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But all the time he felt sure it was Athena, leader of armies, and the suitors from the other side raised an uproar when they saw her. Agelaos, son of Damastor, was the first to reproach her. “Mentor,” he cried, “do not let Odysseus beguile you into siding with him and fighting the suitors. [215] This is what we will do [= “this will be our noos”]: when we have killed these people, father and son, we will kill you too. You shall pay for it with your head, and when we have killed you, [220] we will take all you have, indoors or out, and bring it together with Odysseus’ property; we will not let your sons live in your house, nor your daughters, nor shall your widow continue to live in the city of Ithaca.”

This made Athena still more furious, [225] so she scolded Odysseus very angrily. 226 “no longer, Odysseus, do you have your old power [ menos] and strength [ alkē] as when you fought for nine long years among the Trojans about the noble lady Helen. You killed many a man in those days, [230] and it was through your stratagem that Priam’s city was taken. How comes it that you are so lamentably less valiant now that you are on your own ground, face to face with the suitors in your own house? Come on, my good man, stand by my side and see how Mentor, son of Alkinoos, shall fight your foes [235] and requite your kindnesses conferred upon him.”

But she would not give him full victory as yet, for she wished still further to prove his own prowess and that of his brave son, [240] so she flew up to one of the rafters in the roof of the hall and sat upon it in the form of a swallow.

Meanwhile Agelaos, son of Damastor, Eurynomos, Amphimedon, Demoptolemos, Peisandros, and high-spirited Polybos, son of Polyktor, bore the brunt of the fight upon the suitors’ side; of all those who were still fighting for their lives [ psūkhai], [245] they were by far the most distinguished in their efforts [ aretē], for the others had already fallen under the arrows of Odysseus. Agelaos shouted to them and said, “My friends, he will soon have to leave off, for Mentor has gone away after having done nothing for him but brag. [250] They are standing at the doors unsupported. Do not aim at him all at once, but six of you throw your spears first, and see if you cannot cover yourselves with glory by killing him. When he has fallen we need not be uneasy about the others.”

[255]

Odyssey. Homer. Samuel Butler (Translator). London. 1898.

Current edition Experimental

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020))

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.) — 22.210 focus

ὣς φάτʼ, ὀϊόμενος λαοσσόον ἔμμεν Ἀθήνην.

210

μνηστῆρες δʼ ἑτέρωθεν ὁμόκλεον ἐν μεγάροισι·

πρῶτος τήν γʼ ἐνένιπε Δαμαστορίδης Ἀγέλαος·

Μέντορ, μή σʼ ἐπέεσσι παραιπεπίθῃσιν Ὀδυσσεὺς

μνηστήρεσσι μάχεσθαι, ἀμυνέμεναι δέ οἱ αὐτῷ.

ὧδε γὰρ ἡμέτερόν γε νόον τελέεσθαι ὀΐω·

215

ὁππότε κεν τούτους κτέωμεν, πατέρʼ ἠδὲ καὶ υἱόν,

ἐν δὲ σὺ τοῖσιν ἔπειτα πεφήσεαι, οἷα μενοινᾷς

ἔρδειν ἐν μεγάροις· σῷ δʼ αὐτοῦ κράατι τίσεις.

αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν ὑμέων γε βίας ἀφελώμεθα χαλκῷ,

κτήμαθʼ ὁπόσσα τοί ἐστι, τά τʼ ἔνδοθι καὶ τὰ θύρηφι,

220

τοῖσιν Ὀδυσσῆος μεταμίξομεν· οὐδέ τοι υἷας

ζώειν ἐν μεγάροισιν ἐάσομεν, οὐδέ θύγατρας

οὐδʼ ἄλοχον κεδνὴν Ἰθάκης κατὰ ἄστυ πολεύειν.

ὣς φάτʼ, Ἀθηναίη δὲ χολώσατο κηρόθι μᾶλλον,

νείκεσσεν δʼ Ὀδυσῆα χολωτοῖσιν ἐπέεσσιν·

225

οὐκέτι σοί γʼ, Ὀδυσεῦ, μένος ἔμπεδον οὐδέ τις ἀλκή

οἵη ὅτʼ ἀμφʼ Ἑλένῃ λευκωλένῳ εὐπατερείῃ,

εἰνάετες Τρώεσσιν ἐμάρναο νωλεμὲς αἰεί,

πολλοὺς δʼ ἄνδρας ἔπεφνες ἐν αἰνῇ δηϊοτῆτι,

σῇ δʼ ἥλω βουλῇ Πριάμου πόλις εὐρυάγυια.

230

πῶς δὴ νῦν, ὅτε σόν τε δόμον καὶ κτήμαθʼ ἱκάνεις,

ἄντα μνηστήρων ὀλοφύρεαι ἄλκιμος εἶναι;

ἀλλʼ ἄγε δεῦρο, πέπον, παρʼ ἔμʼ ἵστασο καὶ ἴδε ἔργον,

ὄφρʼ εἰδῇς οἷός τοι ἐν ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν

Μέντωρ Ἀλκιμίδης εὐεργεσίας ἀποτίνειν.

235

ἦ ῥα, καὶ οὔ πω πάγχυ δίδου ἑτεραλκέα νίκην,

ἀλλʼ ἔτʼ ἄρα σθένεός τε καὶ ἀλκῆς πειρήτιζεν

ἠμὲν Ὀδυσσῆος ἠδʼ υἱοῦ κυδαλίμοιο.

αὐτὴ δʼ αἰθαλόεντος ἀνὰ μεγάροιο μέλαθρον

ἕζετʼ ἀναΐξασα, χελιδόνι εἰκέλη ἄντην.

240

μνηστῆρας δʼ ὤτρυνε Δαμαστορίδης Ἀγέλαος,

Εὐρύνομός τε καὶ Ἀμφιμέδων Δημοπτόλεμός τε,

Πείσανδρός τε Πολυκτορίδης Πόλυβός τε δαΐφρων·

οἱ γὰρ μνηστήρων ἀρετῇ ἔσαν ἔξοχʼ ἄριστοι,

ὅσσοι ἔτʼ ἔζωον περί τε ψυχέων ἐμάχοντο·

245

τοὺς δʼ ἤδη ἐδάμασσε βιὸς καὶ ταρφέες ἰοί.

τοῖς δʼ Ἀγέλεως μετέειπεν, ἔπος πάντεσσι πιφαύσκων·

ὦ φίλοι, ἤδη σχήσει ἀνὴρ ὅδε χεῖρας ἀάπτους·

καὶ δή οἱ Μέντωρ μὲν ἔβη κενὰ εὔγματα εἰπών,

οἱ δʼ οἶοι λείπονται ἐπὶ πρώτῃσι θύρῃσι.

