Book 13

So he spoke, and all of them fell silent, hushed in stillness,held spellbound in their hearts through the shadowy halls.Then Alcinous answered him and spoke aloud:Odysseus, since you have come to my house with its bronze threshold,high-roofed, I think you shall not be driven back againto return home, though you have suffered very many things.To each man among you I speak these words, as I desire,as many as in my halls ever drink the elders' flaming wineand listen to the singer.The clothing for the stranger lies in the well-smoothed chest,and the gold intricately wrought, and all the othergifts that the counsellors of the Phaeacians brought here.But come, let us give him a great tripod and a cauldron,man by man; and we in turn, gathering through the district,shall be repaid; for it is hard for one man to give a gift for nothing.So spoke Alcinous, and his word pleased them.They went each to his own house to lie down to sleep,and when early-born rosy-fingered Dawn appeared,they hurried to the ship, and carried the bronze that gladdens men.And the sacred might of Alcinous stowed these things well,going himself through the ship beneath the benches, lest any of the comradesbe harmed as they rowed, when they should hasten at the oars.They went to the house of Alcinous and made ready the feast.And the sacred might of Alcinous sacrificed a bull for themto Zeus the dark-clouded, son of Cronus, who rules over all.Burning the thigh bones, they feasted on a glorious feast,taking delight; and among them sang the godlike singer,Demodocus, honoured by the people. But Odysseuskept turning his head often toward the all-shining sun,eager for it to set; for he longed to be gone.As when a man longs for his supper, for whom all day longhis wine-dark oxen have drawn the jointed plough through the fallow field,and gladly for him the light of the sun goes down,so that he may go to his supper, and his knees fail as he walks,so welcome to Odysseus was the setting light of the sun.At once he spoke among the oar-loving Phaeacians,and above all to Alcinous he declared his word:Alcinous, lord, most renowned of all peoples,send me on my way with libations, unharmed, and may you yourselves fare well;for already all that my dear heart desired is accomplished,escort and dear gifts; may the gods who dwell in heavenmake them blessed; and may I find at home a blameless wifewhen I return, with my dear ones safe and sound.But do you, remaining here, give joy to your wedded wivesand children; and may the gods grant you every excellence,and may no evil come among your people.So he spoke, and they all praised him and urgedthat the stranger be sent on his way, since he had spoken fittingly.And then the sacred might of Alcinous addressed the herald:Pontonous, mix the bowl and serve the honey-hearted wineto all throughout the hall, so that when we have prayed to father Zeuswe may send the stranger to his own native land.So he spoke, and Pontonous mixed the honey-hearted wine,and served it to all, standing by each in turn; and they poured libations to the blessed godswho hold the wide heaven,from where they sat. And godlike Odysseus stood up,and placed in the hand of Arete a two-handled cup,and speaking he addressed her with winged words:Farewell to me, O queen, forever, until old ageand death come, which are the lot of humankind.But I go home; and may you take delight in this housewith your children and your people and Alcinous the king.So saying, godlike Odysseus stepped over the threshold,and with him the sacred might of Alcinous sent the heraldto lead the way to the swift ship and the shore of the sea;and Arete sent along with him her handmaid women,one carrying a well-washed cloak and a tunic,and to another she gave a close-packed chest to carry along;and a third brought bread and red wine.But when they had come down to the ship and the sea,at once the noble escorts in the hollow shipreceived them and stowed them, all drink and all food;and they spread for Odysseus a rug and a sheet of linenon the deck planks of the hollow ship, so that he might sleep a sleep that knows no waking,at the stern; and he himself stepped aboard and lay downin silence; and they sat each at his own benchin order, and loosed the cable from the pierced stone.When they had leaned back and were tossing the salt sea with their oars,then sweet sleep fell upon his eyelids,a sleep that knows no waking, most pleasant, most like to death.And she, as when on a plain four stallion horses,all starting together under the strokes of the whip,lifting themselves high, swiftly accomplish their course,so her stern rose up, and behind her a great purple waveraged of the much-resounding sea.And she ran very safely and steadily; not even a hawk,the circling hawk, could have kept pace with her, the lightest of winged things.So swiftly running she cut through the waves of the sea,carrying a man whose counsels were like to the gods;who before had suffered very many griefs in his own heart,passing through wars of men and grievous waves,yet then he slept quietly, forgetful of all that he had endured.When the brightest star rose up, which comes most of allannouncing the light of early-born Dawn,then the sea-faring ship drew near to the island.There is a certain harbour of Phorcys, the old man of the sea,in the land of Ithaca; and two jutting headlands are in it,sheer cliffs, leaning toward the harbour,which shelter the great wave of the ill-blowing windsfrom outside; and within, without a mooring line, staywell-benched ships, when they have reached the measure of their anchorage.And at the head of the harbour is a long-leafed olive,and near it a lovely shadowy cave,sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads.In it are mixing bowls and two-handled jarsof stone; and there the bees store up their honey.And in it are long stone looms, where the nymphsweave sea-purple cloth, a wonder to behold;and in it are