Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca Part 5

"He came toward evening, carrying a load of wood on his back, which he threw down with such a crash that my men ran with terror into the corners of the cave. The giant drove all such sheep and goats as would give him milk into the cave, leaving the others in the outside court, and then closed up the entrance with a rock so large that twenty-four four-wheeled wagons could not have moved it. Having done this, he sat down and milked the sheep and goats and gave to each its young one.

"Next, he curdled half of the milk and put the curd into woven baskets, but he kept the other half for his evening meal. When he had ended this work he lit a fire, and seeing the strangers he began to ask them questions, to find out who they were. His voice was deep and frightful, like the rumbling of a volcano, and our hearts trembled, but I found words to answer him: 'We are Greeks, and come from Troy.

It was our intention to return home, but contrary winds have driven us on this sh.o.r.e.

"'We belong to the army of Agamemnon, whose fame is very great because he has overcome a strong city and conquered many nations. But now we throw ourselves at thy feet and pray that thou wilt receive us as guests, or else give us the gifts that are due to strangers, lest the G.o.ds avenge us.'

"Having said this, I stopped, but the Cyclops told us that we were fools to believe in the G.o.ds. 'The Cyclops,' he said, 'care nothing for the G.o.ds. We are better than they are. If I spare thee it will be of my own free will, and not for fear of the G.o.ds. But where are thy ships? Are they near here or far off?' This he said hoping to deceive us, but I saw through his trick, and replied: 'The storm has thrown our ships upon the cliffs and broken them to pieces, and we had to swim for our lives.'

"The cruel monster did not answer me again, but he seized two of my companions and dashed them to the ground with such force that they died on the spot. He devoured them as a lion devours his prey. He left nothing of them, neither bones nor flesh nor hair. We wept aloud and prayed to Zeus with our hearts full of despair."

CHAPTER XV THE BLINDING OF THE CYCLOPS

"When the monster had filled himself with food, he stretched out on the floor of the cave to sleep. Then the thought came to me to thrust a sword into his heart. But this was not a wise course to take, because we should never have been able to remove the stone from the entrance to the cave.

"We pa.s.sed the night in mourning and lamentations. As soon as daylight appeared, the Cyclops woke up and lit a fire and milked his sheep again. Then he seized two more of my companions and devoured them.

When his morning meal was done he rolled the stone back from the door and drove his beasts out, not forgetting to secure the entrance. We could hear his noisy shouts afar off as he led his flocks over the gra.s.sy heights, and we began to make plans to destroy him.

"We found a great club of green olive-wood in the cave; one that the Cyclops had cut for his own use. It was as large as the mast of a ship, and he had laid it away to dry. I cut off a fathom's length from this club and handed the piece to my companions, who smoothed off its sides and sharpened it at one end. This being done, I put the sharp end of it into the fire. The stick became very hard, and then I hid the weapon under a heap of litter which was piled up in the cave. We cast lots to see who should a.s.sist me to put out the eye of the Cyclops when he was asleep.

"When evening came the Cyclops returned to the cave with his fat sheep and kids. He seemed to suspect that there was mischief afoot, for he did not leave any of them outside. After milking the ewes and goats he again seized two of my companions and made his supper of them.

But I filled a large drinking-vessel with the wine from our wine-skin and stepped boldly out and said to him: 'Here is a cup of wine which I brought, hoping that thou wouldst spare my life, O Cyclops, for thy wrath is boundless.' He took the cup and drank. The wine delighted him greatly, and he handed me the cup after emptying it and said: 'Give me another draught and tell me thy name. I will give thee a generous gift, such as becomes a host. We, too, have wine, but not such as yours. That tastes like nectar and ambrosia.'

"Three times I filled the cup and brought it to him, and three times the Cyclops drank it like a madman. When the wine had overpowered him, I said to him: 'Cyclops, thou dost wish to know my name, and I will tell it, but thou must give me the present thou hast promised.

My name is n.o.body. My father and mother gave me this name and my friends all call me by it.' 'Then,' said the Cyclops, 'I shall eat n.o.body last of all. This is my present.'

