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Now when that brightest of stars rose which ever comes to herald the light of early Dawn, 95 even then the seafaring ship drew near to the island. There is in the land of Ithaca a certain harbor of Phorcys, the old man of the sea, and at its mouth two projecting headlands sheer to seaward, but sloping down on the side toward the harbor. These keep back the great waves raised by heavy winds 100 without, but within the benched ships lie unmoored when they have reached the point of anchorage. At the head of the harbor is a long-leafed olive tree, and near it a pleasant, shadowy cave sacred to the nymphs that are called Naiads. 105 Therein are mixing bowls and jars of stone, and there too the bees store honey. And in the cave are long looms of stone, at which the nymphs weave webs of purple dye, a wonder to behold; and therein are also ever-flowing springs. Two doors there are to the cave, 110 one toward the North Wind , by which men go down, but that toward the South Wind is sacred, nor do men enter thereby; it is the way of the immortals. Here they rowed in, knowing the place of old; and the ship ran full half her length on the shore 115 in her swift course, at such pace was she driven by the arms of the rowers. Then they stepped forth from the benched ship upon the land, and first they lifted Odysseus out of the hollow ship, with the linen sheet and bright rug as they were, and laid him down on the sand, still overpowered by sleep. 120 And they lifted out the goods which the lordly Phaeacians had given him, as he set out for home, through the favour of great-hearted Athena. These they set all together by the trunk of the olive tree, out of the path, lest haply some wayfarer, before Odysseus awoke, might come upon them and spoil them. 125 Then they themselves returned home again. But the Shaker of the Earth did not forget the threats wherewith at the first he had threatened godlike Odysseus, and he thus enquired of the purpose of Zeus: “Father Zeus, no longer shall I, even I, be held in honor among the immortal gods, seeing that mortals honor me not a whit— 130 even the Phaeacians, who, thou knowest, are of my own lineage. For I but now declared that Odysseus should suffer many woes ere he reached his home, though I did not wholly rob him of his return when once thou hadst promised it and confirmed it with thy nod; yet in his sleep these men have borne him in a swift ship over the sea 135 and set him down in Ithaca , and have given him gifts past telling, stores of bronze and gold and woven raiment, more than Odysseus would ever have won for himself from Troy , if he had returned unscathed with his due share of the spoil.”

Odyssey. Homer. A. T. Murray (Translator). London. 1919.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

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

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.) — 13.93 focus

εὖτʼ ἀστὴρ ὑπερέσχε φαάντατος, ὅς τε μάλιστα

ἔρχεται ἀγγέλλων φάος Ἠοῦς ἠριγενείης,

τῆμος δὴ νήσῳ προσεπίλνατο ποντοπόρος νηῦς.

Φόρκυνος δέ τίς ἐστι λιμήν, ἁλίοιο γέροντος,

ἐν δήμῳ Ἰθάκης· δύο δὲ προβλῆτες ἐν αὐτῷ

ἀκταὶ ἀπορρῶγες, λιμένος ποτιπεπτηυῖαι,

αἵ τʼ ἀνέμων σκεπόωσι δυσαήων μέγα κῦμα

ἔκτοθεν· ἔντοσθεν δέ τʼ ἄνευ δεσμοῖο μένουσι

100

νῆες ἐΰσσελμοι, ὅτʼ ἂν ὅρμου μέτρον ἵκωνται.

αὐτὰρ ἐπὶ κρατὸς λιμένος τανύφυλλος ἐλαίη,

ἀγχόθι δʼ αὐτῆς ἄντρον ἐπήρατον ἠεροειδές,

ἱρὸν νυμφάων αἳ νηϊάδες καλέονται.

ἐν δὲ κρητῆρές τε καὶ ἀμφιφορῆες ἔασιν

105

λάϊνοι· ἔνθα δʼ ἔπειτα τιθαιβώσσουσι μέλισσαι.

ἐν δʼ ἱστοὶ λίθεοι περιμήκεες, ἔνθα τε νύμφαι

φάρεʼ ὑφαίνουσιν ἁλιπόρφυρα, θαῦμα ἰδέσθαι·

ἐν δʼ ὕδατʼ ἀενάοντα. δύω δέ τέ οἱ θύραι εἰσίν,

αἱ μὲν πρὸς Βορέαο καταιβαταὶ ἀνθρώποισιν,

110

αἱ δʼ αὖ πρὸς Νότου εἰσὶ θεώτεραι· οὐδέ τι κείνῃ

ἄνδρες ἐσέρχονται, ἀλλʼ ἀθανάτων ὁδός ἐστιν.

ἔνθʼ οἵ γʼ εἰσέλασαν, πρὶν εἰδότες· ἡ μὲν ἔπειτα

ἠπείρῳ ἐπέκελσεν, ὅσον τʼ ἐπὶ ἥμισυ πάσης,

σπερχομένη· τοῖον γὰρ ἐπείγετο χέρσʼ ἐρετάων·

115

οἱ δʼ ἐκ νηὸς βάντες ἐϋζύγου ἤπειρόνδε

πρῶτον Ὀδυσσῆα γλαφυρῆς ἐκ νηὸς ἄειραν

αὐτῷ σύν τε λίνῳ καὶ ῥήγεϊ σιγαλόεντι,

κὰδ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπὶ ψαμάθῳ ἔθεσαν δεδμημένον ὕπνῳ,

ἐκ δὲ κτήματʼ ἄειραν, ἅ οἱ Φαίηκες ἀγαυοὶ

120

ὤπασαν οἴκαδʼ ἰόντι διὰ μεγάθυμον Ἀθήνην.

καὶ τὰ μὲν οὖν παρὰ πυθμένʼ ἐλαίης ἀθρόα θῆκαν

ἐκτὸς ὁδοῦ, μή πώς τις ὁδιτάων ἀνθρώπων,

πρίν γʼ Ὀδυσῆʼ ἔγρεσθαι, ἐπελθὼν δηλήσαιτο·

αὐτοὶ δʼ αὖτʼ οἶκόνδε πάλιν κίον. οὐδʼ ἐνοσίχθων

125

λήθετʼ ἀπειλάων, τὰς ἀντιθέῳ Ὀδυσῆϊ

πρῶτον ἐπηπείλησε, Διὸς δʼ ἐξείρετο βουλήν·

Ζεῦ πάτερ, οὐκέτʼ ἐγώ γε μετʼ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι

τιμήεις ἔσομαι, ὅτε με βροτοὶ οὔ τι τίουσιν,

Φαίηκες, τοί πέρ τοι ἐμῆς ἔξ εἰσι γενέθλης.

130

καὶ γὰρ νῦν Ὀδυσῆʼ ἐφάμην κακὰ πολλὰ παθόντα

οἴκαδʼ ἐλεύσεσθαι· νόστον δέ οἱ οὔ ποτʼ ἀπηύρων

πάγχυ, ἐπεὶ σὺ πρῶτον ὑπέσχεο καὶ κατένευσας.

