ODYSSEY BOOK VII
THERE as he rested and prayed, long-suffering godlike Odysseus,
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Unto the city the two mules sturdily carried the maiden,
Till, when at last she was come to the far-famed house of her father,
Under the portal she halted, and round her collected her brothers,
Like to immortals; and soon they began from the yoke of the wagon
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Both of the mules to unloose, and to bear to the palace the garments.
Then did she pass to her chamber, and quickly the hearth was a-blazing,
Lit by the aged Apeiran attendant, Eurymedusa.
Her did the twy-beaked ships once bring from the land of Apeira;
Then as a prize was she given to Alcinous, who as monarch
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All Phæacia ruled; yea, e'en as a god they obeyed him.
Ever on white-armed Nausicaa did she wait as attendant.
Now too kindled she fire and prepared in the chamber the supper.
Then did Odysseus uprouse him to enter the town; and Athene
Poured thick darkness around him for ever she favoured the hero—
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Lest Phaeacian men high-tempered, meeting a stranger,
Haply with insolent words might ask him his name and his country.
Now, when at length he was wishing to enter the beautiful city,
Nigh to the gate there met him the grey-eyed goddess Athene,
Likened in form to a maiden, a girl that was bearing a pitcher.
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Right in his path she was standing, and godlike Odysseus addressed her :
"Wouldst thou conduct me, my child, on my way to the house of the hero
Alcinous, who they say is the monarch of all of this people?
I am a wayworn stranger, and hither am come from a country
Far, far over the ocean; and therefore none do I know here,
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None of the folk that inhabit the town or that work in the corn-lands."
Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene :
"Yea, Sir stranger, the house to the which thou hast bidden me guide thee
Gladly I'll show it, for near to my honoured father he liveth.
Come!—but in silence as much as thou canst! I will hasten before thee.
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See that thou starest at none, nor puttest to any a question,
Since Phaeacians cannot away with an alien stranger,
Nor do they welcome and kindly receive who comes from a distance.
Ay but they travel! They cross, on their swift ships proudly reliant,
Even the sea's great gulf. 'Tis a boon they obtain from Poseidon.
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Yea and as swift as a bird or a thought is the speed of their vessels."
These words uttered, at once moved onward Pallas Athene,
Hastily leading the way, and he followed the steps of the goddess.
Neither did any him note of the famed Phaeacian sea-folk
Passing the town in the midst of them all, for Athena the fair-tressed
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Suffered it not, dread goddess, around him outpouring a darkness
Wonderful, mystic—for dear to her heart was the godlike Odysseus.
Marvelling much did he notice the well-built ships and the havens,
Squares for the meetings of men, and the long-drawn line of the ramparts
Lofty and all at the top palisaded—a wonder to gaze at.
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Then, when at last they arrived at the chieftain's glorious mansion,
Thus she began to address him, the grey-eyed goddess Athene:
"Look, Sir stranger! for here is the house to the which thou hast bid me
Show thee the way. Thou'lt find these princes, the children of heaven,
Feasting at banquets; but enter thou boldly, nor feel in thy spirit
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Fearful—for ever the man who in spirit is bold and undaunted
Proveth the better in deeds, ay, e'en if he comes from a distance.
First, in the banqueting-hall thou'lt light on the queen of the palace.
Arété is the name she is called, and she cometh of parents
E'en of the selfsame stock whence Alcinous is descended.
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First came Nausithous, to the King Earth-shaking Poseidon
Born of the fair Periboea—of earth-born women the fairest —
Youngest of all of the daughters of Eurymedon great-hearted.
(He once reigned as the king of the arrogant nation of Giants;
Ay but infatuate perished the people and perished the Ruler.)
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So Periboea conceived, and she bare to Poseidon an offspring,
Nausithous great-souled, who ruled Phaeacia's people.
Nausithous was the father of Alcinous and a brother
Rhexénor, who, still new-wedded, was slain by Apollo,
Lord of the silvern bow; nor left he an heir, but a daughter
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Arété, whom Alcinous then took for a consort.
Her hath he honoured as surely on earth no other is honoured,
None of the wives who in these our days keep house for their husbands.
