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The Story Of The Odyssey

T >> The Rev. Alfred J. Church >> The Story Of The Odyssey



Produced by Liz Hanks, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.





THE STORY OF THE ODYSSEY

BY THE REV. ALFRED J. CHURCH, M.A.




CONTENTS


INTRODUCTION

THE ODYSSEY:

I. THE COUNSEL OF ATHENE

II. THE ASSEMBLY

III. NESTOR'S TALE

IV. IN SPARTA

V. MENELAUS'S TALE

VI. ULYSSES ON HIS RAFT

VII. NAUSICAA

VIII. ALCINOUS

IX. THE PHAEACIANS

X. THE CYCLOPS

XI. AEOLUS; THE LAESTRYGONS; CIRCE

XII. THE DWELLINGS OF THE DEAD

XIII. THE SIRENS; SCYLLA; THE OXEN OF THE SUN

XIV. ITHACA

XV. EUMAEUS, THE SWINEHERD

XVI. THE RETURN OF TELEMACHUS

XVII. ULYSSES AND TELEMACHUS

XVIII. ULYSSES IN HIS HOME

XIX. ULYSSES IN HIS HOME (_continued_)

XX. ULYSSES IS DISCOVERED BY HIS NURSE

XXI. THE TRIAL OF THE BOW

XXII. THE SLAYING OF THE SUITORS

XXIII. THE END OF THE WANDERING

XXIV. THE TRIUMPH OF ULYSSES

PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES




INTRODUCTION


Three thousand years ago the world was still young. The western
continent was a huge wilderness, and the greater part of Europe
was inhabited by savage and wandering tribes. Only a few nations
at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in the neighbouring
parts of Asia had learned to dwell in cities, to use a written
language, to make laws for themselves, and to live in a more
orderly fashion. Of these nations the most brilliant was that of
the Greeks, who were destined in war, in learning, in government,
and in the arts, to play a great part in the world, and to be the
real founders of our modern civilization. While they were still a
rude people, they had noble ideals of beauty and bravery, of duty
and justice. Even before they had a written language, their
singers had made songs about their heroes and their great deeds;
and later these songs, which fathers had taught to children, and
these children to their children, were brought together into two
long and wonderful poems, which have ever since been the delight
of the world, the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_.

The _Iliad_ is the story of the siege of Ilium, or Troy, on
the western coast of Asia Minor. Paris, son of the king of Troy,
had enticed Helen, the most beautiful of Grecian women, and the
wife of a Grecian king, to leave her husband's home with him; and
the kings and princes of the Greeks had gathered an army and a
fleet and sailed across the Aegean Sea to rescue her. For ten
years they strove to capture the city. According to the fine old
legends, the gods themselves took a part in the war, some siding
with the Greeks, and some with the Trojans. It was finally through
Ulysses, a famous Greek warrior, brave and fierce as well as wise
and crafty, that the Greeks captured the city.

The second poem, the _Odyssey_, tells what befell Ulysses, or
Odysseus, as the Greeks called him, on his homeward way. Sailing
from Troy with his little fleet of ships, which were so small that
they used oars as well as sails, he was destined to wander for ten
years longer before he could return to his rocky island of Ithaca,
on the west shore of Greece, and to his faithful wife, Penelope.

He had marvellous adventures, for the gods who had opposed the
Greeks at Troy had plotted to bring him ill-fortune. Just as his
ships were safely rounding the southern cape of Greece, a fierce
storm took them out of their course, and bore them to many strange
lands--lands of giants, man-eating monsters, and wondrous
enchantments of which you will delight to read. Through countless
perils the resolute wanderer forced his way, losing ship after
ship from his little fleet, and companion after companion from his
own band, until he reached home friendless and alone, and found
his palace, his property, and his family all in the power of a
band of greedy princes. These he overcame by his cunning and his
strength, and his long trials were ended.

