Odyssey

Odysseus was left in the room, pondering on the means whereby with Athena's help he might be able to kill the suitors. Presently he said to Telemakhos, "Telemakhos, we must get the armor together and take it down inside. Make some excuse when the suitors ask you why you have removed it. Say that you have taken it to be out of the way of the smoke, inasmuch as it is no longer what it was when Odysseus went away, but has become soiled and begrimed with soot. Add to this more particularly that you are afraid a daimôn may set them on to quarrel over their wine, and that they may do each other some harm which may disgrace both banquet and wooing, for the sight of arms sometimes tempts people to use them."

αὐτὰρ ὁ ἐν μεγάρῳ ὑπελείπετο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,

μνηστήρεσσι φόνον σὺν Ἀθήνῃ μερμηρίζων·

αἶψα δὲ Τηλέμαχον ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·

Τηλέμαχε, χρὴ τεύχεʼ ἀρήϊα κατθέμεν εἴσω

πάντα μάλʼ· αὐτὰρ μνηστῆρας μαλακοῖς ἐπέεσσι

παρφάσθαι, ὅτε κέν σε μεταλλῶσιν ποθέοντες·

ἐκ καπνοῦ κατέθηκʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι τοῖσιν ἐῴκει

οἷά ποτε Τροίηνδε κιὼν κατέλειπεν Ὀδυσσεύς,

ἀλλὰ κατῄκισται, ὅσσον πυρὸς ἵκετʼ ἀϋτμή.

πρὸς δʼ ἔτι καὶ τόδε μεῖζον ἐνὶ φρεσὶν ἔβαλε δαίμων

μή πως οἰνωθέντες, ἔριν στήσαντες ἐν ὑμῖν,

ἀλλήλους τρώσητε καταισχύνητέ τε δαῖτα

καὶ μνηστύν· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐφέλκεται ἄνδρα σίδηρος.

Telemakhos approved of what his father had said, so he called nurse Eurykleia and said, "Nurse, shut the women up in their room, while I take the armor that my father left behind him down into the store room. No one looks after it now my father is gone, and it has got all smirched with soot during my own boyhood. I want to take it down where the smoke cannot reach it."

ὣς φάτο, Τηλέμαχος δὲ φίλῳ ἐπεπείθετο πατρί,

ἐκ δὲ καλεσσάμενος προσέφη τροφὸν Εὐρύκλειαν·

μαῖʼ, ἄγε δή μοι ἔρυξον ἐνὶ μεγάροισι γυναῖκας,

ὄφρα κεν ἐς θάλαμον καταθείομαι ἔντεα πατρὸς

καλά, τά μοι κατὰ οἶκον ἀκηδέα καπνὸς ἀμέρδει

πατρὸς ἀποιχομένοιο· ἐγὼ δʼ ἔτι νήπιος ἦα.

νῦν δʼ ἐθέλω καταθέσθαι, ἵνʼ οὐ πυρὸς ἵξετʼ ἀϋτμή.

"I wish, child," answered Eurykleia, "that you would take the management of the house into your own hands altogether, and look after all the property yourself. But who is to go with you and light you to the store room? The maids would have so, but you would not let them.

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε φίλη τροφὸς Εὐρύκλεια·

αἲ γὰρ δή ποτε, τέκνον, ἐπιφροσύνας ἀνέλοιο

οἴκου κήδεσθαι καὶ κτήματα πάντα φυλάσσειν.

ἀλλʼ ἄγε, τίς τοι ἔπειτα μετοιχομένη φάος οἴσει;

δμῳὰς δʼ οὐκ εἴας προβλωσκέμεν, αἵ κεν ἔφαινον.

"The stranger," said Telemakhos, "shall show me a light; when people eat my bread they must earn it, no matter where they come from."

τὴν δʼ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα·

ξεῖνος ὅδʼ· οὐ γὰρ ἀεργὸν ἀνέξομαι ὅς κεν ἐμῆς γε

χοίνικος ἅπτηται, καὶ τηλόθεν εἰληλουθώς.

Eurykleia did as she was told, and bolted the women inside their room. Then Odysseus and his son made all haste to take the helmets, shields, and spears inside; and Athena went before them with a gold lamp in her hand that shed a soft and brilliant radiance, whereon Telemakhos said, "Father, my eyes behold a great marvel: the walls, with the rafters, crossbeams, and the supports on which they rest are all aglow as with a flaming fire. Surely there is some god here who has come down from heaven."

ὣς ἄρʼ ἐφώνησεν, τῇ δʼ ἄπτερος ἔπλετο μῦθος.

κλήϊσεν δὲ θύρας μεγάρων εὖ ναιεταόντων.

τὼ δʼ ἄρʼ ἀναΐξαντʼ Ὀδυσεὺς καὶ φαίδιμος υἱὸς

ἐσφόρεον κόρυθάς τε καὶ ἀσπίδας ὀμφαλοέσσας

ἔγχεά τʼ ὀξυόεντα· πάροιθε δὲ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη,

χρύσεον λύχνον ἔχουσα, φάος περικαλλὲς ἐποίει.

δὴ τότε Τηλέμαχος προσεφώνεεν ὃν πατέρʼ αἶψα·

ὦ πάτερ, ἦ μέγα θαῦμα τόδʼ ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ὁρῶμαι.

ἔμπης μοι τοῖχοι μεγάρων καλαί τε μεσόδμαι,

εἰλάτιναί τε δοκοί, καὶ κίονες ὑψόσʼ ἔχοντες

φαίνοντʼ ὀφθαλμοῖς ὡς εἰ πυρὸς αἰθομένοιο.

ἦ μάλα τις θεὸς ἔνδον, οἳ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσι.

"Hush," answered Odysseus, "hold your noos in peace and ask no questions, for this is the manner [ dikê ] of the gods. Get you to your bed, and leave me here to talk with your mother and the maids. Your mother in her grief will ask me all sorts of questions."

τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

σίγα καὶ κατὰ σὸν νόον ἴσχανε μηδʼ ἐρέεινε·

αὕτη τοι δίκη ἐστὶ θεῶν, οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσιν.

ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν κατάλεξαι, ἐγὼ δʼ ὑπολείψομαι αὐτοῦ,

ὄφρα κʼ ἔτι δμῳὰς καὶ μητέρα σὴν ἐρεθίζω·

ἡ δέ μʼ ὀδυρομένη εἰρήσεται ἀμφὶς ἕκαστα.

On this Telemakhos went by torch-light to the other side of the inner court, to the room in which he always slept. There he lay in his bed till morning, while Odysseus was left in the room pondering on the means whereby with Athena's help he might be able to kill the suitors.

ὣς φάτο, Τηλέμαχος δὲ διὲκ μεγάροιο βεβήκει

κείων ἐς θάλαμον, δαΐδων ὕπο λαμπομενάων,

ἔνθα πάρος κοιμᾶθʼ, ὅτε μιν γλυκὺς ὕπνος ἱκάνοι·

ἔνθʼ ἄρα καὶ τότʼ ἔλεκτο καὶ Ἠῶ δῖαν ἔμιμνεν.

αὐτὰρ ὁ ἐν μεγάρῳ ὑπελείπετο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,

μνηστήρεσσι φόνον σὺν Ἀθήνῃ μερμηρίζων.

Then Penelope came down from her room looking like Aphrodite or Artemis, and they set her a seat inlaid with scrolls of silver and ivory near the fire in her accustomed place. It had been made by Ikmalios and had a footstool all in one piece with the seat itself; and it was covered with a thick fleece: on this she now sat, and the maids came from the women's room to join her. They set about removing the tables at which the wicked suitors had been dining, and took away the bread that was left, with the cups from which they had drunk. They emptied the embers out of the braziers, and heaped much wood upon them to give both light and heat; but Melantho began to rail at Odysseus a second time and said, "Stranger, do you mean to plague us by hanging about the house all night and spying upon the women? Be off, you wretch, outside, and eat your supper there, or you shall be driven out with a firebrand."

ἡ δʼ ἴεν ἐκ θαλάμοιο περίφρων Πηνελόπεια,

Ἀρτέμιδι ἰκέλη ἠὲ χρυσέῃ Ἀφροδίτῃ.

τῇ παρὰ μὲν κλισίην πυρὶ κάτθεσαν, ἔνθʼ ἄρʼ ἐφῖζε,

δινωτὴν ἐλέφαντι καὶ ἀργύρῳ· ἥν ποτε τέκτων

ποίησʼ Ἰκμάλιος, καὶ ὑπὸ θρῆνυν ποσὶν ἧκε

προσφυέʼ ἐξ αὐτῆς, ὅθʼ ἐπὶ μέγα βάλλετο κῶας.

ἔνθα καθέζετʼ ἔπειτα περίφρων Πηνελόπεια.

ἦλθον δὲ δμῳαὶ λευκώλενοι ἐκ μεγάροιο.

αἱ δʼ ἀπὸ μὲν σῖτον πολὺν ᾕρεον ἠδὲ τραπέζας

καὶ δέπα, ἔνθεν ἄρʼ ἄνδρες ὑπερμενέοντες ἔπινον·

πῦρ δʼ ἀπὸ λαμπτήρων χαμάδις βάλον, ἄλλα δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῶν

νήησαν ξύλα πολλά, φόως ἔμεν ἠδὲ θέρεσθαι.

ἡ δʼ Ὀδυσῆʼ ἐνένιπε Μελανθὼ δεύτερον αὖτις·

ξεῖνʼ, ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἐνθάδʼ ἀνιήσεις διὰ νύκτα

δινεύων κατὰ οἶκον, ὀπιπεύσεις δὲ γυναῖκας;

ἀλλʼ ἔξελθε θύραζε, τάλαν, καὶ δαιτὸς ὄνησο·

ἢ τάχα καὶ δαλῷ βεβλημένος εἶσθα θύραζε.

Odysseus scowled at her and answered, "My good woman, why should you be so angry with me? Is it because I am not clean, and my clothes are all in rags, and because I am obliged to go begging about the dêmos after the manner of tramps and beggars general? I too was a rich [ olbios ] man once, and had a fine house of my own; in those days I gave to many a tramp such as I now am, 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 Zeus to take all away from me; therefore, woman, beware lest you too come to lose that pride and place in which you now wanton above your fellows; have a care lest you get out of favor with your mistress, and lest Odysseus should come home, for there is still a chance that he may do so. Moreover, though he be dead as you think he is, yet by Apollo's will he has left a son behind him, Telemakhos, who will note anything done amiss by the maids in the house, for he is now no longer in his boyhood."

τὴν δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

δαιμονίη, τί μοι ὧδʼ ἐπέχεις κεκοτηότι θυμῷ;

ἦ ὅτι δὴ ῥυπόω, κακὰ δὲ χροῒ εἵματα εἷμαι,

πτωχεύω δʼ ἀνὰ δῆμον; ἀναγκαίη γὰρ ἐπείγει.