ever-flowing waters. And it has two doors,one toward the North, a descent for mortals,and the other toward the South, and that one is more divine; and by that wayno men enter, but it is the path of the immortals.There they drove in, not knowing it beforehand; and she thenran aground on the mainland as far as half of her whole length,hurrying on; so greatly was the strength of the rowers urgent.And they, stepping out of the well-benched ship onto the land,first lifted Odysseus out of the hollow shiptogether with his linen sheet and his shining rug,and laid him on the sand, mastered by sleep,and lifted out the possessions which the noble Phaeacianshad given him as he went homeward, through great-hearted Athena.And these they piled together beside the foot of the oliveoff the road, lest some one of the passing mencome upon them before Odysseus woke and do him harm;and they themselves went back home again. Nor did the earth-shakerforget the threats which he had first made against godlike Odysseus,but he asked the counsel of Zeus:Father Zeus, no longer shall I be honouredamong the immortal gods, since mortals do not honour me at all,the Phaeacians, who are indeed of my own lineage.For even now I said that Odysseus, having suffered many evils,would come home; and I never wholly took from him his homecoming,since you first promised and nodded assent.But they, carrying him sleeping in the swift ship over the sea,set him down in Ithaca, and gave him countless gifts,bronze and gold in abundance and woven clothing,many things, such as Odysseus would never have carried away from Troy,even if he had come unharmed, having drawn his share from the spoil.And Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered him and said:Alas, earth-shaker of wide strength, what a thing you have said.The gods do not dishonour you; and it would be hardto cast dishonour upon the eldest and the best.But if any man, yielding to your force and might,does not honour you, there is always vengeance for you hereafter too.Do as you wish, and as is dear to your heart.Then Poseidon the earth-shaker answered him:I would straightway do it, dark-clouded one, as you say;but I always regard and shun your anger.Now again I wish that the very beautiful ship of the Phaeacians,as it returns from its escort, in the misty sea,I might smash, so that they may now hold back and cease from the escortof mortals, and wrap a great mountain around their city.And Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered him:My dear one, as it seems best to my own heart,when all the people from the city see it as it is rowed in,then set a stone near the land,like to a swift ship, so that all men may marvel,and wrap a great mountain around their city.But when Poseidon the earth-shaker heard this,he went to Scheria, where the Phaeacians dwell.There he waited; and the sea-faring ship came very near,swiftly driven; and the earth-shaker came near it,who turned it to stone and rooted it fast beneath,striking it with the flat of his hand; and he had gone away.And they spoke winged words to one another,the Phaeacians of long oars, men famous for their ships.And thus would one say, looking at another near him:Alas, who has bound the swift ship in the seaas it was being rowed home? And indeed it had appeared entire.So would one speak; but they did not know how it had happened.Then Alcinous addressed them and said:Alas, indeed the prophecies spoken long ago have come upon me,from my father, who said that Poseidon was angeredagainst us, because we are blameless escorts of all men.He said that one day a very beautiful ship of Phaeacian men,returning from an escort, in the misty sea,would be smashed, and a great mountain would wrap around our city.So the old man spoke; and now all this is being fulfilled.But come, let us all be persuaded as I shall say:cease from the escort of mortals, whenever any one comesto our city; and to Poseidon let us sacrifice twelve bulls,chosen ones, in the hope that he may take pity,and not wrap a towering mountain around our city.So he spoke, and they were afraid, and made ready the bulls.So they prayed to lord Poseidon,the leaders and counsellors of the Phaeacian people,standing around the altar. And godlike Odysseus wokeas he slept in his native land, and he did not recognize it,having been long away; for the goddess had poured mist around him,Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, so that she might make himunrecognized, and tell him everything,lest his wife or townsmen or friends recognize him beforehe should exact payment for all the outrage of the suitors.Therefore all things appeared of another shape to the lord,the long straight paths and the harbours fit for every mooring,and the steep cliffs and the flourishing trees.He sprang up and stood, and looked upon his native land;and then he groaned aloud and smote his thighswith the flat of his hands, and lamenting he spoke a word:Woe is me, into the land of what mortals have I come now?Are they violent and savage, and not just,or are they hospitable, and is their mind god-fearing?Where shall I carry these many goods? And where shall I myselfwander? Would that I had stayed with the Phaeaciansthere; and I might have come to another of the over-mighty kings,who would have loved me and sent me on my way.But now I do not know where to put these things, nor will I leave themthere, lest they become spoil for others.Alas, so the leaders and counsellors of the Phaeacians were notall thoughtful and just,who led me away to another land, though they saidthey would bring me to clear-seen Ithaca, and they did not fulfil it.May Zeus, the god of suppliants, punish them, who alsowatches over other men and takes vengeance on whoever does wrong.But come, let me count the goods and look them over,lest they have gone off carrying some of them in the hollow ship.So saying, he counted the very beautiful tripods and cauldronsand the