That thou art come from wandering o'er the sea."

291

295

Ulysses, the sagacious, answered thus: "Twere hard, O sovereign lady, to relate In order all my sufferings, for the gods Of heaven have made them many; yet will I Tell all thou askest of me, and obey Thy bidding. Far within the ocean lies An island named Ogygia, where abides Calypso, artful goddess, with bright locks, Daughter of Atlas, and of dreaded power. No god consorts with her, nor anyone Of mortal birth. But me in my distress Some god conveyed alone to her abode, When, launching his white lightning, Jupiter Had cloven in the midst of the black sea My galley. There my gallant comrades all Perished, but I in both my arms held fast The keel of my good ship, and floated on 305 Nine days till, on the tenth, in the dark night, The gods had brought me to Ogygia's isle, Where dwells Calypso of the radiant hair And dreaded might, who kindly welcomed me And cherished me, and would have made my life

300

310

And then Alcinoüs answered him and said: "Stranger, one duty hath my child o'erlooked, To bid thee follow hither with her maids 360 Since thou didst sue to her the first of all." Ulysses, the sagacious, thus replied: "Blame not for that, O hero, I entreat, Thy faultless daughter. She commanded me To follow with her maids, but I refrained 365 For fear and awe of thee, lest, at the sight, Thou mightest be displeased; for we are prone To dark misgivings-we, the sons of men." Again Alcinous spake: "The heart that beats

370

Within my bosom is not rashly moved
To wrath, and better is the temperate mood.
This must I say, O Father Jupiter,
And Pallas and Apollo! I could wish
That, being as thou art, and of like mind 374
With me, thou wouldst receive to be thy bride
My daughter, and be called my son-in-law,
And here abide. A palace I would give,
And riches, shouldst thou willingly remain.
Against thy will let no Phæacian dare
To keep thee here. May Father Jove forbid!

379

394

Who saw it when they over sea conveyed 389
The fair-haired Rhadamanthus, on his way
To visit Tityus, son of Earth. They went
Thither, accomplishing with little toil
Their voyage in the compass of a day,
And brought the hero to our isle again.
Now shalt thou learn, and in thy heart confess,
How much our galleys and our youths excel
With bladed oars to stir the whirling brine."
So spake the king, and the great sufferer
Ulysses heard with gladness, and preferred
A prayer, and called on Jupiter and said:
"Grant, Father Jove, that all the king has
said

400

36

I know him not-has come to my abode,
A wanderer-haply from the tribes who dwell
In the far East, or haply from the West-
And asked an escort and safe-conduct home;
And let us make them ready, as our wont
Has ever been. No stranger ever comes
Across my threshold who is suffered long 40
To pine for his departure. Let us draw
A dark-hulled ship down to the holy sea
On her first voyage. Let us choose her crew
Among the people, two-and-fifty youths
Of our best seamen. Then make fast the oars
Beside the benches, leave them there, and

come

Into our palace and partake in haste

44

A feast which I will liberally spread
For all of you. This I command the youths;
But you, ye sceptered princes, come at once

22. Laertes, father of Ulysses.

60

Of princes followed him. The herald sought
Meantime the sacred bard. The chosen youths
Fifty-and-two betook them to the marge
Of the unfruitful sea; and when they reached
The ship and beach they drew the dark hull
down

To the deep water, put the mast on board
And the ship's sails, and fitted well the oars
Into the leathern rings, and, having moored
Their bark in the deep water, went with speed
To their wise monarch in his spacious halls. 67
There portico and court and hall were
thronged

With people, young and old in multitude; And there Alcinous sacrificed twelve sheep, Eight white-toothed swine, and two splayfooted beeves.

71

And these they flayed, and duly dressed, and made

A noble banquet ready. Then appeared
The herald, leading the sweet singer in,
Him whom the Muse with an exceeding love
Had cherished, and had visited with good 76

And evil, quenched his eyesight and bestowed
Sweetness of song. Pontonous mid the guests
Placed for the bard a silver-studded throne,
Against a lofty column hung his harp
Above his head, and taught him how to find
And take it down. Near him the herald set
A basket and fair table, and a cup

80

Of wine, that he might drink when he desired; Then all put forth their hands and shared the feast.

85

And Agamemnon, king of men, rejoiced
To hear the noblest of the Achaian host
Contending; for all this had been foretold 95
To him in sacred Pythia by the voice
Of Phoebus, when the monarch to inquire
At the oracle had crossed the rock which
formed

Its threshold. Then began the train of woes

90. Achilles, a Greek warrior, the central hero of the Iliad 93. Agamemnon, brother of King Menelaus of Sparta and chief of the Greek expedition against Troy. 94. Achaian, Greek. 96. Pythia, another name for Delphi, the seat of the famous oracle of Apollo. 97. Phoebus, another name for Apollo.

Which at the will of sovereign Jupiter Befell the sons of Ilium and of Greece.

