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THE noble chief, Ulysses, in the porch

Lay down to rest. An undressed bullock's hide

Was under him, and over that the skins

Of sheep, which for the daily sacrifice

The Achaians slew. Eurynomè had spread

A cloak above him. There he lay awake,

And meditated how he yet should smite

The suitors down. Meantime, with cries of mirth

And laughter, came the women forth to seek

The suitors' arms. Ulysses, inly moved

With anger, pondered whether he should rise

And put them all to death, or give their shame

A respite for another night, the last.

His heart raged in his bosom. As a hound

Growls, walking round her whelps, when she beholds

A stranger, and is eager for the attack,

So growled his heart within him, and so fierce

Was his impatience with that shameless crew.

He smote his breast, and thus he chid his heart : -

"Endure it, heart! thou didst bear worse than this.

When the grim Cyclops of resistless strength

Devoured thy brave companions, thou couldst still

Endure, till thou by stratagem didst leave

The cave in which it seemed that thou must die."

Thus he rebuked his heart, and, growing calm,

His heart submitted; but the hero tossed

From side to side. As when one turns and turns

The stomach of a bullock filled with fat

And blood before a fiercely blazing fire

And wishes it were done, so did the chief

Shift oft from side to side, while pondering how

To lay a strong hand on the multitude

Of shameless suitors, he but one, and they

So many. Meantime Pallas, sliding down

From heaven, in form a woman, came, and there

Beside his bed stood over him, and spake :-

"Why, most unhappy of the sons of men,

Art thou still sleepless? This is thine abode,

And here thou hast thy consort and a son

Whom any man might covet for his own."

Ulysses, the sagacious, answered thus :

"Truly, O goddess, all that thou hast said

Is rightly spoken. This perplexes me, -

How to lay hands upon these shameless men,

When I am only one, and they a throng

That fill the palace. Yet another thought,

And mightier still, - if, by thy aid and Jove's,

I slay the suitors, how shall I myself

Be safe thereafter? Think, I pray, of this."

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.) — 20.1 focus

αὐτὰρ ὁ ἐν προδόμῳ εὐνάζετο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς·

κὰμ μὲν ἀδέψητον βοέην στόρεσʼ, αὐτὰρ ὕπερθε

κώεα πόλλʼ ὀΐων, τοὺς ἱρεύεσκον Ἀχαιοί·

Εὐρυνόμη δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπὶ χλαῖναν βάλε κοιμηθέντι.

ἔνθʼ Ὀδυσεὺς μνηστῆρσι κακὰ φρονέων ἐνὶ θυμῷ

κεῖτʼ ἐγρηγορόων· ταὶ δʼ ἐκ μεγάροιο γυναῖκες

ἤϊσαν, αἳ μνηστῆρσιν ἐμισγέσκοντο πάρος περ,

ἀλλήλῃσι γέλω τε καὶ εὐφροσύνην παρέχουσαι.

τοῦ δʼ ὠρίνετο θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι φίλοισι·

πολλὰ δὲ μερμήριζε κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν,

ἠὲ μεταΐξας θάνατον τεύξειεν ἑκάστῃ,

ἦ ἔτʼ ἐῷ μνηστῆρσιν ὑπερφιάλοισι μιγῆναι

ὕστατα καὶ πύματα, κραδίη δέ οἱ ἔνδον ὑλάκτει.

ὡς δὲ κύων ἀμαλῇσι περὶ σκυλάκεσσι βεβῶσα

ἄνδρʼ ἀγνοιήσασʼ ὑλάει μέμονέν τε μάχεσθαι,

ὥς ῥα τοῦ ἔνδον ὑλάκτει ἀγαιομένου κακὰ ἔργα·

στῆθος δὲ πλήξας κραδίην ἠνίπαπε μύθῳ·

τέτλαθι δή, κραδίη· καὶ κύντερον ἄλλο ποτʼ ἔτλης.

ἤματι τῷ ὅτε μοι μένος ἄσχετος ἤσθιε Κύκλωψ

ἰφθίμους ἑτάρους· σὺ δʼ ἐτόλμας, ὄφρα σε μῆτις

ἐξάγαγʼ ἐξ ἄντροιο ὀϊόμενον θανέεσθαι.

ὣς ἔφατʼ, ἐν στήθεσσι καθαπτόμενος φίλον ἦτορ·

τῷ δὲ μάλʼ ἐν πείσῃ κραδίη μένε τετληυῖα

νωλεμέως· ἀτὰρ αὐτὸς ἑλίσσετο ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα.

ὡς δʼ ὅτε γαστέρʼ ἀνὴρ πολέος πυρὸς αἰθομένοιο,

ἐμπλείην κνίσης τε καὶ αἵματος, ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα

αἰόλλῃ, μάλα δʼ ὦκα λιλαίεται ὀπτηθῆναι,

ὣς ἄρʼ ὅ γʼ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα ἑλίσσετο, μερμηρίζων

ὅππως δὴ μνηστῆρσιν ἀναιδέσι χεῖρας ἐφήσει

μοῦνος ἐὼν πολέσι. σχεδόθεν δέ οἱ ἦλθεν Ἀθήνη

οὐρανόθεν καταβᾶσα· δέμας δʼ ἤϊκτο γυναικί·

στῆ δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς καί μιν πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·

τίπτʼ αὖτʼ ἐγρήσσεις, πάντων περὶ κάμμορε φωτῶν;

οἶκος μέν τοι ὅδʼ ἐστί, γυνὴ δέ τοι ἥδʼ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ

καὶ, πάϊς, οἷόν πού τις ἐέλδεται ἔμμεναι υἷα.

