Odyssey, The - Homer

[VietLang]

Book XI


Odysseus, his descent into hell, and discourses with the
ghosts of the deceased heroes.

'Now when we had gone down to the ship and to the sea,
first of all we drew the ship unto the fair salt water and
placed the mast and sails in the black ship, and took those
sheep and put them therein, and ourselves too climbed on
board, sorrowing, and shedding big tears. And in the wake
of our dark-prowed ship she sent a favouring wind that
filled the sails, a kindly escort,--even Circe of the
braided tresses, a dread goddess of human speech. And we
set in order all the gear throughout the ship and sat us
down; and the wind and the helmsman guided our barque. And
all day long her sails were stretched in her seafaring; and
the sun sank and all the ways were darkened.

'She came to the limits of the world, to the deep-flowing
Oceanus. There is the land and the city of the Cimmerians,
shrouded in mist and cloud, and never does the shining sun
look down on them with his rays, neither when he climbs up
the starry heavens, nor when again he turns earthward from
the firmament, but deadly night is outspread over miserable
mortals. Thither we came and ran the ship ashore and took
out the sheep; but for our part we held on our way along
the stream of Oceanus, till we came to the place which
Circe had declared to us.

'There Perimedes and Eurylochus held the victims, but I
drew my sharp sword from my thigh, and dug a pit, as it
were a cubit in length and breadth, and about it poured a
drink-offering to all the dead, first with mead and
thereafter with sweet wine, and for the third time with
water. And I sprinkled white meal thereon, and entreated
with many prayers the strengthless heads of the dead, and
promised that on my return to Ithaca I would offer in my
halls a barren heifer, the best I had, and fill the pyre
with treasure, and apart unto Teiresias alone sacrifice a
black ram without spot, the fairest of my flock. But when I
had besought the tribes of the dead with vows and prayers,
I took the sheep and cut their throats over the trench, and
the dark blood flowed forth, and lo, the spirits of the
dead that be departed gathered them from out of Erebus.
Brides and youths unwed, and old men of many and evil days,
and tender maidens with grief yet fresh at heart; and many
there were, wounded with bronze-shod spears, men slain in
fight with their bloody mail about them. And these many
ghosts flocked together from every side about the trench
with a wondrous cry, and pale fear gat hold on me. Then did
I speak to my company and command them to flay the sheep
that lay slain by the pitiless sword, and to consume them
with fire, and to make prayer to the gods, to mighty Hades
and to dread Persephone, and myself I drew the sharp sword
from my thigh and sat there, suffering not the strengthless
heads of the dead to draw nigh to the blood, ere I had word
of Teiresias.

'And first came the soul of Elpenor, my companion, that had
not yet been buried beneath the wide-wayed earth; for we
left the corpse behind us in the hall of Circe, unwept and
unburied, seeing that another task was instant on us. At
the sight of him I wept and had compassion on him, and
uttering my voice spake to him winged words: "Elpenor, how
hast thou come beneath the darkness and the shadow? Thou
hast come fleeter on foot than I in my black ship."

'So spake I, and with a moan he answered me, saying: "Son
of Laertes, of the seed of Zeus, Odysseus of many devices,
an evil doom of some god was my bane and wine out of
measure. When I laid me down on the house-top of Circe I
minded me not to descend again by the way of the tall
ladder, but fell right down from the roof, and my neck was
broken off from the bones of the spine, and my spirit went
down to the house of Hades. And now I pray thee in the name
of those whom we left, who are no more with us, thy wife,
and thy sire who cherished thee when as yet thou wert a
little one, and Telemachus, whom thou didst leave in thy
halls alone; forasmuch as I know that on thy way hence from
out the dwelling of Hades, thou wilt stay thy well-wrought
ship at the isle Aeaean, even then, my lord, I charge thee
to think on me. Leave me not unwept and unburied as thou
goest hence, nor turn thy back upon me, lest haply I bring
on thee the anger of the gods. Nay, burn me there with mine
armour, all that is mine, and pile me a barrow on the shore
of the grey sea, the grave of a luckless man, that even men
unborn may hear my story. Fulfil me this and plant upon the
barrow mine oar, wherewith I rowed in the days of my life,
while yet I was among my fellows."

