typing_rust

Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide

after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit,

and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was

acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his

own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could

not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in

eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them

from ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, oh

daughter of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them.

So now all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got safely

home except Ulysses, and he, though he was longing to return to his

wife and country, was detained by the goddess Calypso, who had got him

into a large cave and wanted to marry him. But as years went by, there

came a time when the gods settled that he should go back to Ithaca;

even then, however, when he was among his own people, his troubles were

not yet over; nevertheless all the gods had now begun to pity him

except Neptune, who still persecuted him without ceasing and would not

let him get home.

Now Neptune had gone off to the Ethiopians, who are at the world's end,

and lie in two halves, the one looking West and the other East. He had

gone there to accept a hecatomb of sheep and oxen, and was enjoying

himself at his festival; but the other gods met in the house of

Olympian Jove, and the sire of gods and men spoke first. At that moment

he was thinking of Aegisthus, who had been killed by Agamemnon's son

Orestes; so he said to the other gods:

"See now, how men lay blame upon us gods for what is after all nothing

but their own folly. Look at Aegisthus; he must needs make love to

Agamemnon's wife unrighteously and then kill Agamemnon, though he knew

it would be the death of him; for I sent Mercury to warn him not to do

either of these things, inasmuch as Orestes would be sure to take his

revenge when he grew up and wanted to return home. Mercury told him

this in all good will but he would not listen, and now he has paid for

everything in full."

Then Minerva said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, it served

Aegisthus right, and so it would any one else who does as he did; but

Aegisthus is neither here nor there; it is for Ulysses that my heart

bleeds, when I think of his sufferings in that lonely sea-girt island,

far away, poor man, from all his friends. It is an island covered with

forest, in the very middle of the sea, and a goddess lives there,

daughter of the magician Atlas, who looks after the bottom of the

ocean, and carries the great columns that keep heaven and earth

asunder. This daughter of Atlas has got hold of poor unhappy Ulysses,

and keeps trying by every kind of blandishment to make him forget his

home, so that he is tired of life, and thinks of nothing but how he may

once more see the smoke of his own chimneys. You, sir, take no heed of

this, and yet when Ulysses was before Troy did he not propitiate you

with many a burnt sacrifice? Why then should you keep on being so angry

with him?"

And Jove said, "My child, what are you talking about? How can I forget

Ulysses than whom there is no more capable man on earth, nor more

liberal in his offerings to the immortal gods that live in heaven? Bear

in mind, however, that Neptune is still furious with Ulysses for having

blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the Cyclopes. Polyphemus is son to

Neptune by the nymph Thoosa, daughter to the sea-king Phorcys;

therefore though he will not kill Ulysses outright, he torments him by

preventing him from getting home. Still, let us lay our heads together

and see how we can help him to return; Neptune will then be pacified,

for if we are all of a mind he can hardly stand out against us."

And Minerva said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings, if, then, the

gods now mean that Ulysses should get home, we should first send

Mercury to the Ogygian island to tell Calypso that we have made up our

minds and that he is to return. In the meantime I will go to Ithaca, to

put heart into Ulysses' son Telemachus; I will embolden him to call the

Achaeans in assembly, and speak out to the suitors of his mother

Penelope, who persist in eating up any number of his sheep and oxen; I

will also conduct him to Sparta and to Pylos, to see if he can hear

anything about the return of his dear father—for this will make people

speak well of him."

So saying she bound on her glittering golden sandals, imperishable,

with which she can fly like the wind over land or sea; she grasped the

redoubtable bronze-shod spear, so stout and sturdy and strong,

wherewith she quells the ranks of heroes who have displeased her, and

down she darted from the topmost summits of Olympus, whereon forthwith

she was in Ithaca, at the gateway of Ulysses' house, disguised as a

visitor, Mentes, chief of the Taphians, and she held a bronze spear in

her hand. There she found the lordly suitors seated on hides of the

oxen which they had killed and eaten, and playing draughts in front of

the house. Men-servants and pages were bustling about to wait upon

them, some mixing wine with water in the mixing-bowls, some cleaning

down the tables with wet sponges and laying them out again, and some

cutting up great quantities of meat.

Telemachus saw her long before any one else did. He was sitting moodily

among the suitors thinking about his brave father, and how he would

send them flying out of the house, if he were to come to his own again

and be honoured as in days gone by. Thus brooding as he sat among them,

he caught sight of Minerva and went straight to the gate, for he was

vexed that a stranger should be kept waiting for admittance. He took

her right hand in his own, and bade her give him her spear. "Welcome,"

said he, "to our house, and when you have partaken of food you shall

tell us what you have come for."

He led the way as he spoke, and Minerva followed him. When they were

within he took her spear and set it in the spear-stand against a strong

bearing-post along with the many other spears of his unhappy father,

and he conducted her to a richly decorated seat under which he threw a

cloth of damask. There was a footstool also for her feet, and he set

another seat near her for himself, away from the suitors, that she

might not be annoyed while eating by their noise and insolence, and

that he might ask her more freely about his father.

A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful golden ewer and

poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their hands, and she

drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought them bread,

and offered them many good things of what there was in the house, the

carver fetched them plates of all manner of meats and set cups of gold

by their side, and a manservant brought them wine and poured it out for

them.

Then the suitors came in and took their places on the benches and

seats. Forthwith men servants poured water over their hands, maids

went round with the bread-baskets, pages filled the mixing-bowls with

wine and water, and they laid their hands upon the good things that

were before them. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink they

wanted music and dancing, which are the crowning embellishments of a

banquet, so a servant brought a lyre to Phemius, whom they compelled

perforce to sing to them. As soon as he touched his lyre and began to

sing Telemachus spoke low to Minerva, with his head close to hers that

no man might hear.

"I hope, sir," said he, "that you will not be offended with what I am

going to say. Singing comes cheap to those who do not pay for it, and

all this is done at the cost of one whose bones lie rotting in some

wilderness or grinding to powder in the surf. If these men were to see

my father come back to Ithaca they would pray for longer legs rather

than a longer purse, for money would not serve them; but he, alas, has

fallen on an ill fate, and even when people do sometimes say that he is

coming, we no longer heed them; we shall never see him again. And now,

sir, tell me and tell me true, who you are and where you come from.

Tell me of your town and parents, what manner of ship you came in, how

your crew brought you to Ithaca, and of what nation they declared

themselves to be—for you cannot have come by land. Tell me also truly,

for I want to know, are you a stranger to this house, or have you been

here in my father's time? In the old days we had many visitors for my

father went about much himself."

And Minerva answered, "I will tell you truly and particularly all about

it. I am Mentes, son of Anchialus, and I am King of the Taphians. I

have come here with my ship and crew, on a voyage to men of a foreign

tongue being bound for Temesa with a cargo of iron, and I shall bring

back copper. As for my ship, it lies over yonder off the open country

away from the town, in the harbour Rheithron under the wooded mountain

Neritum. Our fathers were friends before us, as old Laertes will tell

you, if you will go and ask him. They say, however, that he never comes

to town now, and lives by himself in the country, faring hardly, with

an old woman to look after him and get his dinner for him, when he

comes in tired from pottering about his vineyard. They told me your

father was at home again, and that was why I came, but it seems the

gods are still keeping him back, for he is not dead yet not on the

mainland. It is more likely he is on some sea-girt island in mid ocean,

or a prisoner among savages who are detaining him against his will. I

am no prophet, and know very little about omens, but I speak as it is

borne in upon me from heaven, and assure you that he will not be away

much longer; for he is a man of such resource that even though he were

in chains of iron he would find some means of getting home again. But

tell me, and tell me true, can Ulysses really have such a fine looking

fellow for a son? You are indeed wonderfully like him about the head

and eyes, for we were close friends before he set sail for Troy where

the flower of all the Argives went also. Since that time we have never

either of us seen the other."

"My mother," answered Telemachus, "tells me I am son to Ulysses, but it

is a wise child that knows his own father. Would that I were son to one

who had grown old upon his own estates, for, since you ask me, there is

no more ill-starred man under heaven than he who they tell me is my

father."

And Minerva said, "There is no fear of your race dying out yet, while

Penelope has such a fine son as you are. But tell me, and tell me true,

what is the meaning of all this feasting, and who are these people?

What is it all about? Have you some banquet, or is there a wedding in

the family—for no one seems to be bringing any provisions of his own?

And the guests—how atrociously they are behaving; what riot they make

over the whole house; it is enough to disgust any respectable person

who comes near them."

"Sir," said Telemachus, "as regards your question, so long as my father

was here it was well with us and with the house, but the gods in their

displeasure have willed it otherwise, and have hidden him away more

closely than mortal man was ever yet hidden. I could have borne it

better even though he were dead, if he had fallen with his men before

Troy, or had died with friends around him when the days of his fighting

were done; for then the Achaeans would have built a mound over his

ashes, and I should myself have been heir to his renown; but now the

storm-winds have spirited him away we know not whither; he is gone

without leaving so much as a trace behind him, and I inherit nothing

but dismay. Nor does the matter end simply with grief for the loss of

my father; heaven has laid sorrows upon me of yet another kind; for the

chiefs from all our islands, Dulichium, Same, and the woodland island

of Zacynthus, as also all the principal men of Ithaca itself, are

eating up my house under the pretext of paying their court to my

mother, who will neither point blank say that she will not marry, nor

yet bring matters to an end; so they are making havoc of my estate, and

before long will do so also with myself."

