the tackle in it, which well-benched ships carry. And she stood at the extremity of the port; and her excellent companions were collected together around her; and the goddess incited each.

Then the blue-eyed goddess Minerva thought of other things, and hastened to the dwelling of godlike Ulysses: there she shed sweet sleep over the suitors, and caused them to wander while drinking; and cast the cups out of their hands.58 And they 59 hastened through the city to sleep; nor did they sit any longer, when sleep fell upon their eye-lids. But blue-eyed Minerva addressed Telemachus, having called him forth out of the well-inhabited palace, likened unto Mentor both in her person and her voice.

"Telemachus, already are thy well-greaved companions sitting at their oars, awaiting your approach. Now let us go, nor delay the voyage any longer."

Thus having spoken, Pallas Minerva quickly led the way; but he straightway followed the steps of the goddess. And when they came to the ship and to the sea, then they found their long-haired companions on the shore; and the sacred might of Telemachus 60 addressed them: " Hither, my friends, let us bring provisions; for all things are now collected in the dwelling; and my mother knows it not at all; nor do the other female servants, but one only has heard the matter.”

Thus having spoken he led the way; and they followed with him. And bringing all the things, they placed them on the well-benched ship, as the dear son of Ulysses gave orders. Telemachus then embarked in the ship, and Minerva led and sat down in the stern, and near her sat Telemachus. And they loosed the hawsers; and themselves embarking, sat on the benches. But to them blue-eyed Minerva sent a favourable gale, 61 a brisk zephyr whistling over the dark sea. But Telemachus exhorting his companions ordered them to fit their

58 i. e. caused them to drop from their tired hands.

59 i. e. the guests who were on a visit to the suitors. Eustathius.

GO These circumlocutions are very common in Homer, and, as they are always used to express personal might and prowess, it much detracts from the simple grandeur of heroic language to render them merely by the English adjective.

σἱ Loewe, however, derives ἴκμενον from ἵκμας = ΰγρον ποιῶν. He observes however that it is rather to be regarded as a general epithet of Zephyr, than as implying rain on the present occasion.

tackle; and they hearkened to him exhorting them, and raising up the fir-mast placed it within the hollow mast-hole; and bound it with the fore-cables, and drew the white sails with well-twisted thongs. And the wind swelled the middle of the sail; and the purple wave roared loudly around the keel, as the ship made its way: and it ran through the waves passing on its way; having then bound the tackle through the swift black ship, they set crowned cups of wine; and made libations to the immortal eternal gods, but most of all to the blue-eyed daughter of Jove. Then it passed along the way through the whole night and in the morning.

BOOK III.

ARGUMENT.

On reaching Pylos with Minerva, Telemachus finds the Pylians sacrificing bulls to Neptune. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Telemachus states the object of his voyage, and Nestor in reply relates what had happened to himself, and the circumstances of their sailing from Troy; but having no tidings of Ulysses, he advises him to go to Menelaus. Minerva departs, having discovered who she is; upon which Nestor offers sacrifice to her; and then sends Telemachus with his son Pisistratus in a chariot to Sparta. They arrive at Pheræ in the evening, and are entertained by Diocles.

1

BUT the sun, having left the very beauteous sea, rose upwards into the brazen heaven,2 that it might shine to the immortals and to mortal men over the bounteous earth. And they came to Pylos, the well-built citadel of Neleus: now they were offering sacrifices on the shore of the sea, all-black bulls to the azure-haired Shaker of the earth. There were nine seats and five hundred sat in each, and they allotted nine

1 Οη λίμνη put for θάλασσα οι Ωκεανός, see Loewe. Cf. Hesych. s. V. Xiuvn and Torauós, with Alberti's note, t. ii. p. 481. Strabo, v. p. 225, uses the compound λιμνοθάλαττα.

2 It was the old opinion that the heaven was solid, and framed of brass. Cf. Pind. Nem. vi. 5, ὁ δὲ χάλκεος ἀσφαλὲς αἰὶ ἕδος μένει οὐρανός (hence perhaps the brazen shoulders attributed to Atlas in Eur. Ion, i.). The phrase seems merely equivalent to στερεός.

3 The Pylians.

i. e. Neptune. Cf. Virg. Æn. iii. 119, whose verses have been compared with the present by Gellius, xiii. 25. Macrob. Sat. iii. 4.

bulls to each. Then they tasted the entrails, and burnt the thighs for the god. But they came ashore straight, and having lifted up the sails of the equal ship furled [them], and moored it; and they themselves disembarked. Telemachus then disembarked from the ship: but Minerva led the way the blue-eyed goddess Minerva first addressed him:

But

"Telemachus, no longer hast thou need of modesty, not even a little; for on that account hast thou sailed over the sea, that thou mayest inquire about thy father, where the earth conceals him, and what fate he has drawn on himself. come now, go straight to horse-taming Nestor; let us see7 what counsel he has concealed in his breast. But beseech him to tell thee what is true: but he will not speak a falsehood; for he is very prudent."

Prudent Telemachus then addressed her in turn: "Mentor, how shall I approach, how shall I salute him? I am not at all experienced in prudent discourse; besides there is diffidence for a young man to question an older."

But him the blue-eyed goddess Minerva again addressed: "Telemachus, thou wilt thyself perceive some things in thine own mind, and the deity will suggest others: for I do not think that thou wast born or nourished against the will of the gods."