250

τῷ νῦν μὴ ἅμα πάντες ἐφίετε δούρατα μακρά,

ἀλλʼ ἄγεθʼ οἱ ἓξ πρῶτον ἀκοντίσατʼ, αἴ κέ ποθι Ζεὺς

δώῃ Ὀδυσσῆα βλῆσθαι καὶ κῦδος ἀρέσθαι.

τῶν δʼ ἄλλων οὐ κῆδος, ἐπὴν οὗτός γε πέσῃσιν.

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.) — 22.210 focus

210 So he spoke, deeming that it was Athena, the rouser of hosts. But the wooers on the other side shouted aloud in the hall, and first Agelaus, son of Damastor, rebuked Athena, saying: “Mentor, let not Odysseus beguile thee with his words to fight against the wooers and bear aid to himself. 215 For in this wise, methinks, shall our will be brought to pass: when we have killed these men, father and son, thereafter shalt thou too be slain with them, such deeds art thou minded to do in these halls: with thine own head shalt thou pay the price. But when with the sword we have stripped you of your might, 220 all the possessions that thou hast within doors and in the fields we will mingle with those of Odysseus, and will not suffer thy sons or thy daughters to dwell in thy halls, nor thy faithful wife to fare at large in the city of Ithaca .” So he spoke, and Athena waxed the more wroth at heart, 225 and she rebuked Odysseus with angry words: “Odysseus, no longer hast thou steadfast might nor any valor, such as was thine when for high-born Helen of the white arms thou didst for nine years battle with the Trojans unceasingly, and many men thou slewest in dread conflict, 230 and by thy counsel was the broad-wayed city of Priam taken. How is it that now, when thou hast come to thy house and thine own possessions, thou shrinkest with wailing from playing the man, and that against the wooers? Nay, friend, come hither and take thy stand by my side, and see my deeds, that thou mayest know what manner of man 235 Mentor, son of Alcimus, is to repay kindness in the midst of the foe.” She spoke, but did not give him strength utterly to turn the course of the battle, but still made trial of the might and valor of Odysseus and his glorious son; and for herself, 240 she flew up to the roof-beam of the smoky hall, and sat there in the guise of a swallow to look upon. Now the wooers were urged on by Agelaus, son of Damastor, by Eurynomus, and Amphimedon and Demoptolemus and Peisander, son of Polyctor, and wise Polybus, for these were in valiance far the best of all the wooers 245 who still lived and fought for their lives; but the rest the bow and the swiftly-falling arrows had by now laid low. But Agelaus spoke among them, and declared his word to all: “Friends, now at length will this man stay his invincible hands. Lo, Mentor has gone from him, and has but uttered empty boasts, 250 and they are left alone there at the outer doors. Therefore hurl not now upon them your long spears all at once, but come, do you six throw first in the hope that Zeus may grant that Odysseus be struck, and that we win glory. Of the rest there is no care, once he shall have fallen.”

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.) — 22.236 focus

236 But she would not give him full victory as yet, for she wished still further to prove his own prowess and that of his brave son, so she flew up to one of the rafters in the roof of the room and sat upon it in the form of a swallow.

241 Meanwhile Agelaos son of Damastor, Eurynomos, Amphimedon, Demoptolemos, Peisandros, and Polybos son of Polyktor bore the brunt of the fight upon the suitors’ side; of all those who were still fighting for their lives [ psukhai], they were by far the most excellent in aretê, for the others had already fallen under the arrows of Odysseus. Agelaos shouted to them and said, "My friends, he will soon have to leave off, for Mentor has gone away after having done nothing for him but brag. They are standing at the doors unsupported. Do not aim at him all at once, but six of you throw your spears first, and see if you cannot cover yourselves with glory by killing him. When he has fallen we need not be uneasy about the others."

255 They threw their spears as he bade them, but Athena made them all of no effect. One hit the door post; another went against the door; the pointed shaft of another struck the wall; and as soon as they had avoided all the spears of the suitors Odysseus said to his own men, "My friends, I should say we too had better let drive into the middle of them, or they will crown all the harm they have done us by killing us outright."

265 They therefore aimed straight in front of them and threw their spears. Odysseus killed Demoptolemos, Telemakhos Euryades, Eumaios Elatus, while the stockman killed Peisandros. These all bit the dust, and as the others drew back into a corner Odysseus and his men rushed forward and regained their spears by drawing them from the bodies of the dead.

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873)) — 22.210 focus

He spake, and woke new anger in the heart

Of Pallas, and she chid Ulysses thus :

270

"Ulysses, thou art not, in might of arm

And courage, what thou wert when waging war

Nine years without a pause against the men

Of Troy for Helen's sake, the child of Jove,

And many didst thou slay in deadly strife,

275

And Priam's city, with its spacious streets,

Was taken through thy counsels. How is it

That, coming to thy own possessions here

And thy own palace, thou dost sadly find

Thy ancient valor fail thee in the strife

280

Against the suitors? Now draw near, my friend,

And stand by me, and see what I shall do,

And own that Mentor, son of Alcimus,

Amid a press of foes requites thy love."

She spake, but gave not to Ulysses yet

285

The certain victory; for she meant to put

To further proof the courage and the might

Both of Ulysses and his emulous son.

To the broad palace roof she rose, and sat

In shape a swallow. Agelaüs now,

290

Damastor's son, cheered on with gallant words

His friends; so also did Amphimedon,

Eurynomus, and Demoptolemus,

Polyctor's son, Peisander, and with these

Sagacious Polybus. These six excelled

295

In valor all the suitors who survived,

And they were fighting for their lives. The bow

And the fleet shafts had smitten down their peers.

Thus to his fellows Agelaüs spake : -

"O friends, this man will now be forced to stay

300

His fatal hand. See, Mentor leaves his side,

After much empty boasting, and those four

Are at the entrance gate alone. Now aim

At him with your long spears, - not all at once,

Let six first hurl their weapons, and may Jove

305

Grant that we strike Ulysses down, and win

Great glory! For the others at his side

We care but little, if their leader fall."

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 22.210 focus

The adverse host the phantom-warrior ey'd,

And first, loud-threatening, Agelaüs cried:

"Mentor, beware, nor let that tongue persuade

235

Thy frantic arm to lend Ulysses aid;

Our force successful shall our threat make good,

And with the sire and son's commix thy blood.

What hop'st thou here? Thee first the sword shall slay,

Then lop thy whole posterity away;

240

Far hence thy banish'd consort shall we send;

With his thy forfeit lands and treasures blend;

Thus, and thus only, shalt thou join thy friend."

His barbarous insult even the goddess fires,

Who thus the warrior to revenge inspires:

245

"Art thou Ulysses? where then shall we find

The patient body and the constant mind?

