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345 So spoke Telemachus, but among the wooers Pallas Athena roused unquenchable laughter, and turned their wits awry. And now they laughed with alien lips, and all bedabbled with blood was the flesh they ate,¹ and their eyes were filled with tears and their spirits set on wailing. 350 Then among them spoke godlike Theoclymenus: “Ah, wretched men, what evil is this that you suffer? Shrouded in night are your heads and your faces and your knees beneath you; kindled is the sound of wailing, bathed in tears are your cheeks, and sprinkled with blood are the walls and the fair rafters. 355 And full of ghosts is the porch and full the court, of ghosts that hasten down to Erebus beneath the darkness, and the sun has perished out of heaven and an evil mist hovers over all.” So he spoke, but they all laughed merrily at him. And among them Eurymachus, son of Polybus, was the first to speak: 360 “Mad is the stranger that has newly come from abroad. Quick, ye youths, convey him forth out of doors to go his way to the place of assembly, since here he finds it like night.” Then godlike Theoclymenus answered him: “Eurymachus, in no wise do I bid thee give me guides for my way. 365 I have eyes and ears and my two feet, and a mind in my breast that is in no wise meanly fashioned. With these will I go forth out of doors, for I mark evil coming upon you which not one of the wooers may escape or avoid, of all you who in the house of godlike Odysseus 370 insult men and devise wicked folly.” So saying, he went forth from the stately halls and came to Piraeus, who received him with a ready heart. But all the wooers, looking at one another, sought to provoke Telemachus by laughing at his guests. 375 And thus would one of the proud youths speak: “Telemachus, no man is more unlucky in his guests than thou, seeing that thou keepest such a filthy vagabond as this man here, always wanting bread and wine, and skilled neither in the works of peace nor those of war, but a mere burden of the earth. 380 And this other fellow again stood up to prophesy. Nay, if thou wouldst hearken to me it would be better far: let us fling these strangers on board a benched ship, and send them to the Sicilians, whence they would bring² thee in a fitting price.” So spake the wooers, but he paid no heed to their words. 385 Nay, in silence he watched his father, ever waiting until he should put forth his hands upon the shameless wooers. But the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope, had set her beautiful chair over against them, and heard the words of each man in the hall. 390 For they had made ready their meal in the midst of their laughing, a sweet meal, and one to satisfy the heart, for they had slain many beasts. But never could meal have been more graceless than a supper such as a goddess and a mighty man were soon to set before them. For unprovoked they were contriving deeds of shame.

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.) — 20.345 focus

ὣς φάτο Τηλέμαχος· μνηστῆρσι δὲ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη

345

ἄσβεστον γέλω ὦρσε, παρέπλαγξεν δὲ νόημα.

οἱ δʼ ἤδη γναθμοῖσι γελοίων ἀλλοτρίοισιν,

αἱμοφόρυκτα δὲ δὴ κρέα ἤσθιον· ὄσσε δʼ ἄρα σφέων

δακρυόφιν πίμπλαντο, γόον δʼ ὠΐετο θυμός.

τοῖσι δὲ καὶ μετέειπε Θεοκλύμενος θεοειδής·

350

ἆ δειλοί, τί κακὸν τόδε πάσχετε; νυκτὶ μὲν ὑμέων

εἰλύαται κεφαλαί τε πρόσωπά τε νέρθε τε γοῦνα.

οἰμωγὴ δὲ δέδηε, δεδάκρυνται δὲ παρειαί,

αἵματι δʼ ἐρράδαται τοῖχοι καλαί τε μεσόδμαι·

εἰδώλων δὲ πλέον πρόθυρον, πλείη δὲ καὶ αὐλή,

355

ἱεμένων Ἔρεβόσδε ὑπὸ ζόφον· ἠέλιος δὲ

οὐρανοῦ ἐξαπόλωλε, κακὴ δʼ ἐπιδέδρομεν ἀχλύς.

ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἱ δʼ ἄρα πάντες ἐπʼ αὐτῷ ἡδὺ γέλασσαν.

τοῖσιν δʼ Εὐρύμαχος, Πολύβου πάϊς, ἦρχʼ ἀγορεύειν·

ἀφραίνει ξεῖνος νέον ἄλλοθεν εἰληλουθώς.

