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αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥʼ εὔξαντο καὶ οὐλοχύτας προβάλοντο,

αὐτίκα Νέστορος υἱὸς ὑπέρθυμος Θρασυμήδης

ἤλασεν ἄγχι στάς· πέλεκυς δʼ ἀπέκοψε τένοντας

αὐχενίους, λῦσεν δὲ βοὸς μένος. αἱ δʼ ὀλόλυξαν

450

θυγατέρες τε νυοί τε καὶ αἰδοίη παράκοιτις

Νέστορος, Εὐρυδίκη, πρέσβα Κλυμένοιο θυγατρῶν.

οἱ μὲν ἔπειτʼ ἀνελόντες ἀπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης

ἔσχον· ἀτὰρ σφάξεν Πεισίστρατος, ὄρχαμος ἀνδρῶν.

τῆς δʼ ἐπεὶ ἐκ μέλαν αἷμα ῥύη, λίπε δʼ ὀστέα θυμός,

455

αἶψʼ ἄρα μιν διέχευαν, ἄφαρ δʼ ἐκ μηρία τάμνον

πάντα κατὰ μοῖραν, κατά τε κνίσῃ ἐκάλυψαν

δίπτυχα ποιήσαντες, ἐπʼ αὐτῶν δʼ ὠμοθέτησαν.

καῖε δʼ ἐπὶ σχίζῃς ὁ γέρων, ἐπὶ δʼ αἴθοπα οἶνον

λεῖβε· νέοι δὲ παρʼ αὐτὸν ἔχον πεμπώβολα χερσίν.

460

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ κατὰ μῆρʼ ἐκάη καὶ σπλάγχνα πάσαντο,

μίστυλλόν τʼ ἄρα τἆλλα καὶ ἀμφʼ ὀβελοῖσιν ἔπειραν,

ὤπτων δʼ ἀκροπόρους ὀβελοὺς ἐν χερσὶν ἔχοντες.

τόφρα δὲ Τηλέμαχον λοῦσεν καλὴ Πολυκάστη,

Νέστορος ὁπλοτάτη θυγάτηρ Νηληϊάδαο.

465

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ λοῦσέν τε καὶ ἔχρισεν λίπʼ ἐλαίῳ,

ἀμφὶ δέ μιν φᾶρος καλὸν βάλεν ἠδὲ χιτῶνα,

ἔκ ῥʼ ἀσαμίνθου βῆ δέμας ἀθανάτοισιν ὁμοῖος·

πὰρ δʼ ὅ γε Νέστορʼ ἰὼν κατʼ ἄρʼ ἕζετο, ποιμένα λαῶν.

οἱ δʼ ἐπεὶ ὤπτησαν κρέʼ ὑπέρτερα καὶ ἐρύσαντο,

470

δαίνυνθʼ ἑζόμενοι· ἐπὶ δʼ ἀνέρες ἐσθλοὶ ὄροντο

οἶνον οἰνοχοεῦντες ἐνὶ χρυσέοις δεπάεσσιν.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,

τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε Γερήνιος ἱππότα Νέστωρ·

παῖδες ἐμοί, ἄγε Τηλεμάχῳ καλλίτριχας ἵππους

475

ζεύξαθʼ ὑφʼ ἅρματʼ ἄγοντες, ἵνα πρήσσῃσιν ὁδοῖο.

ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἱ δʼ ἄρα τοῦ μάλα μὲν κλύον ἠδʼ ἐπίθοντο,

καρπαλίμως δʼ ἔζευξαν ὑφʼ ἅρμασιν ὠκέας ἵππους.

ἐν δὲ γυνὴ ταμίη σῖτον καὶ οἶνον ἔθηκεν

ὄψα τε, οἷα ἔδουσι διοτρεφέες βασιλῆες.

480

ἂν δʼ ἄρα Τηλέμαχος περικαλλέα βήσετο δίφρον·

πὰρ δʼ ἄρα Νεστορίδης Πεισίστρατος, ὄρχαμος ἀνδρῶν,

ἐς δίφρον τʼ ἀνέβαινε καὶ ἡνία λάζετο χερσί,

μάστιξεν δʼ ἐλάαν, τὼ δʼ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην

ἐς πεδίον, λιπέτην δὲ Πύλου αἰπὺ πτολίεθρον.

485

οἱ δὲ πανημέριοι σεῖον ζυγὸν ἀμφὶς ἔχοντες.

δύσετό τʼ ἠέλιος σκιόωντό τε πᾶσαι ἀγυιαί,

ἐς Φηρὰς δʼ ἵκοντο Διοκλῆος ποτὶ δῶμα,

υἱέος Ὀρτιλόχοιο, τὸν Ἀλφειὸς τέκε παῖδα.

ἔνθα δὲ νύκτʼ ἄεσαν, ὁ δὲ τοῖς πὰρ ξείνια θῆκεν.

490

ἦμος δʼ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,

ἵππους τε ζεύγνυντʼ ἀνά θʼ ἅρματα ποικίλʼ ἔβαινον·

ἐκ δʼ ἔλασαν προθύροιο καὶ αἰθούσης ἐριδούπου·

μάστιξεν δʼ ἐλάαν, τὼ δʼ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην.

ἷξον δʼ ἐς πεδίον πυρηφόρον, ἔνθα δʼ ἔπειτα

495

ἦνον ὁδόν· τοῖον γὰρ ὑπέκφερον ὠκέες ἵπποι.

δύσετό τʼ ἠέλιος σκιόωντό τε πᾶσαι ἀγυιαί.

Odyssey. Homer. ed. A. T. Murray. London. 1919.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

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

Translations (9)

Odyssey Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), translator. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.) — 3.447 focus

Now when they had prayed, and had strewn the barley grains, straightway the son of Nestor, Thrasymedes, high of heart, came near and dealt the blow; and the axe cut through the sinews 450 of the neck, and loosened the strength of the heifer. Then the women raised the sacred cry, the daughters and the sons' wives and the revered wife of Nestor, Eurydice, the eldest of the daughters of Clymenus, and the men raised the heifer's head from the broad-wayed earth and held it, and Peisistratus, leader of men, cut the throat. 455 And when the black blood had flowed from her and the life had left the bones, at once they cut up the body and straightway cut out the thigh-pieces all in due order, and covered them with a double layer of fat, and laid raw flesh upon them. Then the old man burned them on billets of wood, and poured over them sparkling wine, 460 and beside him the young men held in their hands the five-pronged forks. But when the thigh-pieces were wholly burned, and they had tasted the inner parts, they cut up the rest and spitted and roasted it, holding the pointed spits in their hands. Meanwhile the fair Polycaste, 465 the youngest daughter of Nestor, son of Neleus, bathed Telemachus. And when she had bathed him and anointed him richly¹ with oil, and had cast about him a fair cloak and a tunic, forth from the bath he came in form like unto the immortals; and he went and sat down by Nestor, the shepherd of the people. 470 Now when they had roasted the outer flesh and had drawn it off the spits, they sat down and feasted, and worthy men waited on them, pouring wine² into golden cups. But when they had put from them the desire of food and drink, the horseman, Nestor of Gerenia , was first to speak, saying: 475 “My sons, up, yoke for Telemachus horses with beautiful mane beneath the car, that he may get forward on his journey.” So he spoke, and they readily hearkened and obeyed; and quickly they yoked beneath the car the swift horses. And the housewife placed in the car bread and wine 480 and dainties, such as kings, fostered of Zeus, are wont to eat. Then Telemachus mounted the beautiful car, and Peisistratus, son of Nestor, a leader of men, mounted beside him, and took the reins in his hands. He touched the horses with the whip to start them, and nothing loath the pair sped on 485 to the plain, and left the steep citadel of Pylos . So all day long they shook the yoke which they bore about their necks. Now the sun set and all the ways grew dark. And they came to Pherae, to the house of Diocles, son of Ortilochus, whom Alpheus begot. 490 There they spent the night, and before them he set the entertainment due to strangers. So soon as early Dawn appeared, the rosy-fingered, they yoked the horses and mounted the inlaid car, and drove forth from the gateway and the echoing portico. Then Peisistratus touched the horses with the whip to start them, and nothing loath the pair sped onward. 495 So they came to the wheat-bearing plain, and thereafter pressed on toward their journey's end, so well did their swift horses bear them on. And the sun set and all the ways grew dark.

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.) — 3.418 focus

418 "My sons," said he, "make haste to do as I shall bid you. I wish first and foremost to propitiate the great goddess Athena, who manifested herself visibly to me during yesterday's festivities. Go, then, one or other of you to the plain, tell the stockman to look me out a heifer, and come on here with it at once. Another must go to Telemakhos' ship, and invite all the crew, leaving two men only in charge of the vessel. Some one else will run and fetch Laerceus the goldsmith to gild the horns of the heifer. The rest, stay all of you where you are; tell the maids in the house to prepare an excellent dinner, and to fetch seats, and logs of wood for a burnt offering. Tell them also to bring me some clear spring water."

430 On this they hurried off on their several errands. The heifer was brought in from the plain, and Telemakhos' crew came from the ship; the goldsmith brought the anvil, hammer, and tongs, with which he worked his gold, and Athena herself came to the sacrifice. Nestor gave out the gold, and the smith gilded the horns of the heifer that the goddess might have pleasure in their beauty. Then Stratios and Echephron brought her in by the horns; Aretos fetched water from the house in a ewer that had a flower pattern on it, and in his other hand he held a basket of barley meal; sturdy Thrasymedes stood by with a sharp axe, ready to strike the heifer, while Perseus held a bucket. Then Nestor began with washing his hands and sprinkling the barley meal, and he offered many a prayer to Athena as he threw a lock from the heifer's head upon the fire.

447 When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley meal Thrasymedes dealt his blow, and brought the heifer down with a stroke that cut through the tendons at the base of her neck, whereon the daughters and daughters-in-law of Nestor, and his venerable wife Eurydice (she was eldest daughter to Klymenos) screamed with delight. Then they lifted the heifer's head from off the ground, and Peisistratos cut her throat. When she had done bleeding and was quite dead, they cut her up. They cut out the thigh bones all in due course, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, and set some pieces of raw meat on the top of them; then Nestor laid them upon the wood fire and poured wine over them, while the young men stood near him with five-pronged spits in their hands. When the thighs were burned and they had tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest of the meat up small, put the pieces on the spits and toasted them over the fire.

