Book II

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Telemachus complains in vain, and borrowing a ship, goes

secretly to Pylos by night. And how he was there received.

Now so soon as early Dawn shone forth, the rosy-fingered,

the dear son of Odysseus gat him up from his bed, and put

on his raiment and cast his sharp sword about his shoulder,

and beneath his smooth feet he bound his goodly sandals,

and stept forth from his chamber in presence like a god.

And straightway he bade the clear-voiced heralds to call

the long-haired Achaeans to the assembly. And the heralds

called the gathering, and the Achaeans were assembled

quickly. Now when they were gathered and come together, he

went on his way to the assembly holding in his hand a spear

of bronze,--not alone he went, for two swift hounds bare

him company. Then Athene shed on him a wondrous grace, and

all the people marvelled at him as he came. And he sat him

in his father's seat and the elders gave place to him.

Then the lord Aegyptus spake among them first; bowed was he

with age, and skilled in things past number. Now for this

reason he spake that his dear son, the warrior Antiphus,

had gone in the hollow ships to Ilios of the goodly steeds;

but the savage Cyclops slew him in his hollow cave, and

made of him then his latest meal. Three other sons Aegyptus

had, and one consorted with the wooers, namely Eurynomus,

but two continued in their father's fields; yet even so

forgat he not that son, still mourning and sorrowing. So

weeping for his sake he made harangue and spake among them:

'Hearken now to me, ye men of Ithaca, to the word that I

shall say. Never hath our assembly or session been since

the day that goodly Odysseus departed in the hollow ships.

And now who was minded thus to assemble us? On what man

hath such sore need come, of the young men or of the elder

born? Hath he heard some tidings of the host now returning,

which he might plainly declare to us, for that he first

learned thereof, or doth he show forth and tell some other

matter of the common weal? Methinks he is a true man--good

luck be with him! Zeus vouchsafe him some good thing in his

turn, even all his heart's desire!'

So spake he, and the dear son of Odysseus was glad at the

omen of the word; nor sat he now much longer, but he burned

to speak, and he stood in mid assembly; and the herald

Peisenor, skilled in sage counsels, placed the staff in his

hands. Then he spake, accosting the old man first:

'Old man, he is not far off, and soon shalt thou know it

for thyself, he who called the folk together, even I: for

sorrow hath come to me in chief. Neither have I heard any

tidings of the host now returning, which I may plainly

declare to you, for that I first learned thereof; neither

do I show forth or tell any other matter of the common

weal, but mine own need, for that evil hath befallen my

house, a double woe. First, I have lost my noble sire, who

sometime was king among you here, and was gentle as a

father; and now is there an evil yet greater far, which

surely shall soon make grievous havoc of my whole house and

ruin all my livelihood. My mother did certain wooers beset

sore against her will, even the sons of those men that here

are the noblest. They are too craven to go to the house of

her father Icarius, that he may himself set the bride-price

for his daughter, and bestow her on whom he will, even on

him who finds favour in his sight. But they resorting to

our house day by day sacrifice oxen and sheep and fat

goats, and keep revel, and drink the dark wine recklessly,

and lo, our great wealth is wasted, for there is no man now

alive such as Odysseus was, to keep ruin from the house. As

for me I am nowise strong like him to ward mine own; verily

to the end of my days {*} shall I be a weakling and all

unskilled in prowess. Truly I would defend me if but

strength were mine; for deeds past sufferance have now been

wrought, and now my house is wasted utterly beyond pretence

of right. Resent it in your own hearts, and have regard to

your neighbours who dwell around, and tremble ye at the

anger of the gods, lest haply they turn upon you in wrath

at your evil deeds. {Or, lest they bring your evil deeds in

wrath on your own heads.} I pray you by Olympian Zeus and

by Themis, who looseth and gathereth the meetings of men,

let be, my friends, and leave me alone to waste in bitter

grief;-- unless it so be that my father, the good Odysseus,

out of evil heart wrought harm to the goodly-greaved

Achaeans, in quittance whereof ye now work me harm out of

evil hearts, and spur on these men. Better for me that ye

yourselves should eat up my treasures and my flocks. Were

YE so to devour them, ere long would some recompense be

made, for we would urge our plea throughout the town,

begging back our substance, until all should be restored.

But now without remedy are the pains that ye lay up in my

heart.'

{* Cf. B. xxi. 131. For the use of the 1st pers. pl. like

our ROYAL plural, cf. B. xvi.44, Il. vii. 190.}

So spake he in wrath, and dashed the staff to the ground,

and brake forth in tears; and pity fell on all the people.

