Book 22

But he stripped the rags from his body, Odysseus of many counsels,and sprang upon the great threshold, holding the bow and the quiverthat was heavy with arrows, and he poured the swift shafts outthere before his feet, and then he spoke among the suitors:"This contest, this ordeal past all escaping, is now accomplished;now I shall try another mark, which no man yet has hit,if haply I may hit it, and Apollo grant me the glory."He spoke, and aimed the bitter arrow straight at Antinous.Truly that man was about to lift up the fair cup,a golden two-handled goblet, and already he handled it in his hands,that he might drink of the wine; and slaughter was not in his heartnor in his care; who among men at a feast could think,one man alone among many, even were he never so strong,that he would deal him death and black doom?Him Odysseus struck with the arrow, aiming at his throat,and straight through the tender neck the point went out.He fell away sideways, and the cup dropped from his handas he was struck, and straightway through his nostrils a thick jetof human blood came spurting; and swiftly with his foot he pushedthe table from him, and scattered the food upon the ground;bread and roasted flesh were all befouled. And the suitorsclamoured throughout the hall, when they saw the man fallen,and up from their seats they sprang, astounded through the house,peering every way at the well-built walls;but nowhere was a shield, nor a stout spear to be seized.And they railed at Odysseus with wrathful words:"Stranger, evilly do you shoot at men; no more hereaftershall you meet with other contests; now your sheer destruction is sure.For now you have slain the man who was far the bestof the young men in Ithaca; therefore shall the vultures devour you here."So each man spoke, for they thought it was against his willthat the man had slain him; but the fools did not perceivethat the bonds of destruction were fastened upon them also, all together.Then with a dark look at them spoke Odysseus of many counsels:"You dogs! You did not think I should come back home againfrom the land of the Trojans, seeing that you laid waste my house,and lay with my handmaid women by force,and wooed my wife while I myself was still alive,fearing neither the gods who hold the wide heaven,nor any vengeance of men that should come hereafter.Now upon you all the bonds of destruction are fastened."So he spoke, and pale fear seized them all,and each man looked about him, where he might escape sheer destruction.And Eurymachus alone answered him and spoke:"If indeed you are Odysseus of Ithaca, come home at last,then these things you have said are just, all that the Achaeans did,many a reckless deed in the halls, and many in the fields.But he now lies low who was the cause of them all,Antinous; for it was he who set these works in motion,not so much desiring the marriage nor in need of it,but devising other things, which the son of Cronos did not bring to pass for him,that he might be king over the people of well-built Ithacahimself, and might slay your son by ambush.But now he in his fate has fallen, so do you spare your own people;and we hereafter, making amends throughout the landfor all that has been drunk and eaten in your halls,bringing each man a price of twenty oxen,both bronze and gold we shall pay back, until your heartis softened; but before that, to be angry is no cause for reproach."Then with a dark look at him spoke Odysseus of many counsels:"Eurymachus, not even if you gave me back all your fathers' goods,all that you now have, and whatever else you might add from elsewhere,not even so would I hold my hands from the slaughteruntil the suitors pay in full for all their transgression.Now it lies before you: either to fight face to face,or to flee, whoever may escape death and the fates;but I think that no man will escape sheer destruction."So he spoke, and their knees were loosened and their dear hearts.And Eurymachus addressed them a second time again:"Friends, this man will not restrain his invincible hands,but since he has taken the well-polished bow and the quiver,from the smooth threshold will he shoot, until he has slainus all; but let us remember our battle-fury.Draw your swords and hold up the tablesagainst the swift-dying arrows; and let us all set upon himtogether, if haply we may thrust him from the threshold and the doors,and go up through the town, and the alarm be raised as quickly as may be;then this man would presently shoot his last arrow."So he spoke, and drew his sharp sword,of bronze, whetted on both edges, and leapt at himshouting terribly; and at the same moment noble Odysseuslet fly his arrow, and struck him beside the breast at the nipple,and drove the swift shaft into his liver; and from his handthe sword fell to the ground, and pitching over the tablehe fell bending forward, and spilled the food upon the groundand the two-handled cup; and he smote the earth with his foreheadgrieving at heart, and with both feetkicking the chair he shook it; and a mist was poured over his eyes.And Amphinomus rushed at glorious Odysseus face to face,and drew his sharp sword,if haply he might give way from the doors. But Telemachuswas first and struck him from behind with the bronze spearbetween the shoulders, and drove it through his breast;and he fell with a thud, and smote the earth with all his forehead.And Telemachus sprang back, leaving the long-shadowed spearthere in Amphinomus; for he greatly feared lest some one of the Achaeansshould thrust at him as he drew forth the long-shadowed spear,rushing on with a sword, or strike him as he bent forward.He hastened at a run, and very quickly reached his dear father,and standing near him he spoke winged words:"Father, now I shall bring you a shield and two spearsand a helmet all of bronze, fitted to your temples,and I myself will put it about me as I go, and I will give to the swineherdand to the cowherd others; for it is better to be armed."Then answering him spoke Odysseus of many counsels:"Bring them at a run, while I have arrows to defend myself,lest they drive me from the doors, while I am but one man alone."So he spoke, and Telemachus obeyed his dear father,and went to the chamber, where his glorious armour lay.From there he took four shields, and eight spears,and four bronze helmets, plumed with horsehair;and he went carrying them, and very quickly reached his dear father,and he himself first put the bronze about his