That courage, once the Trojans' daily dread,

Known nine long years, and felt by heroes dead?

And where that conduct, which revenged the lust

250

Of Priam's race, and laid proud Troy in dust?

If this, when Helen was the cause, were done;

What for thy country now, thy queen, thy son?

Rise then in combat, at my side attend;

Observe what vigour gratitude can lend,

255

And foes how weak, oppos'd against a friend!"

She spoke; but willing longer to survey

The sire and son's great acts, withheld the day;

By farther toils decreed the brave to try,

And level pois'd the wings of victory;

260

Then with a change of form eludes their sight,

Perch'd like a swallow on a rafter's height,

And unperceiv'd enjoys the rising fight.

Damastor's son, bold Agelaüs, leads

The guilty war, Eurynomus succeeds;

265

With these Pisander, great Polyctor's son,

Sage Polybus, and stern Amphimedon,

With Demoptolemus: these six survive;

The best of all the shafts had left alive.

Amidst the carnage, desperate as they stand,

270

Thus Agelaüs rous'd the lagging band:

"The hour is come, when yon fierce man no more

With bleeding princes shall bestrew the floor;

Lo! Mentor leaves him with an empty boast;

The four remain, but four against an host.

275

Let each at once discharge the deadly dart,

One sure of six shall reach Ulysses' heart;

Thus shall one stroke the glory lost regain:

The rest must perish, their great leader slain."

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 22.210 focus

Though thus he said, he thought it Pallas still.

The suitors clamour'd; Agelaus spake:

Mentor, beware, the course you take is ill,

Against us all Ulysses' part to take;

For 'tis our purpose when these two are slain,

185

Father and son, that you the next shall be,

And of your rashness suffer shall the pain,

And with his substance your own mix will we;

Nor shall your sons, daughters, or wife live here.

Pallas was angry at these words of his,

190

And chid Ulysses then, and ask'd him where

His courage was. And what, said she, is this

The man that bravely fought nine years at Troy,

And kill'd in fight so many gallant men,

And he whose prudence did the town destroy,

195

And whines so at his coming home again?

Come hither, milksop, says she, stand by me,

And how your old friend Mentor shall requite

The kindness you have shown him, you shall see.

Yet presently she would not end the fight;

200

For further yet she would the courage try

Both of Ulysses and Telemachus,

And in a swallow's shape she up did fly,

And sat upon a black beam of the house.

Meanwhile the suitors by Agelaus,

205

Amphimedon and Demoptolemus,

Eurynomus, Pisandrus, Polybus,

The best bf all the suitors in the house,

(For many had been killed with the bow)

Encourag'd were: Friends, said he, let's be bold,

210

And at them all our good spears let us throw ;

So shall we make the man his hands to hold;

Mentor with theirs his fortune will not mix,

He and those hopes are gone; upon the sill

There are but four; Let's throw at once but six,

215

That if Jove please, we may Ulysses kill.

When he is gone, the rest we need not fear.

The suitors all approved this advice,

English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857)) — 22.210 focus

Thus he said, but thought

It was Minerva, that had ever brought

To her side safety. On the other part,

255

The Wooers threaten'd; but the chief in heart

Was Agelaus, who to Mentor spake:

"Mentor! Let no words of Ulysses make

Thy hand a fighter on his feeble side

'Gainst all us Wooers; for we firm abide

260

In this persuasion, that when sire and son

Our swords have slain, thy life is sure to run

One fortune with them. What strange acts hast thou

Conceit to form here? Thy head must bestow

The wreak of theirs on us. And when thy powers

265

Are taken down by these fierce steels of ours,

All thy possessions, in doors and without,

Must raise on heap with his; and all thy rout

Of sons and daughters in thy turrets bleed

Wreak offerings to us; and our town stand freed

270

Of all charge with thy wife." Minerva's heart

Was fired with these braves, the approved desert

Of her Ulysses chiding, saying: "No more

Thy force nor fortitude as heretofore

Will gain thee glory; when nine years at Troy

275

White-wristed Helen's rescue did employ

Thy arms and wisdom, still and ever used

The bloods of thousands through the field diffused

By thy vast valour; Priam's broad-way'd town

By thy grave parts was sack'd and overthrown;

280

And now, amongst thy people and thy goods,

Against the Wooers' base and petulant bloods

Stint'st thou thy valour? Rather mourning here

Than manly fighting? Come, friend, stand we near,

And note my labour, that thou may'st discern

285

Amongst thy foes how Mentor's nerves will earn

All thy old bounties." This she spake, but stay'd

Her hand from giving each-way-often-sway'd

Uncertain conquest to his certain use,

But still would try what self-powers would produce

290

Both in the father and the glorious son.

Then on the wind-beam that along did run

The smoky roof, transform'd, Minerva sat,

Like to a swallow; sometimes cuffing at

The swords and lances, rushing from her seat,

295

And up and down the troubled house did beat

Her wing at every motion. And as she

Had roused Ulysses; so the enemy

Damastor's son excited, Polybus,

Amphinomus, and Demoptolemus,

300

Eurynomus, and Polyctorides;

For these were men that of the wooing prease

Were most egregious, and the clearly best

In strength of hand of all the desperate rest

That yet survived, and now fought for their souls;

305

Which straight swift arrows sent among the fowls.

But first, Damastor's son had more spare breath

To spend on their excitements ere his death,

And said: That now Ulysses would forbear

His dismal hand, since Mentor's spirit was there,

310

And blew vain vaunts about Ulysses' ears;

In whose trust he would cease his massacres,

Rest him, and put his friend's huge boasts in proof;

And so was he beneath the entry's roof

Left with Telemachus, and th' other two.

315

"At whom," said he, "discharge no darts, but throw

All at Ulysses, rousing his faint rest;

Whom if we slaughter, by our interest

In Jove's assistance, all the rest may yield

Our powers no care, when he strews once the field."

320

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 22.210 focus

So he, not unsuspicious that he saw

Pallas, the heroine of heaven. Meantime

The suitors fill'd with menaces the dome,

And Agelaüs first, Damastor's son,

In accents harsh rebuked the Goddess thus.

245

Beware, oh Mentor! that he lure thee not

To oppose the suitors and to aid himself,

For thus will we. Ulysses and his son

Both slain, in vengeance of thy purposed deeds

Against us, we will slay thee next, and thou

250

With thy own head shalt satisfy the wrong.

Your force thus quell'd in battle, all thy wealth

Whether in house or field, mingled with his,

We will confiscate, neither will we leave

Or son of thine, or daughter in thy house

255

Alive, nor shall thy virtuous consort more

Within the walls of Ithaca be seen.

He ended, and his words with wrath inflamed

Minerva's heart the more; incensed, she turn'd

Toward Ulysses, whom she thus reproved.

