These Guests Outstayed Their Welcome
December 29, 2014
Homer (fl. 850 B.C.).
The Odyssey.
Vol. 22, pp. 296-309 of
The Harvard Classics
After twenty years'
absence, Odysseus returned home to find his house filled with
strangers rioting and wasting his treasure. Crafty Odysseus, with the
aid of his son and the gods, devised a bold plan to rid his home of
the unwelcome guests.
Book
XXII
The killing of the
wooers.
THEN Odysseus of many
counsels stripped him of his rags and leaped on to the great
threshold with his bow and quiver full of arrows, and poured forth
all the swift shafts there before his feet, and spake among the
wooers:
‘Lo, now is this terrible trial
ended at last; and now will I know of another mark, which never yet
man has smitten, if perchance I may hit it and Apollo grant me
renown.’
With that he pointed the bitter arrow
at Antinous. Now he was about raising to his lips a fair twy-eared
chalice of gold, and behold, he was handling it to drink of the wine,
and death was far from his thoughts. For who among men at feast would
deem that one man amongst so many, how hardy soever he were, would
bring on him foul death and black fate? But Odysseus aimed and smote
him with the arrow in the throat, and the point passed clean out
through his delicate neck, and he fell sidelong and the cup dropped
from his hand as he was smitten, and at once through his nostrils
there came up a thick jet of slain man’s blood, and quickly he
spurned the table from him with his foot, and spilt the food on the
ground, and the bread and the roast flesh were defiled. Then the
wooers raised a clamour through the halls when they saw the man
fallen, and they leaped from their high seats, as men stirred by
fear, all through the hall, peering everywhere along the well-builded
walls, and nowhere was there a shield or a mighty spear to lay hold
on. Then they reviled Odysseus with angry words:
‘Stranger, thou shootest at men to
thy hurt. Never again shalt thou enter other lists, now is utter doom
assured thee. Yea, for now hast thou slain the man that was far the
best of all the noble youths in Ithaca; wherefore vultures shall
devour thee here.’
So each one spake, for indeed they
thought that Odysseus had not slain him wilfully; but they knew not
in their folly that on their own heads, each and all of them, the
bands of death had been made fast. Then Odysseus of many counsels
looked fiercely on them, and spake:
‘Ye dogs, ye said in your hearts
that I should never more come home from the land of the Trojans, in
that ye wasted my house and lay with the maidservants by force, and
traitorously wooed my wife while I was yet alive, and ye had no fear
of the gods, that hold the wide heaven, nor of the indignation of men
hereafter. But now the bands of death have been made fast upon you
one and all.’
Even so he spake, and pale fear gat
hold on the limbs of all, and each man looked about, where he might
shun utter doom.
And Eurymachus alone answered him, and
spake: ‘If thou art indeed Odysseus of Ithaca, come home again,
with right thou speakest thus, of all that the Achaeans have wrought,
many infatuate deeds in thy halls and many in the field. Howbeit, he
now lies dead that is to blame for all, Antinous; for he brought all
these things upon us, not as longing very greatly for the marriage
nor needing it sore, but with another purpose, that Cronion has not
fulfilled for him, namely, that he might himself be king over all the
land of stablished Ithaca, and he was to have lain in wait for thy
son and killed him. But now he is slain after his deserving, and do
thou spare thy people, even thine own; and we will hereafter go about
the township and yield thee amends for all that has been eaten and
drunken in thy halls, each for himself bringing atonement of twenty
oxen worth, and requiting thee in gold and bronze till thy heart is
softened, but till then none may blame thee that thou art angry.’
Then Odysseus of many counsels looked
fiercely on him, and said: ‘Eurymachus, not even if ye gave me all
your heritage, all that ye now have, and whatsoever else ye might in
any wise add thereto, not even so would I henceforth hold my hands
from slaying, ere the wooers had paid for all their transgressions.
And now the choice lies before you, whether to fight in fair battle
or to fly, if any may avoid death and the fates. But there be some,
methinks, that shall not escape from utter doom.’
He spake, and their knees were
straightway loosened and their hearts melted within them. And
Eurymachus spake among them yet again:
‘Friends, it is plain that this man
will not hold his unconquerable hands, but now that he has caught up
the polished bow and quiver, he will shoot from the smooth threshold
till he has slain us all; wherefore let us take thought for the
delight of battle. Draw your blades, and hold up the tables to ward
off the arrows of swift death, and let us all have at him with one
accord, and drive him, if it may be, from the threshold and the
doorway and then go through the city, and quickly would the cry be
raised. Thereby should this man soon have shot his latest bolt.’