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ναὶ δὴ ταῦτά γε πάντα, θεά, κατὰ μοῖραν ἔειπες·

ἀλλά τί μοι τόδε θυμὸς ἐνὶ φρεσὶ μερμηρίζει,

ὅππως δὴ μνηστῆρσιν ἀναιδέσι χεῖρας ἐφήσω,

μοῦνος ἐών· οἱ δʼ αἰὲν ἀολλέες ἔνδον ἔασι.

πρὸς δʼ ἔτι καὶ τόδε μεῖζον ἐνὶ φρεσὶ μερμηρίζω·

εἴ περ γὰρ κτείναιμι Διός τε σέθεν τε ἕκητι,

πῆ κεν ὑπεκπροφύγοιμι; τά σε φράζεσθαι ἄνωγα.

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.) — 20.1 focus

1 But the goodly Odysseus lay down to sleep in the fore-hall of the house. On the ground he spread an undressed ox-hide and above it many fleeces of sheep, which the Achaeans were wont to slay, and Eurynome threw over him a cloak, when he had laid him down. 5 There Odysseus, pondering in his heart evil for the wooers, lay sleepless. And the women came forth from the hall, those that had before been wont to lie with the wooers, making laughter and merriment among themselves. But the heart was stirred in his breast, 10 and much he debated in mind and heart, whether he should rush after them and deal death to each, or suffer them to lie with the insolent wooers for the last and latest time; and his heart growled within him. And as a bitch stands over her tender whelps 15 growling, when she sees a man she does not know, and is eager to fight, so his heart growled within him in his wrath at their evil deeds; but he smote his breast, and rebuked his heart, saying: “Endure, my heart; a worse thing even than this didst thou once endure on that day when the Cyclops , unrestrained in daring, devoured my 20 mighty comrades; but thou didst endure until craft got thee forth from the cave where thou thoughtest to die.” So he spoke, chiding the heart in his breast, and his heart remained bound¹ within him to endure steadfastly; but he himself lay tossing this way and that. 25 And as when a man before a great blazing fire turns swiftly this way and that a paunch full of fat and blood, and is very eager to have it roasted quickly, so Odysseus tossed from side to side, pondering how he might put forth his hands upon the shameless wooers, 30 one man as he was against so many. Then Athena came down from heaven and drew near to him in the likeness of a woman, and she stood above his head, and spoke to him, and said: “Why now again art thou wakeful, ill-fated above all men? Lo, this is thy house, and here within is thy wife 35 and thy child, such a man, methinks, as anyone might pray to have for his son.” And Odysseus of many wiles answered her, and said: “Yea, goddess, all this hast thou spoken aright. But the heart in my breast is pondering somewhat upon this, how I may put forth my hands upon the shameless wooers, 40 all alone as I am, while they remain always in a body in the house. And furthermore this other and harder thing I ponder in my mind: even if I were to slay them by the will of Zeus and of thyself, where then should I find escape from bane? Of this I bid thee take thought.”

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.) — 20.1 focus

1 Odysseus slept in the room upon an undressed bullock's hide, on the top of which he threw several skins of the sheep the suitors had eaten, and Eurynome threw a cloak over him after he had laid himself down. There, then, Odysseus lay wakefully brooding upon the way in which he should kill the suitors; and by and by, the women who had been in the habit of misconducting themselves with them, left the house giggling and laughing with one another. This made Odysseus very angry, and he doubted whether to get up and kill every single one of them then and there, or to let them sleep one more and last time with the suitors. His heart growled within him, and as a bitch with puppies growls and shows her teeth when she sees a stranger, so did his heart growl with anger at the evil deeds that were being done: but he beat his breast and said, "Heart, be still, you had worse than this to bear on the day when the terrible Cyclops ate your brave companions; yet you bore it in silence till your cunning got you safe out of the cave, though you made sure of being killed."

22 Thus he chided with his heart, and checked it into endurance, but he tossed about as one who turns a paunch full of blood and fat in front of a hot fire, doing it first on one side and then on the other, that he may get it cooked as soon as possible, even so did he turn himself about from side to side, thinking all the time how, single handed as he was, he should contrive to kill so large a body of men as the wicked suitors. But by and by Athena came down from heaven in the likeness of a woman, and hovered over his head saying, "My poor unhappy man, why do you lie awake in this way? This is your house: your wife is safe inside it, and so is your son who is just such a young man as any father may be proud of."

36 "Goddess," answered Odysseus, "all that you have said is true, but I am in some doubt as to how I shall be able to kill these wicked suitors single handed, seeing what a number of them there always are. And there is this further difficulty, which is still more considerable. Supposing that with Zeus’ and your assistance I succeed in killing them, I must ask you to consider where I am to escape to from their avengers when it is all over."

44 "For shame," replied Athena, "why, any one else would trust a worse ally than myself, even though that ally were only a mortal and less wise than I am. Am I not a goddess, and have I not protected you throughout in all your ordeals [ ponos]? I tell you plainly that even though there were fifty bands of men surrounding us and eager to kill us, you should take all their sheep and cattle, and drive them away with you. But go to sleep; it is a very bad thing to lie awake all night, and you shall be out of your troubles before long."

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 20.1 focus

Noble Odysseus slept in the hall upon an undressed bullock’s hide, on the top of which he threw several skins of the sheep the suitors had eaten, and Eurynome threw a cloak over him after he had laid himself down. [5] There, then, Odysseus lay wakefully brooding upon the way in which he should kill the suitors; and by and by, the women who had been in the habit of misconducting themselves with them, left the house giggling and laughing with one another. This made Odysseus very angry, [10] and he doubted whether to get up and kill every single one of them then and there, or to let them sleep one more and last time with the suitors. His heart growled within him, and as a bitch with puppies [15] growls and shows her teeth when she sees a stranger, so did his heart growl with anger at the evil deeds that were being done: but he beat his breast and said, “Heart, be still, you had worse than this to bear on the day when the terrifying Cyclops ate [20] your brave companions; yet you bore it in silence till your cunning got you safe out of the cave, though you were sure of being killed.”

