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He spake and led the way, and in his steps

155

Pallas Athenè followed. Entering then

The lofty halls, he set the spear upright

By a tall column, in the armory

With polished walls, where rested many a lance

Of the large-souled Ulysses. Then he placed

160

His guest upon a throne, o'er which he spread

A covering many-hued and beautiful,

And gave her feet a footstool. Near to her

He drew his party-colored seat, aloof

From where the suitors sat; that so his guest

165

Might not amid those haughty revellers

Be wearied with the tumult and enjoy

His meal the less, and that himself might ask

News of his absent father. In a bowl

Of silver, from a shapely ewer of gold,

170

A maid poured water for the hands, and set

A polished table near them. Then approached

A venerable matron bringing bread

And delicacies gathered from the board;

And he who served the feast before them placed

175

Chargers with various meats, and cups of gold ;

While round the board a herald moved, and poured

Wine for the guests. The haughty suitors now

Came in, and took their places on the thrones

And couches; heralds poured upon their hands

180

The water; maidens heaped the canisters

With bread, and all put forth their hands to share

The banquet on the board, while to the brim

Boys filled the beakers. When the calls of thirst

And hunger were appeased, the suitors thought

185

Of other things that well become a feast, -

Song and the dance. And then a herald brought

A shapely harp, and gave it to the hands

Of Phemius, who had only by constraint

Sung to the suitors. On the chords he struck

190

A prelude to his lay, while, as he played,

Telemachus, that others might not hear,

Leaned forward, and to blue-eyed Pallas spake :

"My friend and guest, wilt thou take no offence

At what I say? These revellers enjoy

195

The harp and song, for at no cost of theirs

They waste the substance of another man,

Whose white bones now are mouldering in the rain

Upon some main-land, or are tossed about

By ocean billows. Should they see him once

200

In Ithaca, their prayers would rather rise

For swifter feet than richer stores of gold

And raiment. But an evil fate is his,

And he has perished. Even should we hear

From any of the dwellers upon earth

205

That he is near at hand, we could not hope.

For him is no return. But now, I pray,

Tell me, and frankly tell me, who thou art,

And of what race of men, and where thy home,

And who thy parents; how the mariners

210

Brought thee to Ithaca, and who they claim

To be, for well I deem thou couldst not come

Hither on foot. All this, I pray, relate

Truly, that I may know the whole. Art thou

For the first time arrived, or hast thou been

215

My father's guest? for many a stranger once

Resorted to our palace, and he knew

The way to win the kind regard of men."

Odyssey. Homer. Boston. 1873.

Current edition Experimental

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873) (OCR draft) (English) (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Ὀδύσσεια Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), editor. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.) — 1.125 focus

ὣς εἰπὼν ἡγεῖθʼ, ἡ δʼ ἕσπετο Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη.

125

οἱ δʼ ὅτε δή ῥʼ ἔντοσθεν ἔσαν δόμου ὑψηλοῖο,

ἔγχος μέν ῥʼ ἔστησε φέρων πρὸς κίονα μακρὴν

δουροδόκης ἔντοσθεν ἐυξόου, ἔνθα περ ἄλλα

ἔγχεʼ Ὀδυσσῆος ταλασίφρονος ἵστατο πολλά,

αὐτὴν δʼ ἐς θρόνον εἷσεν ἄγων, ὑπὸ λῖτα πετάσσας,

130

καλὸν δαιδάλεον· ὑπὸ δὲ θρῆνυς ποσὶν ἦεν.

πὰρ δʼ αὐτὸς κλισμὸν θέτο ποικίλον, ἔκτοθεν ἄλλων

μνηστήρων, μὴ ξεῖνος ἀνιηθεὶς ὀρυμαγδῷ

δείπνῳ ἁδήσειεν, ὑπερφιάλοισι μετελθών,

ἠδʼ ἵνα μιν περὶ πατρὸς ἀποιχομένοιο ἔροιτο.

135

χέρνιβα δʼ ἀμφίπολος προχόῳ ἐπέχευε φέρουσα

καλῇ χρυσείῃ, ὑπὲρ ἀργυρέοιο λέβητος,

νίψασθαι· παρὰ δὲ ξεστὴν ἐτάνυσσε τράπεζαν.

σῖτον δʼ αἰδοίη ταμίη παρέθηκε φέρουσα,

εἴδατα πόλλʼ ἐπιθεῖσα, χαριζομένη παρεόντων·

140

δαιτρὸς δὲ κρειῶν πίνακας παρέθηκεν ἀείρας

παντοίων, παρὰ δέ σφι τίθει χρύσεια κύπελλα·

κῆρυξ δʼ αὐτοῖσιν θάμʼ ἐπῴχετο οἰνοχοεύων.

ἐς δʼ ἦλθον μνηστῆρες ἀγήνορες. οἱ μὲν ἔπειτα

ἑξείης ἕζοντο κατὰ κλισμούς τε θρόνους τε,

145

τοῖσι δὲ κήρυκες μὲν ὕδωρ ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἔχευαν,

σῖτον δὲ δμῳαὶ παρενήνεον ἐν κανέοισιν,

κοῦροι δὲ κρητῆρας ἐπεστέψαντο ποτοῖο.

οἱ δʼ ἐπʼ ὀνείαθʼ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο

150

μνηστῆρες, τοῖσιν μὲν ἐνὶ φρεσὶν ἄλλα μεμήλει,

μολπή τʼ ὀρχηστύς τε· τὰ γάρ τʼ ἀναθήματα δαιτός·

κῆρυξ δʼ ἐν χερσὶν κίθαριν περικαλλέα θῆκεν

Φημίῳ, ὅς ῥʼ ἤειδε παρὰ μνηστῆρσιν ἀνάγκῃ.

ἦ τοι ὁ φορμίζων ἀνεβάλλετο καλὸν ἀείδειν.

155

αὐτὰρ Τηλέμαχος προσέφη γλαυκῶπιν Ἀθήνην,

ἄγχι σχὼν κεφαλήν, ἵνα μὴ πευθοίαθʼ οἱ ἄλλοι·

ξεῖνε φίλʼ, ἦ καί μοι νεμεσήσεαι ὅττι κεν εἴπω;

τούτοισιν μὲν ταῦτα μέλει, κίθαρις καὶ ἀοιδή,

ῥεῖʼ, ἐπεὶ ἀλλότριον βίοτον νήποινον ἔδουσιν,

160

ἀνέρος, οὗ δή που λεύκʼ ὀστέα πύθεται ὄμβρῳ

κείμενʼ ἐπʼ ἠπείρου, ἢ εἰν ἁλὶ κῦμα κυλίνδει.

εἰ κεῖνόν γʼ Ἰθάκηνδε ἰδοίατο νοστήσαντα,

πάντες κʼ ἀρησαίατʼ ἐλαφρότεροι πόδας εἶναι

ἢ ἀφνειότεροι χρυσοῖό τε ἐσθῆτός τε.

165

νῦν δʼ ὁ μὲν ὣς ἀπόλωλε κακὸν μόρον, οὐδέ τις ἡμῖν

θαλπωρή, εἴ πέρ τις ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων

φῇσιν ἐλεύσεσθαι· τοῦ δʼ ὤλετο νόστιμον ἦμαρ.