τοιοῦτοι πτωχοὶ καὶ ἀλήμονες ἄνδρες ἔασι

καὶ γὰρ ἐγώ ποτε οἶκον ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἔναιον

ὄλβιος ἀφνειὸν καὶ πολλάκι δόσκον ἀλήτῃ,

τοίῳ ὁποῖος ἔοι καὶ ὅτευ κεχρημένος ἔλθοι·

ἦσαν δὲ δμῶες μάλα μυρίοι, ἄλλα τε πολλὰ

οἷσίν τʼ εὖ ζώουσι καὶ ἀφνειοὶ καλέονται.

ἀλλὰ Ζεὺς ἀλάπαξε Κρονίων· ἤθελε γάρ που·

τῷ νῦν μήποτε καὶ σύ, γύναι, ἀπὸ πᾶσαν ὀλέσσῃς

ἀγλαΐην, τῇ νῦν γε μετὰ δμῳῇσι κέκασσαι·

μή πώς τοι δέσποινα κοτεσσαμένη χαλεπήνῃ,

ἢ Ὀδυσεὺς ἔλθῃ· ἔτι γὰρ καὶ ἐλπίδος αἶσα.

εἰ δʼ ὁ μὲν ὣς ἀπόλωλε καὶ οὐκέτι νόστιμός ἐστιν,

ἀλλʼ ἤδη παῖς τοῖος Ἀπόλλωνός γε ἕκητι,

Τηλέμαχος· τὸν δʼ οὔ τις ἐνὶ μεγάροισι γυναικῶν

λήθει ἀτασθάλλουσʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι τηλίκος ἐστίν.

Penelope heard what he was saying and scolded the maid, "Impudent baggage," said she, "I see how abominably you are behaving, and you shall smart for it. You knew perfectly well, for I told you myself, that I was going to see the stranger and ask him about my husband, for whose sake I am in such continual sorrow."

ὣς φάτο, τοῦ δʼ ἤκουσε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια,

ἀμφίπολον δʼ ἐνένιπεν ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἔκ τʼ ὀνόμαζε·

πάντως, θαρσαλέη, κύον ἀδεές, οὔ τί με λήθεις

ἔρδουσα μέγα ἔργον, ὃ σῇ κεφαλῇ ἀναμάξεις·

πάντα γὰρ εὖ ᾔδησθʼ, ἐπεὶ ἐξ ἐμεῦ ἔκλυες αὐτῆς

ὡς τὸν ξεῖνον ἔμελλον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἐμοῖσιν

ἀμφὶ πόσει εἴρεσθαι, ἐπεὶ πυκινῶς ἀκάχημαι.

Then she said to her head waiting woman Eurynome, "Bring a seat with a fleece upon it, for the stranger to sit upon while he tells his story, and listens to what I have to say. I wish to ask him some questions."

ἦ ῥα καὶ Εὐρυνόμην ταμίην πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν·

Εὐρυνόμη, φέρε δὴ δίφρον καὶ κῶας ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ,

ὄφρα καθεζόμενος εἴπῃ ἔπος ἠδʼ ἐπακούσῃ

ὁ ξεῖνος ἐμέθεν· ἐθέλω δέ μιν ἐξερέεσθαι.

Eurynome brought the seat at once and set a fleece upon it, and as soon as Odysseus had sat down Penelope began by saying, "Stranger, I shall first ask you who and whence are you? Tell me of your town and parents."

ὣς ἔφαθʼ, ἡ δὲ μάλʼ ὀτραλέως κατέθηκε φέρουσα

δίφρον ἐΰξεστον καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ κῶας ἔβαλλεν·

ἔνθα καθέζετʼ ἔπειτα πολύτλας δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς.

τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

ξεῖνε, τὸ μέν σε πρῶτον ἐγὼν εἰρήσομαι αὐτή·

τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; πόθι τοι πόλις ἠδὲ τοκῆες;

"Lady;" answered Odysseus, "who on the face of the whole earth can dare to chide with you? Your fame [ kleos ] reaches the firmament of heaven itself; you are like some blameless king, who upholds righteousness, as the monarch over a great and valiant nation: the earth yields its wheat and barley, the trees are loaded with fruit, the ewes bring forth lambs, and the sea abounds with fish by reason of his virtues, and his people do good deeds under him. Nevertheless, as I sit here in your house, ask me some other question and do not seek to know my race and family, or you will recall memories that will yet more increase my sorrow. I am full of heaviness, but I ought not to sit weeping and wailing in another person's house, nor is it well to be thus grieving continually. I shall have one of the servants or even yourself complaining of me, and saying that my eyes swim with tears because I am heavy with wine."

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ὦ γύναι, οὐκ ἄν τίς σε βροτῶν ἐπʼ ἀπείρονα γαῖαν

νεικέοι· ἦ γάρ σευ κλέος οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἱκάνει,

ὥς τέ τευ ἢ βασιλῆος ἀμύμονος, ὅς τε θεουδὴς

ἀνδράσιν ἐν πολλοῖσι καὶ ἰφθίμοισιν ἀνάσσων

εὐδικίας ἀνέχῃσι, φέρῃσι δὲ γαῖα μέλαινα

πυροὺς καὶ κριθάς, βρίθῃσι δὲ δένδρεα καρπῷ,

τίκτῃ δʼ ἔμπεδα μῆλα, θάλασσα δὲ παρέχῃ ἰχθῦς

ἐξ εὐηγεσίης, ἀρετῶσι δὲ λαοὶ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ.

τῷ ἐμὲ νῦν τὰ μὲν ἄλλα μετάλλα σῷ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ,

μηδʼ ἐμὸν ἐξερέεινε γένος καὶ πατρίδα γαῖαν,

μή μοι μᾶλλον θυμὸν ἐνιπλήσῃς ὀδυνάων

μνησαμένῳ μάλα δʼ εἰμὶ πολύστονος· οὐδέ τί με χρὴ

οἴκῳ ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ γοόωντά τε μυρόμενόν τε

ἧσθαι, ἐπεὶ κάκιον πενθήμεναι ἄκριτον αἰεί·

μή τίς μοι δμῳῶν νεμεσήσεται, ἠὲ σύ γʼ αὐτή,

φῇ δὲ δακρυπλώειν βεβαρηότα με φρένας οἴνῳ.

Then Penelope answered, "Stranger, the immortal gods robbed me of all aretê , whether of face or figure, when the Argives set sail for Troy and my dear husband with them. If he were to return and look after my affairs I should be both more respected [ kleos ] and should show a better presence to the world. As it is, I am oppressed with care, and with the afflictions which a daimôn has seen fit to heap upon me. The chiefs from all our islands - Dulichium, Same, and Zacynthus , as also from Ithaca itself, are wooing me against my will and are wasting my estate. I can therefore show no attention to strangers, nor suppliants, nor to people who say that they are skilled artisans, but am all the time brokenhearted about Odysseus. They want me to marry again at once, and I have to invent stratagems in order to deceive them. In the first place a daimôn put it in my mind to set up a great tambour-frame in my room, and to begin working upon an enormous piece of fine needlework. Then I said to them, ‘Sweethearts, Odysseus is indeed dead, still, do not press me to marry again immediately; wait - for I would not have my skill in needlework perish unrecorded - till I have finished making a shroud for the hero Laertes , to be ready against the time when death shall take him. He is very rich, and the women of the dêmos will talk if he is laid out without a shroud.’ This was what I said, and they assented; whereon I used to keep working at my great web all day long, but at night I would unpick the stitches again by torch light. I fooled them in this way for three years without their finding it out, but as time [ hôra ] wore on and I was now in my fourth year, in the waning of moons, and many days had been accomplished, those good-for-nothing hussies my maids betrayed me to the suitors, who broke in upon me and caught me; they were very angry with me, so I was forced to finish my work whether I would or no. And now I do not see how I can find any further shift for getting out of this marriage. My parents are putting great pressure upon me, and my son chafes at the ravages the suitors are making upon his estate, for he is now old enough to understand all about it and is perfectly able to look after his own affairs, for heaven has blessed him with an excellent disposition. Still, notwithstanding all this, tell me who you are and where you come from - for you must have had father and mother of some sort; you cannot be the son of an oak or of a rock."

τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

ξεῖνʼ, ἦ τοι μὲν ἐμὴν ἀρετὴν εἶδός τε δέμας τε

ὤλεσαν ἀθάνατοι, ὅτε Ἴλιον εἰσανέβαινον

Ἀργεῖοι, μετὰ τοῖσι δʼ ἐμὸς πόσις ᾖεν Ὀδυσσεύς

εἰ κεῖνός γʼ ἐλθὼν τὸν ἐμὸν βίον ἀμφιπολεύοι,

μεῖζον κε κλέος εἴη ἐμὸν καὶ κάλλιον οὕτως.

νῦν δʼ ἄχομαι· τόσα γάρ μοι ἐπέσσευεν κακὰ δαίμων.

ὅσσοι γὰρ νήσοισιν ἐπικρατέουσιν ἄριστοι,

Δουλιχίῳ τε Σάμῃ τε καὶ ὑλήεντι Ζακύνθῳ,

οἵ τʼ αὐτὴν Ἰθάκην εὐδείελον ἀμφινέμονται,

οἵ μʼ ἀεκαζομένην μνῶνται, τρύχουσι δὲ οἶκον.

τῷ οὔτε ξείνων ἐμπάξομαι οὔθʼ ἱκετάων

οὔτε τι κηρύκων, οἳ δημιοεργοὶ ἔασιν·

ἀλλʼ Ὀδυσῆ ποθέουσα φίλον κατατήκομαι ἦτορ.

οἱ δὲ γάμον σπεύδουσιν· ἐγὼ δὲ δόλους τολυπεύω.

φᾶρος μέν μοι πρῶτον ἐνέπνευσε φρεσὶ δαίμων,

στησαμένῃ μέγαν ἱστόν, ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ὑφαίνειν,

λεπτὸν καὶ περίμετρον· ἄφαρ δʼ αὐτοῖς μετέειπον·

κοῦροι, ἐμοὶ μνηστῆρες, ἐπεὶ θάνε δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,

μίμνετʼ ἐπειγόμενοι τὸν ἐμὸν γάμον, εἰς ὅ κε φᾶρος

ἐκτελέσω—μή μοι μεταμώνια νήματʼ ὄληται—

Λαέρτῃ ἥρωϊ ταφήϊον, εἰς ὅτε κέν μιν

μοῖρʼ ὀλοὴ καθέλῃσι τανηλεγέος θανάτοιο·

μή τίς μοι κατὰ δῆμον Ἀχαιϊάδων νεμεσήσῃ,

αἴ κεν ἄτερ σπείρου κεῖται πολλὰ κτεατίσσας.

ὣς ἐφάμην, τοῖσιν δʼ ἐπεπείθετο θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ.

ἔνθα καὶ ἠματίη μὲν ὑφαίνεσκον μέγαν ἱστόν,

νύκτας δʼ ἀλλύεσκον, ἐπεὶ δαΐδας παραθείμην.

