Book V

________________________________________________

The Gods in council command Calypso by Hermes to send away

Odysseus on a raft of trees; and Poseidon, returning from

Ethiopia and seeing him on the coast of Phaeacia, scattered

his raft; and how by the help of Ino he was thrown ashore,

and slept on a heap of dry leaves till the next day.

Now the Dawn arose from her couch, from the side of the

lordly Tithonus, to bear light to the immortals and to

mortal men. And lo, the gods were gathering to session, and

among them Zeus, that thunders on high, whose might is

above all. And Athene told them the tale of the many woes

of Odysseus, recalling them to mind; for near her heart was

he that then abode in the dwelling of the nymph:

'Father Zeus, and all ye other blessed gods that live for

ever, 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. Howbeit, as for him he lieth in an island suffering

strong pains, in the halls of the nymph Calypso, who

holdeth him perforce; so he may not reach his own country,

for he hath no ships by him with oars, and no companions to

send him on his way over the broad back of the sea. And

now, again, they are set on slaying his beloved son on his

homeward way, for he is gone to fair Pylos and to goodly

Lacedaemon, to seek tidings of his father.'

And Zeus, gatherer of the clouds, answered and spake unto

her: 'My child, what word hath escaped the door of thy

lips? Nay, didst thou not thyself plan this device, that

Odysseus may assuredly take vengeance on those men at his

coming? As for Telemachus, do thou guide him by thine art,

as well as thou mayest, that so he may come to his own

country all unharmed, and the wooers may return in their

ship with their labour all in vain.'

Therewith he spake to Hermes, his dear son: 'Hermes,

forasmuch as even in all else thou art our herald, tell

unto the nymph of the braided tresses my unerring counsel,

even the return of the patient Odysseus, how he is to come

to his home, with no furtherance of gods or of mortal men.

Nay, he shall sail on a well-bound raft, in sore distress,

and on the twentieth day arrive at fertile Scheria, even at

the land of the Phaeacians, who are near of kin to the

gods. And they shall give him all worship heartily as to a

god, and send him on his way in a ship to his own dear

country, with gifts of bronze and gold, and raiment in

plenty, much store, such as never would Odysseus have won

for himself out of Troy, yea, though he had returned unhurt

with the share of the spoil that fell to him. On such wise

is he fated to see his friends, and come to his high-roofed

home and his own country.'

So spake he, nor heedless was the messenger, the slayer of

Argos. Straightway he bound beneath his feet his lovely

golden sandals, that wax not old, that bare him alike over

the wet sea and over the limitless land, swift as the

breath of the wind. And he took the wand wherewith he lulls

the eyes of whomso he will, while others again he even

wakes from out of sleep. With this rod in his hand flew the

strong slayer of Argos. Above Pieria he passed and leapt

from the upper air into the deep. Then he sped along the

wave like the cormorant, that chaseth the fishes through

the perilous gulfs of the unharvested sea, and wetteth his

thick plumage in the brine. Such like did Hermes ride upon

the press of the waves. But when he had now reached that

far-off isle, he went forth from the sea of violet blue to

get him up into the land, till he came to a great cave,

wherein dwelt the nymph of the braided tresses: and he

found her within. And on the hearth there was a great fire

burning, and from afar through the isle was smelt the

fragrance of cleft cedar blazing, and of sandal wood. And

the nymph within was singing with a sweet voice as she

fared to and fro before the loom, and wove with a shuttle

of gold. And round about the cave there was a wood

blossoming, alder and poplar and sweet-smelling cypress.

And therein roosted birds long of wing, owls and falcons

and chattering sea-crows, which have their business in the

waters. And lo, there about the hollow cave trailed a

gadding garden vine, all rich with clusters. And fountains

four set orderly were running with clear water, hard by one

another, turned each to his own course. And all around soft

meadows bloomed of violets and parsley, yea, even a

deathless god who came thither might wonder at the sight

and be glad at heart. There the messenger, the slayer of

Argos, stood and wondered. Now when he had gazed at all

with wonder, anon he went into the wide cave; nor did

Calypso, that fair goddess, fail to know him, when she saw

him face to face; for the gods use not to be strange one to

another, the immortals, not though one have his habitation

far away. But he found not Odysseus, the greathearted,

within the cave, who sat weeping on the shore even as

aforetime, straining his soul with tears and groans and

griefs, and as he wept he looked wistfully over the

unharvested deep. And Calypso, that fair goddess,

questioned Hermes, when she had made him sit on a bright

shining seat:

'Wherefore, I pray thee, Hermes, of the golden wand, hast

thou come hither, worshipful and welcome, whereas as of old

thou wert not wont to visit me? Tell me all thy thought; my

heart is set on fulfilling it, if fulfil it I may, and if

it hath been fulfilled in the counsel of fate. But now

follow me further, that I may set before thee the

entertainment of strangers.'