'Even so he spake, and I answered him saying: "All this,
luckless man, will I perform for thee and do."

'Even so we twain were sitting holding sad discourse, I on
the one side, stretching forth my sword over the blood,
while on the other side the ghost of my friend told all his
tale.

'Anon came up the soul of my mother dead, Anticleia, the
daughter of Autolycus the great-hearted, whom I left alive
when I departed for sacred Ilios. At the sight of her I
wept, and was moved with compassion, yet even so, for all
my sore grief, I suffered her not to draw nigh to the
blood, ere I had word of Teiresias.

'Anon came the soul of Theban Teiresias, with a golden
sceptre in his hand, and he knew me and spake unto me: "Son
of Laertes, of the seed of Zeus, Odysseus of many devices,
what seekest thou NOW, wretched man, wherefore hast thou
left the sunlight and come hither to behold the dead and a
land desolate of joy? Nay, hold off from the ditch and draw
back thy sharp sword, that I may drink of the blood and
tell thee sooth."

'So spake he and I put up my silver-studded sword into the
sheath, and when he had drunk the dark blood, even then did
the noble seer speak unto me, saying: "Thou art asking of
thy sweet returning, great Odysseus, but that will the god
make hard for thee; for methinks thou shalt not pass
unheeded by the Shaker of the Earth, who hath laid up wrath
in his heart against thee, for rage at the blinding of his
dear son. Yet even so, through many troubles, ye may come
home, if thou wilt restrain thy spirit and the spirit of
thy men so soon as thou shalt bring thy well-wrought ship
nigh to the isle Thrinacia, fleeing the sea of violet blue,
when ye find the herds of Helios grazing and his brave
flocks, of Helios who overseeth all and overheareth all
things. If thou doest these no hurt, being heedful of thy
return, so may ye yet reach Ithaca, albeit in evil case.
But if thou hurtest them, I foreshow ruin for thy ship and
for thy men, and even though thou shalt thyself escape,
late shalt thou return in evil plight, with the loss of all
thy company, on board the ship of strangers, and thou shalt
find sorrows in thy house, even proud men that devour thy
living, while they woo thy godlike wife and offer the gifts
of wooing. Yet I tell thee, on thy coming thou shalt avenge
their violence. But when thou hast slain the wooers in thy
halls, whether by guile, or openly with the edge of the
sword, thereafter go thy way, taking with thee a shapen
oar, till thou shalt come to such men as know not the sea,
neither eat meat savoured with salt; yea, nor have they
knowledge of ships of purple cheek, nor shapen oars which
serve for wings to ships. And I will give thee a most
manifest token, which cannot escape thee. In the day when
another wayfarer shall meet thee and say that thou hast a
winnowing fan on thy stout shoulder, even then make fast
thy shapen oar in the earth and do goodly sacrifice to the
lord Poseidon, even with a ram and a bull and a boar, the
mate of swine, and depart for home and offer holy hecatombs
to the deathless gods that keep the wide heaven, to each in
order due. And from the sea shall thine own death come, the
gentlest death that may be, which shall end thee foredone
with smooth old age, and the folk shall dwell happily
around thee. This that I say is sooth."

'So spake he, and I answered him, saying: "Teiresias, all
these threads, methinks, the gods themselves have spun. But
come, declare me this and plainly tell me all. I see here
the spirit of my mother dead; lo, she sits in silence near
the blood, nor deigns to look her son in the face nor speak
to him! Tell me, prince, how may she know me again that I
am he?"

'So spake I, and anon he answered me, and said: "I will
tell thee an easy saying, and will put it in thy heart.
Whomsoever of the dead that be departed thou shalt suffer
to draw nigh to the blood, he shall tell thee sooth; but if
thou shalt grudge any, that one shall go to his own place
again." Therewith the spirit of the prince Teiresias went
back within the house of Hades, when he had told all his
oracles. But I abode there steadfastly, till my mother drew
nigh and drank the dark blood; and at once she knew me, and
bewailing herself spake to me winged words:

'"Dear child, how didst thou come beneath the darkness and
the shadow, thou that art a living man? Grievous is the
sight of these things to the living, for between us and you
are great rivers and dreadful streams; first, Oceanus,
which can no wise be crossed on foot, but only if one have
a well wrought ship. Art thou but now come hither with thy
ship and thy company in thy long wanderings from Troy? and
hast thou not yet reached Ithaca, nor seen thy wife in thy
halls?"