360

ἀλλά μιν αἶψα, νέοι, δόμου ἐκπέμψασθε θύραζε

εἰς ἀγορὴν ἔρχεσθαι, ἐπεὶ τάδε νυκτὶ ἐΐσκει.

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε Θεοκλύμενος θεοειδής·

Εὐρύμαχʼ, οὔ τί σʼ ἄνωγα ἐμοὶ πομπῆας ὀπάζειν·

εἰσί μοι ὀφθαλμοί τε καὶ οὔατα καὶ πόδες ἄμφω

365

καὶ νόος ἐν στήθεσσι τετυγμένος οὐδὲν ἀεικής.

τοῖς ἔξειμι θύραζε, ἐπεὶ νοέω κακὸν ὔμμιν

ἐρχόμενον, τό κεν οὔ τις ὑπεκφύγοι οὐδʼ ἀλέαιτο

μνηστήρων, οἳ δῶμα κάτʼ ἀντιθέου Ὀδυσῆος

ἀνέρας ὑβρίζοντες ἀτάσθαλα μηχανάασθε.

370

ὣς εἰπὼν ἐξῆλθε δόμων εὖ ναιεταόντων,

ἵκετο δʼ ἐς Πείραιον, ὅ μιν πρόφρων ὑπέδεκτο.

μνηστῆρες δʼ ἄρα πάντες ἐς ἀλλήλους ὁρόωντες

Τηλέμαχον ἐρέθιζον, ἐπὶ ξείνοις γελόωντες·

ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκε νέων ὑπερηνορεόντων·

375

Τηλέμαχʼ, οὔ τις σεῖο κακοξεινώτερος ἄλλος·

οἷον μέν τινα τοῦτον ἔχεις ἐπίμαστον ἀλήτην,

σίτου καὶ οἴνου κεχρημένον, οὐδέ τι ἔργων

ἔμπαιον οὐδὲ βίης, ἀλλʼ αὔτως ἄχθος ἀρούρης.

ἄλλος δʼ αὖτέ τις οὗτος ἀνέστη μαντεύεσθαι.

380

ἀλλʼ εἴ μοί τι πίθοιο, τό κεν πολὺ κέρδιον εἴη·

τοὺς ξείνους ἐν νηῒ πολυκληῗδι βαλόντες

ἐς Σικελοὺς πέμψωμεν, ὅθεν κέ τοι ἄξιον ἄλφοι.

ὣς ἔφασαν μνηστῆρες· ὁ δʼ οὐκ ἐμπάζετο μύθων,

ἀλλʼ ἀκέων πατέρα προσεδέρκετο, δέγμενος αἰεί,

385

ὁππότε δὴ μνηστῆρσιν ἀναιδέσι χεῖρας ἐφήσει.

ἡ δὲ κατʼ ἄντηστιν θεμένη περικαλλέα δίφρον

κούρη Ἰκαρίοιο, περίφρων Πηνελόπεια,

ἀνδρῶν ἐν μεγάροισιν ἑκάστου μῦθον ἄκουεν.

δεῖπνον μὲν γάρ τοί γε γελοίωντες τετύκοντο

390

ἡδὺ τε καὶ μενοεικές, ἐπεὶ μάλα πόλλʼ ἱέρευσαν·

δόρπου δʼ οὐκ ἄν πως ἀχαρίστερον ἄλλο γένοιτο,

οἷον δὴ τάχʼ ἔμελλε θεὰ καὶ καρτερὸς ἀνὴρ

θησέμεναι· πρότεροι γὰρ ἀεικέα μηχανόωντο.

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.) — 20.363 focus

363 But Theoklymenos said, "Eurymakhos, you need not send any one with me. I have eyes, ears, and a pair of feet of my own, to say nothing of an understanding mind [ noos]. I will take these out of the house with me, for I see mischief overhanging you, from which not one of you men who are insulting people and plotting ill deeds in the house of Odysseus will be able to escape."

371 He left the house as he spoke, and went back to Peiraios who gave him welcome, but the suitors kept looking at one another and provoking Telemakhos by laughing at the strangers. One insolent fellow said to him, "Telemakhos, you are not happy in your guests; first you have this importunate tramp, who comes begging bread and wine and has no skill for work or for hard fighting [ biê], but is perfectly useless, and now here is another fellow who is setting himself up as a seer. Let me persuade you, for it will be much better, to put them on board ship and send them off to the Sicels to sell for what they will bring."