Thus he chided with his heart, and checked it into endurance, [25] but he tossed about as one who turns a paunch full of blood and fat in front of a hot fire, doing it first on one side and then on the other, that he may get it cooked as soon as possible, even so did he turn himself about from side to side, thinking all the time how, single handed as he was, he should contrive to kill so large a body of men [30] as the wicked suitors. But by and by Athena came down from the sky in the likeness of a woman, and hovered over his head saying, “My poor unhappy man, why do you lie awake in this way? This is your house: your wife is safe inside it, and so is [35] your son who is just such a young man as any father may be proud of.”

“Goddess,” answered resourceful Odysseus, “all that you have said is true, but I am in some doubt as to how I shall be able to kill these wicked suitors single handed, [40] seeing what a number of them there always are. And there is this further difficulty, which is still more considerable. Supposing that with Zeus’ and your assistance I succeed in killing them, I must ask you to consider where I am to escape to from their avengers when it is all over.”

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 20.1 focus

AN ample hide divine Ulysses spread,

And form'd of fleecy skins his humble bed;

(The remnants of the spoil the suitor-crowd

In festival devour'd, and victims vow'd,)

Then o'er the chief Eurynomè the chaste

With duteous care a downy carpet cast:

With dire revenge his thoughtful bosom glows,

And, ruminating wrath, he scorns repose.

As thus pavilion'd in the porch he lay,

Scenes of lewd loves his wakeful eyes survey,

Whilst to nocturnal joys impure repair,

With wanton glee, the prostituted fair.

His heart with rage this new dishonour stung;

Wavering his thoughts in dubious balance hung:

Or instant should he quench the guilty flame

With their own blood, and intercept the shame;

Or to their lust indulge a last embrace,

And let the peers consummate the disgrace.

Round his swoln heart the murmurous fury rolls:

As o'er her young the mother-mastiff growls,

And bays the stranger groom: so wrath compress'd,

Recoiling, mutter'd thunder in his breast.

"Poor suffering heart!" (he cried,) "support the pain

Of wounded honour, and thy rage restrain.

Not fiercer woes thy fortitude could foil,

When the brave partners of thy ten years' toil

Dire Polypheme devour'd; I then was freed

By patient prudence from the death decreed."

Thus anchor'd safe on reason's peaceful coast,

Tempests of wrath his soul no longer toss'd;

Restless his body rolls, to rage resign'd:

As one who long with pale-ey'd famine pin'd,

The savoury cates on glowing embers cast

Incessant turns, impatient for repast:

Ulysses so, from side to side devolv'd,

In self-debate the suitors' doom resolv'd:

When, in the form of mortal nymph array'd,

From heaven descends the Jove-born martial maid;

And, hovering o'er his head in view confess'd,

The goddess thus her favourite care address'd:

"O thou, of mortals most inur'd to woes!

Why roll those eyes unfriended of repose?

Beneath thy palace-roof forget thy care:

Bless'd in thy queen! bless'd in thy blooming heir!

Whom, to the gods when suppliant fathers bow,

They name the standard of their dearest vow."

"Just is thy kind reproach," (the chief rejoin'd,)

"Deeds full of fate distract my various mind,

In contemplation wrapp'd. This hostile crew

What single arm hath prowess to subdue?

Or if, by Jove's and thy auxiliar aid,

They're doom'd to bleed; O say, celestial maid!

Where shall Ulysses shun, or how sustain

Nations embattled to revenge the slain?"

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 20.1 focus

ULYSSES in the court lay out adoors

On a cow-hide; and on him skins of sheep

New kill'd and sacrificed by the woo'rs.

There lay he, but he could not fall asleep.

Eurynome a rug laid on him too.

Out came the maids that wont were to commit

With the proud wooers, giggling and laughing so,

And pleasing one another with their wit,

As made Ulysses in his mind to cast

Whether to start up quick and kill them all,

Or let them now go on and take their last

Farewell of those they had to do withal;

As when a bitch stands by her whelps, and spies

A stranger coming near, will bark and grin,

So at this sight of their debaucheries

Ulysses' heart, provoked, bark'd within.

. Hold, heart, said he; when Cyclops eat my men,

Thou didst endure till counsel set thee free;

The danger now is less. Hold out again.

And so it did, though he lay restlessly.

As one that has raw flesh upon the fire,

And hungry is, is ever turning it;

So turneth he himself, with great desire

'Gainst th' wooers to devise some mischief fit.

Then Pallas came, and standing at his head

In woman's shape, O wretched man, said she,

What makes you toss and turn so in your bed ?

The house is yours, your wife and son here be.

Then said Ulysses, I was casting how

I might alone these suitors insolent,

That always here are many, overthrow ;

And if I kill them, then again invent

How to escape and save myself by flight.

English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857)) — 20.1 focus

ULYSSES in the entry laid his head,

And under him an ox-hide newly flay'd,

Above him sheep fells store; and over those

Eurynome cast mantles. His repose

Would bring no sleep yet, studying the ill

He wish'd the Wooers; who came by him still

With all their wenches, laughing, wantoning,

In mutual lightness; which his heart did sting,

Contending two ways, if, all patience fled,

He should rush up and strike those strumpets dead,

Or let that night be last, and take th' extreme

Of those proud Wooers, that were so supreme

In pleasure of their high-fed fantasies.