gold and the woven beautiful garments.He missed nothing of these; but he lamented for his native land,crawling along the shore of the much-resounding sea,lamenting greatly. And Athena came near to him,in form like a young man, a herdsman of sheep,very delicate, such as the sons of lords are,wearing a well-made two-fold cloak about her shoulders;and under her shining feet she had sandals, and in her hands a spear.And Odysseus rejoiced when he saw her, and came to meet her,and speaking he addressed her with winged words:Friend, since I first come upon you in this place,greetings, and do not meet me with any evil intent,but save these things, and save me; for to you I prayas to a god, and I come to your dear knees.And tell me this truly, so that I may know it well:What land, what people, what men are born here?Is it some clear-seen island, or some shorelying there by the sea of the rich-soiled mainland?Then the goddess, bright-eyed Athena, answered him:You are a fool, stranger, or you have come from far away,if you ask about this land. And it is not at allso nameless; very many know it,both those who dwell toward the dawn and the sun,and those who live behind toward the misty darkness.Indeed it is rugged and not fit for horses,nor overly poor, but it is not made broad either.For in it there is unspeakable grain, and in it wineis produced; and rain always holds it, and flourishing dew;it is good for grazing goats and cattle; there is woodlandof every kind, and in it there are ever-flowing watering places.So, stranger, the name of Ithaca has reached even to Troy,which they say is far from the land of Achaea.So she spoke, and much-enduring godlike Odysseus rejoiced,glad for his native land, as she told him,Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis;and speaking he addressed her with winged words:But he did not speak the truth, and he held his word back again,always turning in his breast a mind full of gain:I heard of Ithaca even in broad Crete,far across the sea; and now I myself have comewith these goods; and leaving behind as much again for my childrenI am a fugitive, because I killed the dear son of Idomeneus,Orsilochus swift of foot, who in broad Creteconquered men who earn their bread with his swift feet,because he wished to rob me of all the spoilfrom Troy, for which I suffered griefs in my heart,passing through wars of men and grievous waves,because I did not serve, pleasing his father,in the land of the Trojans, but led other comrades.Him, as he came down from the field, I struck with my bronze-tipped spear,lying in wait with a comrade near the road;and a very dark night held the sky, and no oneof men noticed us, and I took his life unseen.But when I had killed him with the sharp bronze,at once I went to the ship and besought the noble Phoenicians,and I gave them a spoil that pleased their hearts;I asked them to set me down and bring me to Pylosor to godlike Elis, where the Epeians rule.But indeed the force of the wind drove them from there,much against their will, and they did not wish to deceive me.And driven wandering from there, we came here by night.With haste we rowed into the harbour, and none of ushad any thought of supper, though we much needed to take it,but just as we were, all of us lay down after stepping off the ship.There sweet sleep came upon me as I lay wearied,and they took my goods out of the hollow shipand set them down where I myself lay on the sand.And they, going aboard for well-peopled Sidon,went off; and I was left with an aching heart.So he spoke, and the goddess bright-eyed Athena smiled,and stroked him with her hand; and she was like in form to a woman,beautiful and tall, and skilled in glorious works;and speaking she addressed him with winged words:Crafty and thievish would he be who could outdo youin all deceits, even if a god should contend with you.Hard one, of many wiles, insatiate in tricks, you were not goingto cease from deceits, not even when in your own land,and from thievish words, which are dear to you from the ground up.But come, let us no longer speak of these things, since we both knowcunning, since you are far the best of all mortalsin counsel and in speech, and I among all the godsam famed for wisdom and for cunning; nor did you recognizePallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, who alwaysstands by you in all labours and guards you,and made you dear to all the Phaeacians,and now I have come here, so that I may weave counsel with youand hide the goods which the noble Phaeaciansgave you as you went homeward, by my counsel and mind,and tell you all the woes that fate decrees for youto endure in your well-built halls; and you must endure them perforce,and not reveal it to anyone, neither man nor woman,of all people, that you have come wandering, but in silenceendure many griefs, submitting to the violence of men.Then much-devising Odysseus answered her:Hard it is, goddess, for a mortal who meets you to know you,even for one well skilled; for you liken yourself to everything.But this I know well, that you were kind to me before,while we sons of the Achaeans fought at Troy.But when we had sacked the steep city of Priam,and went aboard the ships, and a god scattered the Achaeans,I did not see you after that, daughter of Zeus, nor did I noticeyou boarding my ship, that you might ward off some grief from me.But ever holding in my own heart a torn spiritI wandered, until the gods released me from misery;until, in the rich land of the Phaeacian men,you encouraged me with words and yourself led me to the city.But now I beseech you by your father, for I do not thinkthat I have come to clear-seen Ithaca, but that I wander over some otherland; and I think you are mocking mein saying this, so that you may beguile my mind.Tell me if I have truly come to my dear native land.Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Always such is the thought in your breast;therefore I cannot forsake you in your misery,because you are gentle and quick-minded and prudent.For gladly would another man, coming home after wandering,long in his halls to see his children and his wife;but it is not yet dear to you to learn or to ask,before you have made trial of your wife, who sits thusin the halls, and for her always wretchedthe nights and the days waste away as she sheds tears.But I never disbelieved this, but in my heartI knew that you would return having lost all your comrades;but I did not wish to fight with Poseidonmy father's brother, who put wrath in his heart against you,angry because you blinded his dear son.But come, I will show you the seat of Ithaca, so that you may believe.This is the harbour of Phorcys, the old man of the sea,and this at the head of the harbour is the long-leafed olive;and near it the lovely shadowy cave,sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads;and this is the vaulted grotto, where youused to offer many perfect hecatombs to the nymphs;and this is Mount Neriton, clothed in forest.So speaking, the goddess scattered the mist, and the land appeared;and much-enduring godlike Odysseus rejoiced,glad for his land, and he kissed the life-giving earth.At once he prayed to the nymphs, raising his hands:Nymphs, Naiads, daughters of Zeus, I neverthought I would see you; and now with gentle prayersgreetings; and we shall give gifts too, as before,if the daughter of Zeus, driver of the spoil, willingly allows meboth to live myself and to raise up my dear son.Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Take heart, let not these things weigh on your mind.But the goods, let us put them at once nowin the recess of the wondrous cave, so that these may stay safe for you;and let us ourselves consider how things may be far the best.So speaking, the goddess went into the shadowy cave,searching out the hiding places through the cave; and Odysseuscarried all things near, gold and unyielding bronzeand well-made clothing, which the Phaeacians gave him.And he stowed them well, and set a stone upon the doors,Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis.And the two, sitting beside the foot of the sacred olive,planned destruction for the overbearing suitors.And the goddess bright-eyed Athena began the speaking:Zeus-born son of Laertes, Odysseus of many devices,consider how you will lay hands on the shameless suitors,who now for three years have lorded it in your hall,wooing your godlike wife and offering bride-gifts;and she, ever mourning in her heart for your return,holds hope out to all and promises each man,sending messages, but her mind longs for other things.Then much-devising Odysseus answered her:Alas, truly I was about to perish in my hallsby the evil fate of Agamemnon, son of Atreus,if you, goddess, had not told me each thing as is fitting.But come, weave counsel, how I may take vengeance on them;and stand beside me yourself, putting in me much-daring might,such as when we loosed the shining battlements of Troy.If, thus eager, you would stand by me, bright-eyed one,then I would fight even against three hundred menwith you, honoured goddess, when you readily help me.Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Indeed I shall be present with you, and you will not escape my notice,when we busy ourselves with these things; and I think that some,both with blood and brains, shall defile the boundless floorof the suitors, who devour your livelihood.But come, I will make you unrecognized by all mortals;I will shrivel the fair skin on your supple limbs,and destroy the yellow hair from your head, and put about you a garmentwhich a man would loathe to see one wearing,and I will dim your eyes, formerly so very beautiful,so that you may appear unseemly to all the suitorsand to your wife and child, whom you left in the halls.And do you first of all go to the swineherd,who is the guardian of your pigs, and is likewise kindly disposed to you,and loves your son and prudent Penelope.You will find him sitting among the swine; and they feedbeside the rock of Corax and the spring Arethusa,eating the acorn that pleases them and drinking the dark water,which nourishes the rich fat of the swine.Stay there and, sitting beside him, ask him all things,while I go to Sparta of fair womento call Telemachus, your dear son, Odysseus;who has gone to spacious Lacedaemon, to Menelaus,to ask news of you, if perhaps you are still alive.Then much-devising Odysseus answered her:Why then did you not tell him, you who know all things in your mind?Was it so that he too might wander and suffer griefsover the barren sea? And others devour his substance?Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Let him not be too much in your thoughts.I myself was escorting him, so that he might win good fameby going there; and he has no toil, but sits at easein the house of the son of Atreus, and countless gifts lie beside him.Truly the young men lie in wait for him with a black ship,eager to kill him before he reaches his native land;but I do not think that will happen before the earth holds some oneof the suitors, who devour your livelihood.So speaking, Athena touched him with her wand.She shrivelled the fair skin on his supple limbs,and destroyed the yellow hair from his head, and about all his limbsshe put the skin of an old man,and dimmed his eyes, formerly so very beautiful;and she cast about him another evil rag and a tunic,torn and filthy, begrimed with evil smoke;and she clothed him in the great hide of a swift deer,bare; and she gave him a staff and an unseemly beggar's bag,much torn; and in it was a twisted strap for a carrying cord.So the two, having thus planned, parted. And she thenwent to godlike Lacedaemon after the son of Odysseus.