"Is that so?" exclaimed Minerva, "then you do indeed want Ulysses home

again. Give him his helmet, shield, and a couple of lances, and if he

is the man he was when I first knew him in our house, drinking and

making merry, he would soon lay his hands about these rascally suitors,

were he to stand once more upon his own threshold. He was then coming

from Ephyra, where he had been to beg poison for his arrows from Ilus,

son of Mermerus. Ilus feared the ever-living gods and would not give

him any, but my father let him have some, for he was very fond of him.

If Ulysses is the man he then was these suitors will have a short

shrift and a sorry wedding.

"But there! It rests with heaven to determine whether he is to return,

and take his revenge in his own house or no; I would, however, urge you

to set about trying to get rid of these suitors at once. Take my

advice, call the Achaean heroes in assembly to-morrow morning—lay your

case before them, and call heaven to bear you witness. Bid the suitors

take themselves off, each to his own place, and if your mother's mind

is set on marrying again, let her go back to her father, who will find

her a husband and provide her with all the marriage gifts that so dear

a daughter may expect. As for yourself, let me prevail upon you to take

the best ship you can get, with a crew of twenty men, and go in quest

of your father who has so long been missing. Some one may tell you

something, or (and people often hear things in this way) some

heaven-sent message may direct you. First go to Pylos and ask Nestor;

thence go on to Sparta and visit Menelaus, for he got home last of all

the Achaeans; if you hear that your father is alive and on his way

home, you can put up with the waste these suitors will make for yet

another twelve months. If on the other hand you hear of his death, come

home at once, celebrate his funeral rites with all due pomp, build a

barrow to his memory, and make your mother marry again. Then, having

done all this, think it well over in your mind how, by fair means or

foul, you may kill these suitors in your own house. You are too old to

plead infancy any longer; have you not heard how people are singing

Orestes' praises for having killed his father's murderer Aegisthus? You

are a fine, smart looking fellow; show your mettle, then, and make

yourself a name in story. Now, however, I must go back to my ship and

to my crew, who will be impatient if I keep them waiting longer; think

the matter over for yourself, and remember what I have said to you."

"Sir," answered Telemachus, "it has been very kind of you to talk to me

in this way, as though I were your own son, and I will do all you tell

me; I know you want to be getting on with your voyage, but stay a

little longer till you have taken a bath and refreshed yourself. I will

then give you a present, and you shall go on your way rejoicing; I will

give you one of great beauty and value—a keepsake such as only dear

friends give to one another."

Minerva answered, "Do not try to keep me, for I would be on my way at

once. As for any present you may be disposed to make me, keep it till I

come again, and I will take it home with me. You shall give me a very

good one, and I will give you one of no less value in return."

With these words she flew away like a bird into the air, but she had

given Telemachus courage, and had made him think more than ever about

his father. He felt the change, wondered at it, and knew that the

stranger had been a god, so he went straight to where the suitors were

sitting.

Phemius was still singing, and his hearers sat rapt in silence as he

told the sad tale of the return from Troy, and the ills Minerva had

laid upon the Achaeans. Penelope, daughter of Icarius, heard his song

from her room upstairs, and came down by the great staircase, not

alone, but attended by two of her handmaids. When she reached the

suitors she stood by one of the bearing posts that supported the roof

of the cloisters with a staid maiden on either side of her. She held a

veil, moreover, before her face, and was weeping bitterly.

"Phemius," she cried, "you know many another feat of gods and heroes,

such as poets love to celebrate. Sing the suitors some one of these,

and let them drink their wine in silence, but cease this sad tale, for

it breaks my sorrowful heart, and reminds me of my lost husband whom I

mourn ever without ceasing, and whose name was great over all Hellas

and middle Argos."

"Mother," answered Telemachus, "let the bard sing what he has a mind

to; bards do not make the ills they sing of; it is Jove, not they, who

makes them, and who sends weal or woe upon mankind according to his own

good pleasure. This fellow means no harm by singing the ill-fated

return of the Danaans, for people always applaud the latest songs most

warmly. Make up your mind to it and bear it; Ulysses is not the only

man who never came back from Troy, but many another went down as well

as he. Go, then, within the house and busy yourself with your daily

duties, your loom, your distaff, and the ordering of your servants; for

speech is man's matter, and mine above all others —for it is I who am

master here."

She went wondering back into the house, and laid her son's saying in

her heart. Then, going upstairs with her handmaids into her room, she

mourned her dear husband till Minerva shed sweet sleep over her eyes.

But the suitors were clamorous throughout the covered cloisters, and

prayed each one that he might be her bed fellow.

Then Telemachus spoke, "Shameless," he cried, "and insolent suitors,

let us feast at our pleasure now, and let there be no brawling, for it

is a rare thing to hear a man with such a divine voice as Phemius has;

but in the morning meet me in full assembly that I may give you formal

notice to depart, and feast at one another's houses, turn and turn

about, at your own cost. If on the other hand you choose to persist in

spunging upon one man, heaven help me, but Jove shall reckon with you

in full, and when you fall in my father's house there shall be no man

to avenge you."

The suitors bit their lips as they heard him, and marvelled at the

boldness of his speech. Then, Antinous, son of Eupeithes, said, "The

gods seem to have given you lessons in bluster and tall talking; may

Jove never grant you to be chief in Ithaca as your father was before

you."

Telemachus answered, "Antinous, do not chide with me, but, god willing,

I will be chief too if I can. Is this the worst fate you can think of

for me? It is no bad thing to be a chief, for it brings both riches and

honour. Still, now that Ulysses is dead there are many great men in

Ithaca both old and young, and some other may take the lead among them;

nevertheless I will be chief in my own house, and will rule those whom

Ulysses has won for me."

Then Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered, "It rests with heaven to

decide who shall be chief among us, but you shall be master in your own

house and over your own possessions; no one while there is a man in

Ithaca shall do you violence nor rob you. And now, my good fellow, I

want to know about this stranger. What country does he come from? Of

what family is he, and where is his estate? Has he brought you news

about the return of your father, or was he on business of his own? He

seemed a well to do man, but he hurried off so suddenly that he was

gone in a moment before we could get to know him."

"My father is dead and gone," answered Telemachus, "and even if some

rumour reaches me I put no more faith in it now. My mother does indeed

sometimes send for a soothsayer and question him, but I give his

prophecyings no heed. As for the stranger, he was Mentes, son of

Anchialus, chief of the Taphians, an old friend of my father's." But in

his heart he knew that it had been the goddess.

The suitors then returned to their singing and dancing until the

evening; but when night fell upon their pleasuring they went home to

bed each in his own abode. Telemachus's room was high up in a tower

that looked on to the outer court; hither, then, he hied, brooding and

full of thought. A good old woman, Euryclea, daughter of Ops, the son

of Pisenor, went before him with a couple of blazing torches. Laertes

had bought her with his own money when she was quite young; he gave the

worth of twenty oxen for her, and shewed as much respect to her in his

household as he did to his own wedded wife, but he did not take her to

his bed for he feared his wife's resentment. She it was who now

lighted Telemachus to his room, and she loved him better than any of

the other women in the house did, for she had nursed him when he was a

baby. He opened the door of his bed room and sat down upon the bed; as

he took off his shirt he gave it to the good old woman, who folded it

tidily up, and hung it for him over a peg by his bed side, after which

she went out, pulled the door to by a silver catch, and drew the bolt

home by means of the strap. But Telemachus as he lay covered with a

woollen fleece kept thinking all night through of his intended voyage

and of the counsel that Minerva had given him.

Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared Telemachus

rose and dressed himself. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet,

girded his sword about his shoulder, and left his room looking like an

immortal god. He at once sent the criers round to call the people in

assembly, so they called them and the people gathered thereon; then,

when they were got together, he went to the place of assembly spear in

hand—not alone, for his two hounds went with him. Minerva endowed him

with a presence of such divine comeliness that all marvelled at him as

he went by, and when he took his place in his father's seat even the

oldest councillors made way for him.

Aegyptius, a man bent double with age, and of infinite experience, was

the first to speak. His son Antiphus had gone with Ulysses to Ilius,

land of noble steeds, but the savage Cyclops had killed him when they

were all shut up in the cave, and had cooked his last dinner for him.

He had three sons left, of whom two still worked on their father's

land, while the third, Eurynomus, was one of the suitors; nevertheless

their father could not get over the loss of Antiphus, and was still

weeping for him when he began his speech.

"Men of Ithaca," he said, "hear my words. From the day Ulysses left us

there has been no meeting of our councillors until now; who then can it

be, whether old or young, that finds it so necessary to convene us? Has

he got wind of some host approaching, and does he wish to warn us, or

would he speak upon some other matter of public moment? I am sure he is

an excellent person, and I hope Jove will grant him his heart's

desire."