'Even so she spake, and I answered her, and said: "O my
mother, necessity was on me to come down to the house of
Hades to seek to the spirit of Theban Teiresias. For not
yet have I drawn near to the Achaean shore, nor yet have I
set foot on mine own country, but have been wandering
evermore in affliction, from the day that first I went with
goodly Agamemnon to Ilios of the fair steeds, to do battle
with the Trojans. But come, declare me this and plainly
tell it all. What doom overcame thee of death that lays men
at their length? Was it a slow disease, or did Artemis the
archer slay thee with the visitation of her gentle shafts?
And tell me of my father and my son, that I left behind me;
doth my honour yet abide with them, or hath another already
taken it, while they say that I shall come home no more?
And tell me of my wedded wife, of her counsel and her
purpose, doth she abide with her son and keep all secure,
or hath she already wedded the best of the Achaeans?"

'Even so I spake, and anon my lady mother answered me: "Yea
verily, she abideth with steadfast spirit in thy halls; and
wearily for her the nights wane always and the days in
shedding of tears. But the fair honour that is thine no man
hath yet taken; but Telemachus sits at peace on his
demesne, and feasts at equal banquets, whereof it is meet
that a judge partake, for all men bid him to their house.
And thy father abides there in the field, and goes not down
to the town, nor lies he on bedding or rugs or shining
blankets, but all the winter he sleeps, where sleep the
thralls in the house, in the ashes by the fire, and is clad
in sorry raiment. But when the summer comes and the rich
harvest-tide, his beds of fallen leaves are strewn lowly
all about the knoll of his vineyard plot. There he lies
sorrowing and nurses his mighty grief, for long desire of
thy return, and old age withal comes heavy upon him. Yea
and even so did I too perish and meet my doom. It was not
the archer goddess of the keen sight, who slew me in my
halls with the visitation of her gentle shafts, nor did any
sickness come upon me, such as chiefly with a sad wasting
draws the spirit from the limbs; nay, it was my sore
longing for thee, and for thy counsels, great Odysseus, and
for thy loving-kindness, that reft me of sweet life."

'So spake she, and I mused in my heart and would fain have
embraced the spirit of my mother dead. Thrice I sprang
towards her, and was minded to embrace her; thrice she
flitted from my hands as a shadow or even as a dream, and
sharp grief arose ever at my heart. And uttering my voice I
spake to her winged words:

'"Mother mine, wherefore dost thou not abide me who am
eager to clasp thee, that even in Hades we twain may cast
our arms each about the other, and have our fill of chill
lament? Is this but a phantom that the high goddess
Persephone hath sent me, to the end that I may groan for
more exceeding sorrow?"

'So spake I, and my lady mother answered me anon: "Ah me,
my child, of all men most ill-fated, Persephone, the
daughter of Zeus, doth in no wise deceive thee, but even on
this wise it is with mortals when they die. For the sinews
no more bind together the flesh and the bones, but the
great force of burning fire abolishes these, so soon as the
life hath left the white bones, and the spirit like a dream
flies forth and hovers near. But haste with all thine heart
toward the sunlight, and mark all this, that even hereafter
thou mayest tell it to thy wife."

'Thus we twain held discourse together; and lo, the women
came up, for the high goddess Persephone sent them forth,
all they that had been the wives and daughters of mighty
men. And they gathered and flocked about the black blood,
and I took counsel how I might question them each one. And
this was the counsel that showed best in my sight. I drew
my long hanger from my stalwart thigh, and suffered them
not all at one time to drink of the dark blood. So they
drew nigh one by one, and each declared her lineage, and I
made question of all.

