The Odyssey, Page 36

  "Eat, my strange guest, and enjoy what's offered here,

  such as it is. A god will give one thing, but let another go,

  just as the whim takes him. He can do anything ."

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  So he spoke, and offered the firstlings to the gods that are forever,

  poured bright wine in libation, then put the cup in the hands

  of Odysseus, sacker of cities, and sat down by his portion.

  Bread was served to them by Mesaulios, whom the swineherd

  had acquired by himself, during his master's absence,

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  unknown to his mistress and to the aged Laertes,

  purchasing him from the Taphians with his own resources.

  So they reached out their hands to the good things ready for them.

  But when they had satisfied their desire for food and drink,

  Mesaulios took off the bread, and they hastened to retire,

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  filled to repletion with all the bread and meat they'd eaten.

  Now night came on--bad weather, the dark of the moon. Zeus rained

  the whole night through. A strong wet west wind kept blowing.

  Then Odysseus spoke among them, making trial of the swineherd:

  would he strip off his own cloak and give it him, or tell

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  one of his comrades to do so, since he cared for him so much?

  ''Hear me out now, Eumaios, and you, all his other comrades,

  while I tell you a boastful story. It's the wine that's urging me--

  mind-crazing stuff, that sets on even the quick-witted

  to singing and gentle laughter, drives him to get up and dance,

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  or to make some remark better left unspoken. However,

  now that I've opened up, I won't keep quiet about it.

  I wish I was young again and my strength still undiminished,

  like the time we prepared an ambush, and led it beneath Troy's walls.

  The leaders were Odysseus and Atreus' son Menelaos,

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  and I was the third in command, at their own invitation.

  When we came up under the city and its sheer wall,

  around the outskirts, in the thick brushwood, among

  the reeds and marshes, crouching down under our arms

  we lay. A bad night came on when the north wind dropped.

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  It grew chilly. Snow descended on us like hoar frost,

  freezing cold. Ice crystals formed upon our shields.

  Now all the rest were equipped with cloaks and tunics

  and slept in peace, their shields pulled over their shoulders,

  but when I set out I'd left my cloak behind with my comrades--

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  thoughtlessly, not supposing I'd ever get so cold,

  so I'd come with only my shield and my shining waist-guard.

  But in the third watch of the night, when the stars had turned,

  then I spoke to Odysseus, who was lying close beside me,

  nudging him with my elbow. He gave ear at once.

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  'Scion of Zeus, Laertes' son, resourceful Odysseus,

  I shan't be among the living much longer, this wintry cold

  is killing me, I've no cloak, some god beguiled me

  into wearing a tunic only: there's no way out for me now.'

  "So I spoke, and he then thought up the following scheme--

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  such a man he was both for planning and for fighting!--

  and speaking in a low voice he addressed me, saying:

  'Quiet now, in case some other Achaian might overhear you.'

  With that, head propped on his bent arm,5 he made a speech:

  'Listen, friends: a godsent dream came to me while I slept.

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  We've come too far from the ships. Is there someone who'd go

  and ask Atreus' son Agamemnon, his people's shepherd,

  could he send us more of the troops from beside the ships?'

  "So he spoke, and there stood up Thoas, Andraimon's son,

  with alacrity, laid aside his purple cloak, and set off,

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  running, back to the ships. I lay down in his clothing

  gladly. Then Dawn, golden-throned, appeared. Would that

  I were young now, as then I was, my strength still unimpaired--

  then would one of the hands in the farmstead lend me a cloak,

  both from kindness and out of respect for a decent man.

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  But as it is they despise me for the rags I'm wearing."

  To him, swineherd Eumaios, you then responded, saying:

  "Old man, this tale you recounted was faultless: in it

  nothing you said was unfitting or profitless. Hence

  you'll not go short of clothing nor of anything else

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  that befits a long-suffering suppliant on arrival--

  for now: but at first light you'll go back to your rags,

  since here there aren't many cloaks or changes of tunic

  to put on: no more than one for each man. But when

  Odysseus' dear son returns, you can look to him

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  for clothing to wear, a cloak and a tunic too,

  and he'll send you wherever your heart and mind desire."