body;and in like manner the two bondsmen put on the fair armour,and stood about Odysseus, the battle-minded, crafty in many ways.Yet he, so long as he had arrows to defend himself,so long he kept striking one of the suitors after another in his own house,taking aim; and they fell in thronging heaps.But when the arrows failed the lord as he shot,he leaned the bow against the door-post of the well-built hall,to stand there, against the shining wall;and he himself put a fourfold shield about his shoulders,and on his mighty head he set a well-wrought helmet,plumed with horsehair, and terribly the crest nodded above;and he took two stout spears, tipped with bronze.Now there was a certain postern in the well-built wall,and by the topmost threshold of the well-built hallthere was a way into the passage, and close-fitted boards held it.This Odysseus ordered the noble swineherd to keep watch over,standing close beside it; for there was but one way of onset.And Agelaus spoke among them, declaring a word to all:"Friends, could not someone climb up through the posternand tell the people, and the alarm be raised as quickly as may be?then this man would presently shoot his last arrow."And Melanthius the goatherd answered him again:"Not in any way is it possible, Agelaus, fosterling of Zeus; for terribly nearare the fair doors of the court and the grievous mouth of the passage;and one man, if he were stout, could hold them all back.But come, let me bring you armour to be put onout of the chamber; for within, I think, and nowhere elsedid Odysseus and his glorious son lay up the armour."So he spoke, and Melanthius the goatherd went up,into the chambers of Odysseus through the crannies of the hall.From there he took twelve shields, and as many spearsand as many bronze helmets, plumed with horsehair;and he went, and very quickly brought them and gave them to the suitors.And then the knees of Odysseus were loosened and his dear heart,when he saw them putting on the armour with their hands and shakingthe long spears; and a great task it seemed to him.And straightway he spoke winged words to Telemachus:"Telemachus, surely one of the women within the hallsis stirring up evil war against us two, or else Melanthius."And Telemachus, wise of heart, spoke to him in answer:"Father, I myself have erred in this, and no one elseis the cause, I who left the close-fitted door of the chamberset open; but their watchman was the better man.""But come, noble Eumaeus, shut the door of the chamberand mark whether one of the women is doing this,or the son of Dolius, Melanthius, whom I suspect."So these two spoke such words to one another,and Melanthius the goatherd went back to the chamber,to carry the fair armour. And the noble swineherd marked him,and straightway spoke to Odysseus, who was near:"Zeus-born son of Laertes, Odysseus of many devices,yonder man again, the destroyer, whom we ourselves suspected,is going to the chamber; but do you tell me truly,whether I shall kill him, if I prove the stronger,or bring him to you here, that he may pay for the transgressions,the many that this man has devised in your house."Then answering him spoke Odysseus of many counsels:"Truly I and Telemachus will hold back the lordly suitorswithin the halls, however eager they may be.And do you two twist his feet and his hands above himand throw him into the chamber, and bind the boards behind him,and having tied a woven rope to himdrag him up a tall pillar and bring him close to the beams,so that living long he may suffer grievous pains."So he spoke, and they heard him well and obeyed,and went into the chamber, unseen of him who was within.He, indeed, searched for armour in the inmost part of the chamber,and the two stood on either side beside the door-posts, waiting.And when Melanthius the goatherd stepped over the threshold,in the one hand carrying a goodly helmet,and in the other a broad old shield, defiled with mould,the hero Laertes', which he used to carry when he was young;then indeed it lay there, and the stitching of its straps was loosed.And the two rushed upon him and seized him and dragged him withinby the hair, and flung him down on the floor, grieved at heart,and bound his feet and his hands with a heart-paining bond,twisting them well right through, even as he had orderedthe son of Laertes, much-enduring noble Odysseus;and having tied a woven rope to himthey dragged him up a tall pillar and brought him close to the beams.And mocking him you spoke, Eumaeus the swineherd:"Now indeed, Melanthius, all night long shall you keep watch,lying down in a soft bed, as is seemly for you;nor shall the early-born, the golden-throned, from the streams of Oceanescape you as she comes, when you drivethe goats to the suitors through the house to make them a feast."So he was left there, stretched in a deadly bond;and the two put on their armour, and shut the shining door,and went to Odysseus, battle-minded, crafty in many ways.There they stood breathing fury, some at the threshold,four of them, and others inside the halls, many and valiant.And near them came the daughter of Zeus, Athena,like Mentor in form and in voice.And Odysseus rejoiced when he saw her and spoke a word:"Mentor, ward off ruin, and remember your dear comrade,who used to do you kindness; and you are of my own age."So he spoke, thinking she was Athena, rouser of armies.And the suitors shouted from the other side in the halls;first Agelaus, son of Damastor, rebuked her:"Mentor, do not let Odysseus persuade you with wordsto fight the suitors, and to defend him himself.For thus I think our purpose will be accomplished:when we have slain these two, the father and the son,then you also shall be among them, doing such things as you desireto do in the halls; and you shall pay with your own head.But when we have taken away your strength with the bronze,all the possessions that are yours, both within and without,we shall mingle with those of Odysseus; nor will we sufferyour sons to live in the halls, nor your daughtersnor your wedded wife to walk about the city of Ithaca."So he spoke, and Athena was angered yet more in her heart,and she rebuked Odysseus with wrathful words:"No longer is your might steadfast, Odysseus, nor any valoursuch as when for the sake of Helen of the white arms, of noble sire,nine years long you fought against the Trojans, never ceasing,and slew many men in dread battle,and by your counsel the wide-wayed city of Priam was