sea-purple yarn. She met her father
coming through a door with renowned kings

§ OD.6.55  to a council where illustrious Phaeacians had called him.
Standing very close to him, she said to her dear father:
“Daddy dear, won't you ready me a wagon,
a high, well-wheeled one, so I can take my splendid clothes,
that lie dirty, to the river to wash them?

§ OD.6.60  And, for you yourself it's fitting, when you're among the first ones
taking counsel of their counsels, you have clean clothes for your flesh.
In your halls you have five dear sons,
two who are married, three lusty ones, unmarried,
who always like having fresh-washed clothes

§ OD.6.65  to go dancing. All this is on my mind.”
So said she, for she was ashamed to mention lusty marriage
to her beloved father, but he understood all and with a word answered:
“Child, I begrudge you neither mules nor anything else.
Go. The servants will ready a wagon for you,

§ OD.6.70  a high, well-wheeled one, equipped with a cover.”
So saying, he gave the servants orders and they obeyed him.
While outside they equipped a well-wheeled mule-drawn wagon
and led the mules under and yoked them to the wagon,
the girl brought her shining clothing from the bedroom

§ OD.6.75  and placed it in the well-polished wagon.
Her mother placed in a chest abundant food
of all kinds, then put cooked meat in it, then poured wine
into a goatskin pouch. Then the girl got into the wagon.
Then she gave her liquid olive oil in a gold oil flask

§ OD.6.80  so she, with her handmaid women, could be anointed.
She grabbed the whip and glittering reins
and used the whip to drive them. There was the tramping sound of mules
as they pulled ceaselessly forward and carried the clothing and her,
not alone. The rest of her handmaids went along with her, too.

§ OD.6.85  When they reached the gorgeous current of the river,
where places for washing were always available and much water
welled up, fine for cleaning even very dirty things,
there they unharnessed the mules from the wagon
and herded them beside the eddying river

§ OD.6.90  to graze on honey-sweet clover. Then from the wagon they lifted
the clothes with their hands and carried them into the dark water,
and stomped on them rapidly in the basins, making a contest of it.
Then after they'd washed and cleaned all the dirt away,
they spread them in rows along the sea's shore, where the sea

§ OD.6.95  had most washed pebbles upon dry land.
They bathed and anointed themselves richly with olive oil,
then took lunch beside the river's bank
and waited for the clothes to dry in the bright light of the sun.
Then after she and her servants had enjoyed the food

§ OD.6.100  they threw off their veils and played with a ball,
and white-armed Nausicaa led them in the sport.
Just as arrow-shedding Artemis comes down from the mountains,
from either Erymanthus or lofty Teugetus,
and amuses herself with wild boars and swift deer,

§ OD.6.105  and, along with her, nymphs, daughters of aegis-bearer Zeus,
haunt the fields in play, and Leto rejoices at heart,
as she holds her head and brows above them all
and is easy to distinguish, though all are beautiful,
so the unwedded maiden stood out among her handmaids.

§ OD.6.110  But when she was just about to head back home,
and had folded the fine clothes and yoked the mules,
then bright-eyed goddess Athena thought of something else,
how Odysseus should awaken and see the lovely girl
who would guide him to the city of Phaeacian men.

§ OD.6.115  Then the princess threw the ball toward a handmaid
but missed the handmaid and threw it into a deep whirlpool.
They shouted at length. Divine Odysseus awoke,
sat up, and pondered in his mind and heart:
“Oh my me, in what mortals' land have I arrived?

§ OD.6.120  Are they wanton, unjust, and wild,
or hospitable and have god-fearing minds?
How a female battle cry surrounds me, of girls,
of nymphs, who hold mountains' sheer peaks,
and rivers' headwaters, and grassy meadows.

§ OD.6.125  Or, am I somewhere close to men of mortal voice?
But come, I'll try to find out for myself.”
So saying, divine Odysseus emerged from the bushes,
and with a thick hand broke off from the thicket a limb
of leaves, to pull over his body to cover his genitals.

§ OD.6.130  He made his way like a mountain-bred lion, sure in strength,
who comes, though rained and blown upon, and in whom
eyes blaze. He comes after sheep and cattle
or deer in the wild, and his belly commands him
to go, even into a fenced sheepfold, to try for sheep and goats.

§ OD.6.135  So Odysseus was about to mix with the fair-haired girls,
though he was naked, for the need had arrived.
But, disfigured with brine, he seemed horrific to them,
and they fled, here and there, to the spits.
Only Alcinous' daughter remained, for Athena

§ OD.6.140  had put courage in her heart and taken terror from her limbs.
She stood and held her ground in front of him, as Odysseus pondered
whether to clasp her knees and plead with the lovely girl
or, keeping his distance, plead with words meant to win her
if she'd give him clothes and show him the city.

§ OD.6.145  Upon consideration, this seemed better to him,
to plead at a distance with words meant to win her,
lest the girl become angry at him clasping her knees.
At once he spoke a cunning speech meant to win her:
“I entreat you, my queen. Are you a god or mortal?

§ OD.6.150  If you are a god, who holds wide heaven,
I think you nearest Artemis, great Zeus's daughter,
in figure, form, and stature.
If you are a mortal, who dwells on the earth,
thrice blessed are your father and lady mother,

§ OD.6.155  thrice blessed your bothers. No doubt their heart
is ever gladdened with happiness because of you,
when they see such a young shoot going to join the dance.
But that one, far beyond others, will be most blessed at heart
who, weighed down with your bride price, leads you home.