260

Thou neither own'st the courage nor the force,

Ulysses now, which nine whole years thou showd'st

At Ilium, waging battle obstinate

For high-born Helen, and in horrid fight

Destroying multitudes, till thy advice

265

At last lay'd Priam's bulwark'd city low.

Why, in possession of thy proper home

And substance, mourn'st thou want of power to oppose

The suitors? Stand beside me, mark my deeds,

And thou shalt own Mentor Alcimides

270

A valiant friend, and mindful of thy love.

She spake; nor made she victory as yet

Entire his own, proving the valour, first,

Both of the sire and of his glorious son,

But, springing in a swallow's form aloft,

275

Perch'd on a rafter of the splendid roof.

Then, Agelais animated loud

The suitors, whom Eurynomus also roused,

Amphimedon, and Demoptolemus,

And Polyctorides, Pisander named,

280

And Polybus the brave; for noblest far

Of all the suitor chiefs who now survived

And fought for life were these. The bow had quell'd

And shafts, in quick succession sent, the rest.

Then Agelaüs thus harangued them all.

285

We soon shall tame, O friends, this warrior's might,

Whom Mentor, after all his airy vaunts

Hath left, and at the portal now remain

Themselves alone. Dismiss not therefore, all,

Your spears together, but with six alone

290

Assail them first; Jove willing, we shall pierce

Ulysses, and subduing him, shall slay

With ease the rest; their force is safely scorn'd.

English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911)) — 22 focus

ODYSSEY BOOK XXII

CASTING his beggarly raiment aside, deep-plotting Odysseus

Leapt on the threshold of stone, still holding the bow and the quiver

Laden with bolts; and before him the swift-winged arrows he poured out

Close to his feet on the floor; and he spake, addressing the suitors:

"Lo, this fatal, calamitous contest is done—it is finished!

Now for a mark far other—a mark ne'er smit by a bowman!

This will I choose me, and see if renown shall be sent by Apollo."

Spake, and at Antinous directed the sharp-fanged arrow,

Just as he paused at the moment of lifting a beautiful goblet,

Golden, with handles at both of its sides; and already he held it,

Meaning to drink of the wine; and of death no thought or suspicion

Troubled his mind. (Would any believe in the midst of a banquet

One man, single among so many, however audacious,

Thus might compass his doom and plunge him in death and in darkness?)

Steadily aimed was the bolt of Odysseus: it struck on the gullet.

Pierced was the delicate neck right through by the point of the arrow.

Over he lurched; from his hand dropt crashing the cup, and he lay there

Mortally struck, while jetted a thick red stream of his life-blood

Out of his nostrils. His foot, convulsively striking the table,

Spurned it afar and upset it. Defiled lay all of the viands,

Spilt on the ground, roast flesh with the bread. Then clamour and tumult

Rose in the hall when the suitors beheld their comrade was fallen.

Up from the seats at the table they leaped in a panic of terror,

Eagerly peering around at the well-built walls to discover

Either a shield or a spear strong-shafted; but nothing they found there.

Then on Odysseus they turned and with angry reviling assailed him:

"Stranger, in sooth thou'lt suffer for shooting at men! In a contest

Never again shalt thou share. Death certain and sudden awaits thee.

Lo, thou hast murdered a man who was foremost of all of the princes

Here in the Ithacan land—so Ithacan vultures shall eat thee."

Thus spake all, for they deemed of a truth that the stranger had killed him

Not with intent. Ah, fools! yea, foolish and blind, for they saw not

Over the heads of them all impending the toils of destruction.

Glaring askance at the men, deep-plotting Odysseus addressed them :

"Dogs! ye imagined me never returning again to my homestead

Back from the land of the Trojans and so laid waste my possessions,

Won by compulsion to lustful embraces the women, my servants,

Yea and with guile came wooing my wife while still I was living,

Neither afraid of the gods who inhabit the infinite heaven

Nor that the vengeance of man could smite you hereafter. Behold now

Over the heads of you all impending the toils of destruction!"

Thus did he speak. Forthwith pale dread seized all of the suitors,

Each one peering to 'scape from the doom that was swiftly approaching.

Eurymachus was the one that alone found voice, and he answered :

'Art thou Odysseus the Ithacan, come once more to thy homeland,

Truly thou speakest with right. Such things have wrought the Achaeans,

Many and many infatuate deeds in thy palace and farmsteads.

Lo now, he that was guilty of all here lieth before us,

Antinous. It is he that alone these crimes hath incited.

Not so much that he needed to wed or was longing for marriage;

No, his intent was another—but heaven refused to fulfil it—

E'en to install as the king of the flourishing Ithacan people

None but himself, and, catching thy son in an ambush, to slay him.

Now he is dead, as he richly deserved. So spare us, thy people,

Even thy own! We will go each one to his tribe, and hereafter

Each shall requite thee for all he has eaten and drunk in thy palace,

Each one make an atonement of five score oxen in value.

Also with bronze and with gold will we offer requital and soften

Fully thy heart. Till then for thy wrath none truly can blame thee."

Glaring askance at the man, thus spake deep-plotting Odysseus:

"Eurymachus, if ye give me the whole of the wealth of your fathers,

All ye at present possess and all ye shall add to it later,

Not e'en thus shall my hands be restrained nor shall cease from the slaughter

Till I shall wreak my revenge to the full on the sins of the suitors.

Now there lieth before you to fight, or to flee—if by fighting

Any shall hope, or by fleeing, to save him from doom and destruction.

Nay but I trow not a man shall escape from his utter perdition."

Thus as he spake were loosened the knees and the hearts of the suitors.

Then spake Eurymachus once more as he turned to his comrades :

"Friends, it is vain! The invincible might of his hands he will check not.

Now he has got in his power the smooth-wrought bow and the quiver,

Down from the threshold of stone he will shoot us, until he has slain us

All, to a man. Let us turn our minds to the fury of battle.

Draw ye! and hold ye the tables before you to shield you as bucklers,

Quenching his bolts so fatal and swift. Then, rushing upon him

All in a body, attempt from the threshold and portal to drive him!

So let us get to the city and quickly arouse the alarm there!

Then shall the shaft that the fellow has shot be the last of his lifetime."

These words loudly he uttered, and drawing his sword from the scabbard,

Bronzen and sharpened on both of the edges, he leaped on Odysseus

Terribly shouting; but just at the moment the godlike Odysseus

Loosened a bolt from the bow, and smiting his breast by the nipple

Into the liver was driven the swift-winged shaft; and his sword dropt

Out of his hand to the ground; then, staggering, over a table,

All entangled around it, he fell and scattered the dishes

On to the floor with the food and a twy-cupped bowl; and his forehead

Smote on the earth as he writhed in his agony, spurning the armchair

Sharply with both of his feet. On his eyes then darkness descended.

