Book seventeen of the Odyssey by Homer. The Odyssey, Book seventeen, Telemachus
and his mother meet Ulysses and Eumaeus come down to the town, and Ulysses
is insulted by Melanthius. He is recognized by the dog Argos. He is
insulted and presently struck by Antonus with a stool. Penelope desires that he shall
be sent to her. When the child of morning, Rosy finger Dawn appeared,
Telemachus bound on his sandals and took a strong spear that suited his hands,
for he wanted to go into the city. Old friend, said he
to the swineherd. I will now go to the town and show myself to
my mother, for she will never leave off grieving till she has seen me.
As for this unfortunate stranger. Take him to the town and let him
beg there of any one who will give him a drink and a piece of
bread. I have trouble enough of my own and cannot be burdened with other
people. If this makes him man gree so much, the worse for him.
But I like to say what I mean. Then, Ulysses said,
sir, I do not want to stay here a beggar can always do better
in town than country, for anyone who likes can give him something. I
am too old to care about remaining here at the beck and call of a
master. Therefore, let this man do as you have just told him,
and take me to the town as soon as I have had a warm by
the fire, and the day has got a little heat in it. Like
clothes are wretchedly thin, and this frosty morning I shall be perished with cold.
For you say the city is some way off. On this Telemachus strode
off through the yards, brooding his revenge upon the suitors. When he reached
home, he stood his spear against a bearing post of the cloister, crossed
the stone floor of the cloister itself, and went inside. Nurse Eraclius saw
him long before anyone else did. She was putting the fleeces onto the seats,
and she burst out crying as she ran up to him. All the
other maids came up too, and covered his head and shoulders with their kisses.
Penelope came out of a room, looking like Diana or Venus, and
wept as she flung her arms about her son. She kissed his forehead and
both his beautiful eyes. Light of my eyes, she cried as she spoke
fondly to him. So you are come home again. I made sure I
was never going to see you any more, to think of your having gone
off to Pylos without saying anything about it or obtaining my consent. But come
tell me what you saw. Do not scold me, mother, answered Telemachus,
Nor vex me, seeing what a narrow escape I have had. But
wash your face, change your dress, go upstairs with your maids, and
promise full and sufficient hecatombs to all the gods if Jove will only grant us
our revenge upon the suitors. I must now go to the place of assembly
to invite a stranger who has come back with me from Pylos. I sent
him on with my crew and told pireus to take him home and look after
him till I could come for him myself. She heeded her son's words,
washed her face, changed her dress, and vowed full and sufficient hecatombs to
all the gods if they would only vouchsafe her revenge upon the suitors. Telemachus
went through and out of the cloister's spear in hand, not alone, for
his two fleet dogs went with him. Minerva endowed him with a presence of
such divine comeliness that all marveled at him as he went by, and the
suitors gathered round him with fair words in their mouths and malice in their hearts.
But he avoided them and went to sit with Mentor Antiphus and helotherses,
old friends of his father's house, and they made him tell them all that
had happened to him. Then Pireus came up with Theoclymenus, whom he had
escorted through the town to the place of assembly, whereon Telemachus had joined them.
Pireus was first to speak. Telemachus said, he, I wish you
would send some of your women to my house to take away the presents Menelaus
gave you. We do not know. Pireus answered Telemachus, what may happen
if the suitors kill me in my own house and divide my property among them?
I would rather you had the presence than that of any of those people
should get hold of them. If, on the other hand, I managed
to kill them, I shall be much obliged if you will kindly bring me
my presence. With these words, he took Theoclemenus to his own house.
When they got there, they laid their cloaks on the benches and seats,
went into the baths and washed themselves. When the maids had washed and annointed
them, and had given them cloaks and shirts, they took their seats at
table. 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. Opposite them
sat Penelope, reclining on a couch by one of the bearing posts of the
cloister, and spinning. Then they laid their hands on the good things that
were before them, And as soon as they had had enough to eat and
drink, Penelope said, Telemachus, I shall go upstairs and lie down on
that sad couch, which I have not ceased to water with my tears from
the day Ulysses set out for Troy with the sons of Atreus. You failed,
however, to make it clear to me before the suitors came back to
the house, whether or no you had been able to hear anything about the
return of your father. I will tell you then, truth, replied her
son. We went to Pylos and saw Nestor, who took me to his
house and treated me as hospitably as though I were a son of his own
who had just returned after a long absence. So also did his sons.