§ OD.6.160  For with my eyes I've never seen such
a man or woman. Wonder holds me as I look at you.
I saw such once, at Delos, beside the altar of Apollo,
a young sapling of a palm tree shooting up.
For I'd gone there, and a great throng had gone with me,

§ OD.6.165  on that journey where I was to have bad trouble.
In the same way that I marveled for a long time in my heart
when I saw that, since such a shoot had never shot up from the earth,
so, my lady, I wonder and marvel at you and am terribly afraid
to clasp your knees. Hard sorrow comes upon me.

§ OD.6.170  Yesterday, on the twentieth day, I escaped the wine-dark sea.
That long had the waves and blustering storms borne me ever on
from the island of Ogygia. Now destiny has cast me down here,
so here I'll no doubt suffer evil too, for I don't think
it will stop, but the gods will still bring much about beforehand.

§ OD.6.175  But, my queen, take pity, for I've suffered many evils,
and to you first I've come, but I know none of the others,
the men who hold this land and city.
Show me the city, and give me a rag to throw about me,
if by chance you had a wrapper for cloths when you came here.

§ OD.6.180  May the gods give you as much as your heart desires.
May they grant you a husband, and also a house,
and good like-mindedness, for nothing is better or stronger
than when two, like-minded in disposition, keep a house
as husband and wife. Many sorrows for enemies,

§ OD.6.185  joys for well-wishers, they hear of especially.
White-armed Nausicaa said back to him in turn:
“Stranger, since you seem neither mindless nor evil,
Olympian Zeus himself allots to men good fortune,
to good and bad, to each as he wishes,

§ OD.6.190  and he's given this by chance to you, so you surely must endure it.
Now, since you've reached our land and city,
you'll not want for clothing or anything else
that is fitting for one who comes as a long-suffering supplicant.
I'll show you the city, and tell you the name of its people.

§ OD.6.195  The Phaeacians hold this land and city,
and I am the daughter of great-hearted Alcinous,
by whom both power and might are held from the Phaeacians.
She spoke, and bid her fair-haired handmaids:
“Stand with me, handmaids. To where do you flee on seeing a man?

§ OD.6.200  Can it be you think he's one of the enemy men?
This man is not, and a living mortal will not come to be,
who'll come to the land of Phaeacian men
bearing warfare, for we are very dear to the immortals.
We dwell at a distance from the loud-breaking sea,

§ OD.6.205  most remote, and not any other mortal mixes with us.
But this one arrives here as a wretched wanderer
whom we ought to take care of, for all strangers and beggars
are from Zeus, and a gift both small and welcome.
So, handmaids, give the stranger food and drink,

§ OD.6.210  and wash him in the river, where there's shelter from the wind.
So said she, and they stood giving each other orders,
then sat Odysseus down at a sheltered spot, as Nausicaa,
daughter of great-hearted Alcinous, had bidden.
They placed beside him a cloak, a tunic, and clothing,

§ OD.6.215  and gave liquid olive oil in a golden oil flask,
then urged him to wash himself in the river's streams.
Then divine Odysseus said to the handmaids:
Handmaids, stand off a way, please, so I myself
can wash the brine off my shoulders and rub them

§ OD.6.220  with olive oil, for ointment is a long time off my flesh.
I would not wash myself in front of you, for I am ashamed
to find myself naked among fair-haired girls.”
So said he, and they went off a distance and told the girl.
Then in the river divine Odysseus washed from his flesh

§ OD.6.225  the brine that covered his back and broad shoulders
and wiped off his head the barren sea's scum.
Then after he'd washed and richly anointed everything
and put on the clothes the unwedded maiden gave him,
then Athena, born of Zeus, made him

§ OD.6.230  appear bigger and thicker and caused curly hair
to fall from his head like a hyacinth flower.
As when someone pours gold around silver, a skillful man
whom Hephaestus and Pallas Athena have taught
every kind of art, and fashions pleasing works,

§ OD.6.235  so she poured grace upon his head and shoulders.
Then he went a way off and sat on the shore of the sea,
glistening in grace and beauty, and the girl gazed at him.
Then she said to her fair-haired handmaids:
“Hear me, white-armed handmaids, so I can say something.

§ OD.6.240  Not against the will of all the gods who hold Olympus
does this man commerce with the godlike Phaeacians.
Though he seemed to me to be shameful before,
now he's like the gods who hold wide heaven.
If only such a one were to be called my husband,

§ OD.6.245  one who abides here, and whom it pleases to remain here.
So, handmaids, give the stranger food and drink.”
So said she, and they heard well and obeyed her,
and placed beside Odysseus food and drink.
Long-suffering divine Odysseus ate and drank greedily

§ OD.6.250  indeed, for he had not tasted food for a long time.
Then white-armed Nausicaa thought of other things.
She folded the clothes and put them in the fine wagon,
yoked the strong-hoofed mules, and got in herself,
then roused Odysseus, called him by name, and said this:

§ OD.6.255  “Get up now, stranger, to go to the city, so I can send you
to my skilled father's house, where I think
you'll be seen by all the Phaeacians, all the best.
But do it just this way, as you seem to me not without sense.
While we're going through men's fields and farms,

§ OD.6.260  go quickly with the handmaids, behind the mules
and wagon. I will guide the way.
Then when we come to the city, there's a lofty tower
around it, and on either side of the city a fine harbor
and a narrow entrance. Double-oared ships are drawn up

§ OD.6.265  on the way, for all have a slip for each.
There they have an assembly, a fine Posideum at its sides,
the stones hauled in, fit together, and embedded.
There they care for the black ships' equipment,
cables and sails, and taper the oars.