So he spoke, and all of them fell silent and said nothing,held spellbound through the shadowy hall.Then Alcinous answered him and said:Odysseus, since you have come to my house with its bronze threshold,high-roofed, I do not think you will be turned back againand fail to get home, even though you have suffered a great deal.To each one of you I say this, wanting you to hear it,all you who in my halls always drink the bright wine of the eldersand listen to the singer.The clothes for the guest are lying in the well-polished chest,and the intricately worked gold, and all the othergifts that the Phaeacian counsellors brought here.But come, let us each give him a large tripod and a cauldron,one man at a time; and we in turn, collecting from the district,will be repaid; for it is hard for one man to give a gift for nothing.So spoke Alcinous, and his words pleased them.They went each to his own house to lie down and sleep,and when early-born rosy-fingered Dawn appeared,they hurried to the ship, and carried the bronze that gives men strength.And the sacred strength of Alcinous stowed it all well,going himself through the ship under the benches, so that none of the crewwould be hurt as they rowed, when they hurried at the oars.They went to Alcinous' house and prepared the feast.And the sacred strength of Alcinous sacrificed a bull for themto Zeus the dark-clouded, son of Cronus, who rules over all.When they had burned the thigh bones they feasted on a glorious meal,taking their pleasure; and among them sang the divine singer,Demodocus, honoured by the people. But Odysseuskept turning his head often toward the all-shining sun,eager for it to set, for he was longing to be gone.As when a man longs for his dinner, for whom all day longhis wine-dark oxen have dragged the jointed plough through the fallow field,and gladly for him the light of the sun goes down,so that he can go to his dinner, and his knees give out as he walks,so welcome to Odysseus was the setting light of the sun.At once he spoke to the oar-loving Phaeacians,and above all, making it clear to Alcinous, he spoke his words:Alcinous, lord, most distinguished of all peoples,send me on my way with a libation, unharmed, and may you yourselves be well.For all that my dear heart wanted has now been accomplished,escort and dear gifts; may the gods in heavenmake them a blessing; and may I find at home a blameless wifewhen I return, with my dear ones safe and sound.And may you, staying here, give joy to your wedded wivesand children; and may the gods grant you every kind of excellence,and may no evil come upon your people.So he spoke, and they all praised him and urgedthat the stranger be sent on his way, since he had spoken as he should.And then the sacred strength of Alcinous said to the herald:Pontonous, mix the bowl and serve the honey-sweet wineto everyone throughout the hall, so that when we have prayed to father Zeuswe may send the stranger to his own native land.So he spoke, and Pontonous mixed the honey-hearted wine,and served it to everyone, standing by each in turn; and they poured libations to the blessed godswho hold the wide heaven,from where they sat. And godlike Odysseus stood up,and put into Arete's hand a two-handled cup,and speaking he addressed her with winged words:Farewell to me, O queen, forever, until old ageand death come, which are the lot of human beings.But I am going home; and may you take delight in this housewith your children and your people and Alcinous the king.So saying, godlike Odysseus stepped over the threshold,and with him the sacred strength of Alcinous sent the heraldto lead the way to the swift ship and the shore of the sea;and Arete sent her handmaid women along with him,one carrying a well-washed cloak and a tunic,and to another she gave a tightly packed chest to carry along;and a third brought bread and red wine.But when they had come down to the ship and the sea,at once the noble escorts in the hollow shipreceived them and stowed them, all the drink and all the food;and they spread for Odysseus a rug and a linen sheeton the deck planks of the hollow ship, so that he might sleep a sleep without waking,at the stern; and he himself stepped aboard and lay downin silence; and they sat down, each at his own bench,in good order, and loosed the cable from the pierced stone.When they had leaned back and were tossing up the salt sea with their oars,then sweet sleep fell upon his eyelids,a sleep without waking, the sweetest, most like to death.And she, as when on a plain four stallion horses,all starting off together under the strokes of the whip,lifting themselves high, swiftly finish their course,so her stern rose up, and behind her a great purple waveboiled up out of the much-resounding sea.And she ran very safely and steadily; not even a hawk,the circling hawk, could have kept up with her, the lightest of winged things.So, running swiftly, she cut through the waves of the sea,carrying a man whose counsels were like those of the gods;who before had suffered very many griefs in his own heart,passing through wars of men and grievous waves,but then he slept quietly, forgetting all that he had suffered.When the brightest star rose up, the one that comes most of allannouncing the light of early-born Dawn,then the sea-faring ship drew near to the island.There is a harbour of Phorcys, the old man of the sea,in the land of Ithaca; and two jutting headlands are in it,sheer broken cliffs, leaning down toward the harbour,which shelter the great wave of the ill-blowing windsfrom outside; and inside, without any mooring rope, staywell-benched ships, once they have reached the measure of a good anchorage.And at the head of the harbour is a long-leafed olive tree,and near it a lovely shadowy cave,sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads.In it are mixing bowls and two-handled jarsof stone; and there the bees store up their honey.And in it are very tall stone looms, where the nymphsweave sea-purple cloth, a wonder to look at;and in it are ever-flowing waters. And it has two doors,one toward the North, a way down for