Telemachus took this speech as of good omen and rose at once, for he

was bursting with what he had to say. He stood in the middle of the

assembly and the good herald Pisenor brought him his staff. Then,

turning to Aegyptius, "Sir," said he, "it is I, as you will shortly

learn, who have convened you, for it is I who am the most aggrieved. I

have not got wind of any host approaching about which I would warn you,

nor is there any matter of public moment on which I would speak. My

grievance is purely personal, and turns on two great misfortunes which

have fallen upon my house. The first of these is the loss of my

excellent father, who was chief among all you here present, and was

like a father to every one of you; the second is much more serious, and

ere long will be the utter ruin of my estate. The sons of all the chief

men among you are pestering my mother to marry them against her will.

They are afraid to go to her father Icarius, asking him to choose the

one he likes best, and to provide marriage gifts for his daughter, but

day by day they keep hanging about my father's house, sacrificing our

oxen, sheep, and fat goats for their banquets, and never giving so much

as a thought to the quantity of wine they drink. No estate can stand

such recklessness; we have now no Ulysses to ward off harm from our

doors, and I cannot hold my own against them. I shall never all my days

be as good a man as he was, still I would indeed defend myself if I had

power to do so, for I cannot stand such treatment any longer; my house

is being disgraced and ruined. Have respect, therefore, to your own

consciences and to public opinion. Fear, too, the wrath of heaven, lest

the gods should be displeased and turn upon you. I pray you by Jove and

Themis, who is the beginning and the end of councils, [do not hold

back, my friends, and leave me singlehanded—unless it be that my

brave father Ulysses did some wrong to the Achaeans which you would now

avenge on me, by aiding and abetting these suitors. Moreover, if I am

to be eaten out of house and home at all, I had rather you did the

eating yourselves, for I could then take action against you to some

purpose, and serve you with notices from house to house till I got paid

in full, whereas now I have no remedy."

With this Telemachus dashed his staff to the ground and burst into

tears. Every one was very sorry for him, but they all sat still and no

one ventured to make him an angry answer, save only Antinous, who spoke

thus:

"Telemachus, insolent braggart that you are, how dare you try to throw

the blame upon us suitors? It is your mother's fault not ours, for she

is a very artful woman. This three years past, and close on four, she

had been driving us out of our minds, by encouraging each one of us,

and sending him messages without meaning one word of what she says. And

then there was that other trick she played us. She set up a great

tambour frame in her room, and began to work on an enormous piece of

fine needlework. 'Sweet hearts,' said she, 'Ulysses is indeed dead,

still do not press me to marry again immediately, wait—for I would not

have skill in needlework perish unrecorded—till I have completed a pall

for the hero Laertes, to be in readiness against the time when death

shall take him. He is very rich, and the women of the place will talk

if he is laid out without a pall.'

"This was what she said, and we assented; whereon we could see her

working on her great web all day long, but at night she would unpick

the stitches again by torchlight. She fooled us in this way for three

years and we never found her out, but as time wore on and she was now

in her fourth year, one of her maids who knew what she was doing told

us, and we caught her in the act of undoing her work, so she had to

finish it whether she would or no. The suitors, therefore, make you

this answer, that both you and the Achaeans may understand—'Send your

mother away, and bid her marry the man of her own and of her father's

choice'; for I do not know what will happen if she goes on plaguing us

much longer with the airs she gives herself on the score of the

accomplishments Minerva has taught her, and because she is so clever.

We never yet heard of such a woman; we know all about Tyro, Alcmena,

Mycene, and the famous women of old, but they were nothing to your

mother any one of them. It was not fair of her to treat us in that way,

and as long as she continues in the mind with which heaven has now

endowed her, so long shall we go on eating up your estate; and I do not

see why she should change, for she gets all the honour and glory, and

it is you who pay for it, not she. Understand, then, that we will not

go back to our lands, neither here nor elsewhere, till she has made her

choice and married some one or other of us."

Telemachus answered, "Antinous, how can I drive the mother who bore me

from my father's house? My father is abroad and we do not know whether

he is alive or dead. It will be hard on me if I have to pay Icarius the

large sum which I must give him if I insist on sending his daughter

back to him. Not only will he deal rigorously with me, but heaven will

also punish me; for my mother when she leaves the house will call on

the Erinyes to avenge her; besides, it would not be a creditable thing

to do, and I will have nothing to say to it. If you choose to take

offence at this, leave the house and feast elsewhere at one another's

houses at your own cost turn and turn about. If, on the other hand, you

elect to persist in spunging upon one man, heaven help me, but Jove

shall reckon with you in full, and when you fall in my father's house

there shall be no man to avenge you."

As he spoke Jove sent two eagles from the top of the mountain, and they

flew on and on with the wind, sailing side by side in their own lordly

flight. When they were right over the middle of the assembly they

wheeled and circled about, beating the air with their wings and glaring

death into the eyes of them that were below; then, fighting fiercely

and tearing at one another, they flew off towards the right over the

town. The people wondered as they saw them, and asked each other what

all this might be; whereon Halitherses, who was the best prophet and

reader of omens among them, spoke to them plainly and in all honesty,

saying:

"Hear me, men of Ithaca, and I speak more particularly to the suitors,

for I see mischief brewing for them. Ulysses is not going to be away

much longer; indeed he is close at hand to deal out death and

destruction, not on them alone, but on many another of us who live in

Ithaca. Let us then be wise in time, and put a stop to this wickedness

before he comes. Let the suitors do so of their own accord; it will be

better for them, for I am not prophesying without due knowledge;

everything has happened to Ulysses as I foretold when the Argives set

out for Troy, and he with them. I said that after going through much

hardship and losing all his men he should come home again in the

twentieth year and that no one would know him; and now all this is

coming true."

Eurymachus son of Polybus then said, "Go home, old man, and prophesy to

your own children, or it may be worse for them. I can read these omens

myself much better than you can; birds are always flying about in the

sunshine somewhere or other, but they seldom mean anything. Ulysses has

died in a far country, and it is a pity you are not dead along with

him, instead of prating here about omens and adding fuel to the anger

of Telemachus which is fierce enough as it is. I suppose you think he

will give you something for your family, but I tell you—and it shall

surely be—when an old man like you, who should know better, talks a

young one over till he becomes troublesome, in the first place his

young friend will only fare so much the worse—he will take nothing by

it, for the suitors will prevent this—and in the next, we will lay a

heavier fine, sir, upon yourself than you will at all like paying, for

it will bear hardly upon you. As for Telemachus, I warn him in the

presence of you all to send his mother back to her father, who will

find her a husband and provide her with all the marriage gifts so dear

a daughter may expect. Till then we shall go on harassing him with our

suit; for we fear no man, and care neither for him, with all his fine

speeches, nor for any fortune-telling of yours. You may preach as much

as you please, but we shall only hate you the more. We shall go back

and continue to eat up Telemachus's estate without paying him, till

such time as his mother leaves off tormenting us by keeping us day

after day on the tiptoe of expectation, each vying with the other in

his suit for a prize of such rare perfection. Besides we cannot go

after the other women whom we should marry in due course, but for the

way in which she treats us."

Then Telemachus said, "Eurymachus, and you other suitors, I shall say

no more, and entreat you no further, for the gods and the people of

Ithaca now know my story. Give me, then, a ship and a crew of twenty

men to take me hither and thither, and I will go to Sparta and to Pylos

in quest of my father who has so long been missing. Some one may tell

me something, or (and people often hear things in this way) some

heaven-sent message may direct me. If I can hear of him as alive and on

his way home I will put up with the waste you suitors will make for yet

another twelve months. If on the other hand I hear of his death, I will

return at once, celebrate his funeral rites with all due pomp, build a

barrow to his memory, and make my mother marry again."

With these words he sat down, and Mentor who had been a friend of

Ulysses, and had been left in charge of everything with full authority

over the servants, rose to speak. He, then, plainly and in all honesty

addressed them thus:

"Hear me, men of Ithaca, I hope that you may never have a kind and

well-disposed ruler any more, nor one who will govern you equitably; I

hope that all your chiefs henceforward may be cruel and unjust, for

there is not one of you but has forgotten Ulysses, who ruled you as

though he were your father. I am not half so angry with the suitors,

for if they choose to do violence in the naughtiness of their hearts,

and wager their heads that Ulysses will not return, they can take the

high hand and eat up his estate, but as for you others I am shocked at

the way in which you all sit still without even trying to stop such

scandalous goings on—which you could do if you chose, for you are many

and they are few."

Leiocritus, son of Evenor, answered him saying, "Mentor, what folly is

all this, that you should set the people to stay us? It is a hard thing

for one man to fight with many about his victuals. Even though Ulysses

himself were to set upon us while we are feasting in his house, and do

his best to oust us, his wife, who wants him back so very badly, would

have small cause for rejoicing, and his blood would be upon his own

head if he fought against such great odds. There is no sense in what

you have been saying. Now, therefore, do you people go about your

business, and let his father's old friends, Mentor and Halitherses,

speed this boy on his journey, if he goes at all—which I do not think

he will, for he is more likely to stay where he is till some one comes

and tells him something."

On this he broke up the assembly, and every man went back to his own

abode, while the suitors returned to the house of Ulysses.

Then Telemachus went all alone by the sea side, washed his hands in the

grey waves, and prayed to Minerva.

"Hear me," he cried, "you god who visited me yesterday, and bade me

sail the seas in search of my father who has so long been missing. I

would obey you, but the Achaeans, and more particularly the wicked

suitors, are hindering me that I cannot do so."