ὣς τρίετες μὲν ἔληθον ἐγὼ καὶ ἔπειθον Ἀχαιούς·

ἀλλʼ ὅτε τέτρατον ἦλθεν ἔτος καὶ ἐπήλυθον ὧραι,

μηνῶν φθινόντων, περὶ δʼ ἤματα πόλλʼ ἐτελέσθη,

καὶ τότε δή με διὰ δμῳάς, κύνας οὐκ ἀλεγούσας,

εἷλον ἐπελθόντες καὶ ὁμόκλησαν ἐπέεσσιν.

ὣς τὸ μὲν ἐξετέλεσσα, καὶ οὐκ ἐθέλουσʼ, ὑπʼ ἀνάγκης·

νῦν δʼ οὔτʼ ἐκφυγέειν δύναμαι γάμον οὔτε τινʼ ἄλλην

μῆτιν ἔθʼ εὑρίσκω· μάλα δʼ ὀτρύνουσι τοκῆες

γήμασθʼ, ἀσχαλάᾳ δὲ πάϊς βίοτον κατεδόντων,

γιγνώσκων· ἤδη γὰρ ἀνὴρ οἶός τε μάλιστα

οἴκου κήδεσθαι, τῷ τε Ζεὺς κῦδος ὀπάζει.

ἀλλὰ καὶ ὥς μοι εἰπὲ τεὸν γένος, ὁππόθεν ἐσσί.

οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ δρυός ἐσσι παλαιφάτου οὐδʼ ἀπὸ πέτρης.

Then Odysseus answered, "Lady, wife of Odysseus, since you persist in asking me about my family, I will answer, no matter what it costs me: people must expect to be pained [ akhos ] when they have been exiles as long as I have, and suffered as much among as many peoples. Nevertheless, as regards your question I will tell you all you ask. There is a fair and fruitful island in mid-ocean called Crete ; it is thickly peopled and there are ninety cities in it: the people speak many different languages which overlap one another, for there are Achaeans, brave Eteocretans, Dorians of three-fold race, and noble Pelasgi. There is a great town there, Knossos , where Minos reigned who every nine years had a conference with Zeus himself. Minos was father to Deukalion, whose son I am, for Deukalion had two sons Idomeneus and myself. Idomeneus sailed for Troy , and I, who am the younger, am called Aithon; my brother, however, was at once the older and the more valiant of the two; hence it was in Crete that I saw Odysseus and showed him hospitality, for the winds took him there as he was on his way to Troy , carrying him out of his course from cape Malea and leaving him in Amnisos off the cave of Eileithuia, where the harbors are difficult to enter and he could hardly find shelter from the winds that were then raging. As soon as he got there he went into the town and asked for Idomeneus, claiming to be his old and valued friend, but Idomeneus had already set sail for Troy some ten or twelve days earlier, so I took him to my own house and showed him every kind of hospitality, for I had abundance of everything. Moreover, I fed the men who were with him with barley meal from the public store, and got subscriptions of wine and oxen for them to sacrifice to their heart's content. They stayed with me twelve days, for there was a gale blowing from the North so strong that one could hardly keep one's feet on land. I suppose some unfriendly daimôn had raised it for them, but on the thirteenth day the wind dropped, and they got away."

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ὦ γύναι αἰδοίη Λαερτιάδεω Ὀδυσῆος,

οὐκέτʼ ἀπολλήξεις τὸν ἐμὸν γόνον ἐξερέουσα;

ἀλλʼ ἔκ τοι ἐρέω· ἦ μέν μʼ ἀχέεσσί γε δώσεις

πλείοσιν ἢ ἔχομαι· ἡ γὰρ δίκη, ὁππότε πάτρης

ἧς ἀπέῃσιν ἀνὴρ τόσσον χρόνον ὅσσον ἐγὼ νῦν,

πολλὰ βροτῶν ἐπὶ ἄστεʼ ἀλώμενος, ἄλγεα πάσχων·

ἀλλὰ καὶ ὣς ἐρέω ὅ μʼ ἀνείρεαι ἠδὲ μεταλλᾷς.

Κρήτη τις γαῖʼ ἔστι, μέσῳ ἐνὶ οἴνοπι πόντῳ,

καλὴ καὶ πίειρα, περίρρυτος· ἐν δʼ ἄνθρωποι

πολλοί, ἀπειρέσιοι, καὶ ἐννήκοντα πόληες.

ἄλλη δʼ ἄλλων γλῶσσα μεμιγμένη· ἐν μὲν Ἀχαιοί,

ἐν δʼ Ἐτεόκρητες μεγαλήτορες, ἐν δὲ Κύδωνες,

Δωριέες τε τριχάϊκες δῖοί τε Πελασγοί.

τῇσι δʼ ἐνὶ Κνωσός, μεγάλη πόλις, ἔνθα τε Μίνως

ἐννέωρος βασίλευε Διὸς μεγάλου ὀαριστής,

πατρὸς ἐμοῖο πατήρ, μεγαθύμου Δευκαλίωνος

Δευκαλίων δʼ ἐμὲ τίκτε καὶ Ἰδομενῆα ἄνακτα·

ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν ἐν νήεσσι κορωνίσιν Ἴλιον ἴσω

ᾤχεθʼ ἅμʼ Ἀτρείδῃσιν, ἐμοὶ δʼ ὄνομα κλυτὸν Αἴθων,

ὁπλότερος γενεῇ· ὁ δʼ ἄρα πρότερος καὶ ἀρείων.

ἔνθʼ Ὀδυσῆα ἐγὼν ἰδόμην καὶ ξείνια δῶκα.

καὶ γὰρ τὸν Κρήτηνδε κατήγαγεν ἲς ἀνέμοιο,

ἱέμενον Τροίηνδε παραπλάγξασα Μαλειῶν·

στῆσε δʼ ἐν Ἀμνισῷ, ὅθι τε σπέος Εἰλειθυίης,

ἐν λιμέσιν χαλεποῖσι, μόγις δʼ ὑπάλυξεν ἀέλλας.

αὐτίκα δʼ Ἰδομενῆα μετάλλα ἄστυδʼ ἀνελθών·

ξεῖνον γάρ οἱ ἔφασκε φίλον τʼ ἔμεν αἰδοῖόν τε.

τῷ δʼ ἤδη δεκάτη ἢ ἑνδεκάτη πέλεν ἠὼς

οἰχομένῳ σὺν νηυσὶ κορωνίσιν Ἴλιον εἴσω.

τὸν μὲν ἐγὼ πρὸς δώματʼ ἄγων ἐῢ ἐξείνισσα,

ἐνδυκέως φιλέων, πολλῶν κατὰ οἶκον ἐόντων·

καί οἱ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἑτάροις, οἳ ἅμʼ αὐτῷ ἕποντο,

δημόθεν ἄλφιτα δῶκα καὶ αἴθοπα οἶνον ἀγείρας

καὶ βοῦς ἱρεύσασθαι, ἵνα πλησαίατο θυμόν.

ἔνθα δυώδεκα μὲν μένον ἤματα δῖοι Ἀχαιοί·

εἴλει γὰρ Βορέης ἄνεμος μέγας οὐδʼ ἐπὶ γαίῃ

εἴα ἵστασθαι, χαλεπὸς δέ τις ὤρορε δαίμων.

τῇ τρισκαιδεκάτῃ δʼ ἄνεμος πέσε, τοὶ δʼ ἀνάγοντο.

Many a plausible tale did Odysseus further tell her, and Penelope wept as she listened, for her heart was melted. As the snow wastes upon the mountain tops when the winds from South East and West have breathed upon it and thawed it till the rivers run bank full with water, even so did her cheeks overflow with tears for the husband who was all the time sitting by her side. Odysseus felt for her and was for her, but he kept his eyes as hard as or iron without letting them so much as quiver, so cunningly did he restrain his tears. Then, when she had relieved herself by weeping, she turned to him again and said: "Now, stranger, I shall put you to the test and see whether or not you really did entertain my husband and his men, as you say you did. Tell me, then, how he was dressed, what kind of a man he was to look at, and so also with his companions."

ἴσκε ψεύδεα πολλὰ λέγων ἐτύμοισιν ὁμοῖα·

τῆς δʼ ἄρʼ ἀκουούσης ῥέε δάκρυα, τήκετο δὲ χρώς·

ὡς δὲ χιὼν κατατήκετʼ ἐν ἀκροπόλοισιν ὄρεσσιν,

ἥν τʼ Εὖρος κατέτηξεν, ἐπὴν Ζέφυρος καταχεύῃ·

τηκομένης δʼ ἄρα τῆς ποταμοὶ πλήθουσι ῥέοντες·

ὣς τῆς τήκετο καλὰ παρήϊα δάκρυ χεούσης,

κλαιούσης ἑὸν ἄνδρα παρήμενον. αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς

θυμῷ μὲν γοόωσαν ἑὴν ἐλέαιρε γυναῖκα,

ὀφθαλμοὶ δʼ ὡς εἰ κέρα ἕστασαν ἠὲ σίδηρος

ἀτρέμας ἐν βλεφάροισι· δόλῳ δʼ ὅ γε δάκρυα κεῦθεν.

ἡ δʼ ἐπεὶ οὖν τάρφθη πολυδακρύτοιο γόοιο,

ἐξαῦτίς μιν ἔπεσσιν ἀμειβομένη προσέειπε·

νῦν μὲν δή σευ, ξεῖνέ γʼ, ὀΐω πειρήσεσθαι,

εἰ ἐτεὸν δὴ κεῖθι σὺν ἀντιθέοις ἑτάροισι

ξείνισας ἐν μεγάροισιν ἐμὸν πόσιν, ὡς ἀγορεύεις.

εἰπέ μοι ὁπποῖʼ ἄσσα περὶ χροῒ εἵματα ἕστο,

αὐτός θʼ οἷος ἔην, καὶ ἑταίρους, οἵ οἱ ἕποντο.

"Lady," answered Odysseus, "it is such a long time ago that I can hardly say. Twenty years are come and gone since he left my home, and went elsewhere; but I will tell you as well as I can recollect. Odysseus wore a mantle of purple wool, double lined, and it was fastened by a gold brooch with two catches for the pin. On the face of this there was a device that showed a dog holding a spotted fawn between his fore paws, and watching it as it lay panting upon the ground. Every one marveled at the way in which these things had been done in gold, the dog looking at the fawn, and strangling it, while the fawn was struggling convulsively to escape. As for the shirt that he wore next his skin, it was so soft that it fitted him like the skin of an onion, and glistened in the sunlight to the admiration of all the women who beheld it. Furthermore I say, and lay my saying to your heart, that I do not know whether Odysseus wore these clothes when he left home, or whether one of his companions had given them to him while he was on his voyage; or possibly some one at whose house he was staying made him a present of them, for he was a man of many friends and had few equals among the Achaeans. I myself gave him a sword of bronze and a beautiful purple mantle, double lined, with a shirt that went down to his feet, and I sent him on board his ship with every mark of honor. He had a servant with him, a little older than himself, and I can tell you what he was like; his shoulders were hunched, he was dark, and he had thick curly hair. His name was Eurybates, and Odysseus treated him with greater familiarity than he did any of the others, as being the most like-minded with himself."