464 Meanwhile lovely Polykaste, Nestor's youngest daughter, washed Telemakhos. When she had washed him and anointed him with oil, she brought him a fair mantle and shirt, and he looked like a god as he came from the bath and took his seat by the side of Nestor. When the outer meats were done they drew them off the spits and sat down to dinner where they were waited upon by some worthy henchmen, who kept pouring them out their wine in cups of gold. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink Nestor said, "Sons, put Telemakhos' horses to the chariot that he may start at once."

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 3.447 focus

When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley meal Thrasymedes, the high-hearted son of Nestor dealt his blow, and brought the heifer down with a stroke that cut through the tendons [450] at the base of her neck, whereon the daughters and daughters-in-law of Nestor, and his venerable wife Eurydice (she was eldest daughter to Klymenos) shouted ‘ololu’ in delight. Then they lifted the heifer’s head from off the ground, and Peisistratos, leader of men, cut her throat. [455] When she had done bleeding and was quite dead, they cut her up. They cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, set some pieces of raw meat on the top of them. 459 And the old man burned them [= the thigh bones] over splinters of wood, and bright wine did he [460] pour over them, while the young men were getting ready for him the five-pronged forks that they were holding in their hands. When the thighs were burned and they had tasted the innards, they cut the rest of the meat up small, put the pieces on the spits and toasted them over the fire.

Meanwhile lovely Polykaste, [465] Nestor’s youngest daughter, washed Telemachus. When she had washed him and anointed him with oil, she brought him a fair mantle and khiton. 468 He emerged from the bathtub [ asaminthos], looking like [ homoios] the immortals in size, and took his seat by the side of Nestor. [470] When the outer meats were done they drew them off the spits and sat down to dinner where they were waited upon by some worthy henchmen, who kept pouring them out their wine in cups of gold. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink Nestor, the charioteer of Gerenia, said, [475] “Sons, put Telemachus’ horses to the chariot that he may start at once.”

Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said, and yoked the fleet horses to the chariot. The housekeeper packed them up a provision of bread, wine, [480] and sweetmeats fit for the sons of princes. Then Telemachus got into the chariot, while Peisistratos, leader of men, the son of Nestor, gathered up the reins and took his seat beside him. He lashed the horses on and they flew forward nothing loath [485] into the open country, leaving the high citadel of Pylos behind them. All that day did they travel, swaying the yoke upon their necks till the sun went down and darkness was over all the land. Then they reached Pherai where Diokles lived, who was son to Ortilokhos and grandson to Alpheus. [490] Here they passed the night and Diokles entertained them hospitably. When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn; appeared, they again yoked their horses and drove out through the gateway under the echoing gatehouse. Peisistratos lashed the horses on and they flew forward, holding back nothing; [495] presently they came to the wheat lands of the open country, and in the course of time completed their journey, so well did their steeds take them. Now when the sun had set and darkness was over the land…

Rhapsody 4

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873)) — 3.447 focus

And now, when they had prayed, and flung the cakes,

The large-souled Thrasymedes, Nestor's son,

Struck, where he stood, the blow; the bullock's strength

Gave way. At once the daughters of the king,

And his sons' wives, and queen Eurydicè, -

580

Nestor's chaste wife, and daughter eldest born

Of Clymenus, broke forth in shrilly cries.

From the great earth the sons then lifted up

And held the victim's head. Peisistratus,

The chief of squadrons, slew it. When the blood

585

Had ceased to flow, and life had left its limbs,

They quickly severed joint from joint; they hewed

The thighs away, and duly covered them

With caul, a double fold, on which they laid

Raw strips of flesh. The aged monarch burned

590

These over the cleft wood, and poured dark wine

Upon them, while beside him stood the youths

With five-pronged spits; and when the thighs were burned

And entrails tasted, all the rest they carved

Into small portions and transfixed with spits,

595

And roasted, holding the sharp spits in hand.

Meantime, fair Polycastè, youngest born

Of Nestor's daughters, gave Telemachus

The bath; and after he had bathed she shed

A rich oil over him, and in a cloak

600

Of noble texture and a tunic robed

The prince, who, like a god in presence, left

The bath, and took his place where Nestor sat,

The shepherd of the people. When the youths

Had roasted well and from the spits with-drawn

605

The flesh, they took their places at the feast.

Then rose up chosen men, and poured the wine

Into the cups of gold; and when at length

The thirst and appetite were both allayed,

The knight, Gerenian Nestor, thus began :-

610

"Rise now, my sons; join to the bright-haired steeds

My car, and let Telemachus depart."

He spake; they hearkened and obeyed, and straight

Yoked the swift horses to the car. Then came

'The matron of the household, laying bread

615

And wine within the car, and dainties such

As make a prince's fare. Telemachus

Then climbed into the sumptuous seat. The son

Of Nestor and the chief of armed bands,

Peisistratus, climbed also, took his place

620

Beside him, grasped the reins, and with the lash

Urged on the coursers. Not unwillingly

They darted toward the plain, and left behind

The lofty Pylos. All that day they shook

The yoke on both their necks. The sun went down;

625

The highways lay in darkness when they came

To Pheræ and the abode of Diocles,

Son of Orsilochus, who claimed to be

The offspring of Alpheius. They with him

Found welcome there, and there that night they slept.

630

And when the rosy-fingered Morn appeared,

They yoked the horses, climbed the shining car,

And issued from the palace gate beneath

The sounding portico. Peisistratus

Wielded the lash to urge the coursers on,

635

And not unwillingly they flew and reached

A land of harvests. Here the travellers found

Their journey's end, so swiftly those fleet steeds

Had borne them on. And now the sun went down,

And darkness gathered over all the ways.

640

BOOK IV.

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 3.447 focus

Soon as due vows on every part were paid,

And sacred wheat upon the victim laid,

Strong Thrasymed discharg'd the speeding blow

570

Full on his neck, and cut the nerves in two.

Down sunk the heavy beast: the females round,

Maids, wives, and matrons, mix a shrilling sound.

Nor scorn'd the queen the holy choir to join;

(The first-born she, of old Clymenus' line;

575

In youth by Nestor lov'd, of spotless fame,

And lov'd in age, Eurydice her name.)

From earth they rear him, struggling now with death;

And Nestor's youngest stops the vents of breath.

The soul for ever flies: on all sides round

580

Streams the black blood, and smokes upon the ground.

The beast they then divide, and disunite

The ribs and limbs, observant of the rite :

On these, in double cauls involv'd with art,

The choicest morsels lay from every part.

585

The sacred sage before his altar stands,

Turns the burnt-offering with his holy hands,

And pours the wine, and bids the flames aspire :

The youth with instruments surround the fire.

The thighs now sacrificed, and entrails dress'd,

590

Th' assistants part, transfix, and broil the rest.

While these officious tend the rites divine,

The last fair branch of the Nestorean line,

Sweet Polycastè, took the pleasing toil

To bathe the prince, and pour the fragrant oil.¹

595

O'er his fair limbs a flowery vest he threw,

And issued, like a god, to mortal view.

His former seat beside the king he found,

(His people's father with his peers around ;)

All placed at ease the holy banquet join,

600

And in the dazzling goblet laughs the wine.

The rage of thirst and hunger now suppress'd,

The monarch turns him to his royal guest;

And for the promis'd journey bids prepare

The smooth-hair's horses, and the rapid car.

605

Observant of his word, the word scarce spoke,

The sons obey, and join them to the yoke.

Then bread and wine a ready handmaid brings,

And presents, such as suit the state of kings,

The glittering seat Telemachus ascends;

610

His faithful guide Pisistratus attends;

With hasty hand the ruling reins he drew :

He lash'd the coursers, and the coursers flew.

Beneath the bounding yoke alike they held

Their equal pace, and smoked along the field.

615

The towers of Pylos sink, its views decay,

Fields after fields fly back, till close of day:

Then sunk the sun, and darken'd all the way.

To Pheræ now, Diocleus' stately seat,

(Of Alpheus' race,) the weary youths retreat.

620

His house affords the hospitable rite,

And pleas'd they sleep, the blessing of the night.

But when Aurora, daughter of the dawn,

With rosy lustre purpled o'er the lawn,

Again they mount, their journey to renew,

625

And from the sounding portico they flew.

Along the waving fields their way they hold,

The fields receding as their chariot roll'old:

Then slowly sunk the ruddy globe of light,

And o'er the shaded landscape rush'd the night.

630

BOOK IV.

ARGUMENT.

THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS.

Telemachus with Pisistratus arriving at Sparta, is hospitably received by Menelaus, to whom he relates the cause of his coming, and learns from him many particulars of what befel the Greeks since the destruction o Troy. He dwells more at large upon the prophecies of Proteus to him in his return; from which he acquaints Telemachus, that Ulysses is detained in the island of Calypso.

In the meantime the suitors consult to destroy Telemachus in his voyage home. Penelope is apprised of this: but comforted in a dream by Pallas, in the shape of her sister Iphthima.

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 3.447 focus

Then prayed the rest; and barley sprinkled

Upon the fire, and Thrasymed then slew

The heifer with his axe, and cut in twain

The tendons of the neck, and down she fell;

And Nestor's wife and daughters shout amain

415

To see the sacred act performed well.

Pisistratus then cuts the victim's throat,

And up they held it to let out the blood

Into a pail which Perseus thither brought,

And to that purpose ready with it stood.

420

The life together with the blood outflies.

Then from the body they the bowels draw,

And next cut off the shoulders and the thighs,

As is of sacrifice the ritual law;

And them slit into two parts they display,

425

And cover them all over with sweet fat,

Shoulder on shoulder, thigh on thigh they lay,

And Nestor on the altar burneth that;

And with it on the fire black wine he poured.

By him a spit was ready with five points.

430

The fire the thighs, the men th' entrails devoured,

The rest divided was in smaller joints,

To roast on spits. Telemachus the while

Into the bath retired, and was there

Well bathed, and anointed with sweet oil

435

By Polycaste, Nestor's daughter dear,

And in a robe and coat clad gloriously,

And came, as if no mortal he had been,

Into the hall, and sat down Nestor by.

The meat now ready straightway was brought in.

440

Then in the young men came to fill them wine.

When they with flesh and wine were satisfied,

Then to his sons said Nestor, Children mine,

The horses to the coach see quickly tied.

Away they go, and to the coach they set

445

The horses swift; and in it bread and wine

A maid laid in, and with it choicest meat,

Which none but god-fed kings eat when they dine.

Up to the seat then went Telemachus

(The seat was large and capable of two)

450

And after him went up Pisistratus,

And whip and reins he took his hands into.

Touch'd with the whip, the horses take the way,

And all the day long made their harness shake.