100

105

110

So sang renowned Demodocus. Meanwhile Ulysses took into his brawny hands An ample veil of purple, drawing it Around his head to hide his noble face, Ashamed that the Phæacians should behold The tears that flowed so freely from his lids. But when the sacred bard had ceased his song, He wiped the tears away and laid the veil Aside, and took a double beaker filled With wine, and poured libations to the gods. Yet when again the minstrel sang, and all The chiefs of the Phæacian people, charmed, To hear his music, bade the strain proceed, Again Ulysses hid his face and wept. No other eye beheld the tears he shed. Alcinoüs only watched him, and perceived His grief, and heard the sighs he drew, and spake

To the Phæacians, lovers of the sea:

115

130

Then did the herald hang the clear-toned harp
Again on high, and taking by the hand
Demodocus, he led him from the place,
Guiding him in the way which just before
The princes of Phæacia trod to see
The public games. Into the market-place
They went; a vast innumerable crowd
Pressed after. Then did many a valiant youth
Arise Acroneus and Ocyalus,

Elatreus, Nauteus, Prymneus, after whom
Upstood Anchialus, and by his side
Eretmeus, Ponteus, Proreus, Thoön, rose;
Anabasineüs and Amphialus,

A son of Polyneius, Tecton's son;
Then rose the son of Naubolus, like Mars
In warlike port, Euryalus by name,
And goodliest both in feature and in form
Of all Phæacia's sons save one alone,
Laodamas the faultless. Next three sons
Of King Alcinous rose: Laodamas,

136

140

145

101. Ilium, the Greek name for Troy from which the Iliad takes its name.

By rapine, and art surely no athlete."

Ulysses, the sagacious, frowned and said: "Stranger, thou speakest not becomingly, 206 But like a man who recks not what he says. The gods bestow not equally on all The gifts that men desire-the grace of form, The mind, the eloquence. One man to sight Is undistinguished, but on him the gods Bestow the power of words. All look on him Gladly; he knows whereof he speaks; his speech

Is mild and modest; he is eminent

211

217

In all assemblies, and, whene'er he walks
The city, men regard him as a god.
Another in the form he wears is like
The immortals, yet has he no power to speak
Becoming words. So thou hast comely looks;
A god would not have shaped thee otherwise
Than we behold thee-yet thy wit is small,
And thy unmannerly words have angered me
Even to the heart. Not quite unskilled am I
In games, as thou dost idly talk, and once,
When I could trust my youth and my strong

230

I think that in these contests I was deemed
Among the first. But I am now pressed down
With toil and sorrow; much have I endured
In wars with heroes and on stormy seas.
Yet even thus, a sufferer as I am,
Will I essay these feats; for sharp have been
Thy words and they provoke me to the proof."
He spake, and rising with his mantle on
He seized a broader, thicker, heavier quoit,
By no small odds, than the Phæacians used,
And swinging it around with vigorous arm
He sent it forth; it sounded as it went;
And the Phæacians, skillful with the oar
And sail, bent low as o'er them, from his hand,

237

A mark where it descended, and exclaimed: "Stranger! a blind man, groping here, could find

Thy mark full easily, since it is not
Among the many, but beyond them all. 245
Then fear thou nothing in this game at least;
For no Phæacian here can throw the quoit
As far as thou, much less exceed thy cast."
She spake; Ulysses the great sufferer
Heard, and rejoiced to know he had a friend
In that great circle. With a lighter heart 251
Thus said the chief to the Phæacian crowd:
"Follow that cast, young men, and I will
send

260

With me the boxing or the wrestling match,
Or foot-race; there is naught that I refuse—
Any of the Phæacians. I except
Laodamas; he is my host, and who
Would enter such a contest with a friend?
A senseless, worthless man is he who seeks
A strife like this with one who shelters him
In a strange land; he mars the welcome given.
As for the rest, there is no rival here
Whom I reject or scorn; for I would know
Their prowess, and would try my own with
theirs

266

270

Before you all. At any of the games
Practiced among mankind I am not ill,
Whatever they may be. The polished bow
I well know how to handle. I should be
The first to strike a foe by arrows sent
Among a hostile squadron, though there stood
A crowd of fellow-warriors by my side
And also aimed their shafts. The only one
Whose skill in archery excelled my own,
When we Achaians drew the bow at Troy,
Was Philoctetes; to all other men

275

On earth that live by bread I hold myself 280 Superior. Yet I claim no rivalry

With men of ancient times-with Hercules And Eurytus the Echalian, who defied

279. Philoctetes, a Greek in the Trojan war who was famous as an archer. 282. Hercules, a mighty hero in Greek and Roman mythology, famous for his strength and courage. Juno consented to his being made immortal on condition of his accomplishing certain superhuman feats, called the "twelve labors" of Hercules, in which he succeeded. 283. Eurytus, a skilled archer who was King of Echalia.