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ὦ γύναι, ἀργαλέον τόσσον χρόνον ἀμφὶς ἐόντα

εἰπέμεν· ἤδη γάρ οἱ ἐεικοστὸν ἔτος ἐστὶν

ἐξ οὗ κεῖθεν ἔβη καὶ ἐμῆς ἀπελήλυθε πάτρης·

αὐτάρ τοι ἐρέω ὥς μοι ἰνδάλλεται ἦτορ.

χλαῖναν πορφυρέην οὔλην ἔχε δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,

διπλῆν· αὐτάρ οἱ περόνη χρυσοῖο τέτυκτο

αὐλοῖσιν διδύμοισι· πάροιθε δὲ δαίδαλον ἦεν·

ἐν προτέροισι πόδεσσι κύων ἔχε ποικίλον ἐλλόν,

ἀσπαίροντα λάων· τὸ δὲ θαυμάζεσκον ἅπαντες,

ὡς οἱ χρύσεοι ἐόντες ὁ μὲν λάε νεβρὸν ἀπάγχων,

αὐτὰρ ὁ ἐκφυγέειν μεμαὼς ἤσπαιρε πόδεσσι.

τὸν δὲ χιτῶνʼ ἐνόησα περὶ χροῒ σιγαλόεντα,

οἷόν τε κρομύοιο λοπὸν κάτα ἰσχαλέοιο·

τὼς μὲν ἔην μαλακός, λαμπρὸς δʼ ἦν ἠέλιος ὥς·

ἦ μὲν πολλαί γʼ αὐτὸν ἐθηήσαντο γυναῖκες.

ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·

οὐκ οἶδʼ ἢ τάδε ἕστο περὶ χροῒ οἴκοθʼ Ὀδυσσεύς,

ἦ τις ἑταίρων δῶκε θοῆς ἐπὶ νηὸς ἰόντι,

ἤ τίς που καὶ ξεῖνος, ἐπεὶ πολλοῖσιν Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἔσκε φίλος· παῦροι γὰρ Ἀχαιῶν ἦσαν ὁμοῖοι.

καί οἱ ἐγὼ χάλκειον ἄορ καὶ δίπλακα δῶκα

καλὴν πορφυρέην καὶ τερμιόεντα χιτῶνα,

αἰδοίως δʼ ἀπέπεμπον ἐϋσσέλμου ἐπὶ νηός.

καὶ μέν οἱ κῆρυξ ὀλίγον προγενέστερος αὐτοῦ

εἵπετο· καὶ τόν τοι μυθήσομαι, οἷος ἔην περ.

γυρὸς ἐν ὤμοισιν, μελανόχροος, οὐλοκάρηνος,

Εὐρυβάτης δʼ ὄνομʼ ἔσκε· τίεν δέ μιν ἔξοχον ἄλλων

ὧν ἑτάρων Ὀδυσεύς, ὅτι οἱ φρεσὶν ἄρτια ᾔδη.

Penelope was moved still more deeply as she heard the indisputable proofs [ sêmata ] that Odysseus laid before her; and when she had again found relief in tears she said to him, "Stranger, I was already disposed to pity you, but henceforth you shall be honored and made welcome in my house. It was I who gave Odysseus the clothes you speak of. I took them out of the store room and folded them up myself, and I gave him also the gold brooch to wear as an ornament. Alas! I shall never welcome him home again. It was by an ill fate that he ever set out for that detested city whose very name I cannot bring myself even to mention."

ὣς φάτο, τῇ δʼ ἔτι μᾶλλον ὑφʼ ἵμερον ὦρσε γόοιο,

σήματʼ ἀναγνούσῃ τά οἱ ἔμπεδα πέφραδʼ Ὀδυσσεύς.

ἡ δʼ ἐπεὶ οὖν τάρφθη πολυδακρύτοιο γόοιο.

καὶ τότε μιν μύθοισιν ἀμειβομένη προσέειπε·

νῦν μὲν δή μοι, ξεῖνε, πάρος περ ἐὼν ἐλεεινός,

ἐν μεγάροισιν ἐμοῖσι φίλος τʼ ἔσῃ αἰδοῖός τε·

αὐτὴ γὰρ τάδε εἵματʼ ἐγὼ πόρον, οἷʼ ἀγορεύεις,

πτύξασʼ ἐκ θαλάμου, περόνην τʼ ἐπέθηκα φαεινὴν

κείνῳ ἄγαλμʼ ἔμεναι· τὸν δʼ οὐχ ὑποδέξομαι αὖτις

οἴκαδε νοστήσαντα φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν.

τῷ ῥα κακῇ αἴσῃ κοίλης ἐπὶ νηὸς Ὀδυσσεὺς

ᾤχετʼ ἐποψόμενος Κακοΐλιον οὐκ ὀνομαστήν.

Then Odysseus answered, "Lady, wife of Odysseus, do not disfigure yourself further by grieving thus bitterly for your loss, though I can hardly blame you for doing so. A woman who has loved her husband and borne him children, would naturally be grieved at losing him, even though he were a worse man than Odysseus, who they say was like a god. Still, cease your tears and listen to what I can tell. I will hide nothing from you, and can say with perfect truth that I have lately heard of Odysseus as being alive and on his way home [ nostos ]; he is in the district [ dêmos ] of the Thesprotians, and is bringing back much valuable treasure that he has begged from one and another of them; but his ship and all his crew were lost as they were leaving the Thrinacian island, for Zeus and the sun-god were angry with him because his men had slaughtered the sun-god's cattle, and they were all drowned to a man. But Odysseus stuck to the keel of the ship and was drifted on to the land of the Phaeacians, who are near of kin to the immortals, and who treated him as though he had been a god, giving him many presents, and wishing to escort him home safe and sound. In fact Odysseus would have been here long ago, had he not thought better to go from land to land gathering wealth; for there is no man living who is so wily [ kerdos ] as he is; there is no one can compare with him. Pheidon king of the Thesprotians told me all this, and he swore to me - making drink-offerings in his house as he did so - that the ship was by the water side and the crew found who would take Odysseus to his own country. He sent me off first, for there happened to be a Thesprotian ship sailing for the wheat-growing island of Dulichium, but he showed me all the treasure Odysseus had got together, and he had enough lying in the house of king Pheidon to keep his family for ten generations; but the king said Odysseus had gone to Dodona that he might learn Zeus’ mind from the high oak tree, and know whether after so long an absence he should return to Ithaca openly or in secret. So you may know he is safe and will be here shortly; he is close at hand and cannot remain away from home much longer; nevertheless I will confirm my words with an oath, and call Zeus who is the first and mightiest of all gods to witness, as also that hearth of Odysseus to which I have now come, that all I have spoken shall surely come to pass. Odysseus will return in this self same year; with the end of this moon and the beginning of the next he will be here."

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ὦ γύναι αἰδοίη Λαερτιάδεω Ὀδυσῆος,

μηκέτι νῦν χρόα καλὸν ἐναίρεο, μηδέ τι θυμὸν

τῆκε, πόσιν γοόωσα. νεμεσσῶμαί γε μὲν οὐδέν·

καὶ γάρ τίς τʼ ἀλλοῖον ὀδύρεται ἄνδρʼ ὀλέσασα

κουρίδιον, τῷ τέκνα τέκῃ φιλότητι μιγεῖσα,

ἢ Ὀδυσῆʼ, ὅν φασι θεοῖς ἐναλίγκιον εἶναι.

ἀλλὰ γόου μὲν παῦσαι, ἐμεῖο δὲ σύνθεο μῦθον·

νημερτέως γάρ τοι μυθήσομαι οὐδʼ ἐπικεύσω

ὡς ἤδη Ὀδυσῆος ἐγὼ περὶ νόστου ἄκουσα

ἀγχοῦ, Θεσπρωτῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐν πίονι δήμῳ,

ζωοῦ· αὐτὰρ ἄγει κειμήλια πολλὰ καὶ ἐσθλὰ

αἰτίζων ἀνὰ δῆμον. ἀτὰρ ἐρίηρας ἑταίρους

ὤλεσε καὶ νῆα γλαφυρὴν ἐνὶ οἴνοπι πόντῳ,

Θρινακίης ἄπο νήσου ἰών· ὀδύσαντο γὰρ αὐτῷ

Ζεύς τε καὶ Ἠέλιος· τοῦ γὰρ βόας ἔκταν ἑταῖροι.

οἱ μὲν πάντες ὄλοντο πολυκλύστῳ ἐνὶ πόντῳ·

τὸν δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπὶ τρόπιος νεὸς ἔκβαλε κῦμʼ ἐπὶ χέρσου,

Φαιήκων ἐς γαῖαν, οἳ ἀγχίθεοι γεγάασιν,

οἳ δή μιν περὶ κῆρι θεὸν ὣς τιμήσαντο

καί οἱ πολλὰ δόσαν πέμπειν τέ μιν ἤθελον αὐτοὶ

οἴκαδʼ ἀπήμαντον. καί κεν πάλαι ἐνθάδʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἤην· ἀλλʼ ἄρα οἱ τό γε κέρδιον εἴσατο θυμῷ,

χρήματʼ ἀγυρτάζειν πολλὴν ἐπὶ γαῖαν ἰόντι·

ὣς περὶ κέρδεα πολλὰ καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων

οἶδʼ Ὀδυσεύς, οὐδʼ ἄν τις ἐρίσσειε βροτὸς ἄλλος.

ὥς μοι Θεσπρωτῶν βασιλεὺς μυθήσατο Φείδων·

ὤμνυε δὲ πρὸς ἔμʼ αὐτόν, ἀποσπένδων ἐνὶ οἴκῳ,

νῆα κατειρύσθαι καὶ ἐπαρτέας ἔμμεν ἑταίρους,

οἳ δή μιν πέμψουσι φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν.

ἀλλʼ ἐμὲ πρὶν ἀπέπεμψε· τύχησε γὰρ ἐρχομένη νηῦς

ἀνδρῶν Θεσπρωτῶν ἐς Δουλίχιον πολύπυρον.

καί μοι κτήματʼ ἔδειξεν, ὅσα ξυναγείρατʼ Ὀδυσσεύς·

καί νύ κεν ἐς δεκάτην γενεὴν ἕτερόν γʼ ἔτι βόσκοι,

ὅσσα οἱ ἐν μεγάροις κειμήλια κεῖτο ἄνακτος.

τὸν δʼ ἐς Δωδώνην φάτο βήμεναι, ὄφρα θεοῖο

ἐκ δρυὸς ὑψικόμοιο Διὸς βουλὴν ἐπακούσαι,

ὅππως νοστήσειε φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν

ἤδη δὴν ἀπεών, ἤ ἀμφαδὸν ἦε κρυφηδόν.