But he said he had not heard a word from any human being about Ulysses,
whether he was alive or dead. He sent me, therefore, with
a chariot and horses to Menilaus. There I saw Helen, for whose sake
so many both our chives and Trojans, were in Heaven's wisdom doomed to suffer.
Menalaus asked me what it was that had brought me to Lacedaemon, and
I told him the whole truth. Whereon he said, so then 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 rustled with Philo,
Milades and Lesbos and threw him so heavily that all the Greeks 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 question, however,
I will not prevarigate nor deceive you. But what the old man of
the sea told me so much, will I tell you in full. He
said he could see Ulysses on an island, sorrowing bitterly in the house of
the nymph Calypso, who is keeping him prisoner, And he could not reach
his home, for he had no ships nor sailors to take him over the
sea. This was what Menelaus told me. And when I had heard his
story, I came away. The gods then gave me a fair wind,
and soon brought me safe home again. With these words he moved the heart
of Penelope. Then theo Clemenus said to her, Madam, wife of Ulysses.
Telemachus does not understand these things. Listen therefore to me, for I
can divine them surely, and will hide nothing from you, may Jove the
King of Heaven be my witness and the rights of hospitality with that heart of
Ulysses, to which I now come. That Ulysses himself is even now in
Ithaca, and either about the country or staying in one place, is inquiring
into all these evil deeds and preparing a day of reckoning for the suitors.
I saw an omen when I was on the ship which meant this, and
I told telemach Us about it. May it be even so, answered Penelope,
if your words come true, you shall have such gifts and such good
will will come from me that all who see you shall congratulate you. Thus
did they converse. Meanwhile, the suitors were throwing discs or aiming with spears
at a mark on the level ground in front of the house, and behaving
with all their old insolence. But when it was now time for dinner,
and the flock of sheep and goats had come into the town from all the
country round with their shepherds as usual, then Meaden, who was their favorite
servant and who waited upon them at table, said, now, then,
my young masters, you have had enough sport, so come inside that we
may get dinner ready dinner is not a bad thing. At dinner time,
they left their sports as he told them, and when they were within the
house, they laid their cloaks on the benches and seats inside, and then
sacrifice some sheep, goats, pigs, and a heifer, all of them
fat and well grown. Thus they made ready for their meal. In the
meantime, Ulysses and the swineherd were about starting for the town, and the
swineherd said, stranger, I suppose you still want to go to the town
today, as my master said you were to do. For my own part,
I should have liked you to stay here as a station hand. But
I must do as my master tells me, or he will scold me later
on, and a scolding from one's master is a very serious thing. Let
us then be off, for it is now broad day. It will be
night again directly, and then you will find it colder. I know and
understand you, replied Ulysses. You need say no more. Let us be
going. But if you have a stick ready cut, let me have it
to walk with, for you say, the road is a very rough one.
As he spoke, he threw his shabby, old tattered wallet over his
shoulders by the cord from which it hung, and Eumaeus gave him a stick
to his liking. The two then started leaving the station in charge of the
dogs and hersman, who remained behind. The swineherd led the way, and
his master followed after, looking like some broken down old trap as he leaned
upon his staff, and his clothes were all in rags. When they had
got over the rough steep ground and were nearing the city, they reached the
fountain from which the citizens drew their water. This had been made by Ithacus,
Neritus and Pollictor. There was a grove of water loving poplars planted in
a circle all round it, and the clear, cold water came down to
it from a rock high up. While the above fountain there was an altar
to the nymphs at which all wayfarers used to sacrifice. Here, Melanthius,
son of Dolius, overtook them as he was driving down some goats, the
best in his flock for the suitor's dinner, and there were two shepherds with
him. When he saw Eumaeus and Ulysses, he reviled them with outrageous and
unseemly language, which made Ulysses very angry. There you go, cried he
and a precious pair. You are see how heaven brings birds of the same
feather to one another. Where pray, master, swineherd, are you taking
this poor, miserable object? It would make any one sick to see such
a creature at table. A fellow like this never want a prize for anything
in his life, but will go about rubbing his shoulders against every man's doorpost,
and begging not for swords and cauldrons like a man, but only for
a few scraps not worth begging for. If you would give him to me
for a hand on my station, he might do to clean out the folds,
or bring a bit of sweet feed to the kids, that he could
fatten his thighs as much as he pleased on way, But he has taken
to bad ways and will not go about any kind of work. He will
do nothing but beg victuals all the town over to feed his insatiable belly.