Therewith he drew his sharp two-edged
sword of bronze, and leapt on Odysseus with a terrible cry, but in
the same moment goodly Odysseus shot the arrow forth and struck him
on the breast by the pap, and drave the swift shaft into his liver.
So he let the sword fall from his hand, and grovelling over the table
he bowed and fell, and spilt the food and the two-handled cup on the
floor. And in his agony he smote the ground with his brow, and
spurning with both his feet he overthrew the high seat, and the mist
of death was shed upon his eyes.
Then Amphinomus
made at renowned Odysseus, setting straight at him, and drew his
sharp sword, if perchance he might make him give ground from the
door. But Telemachus was beforehand with him, and cast and smote him
from behind with a bronze-shod spear between the shoulders, and drave
it out through the breast, and he fell with a crash and struck the
ground full with his forehead. Then Telemachus sprang away, leaving
the long spear fixed in Amphinomus, for he greatly dreaded lest one
of the Achaeans might run upon him with his blade, and stab him as he
drew forth the spear, or smite him with a down stroke 1of
the sword. So he started and ran and came quickly to his father, and
stood by him, and spake winged words:
‘Father, lo, now I will bring thee a
shield and two spears and a helmet all of bronze, close fitting on
the temples, and when I return I will arm myself, and likewise give
arms to the swineherd and the neatherd yonder: for it is better to be
clad in full armour.’
And Odysseus of many counsels answered
him saying: ‘Run and bring them while I have arrows to defend me,
lest they thrust me from the doorway, one man against them all.’
So he spake, and Telemachus obeyed his
dear father, and went forth to the chamber, where his famous weapons
were lying. Thence he took out four shields and eight spears, and
four helmets of bronze, with thick plumes of horse hair, and he
started to bring them and came quickly to his father. Now he girded
the gear of bronze about his own body first, and in like manner the
two thralls did on the goodly armour, and stood beside the wise and
crafty Odysseus. Now he, so long as he had arrows to defend him, kept
aiming and smote the wooers one by one in his house, and they fell
thick one upon another. But when the arrows failed the prince in his
archery, he leaned his bow against the doorpost of the stablished
hall, against the shining faces of the entrance. As for him he girt
his fourfold shield about his shoulders and bound on his mighty head
a well wrought helmet, with horse hair crest, and terribly the plume
waved aloft. And he grasped two mighty spears tipped with bronze.
Now there was in the well-builded hall
a certain postern raised above the floor, and there by the topmost
level of the threshold of the stablished hall, was a way into an open
passage, closed by well-fitted folding doors. So Odysseus bade the
goodly swineherd stand near thereto and watch the way, for thither
there was but one approach. Then Agelaus spake among them, and
declared his word to all:
‘Friends, will not some man climb up
to the postern, and give word to the people, and a cry would be
raised straightway; so should this man soon have shot his latest
bolt?’
Then Melanthius, the goatherd,
answered him, saying: ‘It may in no wise be, prince Agelaus; for
the fair gate of the courtyard is terribly nigh, and perilous is the
entrance to the passage, and one man, if he were valiant, might keep
back a host. But come, let me bring you armour from the inner
chamber, that ye may be clad in hauberks, for, methinks, within that
room and not elsewhere did Odysseus and his renowned son lay by the
arms.’
Therewith Melanthius, the goatherd,
climbed up by the clerestory of the hall to the inner chambers of
Odysseus, whence he took twelve shields and as many spears, and as
many helmets of bronze with thick plumes of horse hair, and he came
forth and brought them speedily, and gave them to the wooers. Then
the knees of Odysseus were loosened and his heart melted within him,
when he saw them girding on the armour and brandishing the long
spears in their hands, and great, he saw, was the adventure. Quickly
he spake to Telemachus winged words:
Telemachus, sure I am that one of the
women in the halls is stirring up an evil battle against us, or
perchance it is Melanthius.’
Then wise Telemachus answered him: “My
father, it is I that have erred herein and none other is to blame,
for I left the well-fitted door of the chamber open, and there has
been one of them but too quick to spy it. Go now, goodly Eumaeus, and
close the door of the chamber, and mark if it be indeed one of the
women that does this mischief, or Melanthius, son of Dolius, as
methinks it is.”
Even so they spake one to the other.