taken.How then now, when you have come to your own home and possessions,do you lament before the suitors that you are valiant?But come hither, my friend, stand by me and behold the work,that you may know what manner of man among hostile menMentor son of Alcimus is, to repay good deeds."She spoke, and did not yet wholly grant the victory that turns the scale,but still she put to the test the strength and the valourboth of Odysseus and of his glorious son.And she herself up to the roof of the smoky hallsat, having leapt up, like a swallow to look upon.And Agelaus son of Damastor urged on the suitors,Eurynomus and Amphimedon and Demoptolem,and Peisander son of Polyctor and shrewd Polybus;for these were far the best of the suitors in valour,as many as were still alive and fighting for their lives;but the bow and the close-packed arrows had already subdued them.And Agelaus spoke among them, declaring a word to all:"Friends, now this man will hold back his invincible hands;and indeed Mentor has gone hence, having spoken empty boasts,and those two are left alone at the front doors.So now do not all hurl your long spears at once,but come, let the six of you first hurl your spears, if haply Zeusmay grant that Odysseus be struck, and that we win the glory.For the rest there is no care, once this man has fallen."So he spoke, and they all hurled, even as he commanded,eager; but Athena made them all in vain,for one of them struck the door-post of the well-built hall,and another the close-fitted door;and another's bronze-heavy ash spear fell against the wall.But when they had escaped the spears of the suitors,then much-enduring noble Odysseus began to speak among them:"Friends, now I too would say that we should hurlinto the throng of the suitors, who are eagerto slay us, on top of their former evils."So he spoke, and they all hurled the sharp spears,aiming straight before them; Odysseus struck Demoptolem,and Telemachus Eurydamas, and the swineherd Elatus,and the cowherd of the cattle slew Peisander.Then all of them alike took the boundless earth with their teeth,and the suitors drew back to the inmost part of the hall;and the others rushed in, and took the spears from the dead.And again the suitors hurled the sharp spears,eager; but Athena made many of them in vain,for one of them struck the door-post of the well-built hall,and another the close-fitted door;and another's bronze-heavy ash spear fell against the wall.And Amphimedon struck Telemachus on the wrist of his handa grazing blow, and the bronze broke the topmost skin.And Ctesippus with his long spear over the swineherd's shieldgrazed his shoulder; and the spear flew over and fell to the ground.And the others again about Odysseus, battle-minded, crafty in many ways,hurled the sharp spears into the throng of the suitors.Then again Odysseus, sacker of cities, struck Eurydamas,and Telemachus Amphimedon, and the swineherd Polybus;and Ctesippus the cowherd of the cattlestruck in the chest, and boasting he spoke aloud:"Son of Polytherses, lover of mockery, never againin your folly give way to speaking big words, but to the godscommit the word, since they are far stronger.This is your guest-gift in return for the foot you once gaveto godlike Odysseus as he wandered through his house."So spoke the cowherd of the sleek cattle; and Odysseusstabbed the son of Damastor at close range with his long spear.And Telemachus struck Leocritus, son of Evenor,with his spear in the middle of the flank, and drove the bronze right through;and he fell face down, and smote the earth with all his forehead.Then Athena held up the man-destroying aegisfrom on high, out of the roof; and their minds were panic-stricken.And they fled through the hall like herds of cattle,which the darting gadfly, rushing upon them, drives madin the season of spring, when the days grow long.And as hook-clawed vultures with curved talons,coming from the mountains, rush upon birds,and the birds over the plain, cowering before the clouds, fly low,and the vultures leap upon them and destroy them, and there is no defencenor escape; and men rejoice in the hunt;so then those men rushed upon the suitors through the houseand struck them, turning this way and that; and a shameful groan rose upas their heads were struck, and the whole floor ran with blood.And Leodes rushed at Odysseus and seized his knees,and pleading he spoke winged words:"I beseech you, Odysseus; show me reverence and have pity on me;for I say that I never said anythingnor did anything reckless to any of the women in the halls; but I evenkept the other suitors from it, whoever did such things.But they did not obey me, to keep their hands from evil;so by their recklessness they came to a shameful death.But I, a diviner among them, having done nothing,shall lie dead, since there is no gratitude afterwards for good deeds."Then with a dark look at him spoke Odysseus of many counsels:"If indeed you claim to be a diviner among them,often, I suppose, you prayed in the hallsthat the end of my sweet homecoming should be far away,and that my dear wife should follow you, and that you beget children;therefore you shall not escape death that brings hard grief."So speaking, he took up in his stout hand the swordthat lay there, which Agelaus had let fall to the groundwhen he was slain; with it he struck him in the middle of the neck.And while he was still speaking, his head was mingled with the dust.And Terpiades the singer was still fleeing black doom,Phemius, who used to sing among the suitors by compulsion.He stood holding in his hands the clear-toned lyreclose beside the postern; and in his mind he pondered two ways,whether he should slip out of the hall to the altar of great Zeus,the god of the courtyard, and sit there where many timesLaertes and Odysseus had burned the thighs of oxen,or whether he should rush and beseech Odysseus by the knees.And as he thought it over, this seemed to him the better course,to clasp the knees of Odysseus, son of Laertes.So he laid the hollow lyre upon the groundbetween the mixing-bowl and the silver-studded chair,and he himself rushed and grasped the knees of Odysseus,and pleading he spoke winged words:"I beseech you, Odysseus; show me reverence and have pity on me;for afterwards there will be grief for you yourself, if you slaya singer, who sings for gods and for men.I am self-taught, and a god has planted in my mindsongs of every kind; and I seem to sing before youas before