I say therefore, and it shall surely be. If he goes near Ulysses
house, he will get his head broken by the stools they fling at him
till they turn him out. On this as he passed, he gave Ulysses
a kick on the hip out of pure wottonness. But Ulysses stood firm and
did not budge from the path. For a moment, he doubted whether or
not to fly at Melanthius and kill him with his staff, or fling him
to the ground and beat his brains out. He resolved, however, to
endure it and keep himself in check. But the swineherd looked straight at Melanthius
and rebuked him, lifting up his hands and praying to Heaven. As he
did so, fountain nymphs. He cried, Children of Jove, if ever
Ulysses burned youth, thigh bones covered with fat, whether of lambs or kids,
grant my prayer that Heaven may send him home. He would soon put
an end to the swaggering threats with which such men as you go about insulting
people, gadding all over the town, while your flocks are going to ruin
through bad shepherding. Then Melanthius the goatherd answered, you, ill conditioned cur
what are you talking about? Some day or other I will put you on
board ship and take you to a foreign country where I can sell you and
pocket the money you will fetch I wish I were as sure that Apalla would
strike Telemachus dead this very day, or that the suitors would kill him,
as I am, that Ulysses will never come home again. With this,
he left them to come on at their leisure, while he went quickly forward
and soon reached the house of his master. When he got there, he
went in and took his seat among the suitors, opposite Eurymachus, who liked
him better than any of the others. The servants brought him a portion of
meat, and an upper woman servant said bread for him, that he might
eat. Presently. Ulysses and the swineherd came up to the house and stood
by it amid a sound of music, for Femius was just beginning to sing
to the suitors. Then Ulysses took hold of the swineherd's hand and said,
Eumaeus, this house of Ulysses is a very fine place. No matter how
far you go, you will find few like it. One building keeps following
on after another. The outer court has a wall with battlements all round it.
The doors are double folding, and of good workmanship. It would be
a hard matter to take it by force of arms. I perceive too that
there are many people banqueting within it, for there's a smell of roast meat,
and I hear a sound of music, which the gods have made to
go along with feasting. Then you may have said you have perceived aright,
as indeed you generally do. But let us think what will be our best
course. Will you go inside at first and enjoin the suitors, leaving me
here behind you, or will you wait here and let me go in first,
but do not wait long, or someone may see you loitering about outside
and throw something at you. Consider this matter, I pray you, and
Ulysses answered, I understand and heed. Go in first, and leave me
here where I am. I am quite used to being beaten and having things
thrown at me. I have been so much buffeted about in war and by
sea that I am case hardened. And this tomb may go with the rest.
But a man cannot hide away the cravings of a hungry belly. This
is an enemy which gives much trouble to all men. It is because of
this that ships are fitted out to sail the seas and to make war upon
other people. As they were thus talking, a dog that had been lying
asleep, raised his head and pricked up his ears. This was Argos,
whom Ulysses had bred before setting out for Troy, but he had never had
any work out of it him. In the old days, he used to
be taken out by the young men when they went hunting wild goats or deer
or hares. But now that his master was gone, he was lying neglected
on the heaps of mule and cow dung that lay in front of the stable
doors, till the men should come and draw it away to manure the great
clothes. And he was full of fleas. As soon as he saw Ulyssies
standing there, he dropped his ears and wagged his tail, but he could
not get close up to his master. When Ulysses saw the dog on the
other side of the yard, he dashed a tear from his eyes without Eumaeus
seeing it, and said, Eumaeus, what a noble hound that is over
yonder on the manure heap. His build is splendid. Is he as fine
a fellow as he looks? Or is he only one of those dogs that
come begging about a table and are kept merely for show? This hound,
answered Eumaeus, belonged to him who has died in a far country. If
he were what he was when Ulysses left for Troy, he would soon show
you what he could do. There was not a wild beast in the forest
that could get away from him when he was once on its tracks. But
now he has fallen on evil times, for his master is dead and gone,
and the women take no care of him. Servants never do their work
when their master's hand is no longer over them, For Jove takes half the
goodness out of a man when he makes a slave of him. As he
spoke, he went inside the buildings to the cloister where the suitors were,
but Argos died as soon as he had recognized his master. Telemachus saw Eumaeus
long before anyone else did, and beckoned him to come and sit beside him.