And Melanthius, the goatherd, went yet again to the chamber to bring
the fair armour. But the goodly swineherd was ware thereof, and
quickly he spake to Odysseus who stood nigh him:
‘Son of Laertes, of the seed of
Zeus, Odysseus, of many devices, lo, there again is that baleful man,
whom we ourselves suspect, going to the chamber; do thou tell me
truly, shall I slay him if I prove the better man, or bring him
hither to thee, that he may pay for the many transgressions that he
has devised in thy house?’
Then Odysseus of
many counsels answered saying: ‘Verily, I and Telemachus will keep
the proud wooers within the halls, for all their fury, but do ye
twain tie his feet and arms behind his back and cast him into the
chamber, and close the doors after you, 2 and
make fast to his body a twisted rope, and drag him up the lofty
pillar till he be near the roof beams, that he may hang there and
live for long, and suffer grievous torment.’
So he spake, and they gave good heed
and hearkened. So they went forth to the chamber, but the goatherd
who was within knew not of their coming. Now he was seeking for the
armour in the secret place of the chamber, but they twain stood in
waiting on either side the doorposts. And when Melanthius, the
goatherd, was crossing the threshold with a goodly helm in one hand,
and in the other a wide shield and an old, stained with rust, the
shield of the hero Laertes that he bare when he was young—but at
that time it was laid by, and the seams of the straps were
loosened,—then the twain rushed on him and caught him, and dragged
him in by the hair, and cast him on the floor in sorrowful plight,
and bound him hand and foot in a bitter bond, tightly winding each
limb behind his back, even as the son of Laertes bade them, the
steadfast goodly Odysseus. And they made fast to his body a twisted
rope, and dragged him up the lofty pillar till he came near the roof
beams. Then didst thou speak to him and gird at him, swineherd
Eumaeus:
‘Now in good truth, Melanthius,
shalt thou watch all night, lying in a soft bed as beseems thee, nor
shall the early-born Dawn escape thy ken, when she comes forth from
the streams of Oceanus, on her golden throne, in the hour when thou
art wont to drive the goats to make a meal for the wooers in the
halls.’
So he was left there, stretched tight
in the deadly bond. But they twain got into their harness, and closed
the shining door, and went to Odysseus, wise and crafty chief. There
they stood breathing fury, four men by the threshold, while those
others within the halls were many and good warriors. Then Athene,
daughter of Zeus, drew nigh them, like Mentor in fashion and in
voice, and Odysseus was glad when he saw her and spake, saying:
‘Mentor, ward from us hurt, and
remember me thy dear companion, that befriended thee often, and thou
art of like age with me.’
So he spake, deeming the while that it
was Athene, summoner of the host. But the wooers on the other side
shouted in the halls, and first Agelaus son of Damastor rebuked
Athene, saying:
‘Mentor, let not the speech of
Odysseus beguile thee to fight against the wooers, and to succour
him. For methinks that on this wise we shall work our will. When we
shall have slain these men, father and son, thereafter shalt thou
perish with them, such deeds thou art set on doing in these halls;
nay, with thine own head shalt thou pay the price. But when with the
sword we shall have overcome your violence, we will mingle all thy
possessions, all that thou hast at home or in the field, with the
wealth of Odysseus, and we will not suffer thy sons nor thy daughters
to dwell in the halls, nor thy good wife to gad about in the town of
Ithaca.’
So spake he, and Athene was mightily
angered at heart, and chid Odysseus in wrathful words: ‘Odysseus,
thou hast no more steadfast might nor any prowess, as when for nine
whole years continually thou didst battle with the Trojans for high
born Helen, of the white arms, and many men thou slewest in terrible
warfare, and by thy device the wide-wayed city of Priam was taken.
How then, now that thou art come to thy house and thine own
possessions, dost thou bewail thee and art of feeble courage to stand
before the wooers? Nay, come hither, friend, and stand by me, and I
will show thee a thing, that thou mayest know what manner of man is
Mentor, son of Alcimus, to repay good deeds in the ranks of foemen.’
She spake, and gave him not yet clear
victory in full, but still for a while made trial of the might and
prowess of Odysseus and his renowned son. As for her she flew up to
the roof timber of the murky hall, in such fashion as a swallow
flies, and there sat down.