384 Telemakhos gave him no heed, but sat silently watching his father, expecting every moment that he would begin his attack upon the suitors.

387 Meanwhile the daughter of Ikarios, wise Penelope, had had a rich seat placed for her facing the court and cloisters, so that she could hear what every one was saying. The dinner indeed had been prepared amid merriment; it had been both good and abundant, for they had sacrificed many victims; but the supper was yet to come, and nothing can be conceived more gruesome than the meal which a goddess and a brave man were soon to lay before them - for they had brought their doom upon themselves. 394

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 20.345 focus

Athena now made the suitors fall to laughing immoderately, and set their wits wandering; but they were laughing with a forced laughter. Their meat became smeared with blood; their eyes filled with tears, and their hearts were heavy with forebodings. [350] Godlike Theoklymenos saw this and said, “Unhappy men, what is it that ails you? There is a shroud of darkness drawn over you from head to foot, your cheeks are wet with tears; the air is alive with wailing voices; the walls and roof-beams drip blood; [355] the gate of the halls and the court beyond them are full of spirits trooping down into the night of the netherworld; the sun is blotted out of the sky, and a blighting gloom is over all the land.”

Thus did he speak, and they all of them laughed heartily. Eurymakhos, son of Polybos, then said, [360] “This stranger who has lately come here has lost his senses. Servants, turn him out into the streets, since he finds it so dark here.”

But godlike Theoklymenos said, “Eurymakhos, you need not send anyone with me. [365] I have eyes, ears, and a pair of feet of my own, to say nothing of an understanding mind [ noos]. I will take these out of the house with me, 367 since I notice [ noeîn] that evil fortune is coming upon you, from which not one of you men who are insulting people [370] and plotting ill deeds in the house of godlike Odysseus will be able to escape.”

He left the house as he spoke, and went back to Piraios who gave him welcome, but the suitors kept looking at one another and provoking Telemachus by laughing at the strangers. [375] One insolent man said to him, “Telemachus, you are not happy in your guests; first you have this importunate tramp, who comes begging bread and wine and has no skill for work or for hard fighting [ biē], but is perfectly useless, [380] and now here is another man who is setting himself up as a prophet. Let me persuade you, for it will be much better, to put them on board ship and send them off to the Sicilians to sell for what they will bring.”

Telemachus gave him no heed, [385] but sat silently watching his father, expecting every moment that he would begin his attack upon the suitors.

Meanwhile the daughter of Ikarios, high-spirited Penelope, had had a rich seat placed for her facing the court and halls, so that she could hear what every one was saying. [390] The dinner indeed had been prepared amid merriment; it had been both good and abundant, for they had sacrificed many victims; but the supper was yet to come, and nothing can be conceived more gruesome than the meal which a goddess and a brave man were soon to lay before them—for they had brought their doom upon themselves.

Rhapsody 21

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873)) — 20.345 focus

He ended here, and Pallas, as he spake,

To inextinguishable laughter moved

The suitors. There they sat with wandering minds;

425

They swallowed morsels foul with blood; their eyes

Were filled with tears; their hearts foreboded woe.

Then spake the godlike Theoclymenus : -

"Unhappy men! what may this evil be

That overtakes you? Every brow and face

430

And each one's lower limbs are wrapped in night,

And moans arise, and tears are on your cheeks.

The walls and all the graceful cornices

Between the pillars are bedropped with blood,

The portico is full, these halls are full

435

Of shadows, hastening down to Erebus

Amid the gloom. The sun is blotted out

From heaven, and fearful darkness covers all."

He spake, and loud they laughed. Eurymachus,

The son of Polybus, in answer said : -

440

"The stranger prattles idly; he is come

From some far land. Conduct him through the door,

Young men, and send him to the market-place,

Since all things here are darkened to his eyes."