Amphinomus now rushed at Odysseus, the glorious hero,

Charging him straight from the front with his sharp sword drawn from the scabbard,

Hoping to drive him away from the portal; but ere he had reached him

Telemachus from behind with a bronze-shod javelin smote him

Right in the midst of the back; and out of his breast it protruded.

Crashing he fell, and he struck on the ground with the whole of his forehead.

Telemachus sprang back, but his long-stemmed spear he had left there

Planted in Amphinomus, for he feared lest one of the nobles

While he was drawing it forth might suddenly rush to assail him,

Giving a stab with a sword or a downward stroke of his weapon.

Then to his well-loved father he ran, and reaching him quickly

Stood at his side, and in haste these swift-winged words he addressed him :

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"Father, at once I will fetch thee a shield and a couple of lances,

Also a helm all bronze with a visor to cover the temples.

Then I will go and will clothe me in armour, and give to the swineherd

Other, and also the cowherd. 'Tis better in arms to equip us."

Forthwith answering spake these words deep-plotting Odysseus:

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"Run for them! run!—while yet I have arrows enough to defend me!

Lest thus single I fail to resist and be thrust from the doorway."

Thus did he speak, and the youth, as his well-loved father commanded,

Ran to the chamber in which were lying the glorious weapons.

Out of them eight good lances and four of the shields he selected;

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Four bronze helmets he chose him with horse-tails heavily crested,

Carrying which he returned full quickly and came to his father.

Firstly himself in a harness of bronze he invested; and likewise

Also the thralls, those twain, encased them in beautiful armour.

Then at the side of the wise and wary Odysseus they placed them.

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He however, as long as the arrows sufficed to defend him,

Aye at the suitors at one or the other—entrapped in his mansion

Aimed; and they fell as he smote them, the one by the side of the other.

Then, when the shafts had deserted their lord and had failed him in shooting,

Nigh to the post of the door of the massively builded apartment

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Propping the bow, on the face of the inside glistering house-wall,

Over his shoulders he hung him a fourfold target of oxhide;

Also a well-wrought helm on his stalwart head he adjusted,

Plumed with the tail of a horse, which terribly nodded above it.

Then two weapons he chose, bronze-bladed and powerful lances.

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Now in the well-built wall was a high-raised postern inserted

Flush with the slab of the threshold, and here from the hall was an outlet

Through to a passage by doors well-fitting and double defended.

This had Odysseus commanded the good old swineherd to look to

Standing anigh it; for here was the only approach to the passage.

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Then from the midst of the suitors, addressing them, spake Agelaus:

"Friends, is a man to be found who will mount by the postern and quickly

Bring a report to the men of the city and rouse an alarm there ?

Then shall the shafts that the fellow has shot be the last of his lifetime."

Him forthwith gave answer Melanthius master of goatherds :

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"Twere not possible, prince Agelaus, for terribly near it

Opens the beautiful door of the court, and the mouth of the passage

Offers a peril, for one strong man might hinder a thousand.

Navy, let me fetch you, to arm you withal, both weapons and hauberks

Out of the chamber in which (for I trow it was there and not elsewhere)

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All were stowed by this fine prince Telemachus and his father."

These words spoken, he clambered—Melanthius master of goatherds—

Up by the loophole lights of the hall to the rooms of Odysseus.

Thence twelve targets he took and a dozen of lances, and also

Twelve bronze helmets he chose him with horse-tails heavily crested.

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Then he returned, and he brought them and gave them in haste to the suitors.

Now did the knee-joints quake and the inmost heart of Odysseus

While he perceived them equipping themselves in the armour and shaking

Long-stemmed spears in their hands; and he felt that his task was a great one.

Quickly he turned to his son and with swift-winged words he addressed him :

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"Telemachus, is it one of the maids in the women's apartment

Plying this treacherous game—or else peradventure Melantheus?"

Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

"Father, the fault is my own that it happened, and guilty is no one

Other, for after I opened the fast-closed door of the chamber

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Wholly forgetting I left it, and some one cleverer spied it.

Go now, good Eumaeus, and closing the door of the chamber

Watch and discover if one of the women is doing this mischief;

Else it is Dolius' son, I am certain, the goatherd Melantheus."

Thus did the men hold converse and counsel the one with the other.

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Then once more to the chamber Melanthius master of goatherds

Went for the beautiful arms; and the good old swineherd, who saw it,

Hastily called to Odysseus, who stood full near, and addressed him :

"Zeus-born son of Laertes, thou wise and wary Odysseus,

Yea it is even the fellow we thought, that impudent goatherd!

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See, he is going again to the room! Come, tell me exactly :

Should I be able to master the man, were't better to slay him,

Or shall I bring him to thee for his punishment, so that he pay for

All of the many transgressions his malice devised in thy homestead?"

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

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"I and my son will be able to cope with the insolent suitors,

Holding them penned in the hall of the palace in spite of their fury.

Ye two, twisting the hands and the feet of the fellow behind him,

Drag him within. To his back then lashing a panel of boarding,

Firmly attach to his body a rope strong-stranded, and haul him

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Up by a pillar aloft till he dangle anigh to the roof-beam,

So that he live right long while suffering terrible torture."

Thus did he speak, and they listened attent to his words and obeyed them.

Unto the chamber they went, and they saw him within; but he wist not;

Right at the innermost end of the room he was searching for armour.

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So at the door they remained, each one by the side of a door-post.

Soon came crossing the threshold Melanthius master of goatherds,

Laden with arms: in the one of his hands was a beautiful helmet,

While in the other he carried a buckler—a broad and an old one

Spotted with mould (as a youngster the hero Laertes had borne it;

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Here long years it had lain, and the seams were loose of the oxhide).

Suddenly leaping upon him they seized him, and into the chamber

Dragged by the hair he was flung on the floor, and groaning he lay there,

While with a bond right grievous they girded his hands and his ankles,

Twisting the limbs well back and securely, as bid by the master,

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Even Also Laertes' son, long-suffering godlike Odysseus.

Then to his body attaching a rope strong-stranded they hauled him

Up by a pillar aloft till he dangled anigh to the roof-beam.

Here as he hung Eumaeus the swineherd addressed him and mocked him :

"Somewhat a long and a sleepless night thou'lt find it, Melantheus,

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Though right soft is the bed in the which thou art couched, as befits thee;

Nor shall the Dawn, when she newly ariseth from streams of the Ocean,

Fail to appear to thee throned in her glory, as erst when thou dravest

Goats of the flock to the palace to furnish a feast for the suitors."

Thus held tight in the deadly embrace of the rope he was left there,

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While in the armour they clad them, and shutting the glistering portal

Quickly returned to the master, the wise and wary Odysseus.