Heartily thus was she ever respected and still is respected,
Both by the Ruler himself and by all of her children belovéd,
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Ay and the people; for all as a goddess regard her and greet her
Ever with reverent words when she walketh abroad in the city.
Yea and truly she lacks not at all of a good understanding;
Those she befriends, nay even the men, their quarrels she endeth.
Shouldst thou be able to gain of the lady her heart and her favour,
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Then good hope will be thine to revisit thy friends, and in safety
Win to thy high-roofed home once more, and the land of thy fathers."
“NIGH ΤΟ THE GATE THERE MET HIM
THE GREY-EYED GODDESS ATHENE"
PATTEN WILSON
These words uttered, departing the grey-eyed goddess Athene
Over the wastes of the sea from the fair Phaeacian island
Marathon reached, and winning the wide-wayed city of Athens
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Entered the strong-built fane of Erechtheus. Then did Odysseus
Wend on his way to the house of the king; and he pondered in spirit,
Ofttimes staying his steps ere reaching the bronze-wrought threshold.
For as the sheen of the sun or the moon, there floated a glory
Over the high-roofed palace of Alcinous great-hearted.
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Brazen the walls, which ran from the threshold on this and on that side
Round to the innermost rooms; and above was a cornice of cyan.
Golden the portal within that the well-built mansion defended;
Silver the posts of the door, set fast in the bronze of the threshold;
Silver the lintel that rested upon them, and golden the handle.
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Dogs each side of the porch were standing, of gold and of silver.
These Hephaestus himself had devised with his cunning invention,
Watchers to watch at the palace of Alcinous great-hearted;
There did they watch all deathless and ageless for ever and ever.
Close to the inside wall stood seats that on this and on that side
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Reached to the innermost rooms from the threshold, and broidery o'er them,
Delicate, finely inwoven, was lying, the work of the women.
Here Phaeacian chiefs were oft to be seen at a banquet
Eating and drinking—for ever they found an unfailing abundance.
Here too, fashioned in gold and on fair-built bases of marble,
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Youths were standing and holding uplifted radiant torches,
Lighting the gloom of the night in the halls of the house for the feasters.
Two score women and ten had the monarch as thralls in the palace,
Some that the yellow fruit of the corn-lands grind on a millstone,
Others that weave at the loom, and at twisting the wool with a spindle
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Seated; but ever they move as the leaves of a high-branched poplar,
Weaving a linen so fine that the oil flows easily off it.
Yea, as the men far more are skilful than others of mortals
Swiftly to drive their ship in the waves, thus also the women
Others excel at the loom; for to them vouchsafeth Athene
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Deftness in exquisite work and wisdom in cunning invention.
Outside, nigh to the gate of the court there lieth an orchard
Large as a field four-acred, enclosed all round by a fencing.
Here stands many a tree and in tall luxuriance bloometh ;
Pears are here, and pomegranates, and apples with glittering fruitage;
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Figs with a rich sweet harvest and blossoming thickets of olives.
Here doth the fruit of the trees ne'er perish or fail in the bearing,
Winter and summer alike perpetual. Ever the West Wind
Bringeth the one to the birth with its breath and ripens the other.
Pear upon pear matureth with age and apple on apple,
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Fig upon fig, and the grape grows, ripening cluster by cluster.
Here too, laden with fruit, stands planted a flourishing vineyard.
Part is a place for the drying—a levelled space in the open,
Parched by the heat of the sun; in another they gather the bunches,
Tread in another the vat; and in front hang berries unripened,
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Casting the flower, but the rest is already beginning to purple.
Skirting the outermost row are beds of an orderly garden
Planted with many a herb and bright with perennial verdure.
Here two freshets of water arise: one over the garden
Scatters its streams, while under the courtyard threshold the other
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Shoots to the high-roofed house and a fount whence draweth the townsman,
Such in the palace of Alcinous was the bounty of heaven.
There did he wondering stand, long-suffering godlike Odysseus.
Then, when at last he had gazed and had marvelled at all in his spirit,
Hastily over the threshold he stepped and entered the palace.
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Here at the banquet he found Phaeacian leaders and nobles
Pouring a cup to the keen-eyed Hermes, the Slayer of Argus,
Whose is the last libation when men are thinking of slumber.