  So saying, up he got, and made up close to the fire

  a bed, throwing on it the skins of sheep and goats,

  and Odysseus lay down there, and over him he spread

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  a big thick cloak he kept by him to change into

  whenever a really bad winter storm arose.

  So there Odysseus slept, and alongside him slept too

  the four young men. But the swineherd himself was not

  content to bed down there, to sleep away from the hogs,

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  and made ready to go outside. Odysseus was glad

  that he took such care of his absent lord's property.

  First he slung a sharp sword from his sturdy shoulders,

  then donned a very thick cloak to keep the wind out,

  and over this draped the fleece of a well-fed goat,

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  and took a sharp hunting-spear as defense against dogs or men,

  and went out to get some rest where the white-tusked hogs

  slept, under a hollow rock, out of reach of the north wind.

  Book 15

  Now Pallas Athene was gone to spacious Lakedaimon,

  to remind Odysseus' great-hearted, illustrious son

  about his return journey, to speed up his homecoming.

  She found Telemachos and Nestor's splendid son

  bedded down in the forecourt of glorious Menelaos.

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  Now Nestor's son was still overmastered by gentle sleep,

  but sweet sleep had not taken Telemachos: worry about his father

  had kept him wakeful throughout the ambrosial night.

  Now grey-eyed Athene approached and addressed him, saying:

  "It's not a good thing, Telemachos, this straying far from home,

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  neglecting your possessions, the overweening men

  infesting your house, the risk they may share and consume

  all your goods, while you're gone on this useless journey!

  You must urge Menelaos, good at the war cry, at once

  to send you back, if you want to find your blameless mother

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  at home still: already her father and brothers are at her

  to marry Eurymachos--as a gift giver he outdoes

  all the other suitors, is ratcheting up the bride-price!

  And make sure she takes no item from the house without your consent--

  for you know the kind of thinking that lurks in a woman's breast:

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  she wants to increase the estate of the man who marries
her,

  but of former children and previous wedded spouse

  she takes no thought once he's dead, no longer asks after him.

  No, you must go yourself, and entrust all your property

  to whichever one of your maidservants seems most reliable

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  until the gods name to you your own noble bride-to-be.

  And another thing I will tell you, and you take it to heart:

  The best of the suitors are lying in wait for you, with intent,

  in the strait between Ithake and rugged Same, determined

  to kill you before you get back to your native land.

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  But I don't see it happening. Before that, the earth will cover

  some one of the suitors now devouring your livelihood.

  Still, keep your well-built ship far distant from the islands,

  and sail by night: you'll get a good tailwind from that

  one immortal it is who guards and protects you. But when

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  you make landfall at the nearest shore of Ithake then,

  send on the ship with all your comrades to the city;

  you yourself, though, must first seek out the swineherd--

  he looks after your pigs, and also is well disposed

  toward you. Spend the night there, and tell him to go into town

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  with a message for prudent Penelope: that you're unharmed,

  and that you've made it back home successfully from Pylos."

  This said, she went on her way to lofty Olympos.

  Telemachos then awoke Nestor's son from his sweet sleep

  with a kick of the foot,1 saying: "Rise and shine now,

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  Peisistratos, Nestor's son! Bring out your whole-hooved horses,

  harness them up to the chariot! We need to get going."

  Peisistratos, son of Nestor, responded to him, saying:

  "Telemachos, however much we want to be on the road

  no way can we drive through the dark night! It'll soon be dawn.

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  So wait until Menelaos--Atreus' hero son, famed spearman--

  brings out his gifts and stows them aboard the chariot,

  and sends us on our way with affectionate good wishes;

  for a guest remembers with gratitude all his days

  the man who was his host, who showed him kindness."

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  So he spoke, and promptly golden-throned Dawn arrived.