a god; so do not long to cut my throat.And Telemachus would say this too, your dear son,that I never of my own will nor from want came to your house,going among the suitors to sing at their feasts,but far more numerous and stronger men brought me by compulsion."So he spoke, and the sacred strength of Telemachus heard him,and at once he spoke to his father, who was near:"Hold back, and do not strike this innocent man with the bronze;and let us save the herald Medon too, who alwayscared for me in our house when I was a child,unless Philoetius has slain him, or the swineherd,or he met you as you raged through the house."So he spoke, and Medon heard him, wise of heart;for he lay crouching beneath a chair, and about himhe had wrapped a freshly flayed ox-hide, fleeing black doom.And at once he sprang from the chair, and quickly stripped off the ox-hide,and then he rushed and grasped the knees of Telemachus,and pleading he spoke winged words:"Friend, I am here; hold back, and tell your fathernot to harm me in his overmastering strength with the sharp bronze,being angry with the suitors, who were devouringhis possessions in the halls, and the fools honoured you in nothing."And with a smile Odysseus of many counsels spoke to him:"Take heart, since this man has saved you and rescued you,that you may know in your heart — and tell it to another also —that good dealing is far better than evil-doing.But come out of the halls and sit outside the door,away from the slaughter, in the courtyard, you and the much-praised singer,while I do in the house whatever I must do."So he spoke, and the two went out of the hall,and they sat down beside the altar of great Zeus,looking every way, always expecting slaughter.And Odysseus looked throughout his house, whether any manwere yet alive and hiding away, fleeing black doom.He saw them all, in blood and dust,fallen, many of them, like fishes, which fishermeninto the hollow shore, out beyond the grey sea,have dragged with a many-meshed net; and they all,longing for the waves of the sea, lie gasping on the sand;and the shining Sun takes the life from them;so then the suitors lay fallen upon one another.Then Odysseus of many counsels spoke to Telemachus:"Telemachus, come, call the nurse Eurycleia for me,so that I may speak a word that is in my heart."So he spoke, and Telemachus obeyed his dear father,and having pushed the door he spoke to the nurse Eurycleia:"Come here, rise up, aged woman, long since grown old, who among the womenare the watcher of the maidservants throughout our halls;come, my father calls you, so that he may say something."So he called, and her word was unwinged,and she opened the doors of the well-built halls,and went in; and Telemachus led the way before her.She found Odysseus among the slain corpses,defiled with blood and gore, like a lion,that has eaten its fill of a farmyard ox and comes away;and all of his chest and both his cheeksare bloody, and he is terrible to look upon in the face;so was Odysseus defiled, his feet and his hands above.And when she saw the corpses and the boundless blood,she was eager to cry aloud in triumph, since she saw a great deed;but Odysseus held her back and restrained her, eager though she was,and speaking he addressed her with winged words:"In your heart, old woman, rejoice, and hold back, and do not cry aloud;it is not holy to boast over slain men.But these the fate of the gods subdued, and their cruel deeds;for they honoured no one of the men upon the earth,neither bad nor good, whoever came among them;so by their recklessness they came to a shameful death.But come, recount for me the women in the halls,those who dishonour me, and those who are innocent."And her dear nurse Eurycleia answered him:"Then I will tell you the truth, my child.There are fifty women in the halls,maidservants, whom we taught to work at their tasks,both to card the wool and to endure slavery;of these twelve in all have set foot on shamelessness,honouring neither me nor Penelope herself.And Telemachus was lately growing up, and his motherdid not allow him to give orders to the maidservants.But come, let me go up to the shining upper roomsand tell your wife, on whom some god has poured sleep."And answering her spoke Odysseus of many counsels:"Do not wake her yet; but tell the women hereto come, those who before were plotting shameful things."So he spoke, and the old woman had gone through the hallto tell the women and to urge them to come.And he, calling Telemachus and the cowherd and the swineherdto himself, spoke winged words:"Begin now to carry out the dead, and give the women their orders;and then the very beautiful chairs and the tableswash with water and with porous sponges.And when you have set the whole house in order,lead the maidservants out of the well-built hall,between the round building and the good wall of the courtyard,and smite them with long-edged swords, until you have takenthe lives from them all, and they forget Aphrodite,whom they had beneath the suitors and mingled with in secret."So he spoke, and the women came all together,wailing terribly, pouring down a big tear.First they carried out the corpses of the dead,and laid them under the portico of the well-fenced courtyard,propping them against one another; and Odysseus gave the orders,himself urging them on; and they carried them out by compulsion.And then the very beautiful chairs and the tablesthey washed with water and with porous sponges.And Telemachus and the cowherd and the swineherdwith scrapers scoured the floor of the well-made house;and the maidservants carried it out and put it outside.But when they had set the whole hall in order,and led the maidservants out of the well-built hall,between the round building and the good wall of the courtyard,they penned them in a narrow place, from which there was no escape.And Telemachus, wise of heart, began to speak to them:"I would not take the lives of these with a clean death,these who poured insults upon my headand upon my mother, and lay beside the suitors."So he spoke, and tied the cable of a dark-prowed shipto a great pillar, and flung it round the round building,stretching it high up, so that no one's feet might reach the floor.And as when either long-winged thrushes or dovesare caught in a snare, which is set in a thicket,as they come in to roost, and a hateful bed receives them;so their heads were in a row, and about all of themwere nooses on their necks, so that