'Then verily did I first see Tyro, sprung of a noble sire,
who said that she was the child of noble Salmoneus, and
declared herself the wife of Cretheus, son of Aeolus. She
loved a river, the divine Enipeus, far the fairest of the
floods that run upon the earth, and she would resort to the
fair streams of Enipeus. And it came to pass that the
girdler of the world, the Earth-shaker, put on the shape of
the god, and lay by the lady at the mouths of the whirling
stream. Then the dark wave stood around them like a
hill-side bowed, and hid the god and the mortal woman. And
he undid her maiden girdle, and shed a slumber over her.
Now when the god had done the work of love, he clasped her
hand and spake and hailed her:

'"Woman, be glad in our love, and when the year comes round
thou shalt give birth to glorious children,--for not weak
are the embraces of the gods,--and do thou keep and cherish
them. And now go home and hold thy peace, and tell it not:
but behold, I am Poseidon, shaker of the earth."

'Therewith he plunged beneath the heaving deep. And she
conceived and bare Pelias and Neleus, who both grew to be
mighty men, servants of Zeus. Pelias dwelt in wide Iolcos,
and was rich in flocks; and that other abode in sandy
Pylos. And the queen of women bare yet other sons to
Cretheus, even Aeson and Pheres and Amythaon, whose joy was
in chariots.

'And after her I saw Antiope, daughter of Asopus, and her
boast was that she had slept even in the arms of Zeus, and
she bare two sons, Amphion and Zethus, who founded first
the place of seven-gated Thebes, and they made of it a
fenced city, for they might not dwell in spacious Thebes
unfenced, for all their valiancy.

'Next to her I saw Alcmene, wife of Amphitryon, who lay in
the arms of mighty Zeus, and bare Heracles of the
lion-heart, steadfast in the fight. And I saw Megara,
daughter of Creon, haughty of heart, whom the strong and
tireless son of Amphitryon had to wife.

'And I saw the mother of Oedipodes, fair Epicaste, who
wrought a dread deed unwittingly, being wedded to her own
son, and he that had slain his own father wedded her, and
straightway the gods made these things known to men. Yet he
abode in pain in pleasant Thebes, ruling the Cadmaeans, by
reason of the deadly counsels of the gods. But she went
down to the house of Hades, the mighty warder; yea, she
tied a noose from the high beam aloft, being fast holden in
sorrow; while for him she left pains behind full many, even
all that the Avengers of a mother bring to pass.

'And I saw lovely Chloris, whom Neleus wedded on a time for
her beauty, and brought gifts of wooing past number. She
was the youngest daughter of Amphion, son of Iasus, who
once ruled mightily in Minyan Orchomenus. And she was queen
of Pylos, and bare glorious children to her lord, Nestor
and Chromius, and princely Periclymenus, and stately Pero
too, the wonder of all men. All that dwelt around were her
wooers; but Neleus would not give her, save to him who
should drive off from Phylace the kine of mighty Iphicles,
with shambling gait and broad of brow, hard cattle to
drive. And none but the noble seer {*} took in hand to
drive them; but a grievous fate from the gods fettered him,
even hard bonds and the herdsmen of the wild. But when at
length the months and days were being fulfilled, as the
year returned upon his course, and the seasons came round,
then did mighty Iphicles set him free, when he had spoken
out all the oracles; and herein was the counsel of Zeus
being accomplished.

{* Melampus}

'And I saw Lede, the famous bed-fellow of Tyndareus, who
bare to Tyndareus two sons, hardy of heart, Castor tamer of
steeds, and Polydeuces the boxer. These twain yet live, but
the quickening earth is over them; and even in the nether
world they have honour at the hand of Zeus. And they
possess their life in turn, living one day and dying the
next, and they have gotten worship even as the gods.

'And after her I beheld Iphimedeia, bed-fellow of Aloeus,
who said that she had lain with Poseidon, and she bare
children twain, but short of life were they, godlike Otus
and far-famed Ephialtes. Now these were the tallest men
that earth, the graingiver, ever reared, and far the
goodliest after the renowned Orion. At nine seasons old
they were of breadth nine cubits, and nine fathoms in
height. They it was who threatened to raise even against
the immortals in Olympus the din of stormy war. They strove
to pile Ossa on Olympus, and on Ossa Pelion with the
trembling forest leaves, that there might be a pathway to
the sky. Yea, and they would have accomplished it, had they
reached the full measure of manhood. But the son of Zeus,
whom Leto of the fair locks bare, destroyed the twain, ere
the down had bloomed beneath their temples, and darkened
their chins with the blossom of youth.

'And Phaedra and Procris I saw, and fair Ariadne, the
daughter of wizard Minos, whom Theseus on a time was
bearing from Crete to the hill of sacred Athens, yet had he
no joy of her; for Artemis slew her ere that in sea-girt
Dia, by reason of the witness of Dionysus.

'And Maera and Clymene I saw, and hateful Eriphyle, who
took fine gold for the price of her dear lord's life. But I
cannot tell or name all the wives and daughters of the
heroes that I saw; ere that, the immortal night would wane.
Nay, it is even now time to sleep, whether I go to the
swift ship to my company or abide here: and for my convoy
you and the gods will care.'

So spake he, and dead silence fell on all, and they were
spell-bound throughout the shadowy halls. Then Arete of the
white arms first spake among them: 'Phaeacians, what think
you of this man for comeliness and stature, and within for
wisdom of heart? Moreover he is my guest, though every one
of you hath his share in this honour. Wherefore haste not
to send him hence, and stint not these your gifts for one
that stands in such sore need of them; for ye have much
treasure stored in your halls by the grace of the gods.'

Then too spake among them the old man, lord Echeneus, that
was an elder among the Phaeacians: 'Friends, behold, the
speech of our wise queen is not wide of the mark, nor far
from our deeming, so hearken ye thereto. But on Alcinous
here both word and work depend.'

Then Alcinous made answer, and spake unto him: 'Yea, the
word that she hath spoken shall hold, if indeed I am yet to
live and bear rule among the Phaeacians, masters of the
oar. Howbeit let the stranger, for all his craving to
return, nevertheless endure to abide until the morrow, till
I make up the full measure of the gift; and men shall care
for his convoy, all men, but I in chief, for mine is the
lordship in the land.'

And Odysseus of many counsels answered him, saying: My lord
Alcinous, most notable of all the people, if ye bade me
tarry here even for a year, and would speed my convoy and
give me splendid gifts, even that I would choose; and
better would it be for me to come with a fuller hand to
mine own dear country, so should I get more love and
worship in the eyes of all men, whoso should see me after I
was returned to Ithaca.'

And Alcinous answered him, saying: 'Odysseus, in no wise do
we deem thee, we that look on thee, to be a knave or a
cheat, even as the dark earth rears many such broadcast,
fashioning lies whence none can even see his way therein.
But beauty crowns thy words, and wisdom is within thee; and
thy tale, as when a minstrel sings, thou hast told with
skill, the weary woes of all the Argives and of thine own
self. But come, declare me this and plainly tell it all.
Didst thou see any of thy godlike company who went up at
the same time with thee to Ilios and there met their doom?
Behold, the night is of great length, unspeakable, and the
time for sleep in the hall is not yet; tell me therefore of
those wondrous deeds. I could abide even till the bright
dawn, so long as thou couldst endure to rehearse me these
woes of thine in the hall.'

And Odysseus of many counsels answered him, saying: 'My
lord Alcinous, most notable of all the people, there is a
time for many words and there is a time for sleep. But if
thou art eager still to listen, I would not for my part
grudge to tell thee of other things more pitiful still,
even the woes of my comrades, those that perished
afterward, for they had escaped with their lives from the
dread war-cry of the Trojans, but perished in returning by
the will of an evil woman.

'Now when holy Persephone had scattered this way and that
the spirits of the women folk, thereafter came the soul of
Agamemnon, son of Atreus, sorrowing; and round him others
were gathered, the ghosts of them who had died with him in
the house of Aegisthus and met their doom. And he knew me
straightway when he had drunk the dark blood, yea, and he
wept aloud, and shed big tears as he stretched forth his
hands in his longing to reach me. But it might not be, for
he had now no steadfast strength nor power at all in
moving, such as was aforetime in his supple limbs.

'At the sight of him I wept and was moved with compassion,
and uttering my voice, spake to him winged words: "Most
renowned son of Atreus, Agamemnon, king of men, say what
doom overcame thee of death that lays men at their length?
Did Poseidon smite thee in thy ships, raising the dolorous
blast of contrary winds, or did unfriendly men do thee hurt
upon the land, whilst thou wert cutting off their oxen and
fair flocks of sheep, or fighting to win a city and the
women thereof?"

'So spake I, and straightway he answered, and said unto me:
"Son of Laertes, of the seed of Zeus, Odysseus of many
devices, it was not Poseidon that smote me in my ships, and
raised the dolorous blast of contrary winds, nor did
unfriendly men do me hurt upon the land, but Aegisthus it
was that wrought me death and doom and slew me, with the
aid of my accursed wife, as one slays an ox at the stall,
after he had bidden me to his house, and entertained me at
a feast. Even so I died by a death most pitiful, and round
me my company likewise were slain without ceasing, like
swine with glittering tusks which are slaughtered in the
house of a rich and mighty man, whether at a wedding
banquet or a joint-feast or a rich clan-drinking. Ere now
hast thou been at the slaying of many a man, killed in
single fight or in strong battle, yet thou wouldst have
sorrowed the most at this sight, how we lay in the hall
round the mixing-bowl and the laden boards, and the floor
all ran with blood. And most pitiful of all that I heard
was the voice of the daughter of Priam, of Cassandra, whom
hard by me the crafty Clytemnestra slew. Then I strove to
raise my hands as I was dying upon the sword, but to earth
they fell. And that shameless one turned her back upon me,
and had not the heart to draw down my eyelids with her
fingers nor to close my mouth. So surely is there nought
more terrible and shameless than a woman who imagines such
evil in her heart, even as she too planned a foul deed,
fashioning death for her wedded lord. Verily I had thought
to come home most welcome to my children and my thralls;
but she, out of the depth of her evil knowledge, hath shed
shame on herself and on all womankind, which shall be for
ever, even on the upright."

'Even so he spake, but I answered him, saying: "Lo now, in
very sooth, hath Zeus of the far-borne voice wreaked
wondrous hatred on the seed of Atreus through the counsels
of woman from of old. For Helen's sake so many of us
perished, and now Clytemnestra hath practised treason
against thee, while yet thou wast afar off."

'Even so I spake, and anon he answered me, saying:
"Wherefore do thou too, never henceforth be soft even to
thy wife, neither show her all the counsel that thou
knowest, but a part declare and let part be hid. Yet shalt
not thou, Odysseus, find death at the hand of thy wife, for
she is very discreet and prudent in all her ways, the wise
Penelope, daughter of Icarius. Verily we left her a bride
new wed when we went to the war, and a child was at her
breast, who now, methinks, sits in the ranks of men, happy
in his lot, for his dear father shall behold him on his
coming, and he shall embrace his sire as is meet. But us
for my wife, she suffered me not so much as to have my fill
of gazing on my son; ere that she slew me, even her lord.
And yet another thing will I tell thee, and do thou ponder
it in thy heart. Put thy ship to land in secret, and not
openly, on the shore of thy dear country; for there is no
more faith in woman. But come, declare me this and plainly
tell it all, if haply ye hear of my son as yet living,
either, it may be, in Orchomenus or in sandy Pylos, or
perchance with Menelaus in wide Sparta, for goodly Orestes
hath not yet perished on the earth."

'Even so he spake, but I answered him, saying: "Son of
Atreus, wherefore dost thou ask me straitly of these
things? Nay I know not at all, whether he be alive or dead;
it is ill to speak words light as wind."

'Thus we twain stood sorrowing, holding sad discourse,
while the big tears fell fast: and therewithal came the
soul of Achilles, son of Peleus, and of Patroclus and of
noble Antilochus and of Aias, who in face and form was
goodliest of all the Danaans, after the noble son of
Peleus. And the spirit of the son of Aeacus, fleet of foot,
knew me again, and making lament spake to me winged words:

'"Son of Laertes, of the seed of Zeus, Odysseus of many
devices, man overbold, what new deed and hardier than this
wilt thou devise in thy heart? How durst thou come down to
the house of Hades, where dwell the senseless dead, the
phantoms of men outworn?"

'So he spake, but I answered him: "Achilles, son of Peleus,
mightiest far of the Achaeans, I am come hither to seek to
Teiresias, if he may tell me any counsel, how I may come to
rugged Ithaca. For not yet have I come nigh the Achaean
land, nor set foot on mine own soil, but am still in evil
case; while as for thee, Achilles, none other than thou
wast heretofore the most blessed of men, nor shall any be
hereafter. For of old, in the days of thy life, we Argives
gave thee one honour with the gods, and now thou art a
great prince here among the dead. Wherefore let not thy
death be any grief to thee, Achilles."

