RECEPTION OF ULYSSES AT THE PALACE OF KING ALCINOUS.
Thus, then, did Ulysses wait and pray; but the girl on to the town. When she her father’s house she up at the gateway, and her brothers—comely as the gods—gathered her, took the out of the waggon, and the into the house, while she to her own room, where an old servant, Eurymedusa of Apeira, the fire for her. This old woman had been by sea from Apeira, and had been as a prize for Alcinous he was king over the Phaeacians, and the people him as though he were a god.57 She had been nurse to Nausicaa, and had now the fire for her, and her supper for her into her own room.
Presently Ulysses got up to go the town; and Minerva a thick all him to him in case any of the proud Phaeacians who met him should be to him, or ask him who he was. Then, as he was just entering the town, she came him in the of a little girl a pitcher. She right in of him, and Ulysses said:
“My dear, will you be so as to me the house of king Alcinous? I am an in distress, and do not know one in your town and country.”
Then Minerva said, “Yes, father stranger, I will you the house you want, for Alcinous close to my own father. I will go you and the way, but say not a word as you go, and do not look at any man, ask him questions; for the people here cannot strangers, and do not like men who come from some other place. They are a sea-faring folk, and sail the by the of Neptune in ships that along like thought, or as a bird in the air.”
On this she the way, and Ulysses in her steps; but not one of the Phaeacians see him as he passed through the city in the of them; for the great Minerva in her good will him had him in a thick cloud of darkness. He their harbours, ships, places of assembly, and the of the city, which, with the on top of them, were very striking, and when they the king’s house Minerva said:
“This is the house, father stranger, which you would have me you. You will a number of great people at table, but do not be afraid; go in, for the a man is the more likely he is to his point, though he is a stranger. First the queen. Her name is Arete, and she comes of the same family as her husband Alcinous. They originally from Neptune, who was father to Nausithous by Periboea, a woman of great beauty. Periboea was the of Eurymedon, who at one time over the giants, but he his ill-fated people and his own life to boot.
“Neptune, however, with his daughter, and she had a son by him, the great Nausithous, who over the Phaeacians. Nausithous had two sons Rhexenor and Alcinous;58 Apollo killed the of them while he was still a and without male issue; but he left a Arete, Alcinous married, and as no other woman is of all those that keep house along with their husbands.
“Thus she was, and still is, measure by her children, by Alcinous himself, and by the whole people, who look upon her as a goddess, and her she goes about the city, for she is a good woman in and heart, and when any are friends of hers, she will help their husbands also to settle their disputes. If you can her good will, you may have every of your friends again, and safely to your home and country.”
Then Minerva left Scheria and away over the sea. She to Marathon59 and to the of Athens, where she entered the of Erechtheus; but Ulysses on to the house of Alcinous, and he much as he paused a while the of bronze, for the of the was like that of the sun or moon. The on either were of from end to end, and the was of enamel. The doors were gold, and on of that rose from a of bronze, while the was and the of the door was of gold.
On either there gold and which Vulcan, with his skill, had to keep watch over the of king Alcinous; so they were and old. Seats were all along the wall, here and there from one end to the other, with of work which the of the house had made. Here the of the Phaeacians used to and eat and drink, for there was at all seasons; and there were of men with in their hands, on pedestals, to give light by night to those who were at table. There are60 fifty in the house, some of are always rich yellow at the mill, while others work at the loom, or and spin, and their go and like the of leaves, while the is so closely that it will turn oil. As the Phaeacians are the best in the world, so their all others in weaving, for Minerva has them all manner of useful arts, and they are very intelligent.
Outside the gate of the there is a large garden of about four with a all it. It is full of trees—pears, pomegranates, and the most apples. There are also, and in full growth. The fruits fail all the year round, neither winter summer, for the air is so soft that a new the old has dropped. Pear on pear, apple on apple, and on fig, and so also with the grapes, for there is an excellent vineyard: on the level ground of a part of this, the are being into raisins; in another part they are being gathered; some are being in the tubs, others on have their and are to fruit, others again are just colour. In the part of the ground there are of flowers that are in all the year round. Two go through it, the one in the whole garden, while the other is under the ground of the to the house itself, and the town’s people water from it. Such, then, were the with which the gods had the house of king Alcinous.
So here Ulysses for a while and looked about him, but when he had looked long he the and the of the house. There he all the people among the Phaeacians making their drink to Mercury, which they always did the last thing going away for the night.61 He through the court, still by the of in which Minerva had him, till he Arete and King Alcinous; then he his hands upon the of the queen, and at that moment the away from him and he visible. Every one was with at a man there, but Ulysses at once with his petition.
“Queen Arete,” he exclaimed, “daughter of great Rhexenor, in my I pray you, as also your husband and these your guests (whom may with long life and happiness, and may they their to their children, and all the upon them by the state) to help me home to my own country as soon as possible; for I have been long in trouble and away from my friends.”
Then he sat on the among the and they all their peace, till presently the old hero Echeneus, who was an excellent and an among the Phaeacians, and in all them thus:
“Alcinous,” said he, “it is not to you that a should be among the of your hearth; every one is waiting to what you are about to say; tell him, then, to and take a seat on a with silver, and your mix some and water that we may make a drink to Jove the lord of thunder, who takes all well under his protection; and let the give him some supper, of there may be in the house.”
When Alcinous this he took Ulysses by the hand, him from the hearth, and him take the seat of Laodamas, who had been him, and was his son. A then him water in a and it into a for him to wash his hands, and she a clean table him; an upper him and offered him many good of what there was in the house, and Ulysses ate and drank. Then Alcinous said to one of the servants, “Pontonous, mix a cup of and hand it that we may make drink-offerings to Jove the lord of thunder, who is the protector of all well-disposed suppliants.”