Then all the others held their peace, and none had the

heart to answer Telemachus with hard words, but Antinous

alone made answer, saying:

'Telemachus, proud of speech and unrestrained in fury, what

is this thou hast said to put us to shame, and wouldest

fasten on us reproach? Behold the fault is not in the

Achaean wooers, but in thine own mother, for she is the

craftiest of women. For it is now the third year, and the

fourth is fast going by, since she began to deceive the

minds of the Achaeans in their breasts. She gives hope to

all, and makes promises to every man, and sends them

messages, but her mind is set on other things. And she hath

devised in her heart this wile besides; she set up in her

halls a mighty web, fine of woof and very wide, whereat she

would weave, and anon she spake among us:

'"Ye princely youths, my wooers, now that the goodly

Odysseus is dead, do ye abide patiently, how eager soever

to speed on this marriage of mine, till I finish the robe.

I would not that the threads perish to no avail, even this

shroud for the hero Laertes, against the day when the

ruinous doom shall bring him low, of death that lays men at

their length. So shall none of the Achaean women in the

land count it blame in me, as well might be, were he to lie

without a winding-sheet, a man that had gotten great

possessions."

'So spake she, and our high hearts consented thereto. So

then in the day time she would weave the mighty web, and in

the night unravel the same, when she had let place the

torches by her. Thus for the space of three years she hid

the thing by craft and beguiled the minds of the Achaeans;

but when the fourth year arrived and the seasons came

round, then at the last one of her women who knew all

declared it, and we found her unravelling the splendid web.

Thus she finished it perforce and sore against her will.

But as for thee, the wooers make thee answer thus, that

thou mayest know it in thine own heart, thou and all the

Achaeans! Send away thy mother, and bid her be married to

whomsoever her father commands, and whoso is well pleasing

unto her. But if she will continue for long to vex the sons

of the Achaeans, pondering in her heart those things that

Athene hath given her beyond women, knowledge of all fair

handiwork, yea, and cunning wit, and wiles--so be it! Such

wiles as hers we have never yet heard that any even of the

women of old did know, of those that aforetime were

fair-tressed Achaean ladies, Tyro, and Alcmene, and Mycene

with the bright crown. Not one of these in the imaginations

of their hearts was like unto Penelope, yet herein at least

her imagining was not good. For in despite of her the

wooers will devour thy living and thy substance, so long as

she is steadfast in such purpose as the gods now put within

her breast: great renown for herself she winneth, but for

thee regret for thy much livelihood. But we will neither go

to our own lands, nor otherwhere, till she marry that man

whom she will of the Achaeans.'

Then wise Telemachus answered him, saying: 'Antinous, I may

in no wise thrust forth from the house, against her will,

the woman that bare me, that reared me: while as for my

father he is abroad on the earth, whether he be alive or

dead. Moreover it is hard for me to make heavy restitution

to Icarius, as needs I must, if of mine own will I send my

mother away. For I shall have evil at his hand, at the hand

of her father, and some god will give me more besides, for

my mother will call down the dire Avengers as she departs

from the house, and I shall have blame of men; surely then

I will never speak this word. Nay, if your own heart, even

yours, is indignant, quit ye my halls, and busy yourselves

with other feasts, eating your own substance, and going in

turn from house to house. But if ye deem this a likelier

and a better thing, that one man's goods should perish

without atonement, then waste ye as ye will: and I will

call upon the everlasting gods, if haply Zeus may grant

that acts of recompense be made: so should ye hereafter

perish in the halls without atonement.'

So spake Telemachus, and in answer to his prayer did Zeus,

of the far borne voice, send forth two eagles in flight,

from on high, from the mountain-crest. Awhile they flew as

fleet as the blasts of the wind, side by side, with

straining of their pinions. But when they had now reached

the mid assembly, the place of many voices, there they

wheeled about and flapped their strong wings, and looked

down upon the heads of all, and destruction was in their

gaze. Then tore they with their talons each the other's

cheeks and neck on every side, and so sped to the right

across the dwellings and the city of the people. And the

men marvelled at the birds when they had sight of them, and

pondered in their hearts the things that should come to

pass. Yea and the old man, the lord Halitherses son of

Mastor spake among them, for he excelled his peers in

knowledge of birds, and in uttering words of fate. With

good will he made harangue and spake among them:

'Hearken to me now, ye men of Ithaca, to the word that I

shall say: and mainly to the wooers do I show forth and

tell these things, seeing that a mighty woe is rolling upon

them. For Odysseus shall not long be away from his friends,

nay, even now, it may be, he is near, and sowing the seeds

of death and fate for these men, every one; and he will be

a bane to many another likewise of us who dwell in

clear-seen Ithaca. But long ere that falls out let us

advise us how we may make an end of their mischief; yea,

let them of their own selves make an end, for this is the

better way for them, as will soon be seen. For I prophesy

not as one unproved, but with sure knowledge; verily, I

say, that for him all things now are come to pass, even as

I told him, what time the Argives embarked for Ilios, and

with them went the wise Odysseus. I said that after sore

affliction, with the loss of all his company, unknown to

all, in the twentieth year he should come home. And behold,

all these things now have an end.'

And Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered him, saying: 'Go

now, old man, get thee home and prophesy to thine own

children, lest haply they suffer harm hereafter: but herein

am I a far better prophet than thou. Howbeit there be many

birds that fly to and fro under the sun's rays, but all are

not birds of fate. Now as for Odysseus, he hath perished

far away, as would that thou too with him hadst been cut

off: so wouldst thou not have babbled thus much prophecy,

nor wouldst thou hound on Telemachus that is already

angered, expecting a gift for thy house, if perchance he

may vouchsafe thee aught. But now will I speak out, and my

word shall surely be accomplished. If thou that knowest

much lore from of old, shalt beguile with words a younger

man, and rouse him to indignation, first it shall be a

great grief to him:--and yet he can count on no aid from

these who hear him;--while upon thee, old man, we will lay

a fine, that thou mayest pay it and chafe at heart, and

sore pain shall be thine. And I myself will give a word of

counsel to Telemachus in presence of you all. Let him

command his mother to return to her father's house; and her

kinsfolk will furnish a wedding feast, and array the gifts

of wooing, exceeding many, all that should go back with a

daughter dearly beloved. For ere that, I trow, we sons of

the Achaeans will not cease from our rough wooing, since,

come what may, we fear not any man, no, not Telemachus,

full of words though he be, nor soothsaying do we heed,

whereof thou, old man, pratest idly, and art hated yet the

more. His substance too shall be woefully devoured, nor

shall recompense ever be made, so long as she shall put off

the Achaeans in the matter of her marriage; while we in

expectation, from day to day, vie one with another for the

prize of her perfection, nor go we after other women whom

it were meet that we should each one wed.'

Then wise Telemachus answered him saying: 'Eurymachus, and

ye others, that are lordly wooers, I entreat you no more

concerning this nor speak thereof, for the gods have

knowledge of it now and all the Achaeans. But come, give me

a swift ship and twenty men, who shall accomplish for me my

voyage to and fro. For I will go to Sparta and to sandy

Pylos to inquire concerning the return of my father that is

long afar, if perchance any man shall tell me aught, or if

I may hear the voice from Zeus, that chiefly brings tidings

to men. If I shall hear news of the life and the returning

of my father, then verily I may endure the wasting for yet

a year; but if I shall hear that he is dead and gone, let

me then return to my own dear country, and pile his mound,

and over it pay burial rites full many as is due, and I

will give my mother to a husband.'

So with that word he sat him down; then in the midst uprose

Mentor, the companion of noble Odysseus. He it was to whom

Odysseus, as he departed in the fleet, had given the charge

over all his house, that it should obey the old man, and

that he should keep all things safe. With good will he now

made harangue and spake among them:

'Hearken to me now, ye men of Ithaca, to the word that I

shall say. Henceforth let not any sceptred king be kind and

gentle with all his heart, nor minded to do righteously,

but let him alway be a hard man and work unrighteousness:

for behold, there is none that remembereth divine Odysseus

of the people whose lord he was, and was gentle as a

father. Howsoever, it is not that I grudge the lordly

wooers their deeds of violence in the evil devices of their

heart. For at the hazard of their own heads they violently

devour the household of Odysseus, and say of him that he

will come no more again. But I am indeed wroth with the

rest of the people, to see how ye all sit thus speechless,

and do not cry shame upon the wooers, and put them down, ye

that are so many and they so few.'

And Leocritus, son of Euenor, answered him, saying: 'Mentor

infatuate, with thy wandering wits, what word hast thou

spoken, that callest upon them to put us down? Nay, it is a

hard thing to fight about a feast, and that with men who

are even more in number than you. Though Odysseus of Ithaca

himself should come and were eager of heart to drive forth

from the hall the lordly wooers that feast throughout his

house, yet should his wife have no joy of his coming,

though she yearns for him;--but even there should he meet

foul doom, if he fought with those that outnumbered him; so

thou hast not spoken aright. But as for the people, come

now, scatter yourselves each one to his own lands, but

Mentor and Halitherses will speed this man's voyage, for

they are friends of his house from of old. Yet after all,

methinks, that long time he will abide and seek tidings in

Ithaca, and never accomplish this voyage.'