they might die most piteously.And they twitched with their feet for a little while, but not very long.And they brought Melanthius out through the porch and the courtyard;and they cut off his nose and his ears with the pitiless bronze,and tore out his privy parts, to give them raw to the dogs,and cut off his hands and his feet in their angry hearts.Then they washed their hands and their feetand went into the house of Odysseus, and the work was accomplished;and he spoke to his dear nurse Eurycleia:"Bring sulphur, old woman, the cure of evils, and bring me fire,so that I may fumigate the hall; and tell Penelopeto come here with her attendant women;and urge all the maidservants to come through the house."And her dear nurse Eurycleia answered him:"Yes indeed, my child, you have spoken as is right.But come, let me bring you a cloak and a tunic and clothing,and do not stand like this in the halls, covered with ragsover your broad shoulders; that would be a thing for reproach."And answering her spoke Odysseus of many counsels:"First of all, let there be a fire for me in the halls."So he spoke, and his dear nurse Eurycleia did not disobey,and she brought fire and sulphur; and Odysseusfumigated the hall well, and the house and the courtyard.And the old woman went back through the fine halls of Odysseusto tell the women and to urge them to come;and they came out of the hall, holding torches in their hands.And they crowded about him and greeted Odysseus,and kissed his head and shoulders, clasping him in welcome,and took his hands; and a sweet longing seized himfor weeping and groaning, and in his heart he knew them all.

But Odysseus of many plans stripped off his rags,and jumped up onto the big threshold, holding the bow and the quiverthat was full of arrows, and he poured the swift arrows outright there in front of his feet, and then he spoke to the suitors:"This contest that no one can escape is now finished.Now I will try another target, which no man has hit yet,to see if I can hit it, and may Apollo give me the glory."He spoke, and aimed the bitter arrow straight at Antinous.The man was just about to lift up a fine cup,a golden one with two handles, and he was already holding it in his handsto drink some wine; and murder was not in his mind,he had no care for it. Who among men at a feastwould think, one man alone among so many, even if he were very strong,that someone would bring him death and black doom?Odysseus hit him with an arrow, aiming at his throat,and the point went straight out through his soft neck.He tipped over to one side, and the cup fell from his handas he was struck, and at once through his nostrils came a thick streamof a man's blood; and quickly he pushed the table away from himwith a kick of his foot, and spilled the food onto the ground;bread and roast meat were trampled together. And the suitorsshouted through the house, when they saw the man had fallen,and they sprang up from their seats, shaken, through the hall,staring everywhere at the well-built walls;but there was no shield anywhere, nor a strong spear to grab.And they abused Odysseus with angry words:"Stranger, you shoot at men like a villain. You will notmeet any more contests; now your sure destruction is here.For now you have killed the man who was by far the bestof the young men in Ithaca; so the vultures will eat you here."So each man spoke, because they thought the man had not meantto kill him; but the fools did not understandthat the ends of destruction were fastened on them all too.Then with a scowl Odysseus of many plans spoke to them:"You dogs! You never thought I would come back homefrom the land of the Trojans, since you were destroying my house,and sleeping with my slave women by force,and courting my wife while I was still alive,not fearing the gods who hold the wide heaven,nor any human revenge that would come later.Now the ends of destruction are fastened on you all."So he spoke, and pale fear took them all,and each man looked around for where he might escape sure death.And Eurymachus alone answered him and said:"If you really are Odysseus of Ithaca, come back,then what you said is fair, all that the Achaeans did,many reckless things in the halls, and many in the fields.But the man who was the cause of it all now lies dead,Antinous; for he was the one who started these deeds,not so much wanting the marriage or needing it,but planning other things, which the son of Cronos did not accomplish for him,so that he might be king over the people of well-built Ithacahimself, and might kill your son by ambush.But now he has fallen as his fate decreed, so spare your own people;and we afterwards, making amends throughout the landfor everything that has been drunk and eaten in your halls,each bringing a payment of twenty oxen,both bronze and gold we will pay back, until your heartwarms; and before that, being angry is no blame."Then with a scowl Odysseus of many plans spoke to him:"Eurymachus, not even if you gave me back all your fathers' property,all that you now have, and added whatever else from somewhere,not even then would I keep my hands from the killinguntil the suitors pay for all their transgression.Now it lies before you: either to fight face to faceor to run, whichever escapes death and the fates;but I do not think anyone will escape sure destruction."So he spoke, and their knees went weak and their hearts too.Then Eurymachus spoke to them a second time:"Friends, this man will not hold back his terrible hands,but since he has taken the well-polished bow and the quiver,from the smooth threshold he will shoot, until hekills us all; so let us remember our fighting.Draw your swords and hold up the tablesagainst the swift-killing arrows; and let us all go at himtogether, in case we can push him off the threshold and the doors,and go up into the town, and raise the alarm as fast as possible;then this man would soon shoot for the last time."So he said, and drew his sharp sword,bronze, sharpened on both sides, and jumped at himshouting horribly; and at the same moment noble Odysseuslet an arrow fly, and hit him beside the breast at the nipple,and drove the swift shaft into his liver; and from his handthe sword fell to the ground, and he doubled over the tableand fell, bent forward, and spilled the food on the groundand the two-handled cup; and he beat the ground with his foreheadin anguish of heart, and with both feetkicking the chair he shook it; and a mist poured