Here then, breathing the fury of battle, they stood on the door-stone,

Four of them, while in the hall stood many opposing them bravely.

Now did the daughter of Zeus draw nigh them, the goddess Athene,

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Once more likened to Mentor in voice and in bodily semblance.

Then did Odysseus rejoice as he saw her, and spake to her saying:

"Mentor, I pray thee, defend me from harm, and remember thy comrade,

One that was dear and was kind to thee often—the friend of thy boyhood!"

Thus did he speak, but he deemed 'twas Athena who stirreth the battle.

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Then from the depths of the hall great clamour was raised by the suitors,

Foremost shouting abuse Agelaus the son of Damastor :

"Mentor, I bid thee beware lest words of Odysseus beguile thee

Thus with the suitors to fight and to stand by his side and defend him,

Since I am sure we shall win us the end that we purpose in this wise :

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After the death of the twain (they shall die, both son and the father)

Thou shalt be slain, thou too—such mischievous deeds thou art wishing

Here in the palace to work. With thy head thou shalt pay for thy folly.

So with the edge of the sword we shall rob you of strength to resist us ;

Then thy possessions—the whole of the wealth in thy fields and thy mansion—

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All we shall mix with the wealth of Odysseus, and ne'er shall we suffer

Either thy sons or thy daughters to dwell in the halls of thy homestead,

Nor shall thy excellent wife go gadding about in the city."

So did he speak, and it maddened to fury the heart of Athene,

Till on Odysseus she turned and with angry reproaches addressed him:

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"Now no longer, Odysseus, of worth is thy strength or thy manhood,

Such as was thine when in battle for white-armed Helen the high-born

Nine long years with the Trojans thou foughtest unweariedly ever,

Slaughtering many and many a foe in the terrible warfare.

Thine was the counsel that captured the wide-wayed city of Priam.

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How then! Now thou art come to thy home and to all thy possessions,

Why in the face of the suitors lament and behave as a weakling?

BATTEN WILSON
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SUITORS

Navy, come hither, my friend, to my side! Stand nigh and behold me,

So shalt thou learn from my deeds what manner of mortal is Mentor,

Alcimus' son, to requite thee a kindness by fighting thy foemen."

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Thus did she speak, but she gave no victory full and decisive;

Still was she wishing to put to a trial the strength and the prowess

Both of Odysseus himself and his valiant son; and she vanished,

Suddenly flying aloft to the smoke-stained roof of the palace,

Where on a rafter she sat in the fashion and form of a swallow.

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Now took lead in the fray Agelaus the son of Damastor,

Eurynomus, Demoptolemus, and the son of Polyctor

Peisandrus, and Amphimedon and Polybus wily,

Even the best and the bravest by far that of all of the suitors

Still were living and fighting to save their lives from destruction

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(Others already the bow with the storm of its arrows had conquered).

These Agelaus addressed and to all of them shouted, exclaiming:

"Friends, the invincible strength of the fellow is failing already!

Lo too, Mentor is gone from his side, with his brags and his boastings,

Leaving the four thus standing alone in the front of the doorway.

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Come, let us hurl with the spears—not all of us casting together :

Six of us only attempt it at first, in the hope that the Father

Grant that we gain us the glory of smiting and slaying Odysseus.

Should this fellow be brought to a fall, of the others I reck not."

Thus did he speak, and they cast at Odysseus with spears as he bade them,

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Eagerly hurling; but all were foiled by the goddess Athene.

Into the post of the door of the strong-built hall of the palace

One of them drave, and the door close-fastened was smit by another,

While in the wall struck lances of ash bronze-bladed and heavy.

So when they thus had escaped unharmed from the spears of the suitors,

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Then to address them began long-suffering godlike Odysseus :

"Now for myself is the moment to speak and to bid you, my comrades,

Into the throng of the suitors to hurl; for they thirst to destroy us,

Adding to all of their former iniquities murder and rapine."

Thus did he speak, and the four, their keen-edged lances uplifting,

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Hurled them with accurate aim. Demoptolemus by Odysseus,

Euryades by the prince, Elatus by the swineherd was smitten,

Peisandrus by the man who as neatherd tended the cattle.

Biting the dust these lay on the floor's wide surface extended,

While to the end of the hall in a panic retreated the others.

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Then dashed forward the four and drew their spears from the corpses..

Now once more did the suitors, the keen-edged lances uplifting

Eagerly hurl; but the most were foiled by the goddess Athene.

Into the post of the door of the strong-built hall of the palace

One of them drave, and the door close-fastened was smit by another,

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While in the wall struck lances of ash bronze-bladed and heavy.

Amphimedon natheless smote Telemachus by the hand-joint

Lightly, the edge of the blade scarce scratching the skin on the surface.

Next with a long-stemmed spear Ctesippus hurled at the swineherd.

Over his shield, just grazing the shoulder, it flew, and alighted.

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Then did the four on the side of the wise and wary Odysseus

Once more hurl in the throng of the suitors the keen-edged lances.

Smitten was Eurydamas by Odysseus the sacker of cities;

Amphimedon fell struck by the prince, Polybus by the swineherd,

Ctesippus by the man who as neatherd tended the cattle;

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Full on the breast he was struck, and the man exultingly mocked him :

"Ah, Polytherses' son, thou'rt fond of abuse, but I warn thee

Never to yield to the folly of brag, but to leave the decision

Unto the gods, whose wisdom is greater by far than a mortal's.

This is my gift in return for the foot of an ox that thou gavest

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Unto the godlike Odysseus when here in his home he was begging."

These words uttered the herd of the crook-horned kine; and Odysseus

Stabbed with the thrust of a spear long-shafted the son of Damastor;

Telemachus too smote Leiocritus, son of Euenor,

Right in the midst of the flank, and the blade clean through him was driven ;

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Forward he fell and he struck on the ground with the whole of his forehead.

Then did Athena her aegis uplift, that is death to a mortal;

High in the roof she displayed it, appalling the minds of the suitors.

Hither and thither they rushed in a panic, as kine on a pasture

Scatter whene'er comes glancing and darting upon them a gadfly

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Late in the season of spring, when the days grow longer and longer;

While as the vultures with sharp-hooked beaks and with terrible talons

Out of the hills come swooping and chasing the birds of the lowland

Down from the clouds, till over the plain affrighted they flutter,

Then pounce suddenly down and destroy them, and nought can defend them,

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Nor can they flee (men also rejoice at the chase and the capture),

Thus those four gave chase in the hall to the horde of the suitors,

Smiting around them to left and to right; and a horrible groaning

Rose midst lopping of heads; and the floor ran red with the life-blood.

Leiodes, with a rush, now fell at the feet of Odysseus,

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Clasping his knees in entreaty; and swift-winged words he addressed him :

"Lo, by thy knees I beseech thee to pity and spare me, Odysseus!