ἀλλʼ ἄγε μοι τόδε εἰπὲ καὶ ἀτρεκέως κατάλεξον·

τίς πόθεν εἰς ἀνδρῶν; πόθι τοι πόλις ἠδὲ τοκῆες;

170

ὁπποίης τʼ ἐπὶ νηὸς ἀφίκεο· πῶς δέ σε ναῦται

ἤγαγον εἰς Ἰθάκην; τίνες ἔμμεναι εὐχετόωντο;

οὐ μὲν γάρ τί σε πεζὸν ὀίομαι ἐνθάδʼ ἱκέσθαι.

καί μοι τοῦτʼ ἀγόρευσον ἐτήτυμον, ὄφρʼ ἐὺ εἰδῶ,

ἠὲ νέον μεθέπεις ἦ καὶ πατρώιός ἐσσι

175

ξεῖνος, ἐπεὶ πολλοὶ ἴσαν ἀνέρες ἡμέτερον δῶ

ἄλλοι, ἐπεὶ καὶ κεῖνος ἐπίστροφος ἦν ἀνθρώπων.

Translations (8)

Odyssey Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), translator. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.) — 1.125 focus

125 So saying, he led the way, and Pallas Athena followed. And when they were within the lofty house, he bore the spear and set it against a tall pillar in a polished spear-rack, where were set many spears besides, even those of Odysseus of the steadfast heart. 130 Athena herself he led and seated on a chair, spreading a linen cloth beneath—a beautiful chair, richly-wrought,¹ and below was a footstool for the feet. Beside it he placed for himself an inlaid seat, apart from the others, the wooers, lest the stranger, vexed by their din, should loathe the meal, seeing that he was in the company of overweening men; 135 and also that he might ask him about his father that was gone. Then a handmaid brought water for the hands in a fair pitcher of gold, and poured it over a silver basin for them to wash, and beside them drew up a polished table. And the grave housewife brought and set before them bread, 140 and therewith dainties in abundance, giving freely of her store. And a carver lifted up and placed before them platters of all manner of meats, and set by them golden goblets, while a herald ever walked to and fro pouring them wine. Then in came the proud wooers, and thereafter 145 sat them down in rows on chairs and high seats. Heralds poured water over their hands, and maid-servants heaped by them bread in baskets, and youths filled the bowls brim full of drink; and they put forth their hands to the good cheer lying ready before them. 150 Now after the wooers had put from them the desire of food and drink, their hearts turned to other things, to song and to dance; for these things are the crown of a feast. And a herald put the beautiful lyre in the hands of Phemius, who sang perforce among the wooers; 155 and he struck the chords in prelude² to his sweet lay. But Telemachus spoke to flashing-eyed Athena, holding his head close, that the others might not hear: “Dear stranger, wilt thou be wroth with me for the word that I shall say? These men care for things like these, the lyre and song, 160 full easily, seeing that without atonement they devour the livelihood of another, of a man whose white bones, it may be, rot in the rain as they lie upon the mainland, or the wave rolls them in the sea. Were they to see him returned to Ithaca , they would all pray to be swifter of foot, 165 rather than richer in gold and in raiment. But now he has thus perished by an evil doom, nor for us is there any comfort, no, not though any one of men upon the earth should say that he will come; gone is the day of his returning. But come, tell me this, and declare it truly. 170 Who art thou among men, and from whence? Where is thy city and where thy parents? On what manner of ship didst thou come, and how did sailors bring thee to Ithaca ? Who did they declare themselves to be? For nowise, methinks, didst thou come hither on foot. And tell me this also truly, that I may know full well, 175 whether this is thy first coming hither, or whether thou art indeed a friend of my father's house. For many were the men who came to our house as strangers, since he, too, had gone to and fro³ among men.”

Odyssey Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey: rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original. Butler, Samuel, 1835-1902, translator. Revised by Timothy Power and Gregory Nagy. London: A.C. Fifield, 1900.) — 1.113 focus

113 Telemakhos saw her long before any one else did. He was sitting moodily among the suitors thinking about his brave father, and how he would send them fleeing out of the house, if he were to come to his own again and be honored as in days gone by. Thus brooding as he sat among them, he caught sight of Athena and went straight to the gate, for he was vexed that a stranger should be kept waiting for admittance. He took her right hand in his own, and bade her give him her spear. "Welcome," said he, "to our house, and when you have partaken of food you shall tell us what you have come for."

125 He led the way as he spoke, and Athena followed him. When they were within he took her spear and set it in the spear - stand against a strong bearing-post along with the many other spears of his unhappy father, and he conducted her to a richly decorated seat under which he threw a cloth of damask. There was a footstool also for her feet, and he set another seat near her for himself, away from the suitors, that she might not be annoyed while eating by their noise and insolence, and that he might ask her more freely about his father.

136 A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their hands, and she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought them bread, and offered them many good things of what there was in the house, the carver fetched them plates of all manner of meats and set cups of gold by their side, and a man-servant brought them wine and poured it out for them.

144 Then the suitors came in and took their places on the benches and seats. Forthwith men servants poured water over their hands, maids went round with the bread-baskets, pages filled the mixing-bowls with wine and water, and they laid their hands upon the good things that were before them. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink they wanted music and dancing, which are the crowning embellishments of a banquet, so a servant brought a lyre to Phemios, whom they compelled perforce to sing to them. As soon as he touched his lyre and began to sing Telemakhos spoke low to Athena, with his head close to hers that no man might hear.

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 1.125 focus

He led the way as he spoke, and Athena followed him. When they were within he took her spear and set it in the spear-stand against a strong bearing-post along with the many other spears of his unhappy father, patient-hearted Odysseus [130] and he conducted her to a richly decorated seat under which he threw a cloth of damask. There was a footstool also for her feet, and he set another seat near her for himself, away from the suitors, that she might not be annoyed while eating by their noise and insolence, [135] and that he might ask her more freely about his father.

A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful golden ewer and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their hands, and she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought them bread, [140] and offered them many good things of what there was in the house, the carver fetched them plates of all manner of meats and set cups of gold by their side, and a man-servant brought them wine and poured it out for them.

Then the suitors came in and [145] took their places on the benches and seats. Right away men servants poured water over their hands, maids went round with the bread-baskets, pages filled the mixing-bowls with wine and water, and they laid their hands upon the good things that were before them. [150] As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink they wanted music and dancing, which are the crowning embellishments of a banquet, so a servant brought a lyre to Phemios, whom they compelled perforce to sing to them. [155] As soon as he touched his lyre and began to sing Telemachus spoke low to Athena of the owl’s vision, with his head close to hers that no man might hear.