men,and the other toward the South, which is more divine; and by that wayno men come in, but it is the path of the immortals.There they drove in, not knowing it beforehand; and she thenran aground on the mainland as far as half of her whole length,hurrying on; so greatly was the strength of the rowers pushing her.And they, stepping out of the well-benched ship onto the land,first lifted Odysseus out of the hollow shiptogether with his linen sheet and his shining rug,and laid him on the sand, overcome by sleep,and lifted out the possessions which the noble Phaeacianshad given him as he went homeward, through great-hearted Athena.And these they piled up together beside the foot of the oliveoff the road, in case some passing mancame upon them before Odysseus woke and harmed them;and they themselves went back home again. Nor did the earth-shakerforget the threats which he had first made against godlike Odysseus,but he asked for the counsel of Zeus:Father Zeus, I shall no longer be honouredamong the immortal gods, since mortals do not honour me at all,the Phaeacians, who are indeed of my own lineage.For even now I said that Odysseus, having suffered many evils,would come home; and I never wholly took away his homecoming,since you first promised it and nodded your assent.But they, carrying him asleep in the swift ship over the sea,set him down in Ithaca, and gave him countless gifts,bronze and gold in abundance and woven clothing,many things, such as Odysseus would never have carried away from Troy,even if he had come back unharmed, having drawn his share from the spoil.And Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered him and said:Well now, earth-shaker of wide strength, what a thing you have said.The gods do not dishonour you; and it would be hardto hurl dishonour at the eldest and the best.But if some man, yielding to your force and might,does not honour you, there is always vengeance for you afterwards too.Do as you wish, and as is dear to your heart.Then Poseidon the earth-shaker answered him:I would do it at once, dark-clouded one, just as you say;but I always respect and avoid your anger.Now again I wish that the very beautiful ship of the Phaeacians,as it comes back from its escort, in the misty sea,I might smash, so that they may now hold back and stop escortingmortals, and that I might wrap a great mountain around their city.And Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered him:My dear one, as it seems best to my own heart,when all the people from the city see it as it is rowed in,then set a stone near the land,like a swift ship, so that all men may marvel,and wrap a great mountain around their city.But when Poseidon the earth-shaker heard this,he went to Scheria, where the Phaeacians live.There he waited; and the sea-faring ship came very close,swiftly driven; and the earth-shaker came near it,who turned it into stone and rooted it fast from below,striking it with the flat of his hand; and he had gone off.And they spoke winged words to one another,the Phaeacians of long oars, men famous for their ships.And one of them would say, looking at another nearby:Alas, who has stopped the swift ship in the seaas it was being rowed home? And indeed it had appeared entire.So someone would say; but they did not know how it had happened.Then Alcinous spoke to them and said:Alas, indeed the prophecies spoken long ago have come upon me,from my father, who said that Poseidon was angrywith us, because we are blameless escorts of all men.He said that one day a very beautiful ship of Phaeacian men,coming back from an escort, in the misty sea,would be smashed, and a great mountain would wrap around our city.So the old man spoke; and now all of this is being fulfilled.But come, let us all be persuaded by what I say:stop escorting mortals, whenever anyone comesto our city; and to Poseidon let us sacrifice twelve bulls,chosen ones, in the hope that he may take pity,and not wrap a towering mountain around our city.So he spoke, and they were afraid, and got the bulls ready.So they prayed to lord Poseidon,the leaders and counsellors of the Phaeacian people,standing around the altar. And godlike Odysseus wokeas he slept in his native land, and he did not recognize it,having been away so long; for the goddess had poured mist around him,Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, so that she might make himunrecognized, and tell him everything,before his wife or his townsmen or his friends recognized him,before he had exacted payment for all the suitors' outrage.That is why everything appeared in another shape to the lord,the long straight paths and the harbours fit for any mooring,and the steep cliffs and the flourishing trees.He sprang up and stood, and looked at his native land;and then he groaned aloud and struck his thighswith the flat of his hands, and lamenting he spoke a word:Woe is me, into the land of what mortals have I come now?Are they violent and savage, and not just,or are they friendly to strangers, and is their mind god-fearing?Where am I to carry these many goods? And where am I myselfto wander? I wish I had stayed with the Phaeaciansthere; and I might have reached another of the over-mighty kings,who would have loved me and sent me on my way.But now I do not know where to put these things, and I will not leave themhere either, in case they become spoil for others.Well then, the leaders and counsellors of the Phaeacians were notall sensible and just,who led me away to another land, though they saidthey would bring me to clear-seen Ithaca, and they did not do it.May Zeus, the god of suppliants, punish them, he who alsowatches over other men and takes vengeance on anyone who does wrong.But come, let me count the goods and look them over,in case they have gone off carrying some of them in the hollow ship.So saying, he counted the very beautiful tripods and cauldronsand the gold and the woven beautiful clothing.He