The sun went down, dark were the streets. Then they

455

At Pherme were. And there their rest they take.

There Diodes, Orsilochus his son,

Son of Alphaeus them did entertain,

And with fair gifts presented them each one.

But soon as morning did appear again,

460

Their horses to the coach again they tie,

And from the porch drive them into the way,

Touched with the whip again away they fly.

The sun now down, and ended was the day.

ODYSSEY.

LIB. IV.

His entertainment in Sparta, where Menelaus tells him what befel many of the Greeks in their return; that Ulysses was with Calypso in the isle Ogygia, as he was told by Proteus.

English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857)) — 3.447 focus

All th' invocation past,

And all the cake broke, manly Thrasymed

Stood near, and sure, and such a blow he laid

Aloft the offering, that to earth he sunk,

His neck-nerves sunder'd, and his spirits shrunk.

610

Out shriek'd the daughters, daughter-in-laws, and wife

Of three-aged Nestor, who had eldest life

Of Clymen's daughters, chaste Eurydice.

The ox on broad earth then laid laterally

They held, while duke Pisistratus the throat

615

Dissolv'd, and set the sable blood afloat,

And then the life the bones left. Instantly

They cut him up; apart flew either thigh,

That with the fat they dubb'd, with art alone,

The throat-brisk, and the sweet-bread pricking on.

620

Then Nestor broil'd them on the coal-turn'd wood,

Pour'd black wine on; and by him young men stood,

That spits fine-pointed held, on which, when burn'd

The solid thighs were, they transfix'd, and turn'd

The inwards, cut in cantles; which, the meat

625

Vow'd to the Gods consum'd, they roast and eat.

In mean space, Polycaste (call'd the fair,

Nestor's young'st daughter) bath'd Ulysses' heir;

Whom having cleans'd, and with rich balms bespread,

She cast a white shirt quickly o'er his head,

630

And then his weeds put on; when forth he went,

And did the person of a God present,

Came, and by Nestor took his honour'd seat,

This pastor of the people. Then, the meat

Of all the spare parts roasted, off they drew,

635

Sat, and fell to. But soon the temperate few

Rose, and in golden bowls fill'd others wine.

Till, when the rest felt thirst of feast decline,

Nestor his sons bad fetch his high-man'd horse,

And them in chariot join, to run the course

640

The prince resolv'd. Obey'd, as soon as heard,

Was Nestor by his sons, who straight prepar'd

Both horse and chariot. She that kept the store,

Both bread and wine, and all such viands more,

As should the feast of Jove-fed kings compose,

645

Purvey'd the voyage. To the rich coach rose

Ulysses' son, and close to him ascended

The duke Pisistratus, the reins intended,

And scourg'd, to force to field, who freely flew;

And left the town that far her splendour threw,

650

Both holding yoke, and shook it all the day.

But now the sun set, dark'ning every way,

When they to Pheris came; and in the house

Of Diocles (the son t' Orsilochus,

Whom flood Alpheus got) slept all that night;

655

Who gave them each due hospitable rite.

But when the rosy-finger'd Morn arose,

They went to coach, and did their horse inclose,

Drave forth the fore-court, and the porch that yields

Each breath a sound, and to the fruitful fields

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Rode scourging still their willing flying steeds,

Who strenuously perform'd their wonted speeds.

Their journey ending just when sun went down,

And shadows all ways through the earth were thrown.

²³

THE FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ODYSSEYS.

THE ARGUMENT.

RECEIVED now in the Spartan court,

Telemachus prefers report

To Menelaus of the throng

Of Wooers with him, and their wrong.

Atrides tells the Greeks' retreat,

And doth a prophecy repeat

That Proteus made, by which he knew

His brother's death; and then doth show

How with Calypso lived the sire

Of his young guest. The Wooers conspire

Their prince's death. Whose treachery known,

Penelope in tears doth drown.

Whom Pallas by a dream doth cheer,

And in similitude appear

Of fair Iphthima, known to be

The sister of Penelope.

ANOTHER ARGUMENT.

Δέλτα. Here of the sire

The son doth hear.

The Wooers conspire.

The Mother's fear.

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 3.447 focus

When all had worshipp'd, and the broken cakes

Sprinkled, then godlike Thrasymedes drew

Close to the ox, and smote him. Deep the edge

Enter'd, and senseless on the floor he fell.

Then Nestor's daughters, and the consorts all

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Of Nestor's sons, with his own consort, chaste

Eurydice, the daughter eldest-born

Of Clymenus, in one shrill orison

Vociferous join'd, while they, lifting the ox,

Held him supported firmly, and the prince

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Of men, Pisistratus, his gullet pierced.

Soon as the sable blood had ceased, and life

Had left the victim, spreading him abroad,

With nice address they parted at the joint

His thighs, and wrapp'd them in the double cawl,

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Which with crude slices thin they overspread.

Nestor burn'd incense, and libation pour'd

Large on the hissing brands, while, him beside,

Busy with spit and prong, stood many a youth

Train'd to the task. The thighs consumed, each took

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His portion of the maw, then, slashing well

The remnant, they transpierced it with the spits

Neatly, and held it reeking at the fire.

Meantime the youngest of the daughters fair

Of Nestor, beauteous Polycaste, laved,

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Anointed, and in vest and tunic clothed

Telemachus, who, so refresh'd, stepp'd forth

From the bright laver graceful as a God,

And took his seat at ancient Nestor's side.

The viands dress'd, and from the spits withdrawn,

590

They sat to share the feast, and princely youths

Arising, gave them wine in cups of gold.

When neither hunger now nor thirst remain'd

Unsated, thus Gerenian Nestor spake.

My sons, arise! lead forth the sprightly steeds,

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And yoke them, that Telemachus may go.

So spake the Chief, to whose command his sons,

Obedient, yoked in haste the rapid steeds,

And the intendant matron of the stores

Disposed meantime within the chariot, bread

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And wine, with dainties, such as princes eat.

Telemachus into the chariot first

Ascended, and beside him, next, his place

Pisistratus the son of Nestor took,

Then seized the reins, and lash'd the coursers on.

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They, nothing loth, into the open plain

Flew, leaving lofty Pylus soon afar.

Thus, journeying, they shook on either side

The yoke all day; and now the setting sun

To dusky evening had resign'd the roads,

610

When they to Pheræ came, and the abode

Reach'd of Diocles, whose illustrious Sire

Orsilochus from Alpheus drew his birth,

And there, with kindness entertain'd, they slept.

But when Aurora, daughter of the dawn,

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Look'd rosy from the East, yoking the steeds,

They in their sumptuous chariot sat again.

The son of Nestor plied the lash, and forth

Through vestibule and sounding portico

The royal coursers, not unwilling, flew.

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A corn-invested land received them next,

And there they brought their journey to a close,

So rapidly they moved; and now the sun

Went down, and even-tide dimm'd all the ways.

THE FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ODYSSEYS.

ARGUMENT OF THE FOURTH BOOK.

Telemachus, with Pisistratus, arrives at the palace of Mene-

laus, from whom he receives some fresh information concern-

ing the return of the Greecians, and is in particular told, on

the authority of Proteus, that his father is detained by Ca-

lypso. The suitors, plotting against the life of Telemachus,

lie in wait to intercept him in his return to Ithaca. Penelope

being informed of his departure, and of their designs to slay

him, becomes inconsolable, but is relieved by a dream sent to

her from Minerva.

THE ODYSSEY.
BOOK IV.

English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911)) — 3 focus

ODYSSEY BOOK III

THEN, as the sun rushed up from the beautiful lake of the ocean

Into a heaven of brass and brought back light for immortals,

Yea and for mortals that live on the earth, rich giver of harvests,

Unto the Pylian city they came, strong castle of Neleus.

Here on the shore of the ocean the people had slain as oblation

Bulls all black to the blue-haired god, Earth-shaking Poseidon.

Companies nine were there, five hundred seated in each one

Feasting, and nine of the bulls each company kept for a portion.

Busy were all with the tasting of livers and burning of thigh-bones

While to the land these bore with their well-built vessel, and straightway

Striking the canvas they brailed it aloft; and they moored her and landed.

Out of her Telemachus stept down, and before him Athene.

First then breaking the silence the grey-eyed goddess addressed him :

"Telemachus, no need is at hand, not the least, to be bashful.

Even for this thou hast traversed the ocean—to hear of thy father,

What land hideth his bones and what was the doom he encountered.

Come now, straightly address thee to Nestor, the tamer of horses,

So shall we learn what counsel he holdeth concealed in his bosom.

Come and entreat him thyself, and the whole of the truth he will tell thee

Ne'er will he speak what is false; right wise is the heart of the hero."

Her sage Telemachus addressing in turn made answer:

"Mentor, how shall I venture to go—how dare to salute him?

Never as yet was I practised at all in the art of a speaker;

Ay and a youth feels bashful to question a man that is older."

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Telemachus, some thoughts thou'lt find in the depths of thy bosom,

Some will be sent by a god, since never and never (I know it)

Save by the will of the gods thou wast born and art come to thy manhood."

These words uttered, at once went forward Pallas Athene

Hastily leading the way; and he followed the steps of the goddess.

Soon to the throng close-seated they came of the Pylian people.

Here in the midst with his sons sat Nestor; round him his comrades

Roasting or spitting the flesh were busy preparing the banquet.

These, when the strangers they saw, came hurrying eagerly forward,

Hands outstretching in welcome and bidding them both to be seated.

Foremost was Nestor's son Peisistratus; close he approached them,

Welcomed them both with the hand and gave them as seats at the banquet

Thick soft fleeces that lay on the sand of the salt sea water,

Close by the side of his sire and his brother the prince Thrasymedes.

Portions before them he set of the entrail meat, and he poured them

Wine in a goblet of gold, and he pledged them a welcome, addressing

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

“Offer a prayer, O guest, to the King Earth-shaking Poseidon,

Since to the god of the sea is the feast that ye chance to arrive at.

Pour thy libation and offer thy prayer, as the custom ordaineth ;

Then this goblet of wine honey-sweet pass on to thy comrade

Bidding him make a libation and pray—and I doubt not that he too

Prays to the gods everlasting; for gods are needed by all men.

Younger however he seemeth—in years far rather my equal;

Wherefore first to thyself do I offer the cup of libation."

These words spoken, the goblet of wine sweet-savoured he tendered.

Much did Athena rejoice at the stripling's wisdom and judgment,

First to herself that he offered the gold-wrought cup of libation;

Fervently then did she utter a prayer to the god of the ocean :

"Hear me, Poseidaon, Earth-girdler, hear me! Refuse not

Answer to this our prayer! grant all these things a fulfilment !