ὣς ὁ μὲν οὕτως ἐστὶ σόος καὶ ἐλεύσεται ἤδη

ἄγχι μάλʼ, οὐδʼ ἔτι τῆλε φίλων καὶ πατρίδος αἴης

δηρὸν ἀπεσσεῖται· ἔμπης δέ τοι ὅρκια δώσω.

ἴστω νῦν Ζεὺς πρῶτα, θεῶν ὕπατος καὶ ἄριστος,

ἱστίη τʼ Ὀδυσῆος ἀμύμονος, ἣν ἀφικάνω·

ἦ μέν τοι τάδε πάντα τελείεται ὡς ἀγορεύω.

τοῦδʼ αὐτοῦ λυκάβαντος ἐλεύσεται ἐνθάδʼ Ὀδυσσεύς,

τοῦ μὲν φθίνοντος μηνός, τοῦ δʼ ἱσταμένοιο.

"May it be even so," answered Penelope; "if your words come true you shall have such gifts and such good will from me that all who see you shall congratulate you; but I know very well how it will be. Odysseus will not return, neither will you get your escort hence, for so surely as that Odysseus ever was, there are now no longer any such masters in the house as he was, to receive honorable strangers or to further them on their way home. And now, you maids, wash his feet for him, and make him a bed on a couch with rugs and blankets, that he may be warm and quiet till morning. Then, at day break wash him and anoint him again, that he may sit in the room and take his meals with Telemakhos. It shall be the worse for any one of these hateful people who is uncivil to him; like it or not, he shall have no more to do in this house. For how, sir, shall you be able to learn whether or no I am superior to others of my sex both in goodness of heart and understanding [ noos ], if I let you dine in my cloisters squalid and ill clad? Men live but for a little season; if they are hard, and deal hardly, people wish them ill so long as they are alive, and speak contemptuously of them when they are dead, but he that is righteous and deals righteously, the people tell of his praise [ kleos ] among all lands, and many shall call him blessed."

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

αἲ γὰρ τοῦτο, ξεῖνε, ἔπος τετελεσμένον εἴη·

τῷ κε τάχα γνοίης φιλότητά τε πολλά τε δῶρα

ἐξ ἐμεῦ, ὡς ἄν τίς σε συναντόμενος μακαρίζοι.

ἀλλά μοι ὧδʼ ἀνὰ θυμὸν ὀΐεται, ὡς ἔσεταί περ·

οὔτʼ Ὀδυσεὺς ἔτι οἶκον ἐλεύσεται, οὔτε σὺ πομπῆς

τεύξῃ, ἐπεὶ οὐ τοῖοι σημάντορές εἰσʼ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ

οἷος Ὀδυσσεὺς ἔσκε μετʼ ἀνδράσιν, εἴ ποτʼ ἔην γε,

ξείνους αἰδοίους ἀποπεμπέμεν ἠδὲ δέχεσθαι.

ἀλλά μιν, ἀμφίπολοι, ἀπονίψατε, κάτθετε δʼ εὐνήν,

δέμνια καὶ χλαίνας καὶ ῥήγεα σιγαλόεντα,

ὥς κʼ εὖ θαλπιόων χρυσόθρονον Ἠῶ ἵκηται.

ἠῶθεν δὲ μάλʼ ἦρι λοέσσαι τε χρῖσαί τε,

ὥς κʼ ἔνδον παρὰ Τηλεμάχῳ δείπνοιο μέδηται

ἥμενος ἐν μεγάρῳ· τῷ δʼ ἄλγιον ὅς κεν ἐκείνων

τοῦτον ἀνιάζῃ θυμοφθόρος· οὐδέ τι ἔργον

ἐνθάδʼ ἔτι πρήξει, μάλα περ κεχολωμένος αἰνῶς.

πῶς γὰρ ἐμεῦ σύ, ξεῖνε, δαήσεαι εἴ τι γυναικῶν

ἀλλάων περίειμι νόον καὶ ἐπίφρονα μῆτιν,

εἴ κεν ἀϋσταλέος, κακὰ εἱμένος ἐν μεγάροισιν

δαινύῃ; ἄνθρωποι δὲ μινυνθάδιοι τελέθουσιν.

ὃς μὲν ἀπηνὴς αὐτὸς ἔῃ καὶ ἀπηνέα εἰδῇ,

τῷ δὲ καταρῶνται πάντες βροτοὶ ἄλγεʼ ὀπίσσω

ζωῷ, ἀτὰρ τεθνεῶτί γʼ ἐφεψιόωνται ἅπαντες·

ὃς δʼ ἂν ἀμύμων αὐτὸς ἔῃ καὶ ἀμύμονα εἰδῇ,

τοῦ μέν τε κλέος εὐρὺ δὶα ξεῖνοι φορέουσι

πάντας ἐπʼ ἀνθρώπους, πολλοί τέ μιν ἐσθλὸν ἔειπον.

Odysseus answered, "Lady, I have foresworn rugs and blankets from the day that I left the snowy ranges of Crete to go on shipboard. I will lie as I have lain on many a sleepless night hitherto. Night after night have I passed in any rough sleeping place, and waited for morning. Nor, again, do I like having my feet washed; I shall not let any of the young hussies about your house touch my feet; but, if you have any old and respectable woman who has gone through as much trouble as I have, I will allow her to wash them."

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ὦ γύναι αἰδοίη Λαερτιάδεω Ὀδυσῆος,

ἦ τοι ἐμοὶ χλαῖναι καὶ ῥήγεα σιγαλόεντα

ἤχθεθʼ, ὅτε πρῶτον Κρήτης ὄρεα νιφόεντα

νοσφισάμην ἐπὶ νηὸς ἰὼν δολιχηρέτμοιο,

κείω δʼ ὡς τὸ πάρος περ ἀΰπνους νύκτας ἴαυον·

πολλὰς γὰρ δὴ νύκτας ἀεικελίῳ ἐνὶ κοίτῃ

ἄεσα καί τʼ ἀνέμεινα ἐΰθρονον Ἠῶ δῖαν.

οὐδέ τί μοι ποδάνιπτρα ποδῶν ἐπιήρανα θυμῷ

γίγνεται· οὐδὲ γυνὴ ποδὸς ἅψεται ἡμετέροιο

τάων αἵ τοι δῶμα κάτα δρήστειραι ἔασιν,

εἰ μή τις γρηῦς ἔστι παλαιή, κεδνὰ ἰδυῖα,

ἥ τις δὴ τέτληκε τόσα φρεσὶν ὅσσα τʼ ἐγώ περ·

τῇ δʼ οὐκ ἂν φθονέοιμι ποδῶν ἅψασθαι ἐμεῖο.

To this Penelope said, "My dear sir, of all the guests who ever yet came to my house there never was one who spoke in all things with such admirable propriety as you do. There happens to be in the house a most respectable old woman - the same who received my poor dear husband in her arms the night he was born, and nursed him in infancy. She is very feeble now, but she shall wash your feet. Come here," said she, "Eurykleia, and wash your master's age-mate; I suppose Odysseus’ hands and feet are very much the same now as his are, for trouble ages all of us dreadfully fast."

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

ξεῖνε φίλʼ· οὐ γάρ πώ τις ἀνὴρ πεπνυμένος ὧδε

ξείνων τηλεδαπῶν φιλίων ἐμὸν ἵκετο δῶμα,

ὡς σὺ μάλʼ εὐφραδέως πεπνυμένα πάντʼ ἀγορεύεις·

ἔστι δέ μοι γρηῢς πυκινὰ φρεσὶ μήδεʼ ἔχουσα

ἣ κεῖνον δύστηνον ἐῢ τρέφεν ἠδʼ ἀτίταλλε,

δεξαμένη χείρεσσʼ, ὅτε μιν πρῶτον τέκε μήτηρ,

ἥ σε πόδας νίψει, ὀλιγηπελέουσά περ ἔμπης.

ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῦν ἀνστᾶσα, περίφρων Εὐρύκλεια,

νίψον σοῖο ἄνακτος ὁμήλικα· καί που Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἤδη τοιόσδʼ ἐστὶ πόδας τοιόσδε τε χεῖρας·

αἶψα γὰρ ἐν κακότητι βροτοὶ καταγηράσκουσιν.

On these words the old woman covered her face with her hands; she began to weep and made lamentation saying, "My dear child, I cannot think whatever I am to do with you. I am certain no one was ever more god-fearing than yourself, and yet Zeus hates you. No one in the whole world ever burned him more thigh bones, nor gave him finer hecatombs when you prayed you might come to a green old age yourself and see your son grow up to take after you; yet see how he has prevented you alone from ever getting back to your own home. I have no doubt the women in some foreign palace which Odysseus has got to are gibing at him as all these sluts here have been gibing you. I do not wonder at your not choosing to let them wash you after the manner in which they have insulted you; I will wash your feet myself gladly enough, as Penelope has said that I am to do so; I will wash them both for Penelope's sake and for your own, for you have raised the most lively feelings of compassion in my mind; and let me say this moreover, which pray attend to; we have had all kinds of strangers in distress come here before now, but I make bold to say that no one ever yet came who was so like Odysseus in figure, voice, and feet as you are."

ὣς ἄρʼ ἔφη, γρηῢς δὲ κατέσχετο χερσὶ πρόσωπα,

δάκρυα δʼ ἔκβαλε θερμά, ἔπος δʼ ὀλοφυδνὸν ἔειπεν·

ὤ μοι ἐγὼ σέο, τέκνον, ἀμήχανος· ἦ σε περὶ Ζεὺς

ἀνθρώπων ἤχθηρε θεουδέα θυμὸν ἔχοντα.

οὐ γάρ πώ τις τόσσα βροτῶν Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ

πίονα μηρίʼ ἔκηʼ οὐδʼ ἐξαίτους ἑκατόμβας,

ὅσσα σὺ τῷ ἐδίδους, ἀρώμενος ἧος ἵκοιο

γῆράς τε λιπαρὸν θρέψαιό τε φαίδιμον υἱόν·

νῦν δέ τοι οἴῳ πάμπαν ἀφείλετο νόστιμον ἦμαρ.

οὕτω που καὶ κείνῳ ἐφεψιόωντο γυναῖκες

ξείνων τηλεδαπῶν, ὅτε τευ κλυτὰ δώμαθʼ ἵκοιτο,

ὡς σέθεν αἱ κύνες αἵδε καθεψιόωνται ἅπασαι,

τάων νῦν λώβην τε καὶ αἴσχεα πόλλʼ ἀλεείνων

οὐκ ἐάας νίζειν· ἐμὲ δʼ οὐκ ἀέκουσαν ἄνωγε

κούρη Ἰκαρίοιο, περίφρων Πηνελόπεια.