οἱ δʼ εὕδοντʼ ἐν νηῒ θοῇ ἐπὶ πόντον ἄγοντες

κάτθεσαν εἰν Ἰθάκῃ, ἔδοσαν δέ οἱ ἄσπετα δῶρα,

135

χαλκόν τε χρυσόν τε ἅλις ἐσθῆτά θʼ ὑφαντήν,

πόλλʼ, ὅσʼ ἂν οὐδέ ποτε Τροίης ἐξήρατʼ Ὀδυσσεύς,

εἴ περ ἀπήμων ἦλθε, λαχὼν ἀπὸ ληΐδος αἶσαν.

Translations (8)

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.) — 13.81 focus

81 The ship bounded forward on her way as a four in hand chariot flies over the course when the horses feel the whip. Her prow curved as it were the neck of a stallion, and a great wave of dark seething water boiled in her wake. She held steadily on her course, and even a falcon, swiftest of all birds, could not have kept pace with her. Thus, then, she cut her way through the water. carrying one who was as cunning as the gods, but who was now sleeping peacefully, forgetful of all that he had suffered both on the field of battle and by the waves of the weary sea.

93 When the bright star that heralds the approach of dawn began to show. the ship drew near to land. Now there is in the dêmos of Ithaca a haven of the Old One of the Sea, Phorkys, which lies between two points that break the line of the sea and shut the harbor in. These shelter it from the storms of wind and sea that rage outside, so that, when once within it, a ship may lie without being even moored. At the head of this harbor there is a large olive tree, and at no distance a fine overarching cavern sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads. There are mixing-bowls within it and wine-jars of stone, and the bees hive there. Moreover, there are great looms of stone on which the nymphs weave their robes of sea purple - very curious to see - and at all times there is water within it. It has two entrances, one facing North by which mortals can go down into the cave, while the other comes from the South and is more mysterious; mortals cannot possibly get in by it, it is the way taken by the gods.

113 Into this harbor, then, they took their ship, for they knew the place, She had so much way upon her that she ran half her own length on to the shore; when, however, they had landed, the first thing they did was to lift Odysseus with his rug and linen sheet out of the ship, and lay him down upon the sand still fast asleep. Then they took out the presents which Athena had persuaded the Phaeacians to give him when he was setting out on his voyage homewards. They put these all together by the root of the olive tree, away from the road, for fear some passer by might come and steal them before Odysseus awoke; and then they made the best of their way home again.

125 But Poseidon did not forget the threats with which he had already threatened Odysseus, so he took counsel with Zeus. "Father Zeus," said he, "I shall no longer be held in any sort of respect among you gods, if mortals like the Phaeacians, who are my own flesh and blood, show such small regard for me. I said I would get Odysseus home when he had suffered sufficiently. I did not say that he should never have a homecoming [ nostos] at all, for I knew you had already nodded your head about it, and promised that he should do so; but now they have brought him over the sea in a ship fast asleep and have landed him in Ithaca after loading him with more magnificent presents of bronze, gold, and raiment than he would ever have brought back from Troy , if he had had his share of the spoil and got home without misadventure."

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 13.93 focus

And when the brightest of all stars began to show, the one that, more than any other star, comes to announce the light of the Dawn born in her earliness [95] that is when the ship, famed for its travels over the seas, drew near to the island. Now there is in the locale [ dēmos] of Ithaca a haven of Phorkys, the Old One of the sea, which lies between two points that break the line of the sea and shut the harbor in. These shelter it from the storms of wind and sea [100] that rage outside, so that, when once within it, a ship may lie without being even moored. At the head of this harbor there is a large olive tree, and at no distance a fine overarching cavern sacred to the nymphs who are called [105] Nymphs of Wellsprings, Naiads. There are mixing-bowls within it and wine-jars of stone, and the bees hive there. Moreover, there are great looms of stone on which the nymphs weave their robes of sea purple—very curious to see—and at all times there is water within it. It has two entrances, [110] one facing North by which mortals can go down into the cave, while the other comes from the South and is more mysterious; mortals cannot possibly get in by it, it is the way taken by the gods.

Into this harbor, then, they took their ship, for they knew the place. [115] She had so much way upon her that she ran half her own length on to the shore; when, however, they had landed, the first thing they did was to lift Odysseus with his rug and linen sheet out of the ship, and lay him down upon the sand still fast asleep. Then [120] they took out the presents which great-hearted Athena had persuaded the haughty Phaeacians to give him when he was setting out on his voyage homewards. They put these all together by the root of the olive tree, away from the road, for fear some passer by might come and steal them before Odysseus awoke; and then they made the best of their way home again.

[125] But Poseidon, the Earthshaker, did not forget the threats with which he had already threatened Odysseus, so he took counsel with Zeus. “Father Zeus,” said he, “I shall no longer be held in any sort of respect among you gods, [130] if mortals like the Phaeacians, who are my own flesh and blood, show such small regard for me. I said I would get Odysseus home when he had suffered sufficiently. I did not say that he should never achieve a homecoming [ nostos] at all, for I knew you had already nodded your head about it, and promised that he should do so; but now they have brought him over the sea in a ship fast asleep [135] and have landed him in Ithaca after loading him with more magnificent presents of bronze, gold, and raiment than he would ever have brought back from Troy, if he had had his share of the spoil and got home without misadventure.”

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873)) — 13.93 focus

Now when that brightest star, the harbinger

Of Morning, daughter of the Dawn, arose,

115

The bark had passed the sea, and reached the isle.

A port there is in Ithaca, the haunt

Of Phorcys, Ancient of the Sea. Steep shores

Stretch inward toward each other, and roll back

The mighty surges which the hoarse winds hurl

120

Against them from the ocean, while within

Ships ride without their hawsers when they once

Have passed the haven's mouth. An olive-tree

With spreading branches at the farther end

Of that fair haven stands, and overbrows

125

A pleasant shady grotto of the nymphs

Called Naiads. Cups and jars of stone are ranged

Within, and bees lay up their honey there.

There from their spindles wrought of stone the nymphs

Weave their sea-purple robes, which all behold

130

With wonder; there are ever-flowing springs.

Two are the entrances: one toward the north

By which men enter; but a holier one

Looks toward the south, nor ever mortal foot

May enter there. By that way pass the gods.

135

They touched the land, for well they knew the spot.

The galley, urged so strongly by the arms

Of those who plied the oar, ran up the beach

Quite half her length. And then the crew came forth

From the good ship, and first they lifted out

140

Ulysses with the linen and rich folds

Of tapestry, and laid him on the sands

In a deep slumber. Then they also took

The presents from the hold, which, as he left

Their isle, the princes of Phæacia gave

145

By counsel of wise Pallas. These they piled

Close to the olive-tree, without the way,

That none, in passing, ere Ulysses woke,

Might do their owner wrong. Then homeward sailed

The crew; but Neptune, who could not forget

150

The threats which he had uttered long before

Against the godlike chief Ulysses, thus

Sought to explore the will of Jupiter :-

"O Father Jove! I shall no more be held

In honor with the gods, since mortal men,

155

The people of Phæacia, though their race

Is of my lineage, do not honor me.

