THE KILLING OF THE SUITORS—THE MAIDS WHO HAVE MISCONDUCTED THEMSELVES ARE MADE TO CLEANSE THE CLOISTERS AND ARE THEN HANGED.
Then Ulysses off his rags, and on to the with his and his full of arrows. He the on to the ground at his and said, “The is at an end. I will now see Apollo will it to me to another mark which no man has yet hit.”
On this he a at Antinous, who was about to take up a two-handled gold cup to drink his and already had it in his hands. He had no of death—who all the would think that one man, brave, would alone among so many and kill him? The Antinous in the throat, and the point clean through his neck, so that he over and the cup from his hand, while a thick of blood from his nostrils. He the table from him and the on it, so that the and meats were all as they over on to the ground.166 The were in an when they saw that a man had been hit; they in one and all of them from their seats and looked the walls, but there was neither spear, and they Ulysses very angrily. “Stranger,” said they, “you shall pay for people in this way: you shall see no other contest; you are a man; he you have was the in Ithaca, and the shall you for having killed him.”
Thus they spoke, for they that he had killed Antinous by mistake, and did not that death was over the of every one of them. But Ulysses at them and said:
“Dogs, did you think that I should not come from Troy? You have my substance,167 have my to with you, and have my wife while I was still living. You have neither God man, and now you shall die.”
They with as he spoke, and every man looked about to see he might for safety, but Eurymachus alone spoke.
“If you are Ulysses,” said he, “then what you have said is just. We have done much on your lands and in your house. But Antinous who was the and of the low already. It was all his doing. It was not that he wanted to Penelope; he did not so much about that; what he wanted was something different, and Jove has not it to him; he wanted to kill your son and to be man in Ithaca. Now, therefore, that he has met the death which was his due, the of your people. We will make good among ourselves, and pay you in full for all that we have and drunk. Each one of us shall pay you a twenty oxen, and we will keep on you gold and till your is softened. Until we have done this no one can complain of your being against us.”
Ulysses again at him and said, “Though you should give me all that you have in the world now and all that you shall have, I will not my hand till I have paid all of you in full. You must fight, or for your lives; and fly, not a man of you shall.”
Their as they him, but Eurymachus again spoke saying:
“My friends, this man will give us no quarter. He will where he is and shoot us till he has killed every man among us. Let us then fight; your swords, and up the tables to you from his arrows. Let us have at him with a rush, to drive him from the and doorway: we can then through into the town, and such an as shall soon his shooting.”
As he spoke he his of bronze, on sides, and with a loud Ulysses, but Ulysses an into his that him by the and itself in his liver. He his and up over his table. The cup and all the meats over on to the ground as he the earth with his in the of death, and he the with his until his were closed in darkness.
Then Amphinomus his and at Ulysses to try and him away from the door; but Telemachus was too quick for him, and him from behind; the him the and right through his chest, so that he to the ground and the earth with his forehead. Then Telemachus away from him, his still in the body, for he that if he to it out, some one of the Achaeans might come up and at him with his sword, or him down, so he set off at a run, and was at his father’s side. Then he said:
“Father, let me you a shield, two spears, and a for your temples. I will arm myself as well, and will other for the and the stockman, for we had be armed.”
“Run and them,” answered Ulysses, “while my out, or when I am alone they may me away from the door.”
Telemachus did as his father said, and off to the store room where the was kept. He four shields, eight spears, and four with horse-hair plumes. He them with all speed to his father, and himself first, while the and the also put on their armour, and took their places near Ulysses. Meanwhile Ulysses, as long as his lasted, had been the one by one, and they thick on one another: when his gave out, he set the to against the end of the house by the door post, and a four thick about his shoulders; on his he set his helmet, well with a of horse-hair that above it,168 and he two bronze-shod spears.
