THE VISIT TO THE DEAD.88
“Then, when we had got to the sea we our ship into the water and got her and into her; we also put the sheep on and took our places, and in great of mind. Circe, that great and goddess, sent us a wind that and with us our all the time well filled; so we did wanted doing to the ship’s and let her go as the wind and her. All day long her were full as she her over the sea, but when the sun and was over all the earth, we got into the of the river Oceanus, where the land and city of the Cimmerians who live in and which the of the sun neither at his as he goes again out of the heavens, but the live in one long night. When we got there we the ship, took the sheep out of her, and along by the of Oceanus till we came to the place of which Circe had told us.
“Here Perimedes and Eurylochus the victims, while I my and the a each way. I a drink-offering to all the dead, with and milk, then with wine, and thirdly with water, and I white over the whole, praying to the ghosts, and promising them that when I got to Ithaca I would a for them, the best I had, and would the with good things. I also particularly promised that Teiresias should have a black sheep to himself, the best in all my flocks. When I had prayed to the dead, I cut the of the two sheep and let the blood into the trench, the came up from Erebus—brides,89 bachelors, old men out with toil, who had been in love, and men who had been killed in battle, with their still with blood; they came from every and the with a of that me turn with fear. When I saw them I told the men to be quick and the of the two sheep and make of them, and at the same time to repeat prayers to Hades and to Proserpine; but I sat where I was with my and would not let the come near the blood till Teiresias should have answered my questions.
“The that came was that of my Elpenor, for he had not yet been the earth. We had left his and in Circe’s house, for we had had too much else to do. I was very sorry for him, and when I saw him: ‘Elpenor,’ said I, ‘how did you come here into this and darkness? You have got here on than I have with my ship.’
“‘Sir,’ he answered with a groan, ‘it was all luck, and my own drunkenness. I was asleep on the top of Circe’s house, and of again by the great but right off the and my neck, so my came to the house of Hades. And now I you by all those you have left you, though they are not here, by your wife, by the father who you up when you were a child, and by Telemachus who is the one of your house, do what I shall now ask you. I know that when you this you will again your ship for the Aeaean island. Do not go me and you, or I may heaven’s anger upon you; but me with I have, a for me on the sea shore, that may tell people in days to come what a unlucky I was, and plant over my the I used to with when I was yet alive and with my messmates.’ And I said, ‘My fellow, I will do all that you have asked of me.’
“Thus, then, did we and sad talk with one another, I on the one of the with my over the blood, and the of my saying all this to me from the other side. Then came the of my mother Anticlea, to Autolycus. I had left her alive when I set out for Troy and was moved to when I saw her, but so, for all my I would not let her come near the blood till I had asked my questions of Teiresias.
“Then came also the of Theban Teiresias, with his in his hand. He me and said, ‘Ulysses, son of Laertes, why, man, have you left the light of day and come to visit the in this sad place? Stand from the and your that I may drink of the blood and answer your questions truly.’
“So I back, and my sword, when he had of the blood he with his prophecy.
“‘You want to know,’ said he, ‘about your return home, but will make this hard for you. I do not think that you will the of Neptune, who still his against you for having his son. Still, after much you may home if you can and your when your ship the Thrinacian island, where you will the sheep and to the sun, who sees and ear to everything. If you these and think of nothing but of home, you may yet after much Ithaca; but if you them, then I you of the of your ship and of your men. Even though you may escape, you will return in after all your men, [in another man’s ship, and you will trouble in your house, which will be by high-handed people, who are your under the of paying and making presents to your wife.
“‘When you home you will take your on these suitors; and after you have killed them by or in your own house, you must take a well and it on and on, till you come to a country where the people have of the sea and do not mix salt with their food, do they know anything about ships, and that are as the of a ship. I will give you this which cannot your notice. A will meet you and will say it must be a that you have got upon your shoulder; on this you must the in the ground and a ram, a bull, and a to Neptune.90 Then go home and offer to all the gods in one after the other. As for yourself, death shall come to you from the sea, and your life shall away very when you are full of years and peace of mind, and your people shall you. All that I have said will come true].’91
“‘This,’ I answered, ‘must be as it may heaven, but tell me and tell me and tell me true, I see my mother’s close by us; she is by the blood without saying a word, and though I am her own son she not me and speak to me; tell me, Sir, how I can make her know me.’