over his eyes.And Amphinomus rushed straight at glorious Odysseus,and drew his sharp sword,in case he might get past him from the doors. But Telemachusgot there first and struck him from behind with the bronze spearbetween the shoulders, and drove it through his chest;and he fell with a thud, and beat the earth with all his forehead.And Telemachus jumped back, leaving the long-shadowed spearthere in Amphinomus; for he was greatly afraid that some Achaeanmight stab him as he pulled out the long-shadowed spear,rushing with a sword, or hit him as he bent forward.He ran, and very quickly reached his dear father,and standing close he spoke winged words:"Father, now I will bring you a shield and two spearsand a helmet all of bronze, fitted to your temples,and I will put armour on myself as I come, and I will give the swineherdand the cowherd others; for it is better to be armed."Then Odysseus of many plans answered him and said:"Bring them running, while I still have arrows to defend myself,in case they drive me away from the doors when I am alone."So he spoke, and Telemachus obeyed his dear father,and went to the store-room, where his famous armour lay.From there he took four shields, and eight spears,and four bronze helmets with horsehair crests;he went carrying them, and very quickly reached his dear father,and he himself first put the bronze on his body;and in the same way the two servants put on the fine armour,and they stood on either side of Odysseus, the crafty-minded one.And he, as long as he had arrows to defend himself,all that time he kept hitting one suitor after another in his own house,aiming carefully; and they fell in heaps.But when the arrows ran out for the lord as he shot,he leaned the bow against the door-post of the well-built hall,to stand there, against the shining wall;and he himself put a four-layered shield over his shoulders,and on his strong head he put a well-made helmet,with horsehair, and the crest nodded terribly above;and he took two strong spears, tipped with bronze.Now there was a small side-door in the well-built wall,and at the very top, by the threshold of the well-built hall,there was a way into a passage, and well-fitted boards closed it.Odysseus told the noble swineherd to watch it,standing close beside it; for there was only one way of attack.And Agelaus spoke among them, saying a word to all:"Friends, couldn't someone go up by the side-doorand tell the people, and raise the alarm as fast as possible?then this man would soon shoot for the last time."And Melanthius the goatherd answered him again:"There is no way, Agelaus, Zeus-nurtured; for terribly nearare the fine doors of the courtyard and the painful mouth of the passage;and one man, if he were brave, could hold them all off.But come, let me bring you armour to put onfrom the store-room; for inside, I think, and nowhere elsedid Odysseus and his glorious son put the armour."So he spoke, and Melanthius the goatherd went up,into the store-rooms of Odysseus through the gaps in the hall.From there he took twelve shields, and as many spearsand as many bronze helmets with horsehair crests;he went, and very quickly brought them and gave them to the suitors.And then the knees of Odysseus went weak and his heart too,when he saw them putting on the armour with their hands and shakingthe long spears; and it seemed a great task to him.And at once he spoke winged words to Telemachus:"Telemachus, surely one of the women in the hallsis stirring up this evil war against us two, or else Melanthius."And Telemachus, sensible, answered him:"Father, I myself made this mistake, and no one elseis to blame, I who left the close-fitted door of the store-roomstanding open; but their lookout was better than mine.""But come, noble Eumaeus, shut the door of the store-roomand see whether it is one of the women who is doing this,or the son of Dolius, Melanthius, whom I suspect."So the two of them spoke such things to each other,and Melanthius the goatherd went back to the store-roomto carry the fine armour. And the noble swineherd noticed him,and at once spoke to Odysseus, who was near:"Zeus-born son of Laertes, Odysseus of many devices,that man there again, the destroyer, whom we ourselves suspected,is going to the store-room; so tell me trulywhether I should kill him, if I get the better of him,or bring him to you here, so that he may pay for the transgressions,the many that this man has plotted in your house."Then Odysseus of many plans answered him and said:"I and Telemachus will hold back the lordly suitorsinside the halls, however eager they are.And you two twist his feet and his hands up aboveand throw him into the store-room, and tie the boards behind him,and after tying a woven rope to himdrag him up a tall pillar and bring him close to the beams,so that he may live a long time and suffer hard pains."So he spoke, and they heard him well and obeyed,and they went into the store-room, and he did not notice they were inside.He searched for armour in the back of the store-room,and the two stood on either side by the door-posts, waiting.And when Melanthius the goatherd stepped over the threshold,carrying a fine helmet in one hand,and in the other a broad old shield, covered with mould,the hero Laertes' shield, which he used to carry when he was young;then it lay there, and the stitches of its straps had come loose.And the two rushed him and seized him and dragged him insideby the hair, and threw him on the floor, grieved at heart,and tied his feet and hands with a painful bond,twisting them well right round, just as he had orderedthe son of Laertes, much-enduring noble Odysseus;and after tying a woven rope to himthey dragged him up a tall pillar and brought him close to the beams.And mocking him you said, Eumaeus the swineherd:"Now indeed, Melanthius, you will keep watch all night,lying in a soft bed, as is fitting for you;nor will early-born golden-throned Dawn, from the streams of Ocean,pass you by as she comes, when you drivethe goats to the suitors through the house to make them a meal."So he was left there, stretched in a deadly bond;and the two put on their armour, and shut the shining door,and went to Odysseus, crafty-minded, of many devices.There they stood breathing fury, some at the threshold,four of them, and others inside the halls, many and good.And close to them came the daughter of Zeus, Athena,looking like Mentor in body and in voice.And Odysseus rejoiced when he saw