His heart did bark within him to surprise

Their sports with spoils; no fell she-mastiff can,

Amongst her whelps, fly eag'rer on a man

She doth not know, yet scents him something near,

And fain would come to please her tooth and tear,

Than his disdain, to see his roof so filed

With those foul fashions, grew within him wild

To be in blood of them. But, finding best

In his free judgment to let passion rest,

He chid his angry spirit, and beat his breast,

And said: "Forbear, my mind, and think on this:

There hath been time when bitter agonies

Have tried thy patience. Call to mind the day

In which the Cyclop, which pass'd manly sway

Of violent strength, devoured thy friends; thou then

Stood'st firmly bold, till from that hellish den

Thy wisdom brought thee off, when nought but death

Thy thoughts resolved on." This discourse did breathe

The fiery boundings of his heart, that still

Lay in that æsture, without end his ill

Yet manly suffering. But from side to side

It made him toss apace. You have not tried

A fellow roasting of a pig before

A hasty fire, his belly yielding store

Of fat and blood, turn faster, labour more

To have it roast, and would not have it burn,

Than this and that way his unrest made turn

His thoughts and body, would not quench the fire,

And yet not have it heighten his desire

Past his discretion, and the fit enough

Of haste and speed, that went to all the proof

His well-laid plots, and his exploits required,

Since he, but one, to all their deaths aspired.

In this contention Pallas stoop'd from heaven,

Stood over him, and had her presence given

A woman's form, who sternly thus began:

"Why, thou most sour and wretched-fated man

Of all that breathe, yet liest thou thus awake?

The house in which thy cares so toss and take

Thy quiet up is thine; thy wife is there;

And such a son, as if thy wishes were

To be sufficed with one they could not mend."

"Goddess," said he, " 'tis true; but I contend

To right their wrongs, and, though I be but one,

To lay unhelp'd and wreakful hand upon

This whole resort of impudents, that here

Their rude assemblies never will forbear.

And yet a greater doubt employs my care,

That if their slaughters in my reaches are,

And I perform them, Jove and you not pleased,

How shall I fly their friends? And would stand seised

Of counsel to resolve this care in me."

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 20.1 focus

BUT in the vestibule the Hero lay

On a bull's hide undress'd, o'er which he spread

The fleece of many a sheep slain by the Greeks,

And, cover'd by the household's governess

With a wide cloak, composed himself to rest.

Yet slept he not, but meditating lay

Woe to his enemies. Meantime the train

Of women wonted to the suitors' arms,

Issuing all mirth and laughter, in his soul

A tempest raised of doubts, whether at once

To slay, or to permit them yet to give

Their lusty paramours one last embrace.

As growls the mastiff standing on the start

For battle, if a stranger's foot approach

Her cubs new-whelp'd-so growl'd Ulysses' heart,

While wonder fill'd him at their impious deeds.

But, smiting on his breast, thus he reproved

The mutinous inhabitant within.

Heart! bear it. Worse than this thou didst endure

When, uncontroulable by force of man,

The Cyclops thy illustrious friends devour'd.

Thy patience then fail'd not, till prudence found

Deliverance for thee on the brink of fate.

So disciplined the Hero his own heart,

Which, tractable, endured the rigorous curb,

And patient; yet he turn'd from side to side.

As when some hungry swain turns oft a maw

Unctuous and savoury on the burning coals,

Quick expediting his desired repast,

So he from side to side roll'd, pondering deep

How likeliest with success he might assail

Those shameless suitors; one to many opposed.

Then, sudden from the skies descending, came

Minerva in a female form; her stand

Above his head she took, and thus she spake.

Why sleep'st thou not, unhappiest of mankind?

Thou art at home; here dwells thy wife, and here

Thy son; a son, whom all might wish their own.

Then her Ulysses answer'd, ever-wise.

O Goddess! true is all that thou hast said,

But, not without anxiety, I muse

How, single as I am, I shall assail

Those shameless suitors who frequent my courts

Daily, and always their whole multitude.

This weightier theme I meditate beside;

Should I, with Jove's concurrence and with thine

Prevail to slay them, how shall I escape,

Myself, at last? oh Goddess, weigh it well.

Him answer'd then Pallas cærulean-eyed.

English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911)) — 20 focus

ODYSSEY BOOK XX

SO in the porch of the hall did the godlike Odysseus repose him.

First on the floor he extended an untanned hide, and above it

Spread him a number of fleeces of sheep that the princes had slaughtered.

Eurynomé then covered him o'er with a wrap as he lay there.

Long did Odysseus, with heart that was brooding on ills for the suitors,

Lie there sleepless. And out of the inner apartment the women,

Those that had ever till now consorted in love with the suitors,

Came forth, bandying laughter and merriment one with another.

Then, as he heard them, aroused was the soul in the depths of his bosom.

Many a time did he waver with doubt in his mind and his spirit

Whether to haste in pursuit and to deal out death to the maidens,

Every one, or to leave them alone with the arrogant suitors

One time more and the last; and his heart growled fiercely within him;

E'en as a dog, when in front of her helpless puppies she paces,

Growls in her rage at a man that she knows not and longs to assail him,

So it was growling within him in wrath at their infamous actions.

Then on his bosom he smote and his heart he addressed and rebuked it:

"Courage, my heart, and endure! Still worse was the shame thou enduredst,

E'en on the day when the huge irresistible monster, the Cyclops,

Ate my heroic companions, but thou wast undaunted, till cunning

Freed thee from out of the cave where certain appeared thy destruction."

Thus did he speak to the heart in his bosom, exhorting it sharply;

Yea and it heard and obeyed him, and held with a patient endurance

Firm. But Odysseus himself kept turning to this and to that side.

Just as a man in the front of a fire that is mightily blazing

Holdeth a pudding of blood and of fat, and to this and to that side

Constantly turns it, and longs for the thing to be speedily roasted,

So was he tossing to this and to that side, musing in spirit

How 'twere best to attempt the attack on the impudent suitors

Single against so many. And now drew near him Athene,

Come from the heights of Olympus and changed to a woman in semblance.