Thus he spake, and in haste they broke up the assembly. So

they were scattered each one to his own dwelling, while the

wooers departed to the house of divine Odysseus.

Then Telemachus, going far apart to the shore of the sea,

laved his hands in the grey sea water, and prayed unto

Athene, saying: 'Hear me, thou who yesterday didst come in

thy godhead to our house, and badest me go in a ship across

the misty seas, to seek tidings of the return of my father

that is long gone: but all this my purpose do the Achaeans

delay, and mainly the wooers in the naughtiness of their

pride.'

So spake he in prayer, and Athene drew nigh him in the

likeness of Mentor, in fashion and in voice, and she spake

and hailed him in winged words:

'Telemachus, even hereafter thou shalt not be craven or

witless, if indeed thou hast a drop of thy father's blood

and a portion of his spirit; such an one was he to fulfil

both word and work. Nor, if this be so, shall thy voyage be

vain or unfulfilled. But if thou art not the very seed of

him and of Penelope, then have I no hope that thou wilt

accomplish thy desire. For few children, truly, are like

their father; lo, the more part are worse, yet a few are

better than the sire. But since thou shalt not even

hereafter be craven or witless, nor hath the wisdom of

Odysseus failed thee quite, so is there good hope of thine

accomplishing this work. Wherefore now take no heed of the

counsel or the purpose of the senseless wooers, for they

are in no way wise or just: neither know they aught of

death and of black fate, which already is close upon them,

that they are all to perish in one day. But the voyage on

which thy heart is set shall not long be lacking to

thee--so faithful a friend of thy father am I, who will

furnish thee a swift ship and myself be thy companion. But

go thou to the house, and consort with the wooers, and make

ready corn, and bestow all in vessels, the wine in jars and

barley-flour, the marrow of men, in well-sewn skins; and I

will lightly gather in the township a crew that offer

themselves willingly. There are many ships, new and old, in

seagirt Ithaca; of these I will choose out the best for

thee, and we will quickly rig her and launch her on the

broad deep.'

So spake Athene, daughter of Zeus, and Telemachus made no

long tarrying, when he had heard the voice of the goddess.

He went on his way towards the house, heavy at heart, and

there he found the noble wooers in the halls, flaying goats

and singeing swine in the court. And Antinous laughed out

and went straight to Telemachus, and clasped his hand and

spake and hailed him:

'Telemachus, proud of speech and unrestrained in fury, let

no evil word any more be in thy heart, nor evil work, but

let me see thee eat and drink as of old. And the Achaeans

will make thee ready all things without fail, a ship and

chosen oarsmen, that thou mayest come the quicker to fair

Pylos, to seek tidings of thy noble father.'

Then wise Telemachus answered him, saying, 'Antinous, in no

wise in your proud company can I sup in peace, and make

merry with a quiet mind. Is it a little thing, ye wooers,

that in time past ye wasted many good things of my getting,

while as yet I was a child? But now that I am a man grown,

and learn the story from the lips of others, and my spirit

waxeth within me, I will seek to let loose upon you evil

fates, as I may, going either to Pylos for help, or abiding

here in this township. Yea, I will go, nor vain shall the

voyage be whereof I speak; a passenger on another's ship go

I, for I am not to have a ship nor oarsmen of mine own; so

in your wisdom ye have thought it for the better.'

He spake and snatched his hand from out the hand of

Antinous, lightly, and all the while the wooers were busy

feasting through the house; and they mocked him and sharply

taunted him, and thus would some proud youth speak:

'In very truth Telemachus planneth our destruction. He will

bring a rescue either from sandy Pylos, or even it may be

from Sparta, so terribly is he set on slaying us. Or else

he will go to Ephyra, a fruitful land, to fetch a poisonous

drug that he may cast it into the bowl and make an end of

all of us.'

And again another proud youth would say: 'Who knows but

that he himself if he goes hence on the hollow ship, may

perish wandering far from his friends, even as Odysseus? So

should we have yet more ado, for then must we divide among

us all his substance, and moreover give the house to his

mother to possess it, and to him whosoever should wed her.'