Then spake the godlike Theoclymenus:

445

"Eurymachus, from thee I ask no guide,

For I have eyes and ears, and two good feet,

And in my breast a mind as sound as they,

And by the aid of these I mean to make

My way without; for clearly I perceive

450

A coming evil, which no suitor here

Will yet escape, - no one who, in these halls

Of the great chief, Ulysses, treats with scorn

His fellow-man, and broods o'er guilty plans."

He spake, and, hastening from that noble pile,

455

Came to Piræus, in whose house he found

A welcome. All the suitors, as he went,

Looked at each other, and, the more to vex

Telemachus, kept laughing at his guests.

And thus an insolent youth among them said:

460

"No man had ever a worse set of guests

Than thou, Telemachus. For what a wretch

That wandering beggar is, who always wants

His bread and wine, and is unfit for work,

And has no strength; in truth, a useless load

465

Upon the earth he treads. The other guest

Rises to play the prophet. If thou take

My counsel, which I give thee for thy good,

Let them at once be put on board a bark

Of many oars, and we will send them hence

470

To the Sicilians; they will bring a price."

So talked the suitors, but he heeded not

Their words, and, looking toward his father, held

His peace, expecting when he would lay hands

Upon that insolent crew. Penelope,

475

Sage daughter of Icarius, took her place

Right opposite upon a sumptuous seat,

And heard the words of every man who spake

Within the hall. They held that midday feast

With laughter, - a luxurious feast it was,

480

And mirthful; many victims had been slain

To furnish forth the tables; but no feast

Could be more bitter than the later one,

To which the goddess and that valiant man

Would bid the guilty crew of plotters soon.

485

BOOK ΧΧΙ.

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 20.345 focus

But Pallas clouds with intellectual gloom

The suitors' souls, insensate of their doom!

A mirthful frenzy seiz'd the fated crowd;

415

The roofs resound with causeless laughter loud:

Floating in gore, portentous to survey!

In each discolour'd vase the viands lay:¹

Then down each cheek the tears spontaneous flow,

And sudden sighs precede approaching woe.

420

In vision rapt, the Hyperesian seer²

Uprose, and thus divin'd the vengeance near:

"O race to death devote! with Stygian shade

Each destin'd peer impending fates invade:

With tears your wan distorted cheeks are drown'd;

425

With sanguine drops the walls are rubied round:

Thick swarms the spacious hall with howling ghosts,

To people Orcus, and the burning coasts!

Nor gives the sun his golden orb to roll,

But universal night usurps the pole!"

430

Yet, warn'd in vain, with laughter loud elate,

The peers reproach the sure divine of Fate;

And thus Eurymachus: "The dotard's mind

To every sense is lost, to reason blind:

Swift from the dome conduct the slave away;

435

Let him in open air behold the day."

"Tax not" (the heaven-illumin'd seer rejoin'd)

"Of rage, or folly, my prophetic mind.

No clouds of error dim th' ethereal rays,

Her equal power each faithful sense obeys.

440

Unguided hence my trembling steps I bend,

Far hence, before yon hovering deaths descend;

Lest, the ripe harvest of revenge begun,

I share the doom ye suitors cannot shun."

This said, to sage Piraeus sped the seer,

445

His honour'd host, a welcome inmate there.

O'er the protracted feast the suitors sit,

And aim to wound the prince with pointless wit:

Cries one, with scornful leer and mimic voice,

"Thy charity we praise, but not thy choice;

450

Why such profusion of indulgence shown

To this poor, timorous, toil-detesting drone,

That others feeds on planetary schemes,

And pays his host with hideous noon-day dreams?

But, prince! for once at least believe a friend;

455

To some Sicilian mart these courtiers send,

Where, if they yield their freight across the main,

Dear sell the slaves! demand no greater gain."

Thus jovial they; but nought the prince replies;

Full on his sire he roll'd his ardent eyes;

460

Impatient straight to flesh his virgin-sword;

From the wise chief he waits the deathful word.

Nigh in her bright alcove, the pensive queen

To see the circle sate, of all unseen.

Sated at length they rise, and bid prepare

465

An eve-repast, with equal cost and care:

But vengeful Pallas, with preventing speed,

A feast proportion'd to their crimes decreed:

A feast of death, the feasters doom'd to bleed!

BOOK XXI.

THE BENDING OF ULYSSES' BOW.