Standing beside him, anigh to his head, these words she addressed him :

"Wherefore still art thou lying awake, most hapless of mortals?

Lo now, here is thy home; here too is thy wife in thy homestead,

Ay and thy son-such son as by every father is longed for."

Her then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus :

"Verily all thou hast said, O goddess, is true and befitting;

Still I am much in suspense and am musing in mind and in spirit

How 'twere best to attempt the attack on the impudent suitors,

Being but one, while here in the house they're ever in numbers.

Also a doubt still greater is making me muse in my spirit :

Were I to slay them by help of thyself and of Zeus the Almighty,

Whither to flee and escape the avenger? Resolve it, I pray thee!"

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Slow to believe! Why, many a man oft trusts in a comrade

Weaker by far-in a mortal with no such counsels as mine be.

I am the goddess who vowed to protect thee till all was accomplished,

Yea and in every danger; and once more plainly I tell thee,

Even if companies fifty in number of men that be mortal

Compassed us closely about, right eager in battle to slay us,

All of their fat-fed flocks thou'dst capture and all of their cattle.

Come, compose thee to slumber! A weary vexation is watching

All night sleepless; and now thou art rising from out of thy troubles."

These words uttered Athena, and poured forth sleep on his eyelids;

Then she departed, the beautiful goddess, and came to Olympus.

Meanwhile slumber had seized him and loosened the cares of his spirit,

Slumber that loosens the limbs. But his true-souled wife had awakened.

Long on her soft-strown bed she had sat and had wept and lamented,

Till, when at length she was weary in spirit of weeping and wailing,

Then did the fairest of women to Artemis turn in entreaty:

"Artemis, lady divine, O daughter of Zeus the Almighty,

Send, I beseech thee, an arrow that piercing my bosom shall slay me

Now in a moment or would that the hurricane blast of the storm-winds

Seized me, and sweeping me off on the shadowy paths of the tempests

Hurled me below, where back to the sea comes streaming the Ocean,

E'en as the daughters of Pandareüs were seized by the storm-blast.

Father and mother they lost by the act of the gods, and as orphans

Sole they remained in the halls of the palace; but Queen Aphrodite

Fed them on curds and on honey and wine that was sweet as the honey.

Then were given the maidens above all women by Hera

Beauty and wisdom, and chaste Queen Artemis granted them stature,

While from Athena they learnt the designing of exquisite handwork.

Now when the fair Aphrodite was wending to lofty Olympus,

There to obtain for the maidens the blissful assurance of wedlock,

Seeking the promise of Zeus who delighteth in thunder (he knoweth

All that to earthborn mortals is granted by Fate or denied them),

Meantime down came sweeping the Harpies, the Spirits of Tempest,

Snatched them, and unto the hateful Erinyes gave them as handmaids.

Thus too sweep me away, O gods who inhabit Olympus!

Else, O fair-tressed Artemis, smite me!-and thus, with Odysseus

Imaged in mind, I shall go to the terrible nethermost darkness,

Nor shall I ever rejoice the affections of one that is baser.

Now herein is an evil endurable-namely, whenever

One that by day sits weeping, with heart sore stricken by sorrow,

Yieldeth at night to the power of sleep: all things he forgetteth,

Evil as well as the good, when it once o'ershadows his eyelids,

While for myself some deity sends false dreams to afflict me;

Yea and to-night one like to my husband was sleeping beside me,

Such as he seemed when he sailed with the host; and the heart in my bosom

Joy'd, for I thought that at last it was true-no dream, but a vision."

Thus did she speak, and anon came Morning, the golden-enthronéd.

Now as she wept had her voice been heard by the godlike Odysseus.

Forthwith fell he a-musing thereat, and she seemed to his fancy

Surely to know him already and close to his head to be standing.

Rolling together the wraps and the fleeces wherein he had slumbered

These on a settle he laid in the hall, then carried the oxhide

Out to the court, and to Zeus uplifted his hands in entreaty :

"Father, if truly thy grace and the favour of heaven hath led me

Over the wet and the dry to my home (though sorely ye plagued me),

Grant me, I pray, that an omen be uttered by one that is waking

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Here in the house; and without, O Zeus, send also a portent!"

Such was the prayer that he uttered, and Zeus, great Counsellor, heard him.

Forthwith out of the radiant heights of Olympus he thundered

Down from aloft, from the sky; and godlike Odysseus exulted.

Also was uttered a voice by a woman that ground in an outhouse

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Nigh to him. Here were standing the mills of the prince of the people.

These were worked by the women, a dozen in number, that toiled there

Making the meal of the wheat and the barley, the marrow of mortals.

All of the rest were sleeping, for ground was the whole of their wheat-grain.

She was the weakest, and now was alone and incessantly toiling.

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Stopping her mill she exclaimed (to her master it came as an omen):

"Father of all! Great Zeus, who art monarch of men and immortals,

Loudly in sooth thou hast thundered from starry expanses of heaven,

Nor is a cloud to be seen! It is surely a portent for some one!

Also for me, poor wretch, accomplish the prayer that I utter:

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O for the last and the latest of all their delightful carousings

Here in the halls of Odysseus to-day to be held by the suitors!

Yea, for the men have loosened my knees with this pitiless labour,

Grinding the grain-so now let them finish their feastings for ever!"

Then did Odysseus rejoice, for he felt that the voice was an omen,

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E'en as the thunder of Zeus, and that vengeance had come for the guilty.

Now had the rest of the maids in the beautiful home of Odysseus

Gathered, and soon on the hearth the unwearied flame they rekindled.