Now there was a door169 on the wall, while at one end of the pavement170 there was an leading to a narrow passage, and this was closed by a well-made door. Ulysses told Philoetius to by this door and it, for only one person attack it at a time. But Agelaus out, “Cannot some one go up to the door and tell the people what is going on? Help would come at once, and we should soon make an end of this man and his shooting.”
“This may not be, Agelaus,” answered Melanthius, “the mouth of the narrow passage is near the entrance to the court. One man prevent any number from in. But I know what I will do, I will you arms from the store-room, for I am sure it is there that Ulysses and his son have put them.”
On this the Melanthius by passages to the store-room of Ulysses’ house. There he twelve shields, with as many and spears, and them as fast as he to give them to the suitors. Ulysses’ to fail him when he saw the suitors171 on their and their spears. He saw the of the danger, and said to Telemachus, “Some one of the is helping the against us, or it may be Melanthius.”
Telemachus answered, “The fault, father, is mine, and mine only; I left the store room door open, and they have a look out than I have. Go, Eumaeus, put the door to, and see it is one of the who is doing this, or whether, as I suspect, it is Melanthius the son of Dolius.”
Thus did they converse. Meanwhile Melanthius was again going to the store room to more armour, but the saw him and said to Ulysses who was him, “Ulysses, son of Laertes, it is that Melanthius, just as we suspected, who is going to the store room. Say, shall I kill him, if I can the of him, or shall I him here that you may take your own for all the many that he has done in your house?”
Ulysses answered, “Telemachus and I will these in check, no what they do; go of you and Melanthius’ hands and him. Throw him into the store room and make the door fast you; then a about his body, and him close up to the from a high bearing-post,172 that he may on in an agony.”
Thus did he speak, and they did as he had said; they to the store room, which they entered Melanthius saw them, for he was for arms in the part of the room, so the two took their on either of the door and waited. By and by Melanthius came out with a in one hand, and an old dry-rotted in the other, which had been by Laertes when he was young, but which had been long since aside, and the had unsewn; on this the two him, him by the hair, and him to the ground. They his hands and well his back, and them tight with a painful as Ulysses had told them; then they a about his and him up from a high till he was close up to the rafters, and over him did you then vaunt, O Eumaeus saying, “Melanthius, you will pass the night on a soft as you deserve. You will know very well when comes from the of Oceanus, and it is time for you to be in your for the to on.”
There, then, they left him in very bondage, and having put on their they closed the door them and to take their places by the of Ulysses; the four men in the cloister, and full of fury; nevertheless, those who were in the of the were still and many. Then Jove’s Minerva came up to them, having the voice and of Mentor. Ulysses was when he saw her and said, “Mentor, me your help, and not your old comrade, the many good he has done you. Besides, you are my age-mate.”
But all the time he sure it was Minerva, and the from the other an when they saw her. Agelaus was the to her. “Mentor,” he cried, “do not let Ulysses you into with him and the suitors. This is what we will do: when we have killed these people, father and son, we will kill you too. You shall pay for it with your head, and when we have killed you, we will take all you have, in doors or out, and it into hotch-pot with Ulysses’ property; we will not let your sons live in your house, your daughters, shall your continue to live in the city of Ithaca.”
This Minerva still more furious, so she Ulysses very angrily.173 “Ulysses,” said she, “your and are no longer what they were when you for nine long years among the Trojans about the lady Helen. You killed many a man in those days, and it was through your that Priam’s city was taken. How comes it that you are so less now that you are on your own ground, to with the in your own house? Come on, my good fellow, by my and see how Mentor, son of Alcimus shall your and your upon him.”
But she would not give him full victory as yet, for she still to prove his own and that of his son, so she up to one of the in the of the and sat upon it in the of a swallow.