I meant Ulysses should not reach his home

Save with much suffering, though I never thought

To hinder his return, for thou hadst given

160

Thy promise and thy nod that it should be.

Yet these Phæacians, in a gallant bark,

Have borne him o'er the deep, and while he slept,

Have laid him down in Ithaca, and given

Large gifts, abundant store of brass and gold,

165

And woven work, more than he could have brought

From captured Ilium, if he had returned

Safely, with all his portion of the spoil."

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 13.93 focus

But when the morning-star with early ray¹

Flam'd in the front of heaven, and promis'd day;

Like distant clouds the mariner descries

Fair Ithaca's emerging hills arise.

115

Far from the town a spacious port appears,

Sacred to Phorcys' power, whose name it bears:²

Two craggy rocks, projecting to the main,

The roaring wind's tempestuous rage restrain,

Within, the waves in softer murmurs glide,

120

And ships secure without their halsers ride.

High at the head a branching olive grows,

And crowns the pointed cliffs with shady boughs.

Beneath, a gloomy grotto's cool recess

Delights the Nereids of the neighbouring seas,

125

Where bowls and urns were form'd of living stone,

And massy beams in native marble shone:

On which the labours of the nymphs were roll'd,

Their webs divine of purple mix'd with gold.

Within the cave the clustering bees attend

130

Their waxen works, or from the roof depend.

Perpetual waters o'er the pavement glide;

Two marble doors³ unfold on either side;

Sacred the south, by which the gods descend;

But mortals enter at the northern end.

135

Thither they bent, and haul'd their ship to land;

(The crooked keel divides the yellow sand;)

Ulysses sleeping on his couch they bore,⁴

And gently placed him on the rocky shore.

His treasures next, Alcinoüs' gifts, they laid

140

In the wild olive's unfrequented shade,

Secure from theft; then launch'd the bark again,

Resum'd their oars, and measur'd back the main.⁵

Nor yet forgot old Ocean's dread Supreme,

The vengeance vow'd for eyeless Polypheme.

145

Before the throne of mighty Jove he stood;

And sought the secret counsels of the god.

Neptune

'Shall then no more, O sire of gods! be mine

'The rights and honours of a power divine?

'Scorn'd e'en by man, and (oh severe disgrace!)
150

'By soft Phaeacians, my degenerate race!

'Against yon destin'd head in vain I swore,

'And menaced vengeance, ere he reach'd his shore;

'To reach his natal shore was thy decree;

'Mild I obey'd, for who shall war with thee?
155

'Behold him landed, careless and asleep,

'From all th' eluded dangers of the deep;

'Lo where he lies, amidst a shining store

'Of brass, rich garments, and refulgent ore;

'And bears triumphant to his native isle
160

'A prize more worth than Ilion's noble spoil.'

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 13.93 focus

Above the earth now risen was the star,

Day's messenger, and brightest of the sky.

The ship was then from Ithaca not far.

A port there is, which from a deity

Is called Phorcys, a sea-deity.

Two jetting rocks defend it from the wind;

When once within, a ship will safely lie,

. There needs no cord a floating ship to bind.

At the port's head grows a large olive-tree,

And near it an obscure and pleasant cave,

Where the Nereiades delight to be,

And there they bowls of stone and beakers have;

The bees make honey there. Besides, there be

Long beams of stone, whereon the nymphs do weave

Rich purple garments, wonderful to see,

And fountains which their running never leave.

100

Two doors there are, one north, men go that way;

The other to the south more sacred is,

Th' immortals here go in, and none but they;

The Gods have to themselves reserved this.

All this Ulysses' convoy knew before;

105

And here the ship arrived, safely lands,

And half her length lay dry upon the shore,

Such was the strength of those Phaeacian hands.

The lusty seamen, when they landed were,

First took Ulysses, sleeping as he lay,

110

Bedding and all, and to the land him bear,

And lay him from the sea a little way:

Then they unship his goods, gold, vestures, brass,

Gifts given him by the Phaeacians;

Which at the foot of the olive-tree they place,

115

Out of the way, lest passengers should chance

To steal them while Ulysses was asleep.

When this was done, the convoy stayed not,

But rowed out the ship into the deep.

Nor Neptune had Ulysses yet forgot,

120

But said to Jupiter, complaining then:

What honour from the Gods can I expect,

When the Phaeacians, that are but men,

(Although descended from me), me neglect ?

For though Ulysses I destroyed not,

125

Because his coming home you had decreed;

Yet that he should be brought home thus, ne'er thought,

Asleep, and painless, and with so much speed,

Enriched with gold, and brass, and vestures store,

As much as had come to his share at Troy.

130

This the Phaeacians have done, and more,

In this licentiousness they take a joy.

English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857)) — 13.93 focus

And when heaven's brightest star, that first doth call

The early morning out, advanced her head,

Then near to Ithaca the billow-bred

Phæacian ship approach'd. There is a port,

145

That th' aged sea-God Phorcys makes his fort,

Whose earth the Ithacensian people own,

In which two rocks inaccessible are grown

Far forth into the sea, whose each strength binds

The boist'rous waves in from the high-flown winds

150

On both the out-parts so, that all within

The well-built ships, that once their harbour win

In his calm bosom, without anchor rest,

Safe, and unstirr'd. From forth the haven's high crest

Branch the well-brawn'd arms of an olive-tree;

155

Beneath which runs a cave from all sun free,

Cool, and delightsome, sacred to th' access

Of Nymphs whose surnames are the Naiades;

In which flew humming bees, in which lay thrown

Stone cups, stone vessels, shittles all of stone,

160

With which the Nymphs their purple mantles wove,

In whose contexture art and wonder strove;

In which pure springs perpetually ran;

To which two entries were; the one for man,

On which the north breath'd; th' other for the Gods,

165

On which the south; and that bore no abodes

For earthy men, but only deathless feet

Had there free way. This port these men thought meet

To land Ulysses, being the first they knew,

Drew then their ship in, but no further drew

170

Than half her bulk reach'd, by such cunning hand

Her course was managed. Then her men took land,

And first brought forth Ulysses, bed, and all

That richly furnish'd it, he still in thrall

Of all-subduing sleep. Upon the sand

175

They set him softly down; and then the strand

They strew'd with all the goods he had, bestow'd

By the renown'd Phæacians, since he show'd

So much Minerva. At the olive root

They drew them then in heap, most far from foot

180

Of any traveller, lest, ere his eyes

Resumed their charge, they might be others' prise.

These then turn'd home; nor was the sea's Supreme

Forgetful of his threats, for Polypheme

Bent at divine Ulysses, yet would prove

185

(Ere their performance) the decree of Jove.

"Father! No more the Gods shall honour me,

Since men despise me, and those men that see

The light in lineage of mine own loved race.