Penelope, to put an end to the solicitations of the suitors, proposes to marry the person who shall first bend the bow of Ulysses, and shoot through the ringlets. After their attempts have proved ineffectual, Ulysses, taking Eumaeus and Philaetius apart, discovers himself to them; then returning, desires leave to try his strength at the bow, which, though refused with indignation by the suitors, Penelope and Telemachus cause to be delivered to his hands. He bends it immediately, and shoots through all the rings. Jupiter at the same instant thunders from heaven; Ulysses accepts the omen, and gives a sign to Telemachus, who stands ready armed at his side.

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 20.345 focus

So ended he. Then on the suitors' faces

Pallas sets up a laughter not their own,

Nor to be stopp'd; their senses she displaces,

Their meat was bloody, and their hearts were down.

320

What is't, poor men, said Theoclymenus,

Your heads and faces are wrapt up in night;

You weep and groan; the walls and beams of th' house

To me seem bloody; and left there is no light;

The hall and porch, methinks are full of sprites

325

Ready to go to hell; the sun has lost

His place in heaven, nor are there any lights;

And dismal darkness bath the house engross'd :

At this they laugh'd. Then, said Eurymachus,

This stranger is not very well, let him

330

By those that wait be guided from the house

To th' market-place; for all within is dim.

I am, said Theoclymenus, not blind,

I can go the market-place alone.

I have both eyes and ears, and feet and mind:

335

With these I can go hence. Guide need I none,

And go I will; for evil is hard by,

Which none of you the suitors shall escape

That have so much abused the family.

This said, he parts, and left the woo'rs to gape

340

On one another, and with insipid jests

To vex Telemachus, and themselves please,

And all upon Telemachus his guests.

The words that one of them then said were these:

Telemachus, of all men you're least able

345

To make an entertainment or a feast.

For first you for this beggar set a table,

Who eats and drinks as stoutly as the best,

But can no work do, nor has any force;

A very burthen to the earth. And this

350

A prophet would be, and loves to discourse

Of ill to come. My counsel therefore is,

That you would put these strangers both aboard

Some ship, and send them into Sicily.

They that way may some profit you afford.

355

Thus said the woo'rs, but little cared he,

But silently the sign expecting stood

His father should have giv'n of falling on.

Penelope meanwhile sat where site could

Hear plainly what was said by every one.

360

And now the suitors merry supper made,

And laughing sat, and fed on much good cheer:

But after supper worse none ever had,

For of the wrongs themselves beginners were.

ODYSSEY.

LIB. XXI.

Penelope bring. eth forth her husband'a bow, which the suitors could not bend. Ulysses makes himself known to Eumaus and Philœtius. He bends the bow.

English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857)) — 20.345 focus

At this, Minerva made for foolish joy

The Wooers mad, and roused their late annoy

To such a laughter as would never down.

They laugh'd with others' cheeks, ate meat o'erflown

525

With their own bloods, their eyes stood full of tears

For violent joys; their souls yet thought of fears,

Which Theoclymenus express'd, and said:

"O wretches! Why sustain ye, well apaid,

Your imminent ill? A night, with which Death sees,

530

Your heads and faces hides beneath your knees;

Shrieks burn about you; your eyes thrust out tears;

These fixed walls, and that main beam that bears

The whole house up, in bloody torrents fall;

The entry full of ghosts stands; full the hall

535

Of passengers to hell; and under all

The dismal shades; the sun sinks from the poles;

And troubled air pours bane about your souls."

They sweetly laugh'd at this. Eurymachus

To mocks disposed, and said: "This new-come-t'-us

540

Is surely mad, conduct him forth to light

In th' open market-place; he thinks 'tis night

Within the house." "Eurymachus," said he,

"I will not ask for any guide of thee,

I both my feet enjoy, have ears and eyes,

545

And no mad soul within me; and with these

Will I go forth the doors, because I know

That imminent mischief must abide with you,

Which not a man of all the Wooers here

Shall fly or 'scape. Ye all too highly bear

550

Your uncurb'd heads. Impieties ye commit,

And every man affect with forms unfit."