τῷ σε πόδας νίψω ἅμα τʼ αὐτῆς Πηνελοπείης

καὶ σέθεν εἵνεκʼ, ἐπεί μοι ὀρώρεται ἔνδοθι θυμὸς

κήδεσιν. ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῦν ξυνίει ἔπος, ὅττι κεν εἴπω·

πολλοὶ δὴ ξεῖνοι ταλαπείριοι ἐνθάδʼ ἵκοντο,

ἀλλʼ οὔ πώ τινά φημι ἐοικότα ὧδε ἰδέσθαι

ὡς σὺ δέμας φωνήν τε πόδας τʼ Ὀδυσῆϊ ἔοικας.

"Those who have seen us both," answered Odysseus, "have always said we were wonderfully like each other, and now you have noticed it too.

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ὦ γρηῦ, οὕτω φασὶν ὅσοι ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσιν

ἡμέας ἀμφοτέρους, μάλα εἰκέλω ἀλλήλοιϊν

ἔμμεναι, ὡς σύ περ αὐτὴ ἐπιφρονέουσʼ ἀγορεύεις.

Then the old woman took the cauldron in which she was going to wash his feet, and poured plenty of cold water into it, adding hot till the bath was warm enough. Odysseus sat by the fire, but ere long he turned away from the light, for it occurred to him that when the old woman had hold of his leg she would recognize a certain scar which it bore, whereon the whole truth would come out. And indeed as soon as she began washing her master, she at once knew the scar as one that had been given him by a wild boar when he was hunting on Mount Parnassus with his excellent grandfather Autolykos - who was the most accomplished thief and perjurer in the whole world - and with the sons of Autolykos. Hermes himself had endowed him with this gift, for he used to burn the thigh bones of goats and kids to him, so he took pleasure in his companionship. It happened once that Autolykos had gone to the dêmos of Ithaca and had found the child of his daughter just born. As soon as he had done supper Eurykleia set the infant upon his knees and said, "You must find a name for your grandson; you greatly wished that you might have one."

ὣς ἄρʼ ἔφη, γρηῢς δὲ λέβηθʼ ἕλε παμφανόωντα

τοῦ πόδας ἐξαπένιζεν, ὕδωρ δʼ ἐνεχεύατο πουλὺ

ψυχρόν, ἔπειτα δὲ θερμὸν ἐπήφυσεν. αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἷζεν ἐπʼ ἐσχαρόφιν, ποτὶ δὲ σκότον ἐτράπετʼ αἶψα·

αὐτίκα γὰρ κατὰ θυμὸν ὀΐσατο, μή ἑ λαβοῦσα

οὐλὴν ἀμφράσσαιτο καὶ ἀμφαδὰ ἔργα γένοιτο.

νίζε δʼ ἄρʼ ἆσσον ἰοῦσα ἄναχθʼ ἑόν· αὐτίκα δʼ ἔγνω

οὐλήν, τήν ποτέ μιν σῦς ἤλασε λευκῷ ὀδόντι

Παρνησόνδʼ ἐλθόντα μετʼ Αὐτόλυκόν τε καὶ υἷας,

μητρὸς ἑῆς πάτερʼ ἐσθλόν, ὃς ἀνθρώπους ἐκέκαστο

κλεπτοσύνῃ θʼ ὅρκῳ τε· θεὸς δέ οἱ αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν

Ἑρμείας· τῷ γὰρ κεχαρισμένα μηρία καῖεν

ἀρνῶν ἠδʼ ἐρίφων· ὁ δέ οἱ πρόφρων ἅμʼ ὀπήδει.

Αὐτόλυκος δʼ ἐλθὼν Ἰθάκης ἐς πίονα δῆμον

παῖδα νέον γεγαῶτα κιχήσατο θυγατέρος ἧς·

τόν ῥά οἱ Εὐρύκλεια φίλοις ἐπὶ γούνασι θῆκε

παυομένῳ δόρποιο, ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἔκ τʼ ὀνόμαζεν·

Αὐτόλυκʼ, αὐτὸς νῦν ὄνομʼ εὕρεο ὅττι κε θῆαι

παιδὸς παιδὶ φίλῳ· πολυάρητος δέ τοί ἐστιν.

τὴν δʼ αὖτʼ Αὐτόλυκος ἀπαμείβετο φώνησέν τε·

‘Son-in-law and daughter," replied Autolykos, "call the child thus: I am highly displeased with a large number of people in one place and another, both men and women; so name the child ‘Odysseus,’ or the child of anger. When he grows up and comes to visit his mother's family on Mount Parnassus , where my possessions lie, I will make him a present and will send him on his way rejoicing."

γαμβρὸς ἐμὸς θυγάτηρ τε, τίθεσθʼ ὄνομʼ ὅττι κεν εἴπω·

πολλοῖσιν γὰρ ἐγώ γε ὀδυσσάμενος τόδʼ ἱκάνω,

ἀνδράσιν ἠδὲ γυναιξὶν ἀνὰ χθόνα πουλυβότειραν·

τῷ δʼ Ὀδυσεὺς ὄνομʼ ἔστω ἐπώνυμον· αὐτὰρ ἐγώ γε,

ὁππότʼ ἂν ἡβήσας μητρώϊον ἐς μέγα δῶμα

ἔλθῃ Παρνησόνδʼ, ὅθι πού μοι κτήματʼ ἔασι,

τῶν οἱ ἐγὼ δώσω καί μιν χαίροντʼ ἀποπέμψω.

Odysseus, therefore, went to Parnassus to get the presents from Autolykos, who with his sons shook hands with him and gave him welcome. His grandmother Amphithea threw her arms about him, and kissed his head, and both his beautiful eyes, while Autolykos desired his sons to get dinner ready, and they did as he told them. They brought in a five year old bull, flayed it, made it ready and divided it into joints; these they then cut carefully up into smaller pieces and spitted them; they roasted them sufficiently and served the portions round. Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun they feasted, and every man had his full share so that all were satisfied; but when the sun set and it came on dark, they went to bed and enjoyed the boon of sleep.

τῶν ἕνεκʼ ἦλθʼ Ὀδυσεύς, ἵνα οἱ πόροι ἀγλαὰ δῶρα.

τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ Αὐτόλυκός τε καὶ υἱέες Αὐτολύκοιο

χερσίν τʼ ἠσπάζοντο ἔπεσσί τε μειλιχίοισι·

μήτηρ δʼ Ἀμφιθέη μητρὸς περιφῦσʼ Ὀδυσῆϊ

κύσσʼ ἄρα μιν κεφαλήν τε καὶ ἄμφω φάεα καλά.

Αὐτόλυκος δʼ υἱοῖσιν ἐκέκλετο κυδαλίμοισι

δεῖπνον ἐφοπλίσσαι· τοὶ δʼ ὀτρύνοντος ἄκουσαν,

αὐτίκα δʼ εἰσάγαγον βοῦν ἄρσενα πενταέτηρον·

τὸν δέρον ἀμφί θʼ ἕπον, καί μιν διέχευαν ἅπαντα,

μίστυλλόν τʼ ἄρʼ ἐπισταμένως πεῖράν τʼ ὀβελοῖσιν,

ὤπτησάν τε περιφραδέως, δάσσαντό τε μοίρας.

ὣς τότε μὲν πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἐς ἠέλιον καταδύντα

δαίνυντʼ, οὐδέ τι θυμὸς ἐδεύετο δαιτὸς ἐΐσης·

When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, the sons of Autolykos went out with their hounds hunting, and Odysseus went too. They climbed the wooded slopes of Parnassus and soon reached its breezy upland valleys; but as the sun was beginning to beat upon the fields, fresh-risen from the slow still currents of Okeanos, they came to a mountain dell. The dogs were in front searching for the tracks of the beast they were chasing, and after them came the sons of Autolykos, among whom was Odysseus, close behind the dogs, and he had a long spear in his hand. Here was the lair of a huge boar among some thick brushwood, so dense that the wind and rain could not get through it, nor could the sun's rays pierce it, and the ground underneath lay thick with fallen leaves. The boar heard the noise of the men's feet, and the hounds baying on every side as the huntsmen came up to him, so rushed from his lair, raised the bristles on his neck, and stood at bay with fire flashing from his eyes. Odysseus was the first to raise his spear and try to drive it into the brute, but the boar was too quick for him, and charged him sideways, ripping him above the knee with a gash that tore deep though it did not reach the bone. As for the boar, Odysseus hit him on the right shoulder, and the point of the spear went right through him, so that he fell groaning in the dust until the life went out of him. The sons of Autolykos busied themselves with the carcass of the boar, and bound Odysseus’ wound; then, after saying a spell to stop the bleeding, they went home as fast as they could. But when Autolykos and his sons had thoroughly healed Odysseus, they made him some splendid presents, and sent him back to Ithaca with much mutual good will. When he got back, his father and mother were rejoiced to see him, and asked him all about it, and how he had hurt himself to get the scar; so he told them how the boar had ripped him when he was out hunting with Autolykos and his sons on Mount Parnassus.

ἦμος δʼ ἠέλιος κατέδυ καὶ ἐπὶ κνέφας ἦλθεν,

δὴ τότε κοιμήσαντο καὶ ὕπνου δῶρον ἕλοντο.

ἦμος δʼ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,

βάν ῥʼ ἴμεν ἐς θήρην, ἠμὲν κύνες ἠδὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ

υἱέες Αὐτολύκου· μετὰ τοῖσι δὲ δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἤϊεν· αἰπὺ δʼ ὄρος προσέβαν καταειμένον ὕλῃ

Παρνησοῦ, τάχα δʼ ἵκανον πτύχας ἠνεμοέσσας.

Ἠέλιος μὲν ἔπειτα νέον προσέβαλλεν ἀρούρας

ἐξ ἀκαλαρρείταο βαθυρρόου Ὠκεανοῖο,

οἱ δʼ ἐς βῆσσαν ἵκανον ἐπακτῆρες· πρὸ δʼ ἄρʼ αὐτῶν

ἴχνιʼ ἐρευνῶντες κύνες ἤϊσαν, αὐτὰρ ὄπισθεν

υἱέες Αὐτολύκου· μετὰ τοῖσι δὲ δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἤϊεν ἄγχι κυνῶν, κραδάων δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος.

ἔνθα δʼ ἄρʼ ἐν λόχμῃ πυκινῇ κατέκειτο μέγας σῦς·

τὴν μὲν ἄρʼ οὔτʼ ἀνέμων διάει μένος ὑγρὸν ἀέντων,

οὔτε μιν Ἠέλιος φαέθων ἀκτῖσιν ἔβαλλεν,

οὔτʼ ὄμβρος περάασκε διαμπερές· ὣς ἄρα πυκνὴ

ἦεν, ἀτὰρ φύλλων ἐνέην χύσις ἤλιθα πολλή.