§ OD.6.270  For neither bow nor quiver matter to Phaeacians,
but ships' masts and oars and ships are equal,
with which in exultation they traverse the gray sea.
I shun their unkind speech, lest someone censure us
hereafter. They are very haughty throughout the district,

§ OD.6.275  and one of the crueler, if he met us now by chance, might say so:
“Who is this big handsome stranger who follows
Nausicaa? Where did she find him? He's sure to be her husband,
or perhaps she's rescued one who's wandered from his ship
of men who live far off, since there none are nearby.

§ OD.6.280  Or did some god, long prayed to, come down to her
from heaven, and will he have her all her days?
It's better, even if she went about herself and found a husband
elsewhere, for throughout the district she slights her own
Phaeacians, the many good ones who woo her.”

§ OD.6.285  So they'd say, and these would be censures for me.
I, too, would resent another who did such things,
who, while her dear father and mother are alive, against their will
mixes with men before she goes to her public wedding.
Stranger, quickly heed my words, so you may very quickly

§ OD.6.290  obtain escort and return home from my father.
You'll find Athena's splendid grove of poplars near the road.
A spring flows in it, with a meadow on both sides.
My father's property and luxuriant garden are there,
as far from the city as one who shouts is heard.

§ OD.6.295  Sit there and wait for time for us
to come to the city and reach my father's house.
Then, when you suppose we've arrived at the house,
go to the Phaeacians' city then and ask for
the house of my great-hearted father Alcinous.

§ OD.6.300  It's easily recognized. Even a foolish child could lead
the way, for it's not built at all like theirs,
the Phaeacian's houses, such is the house of Alcinous
the hero. But when the house and courtyard cover you,
go very quickly through the hall until you reach

§ OD.6.305  my mother, seated in firelight at the hearth,
spinning sea-purple wool, a wonder to behold,
as she leans against a pillar and her slaves sit behind her.
There, leaning on the same, is the throne of my father,
on which he sits and drinks wine like an immortal.

§ OD.6.310  Go past him and throw your hand around our mother's
knees, so you might quickly rejoice to see
your homecoming day, even if you're from very far away.
For if she, in her heart, thinks friendly thoughts for you,
then there's hope for you, that you'll see your loved ones

§ OD.6.315  and reach your well-built house and your fatherland.
So saying, with a shiny lash she whipped
the mules, who swiftly left the river's stream.
They ran well and pranced well on their feet,
but she drove so those on foot could follow,

§ OD.6.320  her handmaids and Odysseus, and laid on the whip with discretion.
The sun set, and they reached the famed sacred grove
of Athena, where Odysseus sat down.
Then he prayed at once to great Zeus's daughter:
“Hear me, Atrytone, child of aegis-bearing Zeus,

§ OD.6.325  and hear me right now, since, before, you never heard me,
battered, when the famed earthshaker battered me.
Grant that I come welcomed and pitied to the Phaeacians.”
So said he in prayer, and Pallas Athena heard him
but did not yet appear to him in person, for she revered

§ OD.6.330  her father's brother, who was furiously incensed
at godlike Odysseus until he reached his own land.

§ OD.7.1  BOOK 7
So, while long-suffering divine Odysseus prayed there,
the mules' strength carried the girl toward the city.
When she arrived at the renowned home of her father
she stood in the gateway and her brothers took places

§ OD.7.5  around her, like immortals. They freed the mules
from under the wagon and carried the clothing inside.
She went into her own chamber. An old Apeirean woman,
the chambermaid Eurymedusa, lit a fire for her.
Double-oared ships had brought her from Apeire once upon a time.

§ OD.7.10  They had chosen her as a prize for Alcinous, because he ruled
all Phaeacians, and the district listened to him like a god.
This one had nursed white-armed Nausicaa in the palace.
This one lit up the fire for her and prepared her dinner inside.
Just then Odysseus got up to go to the city. Athena poured

§ OD.7.15  much mist about him, with dear thoughts for Odysseus,
lest any great-hearted Phaeacian, meeting him,
might taunt him with words and ask him who he was.
But when he was about to enter the fair city,
bright-eyed goddess Athena met him

§ OD.7.20  in the guise of a young maiden woman holding a pitcher.
She stood in front of him, and divine Odysseus asked her:
“Child, won't you guide me to the house of the man
Alcinous, who rules among these people?
For I've come here a much-suffering stranger,

§ OD.7.25  from afar, from a distant country. I therefore know none
of the people who inhabit this city and farmland.
Bright-eyed goddess Athena said back to him:
“So then, father stranger, the house you bid me
I'll show you, since he lives close by my noble father.

§ OD.7.30  But go in total silence, and I'll lead the way,
and neither look at nor question any person,
for they do not gladly suffer stranger men
nor hospitably welcome one who comes from elsewhere.
With confidence in their swift fleet ships,

§ OD.7.35  they traverse the great gulf, since the earth-shaker gave it to them.
Their ships are fleet as feather or thought.
So saying, Pallas Athena led
quickly, and he followed in the footsteps of the goddess.
The ship-famed Phaeacians did not notice him

§ OD.7.40  going among them through their city, for fair-haired
Athena, dread goddess, did not allow it, so she poured on him
a marvelous mist, with dear thoughts in her heart.
Odysseus marveled at the trim ships and the harbors,
the assembly places of the heroes themselves, and the long

§ OD.7.45  lofty walls, joined by palisades, a wonder to behold.
But when he reached the house of the renowned king,
bright-eyed Athena was the first of them to speak:
“This, father stranger, is the house you bid me
show you. You'll find Zeus-nurtured kings there

§ OD.7.50  dining at dinner. Go in, and don't be at all frightened
at heart, for the undaunted man turns out to be better
in all actions, even if he comes from somewhere else.
First, go find the mistress in the palace.
Arete is the name she's named by, and she's from the same

§ OD.7.55  ancestors who gave birth to king Alcinous.
First earth-shaker Poseidon and Periboea,
the best looking of women, gave birth to Nausithous.
She was the youngest daughter of great-hearted Eurymedon,
who once was king over the insolent Giants.