This said, he left the house, and took his way

Home to Piræus; who, as free as day,

Was of his welcome. When the Wooers' eyes

555

Changed looks with one another, and, their guise

Of laughters still held on, still eased their breasts

Of will to set the Prince against his guests,

Affirming that of all the men alive

He worst luck had, and proved it worst to give

560

Guests entertainment; for he had one there

A wandering hunter out of provender,

An errant beggar every way, yet thought

(He was so hungry) that he needed nought

But wine and victuals, nor knew how to do,

565

Nor had a spirit to put a knowledge to,

But lived an idle burthen to the earth.

Another then stepp'd up, and would lay forth

His lips in prophecy, thus: "But, would he hear

His friends' persuasions, he should find it were

570

More profit for him to put both aboard

For the Sicilian people, that afford

These feet of men good price; and this would bring

Good means for better guests." These words made wing

To his ears idly, who had still his eye

575

Upon his father, looking fervently

When he would lay his long-withholding hand

On those proud Wooers. And, within command

Of all this speech that pass'd, Icarius' heir,

The wise Penelope, her royal chair

580

Had placed of purpose. Their high dinner then

With all-pleased palates these ridiculous men

Fell sweetly to, as joying they had slain

Such store of banquet. But there did not reign

A bitterer banquet-planet in all heaven

585

Than that which Pallas had to that day driven,

And, with her able friend now, meant t' appose,

Since they till then were in deserts so gross.

THE TWENTY-FIRST BOOK OF HOMER'S ODYSSEYS.

THE ARGUMENT.

PENELOPE proposeth now

To him that draws Ulysses' bow

Her instant nuptials. Ithacus

Eumæus and Philætius

Gives charge for guarding of the gates;

And he his shaft shoots through the plates.

ANOTHER ARGUMENT.

Φῖ. The nuptial vow

And game rehears'd,

Drawn is the bow,

The steels are pierc'd.

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 20.345 focus

So spake Telemachus. Then Pallas struck

The suitors with delirium; wide they stretch'd

Their jaws with unspontaneous laughter loud;

Their meat dripp'd blood; tears fill'd their eyes, and dire

420

Presages of approaching woe, their hearts.

Then thus the prophet. Theoclymenus

Ah miserable men! what curse is this

That takes you now? night wraps itself around

Your faces, bodies, limbs; the palace shakes

425

With peals of groans and oh, what floods ye weep!

I see the walls and arches dappled thick

With gore; the vestibule is throng'd, the court

On all sides throng'd with apparitions grim

Of slaughter'd men sinking into the gloom

430

Of Erebus; the sun is blotted out

From heaven, and midnight whelms you premature.

He said, they hearing laugh'd; and thus the son

Of Polybus, Eurymachus replied.

This wanderer from a distant shore hath left

435

His wits behind. Hoa there! conduct him hence

Into the forum; since he dreams it night

Already, teach him there that it is day.

Then answer'd godlike Theoclymenus.

I have no need, Eurymachus, of guides

440

To lead me hence, for I have eyes and ears,

The use of both my feet, and of a mind

In no respect irrational or wild.

These shall conduct me forth, for well I know

That evil threatens you, such too as none

445

Shall 'scape of all the suitors, whose delight

Is to insult the unoffending guest

Received beneath this hospitable roof.

He said, and, issuing from the palace, sought

Piræus' house, who gladly welcomed him.

450

Then all the suitors on each other cast

A look significant, and, to provoke

Telemachus the more, fleer'd at his guests.

Of whom a youth thus, insolent, began.

No living wight, Telemachus, had e'er

455

Guests such as thine. Witness, we know not who,

This hungry vagabond, whose means of life

Are none, and who hath neither skill nor force

To earn them, a mere burthen on the ground.

Witness the other also, who upstarts

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A prophet suddenly. Take my advice;

I counsel wisely; send them both on board

Some gallant bark to Sicily for sale;

Thus shall they somewhat profit thee at last.

So spake the suitors, whom Telemachus

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Heard unconcern'd, and silent, look'd and look'd

Toward his father, watching still the time

When he should punish that licentious throng.

Meantime, Icarius' daughter, who had placed

Her splendid seat opposite, heard distinct

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Their taunting speeches. They, with noisy mirth,

Feasted deliciously, for they had slain

Many a fat victim; but a sadder feast

Than soon the Goddess and the warrior Chief

Should furnish for them, none shall ever share,

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Of which their crimes had furnish'd first the cause.