“‘That,’ said he, ‘I can soon do. Any that you let taste of the blood will talk with you like a being, but if you do not let them have any blood they will go away again.’
“On this the of Teiresias to the house of Hades, for his prophecyings had now been spoken, but I sat still where I was until my mother came up and the blood. Then she me at once and spoke to me, saying, ‘My son, how did you come to this of while you are still alive? It is a hard thing for the to see these places, for us and them there are great and terrible waters, and there is Oceanus, which no man can on foot, but he must have a good ship to take him. Are you all this time trying to your way home from Troy, and have you yet got to Ithaca your wife in your own house?’
“‘Mother,’ said I, ‘I was to come here to the of the Theban Teiresias. I have yet been near the Achaean land set on my native country, and I have had nothing but one long series of from the very day that I set out with Agamemnon for Ilius, the land of steeds, to the Trojans. But tell me, and tell me true, in what way did you die? Did you have a long illness, or did you a easy passage to eternity? Tell me also about my father, and the son I left me, is my property still in their hands, or has some one else got of it, who thinks that I shall not return to it? Tell me again what my wife doing, and in what mind she is; she live with my son and my securely, or has she the best match she and married again?’
“My mother answered, ‘Your wife still in your house, but she is in great of mind and her whole time in night and day. No one as yet has got of your property, and Telemachus still your lands undisturbed. He has to largely, as of he must, his position as a magistrate,92 and how every one him; your father at his old place in the country and goes near the town. He has no bedding; in the winter he on the in of the fire with the men and goes about all in rags, but in summer, when the warm weather comes on again, he out in the on a of any how upon the ground. He about your having come home, and more and more as he older. As for my own end it was in this wise: did not take me and painlessly in my own house, was I by any such as those that wear people out and kill them, but my to know what you were doing and the of my for you—this it was that was the death of me.’93
“Then I to some way of my mother’s ghost. Thrice I her and to her in my arms, but each time she from my as it were a or phantom, and being touched to the quick I said to her, ‘Mother, why do you not still when I would you? If we our arms around one another we might sad in the of our in the house of Hades; Proserpine want to a still of upon me by me with a only?’
“‘My son,’ she answered, ‘most ill-fated of all mankind, it is not Proserpine that is you, but all people are like this when they are dead. The no longer the and together; these in the of fire as soon as life has left the body, and the away as though it were a dream. Now, however, go to the light of day as soon as you can, and note all these that you may tell them to your wife hereafter.’
“Thus did we converse, and Proserpine sent up the of the and of all the most famous men. They in about the blood, and I how I might question them severally. In the end I that it would be best to the that by my thigh, and keep them from all the blood at once. So they came up one after the other, and each one as I questioned her told me her and lineage.
“The I saw was Tyro. She was of Salmoneus and wife of Cretheus the son of Aeolus.94 She in love with the river Enipeus who is much the most river in the whole world. Once when she was taking a walk by his as usual, Neptune, as her lover, with her at the mouth of the river, and a itself like a over them to woman and god, he her and her in a slumber. When the god had the of love, he took her hand in his own and said, ‘Tyro, in all good will; the of the gods are not fruitless, and you will have about this time twelve months. Take great of them. I am Neptune, so now go home, but your and do not tell any one.’
“Then he under the sea, and she in Pelias and Neleus, who of them Jove with all their might. Pelias was a great of sheep and in Iolcus, but the other in Pylos. The of her children were by Cretheus, namely, Aeson, Pheres, and Amythaon, who was a and charioteer.