“I hope, sir,” said he, “that you will not be offended with what I am going to say. Singing comes cheap to those who do not pay for it, [160] and all this is done at the cost of one whose bones lie rotting in some wilderness or grinding to powder in the surf. If these men were to see my father come back to Ithaca they would pray for longer legs [165] rather than a longer purse, for wealth would not serve them; but he, alas, has fallen on an ill fate, and even when people do sometimes say that he is coming, we no longer heed them; we shall never see him again. And now, sir, tell me and tell me true, [170] who you are and where you come from. Tell me of your town and parents, what manner of ship you came in, how your crew brought you to Ithaca, and of what nation they declared themselves to be—for you cannot have come by land. Tell me also truly, for I want to know, [175] are you a stranger to this house, or have you been here in my father’s time? In the old days we had many visitors for my father went about much himself.”

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 1.125 focus

Thus affable and mild, the prince precedes,

And to the dome th' unknown celestial leads.

The spear receiving from her hand, he placed

Against a column, fair with sculpture graced;

Where seemly ranged in peaceful order stood

170

Ulysses' arms, now long disus'd to blood.

He led the goddess to the sovereign seat,

Her feet supported with a stool of state;

(A purple carpet spread the pavement wide ;)

Then drew his seat, familiar, to her side;

175

Far from the suitor-train, a brutal crowd,

With insolence, and wine, elate and loud;

Where the free guest, unnoted, might relate,

If haply conscious, of his father's fate.

The golden ewer a maid obsequious brings,

180

Replenish'd from the cool translucent springs;

With copious water the bright vase supplies

A silver laver of capacious size :

They wash. The tables in fair order spread,

They heap the glittering canisters with bread :

185

Viands of various kinds allure the taste,

Of choicest sort and savour, rich repast!

Delicious wines th' attending herald brought;

The gold gave lustre to the purple draught.

Lur'd with the vapour of the fragrant feast,

190

In rush'd the suitors with voracious haste:

Marshall'd in order due, to each a sewer

Presents, to bathe his hands, a radiant ewer.

Luxurious then they feast. Observant round

Gay stripling youths the brimming goblets crown'd.

195

The rage of hunger quell'd, they all advance,

And form to measur'd airs the mazy dance:

To Phemius was consign'd the chorded lyre,

Whose hand reluctant touch'd the warbling wire :

Phemius, whose voice divine could sweetest sing

200

High strains responsive to the vocal string.

Meanwhile, in whispers to his heavenly guest

His indignation thus the prince express'd:

TELEMACHUS

'Indulge my rising grief, while these (my friend)

'With song and dance the pompous revel end.
205

'Light is the dance, and doubly sweet the lays

'When for the dear delight another pays.

'His treasur'd stores these cormorants consume,

'Whose bones, defrauded of a regal tomb

'And common turf, lie naked on the plain,
210

'Or doom'd to welter in the whelming main.

'Should he return, that troop so blithe and bold,

'With purple robes inwrought, and stiff with gold,

'Precipitant in fear would wing their flight,

'And curse their cumb'rous pride's unwieldy weight.
215

'But ah! I dream: th' appointed hour is fled;

'And hope, too long with vain delusion fed,

'Deaf to the rumour of fallacious fame,

'Gives to the roll of death his glorious name!

'With venial freedom let me now demand
220

'Thy name, thy lineage, and paternal land;

'Sincere, from whence began thy course, recite,

'And to what ship I owe the friendly freight ?

'Now first to me this visit dost thou deign,

'Or number'd in my father's social train ?
225

'All who deserv'd his choice, he made his own,

'And, curious much to know, he far was known.'

MINERVA

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 1.125 focus

When they were come into the stately hall,

Her spear within a case he sets upright,

T' a pillar, in which case the spears were all

His father left behind going to fight.

150

Then led her to a chair which stood upon

A dainty carpet curiously wrought,

And put t' her feet a stool to rest upon,

And for himself a handsome stool he brought :

Then did a maid, in a fine golden ewer,

155

Bring water for their hands, and pours it on

Over a bason large of silver pure,

And set a table to them, for both one:

From others' seats remoter than to fear

Their rudeness might offend her, or that they

160

Might peradventure listening overhear

What he and she did of Ulysses say.

Another sets on bread and other things

To eat, such as in her charge were at home.

But flesh of many sorts the carver brings,

165

And the cup-bearers often go and come.

Then came the suitors in, and took their places

All in a row. To each a table stands,

And golden bowl, one way look all their faces,

The waiters bring in water for their hands.

170

The maids in baskets bring both bread and meat,

On which they lay their hands with great good will,

And heartily and hastily they eat,

And to the brim their cups the servants fill.

When they of hunger had pluck'd out the sting,

175

The lusty suitors' thoughts converted were

To dancing, and to hear the minstrel sing,

Sports these are consecrated to good cheer.

To Phemius, the minstrel, that was by,

Unwillingly, forc'd by th' unruly throng,

180

They brought a cittern, and he presently

Began to play, and then to sing a song.

But to the Goddess Pallas, in her ear

Telemachus began to speak his mind,

Not being willing any else should hear.

185

Excuse me, friend, that I say what I find.

You see the care of these men what it is,

Singing and dancing. And no wonder, since

That which they spend is not their own, but his

Whose bones lie somewhere naked far from hence,

190

Unburied, it may be, on the ground,

There rotting as he lies i' th' dew and rain;

Or else at sea, perhaps, if he be drown'd,

The waves his body roll upon the main.

If him at home the best of them should meet

195

Safely arrived in Ithaca, he would

Much rather wish, I think, for nimble feet,

Than to be rich in garment or in gold.

But, oh ! he's dead, and of some cruel death ;

And though some tell us he is coming home,

200

'Tis comfortless, for he's bereav'd of breath.

To Ithaca I ne'er shall see him come.

But let this pass, and tell me truly now

Your own, your father's, and your country's name.

And further, I desire you'll let me know,

205

Whence are the mariners that with you came

Unto this town? and tell me this likewise,

Where rideth the good ship that brought you to't;

For verily I can no way devise

How you should come on horseback or on foot?

210

And tell me, were you never here before,

Nor saw my father whilst he here abode ?

For strangers came to visit him good store,

As having much convers'd with men abroad.

English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857)) — 1.125 focus

This said, first he went,

And Pallas follow'd. To a room they came,

Steep, and of state; the javelin of the Dame

200

He set against a pillar vast and high,

Amidst a large and bright-kept armory,

Which was, besides, with woods of lances grac'd

Of his grave father's. In a throne he plac'd

The man-turn'd Goddess, under which was spread

205

A carpet, rich and of deviceful thread;

A footstool staying her feet; and by her chair

Another seat (all garnish'd wondrous fair,

To rest or sleep on in the day) he set,

Far from the prease of wooers, lest at meat

210

The noise they still made might offend his guest,

Disturbing him at banquet or at rest,

Even to his combat with that pride of theirs,

That kept no noble form in their affairs.

And these he set far from them, much the rather

215

To question freely of his absent father.

A table fairly-polish'd then was spread,

On which a reverend officer set bread,

And other servitors all sorts of meat

(Salads, and flesh, such as their haste could get)

220

Serv'd with observance in. And then the sewer

Pour'd water from a great and golden ewer,

That from their hands t' a silver caldron ran.

Both wash'd, and seated close, the voiceful man

Fetch'd cups of gold, and set by them, and round

225

Those cups with wine with all endeavour crown'd.