her and spoke a word:"Mentor, ward off ruin, and remember your dear comrade,who used to do you good; and you are of my own age."So he spoke, thinking she was Athena, rouser of armies.And the suitors shouted from the other side in the halls;first Agelaus, son of Damastor, rebuked her:"Mentor, don't let Odysseus persuade you with wordsto fight the suitors, and to defend him himself.For I think our plan will turn out like this:when we have killed these two, the father and the son,then you too will be among them, doing what you wantto do in the halls; and you will pay with your own head.But when we have taken away your strength with bronze,all the possessions you have, both inside and outside,we will mix with Odysseus' property; and we will not letyour sons live in the halls, nor your daughters,nor your wedded wife walk about the city of Ithaca."So he spoke, and Athena grew angrier in her heart,and she rebuked Odysseus with angry words:"No longer, Odysseus, is your might steady, nor any couragesuch as when for Helen of the white arms, of noble father,nine years you fought the Trojans without stopping,and you killed many men in dread battle,and by your plan the wide-streeted city of Priam was taken.How then now, when you have come to your own home and property,do you wail before the suitors that you are brave?But come here, my friend, stand by me and see the work,so that you may know what kind of man among hostile menMentor son of Alcimus is, at repaying good deeds."She spoke, and did not yet wholly grant the victory that tips the scale,but still she tested the strength and courageof both Odysseus and his glorious son.And she herself, up on the roof-beam of the smoky hall,sat, having sprung up, like a swallow to look at.And Agelaus son of Damastor urged on the suitors,and Eurynomus and Amphimedon and Demoptolem,and Peisander son of Polyctor and clever Polybus;for these were by far the best of the suitors in bravery,as many as were still alive and fighting for their lives;but the bow and the thick-falling arrows had already beaten them.And Agelaus spoke among them, saying a word to all:"Friends, now this man will hold back his terrible hands;and look, Mentor has gone off, after empty boasting,and those two are left alone at the front doors.So now don't all hurl your long spears at once,but come, let the six of you throw first, in case Zeusgrants that Odysseus is hit, and we win the glory.For the others there is no worry, once this man has fallen."So he spoke, and they all threw, just as he ordered,eager; but Athena made them all useless,one of them hit the door-post of the well-built hall,another the closely fitted door;another's bronze-heavy ash spear fell against the wall.But when they had dodged the spears of the suitors,then much-enduring noble Odysseus began to speak among them:"Friends, now I would say that we too should throwinto the crowd of the suitors, who are eagerto kill us, on top of their earlier crimes."So he spoke, and they all threw sharp spears,aiming straight ahead; Odysseus hit Demoptolem,and Telemachus Eurydamas, and the swineherd Elatus,and the cowherd of the cattle killed Peisander.Then all of them alike bit the boundless earth with their teeth,and the suitors drew back to the back of the hall;and the others rushed up and took the spears from the dead.And again the suitors threw sharp spears,eager; but Athena made most of them useless,one of them hit the door-post of the well-built hall,another the closely fitted door;another's bronze-heavy ash spear fell against the wall.And Amphimedon hit Telemachus on the wrist of his handa grazing blow, and the bronze broke the top skin.And Ctesippus with his long spear over the swineherd's shieldgrazed his shoulder; and the spear flew over and fell to the ground.And the others again around Odysseus, crafty-minded and full of tricks,threw sharp spears into the crowd of the suitors.Then again Odysseus, sacker of cities, hit Eurydamas,and Telemachus Amphimedon, and the swineherd Polybus;and then Ctesippus the cowherd of the cattlehit in the chest, and boasting he called out:"Son of Polytherses, lover of mockery, never againin your foolishness give in to speaking big words, but to the godshand over the word, since they are far stronger.This is your guest-gift in return for the foot you once gaveto godlike Odysseus as he wandered through his house."So spoke the cowherd of the sleek cattle; and Odysseusstabbed the son of Damastor at close range with his long spear.And Telemachus struck Leocritus, son of Evenor,with his spear in the middle of the flank, and drove the bronze right through;and he fell face down, and beat the earth with all his forehead.Then Athena held up the man-destroying aegisfrom above, out of the roof; and their minds were panicked.And they fled through the hall like herds of cattle,which the darting gadfly, rushing on them, drives madin the spring season, when the days grow long.And as hook-clawed vultures with curved talons,coming from the mountains, rush at birds,and the birds over the plain, cowering from the clouds, fly low,and the vultures leap on them and destroy them, and there is no defencenor escape; and men enjoy the hunt;so then those men rushed at the suitors through the houseand struck them, turning this way and that; and a shameful groan rose upas their heads were struck, and the whole floor ran with blood.And Leodes rushed at Odysseus and grabbed his knees,and pleading he spoke winged words:"I beg you, Odysseus; respect me and have pity on me;for I say that I never saidor did anything reckless to any of the women in the halls; but I evenkept the other suitors back from it, whoever did such things.But they did not obey me, to keep their hands off evil;so because of their recklessness they came to a shameful death.But I, a diviner among them, having done nothing,will lie dead, since there is no thanks afterwards for good deeds."Then with a scowl Odysseus of many plans spoke to him:"If you really claim to be a diviner among them,often, I suppose, you prayed in the hallsthat the end of my sweet homecoming would be far off,and that my dear wife would go with you, and that you would father children;so you will not escape death that brings hard grief."So saying, he picked up in his thick hand the swordthat lay there, which Agelaus had let fall to the groundwhen he was killed; with it he struck him in the middle of the neck.And while he was still speaking, his head was