Telemachus too rose from his bed, as a god in his beauty,

Donned his apparel, suspended his keen-edged sword from the shoulder,

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Under his smooth-skinned feet then fastened his beautiful sandals,

Lifted his powerful spear, with its blade sharp-pointed and bronzen,

Went to the threshold and, there as he stood, called Eurycleia:

"Say, dear nurse, did ye honour the guest in the house? did ye give him

Food and a bed? or, left to himself, is he lying uncared for?

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Such is the way with my mother: although of a good understanding,

Blindly she seemeth to value the one or the other of mortals;

Often she honours the worse and dismisses the better unhonoured."

Him forthwith gave answer the wise-souled Eurycleia:

"Nay but, my child, no blame hath thy mother; thou needst not reproach her.

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Wine he was given, and sat there drinking as long as he listed;

Food he refused: no longer he hungered, he said; for she asked him.

Then, as the time was at hand to be mindful of rest and of slumber,

Some of her maiden attendants she ordered to place him a bedstead.

Natheless, like to a man that is utterly broken and wretched,

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Neither to sleep on a bed was he willing nor wrap him in blankets.

Spreading the untanned hide of an ox and a couple of sheepskins,

Out in the passage he slept; and we covered him o'er with a mantle."

Thus did she speak, and the youth fared forth by the hall of the palace

Bearing his spear; and by two of his fleet-paced hounds he was followed.

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Then to the council he went of the well-greaved sons of Achaea,

While to her maidens she issued her orders, that good old woman,

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

"Come now, set ye to work! Some busily see to the sweeping.

Sprinkle with water the floor of the hall, and the covers of purple

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Place on the fair-wrought chairs. Some wipe down all of the tables,

Rubbing them clean with a sponge; then rinse out every wine-bowl,

Also the twy-cupped beakers of delicate work; and let others

Go to the fountain for water, and quickly return with it hither.

Not much longer, methinks, from the hall will the suitors be absent;

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Early the morn they will come; 'tis for all of the people a feast-day."

Thus did she speak, and they listened with care to her words and obeyed her :

Twenty departed at once to the fountain of dark spring water,

While that the others remained in the palace and skilfully toiled there.

Then there entered the thralls of the noble Achaeans, and straightway

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Skilfully cleft them of wood right many a log; and the women

Came from the fountain; and also the swineherd arrived, and he joined them.

Down from the farm three hogs he had driven, the fattest and finest.

These he permitted to feed in the beautiful palace enclosure,

While to Odysseus he came and with words right gentle addressed him:

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"Stranger, with greater regard seem now the Achaeans to treat thee?

Or, as they acted before in the hall, with dishonour and insult?"

Him then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus :

"O for the gods to avenge, Eumaeus, the scorn and the outrage

Shown by the wanton infatuate deeds of the insolent fellows

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Here in the home of another! Nor shame do they feel-not the smallest."

Thus did the twain stand there conversing the one with the other.

Then came passing anigh them Melanthius master of goatherds,

Driving his goats, prime beasts that from all of the flocks he had chosen,

Meant for the suitors to eat; and by herdsmen twain he was followed.

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Now when the goats he had tethered beneath the reëchoing portal,

Up to Odysseus he came and with words of abuse he addressed him :

"Stranger, it seems thou art fain e'en here in the house to annoy us,

Begging from all of the men !-Go, get thee away from the palace!

Ne'er shall we twain find means to be rid of the matter and part us

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Ere each tastes of the fists of the other. I call it indecent,

Begging and begging! Besides, there's feasting with other Achaeans."

Thus did he speak; and Odysseus replied not a word, but he stood there

Silently shaking his head, as a man that is brooding on evil.

Now did a third draw nigh them, Philoetius, master of neatherds,

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Leading a cow that was barren and fat-fed goats for the suitors.

Them had the ferrymen brought from the mainland (as many a mortal

Also they ferry across, whosoever arrives at the crossing).

These when he safely had tethered beneath the reëchoing portal,

Up to the side of the swineherd he came and addressed him a question :

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"Swineherd, who is the stranger, I pray-this man that is newly

Come as a guest to the house? What race doth he boast to belong to?

Where is the place of his birth, and which is the land of his fathers?

Hapless he seems; but in form he is like to a lord and a chieftain;

Yea and the gods mar often a man that is driven to wander-

195

Fate that can hap to a ruler himself, if they spin him misfortune."

Thus as he spake he approached and his right hand offered in welcome;

Then he uplifted his voice and with swift-winged words he addressed him :

"Welcome, father and stranger! I wish thee in future a fortune

Happier. Now, as it seems, thou'rt holden of many an evil.

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Father of all, great Zeus! More baneful is none of immortals!

Ne'er dost thou feel compassion for mortals although thou begett'st them,

Making them ever to dwell with misfortune, with pain and with sorrow.

E'en as I saw him I sweated, and tears come flooding mine eyes still

While I remember Odysseus-for, ah, I am certain that he too

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Thus in a raiment of rags goes roaming from people to people,

Haps it indeed that he still is alive and beholdeth the sunlight.

Should he however be dead and gone to the mansion of Hades,

Woe to me! Woe for Odysseus, my good dear master, who set me

Over his kine, as a youngster among Cephallenian people!

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These are growing unspeakably many: with none of the chieftains

Waxing and flourishing thus is the breed of the broad-browed cattle.

Ay, but I now am commanded by others, and batten my cattle

Only for strangers to eat. Of the heir in the palace they reck not,

Neither the wrath of the gods do they fear. Nought else do they long for

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Save to divide the estate of my lord, who so long is unheard of.

Many and many a time with my heart in the depth of my bosom

This I revolve: 'twere wrong, while liveth the son of my master,

Taking the cows to abandon the country and make for another,

Some far alien land; but methinks it is worse to remain here,

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Sitting and guarding my cattle for others, and suffering hardships.