Therewith the goddess spread a table with ambrosia and set

it by him, and mixed the ruddy nectar. So the messenger,

the slayer of Argos, did eat and drink. Now after he had

supped and comforted his soul with food, at the last he

answered, and spake to her on this wise:

'Thou makest question of me on my coming, a goddess of a

god, and I will tell thee this my saying truly, at thy

command. 'Twas Zeus that bade me come hither, by no will of

mine; nay, who of his free will would speed over such a

wondrous space of brine, whereby is no city of mortals that

do sacrifice to the gods, and offer choice hecatombs? But

surely it is in no wise possible for another god to go

beyond or to make void the purpose of Zeus, lord of the

aegis. He saith that thou hast with thee a man most

wretched beyond his fellows, beyond those men that round

the burg of Priam for nine years fought, and in the tenth

year sacked the city and departed homeward. Yet on the way

they sinned against Athene, and she raised upon them an

evil blast and long waves of the sea. Then all the rest of

his good company was lost, but it came to pass that the

wind bare and the wave brought him hither. And now Zeus

biddeth thee send him hence with what speed thou mayest,

for it is not ordained that he die away from his friends,

but rather it is his fate to look on them even yet, and to

come to his high-roofed home and his own country.'

So spake he, and Calypso, that fair goddess, shuddered and

uttered her voice, and spake unto him winged words: 'Hard

are ye gods and jealous exceeding, who ever grudge

goddesses openly to mate with men, if any make a mortal her

dear bed-fellow. Even so when rosy-fingered Dawn took Orion

for her lover, ye gods that live at ease were jealous

thereof, till chaste Artemis, of the golden throne, slew

him in Ortygia with the visitation of her gentle shafts. So

too when fair-tressed Demeter yielded to her love, and lay

with Iasion in the thrice-ploughed fallow-field, Zeus was

not long without tidings thereof, and cast at him with his

white bolt and slew him. So again ye gods now grudge that a

mortal man should dwell with me. Him I saved as he went all

alone bestriding the keel of a bark, for that Zeus had

crushed {*} and cleft his swift ship with a white bolt in

the midst of the wine-dark deep. There all the rest of his

good company was lost, but it came to pass that the wind

bare and the wave brought him hither. And him have I loved

and cherished, and I said that I would make him to know not

death and age for ever. Yet forasmuch as it is no wise

possible for another god to go beyond, or make void the

purpose of Zeus, lord of the aegis, let him away over the

unharvested seas, if the summons and the bidding be of

Zeus. But I will give him no despatch, not I, for I have no

ships by me with oars, nor company to bear him on his way

over the broad back of the sea. Yet will I be forward to

put this in his mind, and will hide nought, that all

unharmed he may come to his own country.'

{* It seems very doubtful whether [Greek] can bear this

meaning. The reading [Greek], 'smote,' preserved by the

Schol. is highly probable.}

Then the messenger, the slayer of Argos, answered her:

'Yea, speed him now upon his path and have regard unto the

wrath of Zeus, lest haply he be angered and bear hard on

thee hereafter.'

Therewith the great slayer of Argos departed, but the lady

nymph went on her way to the great-hearted Odysseus, when

she had heard the message of Zeus. And there she found him

sitting on the shore, and his eyes were never dry of tears,

and his sweet life was ebbing away as he mourned for his

return; for the nymph no more found favour in his sight.

Howsoever by night he would sleep by her, as needs he must,

in the hollow caves, unwilling lover by a willing lady. And

in the day-time he would sit on the rocks and on the beach,

straining his soul with tears, and groans, and griefs, and

through his tears he would look wistfully over the

unharvested deep. So standing near him that fair goddess

spake to him:

'Hapless man, sorrow no more I pray thee in this isle, nor

let thy good life waste away, for even now will I send thee

hence with all my heart. Nay, arise and cut long beams, and

fashion a wide raft with the axe, and lay deckings high

thereupon, that it may bear thee over the misty deep. And I

will place therein bread and water, and red wine to thy

heart's desire, to keep hunger far away. And I will put

raiment upon thee, and send a fair gale in thy wake, that

so thou mayest come all unharmed to thine own country, if

indeed it be the good pleasure of the gods who hold wide

heaven, who are stronger than I am both to will and to do.'