So he looked about and saw a seat lying near where the carver sat
serving out their portions to the suitors. He picked it up, brought it
to Telemachus's table, and sat down opposite him. Then the servant brought him
his portion and gave him bread from the bread basket. Immediately afterwards, Ulysses
came inside, looking like a poor, miserable old beggar, leaning on his
staff and with his clothes all in rags, he sat down upon the threshold
of ashwood, just inside the doors leading from the outer to the inner court,
and against a bearing post of cypress wood, which the carpenter had skillfully
played and had made to join truly with rule and line. Telemachus took a
whole loaf from the bread basket, with as much meat as he could hold
in his two hands, and said to Eumaeus, take this to the stranger,
and tell him to go the round of the suitors and beg from them.
A beggar must not be shamefaced. So Eumaeus went up to him and
said, stranger, Telemachus sends you this and says you are to go the
round of the suitors begging for beggars must not be shamefaced. Ulysses answered,
may King Jove grant all happiness to Telemachus and fulfill the desire of his heart.
Then, with both hands he took what Telemachus had sent him and laid
it on the dirty old wallet at his feet. He went on eating it
while the bard was singing, and had just finished his dinner. As he
left off the suitors applauded the bard. Whereon Minerva went up to Ulysses and
prompted him to beg pieces of bread from each one of the suitors, that
he might see what kind of people they were and tell the good from the
bad. But come what might, she was not going to save a single
one of them. Ulysses therefore went on his round, going from left to
right, and stretched out his hands to beg as though he were a real
beggar. Some of them pitied him and were curious about him, asking one
another who he was and where he came from? Whereon the goatherd Melanthea said,
suitors of my noble mistress, I can tell you something about him,
for I have seen him before the swineherd brought him here, But I know
nothing about the man himself, nor where he comes from. On this Antonus
began to abuse the swineherd, You precious idiot, right, what have you
brought this man to town? For? Have we not tramps and beggars enough
already to pester us as we sit at meat? To think it a small
thing that such people gather here to waste your master's property? And must you
needs bring this man as well? And you may Us, answered Antonus,
your birth is good, but your words evil. It was no doing of
mind that he came here. Who is likely to invite a stranger from a
foreign country unless it be one of those who can do public service as a
seer, a healer of hurts, a carpenter, or a bard who can
charm us with his singing. Such men are welcome all the world over,
But no one is likely to ask a beggar who will only worry him.
You are always harder on Ulysses servants than any of the other suitors are,
and above all on me. But I do not care so long as Telemachus
and Penelope are alive and here. But Telemachus said, hush, do not
answer him. Antonus has the bitterest tongue of all the suitors, and he
makes the others worse. Then, turning to Antonus, he said, Antonus,
you take as much care of my interests as though I were your son.
Why should you want to see this stranger turned out of the house.
Heaven forbid take something and give it him yourself. I do not grudge it.
I bid you take it, never mind my mother nor any of the
other servants in the house. But I know you will not do what I
say, for you are more fond of eating things yourself than of giving them
to other people. What do you mean, Telemachus replied Antonas by this swaggering
talk, if all the suitors were to give him as much as I will,
he would not come here again for another three months. As he spoke,
he drew the stool on which he rested his dainty feet from under the
table, and made as though he would throw it at Ulysses. But the
other suitors all gave him something and filled his wallet with bread and meat.