“Next to her I saw Antiope, to Asopus, who of having slept in the arms of Jove himself, and who him two sons Amphion and Zethus. These Thebes with its seven gates, and a all it; for though they were they not Thebes till they had it.
“Then I saw Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon, who also to Jove Hercules; and Megara who was to great King Creon, and married the son of Amphitryon.
“I also saw Epicaste mother of king Oedipodes it was to her own son without it. He married her after having killed his father, but the gods the whole to the world; he king of Thebes, in great for the the gods had him; but Epicaste to the house of the Hades, having herself for grief, and the him as for an mother—to his thereafter.
“Then I saw Chloris, Neleus married for her beauty, having presents for her. She was to Amphion son of Iasus and king of Minyan Orchomenus, and was Queen in Pylos. She Nestor, Chromius, and Periclymenus, and she also that woman Pero, who was by all the country round; but Neleus would only give her to him who should the of Iphicles from the of Phylace, and this was a hard task. The only man who would to them was a excellent seer,95 but the will of was against him, for the of the him and put him in prison; when a full year had passed and the same season came again, Iphicles set him at liberty, after he had all the of heaven. Thus, then, was the will of Jove accomplished.
“And I saw Leda the wife of Tyndarus, who him two famous sons, Castor of horses, and Pollux the boxer. Both these are under the earth, though they are still alive, for by a special of Jove, they die and come to life again, each one of them every other day all time, and they have the rank of gods.
“After her I saw Iphimedeia wife of Aloeus who the of Neptune. She two sons Otus and Ephialtes, but were lived. They were the children that were in this world, and the best looking, Orion only excepted; for at nine years old they were nine high, and nine the chest. They to make with the gods in Olympus, and to set Mount Ossa on the top of Mount Olympus, and Mount Pelion on the top of Ossa, that they might itself, and they would have done it too if they had been up, but Apollo, son of Leto, killed of them, they had got so much as a of upon their or chin.
“Then I saw Phaedra, and Procris, and Ariadne of the Minos, Theseus was off from Crete to Athens, but he did not her, for he do so Diana killed her in the of Dia on account of what Bacchus had said against her.
“I also saw Maera and Clymene and Eriphyle, who her own husband for gold. But it would take me all night if I were to name every single one of the and of I saw, and it is time for me to go to bed, either on ship with my crew, or here. As for my escort, and yourselves will see to it.”
Here he ended, and the guests sat all of them and the cloister. Then Arete said to them:—
“What do you think of this man, O Phaeacians? Is he not tall and good looking, and is he not clever? True, he is my own guest, but all of you in the distinction. Do not be in a to send him away, in the presents you make to one who is in such great need, for has all of you with great abundance.”
Then spoke the hero Echeneus who was one of the men among them, “My friends,” said he, “what our queen has just said to us is and to the purpose, therefore be by it; but the in word or rests with King Alcinous.”
“The thing shall be done,” Alcinous, “as surely as I still live and over the Phaeacians. Our guest is very to home, still we must him to with us until to-morrow, by which time I shall be able to together the whole that I to give him. As his it will be a for you all, and mine above all others as the person among you.”
And Ulysses answered, “King Alcinous, if you were to me to here for a whole twelve months, and then speed me on my way, with your gifts, I should you and it would to my advantage, for I should return fuller-handed to my own people, and should thus be more and by all who see me when I to Ithaca.”
“Ulysses,” Alcinous, “not one of us who sees you has any idea that you are a or a swindler. I know there are many people going about who tell such that it is very hard to see through them, but there is a about your language which me of your good disposition. Moreover you have told the of your own misfortunes, and those of the Argives, as though you were a bard; but tell me, and tell me true, you saw any of the who to Troy at the same time with yourself, and there. The are still at their longest, and it is not yet time—go on, therefore, with your story, for I here till tomorrow morning, so long as you will continue to tell us of your adventures.”
“Alcinous,” answered Ulysses, “there is a time for making speeches, and a time for going to bed; nevertheless, since you so desire, I will not from telling you the still of those of my who did not with the Trojans, but on their return, through the of a woman.