Then rush'd in the rude wooers, themselves plac'd;

The heralds water gave; the maids in haste

Serv'd bread from baskets. When, of all prepar'd

And set before them, the bold wooers shar'd,

230

Their pages plying their cups past the rest.

But lusty wooers must do more than feast;

For now, their hungers and their thirsts allay'd,

They call'd for songs and dances; those, they said,

Were th' ornaments of feast. The herald straight

235

A harp, carv'd full of artificial sleight,

Thrust into Phemius', a learn'd singer's, hand,

Who, till he much was urged, on terms did stand,

But, after, play'd and sung with all his art.

Telemachus to Pallas then (apart,

240

His ear inclining close, that none might hear)

In this sort said: "My guest, exceeding dear,

Will you not sit incens'd with what I say?

These are the cares these men take; feast and play.

Which eas'ly they may use, because they eat,

245

Free and unpunish'd, of another's meat;

And of a man's, whose white bones wasting lie

In some far region, with th' incessancy

Of showers pour'd down upon them, lying ashore,

Or in the seas wash'd naked. Who, if he wore

250

Those bones with flesh and life and industry,

And these might here in Ithaca set eye

On him return'd, they all would wish to be

Either past other in celerity

Of feet and knees, and not contend t' exceed

255

In golden garments. But his virtues feed

The fate of ill death; nor is left to me

The least hope of his life's recovery,

No, not if any of the mortal race

Should tell me his return; the cheerful face

260

Of his return'd day never will appear.

But tell me, and let Truth your witness bear,

Who, and from whence you are? What city's birth?

What parents? In what vessel set you forth?

And with what mariners arrived you here?

265

I cannot think you a foot passenger.

Recount then to me all, to teach me well

Fit usage for your worth. And if it fell

In chance now first that you thus see us here,

Or that in former passages you were

270

My father's guest? For many men have been

Guests to my father. Studious of men

His sociable nature ever was."

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 1.125 focus

So saying, toward the spacious hall he moved,

Follow'd by Pallas, and, arriving soon

Beneath the lofty roof, placed her bright spear

Within a pillar's cavity, long time

160

The armoury where many a spear had stood,

Bright weapons of his own illustrious Sire.

Then, leading her toward a footstool'd throne

Magnificent, which first he overspread

With linen, there he seated her, apart

165

From that rude throng, and for himself disposed

A throne of various colours at her side,

Lest, stunn'd with clamour of the lawless band,

The new-arrived should loth perchance to eat,

And that more free he might the stranger's ear

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With questions of his absent Sire address.

And now a maiden charged with golden ewer,

And with an argent laver, pouring first

Pure water on their hands, supplied them, next,

With a resplendent table, which the chaste

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Directress of the stores furnish'd with bread

And dainties, remnants of the last regale.

Then, in his turn, the sewer with savoury meats,

Dish after dish, served them, of various kinds,

And golden cups beside the chargers placed,

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Which the attendant herald fill'd with wine.

Ere long, in rush'd the suitors, and the thrones

And couches occupied, on all whose hands

The heralds pour'd pure water; then the maids

Attended them with bread in baskets heap'd,

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And eager they assail'd the ready feast.

At length, when neither thirst nor hunger more

They felt unsatisfied, to new delights

Their thoughts they turn'd, to song and sprightly dance,

Enlivening sequel of the banquet's joys.

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An herald, then, to Phemius' hand consign'd

His beauteous lyre; he through constraint regaled

The suitors with his song, and while the chords

He struck in prelude to his pleasant strains,

Telemachus his head inclining nigh

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To Pallas' ear, lest others should his words

Witness, the blue-eyed Goddess thus bespake.

My inmate and my friend! far from my lips

Be every word that might displease thine ear!

The song—the harp,—what can they less than charm

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These wantons? who the bread unpurchased eat

Of one whose bones on yonder continent

Lie mouldering, drench'd by all the showers of heaven,

Or roll at random in the billowy deep.

Ah! could they see him once to his own isle

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Restored, both gold and raiment they would wish

Far less, and nimbleness of foot instead.

But He, alas! hath by a wretched fate

Past question perish'd, and what news soe'er

We hear of his return, kindles no hope

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In us, convinced that he returns no more.

But answer undissembling; tell me true;

Who art thou? whence? where stands thy city? where

Thy father's mansion? In what kind of ship

Camest thou? Why steer'd the mariners their course

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To Ithaca, and of what land are they?

For that on foot thou found'st us not, is sure.

This also tell me, hast thou now arrived

New to our isle, or wast thou heretofore

My father's guest? since many to our house

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Resorted in those happier days, for he

Drew powerful to himself the hearts of all.

Then Pallas thus, Goddess cærulean-eyed.

English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911)) — 1 focus

ODYSSEY BOOK I

SING, O Muse, of the man so wary and wise, who in far lands

Wandered whenas he had wasted the sacred town of the Trojans.

Many a people he saw and beheld their cities and customs,

Many a woe he endured in his heart as he tossed on the ocean,

Striving to win him his life and to bring home safely his comrades.

Ah but he rescued them not, those comrades, much as he wished it.

Ruined by their own act of infatuate madness they perished,

Fools that they were—who the cows of the sun-god, lord Hyperion,

Slaughtered and ate; and he took from the men their day of returning.

Sing—whence-ever the lay—sing, Zeus-born goddess, for us too!

Now were all of the rest of the Greeks who had 'scaped from destruction

Safely at home and secure from the dangers of war and the ocean,

All but the one, whom yearning in vain for his wife and his homeland

Still did the beautiful goddess, the sea-nymph lady Calypso,

Hold in her hollow caves, with a longing to make him her husband.

Ay and at last, when the year in the slow revolution of seasons

Came, in the which, as the gods had ordained, he returned to his country,

Ithaca's isle, e'en then was he nowise free from his troubles,

Though once more with his own; and the gods were touched with compassion,

All but Poseidaon, who was ever unceasingly angered

Raging at godlike Odysseus and keeping him far from his homeland.

Now was he gone to revisit the far-off Aethiop people—

Aethiop people that dwell wide-sundered, furthest of mortals,

Some where sinks Hyperion to rest, some where he ariseth.

Here he expected of rams and of oxen a solemn oblation,

Here he rejoiced as he sat at the feast. But the other immortals

Unto the mansion of Zeus the Olympian gathered together.

Then in the midst brake silence the Father of men and immortals,

Since in the depths of his heart he remembered the noble Aegisthus

Slaughtered by King Agamemnon's son, far-famous Orestes;

Mindful of him these words he addressed to the gods everlasting:

"Verily! how these mortals of earth give blame to the heaven!

Evil is sent by the gods, they affirm! It is they that in folly,

Ay in the madness of folly, o'erleaping their destiny, seek it.

Thus did Aegisthus, in spite of his fate predestined, in madness

Marry the wife of Atrides and murdered her lord at his coming.

Fully he knew of the doom that impended for this we foretold him,

Sending him Hermes, the keen-eyed Slayer of Argus, to warn him

Neither to murder the man nor his wife to solicit as suitor :

Else shall Orestes repay for his father a terrible vengeance

After the days of his youth, when he learneth to long for his homeland.