Thus having spoken, Pallas Minerva quickly led the way. And he went immediately after the steps of the deity; and they came to the assembly and seats of the Pylians. There sat Nestor with his sons; and around were his companions preparing the feast, roasting flesh, and fixing other things on spits. They then, when they saw the strangers, all came together, and in salutation took them by the hand, and bade them sit down. Pisistratus, son of Nestor, first coming 5 Táoσoμat in the active form signifies to sprinkle, in the middle, to

eat or taste.

6 Carrying equal weight on both sides.

7 Eldoμev is put for the infinitive.

aidos is rendered by Loewe, "sensus pudoris." Translate more freely, "there is a sense of diffidence in a young man addressing an elder."

9 Whatever Maximus Tyrius, Diss. xxvi., may say, we must remember that daiμwv only came to mean a guardian spirit in the writings found after the time of Homer. See Rudolf on Ocellus Lucan. iii. § 3, who has carefully discussed the subject, observing, " antiquissimis temporibus daíuwv nihil aliud erat, quam Deus."

near, took the hand of both, and placed them near the banquet, on soft fleeces, on the sand of the sea, near his brother Thrasymedes and his father. And then he gave them parts of the entrails, and poured wine into a golden cup; and stretching out the right hand,10 called upon Pallas Minerva, the daughter of Ægis-bearing Jove:

"Pray now, O stranger, to king Neptune; for at his feast have ye met coming here. But when ye have made libations and have prayed, as is the custom, then to him also give the cup of sweet wine to make a libation; since I think that he also prays to the immortals; for all men have need of the gods: but he is younger [than thou], and of equal age with myself:12 therefore I will give the golden cup first to thee."

Thus having spoken, he placed the cup of sweet wine in her hands; and Minerva was pleased on account of the prudent just man, because he gave the golden cup to her first. And she straightway prayed much to king Neptune.

66

Hear, thou earth-containing Neptune, nor envy us beseeching thee to accomplish these works. To Nestor first and to his sons give glory; but afterwards to others grant a grateful recompence, to all the Pylians, for their illustrious hecatomb: and grant besides that Telemachus and I may return, having performed [the things] on account of which we came hither with a swift black ship."

Thus then she prayed; and she herself accomplished all things, but she gave the beautiful round cup 13 to Telemachus. In the same manner prayed the dear son of Ulysses. And when they had roasted the upper 14 flesh and had taken it off, having distributed the shares, they made a glorious feast. But when they had removed the desire of drinking and eating, to them the Gerenian knight Nestor began discourse:

10 The form of drinking a toast. Athenæus i. 11. ἐδεξιοῦντο, προπίνοντες ἑαυτοῖς, ταῖς δεξίαις. On the reduplicated form δειδισκόμενος, see Thiersch Gk. Gr. p. 495, Sandford's translation.

11 See Loewe.

12 Literally, there is equal age to him with myself.

13 But auoirúmελλov (which is an adjective, always being found joined with another word) rather means a vessel which has a KÚTEλov, or cup, at both ends. See Buttm. Lexil. p. 93, sq. A similar vessel is used to measure a penny or halfpenny-worth of hazel nuts in the streets of London.

14 So called in opposition to the viscera.

"Now then it is more proper to ask and inquire of the strangers, who they are, since they are satisfied with food. O strangers, who are ye? from whence do ye sail over the moist ways? 15 Do ye wander on account of some business or at random, as pirates over the sea? who wander exposing their lives, bearing ills to strangers?"

Prudent Telemachus in turn answered him, taking confidence; for Minerva herself had infused confidence into his mind, that he might inquire of him concerning his absent father, [and that he might obtain great glory amongst men.] 16

"O Nestor, son of Neleus, great glory of the Grecians, thou askest from whence we are; and I will tell thee. We have come from Ithaca, [situate] under Neïus, and this is a private, not a public business, which I mention. I come [to inquire] after the wide renown of my father, if I should any where hear of him, godlike, patient Ulysses: whom they say, some time ago, fighting together with thee, sacked the city of the Trojans. For all the others, as many as made war with the Trojans, we have heard of, [as to] where each perished in sad destruction: but his death the son of Saturn has made unheard of. For no one can tell clearly where he has perished: whether he has been subdued on the continent by hostile men, or whether in the sea amongst the waves of Amphitrite.17 Wherefore I now come to [beseech thee by] thy knees, if thou art willing to tell of his mournful death, if thou hast any where beheld it with thine eyes, or hast heard the tale of any one else wandering: for his mother brought him forth exceedingly calamitous. Nor by any means reverencing me soothe me, nor pitying me, but tell me plainly, as thou hast happened to witness it; ;18 I beseech thee, if ever my father, the good Ulysses, has performed any word or deed for thee, having promised it, amongst the people of the Trojans, where you Greeks suffered ills, be mindful of these things now, and tell me truly."

15 It must be remembered that piracy was not esteemed dishonourable in the heroic ages. See Thucyd. i. 5. The same feeling prevailed among the Lacedæmonians and the ancient Germans, (cf. Davis on Cæs. B. G. vi. 23,) the Danes (Steph. on Saxo Grammat. ii. p. 69). Compare Mallet's Northern Antiquities, ix. p. 173, sqq. ed. Bohn.

16 A doubtful verse.