As he thus prayed, Minerva came close up to him in the likeness and

with the voice of Mentor. "Telemachus," said she, "if you are made of

the same stuff as your father you will be neither fool nor coward

henceforward, for Ulysses never broke his word nor left his work half

done. If, then, you take after him, your voyage will not be fruitless,

but unless you have the blood of Ulysses and of Penelope in your veins

I see no likelihood of your succeeding. Sons are seldom as good men as

their fathers; they are generally worse, not better; still, as you are

not going to be either fool or coward henceforward, and are not

entirely without some share of your father's wise discernment, I look

with hope upon your undertaking. But mind you never make common cause

with any of those foolish suitors, for they have neither sense nor

virtue, and give no thought to death and to the doom that will shortly

fall on one and all of them, so that they shall perish on the same day.

As for your voyage, it shall not be long delayed; your father was such

an old friend of mine that I will find you a ship, and will come with

you myself. Now, however, return home, and go about among the suitors;

begin getting provisions ready for your voyage; see everything well

stowed, the wine in jars, and the barley meal, which is the staff of

life, in leathern bags, while I go round the town and beat up

volunteers at once. There are many ships in Ithaca both old and new; I

will run my eye over them for you and will choose the best; we will get

her ready and will put out to sea without delay."

Thus spoke Minerva daughter of Jove, and Telemachus lost no time in

doing as the goddess told him. He went moodily home, and found the

suitors flaying goats and singeing pigs in the outer court. Antinous

came up to him at once and laughed as he took his hand in his own,

saying, "Telemachus, my fine fire-eater, bear no more ill blood neither

in word nor deed, but eat and drink with us as you used to do. The

Achaeans will find you in everything—a ship and a picked crew to

boot—so that you can set sail for Pylos at once and get news of your

noble father."

"Antinous," answered Telemachus, "I cannot eat in peace, nor take

pleasure of any kind with such men as you are. Was it not enough that

you should waste so much good property of mine while I was yet a boy?

Now that I am older and know more about it, I am also stronger, and

whether here among this people, or by going to Pylos, I will do you all

the harm I can. I shall go, and my going will not be in vain—though,

thanks to you suitors, I have neither ship nor crew of my own, and must

be passenger not captain."

As he spoke he snatched his hand from that of Antinous. Meanwhile the

others went on getting dinner ready about the buildings, jeering at

him tauntingly as they did so.

"Telemachus," said one youngster, "means to be the death of us; I

suppose he thinks he can bring friends to help him from Pylos, or again

from Sparta, where he seems bent on going. Or will he go to Ephyra as

well, for poison to put in our wine and kill us?"

Another said, "Perhaps if Telemachus goes on board ship, he will be

like his father and perish far from his friends. In this case we should

have plenty to do, for we could then divide up his property amongst us:

as for the house we can let his mother and the man who marries her have

that."

This was how they talked. But Telemachus went down into the lofty and

spacious store-room where his father's treasure of gold and bronze lay

heaped up upon the floor, and where the linen and spare clothes were

kept in open chests. Here, too, there was a store of fragrant olive

oil, while casks of old, well-ripened wine, unblended and fit for a god

to drink, were ranged against the wall in case Ulysses should come home

again after all. The room was closed with well-made doors opening in

the middle; moreover the faithful old house-keeper Euryclea, daughter

of Ops the son of Pisenor, was in charge of everything both night and

day. Telemachus called her to the store-room and said:

"Nurse, draw me off some of the best wine you have, after what you are

keeping for my father's own drinking, in case, poor man, he should

escape death, and find his way home again after all. Let me have twelve

jars, and see that they all have lids; also fill me some well-sewn

leathern bags with barley meal—about twenty measures in all. Get these

things put together at once, and say nothing about it. I will take

everything away this evening as soon as my mother has gone upstairs for

the night. I am going to Sparta and to Pylos to see if I can hear

anything about the return of my dear father."

When Euryclea heard this she began to cry, and spoke fondly to him,

saying, "My dear child, what ever can have put such notion as that into

your head? Where in the world do you want to go to—you, who are the one

hope of the house? Your poor father is dead and gone in some foreign

country nobody knows where, and as soon as your back is turned these

wicked ones here will be scheming to get you put out of the way, and

will share all your possessions among themselves; stay where you are

among your own people, and do not go wandering and worrying your life

out on the barren ocean."

"Fear not, nurse," answered Telemachus, "my scheme is not without

heaven's sanction; but swear that you will say nothing about all this

to my mother, till I have been away some ten or twelve days, unless she

hears of my having gone, and asks you; for I do not want her to spoil

her beauty by crying."

The old woman swore most solemnly that she would not, and when she had

completed her oath, she began drawing off the wine into jars, and

getting the barley meal into the bags, while Telemachus went back to

the suitors.

Then Minerva bethought her of another matter. She took his shape, and

went round the town to each one of the crew, telling them to meet at

the ship by sundown. She went also to Noemon son of Phronius, and asked

him to let her have a ship—which he was very ready to do. When the sun

had set and darkness was over all the land, she got the ship into the

water, put all the tackle on board her that ships generally carry, and

stationed her at the end of the harbour. Presently the crew came up,

and the goddess spoke encouragingly to each of them.

Furthermore she went to the house of Ulysses, and threw the suitors

into a deep slumber. She caused their drink to fuddle them, and made

them drop their cups from their hands, so that instead of sitting over

their wine, they went back into the town to sleep, with their eyes

heavy and full of drowsiness. Then she took the form and voice of

Mentor, and called Telemachus to come outside.

"Telemachus," said she, "the men are on board and at their oars,

waiting for you to give your orders, so make haste and let us be off."

On this she led the way, while Telemachus followed in her steps. When

they got to the ship they found the crew waiting by the water side, and

Telemachus said, "Now my men, help me to get the stores on board; they

are all put together in the cloister, and my mother does not know

anything about it, nor any of the maid servants except one."

With these words he led the way and the others followed after. When

they had brought the things as he told them, Telemachus went on board,

Minerva going before him and taking her seat in the stern of the

vessel, while Telemachus sat beside her. Then the men loosed the

hawsers and took their places on the benches. Minerva sent them a fair

wind from the West, that whistled over the deep blue waves whereon

Telemachus told them to catch hold of the ropes and hoist sail, and

they did as he told them. They set the mast in its socket in the cross

plank, raised it, and made it fast with the forestays; then they

hoisted their white sails aloft with ropes of twisted ox hide. As the

sail bellied out with the wind, the ship flew through the deep blue

water, and the foam hissed against her bows as she sped onward. Then

they made all fast throughout the ship, filled the mixing bowls to the

brim, and made drink offerings to the immortal gods that are from

everlasting, but more particularly to the grey-eyed daughter of Jove.

Thus, then, the ship sped on her way through the watches of the night

from dark till dawn.

but as the sun was rising from the fair sea into the firmament of

heaven to shed light on mortals and immortals, they reached Pylos the

city of Neleus. Now the people of Pylos were gathered on the sea shore

to offer sacrifice of black bulls to Neptune lord of the Earthquake.

There were nine guilds with five hundred men in each, and there were

nine bulls to each guild. As they were eating the inward meats and

burning the thigh bones [on the embers in the name of Neptune,

Telemachus and his crew arrived, furled their sails, brought their ship

to anchor, and went ashore.

Minerva led the way and Telemachus followed her. Presently she said,

"Telemachus, you must not be in the least shy or nervous; you have

taken this voyage to try and find out where your father is buried and

how he came by his end; so go straight up to Nestor that we may see

what he has got to tell us. Beg of him to speak the truth, and he will

tell no lies, for he is an excellent person."

"But how, Mentor," replied Telemachus, "dare I go up to Nestor, and how

am I to address him? I have never yet been used to holding long

conversations with people, and am ashamed to begin questioning one who

is so much older than myself."

"Some things, Telemachus," answered Minerva, "will be suggested to you

by your own instinct, and heaven will prompt you further; for I am

assured that the gods have been with you from the time of your birth

until now."

She then went quickly on, and Telemachus followed in her steps till

they reached the place where the guilds of the Pylian people were

assembled. There they found Nestor sitting with his sons, while his

company round him were busy getting dinner ready, and putting pieces of

meat on to the spits while other pieces were cooking. When they saw

the strangers they crowded round them, took them by the hand and bade

them take their places. Nestor's son Pisistratus at once offered his

hand to each of them, and seated them on some soft sheepskins that were

lying on the sands near his father and his brother Thrasymedes. Then he

gave them their portions of the inward meats and poured wine for them

into a golden cup, handing it to Minerva first, and saluting her at the

same time.

"Offer a prayer, sir," said he, "to King Neptune, for it is his feast

that you are joining; when you have duly prayed and made your drink

offering, pass the cup to your friend that he may do so also. I doubt

not that he too lifts his hands in prayer, for man cannot live without

God in the world. Still he is younger than you are, and is much of an

age with myself, so I will give you the precedence."

As he spoke he handed her the cup. Minerva thought it very right and

proper of him to have given it to herself first; she accordingly

began praying heartily to Neptune. "O thou," she cried, "that

encirclest the earth, vouchsafe to grant the prayers of thy servants

that call upon thee. More especially we pray thee send down thy grace

on Nestor and on his sons; thereafter also make the rest of the Pylian

people some handsome return for the goodly hecatomb they are offering

you. Lastly, grant Telemachus and myself a happy issue, in respect of

the matter that has brought us in our ship to Pylos."