Now Agelaus, son of Damastor, urged on
the wooers, and likewise Eurynomus and Amphimedon and Demoptolemus
and Peisandrus son of Polyctor, and wise Polybus, for these were in
valiancy far the best men of the wooers, that still lived and fought
for their lives; for the rest had fallen already beneath the bow and
the thick rain of arrows. Then Agelaus spake among them, and made
known his word to all:
‘Friends, now at last will this man
hold his unconquerable hands. Lo, now has Mentor left him and spoken
but vain boasts, and these remain alone at the entrance of the doors.
Wherefore now, throw not your long spears all together, but come, do
ye six cast first, if perchance Zeus may grant us to smite Odysseus
and win renown. Of the rest will we take no heed, so soon as that man
shall have fallen.’
So he spake and they all cast their
javelins, as he bade them, eagerly; but behold, Athene so wrought
that they were all in vain. On man smote the doorpost of the
stablished hall, and another the well-fastened door, and the ashen
spear of yet another wooer, heavy with bronze, stuck fast in the
wall. So when they had avoided all the spears of the wooers, the
steadfast goodly Odysseus began first to speak among them:
‘Friends, now my word is that we too
cast and hurl into the press of the wooers, that are mad to slay and
strip us beyond the measure of their former iniquities.’
So he spake, and they all took good
aim and threw their sharp spears, and Odysseus smote Demoptolemus,
and Telemachus Euryades, and the swineherd slew Elatus, and the
neatherd Peisandrus. Thus they all bit the wide floor with their
teeth, and the wooers fell back into the inmost part of the hall. But
the others dashed upon them and drew forth the shafts from the bodies
of the dead.
Then once more the wooers threw their
sharp spears eagerly; but behold, Athene so wrought that many of them
were in vain. One man smote the doorpost of the stablished hall, and
another the well-fastened door, and the ashen spear of another wooer,
heavy with bronze, struck in the wall. Yet Amphimedon hit Telemachus
on the hand by the wrist lightly, and the shaft of bronze wounded the
surface of the skin. And Ctesippus grazed the shoulder of Eumaeus
with a long spear high above the shield, and the spear flew over and
fell to the ground. Then again Odysseus, the wise and crafty, he and
his men cast their swift spears into the press of the wooers, and now
once more Odysseus, waster of cities, smote Eurydamas, and Telemachus
Amphimedon, and the swineherd slew Polybus, and last, the neatherd
struck Ctesippus in the breast and boasted over him, saying:
‘O son of Polytherses, thou lover of
jeering, never give place at all to folly to speak so big, but leave
thy case to the gods, since in truth they are far mightier than thou.
This gift is thy recompense for the ox-foot that thou gavest of late
to the divine Odysseus, when he went begging through the house.’
So spake the keeper of the shambling
kine. Next Odysseus wounded the son of Damastor in close fight with
his long spear, and Telemachus wounded Leocritus son of Euenor, right
in the flank with his lance, and drave the bronze point clean
through, that he fell prone and struck the ground full with his
forehead. Then Athene held up her destroying aegis on high from the
roof, and their minds were scared, and they fled through the hall,
like a drove of kine that the flitting gadfly falls upon and scatters
hither and thither in spring time, when the long days begin. But the
others set on like vultures of crooked claws and curved beak, that
come forth from the mountain and dash upon smaller birds, and these
scour low in the plain, stooping in terror from the clouds, while the
vultures pounce on them and slay them, and there is no help nor way
of flight, and men are glad at the sport; even so did the company of
Odysseus set upon the wooers and smite them right and left through
the hall; and there rose a hideous moaning as their heads were
smitten, and the floor all ran with blood.
Now Leiodes took hold of the knees of
Odysseus eagerly, and besought him and spake winged words: ‘I
entreat thee by thy knees, Odysseus, and do thou show mercy on me and
have pity. For never yet, I say, have I wronged a maiden in thy halls
by froward word or deed, nay I bade the other wooers refrain, whoso
of them wrought thus. But they hearkened not unto me to keep their
hands from evil. Wherefore they have met a shameful death through
their own infatuate deeds. Yet I, the soothsayer among them, that
have wrought no evil, shall fall even as they, for no grace abides
for good deeds done.’
Then Odysseus of many counsels looked
askance at him, and said: ‘If indeed thou dost avow thee to be the
soothsayer of these men, thou art like to have often prayed in the
halls that the issue of a glad return might be far from me, and that
my dear wife should follow thee and bear thee children; wherefore
thou shalt not escape the bitterness of death.’
Therewith he caught up a sword in his
strong hand, that lay where Agelaus had let it fall to the ground
when he was slain, and drave it clean through his neck, and as he yet
spake his head fell even to the dust.