'Even so I spake, and he straightway answered me, and said:
"Nay, speak not comfortably to me of death, oh great
Odysseus. Rather would I live on ground {*} as the hireling
of another, with a landless man who had no great
livelihood, than bear sway among all the dead that be
departed. But come, tell me tidings of that lordly son of
mine--did he follow to the war to be a leader or not? And
tell me of noble Peleus, if thou hast heard aught,--is he
yet held in worship among the Myrmidons, or do they
dishonour him from Hellas to Phthia, for that old age binds
him hand and foot? For I am no longer his champion under
the sun, so mighty a man as once I was, when in wide Troy I
slew the best of the host, and succoured the Argives. Ah!
could I but come for an hour to my father's house as then I
was, so would I make my might and hands invincible, to be
hateful to many an one of those who do him despite and keep
him from his honour."

{* [Greek] seems to mean 'upon the earth,' 'above ground,'
as opposed to the dead who are below, rather than 'bound to
the soil,' in which sense most commentators take it.}

'Even so he spake, but I answered him saying: "As for noble
Peleus, verily I have heard nought of him; but concerning
thy dear son Neoptolemus, I will tell thee all the truth,
according to thy word. It was I that led him up out of
Scyros in my good hollow ship, in the wake of the
goodly-greaved Achaeans. Now oft as we took counsel around
Troy town, he was ever the first to speak, and no word
missed the mark; the godlike Nestor and I alone surpassed
him. But whensoever we Achaeans did battle on the plain of
Troy, he never tarried behind in the throng or the press of
men, but ran out far before us all, yielding to none in
that might of his. And many men he slew in warfare dread;
but I could not tell of all or name their names, even all
the host he slew in succouring the Argives; but, ah, how he
smote with the sword that son of Telephus, the hero
Eurypylus, and many Ceteians {*} of his company were slain
around him, by reason of a woman's bribe. He truly was the
comeliest man that ever I saw, next to goodly Memnon. And
again when we, the best of the Argives, were about to go
down into the horse which Epeus wrought, and the charge of
all was laid on me, both to open the door of our good
ambush and to shut the same, then did the other princes and
counsellors of the Danaans wipe away the tears, and the
limbs of each one trembled beneath him, but never once did
I see thy son's fair face wax pale, nor did he wipe the
tears from his cheeks: but he besought me often to let him
go forth from the horse, and kept handling his sword-hilt,
and his heavy bronze-shod spear, and he was set on mischief
against the Trojans. But after we had sacked the steep city
of Priam, he embarked unscathed with his share of the
spoil, and with a noble prize; he was not smitten with the
sharp spear, and got no wound in close fight: and many such
chances there be in war, for Ares rageth confusedly."

{* See Lenormant, Premieres Civilisations, vol. i. p.289.}

'So I spake, and the spirit of the son of Aeacus, fleet of
foot, passed with great strides along the mead of asphodel,
rejoicing in that I had told him of his son's renown.

'But lo, other spirits of the dead that be departed stood
sorrowing, and each one asked of those that were dear to
them. The soul of Aias, son of Telamon, alone stood apart
being still angry for the victory wherein I prevailed
against him, in the suit by the ships concerning the arms
of Achilles, that his lady mother had set for a prize; and
the sons of the Trojans made award and Pallas Athene. Would
that I had never prevailed and won such a prize! So goodly
a head hath the earth closed over, for the sake of those
arms, even over Aias, who in beauty and in feats of war was
of a mould above all the other Danaans, next to the noble
son of Peleus. To him then I spake softly, saying:

'"Aias, son of noble Telamon, so art thou not even in death
to forget thy wrath against me, by reason of those arms
accursed, which the gods set to be the bane of the Argives?
What a tower of strength fell in thy fall, and we Achaeans
cease not to sorrow for thee, even as for the life of
Achilles, son of Peleus! Nay, there is none other to blame,
but Zeus, who hath borne wondrous hate to the army of the
Danaan spearsmen, and laid on thee thy doom. Nay, come
hither, my lord, that thou mayest hear my word and my
speech; master thy wrath and thy proud spirit."