Such was the warning of Hermes, but nowise heeded Aegisthus

Well-meant counsel—and now he hath paid all reckonings fully."

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Father of Gods, O mighty Cronion, the highest of Monarchs!

Truly he lies o'erwhelmed by a doom that he merited richly.

Thus too perish whoever of men such deed shall accomplish !

Ah but the heart in my bosom is rent for the wileful Odysseus.

Hard is his fate: long years doth he ceaselessly suffer affliction

Far from his home on a sea-girt isle: 'tis the navel of ocean,

Even this isle well-wooded, whereon hath dwelling a goddess,

Daughter of Atlas, the wizard of bale, who of every ocean

Knoweth the watery depths, and alone upholdeth the pillars

Soaring aloft and keeping the earth and heaven asunder.

This is the god whose daughter a wretched and sorrowing mortal

Keepeth, and ever with soft and with flattering words of endearment

Charms him, to make him forgetful of Ithaca's isle ; and Odysseus

Yearns to behold once more but the smoke rise eddying upward

Out of the land of his birth—and he longeth to die. But within thee

All unmoved is thy spirit, Olympian. What! did Odysseus

Ne'er by the ships of the Greeks do honour to thee with oblations,

There, on the Trojan plain? Then why so wroth at the man, Zeus?"

Her then in turn gave answer the Father who gathers the storm-clouds:

"Nay but my child, what word from the door of thy lips hath escaped thee !

How am I likely to cease to remember the godlike Odysseus,

Him who in mind all mortals excels and in giving oblation

Unto the gods everlasting who dwell in the infinite heaven?

No—but Poseidaon, Earth-girdler, stubbornly rageth,

Angered because of his son, by Odysseus bereft of his eyesight,

Even that equal of gods the immense Polyphemus, a Cyclops

Greater than all of the others. Thoösa the nymph was his mother,

Daughter of Phorcys the lord of the barren expanses of ocean.

She in the hollow caves of the sea held tryst with Poseidon.

Hence to Odysseus it haps that, albeit the King Earth-shaker

Slayeth him not, yet he maketh him wander afar from his homeland.

Come now, all of us here— let us straight take counsel together

How he shall once more win to his home; and Poseidon will surely

Cease from his wrath, for he ne'er will be able alone to oppose us,

Setting at nought and defying the will of the other immortals."

Him then again gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Father of all of us, mighty Cronion, the highest of Monarchs !

Seems it a thing well-pleasing to all of the blessed immortals

Thus to permit to return to his home wise-hearted Odysseus,

Then let us bid Hermeias the messenger, Slayer of Argus,

Speedily winging his flight to the far Ogygian island,

Bring to the fair-tressed nymph our will's immutable verdict,

Even that patient Odysseus return and arrive at his homeland.

Now for myself I shall visit the Ithacan island, if haply

Rousing his son still more I can light in his bosom the courage

Unto a meeting to summon the long-haired lords of Achaea,

Yea and a warning to utter to all of the suitors, who slaughter

Sheep of his thick-thronged folds and his shambling crook-horned cattle.

Then as his guide will I bring him to Sparta and Pylos the sandy,

Tidings to hear, if he can, of the homeward return of his father.

Hence too honour and fame shall he win in the land of the living."

These words uttered she bound to her ankles the beautiful sandals,

Golden, immortal, that carry her over the waters of ocean

Swift as the blast of a storm, and across earth's boundless expanses.

Then with her powerful spear bronze-bladed, of terrible keenness,

Weighty, enormous and strong—wherewith in the ranks of the battle

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Vanquisheth all that she hateth that daughter of Zeus the Almighty—

Flashing she fell to the earth from the glittering heights of Olympus

Down, till on Ithacan land she alit by the porch of Odysseus,

E'en by the courtyard door, with the spear in her hand, and she stood there

Likened in form to a stranger, to Mentes, Taphian chieftain.

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Then was she quickly aware of the arrogant suitors, who haply

Under the porch of the palace at draughts their minds were amusing,

Seated on skins of the cows they had slaughtered themselves for a banquet.

Busily flitting around were pages attendant and henchmen:

Some in the bowls were mixing together the wine and the water,

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Others with sponges porous and soft were washing the tables,

Setting them forth, while others apportioned the plentiful messes.

Godlike Telemachus was the first of them all to perceive her.

Grievously troubled at heart he was sitting amidst of the suitors,

Picturing how peradventure his valiant father from somewhere

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Suddenly coming and driving the suitors in rout from the palace

Honour again might win as the lord of his own possessions.

Dreaming thereon as he sat with the suitors, he noticed Athene.

Straight to the portal he went, for he felt sore vexed in his spirit

Seeing a stranger so long at the door, and, whenas he arrived there,

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Grasping her right and taking the bronzen spear from the goddess,

Opened in greeting his lips, and with swift-winged words he addressed her :

"Hail, O stranger! With us thou art sure of a welcome; and later,

After partaking of food, thou'lt tell us if aught thou art needing."

These words spoken, he turned and was followed by Pallas Athene.

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Unto the high-roofed mansion he led her, and stepping within it

Leaned on the shaft of a pillar the spear he was bearing, and fixed it

Into a stand bright-polished wherein were resting the others,

Many and many a spear of the valiant-hearted Odysseus;

Then on a chair, outspreading the cover of linen, he set her:

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Richly adorned was the chair, and below for the feet was a footstool.

Close to it set he a seat for himself rich-broidered, withdrawing

Far from the suitors, in fear that the stranger annoyed by the uproar

Loathing for food might feel, with that insolent rabble about him;

Ay and he also was fain of his long-lost father to ask him.

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Water for washing of hands by a maiden was brought in an ewer

Beautiful, golden, and over a basin of silver she poured it,

Bidding him wash; and she stationed a polished table beside him.

Then did a grave house-dame bring bread and lay it before him

Lavishly adding thereto of her stores full many a dainty.

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Carrying platters aloft came also the carver and offered

Dishes of various meats; and golden goblets he gave them,

Ofttimes filling the which passed hither and thither the henchman.

Now to the hall came crowding the arrogant suitors, and straightway

All of them sat them in order adown on the couches and armchairs.

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Soon was the water for washing of hands poured out by the henchman,

Baskets of wheaten bread up-piled were brought by the maidens

While that the youths wreathed high with the foaming liquor the wine-bowls.

Then did they stretch forth hands to the food that was lying before them

Till, when at last they had lost all longing for meat and the wine-cup,

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Came to the mind of the suitors the thought of a different pleasure,

Even of singing and dancing—for such is the crown of a banquet.

So, when a herald had handed a beautiful harp to the singer

Phemius (ever unwilling he sang, compelled by the suitors),

Unto the sounds of his harping his exquisite voice he uplifted.

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Telemachus meanwhile spake low to the goddess Athene,

Holding his head right close, to be noticed of none of the others:

"List, dear stranger!—for sure at my words thou'lt never be angered—

Such are the pleasures of such !—harp-playing and dancing! No wonder,

Seeing they eat the possessions of others, nor fear the avenger!