Up thro' the banqueting-hall long-suffering godlike Odysseus,
Having around him the cloud that was shed by the goddess Athene,
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Went till he came to the queen and the great Phaeacian monarch.
Then, as he bent embracing her knees with his hands in entreaty,
Sudden the wonderful cloud rolled back, and it melted from off him,
While that the banqueters gazed all silent, beholding a man there,
Gazed as astounded; and thus did Odysseus begin his entreaty :
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"Arete, O, daughter of King Rhexenor, the godlike,
Lo, to thy lord and thy knees I am come, outworn with my labours,
Yea and to all of thy guests. — May the gods all happiness grant them
While they shall live, and dying may each one leave to his children
House and domain and all of the honours bestowed by the people.
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Nay but vouchsafe me an escort and aid my return to my homeland
Soon! for afar from my friends long years have I suffered affliction."
Thus did he speak, and he sat him adown by the hearth in the ashes
Close to the fire; and they all kept silent in speechless amazement.
Then at the last out-spake that hero, the old Echeneus ;—
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Foremost in age was the hero of all Phaeacian nobles,
Foremost in speech, and sage in the wisdom of past generations.
Thus with a kindly intent he uplifted his voice and addressed them:
"Alcinous, this surely is nowise right nor is seemly.
Here is a stranger that sits on the ground by the hearth in the ashes,
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While expecting thy word each one of us waits and is silent.
Nay now, bid him arise, and a chair bright-studded with silver
Offer the stranger to seat him therein; and say to the henchmen
One more bumper to mix, and to Zeus who delighteth in thunder
Pour we libation; for he all suppliants follows with pity;
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Then let the house-dame bring from her stores for the stranger a supper."
Straightway Alcinous, the revered and powerful monarch,
Hearing it, took by the hand wise-hearted and wileful Odysseus.
Raising him up from the hearth in a chair bright-studded he placed him,
Bidding his son to arise and vacate it, the youthful and manly
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Laodamas, who next to him sat, and of all was the dearest.
Water for washing of hands by a maiden was brought in an ewer
Beautiful, golden, and over a basin of silver she poured it,
Bidding him wash; and she stationed a polished table beside him.
Then did the grave house-dame bring bread, and she laid it before him,
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Lavishly adding thereto from her stores full many a dainty.
So he did eat and drink, long-suffering godlike Odysseus.
Meanwhile Alcinous the redoubtable called to his henchman:
"Pontonous, come, mix strong wine and serve us a bumper,
Plenty for all of the guests, and to Zeus who delighteth in thunder
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Pour we libation; for he all suppliants follows with pity."
Thus did he speak, and a wine honey-hearted was mixed by the henchman;
So to the guests he dispensed, first filling the cups for libation.
Now when at last they had poured and had drunk to their souls' satisfaction,
Then spake Alcinous to the feasters, and thus he addressed them:
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"Hearken, I pray, to my words, Phaeacian leaders and nobles!
Listen, for now I shall utter a thing that my spirit commands me!
Ended to-day is the feast. Go home and betake you to slumber.
Early the morn, still more of the elders assembled together
Here in the hall, we shall give to the stranger a feast, and to heaven
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Noble oblations, and then of the escort shall duly bethink us,
Planning it so that the stranger without more toil and affliction
Under an escort of ours once more to the land of his fathers
Safely and swiftly shall come—yea though right far be his country;
Nor on the way meanwhile shall he evil and injury suffer,
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Ere on his native soil he is landed; but then and thereafter
Suffer he must what is fated and doomed—what the terrible Spinners
Spun with the thread at his birth, when he came from the womb of his mother.
Be he however immortal, a being from heaven descended,
Then is a god some novel device unfolding around us,
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Seeing that even till now they approached us in manifest vision,
Coming whenever of cattle we made some splendid oblation,
Feasting among us and e'en at the side of us sitting at table;
Yea and besides, if it chanced that a lonesome wanderer met them,
Never disguise did they use; for the race is akin to immortals,
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Like the Cyclopian nation and lawless tribes of the Giants."
Him then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus:
"Alcinous, such thought be afar! since verily nowise
Like to the gods everlasting who dwell in the infinite heaven
Either in form or in favour am I, but to men that be mortal;
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Yea and the men that ye know of with grief most heavily laden
These be the mortals to whom I can liken myself in affliction.