'So I spake, but he answered me not a word and passed to
Erebus after the other spirits of the dead that be
departed. Even then, despite his anger, would he have
spoken to me or I to him, but my heart within me was minded
to see the spirits of those others that were departed.

'There then I saw Minos, glorious son of Zeus, wielding a
golden sceptre, giving sentence from his throne to the
dead, while they sat and stood around the prince, asking
his dooms through the wide-gated house of Hades.

'And after him I marked the mighty Orion driving the wild
beasts together over the mead of asphodel, the very beasts
that himself had slain on the lonely hills, with a strong
mace all of bronze in his hands, {*} that is ever unbroken.

{* [Greek] in strict grammar agrees with [Greek] in 574,
but this merely by attraction, for in sense it refers not
to the living man, but to his phantom.}

'And I saw Tityos, son of renowned Earth, lying on a
levelled ground, and he covered nine roods as he lay, and
vultures twain beset him one on either side, and gnawed at
his liver, piercing even to the caul, but he drave them not
away with his hands. For he had dealt violently with Leto,
the famous bedfellow of Zeus, as she went up to Pytho
through the fair lawns of Panopeus.

'Moreover I beheld Tantalus in grievous torment, standing
in a mere and the water came nigh unto his chin. And he
stood straining as one athirst, but he might not attain to
the water to drink of it. For often as that old man stooped
down in his eagerness to drink, so often the water was
swallowed up and it vanished away, and the black earth
still showed at his feet, for some god parched it evermore.
And tall trees flowering shed their fruit overhead, pears
and pomegranates and apple trees with bright fruit, and
sweet figs and olives in their bloom, whereat when that old
man reached out his hands to clutch them, the wind would
toss them to the shadowy clouds.

'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a
monstrous stone with both his hands. He was pressing
thereat with hands and feet, and trying to roll the stone
upward toward the brow of the hill. But oft as he was about
to hurl it over the top, the weight would drive him back,
so once again to the plain rolled the stone, the shameless
thing. And he once more kept heaving and straining, and the
sweat the while was pouring down his limbs, and the dust
rose upwards from his head.

'And after him I descried the mighty Heracles, his phantom,
I say; but as for himself he hath joy at the banquet among
the deathless gods, and hath to wife Hebe of the fair
ankles, child of great Zeus, and of Here of the golden
sandals. And all about him there was a clamour of the dead,
as it were fowls flying every way in fear, and he like
black Night, with bow uncased, and shaft upon the string,
fiercely glancing around, like one in the act to shoot. And
about his breast was an awful belt, a baldric of gold,
whereon wondrous things were wrought, bears and wild boars
and lions with flashing eyes, and strife and battles and
slaughters and murders of men. Nay, now that he hath
fashioned this, never another may he fashion, whoso stored
in his craft the device of that belt! And anon he knew me
when his eyes beheld me, and making lament he spake unto me
winged words:

'"Son of Laertes, of the seed of Zeus, Odysseus of many
devices: ah! wretched one, dost thou too lead such a life
of evil doom, as I endured beneath the rays of the sun? I
was the son of Zeus Cronion, yet had I trouble beyond
measure, for I was subdued unto a man far worse than I. And
he enjoined on me hard adventures, yea and on a time he
sent me hither to bring back the hound of hell; for he
devised no harder task for me than this. I lifted the hound
and brought him forth from out of the house of Hades; and
Hermes sped me on my way and the grey-eyed Athene."

'Therewith he departed again into the house of Hades, but I
abode there still, if perchance some one of the hero folk
besides might come, who died in old time. Yea and I should
have seen the men of old, whom I was fain to look on,
Theseus and Peirithous, renowned children of the gods. But
ere that might be the myriad tribes of the dead thronged up
together with wondrous clamour: and pale fear gat hold of
me, lest the high goddess Persephone should send me the
head of the Gorgon, that dread monster, from out of Hades.

'Straightway then I went to the ship, and bade my men mount
the vessel, and loose the hawsers. So speedily they went on
board, and sat upon the benches. And the wave of the flood
bore the barque down the stream of Oceanus, we rowing
first, and afterwards the fair wind was our convoy.