None of the women, I swear, did I wrong in the halls of thy palace

Either by act unseemly or word; yea, also the others

Often I tried to restrain when I saw such folly committed.

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Natheless ne'er did they listen nor keep their hands from offending;

So hath a terrible doom o'erwhelmed them because of their madness.

What! shall an innocent priest who has harmed thee in nothing be slaughtered

Even as those? Is it thus thou repayest me thanks for my goodness?"

Glaring askance at the man deep-plotting Odysseus addressed him:

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"Navy, if indeed thou avowst thee as priest to the rabble of suitors,

Often, I ween, in the hall of my palace a prayer thou hast offered

Begging my happy return might still be afar from fulfilment,

Ay and my well-loved wife might wed thee and bear thee an offspring.

So thou art doomed to a death right bitter—nor hope to escape it."

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These words uttered, he seized with his powerful hand on a broadsword

Lying anear—dropt there on the floor by the prince Agelaus

While he was dying—and into the nape of the kneeler he drave it.

Down in the dust went rolling the head while still it was speaking.

Filled with a hope to escape from the darkness of death was the minstrel

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Phemius, Terpes' son, who had sung at the feasts by compulsion.

Holding his sweet-voiced lute in his tremulous fingers he stood there

Nigh to the postern door; and his heart was divided within him

Whether to slip from the hall and to flee to the altar for refuge

Built in the court to omnipotent Zeus, where often aforetime

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Thighs of the cattle Odysseus had burnt, and his father Laertes,

Or rush forward and grasp with his hands at the knees of Odysseus.

Thus as he pondered thereon this plan seemed surely the better,

Even to fall at the feet of the godlike son of Laertes.

Therefore his hollow phorminx he set on the floor of the palace

340

Next to a crater of wine and an armchair studded with silver,

Then rushed forward and fell at the feet of Odysseus and begged him,

Clasping his knees in entreaty; and swift-winged words he addressed him :

"Lo, by thy knees I beseech thee to pity and spare me, Odysseus

Also thyself wouldst suffer hereafter the pain of repentance

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Wert thou to slaughter a minstrel, who singeth for men and immortals.

None but the god was my master: he breathed in my heart and he taught me

All the enchantment of song; and now I am singing before thee

E'en as my god. Then long not to smite at my throat and to slay me!

Yea, and thy well-loved son prince Telemachus will assure thee

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Ne'er was I willing to come to thy halls, far less was I wishful

Here to resort with the suitors and sing to them after the banquet.

Being the stronger by far and many in number, they forced me."

Thus as he spake he was heard by the valiant son of Odysseus.

Quickly the prince turned round and called to his father anigh him :

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"Hold! he is innocent! Strike not the man with thy weapon, my father!

Medon the herald as well let us save, for he ever aforetime

Tended me carefully while I was still but a child in thy homestead,

Should he be living and not by Philoetius slain, or the swineherd,

Neither discovered by thee while raging around in the palace."

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Thus as he spake he was heard by the wise old Medon the herald.

Cowering under a chair, wrapt round in a new-flayed oxskin,

Hiding in hope to escape from the darkness of death, he was lying.

Swiftly uprising from under the chair and unrolling the oxhide

Forward he sprang, and he fell at the feet of the youth, in entreaty

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Clasping his knees, and with haste these swift-winged words he addressed him:

"Friend, I am here! Hold, hold, I beseech thee! and call to thy father

Lest in his furious might with the keen-edged sword he shall harm me,

Angered because of the men—these suitors who wasted his substance

Here in his palace ;—and thee they regarded as nothing, the madmen!"

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Then to the man spake thus with a smile deep-plotting Odysseus:

"Be not afraid! Thou art safe. He wishes to succour and save thee.

So shalt thou feel in thy heart this truth, and shalt tell it to others:

Better by far is the doing of good than the doing of evil.

Go now, both of you. Go from the hall and away from the slaughter.

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Sit outside in the court, both sweet-voiced singer and herald,

While I remain in the palace to finish my work, as I needs must."

So did he speak, and the twain went forth from the hall to the courtyard.

Here by the altar of Zeus the Almighty they sat, and around them

Hither and thither they peered and of death were ever expectant.

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Also Odysseus was peering around in the house, to discover

Any remaining and hoping to 'escape death's terrible darkness.

Weltering there in the dust and in blood lay all of the suitors,

Fallen in many and many a heap, like fishes that boatmen

Drag in a strong-meshed net from the grey-green depths of the ocean

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On to the beach of a hollow recess in the shore, and they lie there

Heaped on the sand, all gasping in vain for the salt sea water,

While by the heat of the sun drawn forth is the life from their bodies.

Thus were lying in heaps, piled one on the other, the suitors.

Then at the last to his son deep-plotting Odysseus addressed him :

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"Telemachus, go call me the old nurse Eurycleia,

So that I tell her a thing that is stirring my spirit within me."

Thus did he speak, and the youth, as his well-loved father commanded,

Rattled the door of the chamber and called nurse Eurycleia :

"Hither in haste, old dame, who over the women attendants

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Keepest an eye and hast charge of them all in the palace as matron.

Haste! for my father is bidding thee come. He has something to tell thee."

Thus did he speak, and the word that he uttered abode with her wingless.

Opening quickly the door of the fair-built women's apartment,

Over the threshold she stept; and the youth went onward before her,

400

Till to Odysseus she came. In the midst of the dead he was standing,

Smeared all over with blood and filthy with gore. As a lion,

Leaving the place in the which he has eaten an ox of the farmstead,

Goes on his way, and the whole of the chest and the cheeks of the monster

Drip with the gore——and a terror befalleth the man who beholds him—

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So all smeared with the blood on his hands and his feet was Odysseus.

Now when the slain she beheld and the terrible blood, and in triumph

Fain had exulted aloud (for she saw that the deed was accomplished),

Then did Odysseus, perceiving her longing, restrain and rebuke her,

While upraising his voice these swift-winged words he addressed her :

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"Woman, exult in thy heart, but in silence, subduing thy triumph.

Triumphing over the slain is a deed unseemly, unholy.

These hath the doom of the gods in the midst of their wickedness smitten,

Seeing they treated alike all earth-born men with dishonour,

Good no less than the bad—yea every one that approached them.

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So hath a terrible doom o'erwhelmed them because of their madness.

Come now, tell me of all concerning the maids in the palace,

Which of them honour me not and which are guiltless among them."

Then did the dear old nurse make answer and thus she addressed him:

"Well now, all of the truth in this matter, my child, I will tell thee.

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Here in thy palace the women that serve are fifty in number,

Thralls that we trained of ourselves to attend to the work of the household,

Such as the carding of wool and enduring the labours of bondage.