As you read these ancient tales, you must forget what knowledge
you have of the world, and think of it as the Greeks did. It was
only a little part of the world that they knew at all,--the
eastern end of the Mediterranean,--but even that seemed to them a
great and marvellous region. Beyond its borders were strange and
mysterious lands, in which wonders of all kinds were found, and
round all ran the great world-river, the encircling stream of
Ocean.

In the mountains of Olympus, to the northward, lived the gods.
There was Zeus, greatest of all, the god of thunder and the wide
heavens; Hera, his wife; Apollo, the archer god; Athene, the wise
and clever goddess; Poseidon, who ruled the sea; Aphrodite, the
goddess of love; Hephaestus, the cunning workman; Ares, the god of
war; Hermes, the swift messenger; and others still, whom you will
learn to know as you read. All these were worshipped by men with
prayer and sacrifice; and, as in the early legends of many races,
the gods often took the shape of men and women; they had their
favourites and those whom they hated; and they ruled the fate of
mortals as they chose.

If you let yourselves be beguiled into this old, simple way of
regarding earth and heaven, you will not only love these ancient
tales yourself, but you will see why, for century after century,
they have been the longest loved and the best loved of all tales--
beloved by old and young, by men and women and children. For they
are hero-tales,--tales of war and adventure, tales of bravery and
nobility, tales of the heroes that mankind, almost since the
beginning of time, have looked to as ideals of wisdom and strength
and beauty.




THE ODYSSEY

CHAPTER I

THE COUNSEL [Footnote: counsel, advice.] OF
ATHENE [Footnote: A-the'-ne.]


When the great city of Troy had been taken, all the chiefs who had
fought against it set sail for their homes. But there was wrath in
heaven against them, so that they did not find a safe and happy
return. For one was shipwrecked, and another was shamefully slain
by his false wife in his palace, and others found all things at
home troubled and changed, and were driven to seek new dwellings
elsewhere; and some were driven far and wide about the world
before they saw their native land again. Of all, the wise Ulysses
[Footnote: U-lys'-ses.] was he that wandered farthest and suffered
most, for when ten years had well-nigh passed, he was still far
away from Ithaca [Footnote: Ith'-a-ca.], his kingdom.

The gods were gathered in council in the hall of Olympus [Footnote: O-
lym'-pus.], all but Poseidon, [Footnote: Po-sei'-don.] the god of the
sea, for he had gone to feast with the Ethiopians. Now Poseidon was he
who most hated Ulysses, and kept him from his home.

Then spake Athene among the immortal gods: "My heart is rent for
Ulysses. Sore affliction doth he suffer in an island of the sea,
where the daughter of Atlas keepeth him, seeking to make him
forget his native land. And he yearns to see even the smoke rising
up from the land of his birth, and is fain [Footnote: is fain,
wishes to] to die. And thou regardest it not at all. Did he not
offer thee many sacrifices in the land of Troy? Wherefore hast
thou such wrath against him?" To her Zeus, the father of the gods,
made reply: "What is this that thou sayest, my daughter? It is
Poseidon that hath great wrath against Ulysses, because he blinded
his son Polyphemus [Footnote: Pol-y-phe'-mus.] the Cyclops.
[Footnote: Cy'-clops.] But come, let us take counsel together that
he may return to his home, for Poseidon will not be able to contend
against us all."

Then said Athene: "If this be thy will, then let us speed Hermes
[Footnote: Her'-mes.] the messenger to the island of Calypso
[Footnote: Ca-lyp'-so.], and let him declare to the goddess our
purpose that Ulysses shall return to his home. And I will go to
Ithaca, and stir up the spirit of his son Telemachus [Footnote:
Te-lem'-a-chus.], that first he speak out his mind to the suitors
of his mother who waste his substance, [Footnote: substance,
property.] and next that he go to Sparta and to Pylos [Footnote:
Py'-los.], seeking tidings of his father. So shall the youth win
good report among men."