was missing none of these; but he mourned for his native land,crawling along the shore of the much-resounding sea,lamenting greatly. And Athena came near to him,in form like a young man, a keeper of sheep,very soft-skinned, such as the sons of lords are,wearing a well-made two-fold cloak over her shoulders;and under her shining feet she had sandals, and in her hands a spear.Odysseus was glad when he saw her, and came to meet her,and speaking he addressed her with winged words:Friend, since I first come upon you in this place,greetings, and do not meet me with any evil intent,but save these things, and save me; for to you I prayas to a god, and I come to your dear knees.And tell me this truthfully, so that I may know it well:What land, what people, what men are born here?Is it some clear-seen island, or some shorelying there by the sea of the rich-soiled mainland?Then the goddess, bright-eyed Athena, answered him:You are a fool, stranger, or you have come from far away,if you are asking about this land. And it is not at allso nameless; very many people know it,both those who live toward the dawn and the sun,and those who live behind toward the misty darkness.It is rugged and no good for horses,and not too poor either, but it is not broad either.For in it there is grain beyond telling, and in it winegrows; and rain always covers it, and flourishing dew;it is good for grazing goats and for grazing cattle; there is woodlandof every kind, and in it there are watercourses that never fail.So, stranger, the name of Ithaca has reached even to Troy,which they say is far from the land of Achaea.So she spoke, and much-enduring godlike Odysseus was glad,rejoicing in his native land, as she told him,Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis;and speaking he addressed her with winged words:But he did not tell the truth, and he checked his words back again,always turning in his breast a mind that looks for gain:I had heard of Ithaca even in broad Crete,far across the sea; and now I myself have comewith these goods; and leaving as much again behind for my childrenI am a fugitive, because I killed the dear son of Idomeneus,Orsilochus swift of foot, who in broad Creteused to beat men who work for their bread with his swift feet,because he wanted to rob me of all the spoilfrom Troy, for which I suffered griefs in my heart,passing through wars of men and grievous waves,because I did not serve in the land of the Trojans to please his father,but I led other comrades.Him, as he came down from the country, I hit with my bronze-tipped spear,lying in wait with a comrade near the road;and a very dark night held the sky, and no oneof men noticed us, and I took his life unseen.But when I had killed him with the sharp bronze,at once I went to the ship and begged the noble Phoenicians,and I gave them a spoil that pleased their hearts;I asked them to set me down and carry me to Pylosor to godlike Elis, where the Epeians rule.But the force of the wind drove them away from there,much against their will, and they did not mean to cheat me.And driven off course from there, we came here by night.In haste we rowed into the harbour, and none of ushad any thought of supper, though we badly needed to take it,but just as we were, all of us lay down after getting off the ship.There sweet sleep came over me as I lay wearied,and they took my goods out of the hollow shipand set them down where I myself was lying on the sand.And they, going aboard for well-peopled Sidon,sailed off; and I was left with an aching heart.So he spoke, and the goddess bright-eyed Athena smiled,and stroked him with her hand; and she was like in form to a woman,beautiful and tall, and skilled in glorious works;and speaking she addressed him with winged words:Crafty and thievish would that man be who could get past youin any kind of trick, even if a god came against you.Hard one, of many wiles, never satisfied with tricks, you were not goingto give up your deceits, not even when in your own land,or your thievish words, which are dear to you through and through.But come, let us no longer talk about these things, since we both knowabout cunning, since you are by far the best of all mortalsin counsel and in speech, and I among all the godsam famous for wisdom and for cunning; and you did not recognizePallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, who alwaysstands beside you in every labour and guards you,and made you dear to all the Phaeacians,and now I have come here, so that I may weave a plan with youand hide the goods which the noble Phaeaciansgave you as you went homeward, by my counsel and my mind,and tell you all the troubles that fate says you mustendure in your well-built halls; and you must endure them whether you like it or not,and not reveal it to anyone, neither man nor woman,of all people, that you have come wandering, but in silenceendure many griefs, submitting to the violence of men.Then much-devising Odysseus answered her:It is hard, goddess, for a mortal who meets you to know you,even for one who knows a great deal; for you make yourself like everything.But this I know well, that you were kind to me before,while we sons of the Achaeans fought at Troy.But when we had sacked the steep city of Priam,and went aboard the ships, and a god scattered the Achaeans,I did not see you after that, daughter of Zeus, nor did I noticeyou boarding my ship, to ward off some grief from me.But always holding a torn spirit in my own heartI wandered, until the gods freed me from misery;until, in the rich land of the Phaeacian men,you encouraged me with words and you yourself led me to the city.But now I beg you by your father, for I do not thinkthat I have come to clear-seen Ithaca, but that I am wandering over some otherland; and I think you are mocking mewhen you say this, so that you may beguile my mind.Tell me whether I have truly come to my dear native land.Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Your breast always holds a thought like this;that is why I cannot leave you in your misery,because you are gentle and quick-minded and sensible.For gladly would another man, coming home after wandering,want to see his children and his wife in his halls;but it is not yet dear to you to learn or to ask about it,before you have made trial of your wife, who sits there just soin the halls, and for her the nights and the daysare always wasted away in wretchedness as she sheds tears.But I never disbelieved this, but in my heartI knew that you would come home after losing all your comrades;but I did not want to fight with Poseidon,my father's brother, who put wrath in his heart against you,angry because you blinded his dear son.But come, I will show you the seat of Ithaca, so that you may believe it.This is the harbour of Phorcys, the old man of the sea,and this at the head of the harbour is the long-leafed olive;and near it the lovely shadowy cave,sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads;and this is the vaulted cave, where youused to offer many perfect hecatombs to the nymphs;and this is Mount Neriton, covered in forest.So speaking, the goddess scattered the mist, and the land appeared;and much-enduring godlike Odysseus was glad,rejoicing in his land, and he kissed the life-giving earth.At once he prayed to the nymphs, raising his hands:Nymphs, Naiads, daughters of Zeus, I neverthought I would see you; and now with gentle prayersgreetings; and we will give gifts too, as before,if the daughter of Zeus, driver of the spoil, willingly lets meboth live myself and raise up my dear son.Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Take heart, do not let these things weigh on your mind.But the goods, let us put them at once nowin the recess of the wondrous cave, so that they may stay safe for you;and let us ourselves think how things may turn out for the best.So speaking, the goddess went into the shadowy cave,searching out the hiding places through the cave; and Odysseuscarried everything close, gold and unyielding bronzeand well-made clothing, which the Phaeacians gave him.And he put them away well, and set a stone at the doors,Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis.And the two of them, sitting beside the foot of the sacred olive,planned destruction for the overbearing suitors.And the goddess bright-eyed Athena began the talk:Zeus-born son of Laertes, Odysseus of many devices,think how you will lay your hands on the shameless suitors,who now for three years have lorded it in your hall,wooing your godlike wife and offering bride-gifts;and she, always mourning in her heart for your return,holds hope out to every one and promises each man,sending messages, but her mind wants other things.Then much-devising Odysseus answered her:Well now, I really was going to perish in my hallsby the evil death of Agamemnon, son of Atreus,if you, goddess, had not told me every detail as it should be told.But come, weave a plan, how I may take vengeance on them;and stand beside me yourself, putting much-daring might in me,such as when we loosed the shining battlements of Troy.If you, so eager, would stand by me, bright-eyed one,then I would fight even against three hundred menwith you, honoured goddess, whenever you readily help me.Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Indeed I shall be there with you, and you will not escape my notice,when we busy ourselves with these things; and I think that somewill stain the boundless ground with blood and brains,the suitors, who eat up your livelihood.But come, I will make you unrecognized by all mortals;I will shrivel the fair skin on your supple limbs,and destroy the yellow hair from your head, and put round you a ragthat a man would hate to see anyone wearing,and I will dim your eyes, which were so very beautiful before,so that you may appear ugly to all the suitorsand to your wife and child, whom you left in the halls.And do you first of all go to the swineherd,who is the guardian of your pigs, and who feels kindly toward you,and loves your son and sensible Penelope.You will find him sitting among the pigs; and they feedbeside the rock of Corax and the spring Arethusa,eating the acorns they like and drinking the dark water,which makes the pigs grow a rich layer of fat.Stay there and, sitting beside him, ask him everything,while I go to Sparta of fair womento call Telemachus, your dear son, Odysseus;who has gone to spacious Lacedaemon, to Menelaus,to ask for news of you, in case you are still alive.Then much-devising Odysseus answered her:Why then did you not tell him, you who know everything in your mind?Was it so that he too might wander and suffer griefsover the barren sea? And others eat up his substance?Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Do not let him weigh too heavily on your mind.I myself was escorting him, so that he might win good fameby going there; and he has no trouble, but sits at his easein the house of the son of Atreus, and endless gifts lie beside him.Truly the young men are lying in wait for him with a black ship,eager to kill him before he reaches his native land;but I do not think that will happen before the earth holds some oneof the suitors, who eat up your livelihood.So speaking, Athena touched him with her wand.She shrivelled the fair skin on his supple limbs,and destroyed the yellow hair from his head, and over all his limbsshe put the skin of an old man,and dimmed his eyes, which were so very beautiful before;and she threw around him another foul rag and a tunic,torn and dirty, blackened with foul smoke;and she dressed him in the great hide of a swift deer,bare of hair; and she gave him a staff and an ugly beggar's bag,all torn; and in it there was a twisted strap for a carrying cord.So the two of them, having planned all this, parted. And she thenwent to godlike Lacedaemon after the son of Odysseus.