Ay and indeed long since I had found some powerful chieftain

Whither to flee-for I vow it is scarce endurable sometimes;

Still I am alway a-thinking of him-poor master!-and dreaming

How he shall come and shall scatter the suitors in rout from the palace."

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Him then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus :

"Neatherd, seeing thou seemst not a man that is evil or foolish

(Nay, I confess it myself, in thy thoughts much wisdom is present),

Therefore a thing will I say, and with solemn oath will confirm it:

First then witness it Zeus, and the table at which I am welcomed,

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Yea and the hearth, to the which I am come, of the noble Odysseus,

While thou art here in the mansion Odysseus shall come to his homestead,

Ay and with thine own eyes, if thou willst, thou'lt surely behold him

Slaughtering all of the suitors, who dare in his palace to lord it."

Him gave answer the man who as cowherd tended the cattle :

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"Would, O stranger, that Zeus might grant to thy words a fulfilment !

Then thou'dst learn of my strength and behold how ready my hands be."

Likewise spake Eumaeus, and calling on all the immortals

Prayed for Odysseus the wise to return once more to his homeland.

Now as the men stood there conversing the one with the other,

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Secretly planning the doom and death of the son of Odysseus

Plotted the suitors-but lo, on the left came flying an eagle,

King of the uppermost air, with a quivering dove in his talons.

Then spake Amphinomus to the others, and thus he addressed them :

"Friends, I am sure it will never succeed, this thing that we purpose,

245

Murdering Telemachus. Let us think once more of the banquet!"

Thus spake Amphinomus, and his words pleased all of the others.

So they betook them at once to the palace of godlike Odysseus.

Here, when aside they had laid on the chairs and the couches their mantles,

Fatlings they slew of the goats and the heaviest beasts of the sheepfold;

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Also they slew fat hogs and a cow that was brought from the pasture,

Roasted the livers and portioned the messes, and then in the wine-bowls

Mingled the wine; and the cups were carried around by the swineherd,

While by Philoetius, master of herdsmen, in beautiful baskets

Bread was dispensed, and the wine poured out by the goatherd Melantheus.

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

Telemachus with a crafty intent now seated Odysseus

Nigh to the threshold of stone of the strong-built banqueting-chamber.

Wretchedly poor was the chair that he placed him, and small was the table.

Then of the liver he served him a portion, and filled him a goblet,

260

Even a beaker of gold; and he spake these words and addressed him:

"There now, sit at thy ease midst nobles, and quaff of the wine-cup.

Violent act or abuse it is I that am going to stop it,

Spite of the suitors. We keep not a tavern for common resorters

Here in the house; 'twas the home of Odysseus; to me he bequeathed it.

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Listen, ye suitors! I beg you to curb all spirit of brawling,

Ay and of violent acts. No quarrel and strife shall arise here!"

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

Marvelled at Telemachus and the dauntless words he had uttered.

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

270

"Though it is hard to submit, let us suffer, Achaeans, in silence

Telemachus and his talk! He is even beginning to threaten!

Well, it was Father Cronion that stayed it or else we had stopped him

Chattering here in the hall, though mightily fluent his tongue be."

Thus spake Antinous; but the youth recked nought of his gibings.

275

Meantime up from the city was coming the sacred oblation

Led by the heralds; and soon did the long-haired sons of Achaea

Gather them under the shadowy grove of the archer Apollo.

Now when the outside meat they had roasted and drawn from the skewers

All they apportioned and sat them adown to a glorious banquet.

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Also in front of Odysseus a portion was set by the servants

Like to the share that they all had received; since so had commanded

Telemachus, dear son of the hero godlike Odysseus.

Nowise willed it Athena to suffer the arrogant suitors

Still to refrain from insulting contempt, for she wished the resentment

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Deeper to sink in the heart of Odysseus the son of Laertes.

Now in the band of the suitors was one that was utterly lawless;

Ctesippus was his name, and he lived in the island of Samé.

He too, trusting the wondrous extent of his wealthy possessions,

Courted the wife of Odysseus, the lord who so long was unheard of.

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Such was the fellow that now to the insolent suitors addressed him :

"Listen, ye high-born suitors! allow me to tell you of something!

See, they've served to the stranger a portion (and well he deserves it !)

Like to the rest. 'Twere truly a wrong and unfair to neglect him,

Guest as he seemeth of Telemachus-like all that arrive here.

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Lo, I will give him the gift of a guest: he is free to present it

Unto the woman that tendeth the bath, or to any he listeth,

Any a drudge in the whole of the palace of godlike Odysseus."

Spake, and with strong broad hand outstretched to a basket beside him

Lifted the foot of an ox-and he hurled; but Odysseus escaped it,

300

Quietly swerving aside with the head; and he smiled in his spirit

Grimly enough, while smit was the strong-built wall by the ox-foot.

Then spake Telemachus, as he turned to the man and rebuked him :

"Verily, friend Ctesippus, thy soul had a lucky escape there!

Missed was thy mark-for the stranger himself evaded thy missile;

305

Else with my sharp-edged spear had I smitten thee through in the middle.

So had thy funeral busied thy father instead of thy wedding

Here in my halls; for I vow in my house so grossly and rudely

None shall behave. I am come to discretion, and well can distinguish

All that is good or is bad-no more I'm a child as aforetime.

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Truly before, I allow, we endured it, beholding in silence

Slaughter of flocks and of herds, and the wine all drunk and exhausted,

Ay and the bread. It is hard for the one to be fighting the many.

Come now, cease from the ills that ye do and the ills ye intend me !