I vow'd Ulysses should, before the grace

190

Of his return, encounter woes enow

To make that purchase dear; yet did not vow

Simply against it, since thy brow had bent

To his reduction, in the fore-consent

Thou hadst vouchsafed it; yet, before my mind

195

Hath full power on him, the Phæacians find

Their own minds' satisfaction with his pass,

So far from suff'ring what my pleasure was,

That ease and softness now is habited

In his secure breast, and his careless head

200

Return'd in peace of sleep to Ithaca,

The brass and gold of rich Phæacia

Rocking his temples, garments richly woven,

And worlds of prise, more than was ever stroven

From all the conflicts he sustain'd at Troy,

205

If safe he should his full share there enjoy."

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 13.93 focus

The brightest star of heaven, precursor chief

Of day-spring, now arose, when at the isle

110

(Her voyage soon perform'd) the bark arrived.

There is a port sacred in Ithaca

To Phorcys, hoary antient of the Deep,

Form'd by converging shores, prominent both

And both abrupt, which from the spacious bay

115

Exclude all boisterous winds; within it, ships

(The port once gain'd) uncabled ride secure.

An olive, at the haven's head, expands

Her branches wide, near to a pleasant cave

Umbrageous, to the nymphs devoted named

120

The Naiads. In that cave beakers of stone

And jars are seen; bees lodge their honey there;

And there, on slender spindles of the rock

The nymphs of rivers weave their wondrous robes.

Perennial springs water it, and it shows

125

A twofold entrance; ingress one affords

To mortal man, which Northward looks direct,

But holier is the Southern far; by that

No mortal enters, but the Gods alone.

Familiar with that port before, they push'd

130

The vessel in; she, rapid, plow'd the sands

With half her keel, such rowers urged her on.

Descending from the well-bench'd bark ashore,

They lifted forth Ulysses first, with all

His splendid couch complete, then lay'd him down

135

Still wrapt in balmy slumber on the sands.

His treasures next, by the Phæacian Chiefs

At his departure given him as the meed

Due to his wisdom, at the olive's foot

They heap'd, without the road, lest while he slept

140

Some passing traveller should rifle them.

Then homeward thence they sped. Nor Ocean's God

His threats forgot denounced against divine

Ulysses, but with Jove thus first advised.

Eternal Sire! I shall no longer share

145

Respect and reverence among the Gods,

Since now Phæacia's mortal race have ceased

To honour me, though from myself derived.

It was my purpose, that by many an ill

Harrass'd, Ulysses should have reach'd his home,

150

Although to intercept him, whose return

Thyself had promised, ne'er was my intent.

But him fast-sleeping swiftly o'er the waves

They have conducted, and have set him down

In Ithaca, with countless gifts enrich'd,

155

With brass, and tissued raiment, and with gold;

Much treasure! more than he had home convey'd

Even had he arrived with all his share

Allotted to him of the spoils of Troy.

To whom the cloud-assembler God replied.

160

English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911)) — 13 focus

ODYSSEY BOOK XIII

THUS did he end; and they sat all utterly silent and speechless,

Holden as 'twere by a spell in the shadowy hall of the palace.

Then King Alcinous outspake and in answer addressed him:

"Since now under the roof of my bronze-floored palace, Odysseus,

Safe thou art come, thou'lt never, methinks, go wandering further,

Ere to thy home thou return'st, however to hardship accustomed.

Now to you all and to each I announce this further injunction,

Each who is wont to partake of the glowing wine of the elders

Here in my banqueting-hall, and to list to the song of the minstrel :

Lo, in a polished coffer the raiment received by the stranger

Lieth, and fair things fashioned of gold, and the rest of the presents

Which Phaeacian lords of the council collected together.

Come, let us also present him a full-sized tripod and cauldron,

Each of us; then can we later, by making collection in public,

Win us repayment; 'tis hard when the one does favours for nothing."

Thus spake Alcinous and his speech was received with approval.

Each one then to his homestead departed to lay him to slumber.

Now when the morning was newly arisen, the roseate-fingered,

Quickly they brought to the vessel the bronze that rejoiceth a mortal;

This did the powerful chief, King Alcinous, on the vessel

Going around stow under the benches away, to prevent it

Hindering any that rowed when amain at his oar he was pulling.

Then to the house of the king they betook them and set them a-feasting,

After the powerful monarch had given an ox to be slaughtered

Unto Cronion, the ruler of all, who dwells in the storm-cloud.

So when the thighs they had burnt they partook of a glorious banquet,

Making them merry, and harked to the strains of the godlike singer

Demodocus, blind bard by the people beloved; but Odysseus

Ever and ever was turning his eyes to the sun in its splendour,

Longing to hasten its setting, so eager he felt for departure.

Even as yearns for his supper a man when his wine-red oxen

All day long have tugged at a jointed plough in a fallow,

E'en as he joys when he seeth the sun's light sink to the setting,

So he can get to his food and his knee-joints ache as he walketh-

Thus did Odysseus rejoice when the sunlight sank to the setting.

Suddenly then to the lovers of ships, Phaeacia's nobles,

Chiefly to Alcinous these words addressing, he turned him:

"O King Alcinous, illustrious prince of the people,

Pour ye libation and bid me farewell !-farewell to you also !

Now it is all fulfilled as I wished in the depth of my bosom,

Escort and loving gifts—May the gods celestial grant me

Blessing therein! May I come to my home, and my peerless consort

There may I find still living and well, with the rest of my dear ones!

Ye too, bide ye at home with your wedded wives and your children,

Making them happy with love. May the gods prosperity grant you,

Every kind, and all that is ill dwell far from the people."

Thus did he speak, and they all assented and made resolution

Homeward the stranger to help, since duly and well he had spoken.

Then did the powerful king to his henchman turn and address him :

"Pontonoüs, come mix strong wine and serve us a bumper,

Plenty for all at the feast, that a prayer we may raise to the Father,

Ere we shall send our guest on his way to his distant homeland."

Thus did he speak; and a wine honey-hearted was mixed by the henchman;

Then to them all he dispensed it in turn; and they made a libation

Unto the blesséd immortals who dwell in the infinite heaven,

Pouring it there as they sat. Then rising, the godlike Odysseus

Into the hands of the queen gave over his twy-cupped goblet,

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

"Fare thee well, O queen, and be happy for ever, till lastly

Age shall befall thee, and death, which cometh to every mortal.

Now it is need that I go; but do thou live joyfully alway

Here in thy home with the monarch, thy lord, and thy children and people!"

These words said, stept over the threshold the godlike Odysseus,

Having beside him the herald whom Alcinous had commanded

Down to the shore of the sea and the swift-winged vessel to guide him.

Also had Arete told three of her women to follow.

One of them bare in her arms fresh raiment a cloak and a doublet;

Then was a second commissioned to carry the strong-made coffer,

While that the third had a burden of bread and of glittering red wine.