When she had thus made an end of praying, she handed the cup to

Telemachus and he prayed likewise. By and by, when the outer meats were

roasted and had been taken off the spits, the carvers gave every man

his portion and they all made an excellent dinner. As soon as they had

had enough to eat and drink, Nestor, knight of Gerene, began to speak.

"Now," said he, "that our guests have done their dinner, it will be

best to ask them who they are. Who, then, sir strangers, are you, and

from what port have you sailed? Are you traders? or do you sail the

seas as rovers with your hand against every man, and every man's hand

against you?"

Telemachus answered boldly, for Minerva had given him courage to ask

about his father and get himself a good name.

"Nestor," said he, "son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean name, you ask

whence we come, and I will tell you. We come from Ithaca under

Neritum, and the matter about which I would speak is of private not

public import. I seek news of my unhappy father Ulysses, who is said to

have sacked the town of Troy in company with yourself. We know what

fate befell each one of the other heroes who fought at Troy, but as

regards Ulysses heaven has hidden from us the knowledge even that he is

dead at all, for no one can certify us in what place he perished, nor

say whether he fell in battle on the mainland, or was lost at sea amid

the waves of Amphitrite. Therefore I am suppliant at your knees, if

haply you may be pleased to tell me of his melancholy end, whether you

saw it with your own eyes, or heard it from some other traveller, for

he was a man born to trouble. Do not soften things out of any pity for

me, but tell me in all plainness exactly what you saw. If my brave

father Ulysses ever did you loyal service, either by word or deed, when

you Achaeans were harassed among the Trojans, bear it in mind now as in

my favour and tell me truly all."

"My friend," answered Nestor, "you recall a time of much sorrow to my

mind, for the brave Achaeans suffered much both at sea, while

privateering under Achilles, and when fighting before the great city of

king Priam. Our best men all of them fell there—Ajax, Achilles,

Patroclus peer of gods in counsel, and my own dear son Antilochus, a

man singularly fleet of foot and in fight valiant. But we suffered much

more than this; what mortal tongue indeed could tell the whole story?

Though you were to stay here and question me for five years, or even

six, I could not tell you all that the Achaeans suffered, and you would

turn homeward weary of my tale before it ended. Nine long years did we

try every kind of stratagem, but the hand of heaven was against us;

during all this time there was no one who could compare with your

father in subtlety—if indeed you are his son—I can hardly believe my

eyes—and you talk just like him too—no one would say that people of

such different ages could speak so much alike. He and I never had any

kind of difference from first to last neither in camp nor council, but

in singleness of heart and purpose we advised the Argives how all might

be ordered for the best.

"When, however, we had sacked the city of Priam, and were setting sail

in our ships as heaven had dispersed us, then Jove saw fit to vex the

Argives on their homeward voyage; for they had not all been either wise

or understanding, and hence many came to a bad end through the

displeasure of Jove's daughter Minerva, who brought about a quarrel

between the two sons of Atreus.

"The sons of Atreus called a meeting which was not as it should be, for

it was sunset and the Achaeans were heavy with wine. When they

explained why they had called the people together, it seemed that

Menelaus was for sailing homeward at once, and this displeased

Agamemnon, who thought that we should wait till we had offered

hecatombs to appease the anger of Minerva. Fool that he was, he might

have known that he would not prevail with her, for when the gods have

made up their minds they do not change them lightly. So the two stood

bandying hard words, whereon the Achaeans sprang to their feet with a

cry that rent the air, and were of two minds as to what they should do.

"That night we rested and nursed our anger, for Jove was hatching

mischief against us. But in the morning some of us drew our ships into

the water and put our goods with our women on board, while the rest,

about half in number, stayed behind with Agamemnon. We—the other

half—embarked and sailed; and the ships went well, for heaven had

smoothed the sea. When we reached Tenedos we offered sacrifices to the

gods, for we were longing to get home; cruel Jove, however, did not yet

mean that we should do so, and raised a second quarrel in the course of

which some among us turned their ships back again, and sailed away

under Ulysses to make their peace with Agamemnon; but I, and all the

ships that were with me pressed forward, for I saw that mischief was

brewing. The son of Tydeus went on also with me, and his crews with

him. Later on Menelaus joined us at Lesbos, and found us making up our

minds about our course—for we did not know whether to go outside Chios

by the island of Psyra, keeping this to our left, or inside Chios, over

against the stormy headland of Mimas. So we asked heaven for a sign,

and were shown one to the effect that we should be soonest out of

danger if we headed our ships across the open sea to Euboea. This we

therefore did, and a fair wind sprang up which gave us a quick passage

during the night to Geraestus, where we offered many sacrifices to

Neptune for having helped us so far on our way. Four days later Diomed

and his men stationed their ships in Argos, but I held on for Pylos,

and the wind never fell light from the day when heaven first made it

fair for me.

"Therefore, my dear young friend, I returned without hearing anything

about the others. I know neither who got home safely nor who were lost

but, as in duty bound, I will give you without reserve the reports that

have reached me since I have been here in my own house. They say the

Myrmidons returned home safely under Achilles' son Neoptolemus; so also

did the valiant son of Poias, Philoctetes. Idomeneus, again, lost no

men at sea, and all his followers who escaped death in the field got

safe home with him to Crete. No matter how far out of the world you

live, you will have heard of Agamemnon and the bad end he came to at

the hands of Aegisthus—and a fearful reckoning did Aegisthus presently

pay. See what a good thing it is for a man to leave a son behind him to

do as Orestes did, who killed false Aegisthus the murderer of his noble

father. You too, then—for you are a tall smart-looking fellow—show your

mettle and make yourself a name in story."

"Nestor son of Neleus," answered Telemachus, "honour to the Achaean

name, the Achaeans applaud Orestes and his name will live through all

time for he has avenged his father nobly. Would that heaven might grant

me to do like vengeance on the insolence of the wicked suitors, who are

ill treating me and plotting my ruin; but the gods have no such

happiness in store for me and for my father, so we must bear it as best

we may."

"My friend," said Nestor, "now that you remind me, I remember to have

heard that your mother has many suitors, who are ill disposed towards

you and are making havoc of your estate. Do you submit to this tamely,

or are public feeling and the voice of heaven against you? Who knows

but what Ulysses may come back after all, and pay these scoundrels in

full, either single-handed or with a force of Achaeans behind him? If

Minerva were to take as great a liking to you as she did to Ulysses

when we were fighting before Troy (for I never yet saw the gods so

openly fond of any one as Minerva then was of your father), if she

would take as good care of you as she did of him, these wooers would

soon some of them forget their wooing."

Telemachus answered, "I can expect nothing of the kind; it would be far

too much to hope for. I dare not let myself think of it. Even though

the gods themselves willed it no such good fortune could befall me."

On this Minerva said, "Telemachus, what are you talking about? Heaven

has a long arm if it is minded to save a man; and if it were me, I

should not care how much I suffered before getting home, provided I

could be safe when I was once there. I would rather this, than get home

quickly, and then be killed in my own house as Agamemnon was by the

treachery of Aegisthus and his wife. Still, death is certain, and when

a man's hour is come, not even the gods can save him, no matter how

fond they are of him."

"Mentor," answered Telemachus, "do not let us talk about it any more.

There is no chance of my father's ever coming back; the gods have long

since counselled his destruction. There is something else, however,

about which I should like to ask Nestor, for he knows much more than

any one else does. They say he has reigned for three generations so

that it is like talking to an immortal. Tell me, therefore, Nestor, and

tell me true; how did Agamemnon come to die in that way? What was

Menelaus doing? And how came false Aegisthus to kill so far better a

man than himself? Was Menelaus away from Achaean Argos, voyaging

elsewhither among mankind, that Aegisthus took heart and killed

Agamemnon?"

"I will tell you truly," answered Nestor, "and indeed you have yourself

divined how it all happened. If Menelaus when he got back from Troy had

found Aegisthus still alive in his house, there would have been no

barrow heaped up for him, not even when he was dead, but he would have

been thrown outside the city to dogs and vultures, and not a woman

would have mourned him, for he had done a deed of great wickedness; but

we were over there, fighting hard at Troy, and Aegisthus, who was

taking his ease quietly in the heart of Argos, cajoled Agamemnon's wife

Clytemnestra with incessant flattery.

"At first she would have nothing to do with his wicked scheme, for she

was of a good natural disposition; moreover there was a bard with

her, to whom Agamemnon had given strict orders on setting out for Troy,

that he was to keep guard over his wife; but when heaven had counselled

her destruction, Aegisthus carried this bard off to a desert island and

left him there for crows and seagulls to batten upon—after which she

went willingly enough to the house of Aegisthus. Then he offered many

burnt sacrifices to the gods, and decorated many temples with

tapestries and gilding, for he had succeeded far beyond his

expectations.

"Meanwhile Menelaus and I were on our way home from Troy, on good terms

with one another. When we got to Sunium, which is the point of Athens,

Apollo with his painless shafts killed Phrontis the steersman of

Menelaus' ship (and never man knew better how to handle a vessel in

rough weather) so that he died then and there with the helm in his

hand, and Menelaus, though very anxious to press forward, had to wait

in order to bury his comrade and give him his due funeral rites.