So she went to Ithaca, and there she took upon her the form of
Mentes [Footnote: Men'-tes.], who was chief of the Taphians.
[Footnote: Ta'-phi-ans.]

Now there were gathered in the house of Ulysses many princes from
the islands, suitors of the Queen Penelope [Footnote: Pe-nel'-o-
pe.], for they said that Ulysses was dead, and that she should
choose another husband. These were gathered together, and were
sitting playing draughts [Footnote: draughts, checkers.] and
feasting. And Telemachus sat among them, vexed at heart, for they
wasted his substance; neither was he master in his house. But when
he saw the guest at the door, he rose from his place, and welcomed
him, and made him sit down, and commanded that they should give
him food and wine. And when he had ended his meal, Telemachus
asked him his business.

Thereupon the false Mentes said: "My name is Mentes, and I am King
of the Taphians, and I am sailing to Cyprus for copper, taking
iron in exchange. Now I have been long time the friend of this
house, of thy father and thy father's father, and I came trusting
to see thy father, for they told me that he was here. But now I
see that some god hath hindered his return, for that he is yet
alive I know full well. But tell me, who are these that I see? Is
this the gathering of a clan, or a wedding feast?"

Telemachus made answer: "O sir, while my father was yet alive, our
house was rich and honoured; but now that he is gone, things are
not well with me. I would not grieve so much had he fallen in
battle before Troy; for then the Greeks would have builded a great
burial mound for him, and he would thus have won great renown,
even for his son. But now the storms of the sea have swept him
away, and I am left in sore distress. For these whom thou seest
are the princes of the islands that come here to woo my mother.
She neither refuseth nor accepteth; and meanwhile they sit here,
and waste my substance."

Then said the false Mentes: "Now may the gods help thee! Thou art
indeed in sore need of Ulysses. But now hearken to my counsel.
First call an assembly of the people. Bid the suitors go back,
each man to his home; and as for thy mother, if she be moved to
wed, let her return to her father's house, that her kinsfolk may
furnish a wedding feast, and prepare gifts such as a well-beloved
daughter should have. Afterwards do thou fit up a ship with twenty
oars, and go, inquire concerning thy father; perhaps some man may
give thee tidings of him; or, may be, thou wilt hear a voice from
Zeus concerning him. Go to Pylos first, and afterwards to Sparta,
where Menelaus [Footnote: Me-ne-la'-us.] dwelleth, who of all the
Greeks came back the last to his home. If thou shouldest hear that
he is dead, then come back hither, and raise a mound for him, and
give thy mother to a husband. And when thou hast made an end of
all these things, then plan how thou mayest slay the suitors by
force or craft, for it is time for thee to have the thoughts of a
man."

Then said Telemachus: "Thou speakest these things out of a
friendly heart, as a father might speak to his son, nor will I
ever forget them. But now, I pray thee, abide here for a space,
that I may give thee a goodly gift, such as friends give to
friends, to be an heirloom in thy house."

But the false Mentes said, "Keep me no longer, for I am eager to
depart; give me thy gift when I shall return."

So the goddess departed; like to an eagle of the sea was she as
she flew. And Telemachus knew her to be a goddess as she went.

Meanwhile Phemius [Footnote: Phe'-mi-us.] the minstrel sang to the
suitors, and his song was of the unhappy return of the Greeks from
Troy.

When Penelope heard the song, she came down from the upper chamber
where she sat, and two handmaids bare her company. And when she
came to where the suitors sat, she stood by the gate of the hall,
holding her shining veil before her face. Then spake she to the
minstrel, weeping, and said: "Phemius, thou knowest many songs
concerning the deeds of gods and men; sing, therefore, one of
these, and let the guests drink the wine in silence. But stay this
pitiful strain, for it breaketh my heart to hear it. Surely, of
all women I am the most unhappy, so famous was the husband for
whom I mourn."