So, when at last they had come to the sea and arrived at the vessel,

Speedily then was it all by the high-born men of the escort

Taken aboard and bestowed in the hold with the wine and the viands.

Also they spread for Odysseus a rug and a wrapper of linen

Nigh to the stern, on the deck of the hollow vessel, to lie there

Soundly asleep; and he mounted the ship and composed him to slumber

Silently, while that the crew sat down on the benches in order,

Each in his place; and loosed from the mooring-stone was the hawser.

PATTEN WILSON
THE ARRIVAL AT ITHACA

Then, as they backward swung uptossing the brine with the oar-blades,

Softly a sleep profound spread over his slumbering eyelids,

Deep as a trance and surpassingly sweet—yea, death it resembled.

Now did the vessel as over a plain four stallion coursers

Harnessed abreast, 'neath strokes of the lash, come thundering onward,

Bounding aloft as they gallop apace their course to accomplish,

So did the stern of the ship go bounding aloft—and behind it

Mightily eddied the dark blue wave of the bellowing ocean.

Steadily onward she flew; not even the falcon that soareth,

Swiftest of birds of the air, might vie with the ship in her swiftness;

So did she speed on her way, right easily cleaving the billows,

Bearing a man who was like to the gods everlasting in wisdom,

One who had suffered already in heart full many a sorrow,

Tossed by the billows of war and the grievous waves of the ocean.

Now he is sleeping in peace, forgetful of all that he suffered.

So when the star was on high that of all is the brightest, and ofttimes

Comes as the herald of light when the newborn day is arising,

Voyaging over the waters the ship drew near to an island

Where is a haven of Phorcys, the ancient god of the ocean.

Here it is Ithacan land. Two capes jut forth from the coast-line,

High precipitous cliffs but aslope to the verge of the harbour,

Fending the monstrous surge of the rollers aroused by the storm-winds

Out in the open; but ever within unloosed from the cable

100

Well-decked vessels can ride when they enter the bound of the roadstead.

Now at the head of the haven a long-leaved olive is growing,

Distant from which not far is a pleasant and shadowy grotto,

Hallowed haunt of the nymphs who are known as the fountain naiads.

Here in the depths of the cave are amphora vessels and wine-bowls

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Formed of the rock, and the bees hide here their treasures of honey;

Here stand, fashioned in stone, vast looms, where many a naiad

Weaveth her robes of the deep-sea purple, a wonder to gaze at.

Water perennial welleth within. Two mouths hath the cavern;

One to the North Wind looks and is easy for mortals to enter,

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One to the South, and is more for the gods; nor ever by this way

Entereth any of human race; 'tis a path for immortals.

Into the haven they rowed (they had known it before), and the vessel

Ran on the beach: to the half of her length on the sand was she driven,

Such was her speed, and such was the strength of the hands that impelled her.

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Out of the well-benched vessel when now they had stepped on the dry land,

First from the deck of the hollow ship uplifting Odysseus,

E'en as he lay in the rug and the glistering wrapper of linen,

Down on the sand of the shore, still heavy with slumber, they placed him.

Then from the vessel they landed the gifts that the king and the nobles,

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Moved by the noble Athena, bestowed when for home he departed.

These in a heap up-piling they left at the foot of the olive

Somewhat aside from the path, lest any that saw it in passing,

Ere that Odysseus awoke, might venture anigh and despoil him.

These now homeward returned.

125

But the King Earth-shaking Poseidon

125

Ne'er had forgotten the vows that he uttered when erst he had threatened

Godlike Odysseus, and turning to Zeus he demanded his counsel:

"Father Zeus! I can hope henceforth from the gods everlasting

Little respect, since men that be mortal so little respect me,

E'en Phaeacian folk—whose race from myself is descended.

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Lo, full many afflictions I vowed should fall on Odysseus

Ere to his home he returned—though wholly to stay his returning

Ne'er did I try from the moment thou gav'st thy consent and thy promise.

Now these men have borne him asleep in a swift-winged vessel

Over the sea and on Ithaca set him, and richly with presents

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Helped him with bronze and with gold and abundance of woven apparel-

Treasures so many as ne'er from the Trojans Odysseus had gained him

Had he returned unscathed with his well-won share in the booty."

Him forthwith gave answer the god who gathers the storm-clouds:

"Lo now, what is this word, Earth-shaker and Ruler of ocean?

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Thee nowise dishonour the gods. 'Twere difficult truly

Thee, who art eldest and best of us all, to assail with dishonour,

While if a mortal, obeying his hardy and arrogant nature,

Honours thee not, it is thine to avenge thee, or now or hereafter.

Act as thou willst as it seems to be best to the spirit within thee!"

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Then did the King Earth-shaking Poseidon address him in answer:

"Quickly enough had I done as thou say'st, O King of the storm-clouds,

Had I not held thee in awe and dreaded arousing thy anger.

Now I am minded to smite this fine Phaeacian vessel

While from the convoy she homeward returns in the mist-bound ocean;

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Yea I will smite her and teach them to stop and to stay with their convoys.

This will I do, and will whelm with the mass of a mountain the city."

Him forthwith gave answer the god who gathers the storm-clouds:

"Friend, as it seems to my mind, 'twere verily better and wiser,

Just at the moment when out of the city the whole of the people

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Watcheth her enter the harbour, to change her, anigh to the sea-shore,

Into a rock with the form of a vessel, that ever hereafter

Mortals shall wonder. Then whelm with the mass of a mountain the city !"

Now when he heard this saying the King Earth-shaker Poseidon

Went to the Scherian isle, where dwell Phaeacian people.

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Here he remained till anigh was the ship as she voyaged the ocean

Rapidly speeding along ; then the King Earth-shaker, approaching,

Suddenly changed her to stone and rooted her deep in the waters,

Smiting with downward stroke of the hand; and he turned and departed.

Uttering swift-winged words then turned them the one to the other

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All of the Scherian folk—those famous oarsmen and sailors-

Each man gazing the while at the man that was standing beside him :

"Ah me! who is it fettered the swift ship fast on the ocean

E'en as she entered the port? Just now she was visible plainly."

Thus spake one to the other, but how it had happened they knew not.

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Then King Alcinous rose up in the midst and harangued them:

"Lo now, surely the doom prophetic is falling upon me

Told by my sire, who was wont to proclaim that Poseidon was angered,

Jealous because we unfailingly offer an escort to all men.

'Some day'—so did he speak—'as a fine Phaeacian vessel

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Over the mist-bound deep from a convoy returns shall the sea-god

Smite her to pieces and whelm with the mass of a mountain the city.'

Such was the rede of my sire, and it all finds now a fulfilment.

Come now, hear what I say, and let all of us follow my counsel!

Never again let us give such convoy, if wandering mortals

180

Come to the city; and now let us offer Poseidon atonement;

Twelve choice bulls let us slaughter in hope he may show us compassion,

Neither in anger o'erwhelm with the mass of a mountain the city."

So did he speak, and in fear they prepared them the bulls for oblation.