§ OD.7.60  Though he lost his reckless people and perished himself,
Poseidon mixed with her, and she bore a son,
great-hearted Nausithous, who ruled over the Phaeacians.
Nausithous fathered Rhexenor and Alcinous.
Silverbow Apollo struck him down in his hall, newly married

§ OD.7.65  and without a son, and he left only one child,
Arete, whom Alcinous made his wife.
And he valued her as no other woman on earth is valued,
of all who now keep house under husbands.
So she has been, and still is, honored above them,

§ OD.7.70  in the heart of her dear children, Alcinous himself,
and her people, who view her as a goddess
and welcome her with speeches when she walks through the city.
For she herself in no way lacks good sense, and she dissolves
disputes for those, even men, to whom she's well disposed.

§ OD.7.75  For if she, in her heart, thinks friendly thoughts for you,
then there's hope for you, that you'll see your loved ones
and reach your high-roofed house and fatherland.”
So saying, bright-eyed Athena departed
over the barren sea. She left lovely Scheria,

§ OD.7.80  reached Marathon and broad-streeted Athens, and entered
the strongly-built house of Erechtheus. But Odysseus
went toward the splendid house of Alcinous. His heart pondered
much as he stood there before reaching the bronze threshold,
for there was a radiance, as of the sun or moon,

§ OD.7.85  throughout great-hearted Alcinous' high-roofed house.
For walls of bronze had been driven here and there,
from the threshold to the inner room, with a cyan coping about it.
Golden doors kept the strongly-built house closed.
Silver doorposts stood on the bronze threshold,

§ OD.7.90  a silver lintel upon them, and the door handle was of gold.
There were dogs of gold and silver on each side,
that Hephaestus had fashioned with expert ingenuity
to guard the house of great-hearted Alcinous,
that were ageless and immortal all their days.

§ OD.7.95  Inside, chairs were pressed against the wall, here and there,
from the threshold straight through to the inner room. Delicate,
well-woven cloths, works of women, had been thrown upon them.
Phaeacian leaders sat there
eating and drinking, for they had endless abundance.

§ OD.7.100  Boys of gold stood on well-shaped pedestals,
holding burning torches in their hands,
lighting nights throughout the house for diners.
Throughout the house he had fifty slave women,
some at the mill, who grind grain of apple color,

§ OD.7.105  others, who weave webs and spin yarn,
sitting, like leaves of a tall poplar,
as liquid olive oil trickles from the close-woven linen.
Just as Phaeacians are skilled beyond all men
in driving a swift ship on the sea, so are their women

§ OD.7.110  in weaving at the loom, for Athena granted them, beyond others,
skill in making gorgeous works and good dispositions.
Outside the courtyard near the doors is a large orchard,
four measures big, and a wall is driven round it on both sides.
Trees grow there, tall and luxuriant,

§ OD.7.115  splendid-fruited pear, pomegranate, and apple,
sweet fig, and luxuriant olive.
Their fruit never perishes or fails
winter or summer, all through the year, but always and ever
West Wind, blowing, grows some and ripens others.

§ OD.7.120  Pear ripens on pear, apple on apple,
grape cluster on grape cluster, fig upon fig.
His vineyard, full of fruit, takes root there,
part of it, a sunny spot in a level place,
dries in the sun, in another part, they gather some

§ OD.7.125  while stomping others. Unripe grapes are at the front,
some shedding blossoms, others darkening.
There, beside the lowest row, trim beds of herbs
of all kinds grow and are perennially green.
In it are two springs. One spreads through the whole garden,

§ OD.7.130  and, on the other side, one flows under the courtyard threshold
toward the lofty house, from which cityfolk draw water.
Such were the splendid gifts of gods in the palace of Alcinous.
Long-suffering divine Odysseus stood there gazing,
then after he'd gazed at it all with his heart,

§ OD.7.135  he quickly went over the threshold and into the house.
He found the Phaeacian chiefs and commanders
pouring libations from goblets to sharp-sighted Argeiphontes
to whom they used to pour last, when their minds were on bed.
Long-suffering divine Odysseus went through the house,

§ OD.7.140  in the thick haze that Athena had poured around him,
until he reached king Alcinous and Arete.
Odysseus threw his hands around Arete's knees,
and right then the marvelous haze shed from him,
and throughout the house they became silent when they saw the man,

§ OD.7.145  and marveled as they watched him. Then Odysseus entreated:
“Arete, daughter of godlike Rhexenor,
I've suffered much and come upon my knees to you, your husband,
and these diners'may the gods grant them prosperity
in life, and may each pass to his children

§ OD.7.150  the property in his palace and whatever honor the people have given.
Urge for me an escort, so I can reach my fatherland
faster, since, a long time away from loved ones, I suffer misery.”
So saying, he sat down at the hearth, in the dust
beside the fire. All then became silent in silence.

§ OD.7.155  At last, an old man spoke, the hero Echeneus,
who was by far the elder of Phaeacian men
and excelled in speaking, knowing things many and old.
With good intent, he spoke and said to them:
“Alcinous, this is neither fine nor fitting,

§ OD.7.160  that a stranger sit at the hearth, on the ground, in the dust.
These here await in eager expectation your command.
But come, get the stranger to stand and have him sit upon
a seat studded with silver, then bid the heralds
mix the wine with water, so we can make libation to Zeus,

§ OD.7.165  the thunderbolt hurler, whose favor goes with venerable supplicants.
Let the housekeeper give the stranger dinner from what there is inside.”
When the sacred soul of Alcinous heard this,
he took skilled Odysseus, the wily conniver, by the hand,
lifted him from the hearth, and sat him on a shiny seat,

§ OD.7.170  getting his son, kindly Laodamas, to stand,
who was sitting close to him and loved him the most.
A handmaid brought water for washing in a
fine golden pitcher and poured it above a silver basin
so he could wash, then pulled a polished table beside him.