So spake they; but he stepped down into the vaulted

treasure-chamber of his father, a spacious room, where gold

and bronze lay piled, and raiment in coffers, and fragrant

olive oil in plenty. And there stood casks of sweet wine

and old, full of the unmixed drink divine, all orderly

ranged by the wall, ready if ever Odysseus should come

home, albeit after travail and much pain. And the

close-fitted doors, the folding doors, were shut, and night

and day there abode within a dame in charge, who guarded

all in the fulness of her wisdom, Eurycleia, daughter of

Ops son of Peisenor. Telemachus now called her into the

chamber and spake unto her, saying:

'Mother, come draw off for me sweet wine in jars, the

choicest next to that thou keepest mindful ever of that

ill-fated one, Odysseus, of the seed of Zeus, if perchance

he may come I know not whence, having avoided death and the

fates. So fill twelve jars, and close each with his lid,

and pour me barley-meal into well-sewn skins, and let there

be twenty measures of the grain of bruised barley-meal. Let

none know this but thyself! As for these things let them

all be got together; for in the evening I will take them

with me, at the time that my mother hath gone to her upper

chamber and turned her thoughts to sleep. Lo, to Sparta I

go and to sandy Pylos to seek tidings of my dear father's

return, if haply I may hear thereof.'

So spake he, and the good nurse Eurycleia wailed aloud, and

making lament spake to him winged words: 'Ah, wherefore,

dear child, hath such a thought arisen in thine heart? How

shouldst thou fare over wide lands, thou that art an only

child and well-beloved? As for him he hath perished,

Odysseus of the seed of Zeus, far from his own country in

the land of strangers. And yonder men, so soon as thou art

gone, will devise mischief against thee thereafter, that

thou mayest perish by guile, and they will share among them

all this wealth of thine. Nay, abide here, settled on thine

own lands: thou hast no need upon the deep unharvested to

suffer evil and go wandering.'

Then wise Telemachus answered her, saying: 'Take heart,

nurse, for lo, this my purpose came not but of a god. But

swear to tell no word thereof to my dear mother, till at

least it shall be the eleventh or twelfth day from hence,

or till she miss me of herself, and hear of my departure,

that so she may not mar her fair face with her tears.'

Thus he spake, and the old woman sware a great oath by the

gods not to reveal it. But when she had sworn and done that

oath, straightway she drew off the wine for him in jars,

and poured barley-meal into well-sewn skins, and Telemachus

departed to the house and consorted with the wooers.

Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, turned to other

thoughts. In the likeness of Telemachus she went all

through the city, and stood by each one of the men and

spake her saying, and bade them gather at even by the swift

ship. Furthermore, she craved a swift ship of Noemon,

famous son of Phronius, and right gladly he promised it.

Now the sun sank and all the ways were darkened. Then at

length she let drag the swift ship to the sea and stored

within it all such tackling as decked ships carry. And she

moored it at the far end of the harbour and the good

company was gathered together, and the goddess cheered on

all.

Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, turned to other

thoughts. She went on her way to the house of divine

Odysseus; and there she shed sweet sleep upon the wooers

and made them distraught in their drinking, and cast the

cups from their hands. And they arose up to go to rest

throughout the city, nor sat they yet a long while, for

slumber was falling on their eyelids. Now grey eyed Athene

spake unto Telemachus, and called him from out the

fair-lying halls, taking the likeness of Mentor, both in

fashion and in voice:

'Telemachus, thy goodly-greaved companions are sitting

already at their oars, it is thy despatch they are

awaiting. Nay then, let us go, that we delay them not long

from the way.'

Therewith Pallas Athene led the way quickly, and he

followed hard in the steps of the goddess. Now when they

had come down to the ship and to the sea, they found the

long-haired youths of the company on the shore; and the

mighty prince Telemachus spake among them:

'Come hither, friends, let us carry the corn on board, for

all is now together in the room, and my mother knows nought

thereof, nor any of the maidens of the house: one woman

only heard my saying.'

Thus he spake and led the way, and they went with him. So

they brought all and stowed it in the decked ship,

according to the word of the dear son of Odysseus. Then

Telemachus climbed the ship, and Athene went before him,

and behold, she sat her down in the stern, and near her sat

Telemachus. And the men loosed the hawsers and climbed on

board themselves and sat down upon the benches. And

grey-eyed Athene sent them a favourable gale, a fresh West

Wind, singing over the wine-dark sea.

And Telemachus called unto his company and bade them lay

hands on the tackling, and they hearkened to his call. So

they raised the mast of pine tree and set it in the hole of

the cross plank, and made it fast with forestays, and

hauled up the white sails with twisted ropes of oxhide. And

the wind filled the belly of the sail, and the dark wave

seethed loudly round the stem of the running ship, and she

fleeted over the wave, accomplishing her path. Then they

made all fast in the swift black ship, and set mixing bowls

brimmed with wine, and poured drink offering to the

deathless gods that are from everlasting, and in chief to

the grey eyed daughter of Zeus. So all night long and

through the dawn the ship cleft her way.

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