Thus then offering prayers to Poseidon, the king of the ocean,

185

All of the best of the land, Phaeacia's princes and leaders,

Stood surrounding the altar.

And godlike Odysseus, awaking,

Opened his eyes on the land of his birth, nor yet did he know it,

Such long years had he wandered afar; and around him the goddess

Pallas Athena, the daughter of Zeus, poured mist to conceal him,

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Keeping him hidden until she had given him counsel in all things,

Lest that his wife might know him, or friends, or the men of the city,

Ere for transgression the suitors had paid complete satisfaction.

Wherefore utterly strange was the land to the eyes of its master,

All of the clambering paths and all of the sheltering havens,

195

Lofty precipitous crags and the bloom of luxuriant forests.

Hastily rising he stood and gazing around on his homeland

Uttered a pitiful groan and on both of his thighs in despondence

Smote with a downward stroke of the hands and made lamentation:

"Ah me, what is the folk whose country I now am arrived at ?

200

Dwell here savages wanton and wild, despisers of justice ?

Have they a love for the stranger and hearts that revere the immortals?

Whither to carry my treasure I know not at all ; and myself too

Where shall I turn me? I would 'twere back in the Scherian island

Just as it was; and perchance I had found some powerful monarch

205

Elsewhere, ready to grant me a welcome and give me an escort.

Now I am truly in doubt to bestow it. I Airs like not

Leaving it here as a find and a welcome booty for others.

Nay but in sooth not at all like lovers of wisdom and justice

Acted, methinks, those high Phaeacian nobles and princes,

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Bringing me thus to a land unknown; for they promised to bring me

Unto the far-seen Ithacan isle, and the promise is broken.

Zeus I beseech to requite it, the suppliant's god, who is watching

Ever the deeds of mankind and punisheth every sinner.

Well now, come, I will look to the presents and reckon the number;

215

Haply departing they took of the things on the hollow vessel."

These words said, he inspected the tripods and beautiful cauldrons,

Numbering all, and the gold and the woven and exquisite garments.

Nothing he missed of them all, and with joyless thoughts of his homeland

Slowly he wandered along by the shore of the bellowing ocean

220

Uttering many a moan.

Then approached him the goddess Athene

Likened in form to a youth who tendeth the sheep on a pasture,

Having a delicate beauty of mien, as the son of a chieftain;

Twofold over her shoulders a well-wrought mantle she carried;

Sandals she wore on her fair white feet, and a lance she was holding.

225

Then as he saw her Odysseus rejoiced and advancing to meet her

Lifted in welcome his voice, and with swift-winged words he addressed her :

"Friend, since thou art the first I have lighted upon in the country,

Welcome!—for truly I hope that thou com'st with a friendly intention-

Rescue this treasure of mine, and myself too! Lo, I beseech thee

230

Even as wert thou a god, at thy knees as a suppliant falling.

Also relate me the truth—for I fain would know it for certain :

What is this land? What people and natives dwell in the country?

One of the far-seen isles peradventure? or one of the beaches

Sloping adown to the sea on the fertile coast of the mainland?"

235

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Foolish thou seemst, O stranger, or else thou art come from a distance,

Seeing thou askest the name of the land. So utterly nameless

Sooth it is not. There's many and many a mortal that knows it-

Every mortal that dwells in the east, whence dawneth the sunrise,

240

Every mortal behind in the west, where fadeth the daylight.

Truly the island is rugged—not fit for the driving of horses-

Still, not utterly poor, though lacking in open expanses.

Corn in amazing abundance it groweth, and also the wine-grape

Ripens, and ever with rain and with freshening dew it is moistened.

245

Good is the isle as a pasture for goats and for kine, and it beareth

Every manner of wood and hath watering-places that fail not.

Therefore, stranger, hath Ithaca's name reached even to Troyland,

Though right far, it is said, 'tis away from the shores of Achaea."

So did she speak, and it joyed long-suffering godlike Odysseus,

250

Yea he rejoiced in the land of his birth when he heard what she told him,

Pallas Athena, the daughter of Zeus who beareth the aegis.

Then uplifting his voice these swift-winged words he addressed her ;

Yet no truth did he speak, for he curbed it before it was uttered,

Keeping, as ever, control of the mind right cunning within him:

255

"Ah yes, Ithaca's name I have heard far over the ocean,

E'en in the broad-spread island of Creta, from which I am come now,

I and this treasure of mine; and as much did I leave for my children,

Flying the land; for the son I had killed of a prince of the country,

Orsilochus swift-footed, who conquered in fleetness of running

260

Every mortal that liveth on bread in the isle of the Cretans.

Him I had killed—for he wished to deprive me of all of my booty

Gotten at Troy, in the winning whereof great toil I had suffered,

Tossed on the billows of war and the grievous waves of the ocean-

Wished it because I refused as attendant to follow his father

265

There in the Trojan land, and had captained a band of my fellows.

So with my bronze-shod spear I attacked him whenas he was coming

Home from the fields, waylaying him close to the road with a comrade.

Black was the night that enshrouded the heaven; no mortal perceived us;

None was aware of the deed I had done when of life I bereft him.

270

Now no sooner the man with my sharp-edged spear I had murdered,

Straight to a ship I betook me of proud Phoenician sea-folk;

Them I entreated, and gave them of spoil that delighteth a mortal,

Earnestly begging them take me aboard of the vessel and land me

Either at Pylos or Elis the fair, where rule the Epeans.

275

Thither to come howbeit withheld them the might of the storm-wind,

Much as they wished it; nor acted they willingly thus to deceive me.

Out of the course thus driven, at night we arrived at this island.

Toilfully rowing ahead to a harbour we came, and exhausted,

Wholly forgetful of food, though needing sorely a supper,

280

Stepped from the vessel and, just as we were, lay down on the sea-shore.

Now when in slumber refreshing I sank outworn with my labours,

Carrying all of my goods from the hollow vessel, they placed them

Here at my side, where sleeping I lay on the sands of the sea-shore.

Then, embarking again, for the flourishing city of Sidon

285

Started, and here I am left with a heart that is heavy with trouble."

Thus had he spoken when, smiling, the grey-eyed goddess Athene

Touched him with gentle caress; and she changed to the form of a woman

Beautiful, stately, and gifted with deftness in exquisite handwork.

Then uplifting her voice these swift-winged words she addressed him :

290

"Truly a master in craft were one that excelled thee in cunning!

Conquered in guile were e'en the immortal who happened to meet thee.

Ah, thou audacious inventor of falsehood, insatiate trickster,

Even at home, as it seemeth, thou mean'st not to cease from deceiving,

Weaving thy fables, wherein from the ground of thy heart thou delightest.

295

Come, let us speak no longer thereof! We are both of us practised

Weavers of wiles for of all of mankind thou art easily foremost

Both in thy counsels and speech, and amid the immortals I win me

Fame for my wit and my wiles. Yet how didst thou fail to discern me,

Pallas Athena, the daughter of Zeus—that goddess who always

300

Stands at thy side and defends thee in every hardship and danger,

Ay and who gained thee the love and the favour of all the Phaeacians?