§ OD.7.175  A venerable housekeeper brought bread and set it before him
placing many foods on it, pleasing him from her stores.
Long-suffering divine Odysseus ate and drank,
and good soul Alcinous then said to a herald:
“Pontonous, once you've mixed it in the wine bowl, pass the wine out

§ OD.7.180  to all throughout the hall, so we can make libation to Zeus,
the thunderbolt hurler, whose favor goes with venerable supplicants.”
So said he, and Pontonous mixed the honey-hearted wine,
and passed it out to all, after pouring a few drops in their goblets.
Then after they'd made libation and drunk as much as hearts desired,

§ OD.7.185  Alcinous spoke and said among them:
“Hear me, Phaeacian leaders and commanders,
while I say what the heart in my chest commands me.
Now that you've dined, go home to rest,
and in the morning we'll call more elders here,

§ OD.7.190  receive the stranger as a guest in the palace, make fine sacrifices
to the gods, and then deliberate about an escort,
so the stranger, without distress and toil,
may quickly, with our escort, reach his fatherland
rejoicing, even if he's from very far away,

§ OD.7.195  and not suffer woe or evil in the meantime
before he sets foot on his land. There then
he'll suffer whatever Fate and the heavy Spinners
spun for him with thread at his birth, when his mother bore him.
But if he's some immortal come down from heaven,

§ OD.7.200  then this is something different that the gods are contriving,
for always before, the gods appeared clearly
to us, when we make renowned hecatombs,
and they dine beside us and sit right where we do.
If some lone traveler meets one on his way,

§ OD.7.205  they do not conceal at all, since we are close to them,
just as the Cyclopes and the savage tribes of Giants.”
Adroit Odysseus said to him in reply:
“Alcinous, let something else concern your mind, for I'm
not like immortals, who hold wide heaven,

§ OD.7.210  in either form or figure, but like mortal mortals.
Whatever men you know that most bear a burden
of woe, I'd equal them in sorrow,
Yes, I could describe still more evils
that I suffered, each and every one, by the will of the gods.

§ OD.7.215  But let me have dinner, though I'm in distress,
for nothing else is more like a dog than the hateful belly,
that commands it be remembered, of necessity,
even by one sorely afflicted and with sorrow in his heart,
just as I have sorrow in my heart, that always and ever

§ OD.7.220  bids me eat and drink, makes me forget all
I've suffered, and demands it be stuffed full.
When dawn appears, take action
to land me, this wretched one, in my fatherland,
though I've suffered much. And may life leave me

§ OD.7.225  when I see my property, my slaves, and my great high-roofed house.”
So said he, and all concurred and commanded
they convoy the stranger since he'd spoken properly.
Then after they'd made libation and drunk as much as hearts desired,
they each went home to rest,

§ OD.7.230  But divine Odysseus remained in the hall,
and Arete and godlike Alcinous sat beside him
as handmaids cleared away the dinner dishes.
White-armed Arete was the first of them to speak,
for she recognized the cloak and tunic, when she saw

§ OD.7.235  the fine clothing she'd made with her handmaid women,
and, voicing winged words, she said to him:
“Stranger, first, I'll ask you this myself:
Who and from where are you? Who gave you this clothing?
Didn't you say you got here roving on the sea?”

§ OD.7.240  Adroit Odysseus said to her in reply:
“It's hard, my queen, to recount at length
my troubles, since the heavenly gods have given me many.
But I'll tell you this, because you ask and question me.
An island, Ogygia, lies far off on the sea.

§ OD.7.245  Atlas' daughter lives there, crafty fair-haired Calypso,
a dread goddess. No one mixes with her,
neither gods nor mortal men.
But a divine one led this wretched one, me, to her hearth
alone, after Zeus impeded and split my swift ship

§ OD.7.250  with white lightning in the midst of the wine-dark sea.
All the rest of my good comrades perished there,
but in my arms I grabbed the double-curved ship's keel
and for nine days I was carried. On the tenth dark night
the gods brought me to the island of Ogygia. There lives

§ OD.7.255  fair-haired Calypso, a dread goddess, who kindly
took and loved and cared for me and promised
to make me immortal and ageless all my days,
but never persuaded the heart in my chest.
I stayed in place there seven years, and ever wet

§ OD.7.260  with tears the immortal clothes Calypso gave me.
But when at last the eighth year, in its turning, came to me,
right then at last she ordered and urged me go,
by order of Zeus or because her mind had changed.
She sent me off on a tightly corded raft and gave me many things,

§ OD.7.265  food, sweet wine, and immortal clothes to wear,
and sent forth a fair wind, warm and gentle.
Seventeen days I sailed, sailing on the sea,
and on the eighteenth, the shadowy mountains of your land
appeared, and my dear heart rejoiced,

§ OD.7.270  ill-fated me, for I would still meet with much hardship
that earthshaker Poseidon sent against me,
who roused the winds against me, hindered my progress,
and raised the sea unspeakably. And no wave
let me be carried on my raft, as I groaned incessantly.

§ OD.7.275  Then the storm scattered it to bits, but I swam
and crossed that gulf, until wind and water
bore and brought me to your land.
The waves would have overcome me getting out on dry land there,
and thrown me against great rocks in a gruesome place,

§ OD.7.280  but I swam back in retreat until I came
to a river, where the place seemed best,
free of rocks, and there was shelter from the wind.
I got out and fell, rallying my spirit, and ambrosial night
came on. I went off a distance from the Zeus-fallen river

§ OD.7.285  and went to sleep in the bushes, drawing leaves about me,
and god poured down boundless sleep.
There in the leaves, dear heart heavy,
I slept all night, even to dawn and midday,
and the sun declined, and sweet sleep relaxed its hold on me.

§ OD.7.290  I noticed your daughter's handmaids playing
on the shore, and she was like the goddesses among them.
I supplicated her. She in no way lacked good sense,
as one wouldn't expect of a young one just met
to act, for young ones ever act unthoughtfully.

§ OD.7.295  She gave me sparkling wine and food aplenty,
had me bathe in the river, and gave these clothes to me.
Despite my grief, what I've told you is the truth.”
Alcinous in turn replied to him and said:
“Stranger, surely my daughter did not observe proprieties,

§ OD.7.300  because she didn't bring you with her handmaid women
to our house, yet you came first as a supplicant to her.”
Adroit Odysseus said to him in reply:
“Don't reproach your noble daughter on account of me,
for she bid me follow with her handmaids,

§ OD.7.305  but I was ashamed and fearful, and did not want to,
lest somehow your heart become indignant at the sight,
for we are quick to anger, we tribes of humankind upon the earth.”
Alcinous in turn replied to him and said:
“Stranger, the dear heart in my chest is not the sort

§ OD.7.310  that angers without reason. Everything is better in due measure.
By father Zeus, Athena, and Apollo,
would that such a one as you are, thinking even as I do,
have my daughter and remain here to be called
my son-in-law. I'd give you property

§ OD.7.315  if you were willing to stay. But let no Phaeacian detain you
against your will. Let that not be acceptable to father Zeus!
So you may well know it, I decree this time for your escort,
and that time is tomorrow. Then, tamed by sleep,
you'll rest as they drive the calm, until you reach

§ OD.7.320  your home and fatherland, or anywhere that's dear to you,
even if it's much, much farther away than Euboia,
which those of our people who saw it, when they took
blond Rhadamanthus to see Tityus,
son of Gaea, say is farthest off.

§ OD.7.325  They went there, and made it without effort,
and made it back home that very day.
You too will see, for yourself and in your mind, how much
my ships are best and with the oar my boys toss up the sea”
So said he, and long-suffering divine Odysseus rejoiced,

§ OD.7.330  then spoke a word, called out a name, and said in prayer:
“Father Zeus, if only Alcinous would do everything
he said! His fame, on the grain-giving earth, would be
inextinguishable, and I would reach my fatherland!”
So as they spoke such things to each other,

§ OD.7.335  white-armed Arete bid her handmaids
set beds beneath the portico, throw fine purple cloths
upon them, spread blankets on top of them,
and put woolen cloaks on top to wrap in.
They came out of the hall holding torches in their hands,

§ OD.7.340  then after they'd hurriedly spread the strongly-built bed,
they stood next to Odysseus and roused him with these words:
“Get up, stranger, and go rest. The bed's been made for you!”
So said they, and going to sleep seemed welcome to him.
So, while long-suffering divine Odysseus slept there

§ OD.7.345  beneath the echoing portico in a perforated bed,
Alcinous lay in an inner room of the lofty house,
and his mistress wife shared bed and bedding beside him.

§ OD.8.1  BOOK 8
When early-born rose-fingered Dawn appeared,
Alcinous' sacred soul arose from bed,
and Zeus-born city-sacking Odysseus got up.
Then Alcinous' sacred soul guided them

§ OD.8.5  to the Phaeacian assembly, built by them beside the ships.
When they got there they sat down close together
on polished stones. Pallas Athena went in search throughout the city,
in the guise of skilled Alcinous' herald,
with a scheme for the return home of great-hearted Odysseus,

§ OD.8.10  and as she stood beside each person, she said to him:
“Come on, Phaeacian chiefs and commanders,
go to the assembly, to find out about the stranger,
who recently reached the house of skilled Alcinous
after wandering the sea, one like immortals in form!”

§ OD.8.15  So saying, she spurred on each one's heart and soul.
Quickly the seats and assembly were filled with mortals
come together, and many gazed in wonder at the sight
of Laertes' skilled son, upon whose head and shoulders
Athena poured abundant grace.

§ OD.8.20  And she made him seem taller and thicker,
so he'd be, to all Phaeacians, beloved,
awe-inspiring, and worthy of honor, and succeed in the many
games with which the Phaeacians would test Odysseus.
Then after they assembled and were together,

§ OD.8.25  Alcinous spoke and said among them:
“Hear me, Phaeacian leaders and commanders,
while I say what the heart in my chest commands me.
This stranger, I know not who he is, has reached my house
a wanderer from either eastern or western men.

§ OD.8.30  He urges a convoy and begs it be certain.
Let us, as ever before, recommend a convoy,
for no one else who's reached my house
has stayed here long in sorrow because of a convoy.
But come, let's haul a black ship into the divine sea

§ OD.8.35  for it's first voyage, and let fifty-two young men be selected,
who've been the best before throughout the kingdom.
When you've all tied your oars well to the oarlocks,
come ashore. Then afterward, come to my house
and have a quick dinner, and I will provide well for all.

§ OD.8.40  I charge the young men with this, but you other
sceptered kings, come to my beautiful home
so we can welcome the stranger in my palace.
Let no one decline. Summon the divine singer Demodocus,
for god has granted him surpassing power to entertain

§ OD.8.45  in song, in whatever way his heart spurs him to sing.
So saying, he led, and the sceptered ones followed
with him, while a herald went for the divine singer.
Fifty-two young men were chosen and went
as he'd ordered, to the shore of the barren sea.

