Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca Part 7

"'Tell me of my father and of my son. Do they still hold rule over Ithaca? Or has someone s.n.a.t.c.hed it away from them, thinking I was never to return? How fares my wife, Penelope? Is she still faithful to the husband of her youth, or has she married another?'

"To all this my mother answered: 'My son, Penelope is in the home where thou didst leave her, and she weeps for thee day and night.

n.o.body has usurped thy kingdom, and Telemachos has charge of thy royal estates. But thy father dwells on thy farm, and shares the life of the servants. He seldom goes down to the city. The grief he feels for loss of thee has made him old, and will hasten his death, as it caused mine, for I could not live without thee.'

"So spake my mother, and I longed to clasp her to my heart. Three times I threw my arms around her, and three times she pa.s.sed through them like a shadow. Then I cried out in sorrow: 'Oh, my dear mother!

why can I not clasp thee to my heart and hold thee in my arms, that we may lose for a while our sense of loneliness and misery?'

"My mother spoke and said: 'It is the lot of all our race when they are dead. When life departs we have no bones and flesh, but the soul flies off and flits about from one place to another. Hasten back to the pleasant daylight, and when thou dost reach home tell thy wife what I have said.'

"When my mother had gone, I saw the soul of Agamemnon approaching, together with the shades of those of his companions who had perished with him. The moment he had drunk of the blood he knew me and raised a loud wail. He stretched out his hands to me, and I tried to seize them, but I clutched only the empty air.

"Then I began to weep, too, and said to him: 'Famous son of Atreus, King Agamemnon, tell me how thou didst die. Did Poseidon wreck thee on the sea in a terrible storm, or didst thou fall in war, fighting on the land?'

"Whereupon the king told me the dire story of his home-coming and his death at traitors' hands. 'When I trod my native soil again after a long absence,' he said, 'I was overcome with joy at the thought of seeing my wife and children once more. But I was slain in my own home, and my wife did not even close my eyes as my soul came on its way to these dark realms.'

"I answered: 'Alas! how the G.o.ds must hate the family of Atreus on account of the unfaithfulness of its women!'

"Agamemnon replied: 'Oh, son of Laertes, thou art a fortunate man, for thou hast a faithful wife. Penelope is wise and virtuous. I remember, when we were ready to start for Troy she was a young wife with a little babe in her arms, which she pressed to her bosom. He must be a man now. Thou art a happy father. Thou wilt see thy son at home in Ithaca.

"'No such good fortune can ever come to me. My wife did not even let me see my son before she slew me. Tell me about him, I beseech thee, how he is. Does he still live in Sparta?'

"'Son of Atreus,' I said, 'do not ask me where thy son is. I cannot tell whether he is alive or not, and this is no time for idle conjectures;' and we wept as I spoke."

CHAPTER XXII CONVERSATION WITH ACHILLES AND OTHER HEROES

"While we were conversing thus, the shades of Achilles and Patroklos came near. The soul of Achilles recognized me, and he said: 'Odysseus, son of Laertes, how darest thou descend into the gloomy habitation of the dead? This is the greatest labor thou hast undertaken.'

"I answered: 'G.o.dlike Achilles, I came here to consult the seer Tiresias about my return to my own country, for I have never yet reached Grecian soil, but have wandered about suffering great misfortunes. No one is happier than thou art, O Achilles. When thou wert alive all men honored thee as if thou wert a G.o.d, and now thou art a king and rulest over the dead.'

"Then he replied: 'Do not try to console me, Odysseus. I would rather be the slave of a poor man, and in the light of the sun, than to be in Hades and rule over all the dead. But tell me, Odysseus, how fares my n.o.ble son? Does he fight in the wars, and is he in the front ranks?

And Peleus, my aged father, tell me of him. Is he still king of the Myrmidons? Or do they hold him in contempt, now that he is old, and I am not there to uphold him?'