Now am I come that we two may take some counsel together,

Also in safety to bring these gifts that the lordly Phaeacians

Gave at thy homeward departing (for such was my will and intention),

305

Yea and in order to tell thee of all thou art destined to suffer

E'en in thy well-built home—So resign thee to fate and endure it!

Nor do thou utter a word to a man of them all or a woman,

Telling that home thou art come from thy wanderings. Suffer in silence !

E'en though bitter the pain and deep the indignity, bear it!"

310

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

"Difficult 'twere for the mortal thou meetest, goddess, to know thee,

Though right clever he were, for thou cloth'st thee in every semblance.

This howbeit I know, that thou gavest me favour aforetime,

While in the country of Troy were warring the sons of Achaea;

315

Yet, when at last we had plundered the steep-built city of Priam,

After the Greeks had embarked on the ships and a god had dispersed them,

Never again I beheld thee, thou daughter of Zeus, nor perceived thee

Mounting aboard of my vessel in order to save me from sorrow.

Cherishing deep in my bosom a heart that was stricken with anguish,

320

Ever I wandered, until the immortals from evil released me,

Even till thou thyself in the rich Phaeacian country

Gavest me comforting words and didst show me the way in the city.

Now in the name of the Father I beg thee to tell me for never

May I believe I am come to the far-seen Ithacan island;

325

Nay, in a foreign land I am roaming, and merely to mock me

This thou art saying, and cheating my soul with an empty illusion-

Tell me the truth! Am I come to the dear-loved land of my fathers?"

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Ever and alway the same suspicious thoughts in thy bosom !

330

This is the reason I ne'er can desert thee in all thy affliction,

Since thou art wary and ready of wit and surpassing in prudence.

Gladly had many a man, thus safely returned from a far land,

Hastened him home in the longing to look on his wife and his children;

Nowise such is thy wish—nor to listen and learn from another,

335

Ere thou hast tested thy wife to the full; but she sitteth, as alway,

There in thy palace halls, and filled with the gloom of her sadness

Waneth the day and waneth the night, while ever she weepeth.

Truly I ne'er had a doubt—nay, deep in my spirit I knew it,

Knew thy return was assured, though lost were all of thy comrades;

340

Yet was I all unwilling to strive with my father's brother,

Even Poseidon, who cherished at heart such anger against thee,

Raging because of his well-loved son, whom thou reftest of eyesight.

Come now, look on the scene and assure thee 'tis Ithaca's island!

Here is the haven of Phorcys, the ancient god of the ocean !

345

There, at the head of the harbour, a high-branch'd olive is growing,

Distant from which not far is a pleasant shadowy grotto,

Sacred haunt of the nymphs that are known as the fountain naiads;

There is the cave with its roof high-arched where often aforetime

Unto the nymphs thou hast made full many a perfect oblation.

350

There too, clothed in its forests, the mountain of Neriton riseth."

These words spoken, she scattered the mist and uncovered the landscape.

Then exulted in joy long-suffering godlike Odysseus;

Yea he rejoiced and embracing the earth, dear mother of harvests,

Uttered a prayer to the nymphs, uplifting his hands to the heaven :

355

'Fountain Naiads, ye daughters of Zeus, I had verily never

Hoped to behold you again. With the vows of affection I greet you;

Yea and oblation of gifts we shall make you, as often aforetime,

Should but the daughter of Zeus, the bestower of booty, Athene,

Graciously grant me to live, and my son to arrive at his manhood."

360

Then once more made answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene :

"Take thou courage, nor suffer thy heart herein to be anxious!

Now let us carry the gifts to the depth of this wonderful grotto;

There we will hide them at once, since there we can leave them in safety;

Then let us twain take counsel together to act for the wisest."

365

Thus when the goddess had spoken she plunged in the shadowy cavern

Eagerly searching for places of hiding; and quickly Odysseus

Bringing the whole of his treasure—the gold and the bronze adamantine,

Fine-wrought garments as well, that Phaeacian nobles had given-

Stowed them away; and a boulder was set in the door by the goddess,

370

Pallas Athena, the daughter of Zeus who beareth the aegis.

Then did the twain at the base of the sacred olive recline them,

There to consult, devising the doom of the insolent suitors.

First of the twain to begin was the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

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

375

Think how best with a strong right hand these suitors to punish,

Shamelessly lording it still, as for three long years, in thy palace,

Wooing thy godlike wife and offering presents as lovers,

While with continual grief in her heart, as she waits for thy coming,

All she befooleth with hopes, and she giveth her promise to each one

380

Sending him many a message; but things far other she longs for."

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

"Lo now, just as it happ'd to Atrides, King Agamemnon!

Just his terrible doom in my halls I was fated to suffer,

Hadst thou not told me of all, O goddess, and duly advised me.

385

Now come, weave me a plan, how best I may hope to requite them.

Stand thou too by my side, and with dauntless courage endue me,

E'en as at Troy, when we loosened her shining tiara of towers.

Art thou so eager to stand, O grey-eyed goddess, beside me,

Then am I ready enough three hundred foes to encounter,

390

Having thy favour, my lady and goddess, to help and befriend me."

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Yea assuredly still I befriend thee, and ne'er shall forsake thee

Then, when at last we shall come to the work; and if much I mistake not,

Soon with his blood and his brains the unmeasured earth will bespatter

395

Many a man of the suitors, who now are wasting thy substance.

Come, I will change thy appearance that none shall be able to know thee;

All of the fair smooth flesh on thy pliant limbs will I wither,

Shrivel the yellow hair from thy head and wrap thee in raiment

Beggarly, such that a man might hacker at any that wore it.

400

Lustreless too will I make thine eyes, once gleaming in beauty,

So that a thing of contempt thou'lt seem to the whole of the suitors,

Yea to thy wife and the son thou didst leave as a babe in thy palace.

Now for thyself 'twere best to betake thee at first to the swineherd,

Even the thrall who attends to thy pigs. He is full of devotion

405

Both for thyself and thy son and the wise-souled Penelopeia.

Sitting in charge of the swine thou'lt find him—the herd that is feeding

Nigh to the Raven's Rock at the side of the spring Arethusa,

Eating the acorns wherein they delight, and drinking the fountain's

Dark sweet water—a food that doth nourish luxuriant fatness.

410

Here by the side of the swineherd remain and question him fully,

While I betake me to Sparta, the city of beautiful women,

Telemachus to recall; for thy son, thy beloved, Odysseus,

Thither, to wide Lacedaemon, is gone and to prince Menelaus,

Tidings of thee to discover, if still on the earth thou art living."

415

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

'Why hast thou said to him nought of the truth, though fully thou knewst it?

Was't to compel him to wander with sufferings, like to his father,

Over the wastes of the sea, while strangers devour his possessions?"