Pontonous then mixed and water, and it after every man his drink-offering. When they had their offerings, and had each as much as he was minded, Alcinous said:
“Aldermen and town of the Phaeacians, my words. You have had your supper, so now go home to bed. To-morrow I shall a still larger number of aldermen, and will give a in of our guest; we can then discuss the question of his escort, and how we may at once send him to his own country without trouble or to himself, no how it may be. We must see that he comes to no while on his journey, but when he is once at home he will have to take the luck he was with for or like other people. It is possible, however, that the is one of the who has come from to visit us; but in this case the gods are from their practice, for they have themselves perfectly clear to us when we have been them hecatombs. They come and at our just like one of our selves, and if any to upon some one or other of them, they affect no concealment, for we are as near of to the gods as the Cyclopes and the are.”62
Then Ulysses said: “Pray, Alcinous, do not take any such into your head. I have nothing of the about me, neither in mind, and most those among you who are the most afflicted. Indeed, were I to tell you all that has fit to upon me, you would say that I was still off than they are. Nevertheless, let me in of sorrow, for an empty is a very thing, and itself on a man’s notice no how is his distress. I am in great trouble, yet it that I shall eat and drink, me all memory of my and only on the of itself. As for yourselves, do as you propose, and at of day set about helping me to home. I shall be to die if I may once more my property, my bondsmen, and all the of my house.”63
Thus did he speak. Every one his saying, and that he should have his as he had spoken reasonably. Then when they had their drink offerings, and had each as much as he was they home to every man in his own abode, Ulysses in the with Arete and Alcinous while the were taking the away after supper. Arete was the to speak, for she the shirt, cloak, and good that Ulysses was wearing, as the work of herself and of her maids; so she said, “Stranger, we go any further, there is a question I should like to ask you. Who, and are you, and who gave you those clothes? Did you not say you had come here from the sea?”
And Ulysses answered, “It would be a long Madam, were I to relate in full the of my misfortunes, for the hand of has been upon me; but as your question, there is an away in the sea which is called ‘the Ogygian.’ Here the and powerful Calypso, of Atlas. She by herself from all or divine. Fortune, however, me to her all and alone, for Jove my ship with his thunderbolts, and it up in mid-ocean. My were every man of them, but I to the and was and for the space of nine days, till at last the of the tenth night the gods me to the Ogygian where the great Calypso lives. She took me in and me with the kindness; she wanted to make me that I might old, but she not me to let her do so.
“I with Calypso seven years on end, and the good she gave me with my the whole time; but at last when the year came she me of her own free will, either Jove had told her she must, or she had her mind. She sent me from her on a raft, which she provisioned with of and wine. Moreover she gave me good clothing, and sent me a wind that warm and fair. Days seven and ten did I sail over the sea, and on the eighteenth I of the of the upon your coast—and was I to set upon them. Nevertheless there was still much trouble in store for me, for at this point Neptune would let me go no further, and a great against me; the sea was so high that I no longer keep to my raft, which to pieces under the of the gale, and I had to swim for it, till wind and me to your shores.
“There I to land, but not, for it was a place and the me against the rocks, so I again took to the sea and on till I came to a river that the most likely landing place, for there were no and it was from the wind. Here, then, I got out of the water and my together again. Night was on, so I left the river, and into a thicket, where I myself all over with leaves, and presently sent me off into a very sleep. Sick and sorry as I was I slept among the all night, and through the next day till afternoon, when I as the sun was westering, and saw your daughter’s playing upon the beach, and your among them looking like a goddess. I her aid, and she proved to be of an excellent disposition, much more so than be from so a person—for people are to be thoughtless. She gave me of and wine, and when she had had me in the river she also gave me the in which you see me. Now, therefore, though it has me to do so, I have told you the whole truth.”
Then Alcinous said, “Stranger, it was very of my not to you on at once to my house along with the maids, that she was the person you asked.”
“Pray do not her,” Ulysses; “she is not to blame. She did tell me to along with the maids, but I was and afraid, for I you might be if you saw me. Every being is sometimes a little and irritable.”
“Stranger,” Alcinous, “I am not the of man to angry about nothing; it is always to be reasonable; but by Father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo, now that I see what of person you are, and how much you think as I do, I wish you would here, my daughter, and my son-in-law. If you will I will give you a house and an estate, but no one (heaven forbid) shall keep you here against your own wish, and that you may be sure of this I will tomorrow to the of your escort. You can sleep64 the whole if you like, and the men shall sail you over either to your own home, or you please, though it be a long way off than Euboea, which those of my people who saw it when they took yellow-haired Rhadamanthus to see Tityus the son of Gaia, tell me is the of any place—and yet they did the whole in a single day without themselves, and came again afterwards. You will thus see how much my ships all others, and what my are.”
Then was Ulysses and prayed saying, “Father Jove, that Alcinous may do all as he has said, for so he will win an name among mankind, and at the same time I shall return to my country.”
Thus did they converse. Then Arete told her to set a in the room that was in the gatehouse, and make it with good red rugs, and to spread on the top of them with for Ulysses to wear. The out with in their hands, and when they had the they came up to Ulysses and said, “Rise, sir stranger, and come with us for your is ready,” and was he to go to his rest.
So Ulysses slept in a in a room over the gateway; but Alcinous in the part of the house, with the queen his wife by his side.