"I answered him: 'I know nothing about thy aged father, O Achilles, but I have many things to tell thee about thy son. I brought him from Skyros, myself, in a ship to Troy, and placed him in the Greek army.

There he surpa.s.sed everyone except Nestor and myself in the wisdom of his advice, and when we went forth to battle he fought among the foremost, slaying many ill.u.s.trious foes.

"'Above all, his powers shone forth when we were hidden in the wooden horse. All the other leaders of the Greeks gave signs of fear. They grew white and shed tears; but his face never turned pale, and no tear came into his eyes. He called on me to leave the horse and rush upon the foe, and he smote the Trojans, carrying death and destruction among them. When we finally subdued the city, thy son took rich booty and safely reached his own country.'

"As soon as Achilles heard this news he rejoiced. He strode proudly off over the field of Elysian asphodels, well pleased that he had left such a mighty son on earth.

"After Achilles had departed, many other souls came and talked with me. Only the soul of Ajax kept aloof, still angry over a victory which I gained near the ships when I took the weapons of Achilles as my share of the booty. Little did that victory and the arms please me, since they caused the grave to close over such a hero as Ajax.

"I spoke to his soul in gentle words: 'Ajax, son of Telamon, did not even death appease the anger against me which thou didst feel on account of my receiving the arms that brought such a calamity upon the Greeks? For thou wast our tower of strength, and the weapons proved fatal to thee. Come nearer and speak to me, for I bewail thy death.'

I spoke soothingly yet Ajax gave no answer. His spirit vanished away among the other spirits.

"Then I beheld Minos, the lawgiver of Crete, who held a golden sceptre in his hand and judged the dead. He had under him the great wrong-doers of one part of Hades. With him I saw Tantalos, who stood in a pool of water, suffering at the same time a painful thirst. As often as he tried to put his lips to the water it sank down away from him so that he could not reach it.

"I saw Sisyphos, also, who suffered great punishment, for he rolled a large rock uphill with both hands, straining every muscle of his body to the utmost to move it. No sooner had he pushed it to the top of the hill than it rolled back with deafening noise to the bottom of the valley. Again the unfortunate man toiled to move it upward, the sweat covering his body and clouds of dust hovering over his head.

"Then I saw the shade of Herakles, but the hero himself sits among the G.o.ds on Mount Olympos. And there came myriads of souls, making a terrible noise, which filled me with dread, lest I might look upon the Gorgon, and I hastened back to the ship. I ordered the crew to go on board, and they took their oars and rowed until we reached the open sea, where favorable winds caught by the sails wafted us back to Circe's isle."

CHAPTER XXIII THE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS TO THE ISLAND OF CIRCe

"When we reached Circe's isle, we dragged our vessel up on to the beach, and lay down to sleep on the sh.o.r.e. At break of day I sent my comrades forth to bring the body of Elpenor from the palace. We took it out to a rocky place on the sh.o.r.e, and cut down trees to build a funeral pyre. There we burned the body and performed the funeral rites, and we built a tomb and placed an oar at the top of it.

"All this was done quietly, but Circe saw us and came with her maids, bringing a generous supply of food and wine. Standing in our midst, she said: 'Brave men, who living have gone down to Hades, all men die once, but you are permitted to die twice. Take food, eat and drink all day long, and to-morrow at daylight depart for your native land.

I will show you the way and teach you how to avoid all danger.'

"We spent the whole day on the sh.o.r.e, eating and drinking, but when the sun sank down and the earth was covered with darkness my companions went near the ship to seek rest. But I sat down by Circe, who questioned me about my visit to Hades. After I had told her everything, she said: 'Odysseus, so far all is well, but there are a great many new dangers ahead. Listen carefully to what I say. First, thou must pa.s.s the Sirens, who bewitch with their melodious voices all who listen to them. Woe to him who allows his ship to go near them! He will never reach his native land, or see his wife and children again. The Sirens sit in a green field and sing, while the bones of dead men lie in heaps near them. Do not listen to them, but pa.s.s them by unnoticed.