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Eat the possessions of him whose whitening bones peradventure

Rot in the rain on the land or roll in the waves of the ocean!

Were they to see him return some day to the Ithacan homeland,

All of them straight to the gods would pray to be lighter in running

Rather than richer endowed with the treasures of gold and of garments.

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Nay, it is vain ! he is dead of a pitiful death, nor is longer

Comfort remaining, whoever of earth-born mortals denies it

Saying he cometh again—since dead is the day of his coming.

Come now tell me a thing that I ask thee and clearly explain it :

Who art thou? Whence dost thou come? Tell too of thy city, thy parents.

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Whose is the vessel whereon thou art come? How haps it that sailors

Brought thee to Ithacan land? What folk did they boast to belong to,

Seeing, methinks, it was never on foot that thou hither arrivedst?

One thing further relate me exactly, for fain will I know it :

Art thou a traveller new to the land, or a friend of my father—

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Guest peradventure? for such came ofttimes unto his homestead,

Many a one, while yet he remained in the land of the living.”

Him then in turn gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Well, I will tell thee of all that thou askest and truly relate it.

Mentes such is my name. Of a wise-souled father I boast me,

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Anchialus, and myself am the prince of the Taphian sea-folk.

Now am I come to a port of thy land with my vessel and comrades

Sailing the wine-dark deep on my way to a city of strangers,

Tempsa; for copper I seek, and my cargo is glittering iron.

Yonder my ship on the side of the country afar from the city

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Lieth in Reithron's port, by the wood-clothed Neïan headland.

Yes, it is true—we can boast to be guest-friends one of another

Even from days long past. If thou doubt'st, go ask of the grandsire,

Hero Laertes. They say that he now no more to the city

Cometh, but living afar in the uplands suffers affliction

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Sole with an ancient crone who attends to his eating and drinking,

Placing before him his food when exhaustion cometh upon him

Weariedly creeping about on the sloping knoll of his vineyard.

Now I am here for they said he was home once more in his country,

Even thy father; but heaven, it seemeth, hath hindered his coming.

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Natheless never on earth has he perished, the godlike Odysseus:

Still he is living, methinks, mid the broad expanses of ocean,

Held on a sea-girt isle, where hostile people retain him,

Savages, forcing him all unwillingly still to remain there.

Nay, I will venture to speak as a prophet—for deep in my bosom

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Heaven hath planted a thought that I feel to be sure of fulfilment,

Though I am neither at all a diviner or augur unerring—

Verily not much longer afar from his well-loved homeland

Still shall he stay, not e'en though fetters of iron constrain him:

Sure he will plan his escape—such master of many devices.

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Now come tell me a thing that I ask thee and clearly explain it,

Whether indeed (as thy stature proclaims) thou art child of Odysseus.

Marvellous both of thy head and thy beautiful eyes is the likeness

Unto the man that I knew when we oft held converse together,

Ere he embarked for the land of the Trojans, whither so many

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Others, chiefs of the Argives, in hollow vessels departed.

Since then ne'er did I see him again, nor was seen by Odysseus."

Her sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

"Well, Sir stranger, the truth will I tell thee and clearly relate it.

Ever my mother hath called me the child of Odysseus. For my part

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How can I know? Not the wisest of sons can discover his father.

Would that my fortune had made me the child of a happier mortal,

Son of a man whom age finds living in peace in his homestead!

Elsewise heaven hath will'd it: the most ill-fated of all men,

He, as they say, is my sire. Thus far can I answer thy question."

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Him then again gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Surely for thee is the heaven no nameless race in the future

Keeping in store for a son so worthy of Penelopeia.

Now come, tell me a thing that I ask thee and clearly explain it :

What doth this banqueting mean? and this crowd? Why needful thy presence ?

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Hold they a wedding? or bout? No club-collation it seemeth:

Such is the insolent licence in which they appear to indulge them

Banqueting here in thy hall! Just cause for a man to be angered,

Were but a sensible person to see such shameful proceeding!"

Her sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

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"Since, O stranger, thou fain wouldst hear of this matter and learn it,

Once did the house of my sire seem like to be rich and be blameless, —

Like to remain what it was while here in his home he was living.

Other, alas, was the will of immortals who plotted his ruin.

Lo, they have made him to vanish—as utterly vanished hath no man

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Ever before. Nay, e'en for his death ne'er thus had I sorrowed,

Had he but met it amidst of his mates in the land of the Trojans,

Or in the arms of his friends, when he wound to an ending the warfare.

Then had the hosts of Achaea erected a tomb to his honour;

Yea and for me for his son he had left great glory behind him.

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Ah but the spirits of storm to a death inglorious swept him,

Vanished, unseen and unheard of; and nothing but mourning and anguish

Me he bequeathed! Nor now do I sorrow and make lamentation

Only for him; for the gods send other and grievous afflictions.

All of the chief of the men who as princes rule in the islands,

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Samos and Dulichium and the woodlands rich of Zacynthus,

Ay and as many besides as in rock-bound Ithaca lord it,

All come wooing my mother and wasting the wealth of the homestead.

She dares neither reject their hateful proposals of marriage,

Nor can she end it; and thus do the men, consuming, devouring,

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Ruin my home—me too will they soon o'erwhelm in its ruin."

Then in exceeding displeasure again spake Pallas Athene:

"Nay by the gods, right sorely thou need'st that the absent Odysseus

Come to thee quickly and lay strong hands on the impudent suitors!

Would that I saw him this moment in front of the door of the palace

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Suddenly stand—with his helmet and shield and a couple of lances—

Such as he was in the days when mine eyes first lighted upon him

Making him merry and quaffing his wine in the hall of my homestead,

Newly from Ephyra come—from the town of the Mermerid Ilus.

Even to such far land had he sailed in his swift-winged vessel

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Seeking a drug right deadly of which he was fain to possess him—

Poison, to smear on the tips of his bronze-shod arrows; but Ilus

Gave it him not, for he shrank from the wrath of the gods everlasting.

Yet from my father he gat it, who loved him in marvellous fashion.

O that he came—e'en such an Odysseus—to visit the suitors,

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Bringing on all of them speedy perdition and nuptials of anguish!

Nay but we know not the truth; on the knees of the gods it is lying,

Whether he ever shall come, or shall come no more, to avenge him

Here in the halls of his home; but do thou take thought, I exhort thee,

How to eject from the hall of thy palace this rabble of suitors.

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Now mark well what I say, and give it thy earnest attention.

Summon to-morrow to come to a council the princely Achaeans;

Make to them all an announcement and call on the gods to be witness.

Order the suitors from here to disperse each one to his homestead;

While for thy mother—if truly her heart be enamoured of wedlock,

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Send her again to her home—to the house of her powerful father.

There can her parents arrange for the wedding and settle the presents,

All of the wealth that is wont with a well-loved daughter to follow.

Now for thyself—such plan I suggest: 'twere wise to accept it.

Manning with twice ten rowers a vessel—thy goodliest galley—

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Start on the quest for thy sire, who so long is afar and unheard of.