Meanwhile Agelaus son of Damastor, Eurynomus, Amphimedon, Demoptolemus, Pisander, and Polybus son of Polyctor the of the upon the suitors’ side; of all those who were still for their they were by the most valiant, for the others had already under the of Ulysses. Agelaus to them and said, “My friends, he will soon have to off, for Mentor has gone away after having done nothing for him but brag. They are at the doors unsupported. Do not at him all at once, but six of you your first, and see if you cannot yourselves with by killing him. When he has we need not be about the others.”
They their as he them, but Minerva them all of no effect. One the door post; another against the door; the pointed of another the wall; and as soon as they had all the of the Ulysses said to his own men, “My friends, I should say we too had let drive into the middle of them, or they will all the they have done us by killing us outright.”
They therefore in of them and their spears. Ulysses killed Demoptolemus, Telemachus Euryades, Eumaeus Elatus, while the killed Pisander. These all the dust, and as the others into a Ulysses and his men and their by them from the of the dead.
The now a second time, but again Minerva their for the most part without effect. One a bearing-post of the cloister; another against the door; while the pointed of another the wall. Still, Amphimedon just took a piece of the top skin from off Telemachus’s wrist, and Ctesippus managed to Eumaeus’s above his shield; but the on and to the ground. Then Ulysses and his men let drive into the of suitors. Ulysses Eurydamas, Telemachus Amphimedon, and Eumaeus Polybus. After this the Ctesippus in the breast, and him saying, “Foul-mouthed son of Polytherses, do not be so as to talk another time, but let direct your speech, for the gods are than men. I make you a present of this to you for the which you gave Ulysses when he was about in his own house.”
Thus spoke the stockman, and Ulysses the son of Damastor with a in close fight, while Telemachus Leocritus son of Evenor in the belly, and the clean through him, so that he full on his upon the ground. Then Minerva from her seat on the up her aegis, and the of the quailed. They to the other end of the like a of by the in early when the days are at their longest. As eagle-beaked, crook-taloned from the on the smaller that in upon the ground, and kill them, for they cannot either or fly, and on the sport—even so did Ulysses and his men upon the and them on every side. They a as their were being in, and the ground with their blood.
Leiodes then the of Ulysses and said, “Ulysses I you have upon me and me. I any of the in your house either in word or deed, and I to stop the others. I saw them, but they would not listen, and now they are paying for their folly. I was their priest; if you kill me, I shall die without having done anything to it, and shall have got no thanks for all the good that I did.”
Ulysses looked at him and answered, “If you were their priest, you must have prayed many a time that it might be long I got home again, and that you might my wife and have children by her. Therefore you shall die.”
With these he up the that Agelaus had when he was being killed, and which was upon the ground. Then he Leiodes on the of his neck, so that his in the while he was yet speaking.
The Phemius son of Terpes—he who had been by the to sing to them—now to save his life. He was near the door,174 and his in his hand. He did not know to out of the and by the of Jove that was in the court, and on which Laertes and Ulysses had offered up the of many an ox, or to go up to Ulysses and his knees, but in the end he it best to Ulysses’ knees. So he his on the ground the mixing bowl 175 and the silver-studded seat; then going up to Ulysses he of his and said, “Ulysses, I you have on me and me. You will be sorry for it if you kill a who can sing for gods and men as I can. I make all my myself, and visits me with every of inspiration. I would sing to you as though you were a god, do not therefore be in such a to cut my off. Your own son Telemachus will tell you that I did not want to your house and sing to the after their meals, but they were too many and too for me, so they me.”
Telemachus him, and at once up to his father. “Hold!” he cried, “the man is guiltless, do him no hurt; and we will Medon too, who was always good to me when I was a boy, unless Philoetius or Eumaeus has already killed him, or he has in your way when you were about the court.”
Medon these of Telemachus, for he was under a seat which he had by himself up with a heifer’s hide, so he off the hide, up to Telemachus, and of his knees.
“Here I am, my dear sir,” said he, “stay your hand therefore, and tell your father, or he will kill me in his against the for having his and been so to yourself.”