τὸν δʼ ἀνδρῶν τε κυνῶν τε περὶ κτύπος ἦλθε ποδοῖϊν,

ὡς ἐπάγοντες ἐπῇσαν· ὁ δʼ ἀντίος ἐκ ξυλόχοιο

φρίξας εὖ λοφιήν, πῦρ δʼ ὀφθαλμοῖσι δεδορκώς,

στῆ ῥʼ αὐτῶν σχεδόθεν· ὁ δʼ ἄρα πρώτιστος Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἔσσυτʼ ἀνασχόμενος δολιχὸν δόρυ χειρὶ παχείῃ,

οὐτάμεναι μεμαώς· ὁ δέ μιν φθάμενος ἔλασεν σῦς

γουνὸς ὕπερ, πολλὸν δὲ διήφυσε σαρκὸς ὀδόντι

λικριφὶς ἀΐξας, οὐδʼ ὀστέον ἵκετο φωτός.

τὸν δʼ Ὀδυσεὺς οὔτησε τυχὼν κατὰ δεξιὸν ὦμον,

ἀντικρὺ δὲ διῆλθε φαεινοῦ δουρὸς ἀκωκή·

κὰδ δʼ ἔπεσʼ ἐν κονίῃσι μακών, ἀπὸ δʼ ἔπτατο θυμός.

τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ Αὐτολύκου παῖδες φίλοι ἀμφεπένοντο,

ὠτειλὴν δʼ Ὀδυσῆος ἀμύμονος ἀντιθέοιο

δῆσαν ἐπισταμένως, ἐπαοιδῇ δʼ αἷμα κελαινὸν

ἔσχεθον, αἶψα δʼ ἵκοντο φίλου πρὸς δώματα πατρός.

τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ Αὐτόλυκός τε καὶ υἱέες Αὐτολύκοιο

εὖ ἰησάμενοι ἠδʼ ἀγλαὰ δῶρα πορόντες

καρπαλίμως χαίροντα φίλην ἐς πατρίδʼ ἔπεμπον

εἰς Ἰθάκην. τῷ μέν ῥα πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ

χαῖρον νοστήσαντι καὶ ἐξερέεινον ἕκαστα,

οὐλὴν ὅττι πάθοι· ὁ δʼ ἄρα σφίσιν εὖ κατέλεξεν

ὥς μιν θηρεύοντʼ ἔλασεν σῦς λευκῷ ὀδόντι,

Παρνησόνδʼ ἐλθόντα σὺν υἱάσιν Αὐτολύκοιο.

As soon as Eurykleia had got the scarred limb in her hands and had well hold of it, she recognized it and dropped the foot at once. The leg fell into the bath, which rang out and was overturned, so that all the water was spilt on the ground; Eurykleia's eyes between her joy and her grief filled with tears, and she could not speak, but she caught Odysseus by the beard and said, "My dear child, I am sure you must be Odysseus himself, only I did not know you till I had actually touched and handled you."

τὴν γρηῢς χείρεσσι καταπρηνέσσι λαβοῦσα

γνῶ ῥʼ ἐπιμασσαμένη, πόδα δὲ προέηκε φέρεσθαι·

ἐν δὲ λέβητι πέσε κνήμη, κανάχησε δὲ χαλκός,

ἂψ δʼ ἑτέρωσʼ ἐκλίθη· τὸ δʼ ἐπὶ χθονὸς ἐξέχυθʼ ὕδωρ.

τὴν δʼ ἅμα χάρμα καὶ ἄλγος ἕλε φρένα, τὼ δέ οἱ ὄσσε

δακρυόφι πλῆσθεν, θαλερὴ δέ οἱ ἔσχετο φωνή.

ἁψαμένη δὲ γενείου Ὀδυσσῆα προσέειπεν·

ἦ μάλʼ Ὀδυσσεύς ἐσσι, φίλον τέκος· οὐδέ σʼ ἐγώ γε

πρὶν ἔγνων, πρὶν πάντα ἄνακτʼ ἐμὸν ἀμφαφάασθαι.

As she spoke she looked towards Penelope, as though wanting to tell her that her dear husband was in the house, but Penelope was unable to look in that direction and observe what was going on, for Athena had diverted her attention [ noos ]; so Odysseus caught Eurykleia by the throat with his right hand and with his left drew her close to him, and said, "Nurse, do you wish to be the ruin of me, you who nursed me at your own breast, now that after twenty years of wandering I am at last come to my own home again? Since it has been borne in upon you by heaven to recognize me, hold your tongue, and do not say a word about it any one else in the house, for if you do I tell you - and it shall surely be - that if heaven grants me to take the lives of these suitors, I will not spare you, though you are my own nurse, when I am killing the other women."

ἦ καὶ Πηνελόπειαν ἐσέδρακεν ὀφθαλμοῖσι,

πεφραδέειν ἐθέλουσα φίλον πόσιν ἔνδον ἐόντα.

ἡ δʼ οὔτʼ ἀθρῆσαι δύνατʼ ἀντίη οὔτε νοῆσαι·

τῇ γὰρ Ἀθηναίη νόον ἔτραπεν· αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς

χεῖρʼ ἐπιμασσάμενος φάρυγος λάβε δεξιτερῆφι,

τῇ δʼ ἑτέρῃ ἕθεν ἆσσον ἐρύσσατο φώνησέν τε.

μαῖα, τίη μʼ ἐθέλεις ὀλέσαι; σὺ δέ μʼ ἔτρεφες αὐτὴ

τῷ σῷ ἐπὶ μαζῷ· νῦν δʼ ἄλγεα πολλὰ μογήσας

ἤλυθον εἰκοστῷ ἔτεϊ ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν.

ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ ἐφράσθης καί τοι θεὸς ἔμβαλε θυμῷ,

σίγα, μή τίς τʼ ἄλλος ἐνὶ μεγάροισι πύθηται.

ὧδε γὰρ ἐξερέω, καὶ μὴν τετελεσμένον ἔσται·

εἴ χʼ ὑπʼ ἐμοί γε θεὸς δαμάσῃ μνηστῆρας ἀγαυούς,

οὐδὲ τροφοῦ οὔσης σεῦ ἀφέξομαι, ὁππότʼ ἂν ἄλλας

δμῳὰς ἐν μεγάροισιν ἐμοῖς κτείνωμι γυναῖκας.

"My child," answered Eurykleia, "what are you talking about? You know very well that nothing can either bend or break me. I will hold my tongue like a stone or a piece of iron; furthermore let me say, and lay my saying to your heart, when heaven has delivered the suitors into your hand, I will give you a list of the women in the house who have been ill-behaved, and of those who are guiltless."

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε περίφρων Εὐρύκλεια·

τέκνον ἐμόν, ποῖόν σε ἔπος φύγεν ἕρκος ὀδόντων.

οἶσθα μὲν οἷον ἐμὸν μένος ἔμπεδον οὐδʼ ἐπιεικτόν,

ἕξω δʼ ὡς ὅτε τις στερεὴ λίθος ἠὲ σίδηρος.

ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·

εἴ χʼ ὑπό σοι γε θεὸς δαμάσῃ μνηστῆρας ἀγαυούς,

δὴ τότε τοι καταλέξω ἐνὶ μεγάροισι γυναῖκας,

αἵ τέ σʼ ἀτιμάζουσι καὶ αἳ νηλείτιδές εἰσι.

And Odysseus answered, "Nurse, you ought not to speak in that way; I am well able to form my own opinion about one and all of them; hold your tongue and leave everything to heaven."

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς

μαῖα, τίη δὲ σὺ τὰς μυθήσεαι; οὐδέ τί σε χρή.

εὖ νυ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐγὼ φράσομαι καὶ εἴσομʼ ἑκάστην·

ἀλλʼ ἔχε σιγῇ μῦθον, ἐπίτρεψον δὲ θεοῖσιν.

As he said this Eurykleia left the room to fetch some more water, for the first had been all spilt; and when she had washed him and anointed him with oil, Odysseus drew his seat nearer to the fire to warm himself, and hid the scar under his rags. Then Penelope began talking to him and said:

ὣς ἄρʼ ἔφη, γρηῢς δὲ διὲκ μεγάροιο βεβήκει

οἰσομένη ποδάνιπτρα· τὰ γὰρ πρότερʼ ἔκχυτο πάντα.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ νίψεν τε καὶ ἤλειψεν λίπʼ ἐλαίῳ,

αὖτις ἄρʼ ἀσσοτέρω πυρὸς ἕλκετο δίφρον Ὀδυσσεὺς

θερσόμενος, οὐλὴν δὲ κατὰ ῥακέεσσι κάλυψε.

τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

"Stranger, I should like to speak with you briefly about another matter. It is indeed nearly bed time - for those, at least, who can sleep in spite of sorrow. As for myself, a daimôn has given me a life of such unmeasurable woe [ penthos ], that even by day when I am attending to my duties and looking after the servants, I am still weeping and lamenting during the whole time; then, when night comes, and we all of us go to bed, I lie awake thinking, and my heart becomes prey to the most incessant and cruel tortures. As the dun nightingale, daughter of Pandareus, sings in the early spring from her seat in shadiest covert hid, and with many a plaintive trill pours out the tale how by mishap she killed her own child Itylos, son of king Zethos, even so does my mind toss and turn in its uncertainty whether I ought to stay with my son here, and safeguard my substance, my bondsmen, and the greatness of my house, out of regard to the opinion of the dêmos and the memory of my late husband, or whether it is not now time for me to go with the best of these suitors who are wooing me and making me such magnificent presents. As long as my son was still young, and unable to understand, he would not hear of my leaving my husband's house, but now that he is full grown he begs and prays me to do so, being incensed at the way in which the suitors are eating up his property. Listen, then, to a dream that I have had and interpret it for me if you can. I have twenty geese about the house that eat mash out of a trough, and of which I am exceedingly fond. I dreamed that a great eagle came swooping down from a mountain, and dug his curved beak into the neck of each of them till he had killed them all. Presently he soared off into the sky, and left them lying dead about the yard; whereon I wept in my room till all my maids gathered round me, so piteously was I grieving because the eagle had killed my geese. Then he came back again, and perching on a projecting rafter spoke to me with human voice, and told me to leave off crying. ‘Be of good courage,’ he said, ‘daughter of Ikarios; this is no dream, but a vision of good omen that shall surely come to pass. The geese are the suitors, and I am no longer an eagle, but your own husband, who am come back to you, and who will bring these suitors to a disgraceful end.’ On this I woke, and when I looked out I saw my geese at the trough eating their mash as usual."

ξεῖνε, τὸ μέν σʼ ἔτι τυτθὸν ἐγὼν εἰρήσομαι αὐτή·

καὶ γὰρ δὴ κοίτοιο τάχʼ ἔσσεται ἡδέος ὥρη,

ὅν τινά γʼ ὕπνος ἕλοι γλυκερός, καὶ κηδόμενόν περ.

αὐτὰρ ἐμοὶ καὶ πένθος ἀμέτρητον πόρε δαίμων·

ἤματα μὲν γὰρ τέρπομʼ ὀδυρομένη, γοόωσα,

ἔς τʼ ἐμὰ ἔργʼ ὁρόωσα καὶ ἀμφιπόλων ἐνὶ οἴκῳ·

αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν νὺξ ἔλθῃ, ἕλῃσί τε κοῖτος ἅπαντας,

κεῖμαι ἐνὶ λέκτρῳ, πυκιναὶ δέ μοι ἀμφʼ ἀδινὸν κῆρ

ὀξεῖαι μελεδῶνες ὀδυρομένην ἐρέθουσιν.