But Telemachus made reply: "Why dost thou grudge the minstrel, my
mother, to make us glad in such fashion as his spirit biddeth him?
It is no blame to him that he singeth of the unhappy return of the
Greeks, for men most prize the song that soundeth newest in their
ears. Endure, therefore, to listen, for not Ulysses only missed
his return, but many a famous chief besides. Go, then, to thy
chamber, and mind thy household affairs, and bid thy handmaids ply
their tasks. Speech belongeth unto men, and chiefly to me that am
the master in this house."

Then went she back to her chamber, for she was amazed at her son,
with such authority did he speak. Then she bewailed her lord, till
Athene sent down sleep upon her eyes.

When she was gone, Telemachus spake to the suitors, saying: "Let
us now feast and be merry, and let there be no brawling among us.
It is a good thing to listen to a minstrel that hath a voice as
the voice of a god. But in the morning let us go to the assembly,
that I may declare my purpose, to wit, that ye leave this hall,
and eat your own substance. But if ye deem it a better thing that
ye should waste another man's goods, and make no recompense, then
work your will. But certainly Zeus shall repay you."

So he spake, and they all marvelled that he used such boldness.
And Antinous [Footnote: An-ti'-no-us.] answered: "Surely,
Telemachus, it is by the bidding of the gods that thou speakest so
boldly. Therefore I pray that Zeus may never make thee King in
Ithaca."

Then said Telemachus: "It is no ill thing to be a king, for his
house groweth rich, and he himself is honoured. But there are
others in Ithaca, young and old, who may have the kingship, now
that Ulysses is dead. Yet know that I will be lord of my own house
and of the slaves which Ulysses won for himself with his own
spear."

Thereupon spake Eurymachus [Footnote: Eu-rym'-a-chus.], saying:
"It is with the gods to say who shall be King in Ithaca; but no
man can deny that thou shouldest keep thine own goods and be lord
in thine own house. Tell me, who is this stranger that came but
just now to thy house? Did he bring tidings of thy father? Or came
he on some matter of his own? In strange fashion did he depart,
nor did he tarry that we might know him."

Telemachus made answer: "Verily, Eurymachus, the day of my
father's return hath gone by forever. As for this stranger, he
said that he was Mentes, King of the Taphians."

So spake Telemachus, but in his heart he knew that the stranger
was Athene. Then the suitors turned them to the dance and to the
song, making merry till the darkness fell. Then went they each to
his own house to sleep.

But Telemachus went to his chamber, pondering many things in his
heart. And Eurycleia, [Footnote: Eu-ry-clei'-a] who had nursed him
when he was little, went with him, bearing torches in her hands.
He opened the door of the chamber, and took off his doublet, and
put it in the wise woman's hands. She folded it, and smoothed it,
and hung it on a pin, and went forth from the room, and pulled to
the door, and made it fast. And all the night Telemachus thought
in his heart of the journey which Athene had showed him.




CHAPTER II

THE ASSEMBLY


When the morning came, Telemachus bade the heralds call the people
to the assembly. So the heralds called them, and they came in
haste. And when they were gathered together, he went his way to
the place of meeting, holding in his hand a spear, and two dogs
followed him. Then did Athene shed a marvellous grace upon him, so
that all men wondered at him, as he sat him down in his father's
place.

First spake Aegyptus [Footnote: AE-gyp'-tus.], who was bowed with
many years, and was very wise. Four sons he had. One had gone with
Ulysses to Troy, and one was among the suitors of the Queen, and
two abode with their father in the field. He said: "Hearken to me,
men of Ithaca! Never hath an assembly been called in Ithaca since
Ulysses departed. Who now hath called us together? If it be
Telemachus, what doth he want? Hath he heard any tidings of the
coming back of the host? He, methinks, is a true man. May Zeus be
with him and grant him his heart's desire!"

So spake the old man, and Telemachus was glad at his speech. Then
he rose up and said:--

"I have great trouble in my heart, men of Ithaca, for first my
father, whom ye all loved, is dead; and next the princes of the
islands come hither, making suit to my mother, but she waits ever
for the return of her husband. And they devour all our substance;
nor is Ulysses here to defend it, and I, in truth, am not able.
And this is a grievous wrong, and not to be borne."

Then he dashed his sceptre on the ground, and sat down weeping.
And Antinous, who was one of the suitors, rose up and said:--

"Nay, Telemachus, blame not us, but blame thy mother, who indeed
is crafty above all women. For now this is the fourth year that we
have come suing for her hand, and she has cheated us with hopes.
Hear now this that she did. She set up a great web for weaving,
and said to us: 'Listen, ye that are my suitors. Hasten not my
marriage till I finish this web to be a burial cloth for Laertes
[Footnote: La-er'-tes.], the father of Ulysses, for indeed it
would be foul shame if he who has won great possessions should
lack this honour.' So she spake, and for three years she cheated
us, for what she wove in the day she unravelled at night. But when
the fourth year was come, one of her maidens told us of the
matter, and we came upon her by night and found her unravelling
what she had woven in the day. Then did she finish it, much
against her will. Send away, therefore, thy mother, and bid her
marry whom she will. But till this be done we will not depart."

Then answered Telemachus: "How can I send away against her will
her who bare me and brought me up? I cannot do this thing."

So he spake; and there came two eagles, which flew abreast till
they came over the assembly. Then did they wheel in the air, and
shook out from each many feathers, and tare each other, and so
departed.

Then cried Alitherses [Footnote: A-li-ther'-ses.], the prophet:
"Beware, ye suitors, for great trouble is coming to you, and to
others also. And as for Ulysses, I said when he went to Troy that
he should return after twenty years; and so it shall be."

And when the suitors would not listen, Telemachus said: "Give me a
ship and twenty rowers, that I may go to Pylos and to Sparta;
perhaps I may hear news of my father. And if I hear that he is
dead, then will I come back hither and raise up a mound for him
and give my mother to a husband."

Having thus spoken, he sat down, and Mentor [Footnote: Men'-tor.],
whom Ulysses, when he departed, set over his household, rose up in
the midst, and spake, saying: "Now henceforth never let any king
be kind and gentle in his heart or minded to work righteousness.
Let him rather be a hard man and unrighteous. For now no man of
all the people whose lord he was remembereth Ulysses. Yet he was
gentle as a father. If the suitors are minded to do evil deeds, I
hinder them not. They do them at the peril of their own heads. It
is with the people that I am wroth, to see how they sit
speechless, and cry not shame upon the suitors; and yet they are
many in number, and the suitors are few."

Then Leocritus [Footnote: Le-oc'-ri-tus.], who was one of the
suitors, answered: "Surely thy wits wander, O Mentor, that thou
biddest the people put us down. Of a truth, if Ulysses himself
should come back, and should seek to drive the suitors from the
hall, it would fare ill with him. An evil fate would he meet, if
he fought with them. As for the people, let them go to their own
houses. Let Mentor speed the young man's voyage, for he is a
friend of his house. Yet I doubt whether he will ever accomplish
it."

So he spake, and the assembly was dismissed.

But Telemachus went apart to the shore of the sea, and he washed
his hands in the water of the sea, and prayed to Athene, saying:
"Hear me, thou who didst come yesterday to the house, and bid me
take a ship, and sail across the sea, seeking tidings of my
father! The people delay my purpose, and the suitors stir them up
in the wickedness of their hearts."

And while he prayed, Athene stood by him, like to Mentor in shape
and speech. She spake, saying: "Thou art not without spirit, and
art like to be a true son of Ulysses and Penelope. Therefore, I
have good hopes that this journey of which thou speakest will not
be in vain. But as for the suitors, think not of them, for they
talk folly, and know not of the doom that is even now close upon
them. Go, therefore, and talk with the suitors as before, and get
ready food for a journey, wine and meal. And I will gather men who
will offer themselves freely for the journey, and I will find a
ship also, the best in Ithaca."