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

420

"Let not the thought of thy son too grievously trouble thy spirit.

I myself was his guide, for I wished him to win by the journey

Manly renown. Nor imagine he suffereth hardship. In comfort

Now in Atrides' palace he sits in the midst of abundance.

True, in their black-hulled ship these youths are lying in ambush

425

Eager to kill him before he arrives at the land of his fathers;

Yet do I reck not thereof, for the earth far sooner shall swallow

Many a one of the wooers who daily consume thy possessions."

Thus when Athena had spoken, her wand she extended and touched him;

All of the fair smooth flesh on his limbs of his body she withered,

430

Shrivelled the yellow hair from his head, and the whole of his person,

Every limb, with the skin of a man right agéd she covered ;

Lustreless too did she make those eyes, once gleaming in beauty;

Round him in stead of his raiment she wrapt vile rags and a doublet

Hanging in tatters and filthy, with smoke all foully besmutted,

435

Over him cast as a mantle the hide of a timorous roe-deer

Naked of hair, and she gave him a staff and a beggarly wallet

Terribly tattered and torn; and thereon was a cord to suspend it.

Thus, their counsellings ended, they parted, the goddess Athene

Going to fair Lacedaemon to seek for the son of Odysseus.

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New Alexandria Commentaries

Gregory Nagy

The storytelling of Odysseus has come to an end, and he will now be sent home to Ithaca by his hosts, Alkinoos and the Phaeacians. Sailing through the night in a ship provided by king Alkinoos, Odysseus is in a deep sleep, which is compared to death itself. At the precise moment when the ship reaches the shores of his homeland, Ithaca, Odysseus will ‘come to’, experiencing a mystical return to light and life.

draft js image error “Ulysses Asleep Laid on his Own Coast by the Phaeacian Sailors” (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.

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|78 εὖθ’ οἳ ἀνακλινθέντες ἀνερρίπτουν ἅλα πηδῷ, |79 καὶ τῷ νήδυμος ὕπνος ἐπὶ βλεφάροισιν ἔπιπτε, |80 νήγρετος ἥδιστος, θανάτῳ ἄγχιστα ἐοικώς. |81 ἡ δ’, ὥς τ’ ἐν πεδίῳ τετράοροι ἄρσενες ἵπποι, |82 πάντες ἅμ’ ὁρμηθέντες ὑπὸ πληγῇσιν ἱμάσθλης |83 ὑψόσ’ ἀειρόμενοι ῥίμφα πρήσσουσι κέλευθον, |84 ὣς ἄρα τῆς πρύμνη μὲν ἀείρετο, κῦμα δ’ ὄπισθεν |85 πορφύρεον μέγα θῦε πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης. |86 ἡ δὲ μάλ’ ἀσφαλέως θέεν ἔμπεδον· οὐδέ κεν ἴρηξ |87 κίρκος ὁμαρτήσειεν, ἐλαφρότατος πετεηνῶν· |88 ὣς ἡ ῥίμφα θέουσα θαλάσσης κύματ’ ἔταμνεν, |89 ἄνδρα φέρουσα θεοῖσ’ ἐναλίγκια μήδε’ ἔχοντα, |90 ὃς πρὶν μὲν μάλα πολλὰ πάθ’ ἄλγεα ὃν κατὰ θυμόν, |91 ἀνδρῶν τε πτολέμους ἀλεγεινά τε κύματα πείρων· |92 δὴ τότε γ’ ἀτρέμας εὗδε, λελασμένος ὅσσ’ ἐπεπόνθει. |93 εὖτ’ ἀστὴρ ὑπερέσχε φαάντατος, ὅς τε μάλιστα |94 ἔρχεται ἀγγέλλων φάος Ἠοῦς ἠριγενείης, |95 τῆμος δὴ νήσῳ προσεπίλνατο ποντοπόρος νηῦς.

|78 When they [= the Phaeacian seafarers] began rowing out to sea, |79 he [= Odysseus] felt a sweet sleep falling upon his eyelids. |80 It was a deep sleep, the sweetest, and most similar to death. |81 Meanwhile, the ship was speeding ahead, just as a team of four stallions drawing a chariot over a plain |82 speeds ahead in unison as they all feel the stroke of the whip, |83 gallopping along smoothly, with feet raised high as they make their way forward, |84 so also the prow of the ship kept curving upward as if it were the neck of a stallion, and, behind the ship, waves that were |85 huge and seething raged in the waters of the roaring sea. |86 The ship held steadily on its course, and not even a falcon, |87 raptor that he is, swiftest of all winged creatures, could have kept pace with it. |88 So did the ship cut its way smoothly through the waves, |89 carrying a man who was like the gods in his knowledge of clever ways, |90 who had beforehand suffered very many pains [algea] in his heart [thūmos], |91 taking part in wars among men and forging through so many waves that cause pain, |92 but now he was sleeping peacefully, forgetful of all he had suffered. |93 And when the brightest of all stars began to show, the one that, more than any other star, |94 comes to announce the light of the Dawn born in her earliness, |95 that is when the ship, famed for its travels over the seas, drew near to the island.

(The following is epitomized from H24H 10§§11–12.) The very idea of consciousness as conveyed by nóos is derived from the metaphor of returning to light from darkness, as encapsulated in the moment of waking up from sleep, or of regaining consciousness after losing consciousness, that is, of ‘coming to’. See the comment on O.01.003; also on O.09.082–104. This metaphor of coming to is at work not only in the meaning of nóos in the sense of consciousness but also in the meaning of nostos in the sense of returning from darkness and death to light and life. See the comment on O.01.005. Remarkably, these two meanings converge at one single point in the master myth of the Odyssey. It happens here at O.13.078-095, when Odysseus finally reaches his homeland of Ithaca. Odysseus has been sailing home on a ship provided by the Phaeacians, against the will of the god Poseidon, and the hero falls into a deep sleep that most resembles death itself, O.13.079–080. This sleep makes him momentarily unconscious: he ‘forgets’, as expressed by the verb lēth-, O.13.092, all the algea, ‘pains’, of his past journeys through so many different cities of so many different people, O.13.090-091. Then, at the very moment when the ship reaches the shore of Ithaca, the hero’s homeland, the morning star appears, heralding the coming of dawn, O.13.093–095. The Phaeacians hurriedly leave Odysseus on the beach where they placed him, still asleep, when they landed, O.13.119, and, once they sail away, he wakes up there, O.13.187. So, the moment of the hero’s homecoming, which is synchronized with the moment of sunrise, is now further synchronized with a moment of awakening from a sleep that most resembles death.

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Homer Odyssey 13.93

A. T. Murray (Translator)

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Current edition Perseus

ODYSSEY BOOK XIII

PATTEN WILSON
THE ARRIVAL AT ITHACA

New Alexandria Commentaries

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Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

ODYSSEY BOOK XIII

PATTEN WILSON THE ARRIVAL AT ITHACA

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

PATTEN WILSON
THE ARRIVAL AT ITHACA