Ulysses at him and answered, “Fear not; Telemachus has saved your life, that you may know in future, and tell other people, how good than ones. Go, therefore, the into the court, and be out of the way of the slaughter—you and the bard—while I my work here inside.”
The pair into the as fast as they could, and sat by Jove’s great altar, looking round, and still that they would be killed. Then Ulysses the whole over, to see if anyone had managed to himself and was still living, but he them all in the and in their blood. They were like which have out of the sea, and upon the beach to for water till the of the sun makes an end of them. Even so were the all up one against the other.
Then Ulysses said to Telemachus, “Call nurse Euryclea; I have something to say to her.”
Telemachus and at the door of the women’s room. “Make haste,” said he, “you old woman who have been set over all the other in the house. Come outside; my father to speak to you.”
When Euryclea this she the door of the women’s room and came out, Telemachus. She Ulysses among the with blood and like a lion that has just been an ox, and his and his are all bloody, so that he is a sight; so was Ulysses from to with gore. When she saw all the and such a quantity of blood, she was to out for joy, for she saw that a great had been done; but Ulysses her, “Old woman,” said he, “rejoice in silence; yourself, and do not make any noise about it; it is an thing to over men. Heaven’s and their own have these men to destruction, for they no man in the whole world, neither rich poor, who came near them, and they have come to a end as a for their and folly. Now, however, tell me which of the in the house have themselves, and who are innocent.”176
“I will tell you the truth, my son,” answered Euryclea. “There are fifty in the house we teach to do things, such as wool, and all of work. Of these, twelve in all177 have misbehaved, and have been wanting in respect to me, and also to Penelope. They no to Telemachus, for he has only and his mother permitted him to give orders to the female servants; but let me go and tell your wife all that has happened, for some god has been sending her to sleep.”
“Do not wake her yet,” answered Ulysses, “but tell the who have themselves to come to me.”
Euryclea left the to tell the women, and make them come to Ulysses; in the meantime he called Telemachus, the stockman, and the swineherd. “Begin,” said he, “to remove the dead, and make the help you. Then, and clean water to the tables and seats. When you have the whole cloisters, take the into the space the room and the of the court, and them through with your till they are dead, and have all about love and the way in which they used to in with the suitors.”
On this the came in a body, and bitterly. First they the out, and them up against one another in the gatehouse. Ulysses ordered them about and them do their work quickly, so they had to the out. When they had done this, they all the tables and seats with and water, while Telemachus and the two others up the blood and from the ground, and the it all away and put it out of doors. Then when they had the whole place clean and orderly, they took the out and them in the narrow space the of the room and that of the yard, so that they not away: and Telemachus said to the other two, “I shall not let these die a clean death, for they were to me and my mother, and used to sleep with the suitors.”
So saying he a ship’s fast to one of the bearing-posts that supported the of the room, and it all around the building, at a good height, any of the women’s should touch the ground; and as or against a that has been set for them in a just as they were to their nest, and a terrible them, so did the have to put their in one after the other and die most miserably.178 Their moved for a while, but not for very long.
As for Melanthius, they took him through the into the court. There they cut off his nose and his ears; they out his and gave them to the dogs raw, and then in their they cut off his hands and his feet.
When they had done this they their hands and and into the house, for all was now over; and Ulysses said to the dear old nurse Euryclea, “Bring me sulphur, which all pollution, and fire also that I may it, and the cloisters. Go, moreover, and tell Penelope to come here with her attendants, and also all the that are in the house.”
“All that you have said is true,” answered Euryclea, “but let me you some clean clothes—a shirt and cloak. Do not keep these on your any longer. It is not right.”
“First light me a fire,” Ulysses.
She the fire and sulphur, as he had her, and Ulysses purified the and the and courts. Then she to call the and tell them what had happened; they came from their with in their hands, and pressed Ulysses to him, his and and taking of his hands. It him as if he should like to weep, for he every one of them.179