“When Proserpine had the female in all directions, the of Agamemnon son of Atreus came sadly up to me, by those who had with him in the house of Aegisthus. As soon as he had the blood, he me, and out his arms me to me; but he had no any more, and I too and him as I him. ‘How did you come by your death,’ said I, ‘King Agamemnon? Did Neptune his and against you when you were at sea, or did your make an end of you on the main land when you were cattle-lifting or sheep-stealing, or while they were in of their and city?’
“‘Ulysses,’ he answered, ‘noble son of Laertes, I was not at sea in any of Neptune’s raising, did my me upon the mainland, but Aegisthus and my wife were the death of me them. He asked me to his house, me, and then me most as though I were a in a house, while all around me my were like sheep or pigs for the wedding breakfast, or picnic, or of some great nobleman. You must have numbers of men killed either in a engagement, or in single combat, but you saw anything so as the way in which we in that cloister, with the mixing bowl and the tables all about, and the ground with our blood. I Priam’s Cassandra as Clytemnestra killed her close me. I upon the earth with the in my body, and my hands to kill the of a murderess, but she away from me; she would not close my my when I was dying, for there is nothing in this world so and so as a woman when she has into such as hers was. Fancy her own husband! I I was going to be home by my children and my servants, but her has on herself and all who shall come after—even on the good ones.’
“And I said, ‘In truth Jove has the house of Atreus from to last in the of their women’s counsels. See how many of us for Helen’s sake, and now it that Clytemnestra against you too your absence.’
“‘Be sure, therefore,’ Agamemnon, ‘and not be too with your own wife. Do not tell her all that you know perfectly well yourself. Tell her a part only, and keep your own about the rest. Not that your wife, Ulysses, is likely to you, for Penelope is a very woman, and has an excellent nature. We left her a with an at her when we set out for Troy. This child no is now up to man’s estate,96 and he and his father will have a meeting and one another as it is right they should do, my wife did not allow me the of looking upon my son, but killed me I do so. Furthermore I say—and my saying to your heart—do not tell people when you are your ship to Ithaca, but a upon them, for after all this there is no women. But now tell me, and tell me true, can you give me any news of my son Orestes? Is he in Orchomenus, or at Pylos, or is he at Sparta with Menelaus—for I that he is still living.’
“And I said, ‘Agamemnon, why do you ask me? I do not know your son is alive or dead, and it is not right to talk when one not know.’
“As we two sat and talking thus sadly with one another the of Achilles came up to us with Patroclus, Antilochus, and Ajax who was the and man of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus. The of Aeacus me and spoke piteously, saying, ‘Ulysses, son of Laertes, what of will you next, that you to the house of Hades among us dead, who are but the of them that can no more?’
“And I said, ‘Achilles, son of Peleus, of the Achaeans, I came to Teiresias, and see if he me about my return home to Ithaca, for I have yet been able to near the Achaean land, to set in my own country, but have been in trouble all the time. As for you, Achilles, no one was yet so as you have been, will be, for you were by all us Argives as long as you were alive, and now that you are here you are a great among the dead. Do not, therefore, take it so much to if you are dead.’
“‘Say not a word,’ he answered, ‘in death’s favour; I would be a paid in a man’s house and be above ground than king of kings among the dead. But give me news about my son; is he gone to the and will he be a great soldier, or is this not so? Tell me also if you have anything about my father Peleus—does he still among the Myrmidons, or do they him no respect Hellas and Phthia now that he is old and his fail him? Could I but by his side, in the light of day, with the same that I had when I killed the of our upon the plain of Troy—could I but be as I then was and go for a time to my father’s house, any one who to do him or him would soon it.’