Presently, when he too could put to sea again, and had sailed on as far

as the Malean heads, Jove counselled evil against him and made it blow

hard till the waves ran mountains high. Here he divided his fleet and

took the one half towards Crete where the Cydonians dwell round about

the waters of the river Iardanus. There is a high headland hereabouts

stretching out into the sea from a place called Gortyn, and all along

this part of the coast as far as Phaestus the sea runs high when there

is a south wind blowing, but after Phaestus the coast is more

protected, for a small headland can make a great shelter. Here this

part of the fleet was driven on to the rocks and wrecked; but the crews

just managed to save themselves. As for the other five ships, they were

taken by winds and seas to Egypt, where Menelaus gathered much gold and

substance among people of an alien speech. Meanwhile Aegisthus here at

home plotted his evil deed. For seven years after he had killed

Agamemnon he ruled in Mycene, and the people were obedient under him,

but in the eighth year Orestes came back from Athens to be his bane,

and killed the murderer of his father. Then he celebrated the funeral

rites of his mother and of false Aegisthus by a banquet to the people

of Argos, and on that very day Menelaus came home, with as much

treasure as his ships could carry.

"Take my advice then, and do not go travelling about for long so far

from home, nor leave your property with such dangerous people in your

house; they will eat up everything you have among them, and you will

have been on a fool's errand. Still, I should advise you by all means

to go and visit Menelaus, who has lately come off a voyage among such

distant peoples as no man could ever hope to get back from, when the

winds had once carried him so far out of his reckoning; even birds

cannot fly the distance in a twelve-month, so vast and terrible are the

seas that they must cross. Go to him, therefore, by sea, and take your

own men with you; or if you would rather travel by land you can have a

chariot, you can have horses, and here are my sons who can escort you

to Lacedaemon where Menelaus lives. Beg of him to speak the truth, and

he will tell you no lies, for he is an excellent person."

As he spoke the sun set and it came on dark, whereon Minerva said,

"Sir, all that you have said is well; now, however, order the tongues

of the victims to be cut, and mix wine that we may make drink-offerings

to Neptune, and the other immortals, and then go to bed, for it is bed

time. People should go away early and not keep late hours at a

religious festival."

Thus spoke the daughter of Jove, and they obeyed her saying. Men

servants poured water over the hands of the guests, while pages filled

the mixing-bowls with wine and water, and handed it round after giving

every man his drink offering; then they threw the tongues of the

victims into the fire, and stood up to make their drink offerings. When

they had made their offerings and had drunk each as much as he was

minded, Minerva and Telemachus were for going on board their ship, but

Nestor caught them up at once and stayed them.

"Heaven and the immortal gods," he exclaimed, "forbid that you should

leave my house to go on board of a ship. Do you think I am so poor and

short of clothes, or that I have so few cloaks and as to be unable to

find comfortable beds both for myself and for my guests? Let me tell

you I have store both of rugs and cloaks, and shall not permit the son

of my old friend Ulysses to camp down on the deck of a ship—not while I

live—nor yet will my sons after me, but they will keep open house as I

have done."

Then Minerva answered, "Sir, you have spoken well, and it will be much

better that Telemachus should do as you have said; he, therefore, shall

return with you and sleep at your house, but I must go back to give

orders to my crew, and keep them in good heart. I am the only older

person among them; the rest are all young men of Telemachus' own age,

who have taken this voyage out of friendship; so I must return to the

ship and sleep there. Moreover to-morrow I must go to the Cauconians

where I have a large sum of money long owing to me. As for Telemachus,

now that he is your guest, send him to Lacedaemon in a chariot, and let

one of your sons go with him. Be pleased to also provide him with your

best and fleetest horses."

When she had thus spoken, she flew away in the form of an eagle, and

all marvelled as they beheld it. Nestor was astonished, and took

Telemachus by the hand. "My friend," said he, "I see that you are going

to be a great hero some day, since the gods wait upon you thus while

you are still so young. This can have been none other of those who

dwell in heaven than Jove's redoubtable daughter, the Trito-born, who

shewed such favour towards your brave father among the Argives. Holy

queen," he continued, "vouchsafe to send down thy grace upon myself, my

good wife, and my children. In return, I will offer you in sacrifice a

broad-browed heifer of a year old, unbroken, and never yet brought by

man under the yoke. I will gild her horns, and will offer her up to you

in sacrifice."

Thus did he pray, and Minerva heard his prayer. He then led the way to

his own house, followed by his sons and sons in law. When they had got

there and had taken their places on the benches and seats, he mixed

them a bowl of sweet wine that was eleven years old when the

housekeeper took the lid off the jar that held it. As he mixed the

wine, he prayed much and made drink offerings to Minerva, daughter of

Aegis-bearing Jove. Then, when they had made their drink offerings and

had drunk each as much as he was minded, the others went home to bed

each in his own abode; but Nestor put Telemachus to sleep in the room

that was over the gateway along with Pisistratus, who was the only

unmarried son now left him. As for himself, he slept in an inner room

of the house, with the queen his wife by his side.

Now when the child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Nestor left

his couch and took his seat on the benches of white and polished marble

that stood in front of his house. Here aforetime sat Neleus, peer of

gods in counsel, but he was now dead, and had gone to the house of

Hades; so Nestor sat in his seat sceptre in hand, as guardian of the

public weal. His sons as they left their rooms gathered round him,

Echephron, Stratius, Perseus, Aretus, and Thrasymedes; the sixth son

was Pisistratus, and when Telemachus joined them they made him sit with

them. Nestor then addressed them.

"My sons," said he, "make haste to do as I shall bid you. I wish first

and foremost to propitiate the great goddess Minerva, 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 Telemachus' 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."

On this they hurried off on their several errands. The heifer was

brought in from the plain, and Telemachus's crew came from the ship;

the goldsmith brought the anvil, hammer, and tongs, with which he

worked his gold, and Minerva herself came to accept 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 Stratius and

Echephron brought her in by the horns; Aretus 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 Minerva as he threw a lock from

the heifer's head upon the fire.

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 Clymenus) screamed with delight. Then they lifted

the heifer's head from off the ground, and Pisistratus 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.

Meanwhile lovely Polycaste, Nestor's youngest daughter, washed

Telemachus. 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 Telemachus's 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, and sweet meats fit for the sons of princes. Then

Telemachus got into the chariot, while Pisistratus gathered up the

reins and took his seat beside him. He lashed the horses on and they

flew forward nothing loth 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 Pherae where Diocles lived, who was son to

Ortilochus and grandson to Alpheus. Here they passed the night and

Diocles 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. Pisistratus

lashed the horses on and they flew forward nothing loth; presently they

came to the corn 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,

they reached the low lying city of Lacedaemon, where they drove

straight to the abode of Menelaus [and found him in his own house,

feasting with his many clansmen in honour of the wedding of his son,

and also of his daughter, whom he was marrying to the son of that

valiant warrior Achilles. He had given his consent and promised her to

him while he was still at Troy, and now the gods were bringing the

marriage about; so he was sending her with chariots and horses to the

city of the Myrmidons over whom Achilles' son was reigning. For his

only son he had found a bride from Sparta, the daughter of Alector.

This son, Megapenthes, was born to him of a bondwoman, for heaven

vouchsafed Helen no more children after she had borne Hermione, who was

fair as golden Venus herself.

So the neighbours and kinsmen of Menelaus were feasting and making

merry in his house. There was a bard also to sing to them and play his

lyre, while two tumblers went about performing in the midst of them

when the man struck up with his tune.

Telemachus and the son of Nestor stayed their horses at the gate,

whereon Eteoneus servant to Menelaus came out, and as soon as he saw

them ran hurrying back into the house to tell his Master. He went close

up to him and said, "Menelaus, there are some strangers come here, two

men, who look like sons of Jove. What are we to do? Shall we take their

horses out, or tell them to find friends elsewhere as they best can?"

Menelaus was very angry and said, "Eteoneus, son of Boethous, you never

used to be a fool, but now you talk like a simpleton. Take their horses

out, of course, and show the strangers in that they may have supper;

you and I have staid often enough at other people's houses before we

got back here, where heaven grant that we may rest in peace

henceforward."

So Eteoneus bustled back and bade the other servants come with him.

They took their sweating steeds from under the yoke, made them fast to

the mangers, and gave them a feed of oats and barley mixed. Then they

leaned the chariot against the end wall of the courtyard, and led the

way into the house. Telemachus and Pisistratus were astonished when

they saw it, for its splendour was as that of the sun and moon; then,

when they had admired everything to their heart's content, they went

into the bath room and washed themselves.

When the servants had washed them and anointed them with oil, they

brought them woollen cloaks and shirts, and the two took their seats by

the side of Menelaus. A maid-servant brought them water in a beautiful

golden ewer, and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their

hands; and she drew a clean table beside them. An upper servant brought

them bread, and offered them many good things of what there was in the

house, while the carver fetched them plates of all manner of meats and

set cups of gold by their side.

Menelaus then greeted them saying, "Fall to, and welcome; when you have

done supper I shall ask who you are, for the lineage of such men as you

cannot have been lost. You must be descended from a line of

sceptre-bearing kings, for poor people do not have such sons as you

are."