  Menelaos, good at the war cry, came out to them then,

  getting up from the bed that he shared with fair-tressed Helen,

  and when Odysseus' son, the hero, caught sight of him, he

  hurriedly clothed himself in his shining tunic, and flung

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  a great cloak over his sturdy shoulders, and went out

  and approached Menelaos and stood before him and said:

  [did Telemachos, the dear son of godlike Odysseus, saying:]2

  "Atreus' son Menelaos, Zeus' scion, leader of hosts,

  send me back right away to my own dear country,

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  for already my heart is impatient for the homeward journey."

  Menelaos, good at the war cry, then responded to him, saying:

  "Telemachos, I'll not press you to stay here overlong

  when you want to go home: indeed, I'd blame any other man

  who, as host, behaved in an overfriendly manner

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  as I would the downright unfriendly! Moderation in all things

  is best. It's just as wrong to urge a guest's departure

  against his will as to keep him when he's itching to be off.

  Treat your guest well while he's there, let him go when he wants.

  Just wait, though, until I bring your presents, and stow them--

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  fine ones--aboard your chariot, for you to see, while I tell

  the women to get dinner ready from the rich store within.

  For there's prestige and glory as well as profit when those

  off to travel this boundless earth eat a square meal first.

  And if you'd like a detour through Hellas and mid-Argos,

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  I'd be happy to come along with you, I'll harness up horses

  and be your guide round the cities--no one will pass us on

  empty-handed, they'll give us something to take with us,

  a fine bronze tripod, perhaps, or maybe a cauldron,

  or a team of two mules, or a golden drinking cup."

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  Sagacious Telemachos responded to him, saying:

  "Atreus' son Menelaos, Zeus' scion, leader of hosts,

  I want to go back to our place now: when I came here I left

  no one to act as guardian over my possessions.

  In seeking my godlike father I fear I may perish myself,

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  or some article of great value go missing from my halls."

  When he heard this, at once Menelaos, good at the war cry,

  gave instructions both to his wife and to her handmaids

  to make ready a meal in the hall from the rich store within.

  Eteoneus son of Boethoos,3 now approached him,

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  having just got up--he lived very close nearby--

  and him Menelaos, good at the war cry, asked

  to light a fire, and to roast some meat: he heard and did not

  disobey. Menelaos now went to his fragrant storeroom,

  not alone, but together with Helen and Megapenthes.4

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  When they came to where their valuables were stored

  the son of Atreus chose a two-handled cup, and told

  his son Megapenthes to carry a mixing bowl, made of silver,

  while Helen went and stood by the clothing-chests, where lay

  the embroidered robes that she herself had fashioned.

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  One of these Helen, bright among women, chose

  and lifted out--the largest, the most exquisitely embroidered,

  that shone like a star and lay underneath all the rest.

  They went on out from the house till they met Telemachos,

  And fair-haired Menelaos then addressed him, saying:

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  "Telemachos, may the return that your heart so much desires

  be brought to pass by Zeus, Here's loud-thundering spouse!

  And of all the gifts that are stored away in my house

  I'll give you the one that's most beautiful and most precious--

  a finely wrought mixing bowl, one fashioned all of silver

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  except for its rim, that's finished off in gold,

  the work of Hephaistos, a gift from the hero Phaidimos,

  the Sidonians' king, at the time that his house gave me shelter

  on my way home by that route. Now I'd like to give it to you."

  So saying, Atreus' son, the hero, placed in his hands

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  the two-handled cup, and strong Megapenthes brought

  the shining mixing bowl, all silver, set it before him;

  while fair-cheeked Helen came up to him, carrying

  the robe in her hands, and now addressed him, saying:

  "I too, dear child, now give you this gift, a memento

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  from Helen's hands, for your bride to wear at your longed-for

  wedding. Till then, keep it stored in your halls, looked after

  by your dear mother. And may you enjoy a safe return

  to your well-built home and to your own dear country."

  That said, she put it into his hands. He received it with pleasure.

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  The hero Peisistratos now took all the gifts and stowed them

  in the luggage box, gazing at them in wondering admiration.

  Fair-headed Menelaos now led them into the house

  and had them a
ll sit down upon chairs and benches,

  and a servant brought hand-washing water in a beautiful

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  golden ewer and poured it over a silver basin so

  they could wash, and drew up a polished table for them.