Firstly to Nestor himself and his sons give glory and honour,

Then to the rest vouchsafe—to the whole of the Pylian people—

Favour and grace in requital of this their splendid oblation.

Us too grant that we safely return, when it all is accomplished,

All, for the winning of which we are come in the swift black vessel."

Thus as she prayed, of herself she was bringing it all to fulfilment.

Then from the goddess receiving the two-cupped beautiful goblet

Prayed in the selfsame manner the well-loved son of Odysseus.

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

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

Till, when at last they had lost all longing for meat and the wine-cup,

Then he addressed them, the warrior-knight Gerenian Nestor:

"Now is a moment befitting to ask and to question the strangers

Touching themselves for they now are fully contented with feasting.

Friends, come tell of yourselves. Whence sail ye the paths of the waters?

Come ye to chaffer for gain, or recklessly roaming at random

Like to the pirates and rovers that wander and rob on the ocean,

Setting their lives on the hazard in bringing disaster on others?"

Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn made answer;

Boldly he spake, for Athena herself in his bosom had planted

Courage to ask of his sire who was vanished so long from his homeland,

Yea and honour and glory to win in the land of the living:

"Nestor, Neleus' son, great glory of all the Achaeans,

Whence we arrive thou hast asked me. Behold, I will tell thee exactly.

Hither we came from the Ithacan isle 'neath Neïon's headland.

This is a quest of my own, not a matter that toucheth the people.

Following far-spread rumour I journey in search of my father,

Even of godlike Odysseus the brave, who, they tell me, aforetime

Stood at thy side in the battle and plundered the Ilian city.

Now of the rest of the heroes, as many as warred with the Trojans,

Tidings we hear, where any a pitiful doom hath encountered,

While for the fate of my sire—it is kept untold by Cronion :

None hath the power to say quite certainly where he is perished,

Whether by hostile tribes overwhelmed he was slain on the dry land,

Whether he lies in the depths mid the billows of Amphitrite.

Wherefore now to thy knees I am come, in the hope thou art willing

News of his pitiful death to impart, if perchance thou beheldst it

Even with thine own eyes, or hast heard some tale from another,

One who has wandered—for destined to ill from his birth was Odysseus.

Nor do thou shrink to offend, nor speak soft words in compassion;

Tell me exactly the truth—how far thou hast chanced to behold him.

Lo, I entreat thee if ever my father, the noble Odysseus,

Either by word or by action accomplished the thing that he promised

Where in the Trojan land ye Achaeans suffered affliction,

100

This, I beseech thee, remember, and tell me the whole as it happened."

Him gave answer the warrior-knight Gerenian Nestor:

"Ah, dear friend, thou recallest the sorrows that once in the distant

Trojan land we endured, the invincible sons of Achaea—

All those toils that we suffered in ships on the mist-bound ocean,

105

Seeking for spoil wherever Achilles was wishful to lead us.

How too fighting in front of the strong-built city of Priam

Battle we waged. Here fell of Achaeans the best and the bravest;

Here lies Ajax, the equal of Ares; here is Achilles,

Here Patroclus, in counsel a peer of the gods everlasting;

110

Here too lieth my son, my beloved, the strong and the noble

Antilochus, who with fleetness excelled in the race and the battle:

Ay and besides all this, what travail unending we suffered—

Where is the mortal on earth to be found that can fully relate it?

Even for five whole years, or for six, 'twere vain to abide here

115

Asking to hear of the woes once borne by the noble Achaeans;

Ere it was told, outwearied, I ween, thou'dst sail for thy homeland.

Nine years warring at Troy did we busily scheme for its downfall,

Weaving a tissue of wiles, which Zeus scarce granted fulfilment.

There might never another with him in devices of wisdom

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Dare to compete, since far he surpassed all others in cunning,

Godlike Odysseus I mean, ay even thy father—if truly

He was thy sire; and amazement possesseth me while I behold thee,

Seeing that verily even in speech thou art like him, nor would one

Say that a man so young could speak so like to an elder.

125

All these years have never myself and the godlike Odysseus

Spoken diversely at meetings of men or the councils of chieftains;

Ever we held one mind, and with counsels of prudence and wisdom

Planned for the Greeks that it all might turn to the highest advantage.

Yet, when at last we had wasted the high-built city of Priam,

130

After from thence we had sailed and a god had dispersed the Achaeans,

Then in his heart did the Father a terrible homeward returning

Plot for them, seeing that neither with wisdom at all nor with justice

Most of them acted; and many encountered a doom right doleful,

Whelmed by the wrath of the grey-eyed daughter of Zeus the Almighty;

135

Yea, it was she that the quarrel excited between the Atridae;

These then called to the place of assembly the host of Achaeans

Hurriedly, all in disorderly haste, when the sun was a-sinking.

Heavy with wine they collected together, the sons of Achaea.

Both then spake of the reason for which they had summoned the people;

140

First Menelaus addressed him to all the Achaeans and bade them

Think of the homeward return o'er broad expanses of ocean;

Nor pleased this Agamemnon at all, for he ordered the people

Still to remain and sacred oblations of cattle to offer,

Thus to appease by atonement the terrible wrath of Athene,

145

Fool that he was, not knowing she ne'er would list to persuasion,

Seeing that lightly is turned not the mind of the gods everlasting.

Thus then violent words exchanging the one with the other

Stood these two; but the host of the well-greaved sons of Achaea

Rose with a terrible din, and in twain was divided the council.

150

All that night did we lie and with hearts indignant we brooded,

Angered the one with the other; for Zeus our ruin was planning;

Then, at the dawn, down dragging the ships to the vast salt ocean

Straight we embarked our spoil, deep-girdled women and chattels,

While that a half of the host hung back, and remaining encamped there

155

Kept with the King Agamemnon Atrides, as sheep with a shepherd.

Thus then half of us mounted the vessels, and rowing them swiftly

Voyaged—for calmed by a god was the ocean that teemeth with monsters.

Landing on Ténedos island we made to the gods an oblation,

Yearning for home; but the Father of heaven had planned to prevent it,

160

Pitiless god, who aroused once more fierce quarrels amongst us.

Some then turning again their twy-beaked galleys departed,

Even the wise and the wary Odysseus with all of his comrades,

Taking the part once more of the King Agamemnon Atrides.

Then with the rest of my ships all following closely behind me

165

Thence did I flee; for I saw that a deity plotted us evil;

Fled too, rousing his mates, Tydides equal of Ares.

Following later behind us the fair-haired prince Menelaus

Found us in Lesbos arrived, and the long sea-voyage debating,

Whether to steer for the sea from the coast of precipitous Chios,

170

Making the Psyrian isle, and keeping the island to larboard,

Or to the landward of Chios to hold by tempestuous Mimas;

This we entreated the god to declare by an omen, and giving

Manifest answer he bade us the midmost sea to Euboea

Boldly to cross and escape by the path that was shortest from peril.

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Then did a stern-wind shrilling arise, and it blew, and the vessels

Speedily traversed the realm of the fishes, until at Geraestus

During the night they arrived; and we offered of bulls to Poseidon

Many a thigh, since crossed was a mighty expanse of the ocean.

Four days after at Argos a part of the gallant squadron,

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Vessels of Tydeus' son, Diomedes, tamer of horses,

Anchored; but onward for Pylos I held, and the favouring stern-wind

Never was quenched from the day that a deity sent it to waft us.

Thus I arrived, dear child, not knowing what happed, and I learnt not

Aught of the rest—who safely returned, who perished returning;

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Only the rumours I hear as I sit in the hall of my palace;

These, as is right, will I tell to thee fully, and hide from thee nothing.

Safely, they say, came home the ferocious Myrmidon spearmen,

Led by the glorious son of the dauntless-hearted Achilles;

Safely returned Philoctetes, the far-famed offspring of Poias;

190

Likewise Idomeneus gained Creta with all his companions,

All that escaped from the war—since none were reft by the ocean.

What was the fate of Atrides ye know, though far is your homeland—

How he returned, and his death was so cruelly planned by Aegisthus:

Ay but Aegisthus himself was repaid in a terrible manner.

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So is it always good for a son to be left when a mortal

Perisheth; even as here 'twas the son of the slain that avenged him,

Killing the crafty Aegisthus, who murdered his glorious father.

Also do thou, dear lad (as in form thou art comely and stalwart),

Show thee courageous, and win thee a name in the age that is coming.”

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Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

"Nestor, Neleus' son, great glory of all the Achaeans,

Grandly indeed did he wreak his revenge, and the land of Achaea

Ever shall spread his renown till it reach unborn generations.

Would that the gods might will with a strength like his to endue me

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Thus to repay these suitors for all their cruel transgressions,

All the infatuate deeds that they wickedly scheme for my ruin.

Ah but, alas, not such is the fortune that destiny spun us,

Me and my father! Whatever befalls, it is needful to bear it."

Him gave answer the warrior-knight Gerenian Nestor:

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"Now that thy words, dear friend, have waked in my mind a remembrance,

Truly they tell me that suitors who woo for thy mother in numbers

Throng to thy palace and do thee despite, devising thy ruin.

Say, dost thou willingly suffer the insult? or else do the people

There in thy country dislike thee, obeying a warning from heaven ?

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Yet—who knows?— he can come and requite this iniquitous outrage,

Either appearing alone or with all of the host of Achaea.

Ah! were only the will of the grey-eyed goddess Athene

Thee such love to vouchsafe as she granted the famous Odysseus

Erst in the Trojan land, where many afflictions we suffered!

220

(Never in sooth did I see such visible favour of heaven

Such as the manifest aid he was given by Pallas Athene.)

Were it but only her will such favouring love to vouchsafe thee,

Some of the suitors, methinks, would grow forgetful of wedlock."

Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

225

"Sire, not yet, do I fear me, will this thou hast said be accomplished:

Great is the import thereof; awe filleth my heart, and unhoped for

Were the event, should even the gods permit it to happen."

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene :

"Telemachus, what word by the door of thy lips hath escaped thee!

230

Easily e'en from afar can a god, if he wishes, restore one.

I for myself would choose full many a toil and affliction,

Ere that I won me a day of return and arrived at my homeland,

Rather than come and be slain at my hearth, like King Agamemnon

Craftily trapped to his death by his wife and the traitor Aegisthus.

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Truly not even the gods have power, though much they may love him,

Death that is common to all to defend from a mortal, whenever

Bringing his destined doom low-laying death overtakes him."