He was about, therefore, to go back to the threshold and eat what
the suitors had given him, but he first went up to Antonus and said,
sir, give me something. You are not surely the poorest man here.
You seem to be a chief foremost among them all. Therefore you should
be the better giver, and I will tell far and wide of your bounty.
I too was a rich man once, and had a fine house of
my own. In those days, I gave to many a tramp such as
I am now, no matter who he might be, nor what he wanted.
I had any number of servants, and all the other things which people
have who live well and are accounted wealthy. But it pleased Jove to take
all away from me. He sent me with a band of roving robbers to
Egypt. It was a long voyage, and I was undone by it.
I stationed my ships in the river Egyptus, and bade my men stay by
them and keep guard over them, while I sent out scouts to reconnoiter from
every point of vantage. But the men disobeyed my orders, took to their
own devices and ravaged the land of the Egyptians, killing the men and taking
their wives and children captives. The alarm was soon carried to the city,
and when they heard the war cry, the people came out at daybreak,
till the plain was filled with soldiers horse and foot, and with the gleam
of armor. Then Jove spread panic among my men, and they would no
longer face the enemy, for they found themselves surrounded. The Egyptians killed many
of us and took the rest alive to do forced labor for them. As
for myself, they gave me to a friend who met them to take to
Cyprus to meet her by name son of Ayesis, who was a great man
in Cyprus, thence I am come hither in a state of great misery.
Then Antonis said, what God can have sent such a pestilence to plague us
during our dinner? Get out into the open part of the court, or
I will give you Egypt and Cyprus over again for your insolence and importunity.
You have begged of all the others, and they have given you lavishly,
for they have abundance round them, and it is easy to be free with
other people's property when there is plenty of it. On this Ulysses began to
move off and said, your looks, my fine sir, are better than
your breeding. If you were in your own house, you would not spare
a poor man so much as a pinch of salt. For though you are
in another man's and surrounded with abundance, you cannot find it in you to
give him even a piece of bread. This made Antona's very angry, and
he scowled at him, saying, you shall pay for this before you get
clear of the court. With these words, he threw a footstool at him
and hid him on the right shoulder blade near the top of his back.
Ulysses stood firm as a rock, and the blow did not even stagger him,
but he shook his head in silence as he brooded on his revel.
Then he went back to the threshold and sat down there, laying his well
filled wallet at his feet. Listen to me, he cried, you,
suitors of Queen Penelope, that I may speak even as I am minded.
A man knows neither ache nor pain if he gets hit while fighting for his
money, or for his sheep or his cattle. And even so Antonus has
hit me while in the service of my miserable belly, which is always getting
people into trouble. Still, if the poor have gods and avenging deities at
all, I pray them that Antonus may come to a bad end before his
marriage. Sit where you are and eat your victuals in silence, or be
off elsewhere, shouted Antonis. If you say more, I will have you
dragged handed foot through the courts, and the servants shall flay you alive.
The other suitors were much displeased at this, and one of the young men
said, Antonus, you did ill in striking that poor wretch of a tramp.
It will be worse for you if you should turn out to be some
god. And we know that gods go about disguised in all sorts of ways
as people from foreign countries, and travel about the world to see who do
amiss and who righteously, thus said the suitors, but Antonus paid them no
heed. Meanwhile, Telemachus was furious about the blow that had been given to
his father, and though no tear fell from him, he shook his head
in silence and brooded on his revenge. Now, when Penelope heard that the
beggar had been struck in the banquet encloister, she said, before her maids
would that Apollo would so strike you Antonus and her waiting woman, your enemy
answered, if our prayers were answered, not one of the suitors would ever
again see the sun rise. Then Penelope said, Nurse, I hate every
single one of them, for they mean nothing but mischief. But I hate
Antonus like the darkness of death itself. A poor, unfortunate tramp has come
begging about the house for sheer want. Everyone else has given him something to
put in his wallet, but Antenus has hit him on the right shoulder blade
with a footstool. Thus did she talk with her maids as she sat in
her own room, and in the meantime, Ulysses was getting his dinner.