THE TWENTY-FIRST BOOK OF HOMER'S ODYSSEY.

ARGUMENT OF THE TWENTY-FIRST BOOK.

Penelope proposes to the suitors a contest with the bow, herself the prize. They prove unable to bend the bow; when Ulysses having with some difficulty possessed himself of it, manages it with the utmost ease, and dispatches his arrow through twelve rings erected for the trial.

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

ODYSSEY BOOK XX

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Came forth, bandying laughter and merriment one with another.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

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

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

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

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

Even if companies fifty in number of men that be mortal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then were given the maidens above all women by Hera

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

While from Athena they learnt the designing of exquisite handwork.

Now when the fair Aphrodite was wending to lofty Olympus,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now herein is an evil endurable-namely, whenever

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rolling together the wraps and the fleeces wherein he had slumbered

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Forthwith out of the radiant heights of Olympus he thundered

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

130

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

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

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

Him forthwith gave answer the wise-souled Eurycleia:

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

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

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

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

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

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

140

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

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

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

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

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

145

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

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

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

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

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

150

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

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

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

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

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

155

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

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

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

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

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

160

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

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

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

These he permitted to feed in the beautiful palace enclosure,

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

165

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

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

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

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

Shown by the wanton infatuate deeds of the insolent fellows

170

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

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

Then came passing anigh them Melanthius master of goatherds,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

180

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

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

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

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

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

185

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

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

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

These when he safely had tethered beneath the reëchoing portal,

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

190

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

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

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

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

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

195

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

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

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

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

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

200

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

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

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

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

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

205

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

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

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

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

Over his kine, as a youngster among Cephallenian people!

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These are growing unspeakably many: with none of the chieftains

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

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

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

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

215

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

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

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

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

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

220

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

Ay and indeed long since I had found some powerful chieftain

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

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

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

225

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

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

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

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

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

230

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

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

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

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

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

235

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

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

Likewise spake Eumaeus, and calling on all the immortals

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

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

240

Secretly planning the doom and death of the son of Odysseus

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

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

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

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

245

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

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

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

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

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

250

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

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

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

While by Philoetius, master of herdsmen, in beautiful baskets

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

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

Telemachus with a crafty intent now seated Odysseus

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

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

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

260

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marvelled at Telemachus and the dauntless words he had uttered.

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

270

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

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

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

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

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

275

Meantime up from the city was coming the sacred oblation

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

Gather them under the shadowy grove of the archer Apollo.

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

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

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

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

Telemachus, dear son of the hero godlike Odysseus.

Nowise willed it Athena to suffer the arrogant suitors

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

285

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

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

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

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

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

290

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

305

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

So had thy funeral busied thy father instead of thy wedding

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

315

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

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

Guests disgracefully treated and servant-maids of the household

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

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

320

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

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

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

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

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

325

Also to Telemachus and his mother I venture to offer

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

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

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

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

330

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

Should peradventure Odysseus arrive and appear at his homestead.

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

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

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

335

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

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

Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer :

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

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

340

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

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

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

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

Thus spake Telemachus, and, excited by Pallas Athene,

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

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

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

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

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

350

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

370

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

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

Meantime many a suitor, exchanging a glance with another,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

385

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

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

Even the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelopeia;

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

Merrily thus midst laughter the men made ready the dinner,

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

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

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

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

Notes on the current edition

Odyssey

1. 1

2. 1

New Alexandria Commentaries

Gregory Nagy

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

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

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Because the goddess Athena has destabilized for the suitors their noēma ‘thinking [by way of nóos]’, they will be incapable of ever recognizing the disguised Odysseus—until it is too late for them. The noun noēma is derived from the verb noeîn ‘take note of, notice’, which signals the kind of thinking that leads to recognition. See especially the comment at O.19.215–248.

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Among the many signs that signal the doom of the suitors, this omen as pictured here at O.20.354 is perhaps the most striking.

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Theoklymenos the seer can read with his mind, as expressed by the verb noeîn ‘take note (of), notice’, the doom of the suitors.

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Homer Odyssey 20.345

A. T. Murray (Translator)

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Rhapsody 21

BOOK ΧΧΙ.

BOOK XXI.

ODYSSEY.

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