Her sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

"Mentor, hereof let us cease to debate; let us sorrow in silence.

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Never shall this prove true; he shall never return; for already

Planned by the deathless gods is his doom; death's darkness awaits him.

Now I am wishful to turn to a theme far other and question

Nestor, who all surpasseth in wise discernment and counsel,

Since, it is said, he hath reigned through three generations of mortals;

245

Yea and he seemeth indeed in appearance like an immortal.

Nestor, Neleus' son, I beseech thee, relate to me truly,

How was Atrides slain, wide-governing King Agamemnon?

Where meanwhile was the prince Menelaus? and how did Aegisthus

Use such craft as to murder a man so greatly the stronger?

250

Say, was the prince not there, in Achaea and Argos, but elsewhere

Wandering over the world, when the bold foul crime was accomplished?"

Him gave answer the warrior-knight Gerenian Nestor:

"Well then listen, my son, while all of the truth I relate thee.

E'en of thyself canst clearly conceive what end had befallen

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Had but the other Atrides, the fair-haired prince Menelaus,

Coming from Troy discovered Aegisthus alive in the palace:

Verily over the corse of the dead no earth had they scattered;

Dogs and the ravening fowls of the heaven had torn it to pieces,

Cast from the city afar on the plain; of the women of Argos

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None had bewailed him; for truly a terrible deed he committed.

While in a far-off land enduring so many a hardship

Troy we besieged, in his idle retreat mid the meadows of Argos

Aye with his flattering words Agamemnon's wife he was tempting.

Now at the first she rejected the shameless deed he suggested,

265

Fair Clytemnestra; for good was the heart that she bare in her bosom.

Yea and moreover at court was a bard, whom King Agamemnon

Sailing for Troy had enjoined full straitly to tend on his consort.

Yet, when at last by the will of the gods was determined her ruin,

Then did Aegisthus removing the bard to a desolate island

270

Leave him to furnish a spoil and a feast to the birds of the heaven:

Her to his home as a lover he led, and she willingly followed.

Many a fat ox-thigh did he burn at the shrines of immortals,

Many a rich-worked web and a treasure of gold he suspended,

Now that the deed was fulfilled that his heart ne'er ventured to hope for.

275

Meantime homeward returning from Troy were sailing together

I and Atrides the king, our fleets consorted in friendship.

Sunium's cape we had reached, high hallowed headland of Athens;

Here was the pilot of prince Menelaus by Phoebus Apollo

Stricken with painless shafts which smote him and suddenly slew him,

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E'en as the rudder he held and swiftly was speeding the vessel,

Phrontis Onétorides, who surpassed all mortals as helmsman

Vessels to pilot when storms came suddenly sweeping upon them.

Thus was the prince held back, though eager to haste on the journey,

Wishing his mate to inter and with funeral rites to bewail him.

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Hence he at last set sail and, over the wine-dark ocean

Steering his hollow ships, to the mountainous cape of Malea

Straightly he ran; but a course right wretched the god of the thunder

Shaped for him then; outpouring the shrill-voiced blast of the storm-wind,

Rollers he sent upsurging aloft and enormous as mountains.

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Sundered in twain was the fleet: some drave to the island of Creta,

Where the Cydonian race by the streams of Iardanus dwelleth.

Here is a smooth and precipitous rock confronting the ocean

Out in the mist-bound deep on the uttermost borders of Gortyn,

Where, on the left of the cape, great rollers aroused by the south wind

295

Sweep upon Phaestus, and small is the rock-spit barring the surges.

Hither arriving with half of the fleet were saved from destruction

Hardly the crews; while hurled on the sharp-edged crags by the rollers

Perished the ships. Five others—the rest of his blue-prow'd vessels—

Carried away by the waves and the wind were drifted to Egypt.

300

Here did he gain much wealth, and a treasure of gold he collected,

Wandering thus with his ships midst nations of barbarous language.

Meanwhile plotted Aegisthus at home his iniquitous treason,

Murdered Atrides and bowed to subjection beneath him the people.

Thus seven years did he reign mid the treasures of golden Mycenae;

305

Then, in the eighth, o'ertook him his doom, for the godlike Orestes

Back from the city of Athens returned and he slew the assassin,

Crafty Aegisthus, who murdered his sire, great King Agamemnon.

Now, when the slaying was done, and a funeral feast to the Argives

O'er his detestable mother he gave and the craven Aegisthus,

310

Lo, on the selfsame day Menelaus good at the war-cry

Landed, and many a treasure he brought as the freight of his vessels.

Ay and, my friend, take care, nor long from thy country absent thee,

Leaving possessions behind, and strangers too in thy homestead,

Mortals outrageous as these, lest parting thy substance among them

315

All of thy wealth they devour, and vain prove also thy journey.

Rather I earnestly bid and exhort that to prince Menelaus

Straight thou proceed; for a short while since he returned from a far land,

Ay from a country of men whence none might dream in his spirit

E'er to return, had the blasts of the storm once forced him to wander

320

Into a sea so mighty that even the birds of the heaven

Not in a year may traverse the vast and terrible water.

Come, set forth with thy vessel at once and thy comrades; or wilt thou

Rather by land, I will lend thee a chariot gladly and horses,

Ay and my sons will be ready, I know it, as guides to escort thee

325

Unto divine Lacedaemon to find fair-haired Menelaus;

Yea and thyself shalt entreat him the whole of the truth to reveal thee;

Ne'er will he speak what is false; right wise is the heart of the hero."

Ere he had ended the sun sank down and the gloom was approaching.

Then from the midst of them answered the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

330

"Verily, sire, right well were all these matters related.

Now let us order the tongues to be sliced and the wine to be mingled;

So shall we unto Poseidon and all of the other immortals

Offer libation, and then shall bethink us of sleep—for 'tis bed-time;

Sunk is already the day in the gloom of the west, nor beseems it

335

Longer to sit at a feast of the gods, but to think of departure."

Thus she addressed them, the daughter of Zeus. To her words they attended.

Over the hands of the feasters the water was poured by the henchmen,

While that the youths wreathed high with the foaming liquor the wine-bowls.

Then, when to each they had handed a wine-cup primed for libation,

340

Casting the tongues in the flames they arose and poured it upon them.

So when at last they had poured and had drunk to their hearts' satisfaction,

Then did Athena and also the godlike son of Odysseus

Both of them wish to be gone and return to the hollow vessel ;

Nestor however with words of persuasion attempted to stay them:

345

"Father Zeus and all of the gods everlasting forfend it!

Ne'er will I let you depart to the swift-winged vessel, and treat me

Like to a man whose house quite lacketh in raiment—a pauper—

One that has got no rugs in his home nor plenty of blankets

Both for the use of himself and his guests—soft bedding to sleep in.

350

Nay, I possess in my house both wrappers and beautiful blankets,

Nor shall the well-loved son, by my troth, of a man as Odysseus

Sleep on the deck of a ship while yet in the land of the living

Still I exist, or a son or a daughter be left in my palace

Strangers to welcome as guests, should ever they chance to arrive here."

355

Him forthwith gave answer the grey-eyed goddess Athene:

"Well is it spoken in sooth, dear father, and well it beseemeth

Telemachus to obey, since thus 'twere certainly better.

Wherefore now let him follow thee hence and repose till the morning

There in the halls of thy palace; but I to the black-hulled vessel

360

Mean to return, to inspirit my mates and to bring them the tidings,

Being the one of the crew that alone might claim to be elder,

Since that the others, the striplings that follow as friends and as shipmates,

All are equals in age of the high-souled son of Odysseus.

Then I shall lay me to rest by the side of the black-hulled vessel

365

Just for the night, and at dawn to the bold Cauconian people

Mean to depart, to collect me a debt now owing a long time,

Neither a trifle. But him take back to thy home, and to-morrow

Send in a car with thy son as a guide, and provide him with horses,

Even the swiftest of all of thy steeds and the best at endurance."

370

These words spoken, departed the grey-eyed goddess Athene

Likened in form to an osprey; and all were filled with amazement,

Yea and the long-lived king was astonished whenas he beheld it.

Grasping the hand of the son of Odysseus he hailed and addressed him :

"Truly, my friend, thou'lt prove as a man not a coward or weakling,

375

Seeing that e'en in thy youth thou'rt thus by immortals attended.

Surely was this, of the gods that inhabit Olympian mansions,

None but the daughter of Zeus, most glorious Tritogeneia,

Even the goddess that honoured thy valiant sire mid the Argives.

Grant me thy grace, O queen! Fair fame vouchsafe, I beseech thee,

380

Unto myself and my sons and my honoured and well-loved consort;

So shall I offer thee, goddess, a broad-brow'd heifer, a yearling

Still unbroken nor yet brought under the yoke by the ploughman;

Such is the victim I promise to slay, and her horns shall be gilded."

Thus did he speak, and his prayer was accepted by Pallas Athene.

385

Then uprising the warrior-knight Gerenian Nestor

Led to his beautiful palace his sons and his daughters' husbands.

Now when at length they had come to the far-failed halls of the chieftain,

All of them sat them in order adown on the couches and armchairs,

Then by the ancient monarch was mixed for his guests in a wine-bowl

390

Wine sweet-savoured: eleven the years it had stood in the store-room

Ere that the matron had opened the jar, unloosing its cover;

Such was the wine that he mixed in the crater, and making libation

Prayed to Athena, the daughter of Zeus who beareth the aegis.

So when at last they had poured and had drunk to their hearts' satisfaction,

395

All of the others departed to sleep, each one to his homestead,

All save Telemachus, dear son of the godlike Odysseus:

Him gave lodgment the warrior-knight Gerenian Nestor

Under the echoing porch, on a bedstead with beautiful carvings,

Next to that spearman renown'd, Peisistratus, leader of heroes,

400

Sole of his sons still left an unmarried youth in the palace,

Then did he lay him to rest in the innermost room of the mansion,

Where was arrayed by the lady his wife their bedding and bedstead.

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

Hastily roused him the warrior-knight Gerenian Nestor.

405

Issuing forth from his palace he sat on the polished stonework,

Where in the front of the high house-door were benches of marble

White and gleaming with unguent, whereon was accustomed aforetimes

Neleus oft to recline, that peer of immortals in counsel.

Neleus long since mastered by Fate had departed to Hades;

410

Now sat there Gerenian Nestor, Achaea's defender,

Holding his sceptre, and round him his sons came thronging together

Issuing forth each one from his room, Stratius and Echephron,

Perseus and Arétus and the equal of gods Thrasymedes.