§ OD.8.50  Then after they'd gone down to the ship and sea,
they hauled the black ship toward the sea's depths,
put mast and sails on the black ship,
positioned oars in leather oar straps,
all in good order, and hoisted the white sail.

§ OD.8.55  They anchored her offshore in the south. Then afterwards
they made their way to the great home of skilled Alcinous.
The porticos, courtyards, and rooms were full of men
gathering. Many, young and old, were there.
Alcinous sacrificed for them twelve sheep,

§ OD.8.60  eight white-toothed pigs, and two shambling oxen.
They skinned and prepared them, and made a lovely dinner.
The herald came near, leading the trusty singer,
whom the muse loved exceedingly but gave both good and bad.
She'd deprived him of his eyes, but given him sweet song.

§ OD.8.65  Pontonous placed a silver-studded chair for him
in the midst of the diners, and propped it against a tall pillar.
A herald hung a clear-toned lyre on a peg
above his head and showed him how to take it
with his hands. He placed a basket and fine table beside him,

§ OD.8.70  and a goblet of wine to drink when his heart bid him.
They threw their hands on the good things laid ready before them.
Then after they'd dispatched desire for food and drink,
the muse inspired the singer to sing the famous deeds of men,
from a song whose fame had then reached wide heaven,

§ OD.8.75  the quarrel of Odysseus and Peleides Achilles,
how they'd once argued, at a bountiful feast for the gods,
with vehement words, and lord of men Agamemnon
in his mind was glad that the best of the Achaeans were arguing,
for Phoebus Apollo had told him so in prophecy

§ OD.8.80  in sacred Pytho, when he'd stepped over the stone threshold
to ask the oracle. For at that time the start of misery was rolling,
toward Danaans and Trojans, on account of great Zeus' will.
This the far-famed singer sang, but Odysseus
grasped the great purple cloak with his well-knit hands,

§ OD.8.85  pulled it over his head, and hid his handsome face, for he was ashamed
to shed tears from under his eyebrows in front of the Phaeacians.
Indeed, each time the divine singer stopped singing,
Odysseus took the cloak from his head, wiped his tears,
grasped a goblet with two handles, and made libation to the gods.

§ OD.8.90  But each time he began again, and the best of the Phaeacians
spurred him on to sing since they enjoyed his stories,
Odysseus immediately covered his head and cried.
He went unnoticed there by all the others, shedding tears,
and Alcinous alone noticed him and understood.

§ OD.8.95  He sat near him and he heard him moaning deeply,
then said at once to the oar-loving Phaeacians:
“Hear me, Phaeacian leaders and commanders,
we've already satisfied our hearts with an equal meal
and the lyre that goes with a bounteous feast.

§ OD.8.100  Let's go out now and make a try at all the games,
so the stranger can tell his loved ones,
on his return home, how much we surpass others
in boxing, wrestling, jumping, and running.
So saying, he led, and they followed with him.

§ OD.8.105  A herald hung Demodocus' clear-toned lyre on a peg,
then took his hand and led him from the hall.
He started him on the same way as the others,
the best of the Phaeacians, went to watch the games.
They made their way to the assembly, as a big throng followed,

§ OD.8.110  countless, and many good young men stood up.
Acroneos arose, and also Ocyalus and Elatreus,
Nauteus and Prymneus, Anchialus and Eretmeus,
Ponteus and Proireus, Anabesineos and Thoon,
and Amphialus, son of Polyneus Tectonides.

§ OD.8.115  Up also, one equal to the bane of mortals Ares, Euryalus
Naubolides, who was best in form and figure
of all Phaeacians after noble Laodamas.
Three sons of noble Alcinous stood up,
Laodamas, Halius, and godlike Clytoneus,

§ OD.8.120  and they indeed were first to make a try at running.
The course stretched for them from the starting line, and all
flew quickly together, raising dust, over the plain.
Noble Clytoneus was by far the best of them in running,
and, by as far as the range of mules in a fallow field,

§ OD.8.125  he outran them and reached the people, and they were left behind.
Then they made a try at painful wrestling,
in which Euryalus once more vanquished all the best.
Amphialis was best of all in jumping.
Elatreus was again far strongest of all with the discus;

§ OD.8.130  Laodamas, good son of Alcinous, again in boxing.
Then after all had heartily enjoyed the games,
Alcinous' son Laodamas said to them:
“Here, friends, let's ask the stranger if he has learned
and knows some games. In physique he's not that bad,

§ OD.8.135  in thighs, in calves, and, up top, in both arms,
sturdy neck, and greatness of strength. Nor does he lack any
youthful vigor, though he's been broken down by many evils.
For I say that nothing else confounds a man
worse than the sea, even if he's very strong.”

§ OD.8.140  Euryalus in turn replied to him and said:
“Laodamas, you've said this very duly.
Now go yourself, declare your will, and challenge him.”
Then after he heard this, the good son of Alcinous
went and stood in their midst and said to Odysseus:

§ OD.8.145  “Come here, father stranger, you too try the games,
if somewhere you learned some, since it's fitting you know games,
for, while he's alive, a man's fame is no greater
than what he does with his own hands and feet.
But come, make a try, and scatter troubles from your heart.

§ OD.8.150  Your trip still won't be long far off, for your ship
has already been launched and your comrades are ready.”
Adroit Odysseus said to him in reply:
“Laodamas, why bid me do these things and mock me?
Troubles are much more on my mind than games,

§ OD.8.155  I, who suffered very much and labored much before,
and now sit in your assembly, in need of return home,
begging all the kingdom and the king.”
Euryalus replied back and taunted him to his face:
“No, stranger, I don't fancy you a man experienced

§ OD.8.160  in games, of the many kinds held among men,
but as one who is accustomed to a ship with many oarlocks,
a captain of sailors who are traders,
you're mindful of cargo and an overseer of freight
and greedy gains, but you don't seem like an athlete.”