More, far more can I tell of the story of woe that fell me,
How by the will of the gods full many a hardship I suffered;
Natheless, leave me in silence to sup, though heavy my heart be,
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Seeing that nought so shameless a thing as a ravening belly
E'er can be found; for it forceth a mortal to give it attention,
Though outwearied with toils and his heart o'erladen with sorrow.
Thus is my heart o'erladen with sorrow, but still doth the stomach
Bid me to eat and to drink, and all of the ills that I suffered
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Wholly it makes me forget, and to feast to my fill it commands me.
Leave me, I pray—but arousing yourselves when the morning appeareth
Help me unfortunate back once more to the land of my fathers.
There shall my sufferings end—and my life would willingly end too,
After my home I have seen and my thralls and my high-roofed mansion."
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Thus when he spake all gave him approval and made resolution
Homeward the stranger to help, since duly and well he had spoken.
So, when at last they had poured, and had drunk to their souls' satisfaction,
All of the feasters departed to sleep, each one to his homestead,
Leaving the godlike Odysseus behind in the hall of the palace.
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Here queen Arete and Alcinous great-hearted
Sat by his side till the gear of the feast was removed by the maidens.
White-armed Arete then began, and breaking the silence
Spake, for she wondering saw and remembered the mantle and doublet,
Beautiful garments whereat she had worked, both she and her maidens.
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Opening therefore her lips these swift-winged words she addressed him:
"First, O stranger, I ask—yea even myself will demand it—
Whoartthou? Whence art thou come? Who gave thee the raiment thou wearest?
Didst thou not say that thou camest a wanderer over the ocean?"
Her then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus:
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"Grievous it were, O queen, to relate thee the whole of my story,
All of the numberless woes that the gods celestial sent me.
Yet will I answer thy question and tell thee of all that thou askest.
Far hence over the ocean the isle Ogygia lieth,
Home of a daughter of Atlas, the guileful goddess Calypso,
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Fair-tressed nymph of the sea—a divinity dreaded; for no one
Willingly seeketh her love, nor god nor man that is mortal.
Now, in my uttermost need, to her hearth some deity brought me
Sole—for my swift-winged ship with the blinding bolt of his thunder
Zeus in the midst of the wine-dark ocean had smitten and shattered;
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There did the rest, yea all of my valiant shipmates perish.
Then with my arms to the keel of the twy-beaked vessel I clipt me.
Nine days long was I borne; on the tenth in the blackness of midnight
Nigh to the isle was I brought by the gods, where artful Calypso
Dwelleth—the fair-haired nymph, divinity dread, who received me,
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Tenderly cherished and nourished me—yea and also she promised
Even to make me immortal and ageless for ever and ever;
Yet did she never persuade me nor soften the heart in my bosom.
Seven the years unbroken that here I remained, and for ever
Wetted with weeping my raiment, the magical gift of Calypso.
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Now when the eighth year came with the slow revolution of seasons,
Then did she bid me depart, yea urged me to haste my departure,
Moved by a message from Zeus, or her mind its purpose had altered.
So on a firm-lashed raft did she launch me, and found me in plenty,
Bread and wine honey-sweet; and she clothed me in magic apparel;
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Then did she send me a favouring breeze, both gentle and kindly.
Seven and ten long days did I voyage the waste of the waters,
Till, on the eighteenth day, I beheld far shadowy mountains,
These of this country of yours and the spirit within me exulted.
Ah ill-fated! for verily still I was doomed to acquaint me
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Often with grief—such woes did he send, Earth-shaking Poseidon,
Raising against me the winds and staying my path on the ocean ;
Yea and a monstrous sea he aroused, nor longer the billows
Suffered me still with the groans of despair to remain on the vessel.
Her did a storm-blast shatter and scatter. I plunged in the ocean,
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Swimming, and mighty the gulf I had cloven, when near to the dry land,
Yea, to this country of yours, I was brought by the wind and the rollers.
Here, if to land I had ventured, the surge on the shore had o'erwhelmed me,
Hurling me onto the terrible rocks of a desolate region;
Hastily therefore retreating I swam, till I came in my swimming
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Unto to a river, and here, as it seemed, was the place for a landing;
Smooth was the rockless beach and withal from the wind was a covert.