These as the sixth the heroic and young Peisistratus followed,

415

Bringing the godlike Telemachus; and they set him beside them.

Then brake silence the warrior-knight Gerenian Nestor :

"Haste ye, I pray, dear sons, and quickly accomplish my longing;

Firstly of all will I sue for the grace of the goddess Athene,

Since at my bountiful feast to the god she was visibly present.

420

One of you go to the plain for a heifer, and see that she quickly

Hither be brought. Let a herd of the cattle be ordered to drive her.

One to the black-hulled vessel of Telemachus great-hearted

Hasten, to summon his mates, and let twain of them only remain there.

Then let another at once go order Laërces the goldsmith

425

Hither to come for the purpose of gilding the horns of the heifer.

All of you others remain here closely and send to the handmaids;

Bid them to spread us a feast in the far-famed hall of the palace,

Also to hand round chairs and to bring bright water and fuel."

So when he spoke all hastened to work; soon come was the heifer

430

Out of the plain; soon came from the swift-winged well-built vessel

Comrades of Telemachus great-hearted; and come was the smith too

Bearing the tools of his craft in his hands and his smithy utensils,

Even the anvil and hammer and pincers of delicate fabric,

Made for the working of gold; came also the goddess Athene,

435

Fain to receive the oblation; and old Gerenian Nestor

Gave to Laërces the gold, and he gilded the horns of the heifer

Skilfully, making the goddess rejoice at the beautiful victim.

Leading the cow by the horns now came Stratius and Echephron;

Water besides for the hands in a basin with flowery carvings

440

Arétus bare forth from a room; in his left was a basket

Holding the groats of the corn; Thrasymedes steadfast in battle

Stood with his sharp-edged axe by the cow, all ready to fell her;

Perseus lifted the bowl for the blood, while Nestor the aged

Opened the rites with ablution and sprinkled the grain, to Athene

445

Ardently praying, and cast in the flames as an earnest the forelock.

Now when at last were ended the prayers and the barley was sprinkled,

Instantly Nestor's son, high-spirited prince Thrasymedes,

Stepping anigh smote home with the axe: on the nape it descended

Cutting the tendons, and loosened the might of the heifer; and wailing

450

Rose from the women, the wives of the sons and the consort of Nestor,

Eurydice, who of prince Clymenus was the first-born daughter.

Then from the wide-way'd earth they uplifted the head of the victim

Baring the throat, and the leader of men Peisistratus cut it.

Out of it flowed black blood; from the bones departed the spirit.

455

Soon was the body dismembered, and cutting the meat from the thigh-bones

All of it duly they sliced and covered it over with caul-fat,

Making it double, and laid at the top raw chunks of the carcass.

This did the old king burn on the billets, and fiery red wine

Over it poured; and with five-pronged forks stood striplings beside him.

460

Now when the meat of the thighs was consumed and the liver was eaten,

Chopping the rest of it small on the skewers they spitted the pieces;

Then with the long sharp spits in their hands they began with the roasting.

Meantime bathed was the son of Odysseus by fair Polycaste,

Latest-born of the daughters of old Neleïan Nestor.

465

So when at length he was bathed and anointed with oil of the olive,

Round him she cast fair raiment a beautiful mantle and doublet;

Out of the bath then stepping, in semblance like an immortal,

Down by the prince of the people, the old King Nestor, he sat him.

So when the outside meat they had roasted and drawn from the skewers,

470

Sitting them down they partook of the banquet; and nobles as henchmen

Served them and carried the wine in the goblets of gold to the feasters.

Now when at last they had lost all longing for meat and the wine-cup,

Thus brake silence the warrior-knight, Gerenian Nestor :

"Sons, come send for the car and the fair-maned horses, and quickly

475

Yoke them, that Telemachus may forthwith fare on his journey."

Thus did he speak, and they gave good heed to his words and obeyed him;

Unto a car they attached full quickly the fleet-paced horses,

Also provisions of bread and of wine were stowed by the house-dame,

Relishes too such food as is eaten by Zeus-loved princes.

480

Forthwith Telemachus on the beautiful chariot mounted,

Also that leader of men Peisistratus, offspring of Nestor,

Into the car upmounted beside him, and grasping the rein-straps

Whipped to a start, and the horses at once right willingly cantered

Down to the plain, soon leaving the steep-built city of Pylos,

485

Then for the whole of the day kept shaking the yoke on their shoulders,

Till, when the sun sank down and darkened was every roadway,

Unto the township of Phera they came and the house of Diocles,

Offspring of Orsilochus, who was son of the River Alphéus ;

Here did they rest for the night, and as guests he entreated them kindly.

490

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

Straightway yoking the steeds, and the inlaid chariot mounting,

Forth of the echoing portal they drave and the gate of the courtyard.

Then did he whip to a start, and forward they willingly galloped,

First to a plain wide-waving with wheat, then further and further

495

Eager to finish their course pressed onward the fleet-paced horses,

Till, as the sun sank down and darkened was every roadway,

New Alexandria Commentaries

Anita Nikkanen

Telemakhos’ appeal to Nestor makes use of – and demonstrates – the function of memory in the context of appropriate reciprocation, another instance of the ethical aspect of memory: the typical scenario is one where the speaker asks the addressee to remember an earlier favor, and remembering this, it is implied, results in reciprocation of that favor as is fitting. The formula asking for remembering and reciprocation, τῶν νῦν μοι μνῆσαι καί μοι… ‘remember them for me now and [do something] for me’ (O.3.100) after mentioning the earlier favor(s) is repeated elsewhere in similar contexts, and so appears to be traditional (these exact same lines are repeated in Telemakhos’ appeal to Menelaos at O.4.328-331, and the formula recurs also in Penelope’s prayer to Athena at O.4.762-766).

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As the cause of Athena’s mēnis here shows, besides failing to remember and therefore to act appropriately, failing to be νοήμων ‘thoughtful,’ ‘intelligent,’ ‘in possession of noos [mind]’ and δίκαιος ‘just’ can also lead to behavior that transgresses against the cosmic order. Words indicating mental qualities such as noos, noēmōn and phrenes are linked to the good kind of mindfulness and memory indicated by words such as mimnēskomai, and lack of them is associated with behavior that incurs mēnis (cp. I.15.128-129). In contrast to the Argives’ failures with respect to their minds and their subsequent punishment, a good mind is given as the reason for unfailing good conduct, for example Eumaios in his sacrifices to the gods on account of his good phrenes (O.14.420-421; cp. also O.24.194-195).

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Douglas Frame

citation of Nestor’s appraisal of Odysseus as the “shrewdest” of the Achaeans. Suggests that whereas Nestor symbolizes nóos, Odysseus makes nóos effective

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example of relationship between verbs signifying mind as nóstos. Compare to Il. X.509, Od. III.142

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analysis of Telemachus’ description of Nestor, who appears “immortal.” Suggests that Nestor’s apparent “immortality” is a remnant of his possible former mythological status as a god

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Gregory Nagy

Aided by the goddess Athena, young Telemachus becomes an ideal guest for his host, the elderly Nestor. Telemachus dearly needs the diplomatic skills of Athena, since Nestor is a prime devotee of the god Poseidon, who is not only a major rival of the goddess but also a relentless antagonist of Odysseus. Nestor’s stories about the travels of the Achaeans as they try to make their way back home after the Trojan War will help connect Telemachus with the ultimate story of his father’s own homecoming.

draft js image error Nestor’s Sacrifice (1805). Engraving after John Flaxman (1755-1826). Purchased as part of the Oppé Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996. Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported).

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See the comments on I.01.423–425 and I.04.048.

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Here is the first mention of Peisistratos, son of Nestor, in the Odyssey. (He is not mentioned in the Iliad.) It can be argued that this Peisistratos was claimed to be the ancestor of Peisistratidai, the lineage that dominated Athens in the sixth century BCE. On Peisistratos of Athens, see also I.10.000.

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The derivation of the noun dais ‘feast; division of portions (of meat); sacrifice’ from the verb daiesthai ‘feast; divide(meat), apportion, distribute’ is re-enacted here by way of a figura etymologica: that is to say, the combination of the verb here with the noun as its direct object actually re-enacts the etymology.

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On the collocation of kleos ‘glory’ (of poetry) with nostos ‘homecoming, song of homecoming’ in the context of references to the glorification of Odysseus in the Odyssey, see the comments on O.01.088–095; also O.02.212–218 and O.02.360.

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Here is the first mention of Antilokhos, son of Nestor, in the Odyssey. On the importance of this figure in the Iliad, see I.08.078–117 / anchor comment on Nestor’s entanglement and the poetics of evocation. See also the comments on I.09.057–058.

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Metaphors of fabric-work can have negative connotations, as here.

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This adjective homoio- ‘similar to, same as’ and its verb homoioûn ‘compare’ can be used in comparisons that express rhetorically the incomparability of the referent, as here. See also I.02.553–554 and I.10.437.

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Nestor’s story about the nostos ‘homecoming’ of the Achaeans’ is in and of itself a ‘song of / about homecoming’, as we see from the description of this nostos as lugros ‘disastrous’, an adjective that is used here as an epithet of the narrative subject. See the comment on O.01.326–327, where nostos ‘homecoming, song of homecoming’ at O.01.326 is described as lugros ‘disastrous’ at O.01.327. See also the comment on I.01.002, where the adjective oulomenē ‘disastrous’, describing mēnis ‘anger’ in the previous verse, I.01.001, is likewise an epithet of the narrative subject. In that case, the narrative subject is the mēnis ‘anger’ of Achilles. Similarly in the context of the ‘disastrous [lugros] homecoming [nostos]’ of the Achaeans here at O.03.130, there is a foregrounding of mēnis ‘anger’, at O.03.135. In this case, the anger emanates from the goddess Athena herself.

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Epitome from Nagy 2015§§69–75:

[§69] In Odyssey O.03.130–183, old Nestor is telling a tale to young Telemachus about the various homecomings of the Achaeans after they succeeded in conquering the city of Troy. (Nestor’s tales of homecoming in Odyssey 3 reflect poetic traditions of great antiquity, which are analyzed most incisively and intuitively by Frame 2009:180–193.) The tale is told from the perspective of Nestor’s own experiences. My point of departure is a detail at O.03.169, where Nestor says that he and a group of his fellow Achaeans stopped over at the island of Lesbos on their way home from Troy, O.03.169. One time before and one time after their stopover at Lesbos, Nestor and his group participated in making sacrifices. The story about the first of these two sacrifices, as we will see [§75], contradicts a story in Song 17 of Sappho, which tells about a single sacrifice that involves Agamemnon and Menelaos.