Haply an earth-born man shall inform thee, or haply shall Rumour,

Daughter of Zeus, who on earth is the busiest bringer of tidings.

Firstly betake thee to Pylos, the godlike Nestor to question.

Thence seek Sparta, the court of the fair-haired prince Menelaus:

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He was the last to return of the bronzen-coated Achaeans.

Shouldst thou be told of thy father as living and homeward returning,

Surely for one year more thou'lt bear with the waste of thy substance.

Should they report him as perished and gone from the land of the living,

Quickly return, and regaining the well-loved home of thy fathers

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Straightway build him a tomb, and funeral offerings offer

Many and rich, as is meet, and thy mother bestow on a husband.

Then, when at last these things are duly fulfilled and accomplished,

Hold thou counsel at once with the thoughts and the feelings within thee

How to be quit of the suitors, and here in the hall of thy homestead

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Slay them by craft or by open assault. No more it beseems thee

Childish thoughts to indulge, for thy age no longer is childish.

Surely thou know'st of the fame that was won by the noble Orestes:

How he is praised by the nations for killing his father's assassin,

Crafty Aegisthus, who murdered his sire, great King Agamemnon.

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Also do thou, dear lad, as in form thou art comely and stalwart,

Show thee courageous and win thee a name in the age that is coming!

Now I am fain to descend once more to my swift-winged vessel,

Where are waiting my men, and, I doubt not, chafe at my absence.

Take thou thought for thyself and attend to the counsel I gave thee."

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Her sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

"Verily, stranger, with kindly intent these words thou hast uttered,

Like to a father advising his son. I shall never forget them.

Yet, I bursts, remain, though eager to haste on thy journey!

Stay till refreshed with a bath, and the heart in thy bosom contented,

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Back to thy ship thou returnest with gladness, bearing a present

Rare in its worth and its beauty—a present to keep as an heirloom;

Such will I give thee—the gift of a friend to a friend that he loveth."

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Nay, no longer withhold me! I yearn me away on my journey.

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Touching thy present—whatever thy heart shall enjoin thee to give me—

Give it when back I am coming, to carry it straight to my homeland.

Choose it as rare as thou willst; it will gain thee another as goodly."

These words spoken, departed the grey-eyed goddess Athene,

Flitting away as a bird by the roof-hole. Deep in his bosom

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Courage and manly resolve she had planted, and roused a remembrance

Keener than erst of his sire; and he marked the emotion within him

Greatly astonied in spirit, suspecting a deity's presence.

Then to the suitors he went and the strength of a god was upon him.

Here was the minstrel beginning to sing, and the suitors in silence

325

Listening sat; and he sang of the homeward return of the Grecians,

Pitiful story of woes inflicted by Pallas Athene.

Now in her upper apartment the wise-souled Penelopeia,

Daughter of Icarius, was aware of the wonderful singing.

Straightway leaving her room by the high-built stair she descended ;

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Neither alone did she go; two maidens followed behind her.

So when at last she had come to the suitors, that fairest of women

Stood by the post of the door of the massively builded apartment,

Holding in front of her cheeks soft folds of her glistering head-dress.

There as she stood, with a trusty attendant on this and on that side,

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Suddenly bursting in tears to the godlike bard she addressed her:

"Phemius, many another enrapturing story thou knowest,

Deeds of immortals and men—themes often by singers recounted.

Such be thy song as thou sitt'st with the guests. Let them listen in silence

Quaffing the wine. But desist, I beseech, from the strain thou art singing,

340

Pitiful story, that ever the heart in the depths of my bosom

Woundeth—for me hath befallen an inconsolable sorrow;

Such was the well-loved lord that I mourn—nor can ever forget him—

One whose fame is abroad through Hellas and midmost Argos.”

Her sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

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"Wherefore, mother, prevent that the sweet-voiced singer delight us

E'en as his spirit is moved? It is never the singer, believe me,

Bringeth us bale; it is Zeus that is guilty thereof; he allotteth

Every mortal that liveth on bread what fortune he willeth.

Nor do I blame that he singeth the pitiful fates of the Argives,

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Seeing that ever by mortals the more extolled is a singer

Singing the song that the newest resounds in the ears of the people.

Therefore harden thy heart and thy mind with the courage to listen.

'Twas not Odysseus alone that was reft of the day of returning

Back from the Trojan land; there perished many another.

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Now to thy chamber return and attend to thine own occupation,

Even the loom and the distaff, and order thy maiden attendants

Busily keep to their tasks; we men will attend to the talking,

All of us—chiefly myself; it is I that am lord of the household."

Full of amazement she turned her to go to the women's apartment,

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Hiding the masterful words of her son deep down in her bosom.

So to her upper apartment ascending with maiden attendants

Here she lamented Odysseus her well-loved husband, till gently

Slumber was poured on her lids by the grey-eyed goddess Athene.

Now in the shadowy hall loud clamour arose of the suitors,

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Each one uttering prayers to the gods to possess her in marriage,

Till sage Telemachus spake out and began to address them:

"Hearken, my mother's suitors—outrageous and riotous brawlers!

Now let us fall to the feast and be merry—but boisterous uproar

Keep we afar! It is pleasant to list to the song of a minstrel

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Such as this singer of mine; for in voice he is like an immortal.

Early to-morrow I ask you to come to the place of the council,

All of you. There shall I make you an open and plain declaration,

Bidding you quit these halls. Ye can seek your junketings elsewhere.

Feed on your own! Go feasting in turn each one with the other!

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Should it however appear to your minds more pleasant and better

Thus to devour the possession of others, nor fear the avenger,

Waste as ye will!—but the gods everlasting I call to my succour,

Hoping that heaven will grant such deeds to receive retribution.

Then in this selfsame hall shall ye perish—and none shall avenge you."

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Thus did he speak, and the men all biting their lips in amazement

Marvelled at Telemachus and the valiant words he had spoken.

Then spake Antinous, Eupeithes' son, and addressed him:

"Verily, Telemachus, it is heaven itself that hath taught thee

Such big blustering vaunts, such impudent boldness of language.

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Never Cronion, I trust, would choose for the Ithacan island

Thee as a king—though truly thou claimest the right to inherit!"

Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer :

"Antinous—and I trust at my words thou'lt never be angered—

E'en this honour—if offered by Zeus—I am ready to bear it.

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Deemest thou ruling the worst of the evils that mortals inherit ?

Nay—to be ruler is never an evil; for quickly the homestead

Richer and richer becomes and the man held higher in honour.

Many another however among the Achaeans is chieftain

Here in the rock-bound Ithacan isle, both aged and younger.

395

One of them haply will gain him the title—as dead is Odysseus.

But, for myself, I intend to be master and lord of my household,

Lord of my servants of all that the sword of Odysseus hath won me."

Forthwith Polybus' son, Prince Eurymachus, made answer :

"Telemachus, on the knees of the gods everlasting it lieth

400

Who as the king of the Ithacan island shall rule the Achaeans.

Hold thou fast to thy own! be the master and lord of thy household!

Never shall any be found that shall venture with force to assail thee,

Seeking to ruin thy home—while Ithaca stands as a nation.