"'Or, if thou wouldst enjoy the matchless singing and not pay the forfeit with thy life, let thy men bind thee hand and foot to the mast of thy ship, so that thou canst not by any effort stir a limb when the great longing seizes thee. And give thy men strict orders to make thy bonds tighter shouldst thou entreat them to loose thee.

Before thou art bound, thou shalt knead soft wax in thy palms and fill the ears of thy companions with it, that no sound may enter.

"'Thence thou wilt come to the narrows where Skylla and Charybdis dwell. On each side of the narrows is a steep cliff, one of which is so high that its sharp top reaches the sky. It is so slippery that no one is able to climb up or down its sides, nor could he if he had twenty hands and feet. Not even a bird can safely perch on it.

"'No boat has ever come to the spot and left it without being wrecked, except Jason's, when he was in search of the Golden Fleece, and he escaped because a G.o.ddess was his guide, to pilot him through. A dark gray fog forever broods over the head of the cliff, and on its western side there yawns a fearful cave, where Skylla lives.

"'She is a terrible monster that barks like a savage dog, day and night. She has twelve shapeless feet, and six heads set on long necks.

Each of her mouths shows three rows of deadly teeth. Half of her body is hidden in the rock, but she thrusts out her heads and s.n.a.t.c.hes her prey, fish, whales, dolphins, or men. No sailor escapes, or, indeed, any living creature that pa.s.ses that way.

"'The other cliff is not so high, but is still more dangerous. There, under the foliage of a wild fig-tree, Charybdis dwells, who sucks in the dark waters of the sea three times a day and belches them forth again three times with a terrible noise. Woe to thee if thou art near when she sucks the waters down, for not even Poseidon himself could save thee. It would be better far to steer close to Skylla, for then only six of thy men would be s.n.a.t.c.hed from the benches, but if Charybdis seizes thy ship all must perish.

"'These pests are immortal. Do not try to overcome them. They cannot die. It is better to fly from them with all haste. It would be rashness and not courage to attack them.

"'Next in thy voyage thou wilt come to the island of Trinacria, where the fine flocks of Helios are feeding. Two shining nymphs, daughters of the Sun, tend them. There are seven herds of oxen and seven herds of sheep, fifty in each herd and flock. These creatures are immortal, and greatly beloved of Helios, who will send destruction to thy ship and crew if any harm come to them. Forbid thy men to touch the cattle, even though suffering for food. If thou art wise enough to escape these dangers, thou shalt reach thy home without further mischance.'

"As the G.o.ddess finished, day broke. Circe sought her own dwelling, while we put to sea with a favorable wind, and soon the island faded from our sight."

CHAPTER XXIV ODYSSEUS MEETS THE SIRENS, SKYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS

"When I saw that we were near the home of the Sirens, I said to my men: 'It is not wise that only one of us should know the oracles of Circe, and I will tell you all she said to me, that ye may escape from the perils before us; and I disclosed her sayings to them. Then I took a handful of wax and warmed it in the sun until it was soft, and carefully clogged up their ears.

"They, in turn, tied me to the mast, hand and foot, so firmly that I could not stir a limb, having first received my command that they should not loose my bonds on any account. Then they bent to their oars, and rowed close to the Sirens, so that they could see me and I could hear their bewitching songs.

"'Come to us, O renowned Odysseus,' they sang; 'pride of the Greeks, come and listen to our voices. No one ever yet pa.s.sed us without stopping and admiring our sweet songs. Come, that we may sing to thee about Troy and thy friends, for we know everything that is going on in the whole world.'

"Thus they sang, and their songs thrilled me. A great desire came over me to stop and listen to them, and with nods I entreated my comrades to set me free. But they sprang up and bound other cords about me, so that I struggled in vain. Then all the men plied their oars until the water was white with foam, and when we were out of sight of the island and could no longer hear the songs of the Sirens, my men set me free, and I took the wax from their ears.