[§70] The first of the two sacrifices mentioned by Nestor in Odyssey 3 takes place at the island of Tenedos, O.03.159, which is situated directly to the west of Troy. By contrast, the island of Lesbos is further away, to the southwest of the Trojan coastland. In Odyssey 3, the divine recipients of the sacrifice at Tenedos are designated only in general terms, as theoi ‘the gods’, O.03.159. Then, continuing their voyage back home from Troy, Nestor and his group set sail from Tenedos, and their next stopover, as already noted, is the island of Lesbos, O.03.169.

[§71] After their stopover at Lesbos, O.03.169, Nestor and his group continued their sea voyage back home. Next, they sailed over the open sea, with no more stopovers, until they reached the city of Geraistos, at the southern tip of the island of Euboea, O.03.177. By now the homecoming of this group of heroes was nearly complete, since the island of Euboea is situated right next to the European mainland. And here, at Euboea, Nestor participated in the second of the two sacrifices to which I have been referring, O.03.178–179. This second sacrifice involving Nestor was meant as a signal of thanksgiving for the successful homecoming of his group of Achaean voyagers, and the divine recipient of the sacrifice here is specified as the god Poseidon, O.03.178, whom Nestor and his fellow Achaeans honored by slaughtering, according to his tale, a multitude of bulls, O.03.178–179.

[§72] So, the second sacrifice attended by Nestor and his group, which took place on the island of Euboea, was a success. But the first sacrifice, which he had also attended and which had taken place on the island of Tenedos, was a failure. The failure, as narrated by Nestor in Odyssey 3, can be linked with a quarrel that broke out, evidently in the context of the feasting that followed this first sacrifice. The quarrel is marked by the word eris ‘strife’, O.03.160. Compare the words erizein ‘have strife’ at I.01.006 and eris ‘strife’ at I.01.008, with reference to the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. In the case of the eris ‘strife’ at O.03.160, who quarreled with whom? The narrative answers the question: the two heroes who quarreled with each other were Nestor and Odysseus, O.03.161–166.

[§73] This quarrel between Nestor and Odysseus, O.03.161–166, cannot be understood without first considering an earlier quarrel that is central to the narration of Odyssey 3, and the narrator is once again Nestor. According to the tale as Nestor tells it, the two Sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaos, had quarreled with each other right after their victory at Troy. In this case as well, quarrel is marked by the word eris ‘strife’, O.03.136. And, as a result of this quarrel, all the Achaeans had split into two groups, so that half of them followed Menelaos as he sailed off from Troy to Tenedos while the other half stayed with Agamemnon at Troy, O.03.130–158. In terms of this story, Agamemnon intended to perform a sacrifice of one hundred cattle to the goddess Athena before leaving Troy, O.03.143–144, but Menelaos, leading half of the Achaeans, had sailed off together with Nestor and Odysseus and Diomedes before such a sacrifice could take place, O.03.153–154. It was only after Menelaos and his half of the Achaeans stopped over at the nearby island of Tenedos that they arranged for their own sacrifice there, O.03.159. And it was there at Tenedos that a second quarrel broke out—the quarrel between Nestor and Odysseus, O.03.161–166.

[§74] This second quarrel in the tale told by Nestor in Odyssey 3 resulted in a splitting of the group that had sided with Menelaos after the original splitting of all the Achaeans into one separate group siding with Menelaos and another separate group siding with Agamemnon. What resulted from the new split after the quarrel between Nestor and Odysseus was that Odysseus, together with his followers, now sailed off from Tenedos back to Troy in order to rejoin Agamemnon there, O.03.160–164, while Nestor together with Diomedes sailed on from their stopover at the island of Tenedos and arrived with their followers at the next stopover, at the island of Lesbos, O.03.165–169. When Nestor and Diomedes were already at Lesbos, O.03.169, they were joined there by Menelaos, who arrived later, O.03.168

[§75] And here I stop to highlight the contradiction between the story as told here in the Odyssey and the story as told in Song 17 of Sappho. In the Odyssey, we see that Menelaos came to Lesbos, but there is no mention here of Agamemnon. In Song 17, by contrast, it seems that both brothers came to Lesbos [Nagy 2015§50]:

|1 πλάϲιον δη μ̣[.....]...οιϲ᾿ α̣[ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣]ω |2 πότνι’ Ἦρα, ϲὰ χ[…..]ϲ̣ ̣ἐόρτ[α] |3 τὰν ἀράταν Ἀτρ[έϊδα]ι̣ π̣ό̣ηϲαν |4 τόι βαϲίληεϲ, |5 ἐκτελέϲϲαντεϲ μ[εγά]λ̣οιϲ ἀέθλοιϲ̣ |6 πρῶτα μὲν πὲρ Ἴ̣[λιον]· ἄψερον δέ̣ |7 τυίδ’ ἀπορμάθεν[τεϲ, ὄ]δ̣ο̣ν γὰρ̣ εὔρη̣[ν] |8 οὐκ ἐδ[ύναντο⌋, |9 πρὶν ϲὲ καὶ Δί’ ἀντ[ίαον] π̣εδέλθην̣ |10 καὶ Θυώναϲ ἰμε̣[ρόεντα] π̣αῖδα· |11 νῦν δὲ κ[αί..... …] ]...πόημεν |12 κὰτ τὸ πάλ̣[αιον {464|465} |13 ἄγνα καὶ κα̣[..... ὄ]χλοϲ |14 παρθέ[νων..... γ]υναίκων |15 ἀμφιϲ̣.[…] |16 μετρ’ ὀ̣λ̣[ολύγαϲ].

|1 Close by, …, |2 O Queen [potnia] Hērā, … your […] festival [eortā], |3 which, vowed-in-prayer [arâsthai], the Sons of Atreus did arrange [poieîn] |4 for you, kings that they were, |5 after first having completed great labors [aethloi], |6 around Troy, and, next [apseron], |7 after having set forth to come here [tuide], since finding the way |8 was not possible for them |9 until they would approach you (Hērā) and Zeus lord of suppliants [antiaos] |10 and (Dionysus) the lovely son of Thyone. |11 And now we are arranging [poieîn] [the festival], |12 in accordance with the ancient way […] |13 holy [agna] and […] a throng [okhlos] |14 of girls [parthenoi] […] and women [gunaikes] |15 on either side … |16 the measured sound of ululation [ololūgā].

Sappho Song 17.1–16

On the reading τόι (with the acute accent preserved in P.GC inv. 105 fr. 2) , see Nagy 2015§50.

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The mēnis ‘anger’ of the goddess Athena, O.03.135, is provoked by a failure, on the part of some of the Argives=Achaeans, to be dikaioi ‘righteous’ and noēmones ‘mindful [= having nóos]’, O.03.133–134. The wording of Nestor is diplomatic in avoiding the mention of specific heroes as deserving blame for a failure in dikē ‘justice, righteousness’ and nóos ‘mind, mindfulness’. Among those heroes who are implicated, even without being named, is Odysseus himself, so that even this hero may be a target here of the mēnis ‘anger’ of Athena.

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Epitome from Nagy 2017§78:

Here we see that Odysseus together with a sub-group of Achaean followers had already sailed from Tenedos back to Troy in order to rejoin Agamemnon, who was still there, O.03.160–164, while Nestor and Diomedes together with their Achaean followers sailed on from their stopover at the island of Tenedos and arrived at the next stopover, which was the island of Lesbos, O.03.165–169. There, at Lesbos, Nestor and Diomedes were joined by Menelaos, who arrived later, O.03.168–169.

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|168 ὀψὲ δὲ δὴ μετὰ νῶϊ κίε ξανθὸς Μενέλαος, |169 ἐν Λέσβῳ δ’ ἔκιχεν δολιχὸν πλόον ὁρμαίνοντας|168

He came late, golden-haired [xanthos] Menelaos did, after the two of us [= Nestor and Diomedes]. |169 It was at Lesbos that he [= Menelaos] caught up with us, as we were planning the long part of our sea voyage.

O.03.168–169

Nestor and Diomedes are already at Lesbos, and there they are joined by Menelaos, who arrived later. What follows is an epitome of Nagy 2017§§101–103, 105–106:

[§101] I interpret the wording of O.03.168–169 to mean that Menelaos arrived too late to participate fully in a sacrifice of one hundred cattle at Lesbos. And the place for this sacrifice to happen would have been the precinct of Hērā on that island. From the standpoint of the local myth that originated from Lesbos, as I have argued with reference to Song 17 of Sappho (Nagy 2015§§51–67), both Agamemnon and Menelaos had announced-in-prayer, already at Troy, the arrangement of a festival for Hērā at Lesbos, and what was wished-for in return was to find the best possible way to achieve a safe homecoming from Troy. So, in terms of my argument, what was announced-in-prayer was the performing of a sacrifice as the centerpiece of the festival to be arranged, but only one of the Sons of Atreus did his part in at least trying to make the sacrifice a success. That was Agamemnon. As for the other Son, Menelaos, he somehow failed to do his part. And, in terms of my reconstruction, it was because Menelaos arrived too late for the sacrifice. Similarly, as we will see in Odyssey 4, Menelaos arrived too late in his homecoming: by the time he got home, he was too late to save his brother—and he was too late even to avenge his brother’s death, since Orestes, son of Agamemnon, had already done so by killing Aigisthos, O.04.546–547.

[§102] This theme of failing by being late is an essential piece of my overall reconstruction of the myth about a sacrifice of one hundred cattle at Lesbos—a sacrifice that is featured as the climax of the festival that was announced-in-prayer by Agamemnon and Menelaos in Song 17 of Sappho (again, Nagy 2015§§51–67). In terms of this reconstruction, Agamemnon sailed to the island and arranged to sacrifice one hundred cattle to Hērā there, but Menelaos joined him only after the sacrifice was already in progress, since he did not arrive at Lesbos on time. In terms of this reconstruction, the quarrel between the Sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaos, must have happened during the feast that followed the sacrifice at Lesbos, just as the quarrel between Nestor and Odysseus happened at the feast that followed the sacrifice at Tenedos.

[§103] Menelaos seems to be idiosyncratic in his arrivals at sacrifices. For a striking example, see the comment on I.02.402–429. In that passage, we see a mental link between Menelaos and Agamemnon, allowing one brother to read the mind of the other.

[§105] At Lesbos, by contrast, it seems that the mental link between the brothers has somehow been broken. That is why Menelaos fails to arrive in time for the festival. And now the quarrel between Menelaos and Agamemnon ensues. So, who is to blame? Perhaps it was Menelaos, who was late. Or perhaps it was Agamemnon, who might have forgotten to invite Menelaos, assuming that his brother was still reading his mind.

[§106] But what was the quarrel about, anyway? Here I must add one last relevant detail to be found in Odyssey 3. As Nestor is recounting the moment when Menelaos arrives late at Lesbos, O.03.168–169, he himself adds the detail that I have in mind here: the fact is, Nestor and Diomedes and the other Achaeans who were there at Lesbos were already ‘deliberating’, O.03.169 (ὁρμαίνονταϲ), about two alternative ways of continuing their sea voyage. I argue that, in the version of the myth originating from Lesbos, Agamemnon was also part of these deliberations, and then the latecomer Menelaos joined in as well. I must stress that, although Menelaos was late for the sacrifice at Lesbos, he would have been there for the feasting that happened after the sacrifice. That was when, in terms of my reconstruction, the deliberations took place—and that was when the quarrel between the Sons of Atreus broke out in the version of the story that originated from Lesbos.

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What follows is an epitome of Nagy 2017§§107–108:

[§107] In the deliberations, as narrated in Odyssey 3, about two alternative ways for the Achaeans to sail home after their conquest of Troy, one of the two ways was to take the sea route north of Chios, thus venturing into the open sea and heading straight for the island of Euboea, O.03.170–171. The alternative way was to take the sea route south of Chios, O.03.172. That was the safer way. Nestor goes on to say that he and Diomedes and their followers, before deciding which sea route to take, had consulted a divinity, not named, who advised that they should head straight for the distant island of Euboea, thus taking the more direct sea route, O.03.173–178. In this version of the story as transmitted in Odyssey 3, Menelaos and his followers sailed along with Nestor and Diomedes, Ο.03.276–277. Or, to say it more precisely, Menelaos sailed with them at least as far as Cape Sounion.

[§108] Here I reconstruct another aspect of the alternative version of the story, originating from Lesbos, that told about the deliberations following the sacrifice performed by Agamemnon at Lesbos. After the deliberations, Agamemnon did not sail along with Nestor and Diomedes, and, instead, he took the more indirect sea route after he left Lesbos, while Menelaos, unlike Agamemnon, had taken the more direct sea route, choosing the same way that was chosen by Nestor. In terms of this alternative version, I argue, the deliberations about choosing between more direct and less direct sea routes led to a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaos, who disagreed about which way was the right way. I see an irony built into the idea that the setting for the quarrel would have been the sacrifice at Lesbos—and that Menelaos had been late in arriving at that ritual event. And, as I have already noted [§101], he will also be late—eight years too late—in arriving back home, O.04.546–547, even though he had chosen the more direct route from Lesbos.

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variants for I.09.653 [MRBTP: scholia]

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The syntax of the wording at O.03.205–207 indicates that Telemachus is on the verge of giving up hope, but the fuller use of comparable syntax in the wording of Nestor at O.03.218–224 reaffirms the hope. Telemachus uses a curtailed form of the syntax and then overtly says that his wish is impossible—only to be corrected by Nestor, who uses a full form. Telemachus wishes that the gods could give him the dunamis ‘power’ to kill the suitors: αἲ γάρ ἐμοὶ τοσσήνδε θεοὶ δύναμιν περιθεῖεν ‘if only the gods would grant me a power so great’, O.03.205. Then, instead of giving a premise as grounds of hope, he gives up hope by claiming that the gods have granted such a power neither to him nor to his father, O.03.208–209. At this point Nestor responds by resorting to a full form of the idiom: εἰ γάρ σ’ ὣς ἐθέλοι φιλέειν γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη | ὡς τότ’ Ὀδυσσῆος περικήδετο κυδαλίμοιο | δήμῳ ἔνι Τρώων ‘If only Athena with the looks of the owl would deign to love you | as surely as in those days she cared for glorious Odysseus in the district [dēmos] of Troy’, O.03.218–220. This time there is indeed a premise, there is reason to hope: if Athena does love you this much, Nestor is telling Telemachus, then the suitors will indeed be killed, O.03.223–224.

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These two negative terms hubris ‘outrage’ and atasthalo- ‘reckless’ are closely linked with each other in Homeric diction.

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On the use of this word aethloi (āthloi) ‘ordeal’ with reference to the Trojan War, see the comment on I.03.125–128.

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In the scholia for O.03.267 we see the only incontrovertible reference to Demetrius of Phaleron.

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The generic aoidos ‘singer’, as represented by the anonymous figure who is mentioned here, has the power to supervise the deeds of men and women by way of praising what is good and blaming what is bad. The aoidos that Agamemnon left behind to supervise Clytemnestra cannot be neutralized by way of removal from the scene. The aoidos does not need to see bad deeds in order to tell about them, since he can hear about them from the Muses.

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(What follows is epitomized from Nagy 2017.03.16.) Telemachus the son of Odysseus is bathed in a tub called an asaminthos, O.03.468. The bath is part of a welcoming ceremony organized by Nestor, king of Pylos, who is hosting the young prince. Telemachus is being bathed by Polykaste, youngest daughter of Nestor. After the bath, O.03.469, Telemachus proceeds to a dinner hosted by Nestor in his honor. But while he is still finishing the bath, as we see him emerging from the bathtub, Telemachus is described this way at O.03.468: ‘he [= Telemachus] emerged from the bathtub [asaminthos], looking the same as [homoios] the immortals in shape’ (ἔκ ῥ’ ἀσαμίνθου βῆ δέμας ἀθανάτοισιν ὁμοῖος). For more on homoio- in the sense of ‘same as’, see the comment on O.16.172–212.

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Leonard Muellner

in a list of examples of eukhesthai + dative (sacral)

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analysis of the section I of the classification of the attestations of eukhesthai + dative and the flottement in the position of eukheo around the beginning of the line (enjambment and improvisation)

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analysis of attestations of eukhesthai + aorist infinitive, here comparing with this verse (eukhesthai + dative) cases where a verse containing an infinitive is enjambed with a verse containing eukhesthai

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analysis of the attestations of eukhesthai + aorist infinitive (and the series to which this verse belongs)

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analysis of this verse as a transformation of a ritual narrative formula containing eukhesthai and spendein, restricted to sacral contexts

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in a list of examples of absolute use of eukhesthai to report prayers

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in a list of examples of eukhesthai + dative (formulas which report prayers)

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analysis of the enjambed attestations of #[eukh– –] with dative

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in a list of examples of absolute use of eukhesthai to report prayers (kluein + eukhesthai formulas)

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analysis of kluein + eukhesthai formulas, here, with akouein instead of kluein, and formulas with akouein as formally related to eukhomenos || toud’ eklue (= formula A)

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analysis of the unusual enjambment of the formula with eukhesthai and kluein in these verses

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analysis of the unusual enjambment of the formula with eukhesthai and kluein in these verses

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examples of the identical contexts in which eukhos and kudos occur

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example of a transformation of formula for fulfilling a prayer (here, Athena in disguise fulfilling her own prayer) occurring in narrative, in the context of analyzing examples of formal divergence between phrases which are functionally parallel but occur in spoken dialogue as against narrative (transformations of (A) paralleled in a secular series)

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example of akouein as a gloss for kleos/kluein, in the context of the analysis of kluein + eukhesthai formulas, here, with akouein instead of kluein, and formulas with akouein as formally related to eukhomenos || toud’ eklue (= formula A)

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analysis of the unclarity on the cause of Athena’s mēnis in the Odyssey as understood through the perspective of the mutual differentiation of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and the transmuting and muting of the Iliadic mēnis theme in the Odyssey

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comment on the interconnections of a hero’s wife and kleos, in the context of discussing her representing the hero’s own worth and prestige

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comment on the interconnections of a hero’s wife and kleos, in the context of discussing her representing the hero’s own worth and prestige

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comment on the nature of the return expected when making a libation that can be either implicit and ordained by custom or made explicit verbally, with this verse as an example of the inexplicit version of the rite

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demonstrating that kluein has no sacral connotations while eukhomenoio/euxamenoio does, in the context of the analyzing kluein + eukhesthai formulas

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demonstrating that kluein has no sacral connotations while eukhomenoio/euxamenoio does, in the context of the analyzing kluein + eukhesthai formulas

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analysis of the functional overlap between hiketēs and xeinos, argument that in Homer hiketēs still means ‘he who comes, arrives,’ and the constraint to give hospitality to anyone who arrives (hikanein, hikein) at one’s house

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in a list of examples of eukhesthai einai + comparative (regarding age)

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comparison of eukhos and kudos, and here specifically analysis of the phraseology surrounding them that is paralleled by only kleos

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examples of the identical contexts in which eukhos and kudos occur

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analysis of the attestations of eukhesthai + future infinitive, where eukhesthai has been translated as ‘vow’ rather than ‘pray’, and arguing that they are not significant transformations of the prayer structure

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in the discussion of the rationale of the classification of the attestations of eukhesthai + dative

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in a list of examples of eukhesthai + dative (sacral), and in a list of anomalous attestations (divergent inflection of eukhesthai, other imperative)

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analysis of the application of ilaos (and cognates) to gods (and heroes) with mēnis

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in a list of examples of absolute use of eukhesthai to report prayers

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analysis of the transformation of formula (A) to (B), which resumes the narrative after an order/exhortation by a man in authority to a group of men to do something (here, to mount chariots), and conclusion that (A)’s eukhomenos was felt to be have sacral connotations inappropriate to the secular contexts of (B)

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Homer Odyssey 3.447

ed. A. T. Murray

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Rhapsody 4

BOOK IV.

BOOK IV.

ARGUMENT.

THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS.

ODYSSEY.

THE FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ODYSSEYS.

THE ARGUMENT.

ANOTHER ARGUMENT.

THE FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ODYSSEYS.

ARGUMENT OF THE FOURTH BOOK.

THE ODYSSEY.
BOOK IV.

ODYSSEY BOOK III

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Rhapsody 4

BOOK IV.

BOOK IV.

ARGUMENT.

THE CONFERENCE WITH MENELAUS.

ODYSSEY.

THE FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ODYSSEYS.

THE ARGUMENT.

ANOTHER ARGUMENT.

THE FOURTH BOOK OF HOMER'S ODYSSEYS.

ARGUMENT OF THE FOURTH BOOK.

THE ODYSSEY. BOOK IV.

ODYSSEY BOOK III

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

THE ODYSSEY.
BOOK IV.