"After these words he fell asleep and, being very drunk, he began to spew out the wine and flesh he had taken. I took the piece of olive-wood which my men had sharpened and put the point of it into the fire and held it there until it was a glowing coal. My comrades stood near me and I encouraged them with brave words. We thrust the burning stick into the Cyclops' eye and put it out. He howled with pain, and, stung to madness, he seized the stick and flung it across the cave.

"He called to the other Cyclops, who lived in divers caves on the surrounding mountains, while we hid ourselves in fear in the most remote corners of the cave. The giants heard him and came running to help him, but they could not get into the cave. They stood near the stone, close to the door, and called out: 'What ails thee, Polyphemus? Is anyone trying to kill thee?' 'Woe is me!' cried Polyphemus, 'n.o.body is trying to kill me.' 'Then why dost thou shout and cry for help?' said they. 'If n.o.body hurts thee, then thou art not hurt.'

"With these words they went off, and we rejoiced greatly that my trick had deceived them."

CHAPTER XVI ODYSSEUS AND HIS COMPANIONS LEAVE THE LAND OF THE CYCLOPS

"Polyphemus, groaning with pain, tried to feel his way with his hands to the mouth of the cavern. Having succeeded in this, he rolled back the stone and sat down at the entrance and stretched out his hands in order to catch us if we should happen to try to get out among the sheep.

"But we were not so foolish as to be caught in this way. There were in the cave a number of stout and woolly rams. Of these I put three abreast and tied them together with twigs that happened to be in the cave. Under each middle ram I tied one of my companions. The two sheep, one on each side of him, hid the man completely. For myself I selected the stoutest ram of the flock, and, seizing his long s.h.a.ggy wool with my hands, held fast to him with my knees and arms.

"The sun rose and the animals began to hasten out to the pastures.

The Cyclops, though nearly exhausted with pain, pa.s.sed his hands over the backs of the sheep to find out whether any of us were trying to ride out of the cave. He did not find out our trick, and my companions all escaped safely. Last of all, the ram that carried me came to the door, because I was so heavy that he could hardly walk with me hanging to him.

"Polyphemus felt of his back and recognized him at once as his favorite ram, and said: 'Dearest of all my sheep, why dost thou go last?

Commonly thou wert the first of the flock to hasten to the rich pasture and the cool spring, just as thou wert the first in the evening to return to thy manger. But to-day thou art last of all. Dost thou grieve because thy master hath lost his eye, which n.o.body has put out? But wait a little. He shall not escape death. Couldst thou only speak, my ram, thou wouldst tell me at once where the scoundrel is; then thou shouldst see how I would dash him against the rocks.'

"Speaking such words as these, he let the ram go. When we were safely out of the cave, we gladly took to our feet and drove the fat sheep down to our boat with all haste. Our friends received us with tears of joy, for they thought we had surely perished. I made signs to them not to weep aloud, and to hurry the sheep on board the ship. They did this with all haste, and each man took his place at the oars.

"When we were beyond the reach of the Cyclops, I called out to tease him, 'Ha! Cyclops, Cyclops, thou hast not been entertaining a coward.

Zeus and the other G.o.ds have avenged the brave men whom thou didst so cruelly destroy.'

"The Cyclops heard my words and grew furious. He seized a large rock and threw it with all his might toward the place where he had heard my voice.

"The rock fell in front of my ship, and the waves which it raised carried us back on sh.o.r.e. I seized a large pole and shoved the boat back into the water, commanding my men to ply their oars vigorously, that we might escape destruction. My companions begged me not to excite the dangerous monster further; but when we were a long way out I shouted to him: 'Cyclops, if ever anybody asks thee who put out thine eye, tell him it was Odysseus, the son of Laertes, conqueror of Troy.'

"When Polyphemus heard these words he gave a deep groan, and said to me: 'Truly did the wise seer, Telemos, foretell that I was to be blinded by Odysseus. But I thought there would come a large and powerful man, not such an insignificant little fellow who would cheat me with wine. Come back, Odysseus, and let me bestow upon you the gifts which are due to strangers. I will pray to my father, Poseidon, to give thee a safe and speedy return to thy native land. He can restore my eye whenever he will, so I cherish no anger against thee.'

"I knew his deceit, however, and replied: 'I would rather take thy life, and send thee down to the dark halls of the dead, where thy father could never restore thy sight.'

"As soon as Polyphemus heard this, he raised his hands to heaven and prayed to Poseidon, 'My father,' he said, 'hear me, if in truth I am thy son. Grant me this prayer. May Odysseus never return to his own country, or, if it be thy will that he reach home and friends again, let his return be late and sorrowful. May his comrades all be lost, and may he go back in a borrowed ship, and find new troubles waiting for him in his house.'

"Poseidon was moved to wrath against me by this prayer, and determined to take vengeance on me. The Cyclops seized another stone, much larger than the last, and swinging it round, threw it at us with tremendous strength. It fell close to the ship, but this time it drove the boat out into the sea and in the direction of the island where we first landed.

"When we reached the island we found the friends we had left there waiting anxiously for our return. My men drew their boat up on to the smooth sand and stepped upon the beach, taking the sheep along with them. Each man took an equal share, but they gave me the ram which had saved my life. We took him out upon the beach and offered him up as a sacrifice to Zeus.

"But sacrifices were vain, for Zeus had more evil for us in his mind.

We spent the rest of the day on the island, eating and drinking, and when the sun went down we camped on the sh.o.r.e for the night. In the morning I called my men to climb the decks and cut the ropes that kept us fastened to the sh.o.r.e. With all speed they went aboard and took their oars in hand and set sail for home, glad to escape, but sorrowing for our lost companions."

CHAPTER XVII THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS ON THE ISLAND OF aeOLUS

"We sailed about on unknown seas for many days, when we reached the island where aeolus made his abode. This island was surrounded by smooth rocks and guarded by a wall of shining bra.s.s.

"aeolus had twelve children, six sons and six daughters, and they banqueted on an endless variety of meats from day to day all the year round. aeolus was a kindly, genial G.o.d; he was master of the winds, and one could hear the music of sweet pipes in his halls all day, and the air was fresh and fragrant there.

"aeolus welcomed us hospitably and kept us with him a whole month.

He inquired of the fate of all our companions in the war with Troy, and we stated what had happened to them. Then we prayed him to send us home, and the G.o.d very kindly gave us a sack made of skin in which he had tied up all the contrary winds, leaving only the west wind free to carry us safely home.

"I took the great bag of winds and bound it fast to the main mast of the ship with a silver chain, so that no rude wind could escape and blow us out of our way. We sailed along nine days and nine nights, blown by the friendly breeze from the west, and on the tenth we saw in the distance the mountain tops of Ithaca and the fires along the sh.o.r.e.

"And now I was overcome by a heavy sleep, for I had been guiding the ship, not daring to trust it to the hand of any of the crew. While I lay unconscious of what was going on, my companions talked among themselves and said they believed that the bag which aeolus had given me contained vast amounts of gold and silver. And they spoke with great jealousy of the prizes which I had received wherever we had landed, while they went empty-handed.

"The more they talked to one another the more jealous and angry they grew. They untied the sack and the winds rushed out, much to their astonishment, and seized the ship, driving it round and round in a furious storm. I started out of my sleep suddenly and found the bag open I had so carefully guarded and my companions weeping bitterly.

"For a moment I had a mind to throw myself into the sea and make an end of my troubles forever. But the thought came to me that such an action would not be n.o.ble, so I hid my head in my mantle and lay down in the bottom of the ship while the violent winds and towering waves drove us back to the island we had left. We landed there again, and, having partaken of some food and wine, I sought the halls of aeolus.

"I found the king and his wife and children at table taking their evening meal. When aeolus saw me he was amazed, and asked me what had happened to me. I told him about the senseless action of my companions, and begged him to a.s.sist me once more. But with a terrible voice he replied: 'Begone as fast as thou canst out of my island. I will not befriend a man who is hated of the G.o.ds.' In this unkind way he sent me off, and we sadly entered our ships and made for the open sea, trusting to the mercy of the winds."