So she spake, and the steadfast goodly Odysseus shuddered,

and uttering his voice spake to her winged words: 'Herein,

goddess, thou hast plainly some other thought, and in no

wise my furtherance, for that thou biddest me to cross in a

raft the great gulf of the sea so dread and difficult,

which not even the swift gallant ships pass over rejoicing

in the breeze of Zeus. Nor would I go aboard a raft to

displeasure thee, unless thou wilt deign, O goddess, to

swear a great oath not to plan any hidden guile to mine own

hurt.'

So spake he, and Calypso, the fair goddess, smiled and

caressed him with her hand, and spake and hailed him:

'Knavish thou art, and no weakling {*} in wit, thou that

hast conceived and spoken such a word. Let earth be now

witness hereto, and the wide heaven above, and that falling

water of the Styx, the greatest oath and the most terrible

to the blessed gods, that I will not plan any hidden guile

to thine own hurt. Nay, but my thoughts are such, and such

will be my counsel, as I would devise for myself, if ever

so sore a need came over me. For I too have a righteous

mind, and my heart within me is not of iron, but pitiful

even as thine.'

{* [Greek], from root [Greek], 'ill-grown,' i. e. a

weakling, in the literal sense as B. xi.249, xiv.212, or

metaphorical, as here and viii. 177.}

Therewith the fair goddess led the way quickly, and he

followed hard in the steps of the goddess. And they reached

the hollow cave, the goddess and the man; so he sat him

down upon the chair whence Hermes had arisen, and the nymph

placed by him all manner of food to eat and drink, such as

is meat for men. As for her she sat over against divine

Odysseus, and the handmaids placed by her ambrosia and

nectar. So they put forth their hands upon the good cheer

set before them. But after they had taken their fill of

meat and drink, Calypso, the fair goddess, spake first and

said:

'Son of Laertes, of the seed of Zeus, Odysseus of many

devices, so it is indeed thy wish to get thee home to thine

own dear country even in this hour? Good fortune go with

thee even so! Yet didst thou know in thine heart what a

measure of suffering thou art ordained to fulfil, or ever

thou reach thine own country, here, even here, thou wouldst

abide with me and keep this house, and wouldst never taste

of death, though thou longest to see thy wife, for whom

thou hast ever a desire day by day. Not in sooth that I

avow me to be less noble than she in form or fashion, for

it is in no wise meet that mortal women should match them

with immortals, in shape and comeliness.'

And Odysseus of many counsels answered, and spake unto her:

'Be not wroth with me hereat, goddess and queen. Myself I

know it well, how wise Penelope is meaner to look upon than

thou, in comeliness and stature. But she is mortal and thou

knowest not age nor death. Yet even so, I wish and long day

by day to fare homeward and see the day of my returning.

Yea, and if some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep,

even so I will endure, with a heart within me patient of

affliction. For already have I suffered full much, and much

have I toiled in perils of waves and war; let this be added

to the tale of those.'

So spake he, and the sun sank and darkness came on. Then

they twain went into the chamber of the hollow rock, and

had their delight of love, abiding each by other.

So soon as early Dawn shone forth, the rosy-fingered, anon

Odysseus put on him a mantle and doublet, and the nymph

clad her in a great shining robe, light of woof and

gracious, and about her waist she cast a fair golden

girdle, and a veil withal upon her head. Then she

considered of the sending of Odysseus, the great-hearted.

She gave him a great axe, fitted to his grasp, an axe of

bronze double-edged, and with a goodly handle of olive wood

fastened well. Next she gave him a polished adze, and she

led the way to the border of the isle where tall trees

grew, alder and poplar, and pine that reacheth unto heaven,

seasoned long since and sere, that might lightly float for

him. Now after she had shown him where the tall trees grew,

Calypso, the fair goddess, departed homeward. And he set to

cutting timber, and his work went busily. Twenty trees in

all he felled, and then trimmed them with the axe of

bronze, and deftly smoothed them, and over them made

straight the line. Meanwhile Calypso, the fair goddess,

brought him augers, so he bored each piece and jointed them

together, and then made all fast with trenails and dowels.