Landing I fell, and I lay collecting my senses; and o'er me
Gathered ambrosial night; then afar from the rain-fed river
Climbing I laid me to sleep in the thick of the bushes, around me
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Pouring the leaves; and a god shed over me infinite slumber.
Here in the leaves, to my inmost heart fordone with my labours,
Soundly the livelong night did I sleep, till the dawn and till midday;
Yea, when already was sinking the sun sweet slumber released me.
Then did I see by the ocean thy daughter's maiden attendants
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Sporting, and she in the midst of them all seemed like to a goddess.
Her I entreated for pity, nor failed she of good understanding;
Ay and thou wouldst not expect of a youthful person that meets thee
Thus to behave, since ever the young are wont to be thoughtless.
Freely she gave me of bread and of glittering wine in abundance,
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Bade me to bathe in the river, and then these garments she gave me.
Lo, I have spoken—and, much as it pains me, the truth I have uttered."
Then King Alcinous made answer, and thus he addressed him:
"Stranger, herein forsooth did a due and a right understanding
Fail in my child, that she guided thee not with the women, her handmaids,
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Hither to this our house; for to her first mad'st thou entreaty."
Him then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus:
"Hero! for this, I beseech thee, upbraid not the excellent maiden,
Seeing she bade me indeed with the women attendants to follow ;
I was unwilling myself, since truly I feared, and it shamed me
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Lest peradventure the sight might darken with anger thy spirit.
Terribly jealous we seem, all earth-born races of mortals."
Then King Alcinous made answer, and thus he addressed him :
"Stranger, in sooth not such is the heart in the bosom within me
Wantonly thus to be wroth. Fair measure is better in all things.
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Ay and by Father Zeus, by Athena and Phoebus Apollo,
Would that a man like thee, who art minded, meseemeth, as I be,
Taking my daughter to wife might will as my son to content him
Here to remain! I am ready to give both cattle and homestead
Shouldst thou consent to remain—though none shall compel thee unwilling,
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No Phaeacian—Zeus our Father in heaven forbid it!
Nay, to assure thee of this, will I straightway order the escort
Now for the morrow; and while with a drowsiness thou overmastered
Liest asleep, they, sweeping the calm of the ocean, shall bear thee
Unto thy land and thy home, or whither thy soul desireth,
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Ay though farther by far it is distant than even Euboea,
Land that of all lies farthest—so say those men that beheld it,
Those of this people of mine who once fair-haired Rhadamanthys
Thither conveyed, Tityos, huge offspring of Gaia, to visit.
Thither they came and the journey without all labour accomplished
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E'en on the selfsame day and finished the voyaging homeward.
Thus of thyself thou'lt learn that my ships all others outrival,
Ay and my youths all others at tossing the brine with the oar-blade."
So did he speak, and for joy long-suffering godlike Odysseus
Offered to heaven a prayer and uttered aloud his entreaty :
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"Father Zeus, I beseech thee that all he hath said shall accomplish
Alcinous, since thus on the earth, dear mother of harvests,
Ne'er shall his glory be dimmed, and again I shall come to my homeland."
So these twain held converse together the one with the other.
White-armed Arete meantime commanded her maidens
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Setting a bedstead under the porch fair blankets upon it
Purple in colour to cast, and over them coverlets spreading,
Mantles of wool moreover to lay enwrapping them warmly.
So from the hall went quickly the handmaids carrying torches.
Then, when a thick soft bed they had strown, all busily toiling,
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Unto Odysseus they came, and thus exhorting addressed him :
"Up now, stranger! Thy bed is prepared. Go, lay thee to slumber."
Thus did they speak, and a thing right welcome it seemed to repose him.
There then slumbering lay long-suffering godlike Odysseus
Under the echoing porch on a bedstead of beautiful carvings.
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Alcinous too slept in the innermost room of the palace,
Where at his side was arrayed by his lady her bedding and bedstead.
View of Garitsa, region right outside the northern walls of the city of Corfu, and according to the legend the site of Alcinous’s gardens (1867). Étienne Rey (French, 1789–1867).