But the son of Terpes, the minstrel,
still sought how he might shun black fate, Phemius, who sang among
the wooers of necessity. He stood with the loud lyre in his hand hard
by the postern gate, and his heart was divided within him, whether he
should slip forth from the hall and sit down by the well-wrought
altar of great Zeus of the household court, whereon Laertes and
Odysseus had burnt many pieces of the thighs of oxen, or should
spring forward and beseech Odysseus by his knees. And as he thought
thereupon this seemed to him the better way, to embrace the knees of
Odysseus, son of Laertes. So he laid the hollow lyre on the ground
between the mixing-bowl and the high seat inlaid with silver, and
himself sprang forward and seized Odysseus by the knees, and besought
him and spake winged words:
‘I entreat thee by thy knees,
Odysseus, and do thou show mercy on me and have pity. It will be a
sorrow to thyself in the aftertime if thou slayest me who am a
minstrel, and sing before gods and men. Yea none has taught me but
myself, and the god has put into my heart all manner of lays, and
methinks I sing to thee as to a god, wherefore be not eager to cut
off my head. And Telemachus will testify of this, thine own dear son,
that not by mine own will or desire did I resort to thy house to sing
to the wooers at their feasts; but being so many and stronger than I
they led me by constraint.’
So he spake, and the mighty prince
Telemachus heard him and quickly spake to his father at his side:
‘Hold thy hand, and wound not this blameless man with the sword;
and let us save also the henchman Medon, that ever had charge of me
in our house when I was a child, unless perchance Philoetius or the
swineherd have already slain him, or he hath met thee in thy raging
through the house.’
So he spake, and Medon, wise of heart,
heard him. For he lay crouching beneath a high seat, clad about in
the new-flayed hide of an ox and shunned black fate. So he rose up
quickly from under the seat, and cast off the ox-hide, and sprang
forth and caught Telemachus by the knees, and besought him and spake
winged words:
‘Friend, here am I; prithee stay thy
hand and speak to thy father, lest he harm me with the sharp sword in
the greatness of his strength, out of his anger for the wooers that
wasted his possessions in the halls, and in their folly held thee in
no honour.’
And Odysseus of many counsels smiled
on him and said: ‘Take courage, for lo, he has saved thee and
delivered thee, that thou mayst know in thy heart, and tell it even
to another, how far more excellent are good deeds than evil. But go
forth from the halls and sit down in the court apart from the
slaughter, thou and the full-voiced minstrel, till I have
accomplished all that I must needs do in the house.’
Therewith the two went forth and gat
them from the hall. So they sat down by the altar of great Zeus,
peering about on every side, still expecting death. And Odysseus
peered all through the house, to see if any man was yet alive and
hiding away to shun black fate. But he found all the sort of them
fallen in their blood in the dust, like fishes that the fishermen
have drawn forth in the meshes of the net into a hollow of the beach
from out the grey sea, and all the fish, sore longing for the salt
sea waves, are heaped upon the sand, and the sun shines forth and
takes their life away; so now the wooers lay heaped upon each other.
Then Odysseus of many counsels spake to Telemachus:
‘Telemachus, go, call me the nurse
Eurycleia, that I may tell her a word that is on my mind.’
So he spake, and Telemachus obeyed his
dear father, and smote at the door, and spake to the nurse Eurycleia:
‘Up now, aged wife, that overlookest all the women servants in our
halls, come hither, my father calls thee and has somewhat to say to
thee.’
Even so he spake, and wingless her
speech remained, and she opened the doors of the fair-lying halls,
and came forth, and Telemachus led the way before her. So she found
Odysseus among the bodies of the dead, stained with blood and soil of
battle, like a lion that has eaten of an ox of the homestead and goes
on his way, and all his breast and his cheeks on either side are
flecked with blood, and he is terrible to behold; even so was
Odysseus stained, both hands and feet. Now the nurse, when she saw
the bodies of the dead and the great gore of blood, made ready to cry
aloud for joy, beholding so great an adventure. But Odysseus checked
and held her in her eagerness, and uttering his voice spake to her
winged words:
‘Within thine own heart rejoice, old
nurse, and be still, and cry not aloud; for it is an unholy thing to
boast over slain men. Now these hath the destiny of the gods
overcome, and their own cruel deeds, for they honoured none of
earthly men, neither the bad nor yet the good, that came among them.