On this he handed them a piece of fat roast loin, which had been set

near him as being a prime part, and they laid their hands on the good

things that were before them; as soon as they had had enough to eat and

drink, Telemachus said to the son of Nestor, with his head so close

that no one might hear, "Look, Pisistratus, man after my own heart, see

the gleam of bronze and gold—of amber, ivory, and silver. Everything

is so splendid that it is like seeing the palace of Olympian Jove. I am

lost in admiration."

Menelaus overheard him and said, "No one, my sons, can hold his own

with Jove, for his house and everything about him is immortal; but

among mortal men—well, there may be another who has as much wealth as I

have, or there may not; but at all events I have travelled much and

have undergone much hardship, for it was nearly eight years before I

could get home with my fleet. I went to Cyprus, Phoenicia and the

Egyptians; I went also to the Ethiopians, the Sidonians, and the

Erembians, and to Libya where the lambs have horns as soon as they are

born, and the sheep lamb down three times a year. Every one in that

country, whether master or man, has plenty of cheese, meat, and good

milk, for the ewes yield all the year round. But while I was travelling

and getting great riches among these people, my brother was secretly

and shockingly murdered through the perfidy of his wicked wife, so that

I have no pleasure in being lord of all this wealth. Whoever your

parents may be they must have told you about all this, and of my heavy

loss in the ruin of a stately mansion fully and magnificently

furnished. Would that I had only a third of what I now have so that I

had stayed at home, and all those were living who perished on the plain

of Troy, far from Argos. I often grieve, as I sit here in my house, for

one and all of them. At times I cry aloud for sorrow, but presently I

leave off again, for crying is cold comfort and one soon tires of it.

Yet grieve for these as I may, I do so for one man more than for them

all. I cannot even think of him without loathing both food and sleep,

so miserable does he make me, for no one of all the Achaeans worked so

hard or risked so much as he did. He took nothing by it, and has left a

legacy of sorrow to myself, for he has been gone a long time, and we

know not whether he is alive or dead. His old father, his

long-suffering wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus, whom he left

behind him an infant in arms, are plunged in grief on his account."

Thus spoke Menelaus, and the heart of Telemachus yearned as he

bethought him of his father. Tears fell from his eyes as he heard him

thus mentioned, so that he held his cloak before his face with both

hands. When Menelaus saw this he doubted whether to let him choose his

own time for speaking, or to ask him at once and find what it was all

about.

While he was thus in two minds Helen came down from her high vaulted

and perfumed room, looking as lovely as Diana herself. Adraste brought

her a seat, Alcippe a soft woollen rug while Phylo fetched her the

silver work-box which Alcandra wife of Polybus had given her. Polybus

lived in Egyptian Thebes, which is the richest city in the whole world;

he gave Menelaus two baths, both of pure silver, two tripods, and ten

talents of gold; besides all this, his wife gave Helen some beautiful

presents, to wit, a golden distaff, and a silver work box that ran on

wheels, with a gold band round the top of it. Phylo now placed this by

her side, full of fine spun yarn, and a distaff charged with violet

coloured wool was laid upon the top of it. Then Helen took her seat,

put her feet upon the footstool, and began to question her husband.

"Do we know, Menelaus," said she, "the names of these strangers who

have come to visit us? Shall I guess right or wrong?—but I cannot help

saying what I think. Never yet have I seen either man or woman so like

somebody else (indeed when I look at him I hardly know what to think)

as this young man is like Telemachus, whom Ulysses left as a baby

behind him, when you Achaeans went to Troy with battle in your hearts,

on account of my most shameless self."

"My dear wife," replied Menelaus, "I see the likeness just as you do.

His hands and feet are just like Ulysses; so is his hair, with the

shape of his head and the expression of his eyes. Moreover, when I was

talking about Ulysses, and saying how much he had suffered on my

account, tears fell from his eyes, and he hid his face in his mantle."

Then Pisistratus said, "Menelaus, son of Atreus, you are right in

thinking that this young man is Telemachus, but he is very modest, and

is ashamed to come here and begin opening up discourse with one whose

conversation is so divinely interesting as your own. My father, Nestor,

sent me to escort him hither, for he wanted to know whether you could

give him any counsel or suggestion. A son has always trouble at home

when his father has gone away leaving him without supporters; and this

is how Telemachus is now placed, for his father is absent, and there is

no one among his own people to stand by him."

"Bless my heart," replied Menelaus, "then I am receiving a visit from

the son of a very dear friend, who suffered much hardship for my sake.

I had always hoped to entertain him with most marked distinction when

heaven had granted us a safe return from beyond the seas. I should have

founded a city for him in Argos, and built him a house. I should have

made him leave Ithaca with his goods, his son, and all his people, and

should have sacked for them some one of the neighbouring cities that

are subject to me. We should thus have seen one another continually,

and nothing but death could have interrupted so close and happy an

intercourse. I suppose, however, that heaven grudged us such great good

fortune, for it has prevented the poor fellow from ever getting home at

all."

Thus did he speak, and his words set them all a weeping. Helen wept,

Telemachus wept, and so did Menelaus, nor could Pisistratus keep his

eyes from filling, when he remembered his dear brother Antilochus whom

the son of bright Dawn had killed. Thereon he said to Menelaus,

"Sir, my father Nestor, when we used to talk about you at home, told me

you were a person of rare and excellent understanding. If, then, it be

possible, do as I would urge you. I am not fond of crying while I am

getting my supper. Morning will come in due course, and in the forenoon

I care not how much I cry for those that are dead and gone. This is all

we can do for the poor things. We can only shave our heads for them and

wring the tears from our cheeks. I had a brother who died at Troy; he

was by no means the worst man there; you are sure to have known him—his

name was Antilochus; I never set eyes upon him myself, but they say

that he was singularly fleet of foot and in fight valiant."

"Your discretion, my friend," answered Menelaus, "is beyond your years.

It is plain you take after your father. One can soon see when a man is

son to one whom heaven has blessed both as regards wife and

offspring—and it has blessed Nestor from first to last all his days,

giving him a green old age in his own house, with sons about him who

are both well disposed and valiant. We will put an end therefore to all

this weeping, and attend to our supper again. Let water be poured over

our hands. Telemachus and I can talk with one another fully in the

morning."

On this Asphalion, one of the servants, poured water over their hands

and they laid their hands on the good things that were before them.

Then Jove's daughter Helen bethought her of another matter. She drugged

the wine with an herb that banishes all care, sorrow, and ill humour.

Whoever drinks wine thus drugged cannot shed a single tear all the rest

of the day, not even though his father and mother both of them drop

down dead, or he sees a brother or a son hewn in pieces before his very

eyes. This drug, of such sovereign power and virtue, had been given to

Helen by Polydamna wife of Thon, a woman of Egypt, where there grow all

sorts of herbs, some good to put into the mixing bowl and others

poisonous. Moreover, every one in the whole country is a skilled

physician, for they are of the race of Paeeon. When Helen had put this

drug in the bowl, and had told the servants to serve the wine round,

she said:

"Menelaus, son of Atreus, and you my good friends, sons of honourable

men (which is as Jove wills, for he is the giver both of good and evil,

and can do what he chooses), feast here as you will, and listen while I

tell you a tale in season. I cannot indeed name every single one of the

exploits of Ulysses, but I can say what he did when he was before Troy,

and you Achaeans were in all sorts of difficulties. He covered himself

with wounds and bruises, dressed himself all in rags, and entered the

enemy's city looking like a menial or a beggar, and quite different

from what he did when he was among his own people. In this disguise he

entered the city of Troy, and no one said anything to him. I alone

recognised him and began to question him, but he was too cunning for

me. When, however, I had washed and anointed him and had given him

clothes, and after I had sworn a solemn oath not to betray him to the

Trojans till he had got safely back to his own camp and to the ships,

he told me all that the Achaeans meant to do. He killed many Trojans

and got much information before he reached the Argive camp, for all

which things the Trojan women made lamentation, but for my own part I

was glad, for my heart was beginning to yearn after my home, and I was

unhappy about the wrong that Venus had done me in taking me over there,

away from my country, my girl, and my lawful wedded husband, who is

indeed by no means deficient either in person or understanding."

Then Menelaus said, "All that you have been saying, my dear wife, is

true. I have travelled much, and have had much to do with heroes, but I

have never seen such another man as Ulysses. What endurance too, and

what courage he displayed within the wooden horse, wherein all the

bravest of the Argives were lying in wait to bring death and

destruction upon the Trojans. At that moment you came up to us; some

god who wished well to the Trojans must have set you on to it and you

had Deiphobus with you. Three times did you go all round our hiding

place and pat it; you called our chiefs each by his own name, and

mimicked all our wives—Diomed, Ulysses, and I from our seats inside

heard what a noise you made. Diomed and I could not make up our minds

whether to spring out then and there, or to answer you from inside, but

Ulysses held us all in check, so we sat quite still, all except

Anticlus, who was beginning to answer you, when Ulysses clapped his two

brawny hands over his mouth, and kept them there. It was this that

saved us all, for he muzzled Anticlus till Minerva took you away

again."

"How sad," exclaimed Telemachus, "that all this was of no avail to save

him, nor yet his own iron courage. But now, sir, be pleased to send us

all to bed, that we may lie down and enjoy the blessed boon of sleep."