Wide as is the floor of a broad ship of burden, which some

man well skilled in carpentry may trace him out, of such

beam did Odysseus fashion his broad raft. And thereat he

wrought, and set up the deckings, fitting them to the

close-set uprights, and finished them off with long

gunwales, and there he set a mast, and a yard-arm fitted

thereto, and moreover he made him a rudder to guide the

craft. And he fenced it with wattled osier withies from

stem to stern, to be a bulwark against the wave, and piled

up wood to back them. Meanwhile Calypso, the fair goddess,

brought him web of cloth to make him sails; and these too

he fashioned very skilfully. And he made fast therein

braces and halyards and sheets, and at last he pushed the

raft with levers down to the fair salt sea.

It was the fourth day when he had accomplished all. And,

lo, on the fifth, the fair Calypso sent him on his way from

the island, when she had bathed him and clad him in

fragrant attire. Moreover, the goddess placed on board the

ship two skins, one of dark wine, and another, a great one,

of water, and corn too in a wallet, and she set therein a

store of dainties to his heart's desire, and sent forth a

warm and gentle wind to blow. And goodly Odysseus rejoiced

as he set his sails to the breeze. So he sate and cunningly

guided the craft with the helm, nor did sleep fall upon his

eyelids, as he viewed the Pleiads and Bootes, that setteth

late, and the Bear, which they likewise call the Wain,

which turneth ever in one place, and keepeth watch upon

Orion, and alone hath no part in the baths of Ocean. This

star, Calypso, the fair goddess, bade him to keep ever on

the left as he traversed the deep. Ten days and seven he

sailed traversing the deep, and on the eighteenth day

appeared the shadowy hills of the land of the Phaeacians,

at the point where it lay nearest to him; and it showed

like a shield in the misty deep.

Now the lord, the shaker of the earth, on his way from the

Ethiopians espied him afar off from the mountains of the

Solymi: even thence he saw Odysseus as he sailed over the

deep; and he was mightily angered in spirit, and shaking

his head he communed with his own heart. 'Lo now, it must

be that the gods at the last have changed their purpose

concerning Odysseus, while I was away among the Ethiopians.

And now he is nigh to the Phaeacian land, where it is

ordained that he escape the great issues of the woe which

hath come upon him. But, methinks, that even yet I will

drive him far enough in the path of suffering.'

With that he gathered the clouds and troubled the waters of

the deep, grasping his trident in his hands; and he roused

all storms of all manner of winds, and shrouded in clouds

the land and sea: and down sped night from heaven. The East

Wind and the South Wind clashed, and the stormy West, and

the North, that is born in the bright air, rolling onward a

great wave. Then were the knees of Odysseus loosened and

his heart melted, and heavily he spake to his own great

spirit:

'Oh, wretched man that I am! what is to befal me at the

last? I fear that indeed the goddess spake all things

truly, who said that I should fill up the measure of sorrow

on the deep, or ever I came to mine own country; and lo,

all these things have an end. In such wise doth Zeus crown

the wide heaven with clouds, and hath troubled the deep,

and the blasts rush on of all the winds; yea, now is utter

doom assured me. Thrice blessed those Danaans, yea, four

times blessed, who perished on a time in wide Troy-land,

doing a pleasure to the sons of Atreus! Would to God that I

too had died, and met my fate on that day when the press of

Trojans cast their bronze-shod spears upon me, fighting for

the body of the son of Peleus! So should I have gotten my

dues of burial, and the Achaeans would have spread my fame;

but now it is my fate to be overtaken by a pitiful death.'

Even as he spake, the great wave smote down upon him,

driving on in terrible wise, that the raft reeled again.

And far therefrom he fell, and lost the helm from his hand;

and the fierce blast of the jostling winds came and brake

his mast in the midst, and sail and yard-arm fell afar into

the deep. Long time the water kept him under, nor could he

speedily rise from beneath the rush of the mighty wave:

for the garments hung heavy which fair Calypso gave him.

But late and at length he came up, and spat forth from his

mouth the bitter salt water, which ran down in streams from

his head. Yet even so forgat he not his raft, for all his

wretched plight, but made a spring after it in the waves,

and clutched it to him, and sat in the midst thereof,

avoiding the issues of death; and the great wave swept it

hither and thither along the stream. And as the North Wind

in the harvest tide sweeps the thistle-down along the

plain, and close the tufts cling each to other, even so the

winds bare the raft hither and thither along the main. Now

the South would toss it to the North to carry, and now

again the East would yield it to the West to chase.