Then she called for the swineherd and said, Eumaeus, go and tell the
stranger to come here. I want to see him and ask him some questions.
He seems to have traveled much, and he may have seen or heard
something of my unhappy husband. To this, you answered, o swineherd,
Eumaeus. If these Achaeans, Madam, would only keep quiet, you would
be charmed with the history of his adventures. I had him three days and
three nights with me in my hut, which was the first place he reached
after running away from his ship, and he has not yet completed the story
of his misfortunes. If he had been the most heaven taught minstrel in the
whole world, on whose lips all hearers hang entranced, I could not have
been more charmed as I sat in my hut and listened to him. He
says there is an old friendship between his house and that of Ulysses, and
that he comes from Crete, where the descendants of Minos live, after having
been driven hither and thither by every kind of misfortune. He also declares that
he has heard of Ulysses as being alive and near at hand among the Thesprosians,
and that he's bringing great wealth home with him. Call him here,
then, said Penelope, that I too may hear his story. As for
the suitors, let them take their pleasure indoors or out as they will,
for they have nothing to fret about. Their corn and wine remain unwated in
their houses, with none but servants to consume them. While they keep hanging
about our house day after day, 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, for we have now
no Ulysses to protect us. If he were to come again, he and
his son would soon have their revenge. As she spoke, Telemachus sneezed so
loudly that the whole house resounded with it. Penelope laughed when she heard this,
and said to Eumaeus, go and call the stranger. Did you not
hear how my son sneezed just as I was speaking. This can only mean
that all the suitors are going to be killed, and that not one of
them shall escape. Furthermore, I say and lay my saying to your heart.
If I am satisfied that the stranger is speaking the truth, I shall
give him a shirt and cloak of good wear. When you may has heard
this, he went straight to Ulysses and said, father, stranger, my
mistress Penelope, mother of Telemachus, has sent for you. She is in
great grief, but she wishes to hear anything you can tell her about her
husband. And if she is satisfied that you are speaking the truth, she
will give you a shirt and cloak, which are the very things that you
are most in want of. As for bread, you can get enough of
that to fill your belly by begging about the town and letting those give that
will I will tell Penelope, answered Ulysses, nothing but what is strictly true.
I know all about her husband, and have been partner with him in
affliction. But I am afraid of passing through this crowd of cruel suitors,
for their pride and insolence reach heaven. Just now. Moreover, as I
was going about the house without doing any harm, a man gave me a
blow that hurt me very much, But neither Telemachus nor anyone else defended me.
Tell Penelope therefore, to be patient and wait till sundown. Let her
give me a seat close up to the fire, for my clothes are worn
very thin. You know they are, for you have seen them ever since
I first asked you to help me. She can then ask me about the
return of her husband. The swineherd went back when he heard this, and
Penelope said, as she saw him cross the threshold, why do you not
bring him here, Eumaeus? Is he afraid that some one will ill treat
him? Or is he shy if coming inside the house at all? Beggar?
Should not be shamefaced to this, you answered, O swine heard Eumaeus.
The stranger is quite reasonable. He is avoiding the suitors and is only
doing what any one else would do. He asks you to wait till sundown,
and it will be much better, madam, that you should have him
all to yourself, when you can hear him and talk to him as you
will. The man is no fool, answered Penelope. It would very likely
be as he says, for there are no such abominable people in the whole
world as these men are. When she had done speaking, Eumaeus went back
to the suitors, for he had explained everything. Then he went up to
Telemachus and said in his ear, so that none could overhear him. My
dear sir, I will now go back to the pigs to see after your
property and my own business. Will look to what is going on here.
But above all, be careful to keep out of danger, for there are
many who bear you ill. Will may Jove bring them to a bad end
before they do us a mischief. Very well, replied Telemachus. Go home
when you have had your dinner, and in the morning come here with the
victims we are to sacrifice for the day. Leave the rest to heaven and
me On this Eumaeus took his seat again, and when he had finished his
dinner, he left the quarts on the cloister with the men at table,
and went back to his pigs. As for the suitors, they presently began
to amuse themselves with singing and dancing, for it was now getting on towards
evening. End of book seventeen,