On this Helen told the maid servants to set beds in the room that was

in the gatehouse, and to make them with good red rugs, and spread

coverlets on the top of them with woollen cloaks for the guests to

wear. So the maids went out, carrying a torch, and made the beds, to

which a man-servant presently conducted the strangers. Thus, then, did

Telemachus and Pisistratus sleep there in the forecourt, while the son

of Atreus lay in an inner room with lovely Helen by his side.

When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Menelaus rose

and dressed himself. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet, girded

his sword about his shoulders, and left his room looking like an

immortal god. Then, taking a seat near Telemachus he said:

"And what, Telemachus, has led you to take this long sea voyage to

Lacedaemon? Are you on public, or private business? Tell me all about

it."

"I have come, sir," replied Telemachus, "to see if you can tell me

anything about my father. I am being eaten out of house and home; my

fair estate is being wasted, and my house is full of miscreants who

keep killing great numbers of my sheep and oxen, on the pretence of

paying their addresses to my mother. Therefore, I am suppliant at your

knees if haply you may tell me about my father's melancholy end,

whether you saw it with your own eyes, or heard it from some other

traveller; for he was a man born to trouble. Do not soften things out

of any pity for myself, but tell me in all plainness exactly what you

saw. If my brave father Ulysses ever did you loyal service either by

word or deed, when you Achaeans were harassed by the Trojans, bear it

in mind now as in my favour and tell me truly all."

Menelaus on hearing this was very much shocked. "So," he exclaimed,

"these cowards would usurp a brave man's bed? A hind might as well lay

her new born young in the lair of a lion, and then go off to feed in

the forest or in some grassy dell: the lion when he comes back to his

lair will make short work with the pair of them—and so will Ulysses

with these suitors. By father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo, if Ulysses is

still the man that he was when he wrestled with Philomeleides in

Lesbos, and threw him so heavily that all the Achaeans cheered him—if

he is still such and were to come near these suitors, they would have a

short shrift and a sorry wedding. As regards your questions, however, I

will not prevaricate nor deceive you, but will tell you without

concealment all that the old man of the sea told me.

"I was trying to come on here, but the gods detained me in Egypt, for

my hecatombs had not given them full satisfaction, and the gods are

very strict about having their dues. Now off Egypt, about as far as a

ship can sail in a day with a good stiff breeze behind her, there is an

island called Pharos—it has a good harbour from which vessels can get

out into open sea when they have taken in water—and here the gods

becalmed me twenty days without so much as a breath of fair wind to

help me forward. We should have run clean out of provisions and my men

would have starved, if a goddess had not taken pity upon me and saved

me in the person of Idothea, daughter to Proteus, the old man of the

sea, for she had taken a great fancy to me.

"She came to me one day when I was by myself, as I often was, for the

men used to go with their barbed hooks, all over the island in the hope

of catching a fish or two to save them from the pangs of hunger.

'Stranger,' said she, 'it seems to me that you like starving in this

way—at any rate it does not greatly trouble you, for you stick here day

after day, without even trying to get away though your men are dying by

inches.'

"'Let me tell you,' said I, 'whichever of the goddesses you may happen

to be, that I am not staying here of my own accord, but must have

offended the gods that live in heaven. Tell me, therefore, for the gods

know everything, which of the immortals it is that is hindering me in

this way, and tell me also how I may sail the sea so as to reach my

home.'

"'Stranger,' replied she, 'I will make it all quite clear to you. There

is an old immortal who lives under the sea hereabouts and whose name is

Proteus. He is an Egyptian, and people say he is my father; he is

Neptune's head man and knows every inch of ground all over the bottom

of the sea. If you can snare him and hold him tight, he will tell you

about your voyage, what courses you are to take, and how you are to

sail the sea so as to reach your home. He will also tell you, if you so

will, all that has been going on at your house both good and bad, while

you have been away on your long and dangerous journey.'

"'Can you show me,' said I, 'some stratagem by means of which I may

catch this old god without his suspecting it and finding me out? For a

god is not easily caught—not by a mortal man.'

"'Stranger,' said she, 'I will make it all quite clear to you. About

the time when the sun shall have reached mid heaven, the old man of the

sea comes up from under the waves, heralded by the West wind that furs

the water over his head. As soon as he has come up he lies down, and

goes to sleep in a great sea cave, where the seals—Halosydne's chickens

as they call them—come up also from the grey sea, and go to sleep in

shoals all round him; and a very strong and fish-like smell do they

bring with them. Early to-morrow morning I will take you to this

place and will lay you in ambush. Pick out, therefore, the three best

men you have in your fleet, and I will tell you all the tricks that the

old man will play you.

"'First he will look over all his seals, and count them; then, when he

has seen them and tallied them on his five fingers, he will go to sleep

among them, as a shepherd among his sheep. The moment you see that he

is asleep seize him; put forth all your strength and hold him fast, for

he will do his very utmost to get away from you. He will turn himself

into every kind of creature that goes upon the earth, and will become

also both fire and water; but you must hold him fast and grip him

tighter and tighter, till he begins to talk to you and comes back to

what he was when you saw him go to sleep; then you may slacken your

hold and let him go; and you can ask him which of the gods it is that

is angry with you, and what you must do to reach your home over the

seas.'

"Having so said she dived under the waves, whereon I turned back to the

place where my ships were ranged upon the shore; and my heart was

clouded with care as I went along. When I reached my ship we got supper

ready, for night was falling, and camped down upon the beach.

"When the child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, I took the

three men on whose prowess of all kinds I could most rely, and went

along by the sea-side, praying heartily to heaven. Meanwhile the

goddess fetched me up four seal skins from the bottom of the sea, all

of them just skinned, for she meant playing a trick upon her father.

Then she dug four pits for us to lie in, and sat down to wait till we

should come up. When we were close to her, she made us lie down in the

pits one after the other, and threw a seal skin over each of us. Our

ambuscade would have been intolerable, for the stench of the fishy

seals was most distressing—who would go to bed with a sea monster if

he could help it?—but here, too, the goddess helped us, and thought of

something that gave us great relief, for she put some ambrosia under

each man's nostrils, which was so fragrant that it killed the smell of

the seals.

"We waited the whole morning and made the best of it, watching the

seals come up in hundreds to bask upon the sea shore, till at noon the

old man of the sea came up too, and when he had found his fat seals he

went over them and counted them. We were among the first he counted,

and he never suspected any guile, but laid himself down to sleep as

soon as he had done counting. Then we rushed upon him with a shout and

seized him; on which he began at once with his old tricks, and changed

himself first into a lion with a great mane; then all of a sudden he

became a dragon, a leopard, a wild boar; the next moment he was running

water, and then again directly he was a tree, but we stuck to him and

never lost hold, till at last the cunning old creature became

distressed, and said, 'Which of the gods was it, Son of Atreus, that

hatched this plot with you for snaring me and seizing me against my

will? What do you want?'

"'You know that yourself, old man,' I answered, 'you will gain nothing

by trying to put me off. It is because I have been kept so long in this

island, and see no sign of my being able to get away. I am losing all

heart; tell me, then, for you gods know everything, which of the

immortals it is that is hindering me, and tell me also how I may sail

the sea so as to reach my home?'

"Then,' he said, 'if you would finish your voyage and get home quickly,

you must offer sacrifices to Jove and to the rest of the gods before

embarking; for it is decreed that you shall not get back to your

friends, and to your own house, till you have returned to the

heaven-fed stream of Egypt, and offered holy hecatombs to the immortal

gods that reign in heaven. When you have done this they will let you

finish your voyage.'

"I was broken hearted when I heard that I must go back all that long

and terrible voyage to Egypt; nevertheless, I answered, 'I will do

all, old man, that you have laid upon me; but now tell me, and tell me

true, whether all the Achaeans whom Nestor and I left behind us when we

set sail from Troy have got home safely, or whether any one of them

came to a bad end either on board his own ship or among his friends

when the days of his fighting were done.'

"'Son of Atreus,' he answered, 'why ask me? You had better not know

what I can tell you, for your eyes will surely fill when you have heard

my story. Many of those about whom you ask are dead and gone, but many

still remain, and only two of the chief men among the Achaeans perished

during their return home. As for what happened on the field of

battle—you were there yourself. A third Achaean leader is still at sea,

alive, but hindered from returning. Ajax was wrecked, for Neptune drove

him on to the great rocks of Gyrae; nevertheless, he let him get safe

out of the water, and in spite of all Minerva's hatred he would have

escaped death, if he had not ruined himself by boasting. He said the

gods could not drown him even though they had tried to do so, and when

Neptune heard this large talk, he seized his trident in his two brawny

hands, and split the rock of Gyrae in two pieces. The base remained

where it was, but the part on which Ajax was sitting fell headlong into

the sea and carried Ajax with it; so he drank salt water and was

drowned.

"'Your brother and his ships escaped, for Juno protected him, but when

he was just about to reach the high promontory of Malea, he was caught

by a heavy gale which carried him out to sea again sorely against his

will, and drove him to the foreland where Thyestes used to dwell, but

where Aegisthus was then living. By and by, however, it seemed as

though he was to return safely after all, for the gods backed the wind

into its old quarter and they reached home; whereon Agamemnon kissed

his native soil, and shed tears of joy at finding himself in his own

country.

"'Now there was a watchman whom Aegisthus kept always on the watch, and