But the daughter of Cadmus marked him, Ino of the fair

ankles, Leucothea, who in time past was a maiden of mortal

speech, but now in the depths of the salt sea she had

gotten her share of worship from the gods. She took pity on

Odysseus in his wandering and travail, and she rose, like a

sea-gull on the wing, from the depth of the mere, and sat

upon the well-bound raft and spake saying:

'Hapless one, wherefore was Poseidon, shaker of the earth,

so wondrous wroth with thee, seeing that he soweth for thee

the seeds of many evils? Yet shall he not make a full end

of thee, for all his desire. But do even as I tell thee,

and methinks thou art not witless. Cast off these garments,

and leave the raft to drift before the winds, but do thou

swim with thine hands and strive to win a footing on the

coast {*} of the Phaeacians, where it is decreed that thou

escape. Here, take this veil imperishable and wind it about

thy breast; so is there no fear that thou suffer aught or

perish. But when thou hast laid hold of the mainland with

thy hands, loose it from off thee and cast it into the

wine-dark deep far from the land, and thyself turn away.'

{* Lit. Strive after an arrival on the land, etc. [Greek]

originally meant going, journeying, and had no idea of

return. The earlier use survives here, and in Soph.

Philoct. 43, Eur. Iph. Aul. 1261. Similarly, perhaps,

[Greek] in Odyssey iv.619, xv.119, and [Greek] frequently}

With that the goddess gave the veil, and for her part dived

back into the heaving deep, like a sea-gull: and the dark

wave closed over her. But the steadfast goodly Odysseus

pondered, and heavily he spake to his own brave spirit:

'Ah, woe is me! Can it be that some one of the immortals is

weaving a new snare for me, that she bids me quit my raft?

Nay verily, I will not yet obey, for I had sight of the

shore yet a long way off, where she told me that I might

escape. I am resolved what I will do;--and methinks on this

wise it is best. So long as the timbers abide in the

dowels, so long will I endure steadfast in affliction, but

so soon as the wave hath shattered my raft asunder, I will

swim, for meanwhile no better counsel may be.'

While yet he pondered these things in his heart and soul,

Poseidon, shaker of the earth, stirred against him a great

wave, terrible and grievous, and vaulted from the crest,

and therewith smote him. And as when a great tempestuous

wind tosseth a heap of parched husks, and scatters them

this way and that, even so did the wave scatter the long

beams of the raft. But Odysseus bestrode a single beam, as

one rideth on a courser, and stript him of the garments

which fair Calypso gave him. And presently he wound the

veil beneath his breast, and fell prone into the sea,

outstretching his hands as one eager to swim. And the lord,

the shaker of the earth, saw him and shook his head, and

communed with his own soul. 'Even so, after all thy

sufferings, go wandering over the deep, till thou shalt

come among a people, the fosterlings of Zeus. Yet for all

that I deem not that thou shalt think thyself too lightly

afflicted.' Therewith he lashed his steeds of the flowing

manes, and came to Aegae, where is his lordly home.

But Athene, daughter of Zeus, turned to new thoughts.

Behold, she bound up the courses of the other winds, and

charged them all to cease and be still; but she roused the

swift North and brake the waves before him, that so

Odysseus, of the seed of Zeus, might mingle with the

Phaeacians, lovers of the oar, avoiding death and the

fates.

So for two nights and two days he was wandering in the

swell of the sea, and much his heart boded of death. But

when at last the fair-tressed Dawn brought the full light

of the third day, thereafter the breeze fell, and lo, there

was a breathless calm, and with a quick glance ahead, (he

being upborne on a great wave,) he saw the land very near.

And even as when most welcome to his children is the sight

of a father's life, who lies in sickness and strong pains

long wasting away, some angry god assailing him; and to

their delight the gods have loosed him from his trouble; so

welcome to Odysseus showed land and wood; and he swam

onward being eager to set foot on the strand. But when he

was within earshot of the shore, and heard now the thunder

of the sea against the reefs--for the great wave crashed

against the dry land belching in terrible wise, and all was

covered with foam of the sea,--for there were no harbours

for ships nor shelters, but jutting headlands and reefs and

cliffs; then at last the knees of Odysseus were loosened

and his heart melted, and in heaviness he spake to his own

brave spirit:

'Ah me! now that beyond all hope Zeus hath given me sight

of land, and withal I have cloven my way through this gulf

of the sea, here there is no place to land on from out of

the grey water. For without are sharp crags, and round them

the wave roars surging, and sheer the smooth rock rises,

and the sea is deep thereby, so that in no wise may I find

firm foothold and escape my bane, for as I fain would go

ashore, the great wave may haply snatch and dash me on the

jagged rock--and a wretched endeavour that would be. But if

I swim yet further along the coast to find, if I may, spits

that take the waves aslant and havens of the sea, I fear

lest the storm-winds catch me again and bear me over the

teeming deep, making heavy moan; or else some god may even

send forth against me a monster from out of the shore

water; and many such pastureth the renowned Amphitrite. For

I know how wroth against me hath been the great Shaker of

the Earth.'

Whilst yet he pondered these things in his heart and mind,

a great wave bore him to the rugged shore. There would he

have been stript of his skin and all his bones been broken,

but that the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, put a thought into

his heart. He rushed in, and with both his hands clutched

the rock, whereto he clung till the great wave went by. So

he escaped that peril, but again with backward wash it

leapt on him and smote him and cast him forth into the

deep. And as when the cuttlefish is dragged forth from his

chamber, the many pebbles clinging to his suckers, even so

was the skin stript from his strong hand against the rocks,

and the great wave closed over him. There of a truth would

luckless Odysseus have perished beyond that which was

ordained, had not grey-eyed Athene given him sure counsel.

He rose from the line of the breakers that belch upon the

shore, and swam outside, ever looking landwards, to find,

if he might, spits that take the waves aslant, and havens

of the sea. But when he came in his swimming over against

the mouth of a fair-flowing river, whereby the place seemed

best in his eyes, smooth of rocks, and withal there was a

covert from the wind, Odysseus felt the river running, and

prayed to him in his heart:

'Hear me, O king, whosoever thou art; unto thee am I come,

as to one to whom prayer is made, while I flee the rebukes

of Poseidon from the deep. Yea, reverend even to the

deathless gods is that man who comes as a wanderer, even as

I now have come to thy stream and to thy knees after much

travail. Nay pity me, O king; for I avow myself thy

suppliant.'

So spake he, and the god straightway stayed his stream and

withheld his waves, and made the water smooth before him,

and brought him safely to the mouths of the river. And his

knees bowed and his stout hands fell, for his heart was

broken by the brine. And his flesh was all swollen and a

great stream of sea water gushed up through his mouth and

nostrils. So he lay without breath or speech, swooning,

such terrible weariness came upon him. But when now his

breath returned and his spirit came to him again, he loosed

from off him the veil of the goddess, and let it fall into

the salt flowing river. And the great wave bare it back

down the stream, and lightly Ino caught it in her hands.

Then Odysseus turned from the river, and fell back in the

reeds, and kissed earth, the grain-giver, and heavily he

spake unto his own brave spirit:

'Ah, woe is me! What is to betide me? What shall happen

unto me at the last? If I watch the river bed all through

the careful night, I fear that the bitter frost and fresh

dew may overcome me, as I breathe forth my life for

faintness, for the river breeze blows cold betimes in the

morning. But if I climb the hill-side up to the shady wood,

and there take rest in the thickets, though perchance the

cold and weariness leave hold of me, and sweet sleep may

come over me, I fear lest of wild beasts I become the spoil

and prey.'

So as he thought thereon this seemed to him the better way.

He went up to the wood, and found it nigh the water in a

place of wide prospect. So he crept beneath twin bushes

that grew from one stem, both olive trees, one of them wild

olive. Through these the force of the wet winds blew never,

neither did the bright sun light on it with his rays, nor

could the rain pierce through, so close were they twined

either to other; and thereunder crept Odysseus and anon he

heaped together with his hands a broad couch; for of fallen

leaves there was great plenty, enough to cover two or three

men in winter time, however hard the weather. And the

steadfast goodly Odysseus beheld it and rejoiced, and he

laid him in the midst thereof and flung over him the fallen

leaves. And as when a man hath hidden away a brand in the

black embers at an upland farm, one that hath no neighbours

nigh, and so saveth the seed of fire, that he may not have

to seek a light otherwhere, even so did Odysseus cover him

with the leaves. And Athene shed sleep upon his eyes, that

so it might soon release him from his weary travail,

overshadowing his eyelids.

Read next: Book VI

Read previous: Book IV

Table of content of Odyssey


GO TO TOP OF SCREEN

Post your review
Your review will be placed after the table of content of this book