Now, good friend, I am fain to examine thee touching this stranger.

405

Whence arrived is the man? What folk doth he boast to belong to?

Where is his land, and his kin? Where lies the domain of his homestead?

Came he perchance some tidings to bring of thy father's returning?

Travels he hither in hope some want of his own to provide for?

How of a sudden he rose and was gone! in a moment was vanished,

410

Ere we had made us acquainted! yet seemed not a churl in appearance!"

Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

"Eurymachus, clean gone is the hope of my father's returning,

Nor do I further believe in reports, where'er they may come from,

Nor divination consider of aught—such tales as my mother

415

Hears from the lips of diviners she calls to the house and examines.

This is an ancient guest of my household. He cometh from Taphos.

Mentes—such is his name. Of a wise-souled father he boasts him,

Anchialus, and himself is the prince of the Taphian sea-folk."

Thus did he speak; but he knew in his heart 'twas a goddess immortal.

420

Now to the joys of the dance and the pleasures of singing they turned them,

Making them merry, and thus they awaited the coming of even;

Nor was the merriment over when come was the darkness of even;

Then at the last they departed to sleep, each one to his homestead.

Telemachus, where fronting the fair-built court was his chamber

425

(Builded aloft was the room in a site with a beautiful prospect)

Thither betook him to bed, while deep in his spirit he pondered.

Thither with torches ablaze attended him also the trusty

Eurycleia, the daughter of Ops, who was son of Pisenor.

Once, long since, had Laertes expended his wealth to possess her,

430

Then in her prime; and a score of his kine as the price he had given.

Honour he gave her as much as his own true wife in the household;

Nor did he make her his mistress; he shrank from the wrath of his consort.

She was the servant that carried the torches to light him; she loved him

More than the rest of the maids, and had served as the nurse to his childhood.

435

Now so soon as the door of the fair-built chamber she opened,

Seating him down on the bed, of his doublet soft he disrobed him;

This to the hands of the careful and sage old dame he entrusted.

She, when at length she had folded the tunic and skilfully smoothed it,

Hanging it up on a peg at the side of his rich-carved bedstead,

440

Went from the chamber, and pulling the door by the handle of silver

Shut it and fastened it, drawing the bolt well home with the latch-string.

Here for the livelong night, close covered with wrappings of sheep's wool,

Lying he thought of the journey that Pallas Athena had plann'd him.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Gregory Nagy

The comments I offer on Odyssey Rhapsody 1 through Rhapsody 24, starting here with Rhapsody 1, were based mostly on details that derive from seven books that I indicate in the Bibliography by way of these abbreviations: BA, GMP, H24H, HC, HPC, HQ, HR, MoM, PasP, PH. Each one of these books has its own index locorum. My colleague Anita Nikkanen, an Associate Editor for this online project, tracked the sequences of Homeric verses as listed in the indices for six of these books and then summarized my comments on those verses. Following up on her meticulous work, I am in the process of converting her summaries into a form of commentary. My comments on the Odyssey as I presented them in Classical Inquiries are merely samplings of the content that I hope to contribute to the overall commentary, to which a number of other colleagues are also contributing their own comments. That said, I now proceed to offer a sampling of comments on Rhapsody 1. At this point, my comments about the beginning of the Odyssey need no further introduction of their own.

draft js image error Zeus, Athena, and Hermes (1810). Drawing by John Flaxman. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

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The singer of tales here, named Phemios, O.01.154, is ‘singing’ for the suitors as his audience, and the word translated as ‘sing’ here is aeidein at O.01.154 and at O.01.155. Such a singer is not exactly the equivalent of a “court poet,” since Phemios is singing for the suitors against his will, that is, he is singing anankēi ‘by way of constraint’, O.01.154. And what kind of a singer is this Phemios? He sings while accompanying himself on a kind of lyre, designated by the noun kitharis at O.01.153; also, his playing on the lyre is designated by the verb phormizein at O.01.055. In Plato Ion 533b-c, Phemios is described as a rhapsōidos ‘rhapsode’. The description is accurate in the sense that rhapsodes were professional performers of Homeric poetry in the classical period, as we see clearly in the overall context of Plato’s Ion. But this same description is inaccurate in the sense that rhapsodes in the classical period performed Homeric poetry without accompanying themselves on the kitharā ‘lyre’: as we see overall in Plato’s Ion and elsewhere, the rhapsodic form of ‘singing’ Homeric poetry was basically recitative, with reduced melody. By contrast, as we read in Plato Ion 533b-c, performers in the classical period who sang with full-blown melody while accompanying themselves on the kitharā ‘lyre’ were called kitharōidoi ‘citharodes’, that is, ‘kitharā-singers’. In other words, these ‘lyre-singers’ were performers of what we call lyric. At the festival of the Panathenaia in Athens during the classical period, these lyre-singers or citharodes competed with each other in singing lyric, while rhapsodes competed with each other in singing epic. As we can learn from Plato Ion 533b-c, the prototypical citharode was considered to be Orpheus, while the prototypical rhapsode was Phemios. But Phemios, even though he sings epic and not lyric, is not exactly a rhapsode in the classical sense of the term: as I have already pointed out, Phemios sings while accompanying himself on a kind of lyre, designated by the noun kitharis at O.01.153; also, his playing on the lyre is designated by the verb phormizein at O.01.055. Nevertheless, Plato has a point in considering Phemios a prototypical rhapsode, since what he sings is epic, which is what rhapsodes recite in the classical period—and which is not what citharodes any longer sing. On Phemios as a singer of epic, see the comment on O.01.325–327.

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Leonard Muellner

comparison of Greek formulas for asking a person’s identity with Avestan and Indic parallels, as well as genos eukhesthai einai formulas

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analysis of xeinos (etc.) eukhesthai einai formulas as having the same function as genos eukhesthai einai formulas

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comparison of Greek formulas for asking a person’s identity with Avestan and Indic parallels, and here specifically the answers to such questions (genos eukhesthai einai formulas), and their demonstrating that such usages can be inherited phenomena

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analysis of the development of the formula | eukhomai einai # huios, perhaps from a lyric formula *huios eukhomai einai #

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in a list of attestations of genos eukhesthai einai and its transformations

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one of the three places where the convention of naming-statements to omit one’s own name is broken

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analysis of xeinos (etc.) eukhesthai einai formulas as having the same function as genos eukhesthai einai formulas

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analysis of xeinos (etc.) eukhesthai einai formulas as having the same function as genos eukhesthai einai formulas

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in a list of eukhesthai einai + social relationship (xeinos, hiketēs)

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Athena/Mentes’ misrepresentation of Odysseus’ situation that puts Telemachus in the same position with his father

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analysis of the contrast between unmarked phanai and marked eukhesthai in contexts where the latter is associated with asserting superiority, here Telemachus’ modesty about his genos as he uses phanai [MRBTP: 'ff']

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comment on Athena’s naming herself (as Mentes, in disguise) as offering a counter-example to Telemachus’ doubt about who his father is (in these verses), one of the three places where the convention of naming-statements to omit one’s own name is broken

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Homer Odyssey 1.125

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