§ OD.8.165  Then adroit Odysseus said to him with a scowl:
“You spoke unwisely, stranger. You seem a reckless man.
It's so, the gods do not give all men gracious things,
neither physique nor mind nor eloquence.
For though a man may be inferior in appearance,

§ OD.8.170  but a god crowns his form with words, then those
who see him enjoy it, as he speaks without faltering,
with winning modesty, and stands out among those gathered,
and, when he goes through town, they view him as a god,
while another may be like immortals in appearance,

§ OD.8.175  but grace is not placed as a crown around his words,
so also your appearance is outstanding, and not even a god
would make it otherwise, yet you're misshapen in your mind.
You've aroused the heart within my dear chest
by speaking inappropriately. I'm not ignorant of games

§ OD.8.180  as you purport, on the contrary, I think I used to be among
the first, as long as I had trust in youthful vigor and my hands.
But now I'm held by evil and by sorrow, for I've endured a lot,
cutting through men's wars and painful waves.
But even so, though I've suffered many evils, I'll try the games,

§ OD.8.185  for your word bites at my heart and you've incited me by speaking.”
He spoke, and, leaping up with cloak still on, grabbed a discus,
a bigger, massive one, thicker, not by a little, than the one
with which Phaeacians competed with each other.
Then he whirled and threw it from his well-knit hand,

§ OD.8.190  and the stone whizzed, and they ducked to the ground,
the long-oared Phaeacians, ship-famed men,
beneath the stone's flight. It overflew the marks of all,
running swiftly from his hand. Disguised as a man, Athena
placed a marker, called out his name, and said:

§ OD.8.195  “Even a blind man, stranger, could make out this mark
by groping for it, since it's not at all mixed in the group,
but is the first by far. Take heart, at least for this game.
None of the Phaeacians will reach or throw beyond it.”
So said she, and long-suffering divine Odysseus rejoiced,

§ OD.8.200  glad to find a kind comrade in the crowd,
and then, feeling lighter, he said to the Phaeacians:
“Reach that one now, young men, and I think I'll throw
another one soon after, just as far or even farther!
Any of you others, whose heart and soul commands,

§ OD.8.205  come now and make a try, since you've much angered me,
in boxing or wrestling or running, since I begrudge nothing,
of all Phaeacians, except, of course, Laodamas himself,
for he's my host. Who would battle one who welcomes him?
That man lacks sense and is of no account

§ OD.8.210  who offers rivalry in games to his host
in a foreign kingdom and cuts off all that's his.
I neither spurn nor slight any of the rest,
I want instead to get to know, and test him, face to face.
For I'm not bad at all, in all the games among men.

§ OD.8.215  I know well how to handle a finely-polished bow,
and I'd be first to shoot an arrow and strike a man
in a throng of hostile men, even if very many comrades
stood close by and shot the bow at men.
Philoctetes alone surpassed me with the bow,

§ OD.8.220  in the Trojan kingdom, when Achaeans shot the bow,
and I say I'm much farther ahead of all other
mortals who now live on the earth and eat bread.
I wouldn't want to compete with men of times before,
with neither Hercules nor Eurytus the Oechalean,

§ OD.8.225  who used to compete in archery even with immortals.
Eurytus died quite suddenly for it and didn't come
to old age in his palace, for Apollo, in rage,
killed him because he'd challenged him in archery.
I throw a spear as far as any other does an arrow.

§ OD.8.230  Only in running do I fear some Phaeacian might surpass
me, for I was tamed, in a way that weakened me too much,
on the many waves, since aboard ship there was no constant
care, and due to that my dear legs have collapsed.”
So said he, and all became silent in silence.

§ OD.8.235  Alcinous alone said to him in answer:
“Stranger, since you say these things not gracelessly among us,
but want to show your prowess, which attends you,
angered that this man stood at your side and mocked you
in the assembly, as no mortal would slur your prowess

§ OD.8.240  who knew in his mind how to speak soundly,
come now, heed my words, so you may also tell
another hero, when in your palace
you dine beside your wife and children
and remember our prowess, what kind of works

§ OD.8.245  Zeus has ordained for us straight from our fathers' time.
For we're not noble boxers or wrestlers,
but we run swiftly with our feet and are the best with ships,
and ever dear to us are dinner, the cythara, and dances,
changing clothing, hot baths, and beds.

§ OD.8.250  But come, you who are the best Phaeacian dancers,
dance, so the stranger can tell his loved ones,
on his return home, how much we surpass others
in sailing, singing, dancing, and running.
Let someone go at once and bring Demodocus

§ OD.8.255  his clear-toned lyre that lies somewhere in our house.”
So said godlike Alcinous, and a herald rose
to bring the hollow lyre from the home of the king.
All nine stewards, chosen by the public, who used to
carefully arrange the details for assemblies, stood up,

§ OD.8.260  spread out the fine assembly and smoothed a place for dancing.
A herald came near and brought the clear-toned lyre
to Demodocus, who then went to their midst. Boys in early youth
stood around him, ones experienced in dancing,
and beat the divine dance place with their feet. Then Odysseus

§ OD.8.265  beheld the twinkling of their feet and marveled in his heart.
Then Demodocus played the lyre and began to sing beautifully
about the love of Ares and fair-crowned Aphrodite,
how in stealth they mixed the first time in the home
of Hephaestus. Ares gave much to her and defiled the bed