Else, if already ye long with the edge of the sword to destroy me,

315

Far more willing I were-yea verily better I hold it-

Thus to be slain than for ever to see such shameful procedure,

Guests disgracefully treated and servant-maids of the household

Haled by the men in the halls of my beautiful home to dishonour."

So did he speak ; and they sat all utterly silent and speechless,

320

Till at the last found voice Agelaus, the son of Damastor :

"Listen, my friends! When the word that is spoken is spoken with justice,

None should surely be wroth with the speaker and answer in anger.

Neither maltreat, I beseech you, the stranger, nor other soever,

None of the drudges that serve in the palace of godlike Odysseus.

325

Also to Telemachus and his mother I venture to offer

Gentle advice-let them lay it to heart, both one and the other:

While your spirit that dwells in the depths of the bosom within you

Hoped for Odysseus the wise to return once more to his homeland,

None could deem it a wrong that ye waited, nor suffered the suitors

330

Here in the house to resort; since thus it was certainly better,

Should peradventure Odysseus arrive and appear at his homestead.

Now it is plain however that never again he is coming.

Wherefore go to thy mother and sit at her side and persuade her,

Bidding her marry the best of the men, whose offer is greatest.

335

Then thou'lt live on the wealth of thy father in peace and in gladness,

Eating and drinking, and she will attend to the house of another."

Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer :

"Nay, Agelaus, I swear it by Zeus and the griefs of my father,

Far from his Ithacan home now perished or roaming as exile,

340

Not by myself is her marriage delayed-nay, rather I bid her

Wed with the man of her choice. Great gifts will I add as her dowry.

Still, 'twere shameless, I think, from the palace to drive her unwilling,

Giving her orders to quit. May heaven forbid that I do so!"

Thus spake Telemachus, and, excited by Pallas Athene,

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Laughter unquenchable rose. But she wildered the wits of the suitors.

Strangely, as coming from alien voices, resounded the laughter.

Dabbled with gore was the meat of the banquet. The eyes of the feasters

Floated in tears, and the minds of the men were set upon wailing.

Then did the seer divine, Theoclýmenus, speak and address them:

350

"Ah, unfortunate men! What horror is this that has happened?

Shrouded in night are faces and heads. To the knees it descendeth.

Out of it flash forth wails. All cheeks are flooded with teardrops.

Yea and the walls are spattered with blood, and the beautiful alcoves.

See too, crowded with ghosts is the porch and crowded the courtyard,

355

Hurrying down to the darkness of Erebus! Out of the heaven

Withered and gone is the sun, and a poisonous mist is arising."

Thus did he speak; but they all right merrily laughed as they heard him.

Eurymachus then called, prince Polybus' son, to his comrades :

"Sure he is mad, this guest that is newly arrived from a distance!

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Come now quickly, my lads, and escort him away from the palace

Out to the square-since here he complaineth of night and of darkness!"

Then did the seer divine, Theoclýmenus, answer him saying:

"Eurymachus, I shall need not to bid thee vouchsafe me an escort.

Both of mine eyes I possess, and a couple of ears and of feet too,

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Also a mind in my head well furnished-nor truly a bad one.

So I will rise and be gone, since clearly I see a disaster

Coming; and none of you all shall be able to shun or avert it,

None of the suitors by whom in the house of the godlike Odysseus

Men are treated with insult and plann'd are wicked devices."

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These words uttered, he went from the pleasant abodes of the palace

Unto the home of his host Peiraeus, who gladly received him.

Meantime many a suitor, exchanging a glance with another,

Girded at Telemachus to provoke him, deriding his guest-friends,

While from the midst would speak some insolent youth and address him :

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"Telemachus, thou art sure most luckless of men in thy guest-friends,

Such as the nobody here thou art harbouring-gluttonous vagrant,

Begging for ever for wine and for victuals and wholly unskilled in

Matters of work or of war-just living on earth as a burden.

Then, as another again, this fellow that rose as a prophet!

380

Nay now, take my advice! 'twere verily wiser and better.

Guests like these let us ship on a well-benched vessel and send them

Unto Sicilian folk-'twould pay thee enough for the trouble."

Thus did the suitors deride: but the youth recked nought of their gibings.

Silent he gazed at his father, for ever expecting to see him

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Suddenly stretch forth hands on the horde of the insolent suitors.

Now on the opposite side in her beautiful chair she was lying,

Even the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelopeia;

Therefore to every word that was said in the hall she had listened.

Merrily thus midst laughter the men made ready the dinner,

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Dinner delightful, abundant for many a beast they had slaughtered.

Supper however was coming; and ne'er was a supper unwelcome

Such as the one by the hands of a goddess and valiant hero

Soon to be served for the men whose wickedness made the beginning.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Douglas Frame

analysis of the close relationship between metis. Suggests that Homer was “dimly” aware of the relation between “mind” and the “return from death”

source

Gregory Nagy

Rhapsody 20 reveals the darkest thoughts of Penelope. There she is, lying awake in bed, unable to fall asleep, and now she starts to think the unthinkable, tearfully spilling her private thoughts by praying to Artemis: I want to die in the worst way, she confides to the goddess, so why don’t you shoot me with your arrows, putting me out of my misery? Or maybe my death should be even worse? Penelope is now haunted by horror stories about unfortunate girls who thought they were getting married but who instead became servants to infernal Furies. She cries for them and she cries for herself, thinking of a dream she had about sleeping with Odysseus, who was looking the way he had looked twenty years ago. Her crying carries over till daybreak, and her laments are overheard from not that far away by Odysseus, who is having his own dark thoughts about the vengeance he so passionately desires.

draft js image error “The Harpies Going to Seize the Daughters of Pandareus” (1805). John Flaxman (English, 1755–1826). Purchased as part of the Oppé Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996. Image via the Tate.

source

Homer Odyssey 20.1

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