ὡς δʼ ὅτε Πανδαρέου κούρη, χλωρηῒς ἀηδών,

καλὸν ἀείδῃσιν ἔαρος νέον ἱσταμένοιο,

δενδρέων ἐν πετάλοισι καθεζομένη πυκινοῖσιν,

ἥ τε θαμὰ τρωπῶσα χέει πολυηχέα φωνήν,

παῖδʼ ὀλοφυρομένη Ἴτυλον φίλον, ὅν ποτε χαλκῷ

κτεῖνε διʼ ἀφραδίας, κοῦρον Ζήθοιο ἄνακτος,

ὣς καὶ ἐμοὶ δίχα θυμὸς ὀρώρεται ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα,

ἠὲ μένω παρὰ παιδὶ καὶ ἔμπεδα πάντα φυλάσσω,

κτῆσιν ἐμήν, δμῶάς τε καὶ ὑψερεφὲς μέγα δῶμα,

εὐνήν τʼ αἰδομένη πόσιος δήμοιό τε φῆμιν,

ἦ ἤδη ἅμʼ ἕπωμαι Ἀχαιῶν ὅς τις ἄριστος

μνᾶται ἐνὶ μεγάροισι, πορὼν ἀπερείσια ἕδνα.

παῖς δʼ ἐμὸς ἧος ἔην ἔτι νήπιος ἠδὲ χαλίφρων,

γήμασθʼ οὔ μʼ εἴα πόσιος κατὰ δῶμα λιποῦσαν·

νῦν δʼ ὅτε δὴ μέγας ἐστὶ καὶ ἥβης μέτρον ἱκάνει,

καὶ δή μʼ ἀρᾶται πάλιν ἐλθέμεν ἐκ μεγάροιο,

κτήσιος ἀσχαλόων, τήν οἱ κατέδουσιν Ἀχαιοί.

ἀλλʼ ἄγε μοι τὸν ὄνειρον ὑπόκριναι καὶ ἄκουσον.

χῆνές μοι κατὰ οἶκον ἐείκοσι πυρὸν ἔδουσιν

ἐξ ὕδατος, καί τέ σφιν ἰαίνομαι εἰσορόωσα·

ἐλθὼν δʼ ἐξ ὄρεος μέγας αἰετὸς ἀγκυλοχείλης

πᾶσι κατʼ αὐχένας ἦξε καὶ ἔκτανεν· οἱ δʼ ἐκέχυντο

ἀθρόοι ἐν μεγάροις, ὁ δʼ ἐς αἰθέρα δῖαν ἀέρθη.

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ κλαῖον καὶ ἐκώκυον ἔν περ ὀνείρῳ,

ἀμφὶ δʼ ἔμʼ ἠγερέθοντο ἐϋπλοκαμῖδες Ἀχαιαί,

οἴκτρʼ ὀλοφυρομένην ὅ μοι αἰετὸς ἔκτανε χῆνας.

ἂψ δʼ ἐλθὼν κατʼ ἄρʼ ἕζετʼ ἐπὶ προὔχοντι μελάθρῳ,

φωνῇ δὲ βροτέῃ κατερήτυε φώνησέν τε·

θάρσει, Ἰκαρίου κούρη τηλεκλειτοῖο·

οὐκ ὄναρ, ἀλλʼ ὕπαρ ἐσθλόν, ὅ τοι τετελεσμένον ἔσται.

χῆνες μὲν μνηστῆρες, ἐγὼ δέ τοι αἰετὸς ὄρνις

ἦα πάρος, νῦν αὖτε τεὸς πόσις εἰλήλουθα,

ὃς πᾶσι μνηστῆρσιν ἀεικέα πότμον ἐφήσω.

ὣς ἔφατʼ, αὐτὰρ ἐμὲ μελιηδὴς ὕπνος ἀνῆκε·

παπτήνασα δὲ χῆνας ἐνὶ μεγάροισι νόησα

πυρὸν ἐρεπτομένους παρὰ πύελον, ἧχι πάρος περ.

"This dream, lady," replied Odysseus, "can admit but of one interpretation, for had not Odysseus himself told you how it shall be fulfilled? The death of the suitors is portended, and not one single one of them will escape."

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ὦ γύναι, οὔ πως ἔστιν ὑποκρίνασθαι ὄνειρον

ἄλλῃ ἀποκλίναντʼ, ἐπεὶ ἦ ῥά τοι αὐτὸς Ὀδυσσεὺς

πέφραδʼ ὅπως τελέει· μνηστῆρσι δὲ φαίνετʼ ὄλεθρος

πᾶσι μάλʼ, οὐδέ κέ τις θάνατον καὶ κῆρας ἀλύξει.

And Penelope answered, "Stranger, dreams are very curious and unaccountable things, and they do not by any means invariably come true. There are two gates through which these insubstantial fancies proceed; the one is of horn, and the other ivory. Those that come through the gate of ivory are fatuous, but those from the gate of horn mean something to those that see them. I do not think, however, that my own dream came through the gate of horn, though I and my son should be most thankful if it proves to have done so. Furthermore I say - and lay my saying to your heart - the coming dawn will usher in the ill-omened day that is to sever me from the house of Odysseus, for I am about to hold a tournament [ athlos ] of axes. My husband used to set up twelve axes in the court, one in front of the other, like the stays upon which a ship is built; he would then go back from them and shoot an arrow through the whole twelve. I shall make the suitors try to perform the same feat [ athlos ], and whichever of them can string the bow most easily, and send his arrow through all the twelve axes, him will I follow, and quit this house of my lawful husband, so goodly and so abounding in wealth. But even so, I doubt not that I shall remember it in my dreams."

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

ξεῖνʼ, ἦ τοι μὲν ὄνειροι ἀμήχανοι ἀκριτόμυθοι

γίγνοντʼ, οὐδέ τι πάντα τελείεται ἀνθρώποισι.

δοιαὶ γάρ τε πύλαι ἀμενηνῶν εἰσὶν ὀνείρων·

αἱ μὲν γὰρ κεράεσσι τετεύχαται, αἱ δʼ ἐλέφαντι·

τῶν οἳ μέν κʼ ἔλθωσι διὰ πριστοῦ ἐλέφαντος,

οἵ ῥʼ ἐλεφαίρονται, ἔπεʼ ἀκράαντα φέροντες·

οἱ δὲ διὰ ξεστῶν κεράων ἔλθωσι θύραζε,

οἵ ῥʼ ἔτυμα κραίνουσι, βροτῶν ὅτε κέν τις ἴδηται.

ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν ὀΐομαι αἰνὸν ὄνειρον

ἐλθέμεν· ἦ κʼ ἀσπαστὸν ἐμοὶ καὶ παιδὶ γένοιτο.

ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·

ἥδε δὴ ἠὼς εἶσι δυσώνυμος, ἥ μʼ Ὀδυσῆος

οἴκου ἀποσχήσει· νῦν γὰρ καταθήσω ἄεθλον,

τοὺς πελέκεας, τοὺς κεῖνος ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἑοῖσιν

ἵστασχʼ ἑξείης, δρυόχους ὥς, δώδεκα πάντας·

στὰς δʼ ὅ γε πολλὸν ἄνευθε διαρρίπτασκεν ὀϊστόν.

νῦν δὲ μνηστήρεσσιν ἄεθλον τοῦτον ἐφήσω·

ὃς δέ κε ῥηΐτατʼ ἐντανύσῃ βιὸν ἐν παλάμῃσι

καὶ διοϊστεύσῃ πελέκεων δυοκαίδεκα πάντων,

τῷ κεν ἅμʼ ἑσποίμην, νοσφισσαμένη τόδε δῶμα

κουρίδιον, μάλα καλόν, ἐνίπλειον βιότοιο·

τοῦ ποτὲ μεμνήσεσθαι ὀΐομαι ἔν περ ὀνείρῳ.

Then Odysseus answered, "my lady wife of Odysseus, you need not defer your tournament [ athlos ], for Odysseus will return ere ever they can string the bow, handle it how they will, and send their arrows through the iron."

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς

ὦ γύναι αἰδοίη Λαερτιάδεω Ὀδυσῆος,

μηκέτι νῦν ἀνάβαλλε δόμοις ἔνι τοῦτον ἄεθλον·

πρὶν γάρ τοι πολύμητις ἐλεύσεται ἐνθάδʼ Ὀδυσσεύς,

πρὶν τούτους τόδε τόξον ἐΰξοον ἀμφαφόωντας

νευρήν τʼ ἐντανύσαι διοϊστεῦσαί τε σιδήρου.

To this Penelope said, "As long, sir, as you will sit here and talk to me, I can have no desire to go to bed. Still, people cannot do permanently without sleep, and heaven has appointed us dwellers on earth a time for all things. I will therefore go upstairs and recline upon that couch which I have never ceased to flood with my tears from the day Odysseus set out for the city with a hateful name."

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

εἴ κʼ ἐθέλοις μοι, ξεῖνε, παρήμενος ἐν μεγάροισι

τέρπειν, οὔ κέ μοι ὕπνος ἐπὶ βλεφάροισι χυθείη.

ἀλλʼ οὐ γάρ πως ἔστιν ἀΰπνους ἔμμεναι αἰεὶ

ἀνθρώπους· ἐπὶ γάρ τοι ἑκάστῳ μοῖραν ἔθηκαν

ἀθάνατοι θνητοῖσιν ἐπὶ ζείδωρον ἄρουραν.

ἀλλʼ ἦ τοι μὲν ἐγὼν ὑπερώϊον εἰσαναβᾶσα

λέξομαι εἰς εὐνήν, ἥ μοι στονόεσσα τέτυκται,

αἰεὶ δάκρυσʼ ἐμοῖσι πεφυρμένη, ἐξ οὗ Ὀδυσσεὺς

ᾤχετʼ ἐποψόμενος Κακοΐλιον οὐκ ὀνομαστήν.

ἔνθα κε λεξαίμην· σὺ δὲ λέξεο τῷδʼ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ,

ἢ χαμάδις στορέσας ἤ τοι κατὰ δέμνια θέντων.

She then went upstairs to her own room, not alone, but attended by her maidens, and when there, she lamented her dear husband till Athena shed sweet sleep over her eyelids.

ὣς εἰποῦσʼ ἀνέβαινʼ ὑπερώϊα σιγαλόεντα,

οὐκ οἴη, ἅμα τῇ γε καὶ ἀμφίπολοι κίον ἄλλαι.

ἐς δʼ ὑπερῷʼ ἀναβᾶσα σὺν ἀμφιπόλοισι γυναιξὶ

κλαῖεν ἔπειτʼ Ὀδυσῆα, φίλον πόσιν, ὄφρα οἱ ὕπνον

ἡδὺν ἐπὶ βλεφάροισι βάλε γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη.