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Book twenty two of the Odyssey by
Homer. The Odyssey, Book twenty two,

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The Killing of the Suitors. The
maids who have misconducted themselves are made

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to cleanse the cloisters and are then
hanged. Then Ulysses tore off his rags

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and sprang on to the broad pavement
with his bow and his quiver full of

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arrows. He shed the arrows on
to the ground at his feet and said,

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the mighty contest is at an end. I will now see whether Apollo

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will vouchsafe it to me to hit
another mark which no man has yet hit.

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On this he aimed a deadly arrow
at Antinus, who was about to

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take up a two handed gold cup
to drink his wine, and already had

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it in his hands. He had
no thought of death. Who amongst all

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the revelers would think that one man, however brave, would stand alone among

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so many and kill him. The
arrow struck Antonus in the throat, and

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the point went clean through his neck, so that he fell over and the

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cup from his hand, while a
thick stream of blood gushed from his nostrils.

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He kicked the table from him and
upset the things on it, so

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that the bread and roasted meats were
all soiled as they fell over onto the

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ground. The suitors were in an
uproar when they saw that a man had

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been hit. They sprang in dismay, one and all of them from their

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seats, and looked everywhere toward the
walls. But there was neither shield nor

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spear, and they rebuked Ulysses very
angrily. Stranger said they, you shall

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pay for shooting people in this way. You shall see no other contest.

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You are a doomed man. Him
whom you have slain was the foremost youth

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in Ithaca, and the vulture shall
devour you for having killed him. Thus

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they spoke, for they thought that
he had killed Antonus by mistake, and

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did not perceive that death was hanging
over the head of every one of them.

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But Ulysses glared at them and said, dogs, did you think that

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I should not come back from Troy. You have wasted my substance, have

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forced my women servants to lie with
you, and have wooed my wife while

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I was still living. You have
feared neither God nor man, and now

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you shall die. They turned pale
with fear as he spoke, and every

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man looked round about to see whither
he might fly for safety. But Eurymicus

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alone spoke. If you are,
Ulysses, said he, then what you

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have said is just. We have
done much wrong on your lands and in

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your house. But Antonus, who
was the head in front of the offending,

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lies low already it was all his
doing. It was not that he

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wanted to marry Penelope. He did
not so much care about that. What

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he wanted was something quite different,
and Jove has not vouchsafed it to him.

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He wanted to kill your son and
to be chief man in Ithaca.

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Now therefore, that he has met
the death which was his due, spare

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the lives of your people. We
will make everything good among ourselves and pay

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you in full for all that we
have eaten and drunk. Each one of

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us shall pay you a fine worth
twenty oxen, and we will keep on

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giving you gold and bronze till your
heart is softened. Until we have done

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this, no one can complain of
your being enraged against us. Ulysses again

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glared at him and said, though
you should give me all that you have

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in the world, both now and
all that you ever shall have, I

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will not stay my hand till I
have paid all of you in full.

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You must fight or fly for your
lives, and fly not of man of

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you shall the heart sank as they
hurt him. But Eurymicus again spoke,

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saying, my friends, this man
will give us no quarter. He will

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stand where he is and shoot us
down till he has killed every man among

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us. Let us then show fight, draw your swords, and hold up

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the tables to shield you from his
arrows. Let us have at him with

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a rush to drive him from the
pavement and doorway. We can then get

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through into the town and raise such
an alarm as shall soon stay shooting.

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As he spoke, he drew his
keen blade of bronze, sharpened on both

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sides, and with a loud cry, sprang towards Ulysses. But Ulysses instantly

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shot an arrow into his breast that
caught him by the nipple and fixed itself

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in his liver. He dropped his
sword and fell doubled up over his table.

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The cup and all the meats went
over onto the ground as he smote

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the earth with his forehead in the
agonies of death, and he kicked the

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stool with his feet until his eyes
were closed in darkness. Then Amphinomus drew

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his sword and made straight at Ulysses
to try and get him away from the

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door. But Telemachus was too quick
for him and struck him from behind.

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The spear caught him between the shoulders
and went right through his chest, so

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that he fell heavily to the ground
and struck the earth with his forehead.

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Then Telemachus sprang away from him,
leaving his spear still in the body,

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for he feared that if he stayed
to draw it out, some one of

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the Achaeans might come up and hack
at him with his sword or knock him

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down. So he set off at
a run and immediately was at his father's

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side. Then he said, father, let me bring you a shield,

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two spears, and a brass helmet
for your temples. I will arm myself

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as well, and will bring other
armor for the swineherd and the stockman,

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for we had better be armed.
Run and fetch them, answered Ulysses,

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while my arrows hold out, or
when I am alone, they may get

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me away from the door. Telemachus
did as his father said and went off

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to the storeroom where the armor was
kept. He chose four shields, eight

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spears, and four brass helmets with
horsehair plumes. He brought them with all

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speed to his father and armed himself
first, while a stockman and the swineherd

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also put on their armor and took
their places near Ulysses. Meanwhile, Ulysses,

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as long as his arrows lasted,
had been shooting the suitors one by

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one, and they fell thick on
one another. When his arrows gave out,

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he set the boat to stand against
the end wall of the house by

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the doorpost, and hung a shield
four hides thick about his shoulders on his

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comely head. He set his helmet, well wrought with a crest of horsehair

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that nodded menacingly above it, and
he grasped two redoubtable bronze shod spears.

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Now there was a trap door on
the wall, while at one end of

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the pavement there was an exit leading
to a narrow passage, and this exit

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was closed by a well made door. Ulysses told Felicius to stand by this

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door and guard it, for only
one person could attack it at a time.

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But Agilaius shouted out, cannot someone
go up to the trap door and

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tell the people what is going on? Help? Would come at once,

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and we should soon make an end
of this man and his shooting. This

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may not be, Agilius, answered
Melanthius. The mouth of the narrow passage

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is dangerously near the entrance to the
outer court. One brave man could prevent

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any number from getting in. But
I know what I will do. I

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will bring you arms from the storeroom, for I am sure it is there

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that Ulysses and his son have put
them on this the goat heard. Melanthius

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went by back passages to the storeroom
of ulysses house. There he chose twelve

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shields with as many helmets and spears, and brought them back as fast as

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he could give them to the suitors. Ulysses heart began to fail him when

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he saw the suitors putting on their
armor and brandishing their spears. He saw

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the greatness of the danger and said
to Telemachus, some one of the women

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inside us helping the suitors against us, or it may be Melanthius. Telemachus

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answered, the fault, father is
mine and mine only. I left the

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storeroom door open, and they have
kept a sharper lookout than I have.

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Go Eumaeus put the door to and
see whether it is one of the women

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who is doing this, or whether, as I suspect, it is Melanthius,

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the son of Dulius. Thus did
they converse. Meanwhile, Melanthius was

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again going to the storeroom to fetch
more armor. But the swineherd saw him

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and said to Ulysses, who was
beside him, Ulysses, noble son of

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Leertes, it is that scoundrel Melanthius, just as we suspected, who is

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going to the store room. Say
shall I kill him if I can get

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the better of him, or shall
I bring him here that you may take

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your own revenge for all the many
wrongs that he has done in your house?

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Ulysses answered Telemachus, and I will
hold these suitors in check no matter

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what they do. Go back,
both of you and bind Melanthius hands and

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feet behind him, Throw him into
the storeroom, and make the door fast

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behind you. Then fasten a noose
about his body, and string him close

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up to the rafters from a high
bearing post, that he may linger on

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in an agony. Thus did he
speak, and they did even as he

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had said. They went to the
storeroom, which they entered before Melanthius saw

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them, for he was busy searching
for arms in the innermost part of the

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room. So the two took their
stand on either side of the door and

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waited by and by. Melanthius came
out with a helmet in one hand and

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an old, dry rotted shield in
the other, which had been borne by

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Laertes when he was young, but
which had been long since thrown aside,

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and the straps had become unsown.
On this the two seized him, dragged

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him back by the hair, and
threw him struggling to the ground. They

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bent his hands and feet well behind
his back and bound them tight with a

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painful bond, as Ulysses had told
them. Then they fastened a noose about

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his body and strung him up from
a high pillar, till he was close

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up to the rafters, and over
him. Did you then vaunt o swineherd,

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Eumaeus saying, Melanthius, you will
pass the night on a soft bed

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as you deserve. You will know
very well when morning comes from the streams

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of Oceanus, and it is time
for you to be driving in your goats

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for the suitors to feast on there. Then they left him in very cruel

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bondage, and having put on their
armor They closed the door behind them and

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went back to take their places by
the side of Ulysses, whereon the four

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men stood in the cloister, fierce
and full of fury. Nevertheless, those

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who were in the body of the
court were still both brave and many.

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Then Jove's daughter, Minerva came up
to them, having assumed the voice and

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form of Mentor. Ulysses was glad
when he saw her and said, Mentor,

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lend me your help, and forget
not your old comrade, nor the

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many good turns he has done you. Besides, you are my age mate.

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But all the time he felt sure
it was Minerva, and the suitors

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from the other side raise an uproar
when they saw her. Agilius was the

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first to approach her Mentor. He
cried, do not Ulysses beguile you in

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deciding with him and fighting the suitors. This is what we will do.

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When we have killed these people,
father and son, we will kill you

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too. You shall pay for it
with your head. And when we have

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killed you, we will take all
you have indoors or out, and bring

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it into hotchpot with Ulysses property.
We will not let your sons live in

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your house, nor your daughters,
or shall your widow continue to live in

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the city of Ithaca. This made
me nervous still more furious, so she

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scolded Ulysses very angrily. Ulysses said
she, your strength and prowess are no

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longer what they were when you fought
for nine long years among the Trojans about

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the noble lady Helen. You killed
many a man in those days, and

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it was through your stratagem that Priam
city was taken. How comes it that

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you are so lamentably less valiant now
than you are in your own ground face

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to face with the suitors in your
own house. Come on, my good

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fellow, stand by my side and
see how Mentor, son of Alsimus,

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shall fight your foes and requite your
kindnesses conferred upon him. But she would

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not give him full victory as yet, for she wished still further to prove

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his own prowess and that of his
brave son. So she flew up to

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one of the rafters in the roof
of the cloister and sat upon it in

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the form of a swallow. Meanwhile, a jealous son of Damaster, Uryanimus,

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Amphimidon, Dematolemus, Pissander, and
Polybus son of Polyctor, bore the

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brunt of the fight upon the suitor
side. Of all those who were still

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fighting for their lives, they were
by far the most valiant, for the

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others had already fallen under the arrows
of Ulysses. Agellius shouted to them and

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said, my friends, he will
soon have to leave off, for Mentor

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has gone away after having done nothing
for him. But bragg they are standing

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at the doors unsupported. Do not
aim at him all at once, but

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six of you throw your spears first, and see if you cannot cover yourselves

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with glory by killing him. When
he has fallen. We need not be

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uneasy about the others. They threw
their spears as he bade them, but

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Minerva made them all of no effect. One hit the doorpost, another went

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against the door, the pointed shaft
of another struck the wall. And as

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soon as they had avoided all the
spears of the suitors, Ulysses said to

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his own men, my friend,
I should say, we two had better

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let drive into the middle of them, or they will crown all the harm

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they have done us by killing us
outright. They therefore aimed straight in front

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of them and threw their spears.
Ulysses killed Dematolemus, Telemachus, Eurydes,

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Eumaeus Elettis, and while the stockmen
killed Passander. These all bit the dust,

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and as the others drew back into
a corner, Ulysses and his men

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rushed forward and regained their spears by
drawing them from the bodies of the dead.

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The suitors now aimed a second time, but again Minerva made their weapons

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for the most part without effect.
One hit a bearing post of the cloister,

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another went against the door, while
the pointed shaft of another struck the

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wall. Still, Amphimitin just took
a piece of the topskin from off Telemachus's

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wrist, and Tysippus managed to graze
Eumaeus's shoulder above his shield, but the

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spear went on and fell to the
ground. Then Ulysses and his men leapt

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drive into the crowd of suitors.
Ulysses hit Eurydamus, Telemachus, Amphimedon,

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and Eumaeus Polybus. After this the
stockmen hit Toosippus in the breast and taunted

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him, saying, foul mouthed son
of Polythses, do not be so foolish

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as to talk wickedly another time.
But let Heaven direct your speech, for

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the gods are far stronger than men. I make you a present of this

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advice, to repay you for the
foot which you gave Ulysses when he was

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begging about in his own house.
Thus spoke the stockman, and Ulysses struck

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the son of Damaster with a spear
in close fight, while Telemachus hit Leocritus,

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son of Evanor, in the belly, and the dart went clean through

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him, so that he fell forward, full on his face upon the ground.

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Then Minerva, from her seat on
the rafter, held up her deadly

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aegis, and the hearts of the
suitors quailed. They fled to the other

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end of the court like a herd
of cattle, maddened by the gadfly.

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In early summer, when the days
are at their longest, as eagle beaked,

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crooked taloned vultures from the mountains swooped
down on the smaller birds that cower

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in flocks upon the ground and kill
them, for they cannot either fight or

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fly, and lookers on enjoy the
sport. Even so did Ulysses and his

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men fall upon the suitors and smite
them on every side. They made a

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horrible groaning as their brains were being
battered in and the ground seethed with their

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blood. Lades then caught the knees
of Ulysses and said, Ulysses, I

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beseech you have mercy upon me and
spare me. I have never wronged any

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of the women in your house,
either in word or deed. And I

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tried to stop the others I saw
them, but they would not listen.

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And now they are paying for their
folly. I was their sacrificing priest.

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If you kill me, I shall
die without having done anything to deserve it,

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and shall have got no thanks for
all the good that I did.

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Ulysses looked sternly at him and answered, if you were their sacrificing priest,

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you must have prayed many a time
time that it might be long before I

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got home again, and that you
might marry my wife and have children by

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her. Therefore you shall die.
With these words, he picked up the

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sword that Agellius had dropped when he
was being killed, and which was lying

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upon the ground. Then he struck
Lades on the back of his neck,

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so that his head fell rolling in
the dust. While he was yet speaking.

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The minstrel Femius, son of Terpis, He who had been forced by

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the suitors to sing to them,
now tried to save his life. He

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was standing near towards the trap door
and held his lyre in his hand.

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He did not know whether to fly
out of the cloister and sit down by

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the altar of Jove that was in
the outer court, and on which both

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Riartes and Ulysses had offered up the
thigh bones of many an ox, or

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whether to go straight up to Ulysses
and embrace his knees. But in the

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00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,720
end he deemed it best to embrace
ulysses knees. So he laid his lyre

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on the ground between the mixing bowl
and the silver studded seat. Then,

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going up to Ulysses, he caught
hold of his knees and said, Ulysses,

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I beseech you have mercy on me
and spare me. You will be

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sorry for it afterwards if you kill
a bart who can sing both for gods

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00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:12,640
and men, as I can,
I make all my lays myself, and

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Heaven visits me with every kind of
inspiration. I would sing to you as

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though you were a god. Do
not therefore be in such a hurry to

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cut my head off. Your own
son, Telemachus will tell you that I

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did not want to frequent your house
and sing to the suitors after their meals,

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but they were too many and too
strong for me, so they made

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me. Telemachus hurt him, and
at once went up to his father.

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Hold He cried, the man is
guiltless to him, no hurt, and

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we will spare Meaton too, who
is always good to me when I was

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a boy, unless Felicius or Eumaeus
has already killed him, or he has

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fallen in your way when you are
raging about the court. Meadan caught these

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words of Telemachus, for he was
crouching under a seat beneath which he had

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hidden by covering himself up with a
freshly flayed heifer's hide. So he threw

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off the hide, went up to
Telemachus and laid hold of his knees.

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Here I am, my dear sir, said he stay your hand therefore,

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and tell your father, or he
will kill me in his rage against the

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suitors, for having wasted his substance
and been so foolishly disrespectful to yourself.

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Ulysses smiled at him and answered,
fear not, Telemachus has saved your life,

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that you may know in future and
tell other people how greatly better good

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deeds prosper than evil ones. Go
therefore, outside the cloister, into the

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outer court, and be out of
the way of the slaughter you and the

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bard, while I finish my work
here inside. The pair went into the

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outer court as fast as they could, and sat down by Jove's great altar,

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looking fearfully round and still expecting that
they would be killed. Then Ulysses

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searched the whole court carefully over to
see if anyone had managed to hide himself

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and was still living. But he
found them all lying in the dust and

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weltering in their blood. They were
like fishes which fishermen had netted out of

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the sea and thrown upon the beach, to lie gasping for water till the

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heat of the sun makes an end
of them. Even so were the suitors

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lying, all huddled up, one
against the other. Then Ulysses said to

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Telemachus, call nurse Eurycleia. I
have something to say to her. Telemachus

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went and knocked at the door of
the women's room. Make haste, said

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he, you, old woman who
have been said, over all the other

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women in the house, come outside, my father wishes to speak to you.

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When Euuclea heard this, she unfastened
the door of the women's room and

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came out, following Telemachus. She
found Ulysses among the corpses, bespattered with

275
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blood and filth, like a lion
that has just been devouring an ox.

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00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:53,519
And his breast and both cheeks were
all bloody, so that he is a

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fearful sight. Even so was Ulysses
besmirched from head to foot with gore.

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00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,680
When she saw all the corpses and
such a quantity of blood, she was

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00:20:03,759 --> 00:20:07,480
beginning to cry out for joy,
for she saw that a great deed had

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been done. But Ulysses checked her. Old woman said he rejoice in silence.

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00:20:12,799 --> 00:20:17,359
Restrain yourself, and do not make
any noise about it. It is

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an unholy thing to vaunt over dead
men. Heaven's doom and their own evil

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00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:26,200
deeds have brought these men to destruction. For they respected no man in the

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00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:30,279
whole world, neither rich nor poor, who came near them, and they

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00:20:30,279 --> 00:20:33,759
have come to a bad end as
a punishment for their wickedness and folly.

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00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,240
Now, however, tell me which
of the women in the house have misconducted

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00:20:37,279 --> 00:20:42,000
themselves, and who are innocent.
I will tell you the truth, my

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00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:48,079
son, answered Eurycleia. There are
fifty women in the house whom we teach

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00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,000
to do things such as carding,
wool, and all kinds of household work.

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00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:56,599
Of these, twelve in all have
misbehaved and have been wanting in respect

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to me and also to Penelope.
They showed no disrespect to Telemachus, for

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00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:07,240
he has only lately grown, and
his mother never permitted him to give orders

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00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,720
to the female servants. But let
me go upstairs and tell your wife all

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00:21:11,759 --> 00:21:15,599
that has happened. For some God
has been sending her to sleep. Do

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00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:21,200
not wake her yet, answered Ulysses, but tell the women who have misconducted

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themselves to come to me. Euryclea
left the cloister to tell the women and

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make them come to Ulysses. In
the meantime, he called Telemachus the stockman

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00:21:30,079 --> 00:21:36,599
and the swineherd, begin said he
to remove the dead and make the women

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help. You. Then get sponges
and clean water to swill down the tables

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00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:45,279
and seats. When yeth thoroughly cleanse
the whole, cloisters take the women into

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the space between the domed room and
the wall of the outer court, and

302
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:53,160
run them through with your swords till
they are quite dead and have forgotten all

303
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,400
about love and the way in which
they used to lie in secret with the

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suitors. On this the women came
down in a body, weeping and wailing

305
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:07,960
bitterly. First they carried the dead
bodies out and propped them up against one

306
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,920
another in the gate house, Ulysses
ordered them about and made them do their

307
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:15,000
work quickly, so they had to
carry the bodies out. When they had

308
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,519
done this, they cleaned all the
tables and seats with sponges and water,

309
00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:22,720
while Telemachus and the two others shoveled
up the blood and dirt from the ground,

310
00:22:23,079 --> 00:22:26,000
and the women carried it all away
and put it out of doors.

311
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:32,079
Then, when they had made the
whole place quite clean and orderly, they

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00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,519
took the women out and hemmed them
in the narrow space between the wall of

313
00:22:34,559 --> 00:22:37,799
the domed room and that of the
yard, so that they could not get

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00:22:37,839 --> 00:22:42,599
away. And Telemachus said to the
other two, I shall not let these

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00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:47,400
women die a clean death, for
they were insolent to me and my mother,

316
00:22:47,599 --> 00:22:51,720
and used to sleep with the suitors, so saying, he made a

317
00:22:51,759 --> 00:22:55,279
ship's cable fast to one of the
bearing posts that supported the roof of the

318
00:22:55,319 --> 00:22:59,359
domed room, and secured it all
around the building at a good height,

319
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:03,880
lest any of the women's feet should
touch the ground. And as thrushes or

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00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,880
doves beat against a net that has
been set for them in a thicket,

321
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,759
just as they were getting to their
nest, and a terrible fate awaits them.

322
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,359
Even so did the women have to
put their heads in nooses, one

323
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,119
after the other, and die most
miserably. Their feet moved convulsively for a

324
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:23,359
while, but not for very long. As for Melanthius, they took him

325
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:27,920
through the cloister into the inner court. There they cut off his nose and

326
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,720
his ears. They drew out his
vitals and gave them to the dogs raw,

327
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,200
And then, in their fury,
they cut off his hands and his

328
00:23:36,279 --> 00:23:40,400
feet. When they had done this, they washed their hands and feet and

329
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,920
went back into the house. For
all was now over, And Ulysses said

330
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:49,200
to the dear old nurse Ycleia,
bring me sulfur, which cleanses all pollution,

331
00:23:49,559 --> 00:23:53,319
and fetch fire, also that I
may burn it and purify the cloisters.

332
00:23:55,759 --> 00:24:00,319
Go moreover, and tell Penelope to
come here with her attendants, also

333
00:24:00,519 --> 00:24:03,880
all the maid servants that are in
the house. All that you have said

334
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:08,720
is true, answered Eurycleia. But
let me bring you some clean clothes,

335
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,279
a shirt and cloak. Do not
keep these rags on your back any longer.

336
00:24:14,759 --> 00:24:18,799
It is not right. First,
light me a fire, replied Ulysses.

337
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,880
She brought the fire and sulfur as
he had bidden her, and Ulysses

338
00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:29,799
thoroughly purified the cloisters and both the
inner and outer courts. Then she went

339
00:24:29,839 --> 00:24:33,079
inside to call the women and tell
them what had happened. Whereon they came

340
00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:37,359
from their apartment with torches in their
hands, and pressed round Ulysses to embrace

341
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:42,039
him, kissing his head and shoulders
and taking hold of his hands. It

342
00:24:42,079 --> 00:24:45,720
made him feel as if he should
like to weep, for he remembered every

343
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:51,200
one of them. End of Book
twenty two