“‘I have nothing,’ I answered, ‘of Peleus, but I can tell you all about your son Neoptolemus, for I took him in my own ship from Scyros with the Achaeans. In our of Troy he was always to speak, and his was unerring. Nestor and I were the only two who him; and when it came to on the plain of Troy, he would with the of his men, but would on in front, of them all in valour. Many a man did he kill in battle—I cannot name every single one of those he while on the of the Argives, but will only say how he killed that hero Eurypylus son of Telephus, who was the man I saw Memnon; many others also of the Ceteians around him by of a woman’s bribes. Moreover, when all the of the Argives the that Epeus had made, and it was left to me to settle when we should either open the door of our ambuscade, or close it, though all the other and men among the Danaans were their and in every limb, I once saw him turn a tear from his cheek; he was all the time me to out from the horse—grasping the of his and his bronze-shod spear, and against the foe. Yet when we had the city of Priam he got his of the prize money and on (such is the of war) without a upon him, neither from a in close combat, for the of Mars is a of great chance.’
“When I had told him this, the of Achilles off across a full of asphodel, over what I had said the of his son.
“The of other men near me and told me each his own tale; but that of Ajax son of Telamon alone aloof—still angry with me for having the in our about the of Achilles. Thetis had offered it as a prize, but the Trojan and Minerva were the judges. Would that I had the day in such a contest, for it cost the life of Ajax, who was of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus, in and prowess.
“When I saw him I to him and said, ‘Ajax, will you not and in death, but must the about that still with you? It cost us Argives dear to such a tower of as you were to us. We you as much as we Achilles son of Peleus himself, can the be on anything but on the which Jove against the Danaans, for it was this that him your destruction—come hither, therefore, your proud into subjection, and what I can tell you.’
“He would not answer, but away to Erebus and to the other ghosts; nevertheless, I should have him talk to me in of his being so angry, or I should have gone on talking to him,97 only that there were still others among the I to see.
“Then I saw Minos son of Jove with his in his hand in on the dead, and the were and him in the house of Hades, to learn his upon them.
“After him I saw Orion in a full of the of the wild that he had killed upon the mountains, and he had a great in his hand, for and ever.
“And I saw Tityus son of Gaia upon the plain and some nine of ground. Two on either of him were their into his liver, and he on trying to them off with his hands, but not; for he had Jove’s Leto as she was going through Panopeus on her way to Pytho.
“I saw also the of Tantalus, who in a that his chin; he was to his thirst, but the water, for the to drink, it up and vanished, so that there was nothing but ground—parched by the of heaven. There were tall trees, moreover, that their fruit over his head—pears, pomegranates, apples, sweet and juicy olives, but the out his hand to take some, the wind the again to the clouds.
“And I saw Sisyphus at his his with his hands. With hands and he to roll it up to the top of the hill, but always, just he roll it over on to the other side, its weight would be too much for him, and the stone98 would come again on to the plain. Then he would trying to push it up hill again, and the ran off him and the steam rose after him.
“After him I saw Hercules, but it was his only, for he is with the gods, and has Hebe to wife, who is of Jove and Juno. The were him like all whithers. He looked black as night with his in his hands and his on the string, around as though on the point of taking aim. About his there was a in the most fashion with bears, wild boars, and lions with eyes; there was also war, battle, and death. The man who that belt, do what he might, would be able to make another like it. Hercules me at once when he saw me, and spoke piteously, saying, ‘My Ulysses, son of Laertes, are you too leading the same sorry of life that I did when I was above ground? I was son of Jove, but I through an of suffering, for I to one who was me—a low who set me all manner of labours. He once sent me here to the hell-hound—for he did not think he anything for me than this, but I got the out of Hades and him to him, for Mercury and Minerva helped me.’
“On this Hercules again into the house of Hades, but I where I was in case some other of the should come to me. And I should have still other of them that are gone before, I would have seen—Theseus and Pirithous—glorious children of the gods, but so many thousands of came me and such cries, that I was panic Proserpine should send up from the house of Hades the of that Gorgon. On this I to my ship and ordered my men to go on at once and the hawsers; so they and took their places, the ship the of the river Oceanus. We had to at first, but presently a wind up.