Wherefore they have met a shameful death through their own infatuate
deeds. But come, tell me the tale of the women in my halls, which of
them dishonour me, and which be guiltless.’
Then the good nurse Eurycleia answered
him: ‘Yea now, my child, I will tell thee all the truth. Thou hast
fifty women-servants in thy halls, that we have taught the ways of
housewifery, how to card wool and to bear bondage. Of these twelve in
all have gone the way of shame, and honour not me, nor their lady
Penelope. And Telemachus hath but newly come to his strength, and his
mother suffered him not to take command over the women in this house.
But now, let me go aloft to the shining upper chamber, and tell all
to thy wife, on whom some god hath sent a sleep.’
And Odysseus of many counsels answered
her, saying: ‘Wake her not yet, but bid the women come hither, who
in time past behaved themselves unseemly.’
So he spake, and the old wife passed
through the hall, to tell the women and to hasten their coming. Then
Odysseus called to him Telemachus, and the neatherd, and the
swineherd, and spake to them winged words:
‘Begin ye now to carry out the dead,
and bid the women help you, and thereafter cleanse the fair high
seats and the tables with water and porous sponges. And when ye have
set all the house in order, lead the maidens without the stablished
hall, between the vaulted room and the goodly fence of the court, and
there slay them with your long blades, till they shall have all given
up the ghost and forgotten the love that of old they had at the
bidding of the wooers, in secret dalliance.’
Even so he spake, and the women came
all in a crowd together, making a terrible lament and shedding big
tears. So first they carried forth the bodies of the slain, and set
them beneath the gallery of the fenced court, and propped them one on
another; and Odysseus himself hasted the women and directed them, and
they carried forth the dead perforce. Thereafter they cleansed the
fair high seats and the tables with water and porous sponges. And
Telemachus, and the neatherd, and the swineherd, scraped with spades
the floor of the well-builded house, and, behold, the maidens carried
all forth and laid it without the doors.
Now when they had made an end of
setting the hall in order, they led the maidens forth from the
stablished hall, and drove them up in a narrow space between the
vaulted room and the goodly fence of the court, whence none might
avoid; and wise Telemachus began to speak to his fellows, saying:
‘God forbid that I should take these women’s lives by a clean
death, these that have poured dishonour on my head and on my mother,
and have lain with the wooers.’
With that word he tied the cable of a
dark-prowed ship to a great pillar and flung it round the vaulted
room, and fastened it aloft, that none might touch the ground with
her feet. And even as when thrushes, long of wing, or doves fall into
a net that is set in a thicket, as they seek to their roosting-place,
and a loathly bed harbours them, even so the women held their heads
all in a row, and about all their necks nooses were cast, that they
might die by the most pitiful death. And they writhed with their feet
for a little space, but for no long while.
Then they led out Melanthius through
the doorway and the court, and cut off his nostrils and his ears with
the pitiless sword, and drew forth his vitals for the dogs to devour
raw, and cut off his hands and feet in their cruel anger.
Thereafter they washed their hands and
feet, and went into the house to Odysseus, and all the adventure was
over. So Odysseus called to the good nurse Eurycleia: ‘Bring
sulphur, old nurse, that cleanses all pollution and bring me fire,
that I may purify the house with sulphur, and do thou bid Penelope
come here with her handmaidens, and tell all the women to hasten into
the hall.’
Then the good nurse Eurycleia made
answer: ‘Yea, my child, herein thou hast spoken aright. But go to,
let me bring thee a mantle and a doublet for raiment, and stand not
thus in the halls with thy broad shoulders wrapped in rags; it were
blame in thee so to do.’
And Odysseus of many counsels answered
her, saying: ‘First let a fire now be made me in the hall.’
So he spake, and the good nurse
Eurycleia was not slow to obey, but brought fire and brimstone; and
Odysseus thoroughly purged the women’s chamber and the great hall
and the court.
Then the old wife went through the
fair halls of Odysseus to tell the women, and to hasten their coming.
So they came forth from their chamber with torches in their hands,
and fell about Odysseus, and embraced him and kissed and clasped his
head and shoulders and his hands lovingly, and a sweet longing came
on him to weep and moan, for he remembered them every one.
Note 1. Or,
reading [Greek], smite him as he stooped over the corpse. [back]
Note 2. Or,
as Mr. Merry suggests in his note, ‘tie boards behind him,’ as a
method of torture. He compares Aristoph. Thesm. 931, 940. [back]
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