Twelve of the maidens in all have trodden the path of dishonour,

Neither respecting myself nor the mistress, Penelopeia.

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Telemachus was of late but a half-grown lad, and his mother

Would not allow him to give his commands to the women attendants.

Come now, might I ascend to the glistering upper apartment

All to report to thy wife? Some deity sank her in slumber."

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

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"Navy, not yet shalt thou wake her; but go to the women and tell them

Hither to come—those maidens that shamelessly acted aforetime."

Thus did he speak, and the nurse went back to the inner apartment

Bearing the message, and ordered the women to hasten their coming.

Now did Odysseus to Telemachus and the cowherd and swineherd

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Call, and he bade them approach, and with swift-winged words he addressed them:

"See to removing the bodies, and order the women to help you.

Then to the cleaning attend of the fine-wrought chairs and the tables.

Wash them with water, and use soft porous sponges to rub them.

Then, when the whole of the mansion is thoroughly cleansed and in order,

440

Lead those maids from the hall, and bringing them out of the palace

Down by the dome-roofed kitchen and faultless fence of the courtyard

Smite them with swords long-bladed, until ye shall see them before you,

All of them, dead. Yea, thus let them die and forget the delicious

Rites of the goddess of love that they held with the suitors in secret."

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Thus did he speak, and the women approached all huddled together

Uttering terrible wails as they shed great tears in abundance.

Firstly the bodies they bore of the slain from the hall, and they set them

Under the inside porch of the gate of the high-walled courtyard,

Propping them one by the other, Odysseus directing the bearers,

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Forcing them also to work, for they carried the dead by compulsion.

Then they aligned to cleaning the fine-wrought chairs and the tables,

Washed them with water, and used soft porous sponges to rub them.

Meanwhile Telemachus and the cowherd and also the swineherd

Scraping with shovels the floor of the strong-built hall of the mansion

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Cleared it and all was collected and carried away by the women.

Now when the whole of the house they had cleansed and had set it in order,

Leading the women away from the hall and forth from the palace

Down to the dome-roofed kitchen and faultless fence of the courtyard,

Into a corner they drove them that gave no hope of escaping.

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Then sage Telemachus spake first, addressing his comrades:

"Heaven forbid that I put to a death so cleanly and honest

Women as these, who brought on my head such shame and dishonour,

Yea and the head of my mother, consorting in love with the suitors."

Speaking, he seized on the rope of a blue-prowed vessel and lashed it

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High on a pillar, and over the dome of the kitchen he slung it,

Hoisting it tautly, that none might reach to the ground for a foothold.

Then, as it haps if a covey of long-winged thrushes or pigeons

Suddenly fall in the snares of a trap that is set in a thicket,

Whither they flock for the night—but a bed right cruel receives them—

470

Thus with their heads in a row stood all of the women, with nooses

Over the neck, to a death most cruel and pitiful destined.

So with their feet some moments they writhed—and soon it was over.

Out by the porch to the yard they conducted Melanthius also.

First with the merciless steel of his ears and his nose they deprived him;

475

Then they extracted and threw as a feast to the dogs his intestines;

Lastly they hacked off both of his hands and his feet in their fury.

Now when the blood from their hands and their feet they had washed, to Odysseus

Into the house they returned; and the whole of the deed was accomplished.

Then to the dear nurse Eurycleia he called, and address her :

480

"Nurse, bring sulphur! It cleanseth pollution. And bring me a brazier,

So that I sweeten the hall with the fumes. Then go to thy mistress;

Bid her to come to my presence with all of her maiden attendants;

Summon moreover the rest of the women that serve in the palace."

Him then in turn gave answer the dear nurse Eurycleia :

485

"Yea of a surety, my child, thou hast spoken according to reason.

Still, come now, I will fetch thee a mantle and tunic for raiment.

Thus, with thy great wide shoulders enveloped in beggarly tatters,

Stand not here in the hall. 'Twere verily blameful to do so."

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

490

"Firstly I wish in the hall for a brazier of coals to be brought me."

Thus did he speak, and the dear nurse Eurycleia, obeying,

Brought to her master the sulphur and brazier of coal, and Odysseus

Thoroughly sweetened with fumes of the sulphur the house and the courtyard.

Then did the old dame go through all of the beautiful mansion

495

Taking the news to the women and bidding them hasten their coming.

So with a torch in the hand these came from the inner apartments.

Flocking around him they greeted Odysseus with joy and embraced him

Lovingly kissing his head and his shoulders in token of welcome,

Grasping and kissing his hands. And a rapture sweet overcame him,

500

Even a longing for wailing and tears as he saw them and knew them.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Gregory Nagy

Now, at the beginning of Rhapsody 22, a third test awaits Odysseus: he must kill the suitors. The king shows no hesitation. Having just won the contest in archery with the very first arrow that he shoots after stringing his mighty bow, he now goes on to aim his next arrow at Antinoos, who has been by far the worst of those leftover Achaeans of Ithaca. Odysseus shoots the arrow, and it hits the mark: Antinoos is instantly killed, O.22.008–021. The successive arrows, each one of them, will also hit the mark, and he keeps on shooting until there are no arrows left, O.22.116–119. Then, after Odysseus has run out of arrows to shoot, he arms himself with his armor for hand-to-hand combat, O.22.120–125. The slaughter of the suitors will continue until in the end all are killed.

source

At the end of Rhapsody 21, Odysseus has already passed, in rapid succession, two of three successive tests that needed to be endured by the true king of Ithaca. That is, he has already performed a stringing of his mighty bow and has already won an ultimate contest in archery by executing a perfect shot with the very first arrow that he shoots from the bow. But now, at the beginning of Rhapsody 22, the third test awaits Odysseus. He must now kill the suitors, and the successive killings that follow will ultimately eliminate all the would-be husbands of Penelope. In the end, Odysseus will be the only Achaean left standing. And he has by now been revealed as the only true husband, the only true king. So, he has become the best of the Achaeans in the Homeric Odyssey. But a question remains. Now that all the suitors have been killed, what will happen to the other characters in the Odyssey who had turned against the king in the course of his lengthy absence? Here is where things get really ugly. The extreme cruelty of the retribution that awaits these characters, as we see it narrated here in Odyssey 22, presents the modern reader with moral problems that cannot be evaded.

draft js image error Odysseus kiling Penelope’s suitors. Attic red-figure skyphos, ca. 440 BCE. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

source

Homer Odyssey 22.210

Samuel Butler (Translator)

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Current edition Experimental

ODYSSEY BOOK XXII

BATTEN WILSON
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SUITORS

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Experimental

ODYSSEY BOOK XXII

BATTEN WILSON THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SUITORS

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

BATTEN WILSON
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SUITORS