Then Telemachus returned to the house, and the suitors were
flaying goats and singeing swine in the court. And Antinous caught
him by the hand and said, "Eat and drink, Telemachus, and we will
find a ship and rowers for thee, that thou mayest go where thou
wilt, to inquire for thy father."

But Telemachus answered: "Think ye that I will eat and drink with
you, who so shamefully waste my substance? Be sure of this, that I
will seek vengeance against you, and if ye deny me a ship, I will
even go in another man's."

So he spake, and dragged his hand from the hand of Antinous.

And another of the suitors said, "Now will Telemachus go and seek
help against us from Pylos or from Sparta, or may be he will put
poison in our cups, and so destroy us."

And another said: "Perchance he also will perish, as his father
has perished. Then we should divide all his substance, but the
house we should give to his mother and to her husband."

So they spake, mocking him. But he went to the chamber of his
father, in which were ranged many casks of old wine, and gold and
bronze, and clothing and olive oil; and of these things the
prudent Eurycleia, who was the keeper of the house, had care. To
her he spake: "Mother, make ready for me twelve jars of wine, not
of the best, but of that which is next to it, and twenty measures
of barley-meal. At even will I take them, when my mother sleeps,
for I go to Pylos and Sparta; perchance I may hear news of my
father."

But the old woman said, weeping: "What meanest thou, being an only
son, thus to travel abroad? Wilt thou perish, as thy father has
perished? For this evil brood of suitors will plot to slay thee
and divide thy goods. Thou hadst better sit peaceably at home."

Then Telemachus said: "'Tis at the bidding of the gods I go. Only
swear that thou wilt say naught to my mother till eleven or twelve
days be past, unless, perchance, she should ask concerning me."

And the old woman sware that it should be so. And Telemachus went
again among the suitors. But Athene, meanwhile, taking his shape,
had gathered together a crew, and also had borrowed a ship for the
voyage. And, lest the suitors should hinder the thing, she caused
a deep sleep to fall upon them, so that they slept where they sat.
Then she came in the shape of Mentor to the palace, and called
Telemachus forth, saying:

"The rowers are ready; let us go."

Then Athene led the way, and they found the ship's crew upon the
shore. To them spake Telemachus, saying, "Come now, my friends,
let us carry the food on board, for it is all in the chamber, and
no one knoweth of the matter; neither my mother, nor any of the
maidens, but one woman only."

So they went to the house with him, and carried all the provision,
and stowed it in the ship. Then Telemachus climbed the ship and
sat down on the stern, and Athene sat by him.

And when he called to the crew, they made ready to depart. They
raised the pine tree mast, and set it in the hole that was made
for it, and they made it fast with stays. Then they hauled up the
white sails with ropes of ox-hide. And the wind filled out the
sail, and the water seethed about the stem of the ship, as she
hasted through the water. And when all was made fast in the ship,
then they mixed wine in the bowl, and poured out drink offerings
to the gods, especially to Zeus.

So all the night, and till the dawn, the ship sped through the
sea.




CHAPTER III

NESTOR


At sunrise the ship came to Pylos, where Nestor dwelt. Now it so
chanced that the people were offering a great sacrifice upon the
shore to Poseidon. Nine companies there were, and in each company
five hundred men, and for the five hundred there were nine bulls.
And they had tasted of the inner parts and were burning the slices
of flesh on the thigh-bones to the god, when Telemachus's company
moored the ship and came forth from it to the shore. Athene spake
to Telemachus, saying: "Now thou hast no need to be ashamed. Thou
hast sailed across the sea to hear tidings of thy father. Go,
therefore, to Nestor, and learn what counsel he hath in the deep
of his heart."

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