mixed with the dust.And Terpiades the singer was still fleeing black doom,Phemius, who used to sing among the suitors by compulsion.He stood holding in his hands the clear-sounding lyreclose beside the side-door; and in his mind he weighed two choices,whether he should slip out of the hall to the altar of great Zeusof the courtyard, and sit there, where many timesLaertes and Odysseus had burned the thighs of oxen,or whether he should rush and beg Odysseus by the knees.And as he thought it over, this seemed to him the better choice,to clasp the knees of Odysseus, son of Laertes.So he set the hollow lyre on the groundbetween the mixing-bowl and the silver-studded chair,and he himself rushed and grabbed the knees of Odysseus,and pleading he spoke winged words:"I beg you, Odysseus; respect me and have pity on me;for afterwards there will be grief for you yourself, if you killa singer, who sings for gods and men.I am self-taught, and a god has planted in my mindsongs of every kind; and I seem to sing before youas before a god; so do not long to cut my throat.And Telemachus would say this too, your dear son,that I never came to your house willingly or from want,going among the suitors to sing at their feasts,but far more numerous and stronger men brought me by compulsion."So he spoke, and the sacred strength of Telemachus heard him,and at once he spoke to his father, who was near:"Hold back, and do not strike this innocent man with the bronze;and let us save the herald Medon too, who alwayscared for me in our house when I was a child,unless Philoetius has killed him, or the swineherd,or he ran into you as you raged through the house."So he spoke, and Medon heard him, a man of good sense;for he lay crouching under a chair, and around himhe had wrapped a freshly skinned ox-hide, fleeing black doom.And at once he sprang up from the chair, and quickly stripped off the ox-hide,and then he rushed and grabbed the knees of Telemachus,and pleading he spoke winged words:"Friend, I am here; hold back, and tell your fathernot to hurt me in his overwhelming strength with the sharp bronze,angry with the suitors, who were eating uphis property in the halls, and the fools paid you no respect at all."And with a smile Odysseus of many plans spoke to him:"Take heart, since this man has saved you and rescued you,so that you may know in your heart — and tell it to someone else too —that doing good is far better than doing evil.But come out of the halls and sit outside the door,away from the killing, in the courtyard, you and the famous singer,while I do in the house whatever I must do."So he spoke, and the two went out of the hall,and they sat down beside the altar of great Zeus,looking every way, always expecting killing.And Odysseus looked through his house, in case any manwere still alive and hiding, fleeing black doom.He saw them all, in blood and dust,fallen, many of them, like fish, which fishermeninto the hollow shore, out beyond the grey sea,have dragged with a many-meshed net; and they all,longing for the waves of the sea, lie gasping on the sand;and the shining Sun takes the life from them;so then the suitors lay fallen on one another.Then Odysseus of many plans spoke to Telemachus:"Telemachus, come, call the nurse Eurycleia for me,so that I can say a word that is in my heart."So he spoke, and Telemachus obeyed his dear father,and after pushing the door he spoke to the nurse Eurycleia:"Come here, get up, old woman, long since grown old, who among the womenare the one who watches the maidservants through our halls;come, my father is calling you, to say something."So he called, and her word was unwinged,and she opened the doors of the well-built halls,and went in; and Telemachus led the way in front of her.She found Odysseus among the slain corpses,covered with blood and gore like a lionthat has eaten its fill of a farmyard ox and comes away;and all of his chest and both his cheeksare bloody, and he is terrible to look at in the face;so Odysseus was covered, his feet and his hands above.And when she saw the corpses and the boundless blood,she wanted to cry out in triumph, since she saw a great deed;but Odysseus held her back and stopped her, eager as she was,and speaking he addressed her with winged words:"In your heart, old woman, rejoice, and hold back, and do not cry out;it is not holy to boast over slain men.But these the fate of the gods subdued, and their cruel deeds;for they honoured no one of the men on earth,neither bad nor good, whoever came to them;so because of their recklessness they came to a shameful death.But come, list for me the women in the halls,those who dishonour me, and those who are innocent."And her dear nurse Eurycleia answered him:"Then I will tell you the truth, my child.There are fifty women in the halls,maidservants, whom we taught to do their work,both to card the wool and to put up with slavery;of these twelve in all have taken the path of shamelessness,honouring neither me nor Penelope herself.And Telemachus was lately growing up, and his motherdid not let him give orders to the maidservants.But come, let me go up to the shining upper roomsand tell your wife, on whom some god has poured sleep."And answering her Odysseus of many plans said:"Do not wake her yet; but tell the women hereto come, those who before were plotting shameful things."So he spoke, and the old woman went through the hallto tell the women and to urge them to come.And he, calling Telemachus and the cowherd and the swineherdto himself, spoke winged words:"Begin now to carry out the dead, and give the women their orders;and then the very beautiful chairs and the tableswash with water and with porous sponges.And when you have put the whole house in order,lead the maidservants out of the well-built hall,between the round building and the good wall of the courtyard,and strike them with long-edged swords, until you have takenthe lives from them all, and they forget Aphrodite,whom they had under the suitors and mingled with in secret."So he spoke, and the women came all together,wailing terribly, pouring down a big tear.First they carried out the corpses of the dead,and laid them under the portico of the well-fenced courtyard,propping them against one another; and Odysseus gave the orders,himself urging them on; and they carried them out by compulsion.And then the very beautiful chairs and the tablesthey washed with water and with porous sponges.And Telemachus and the cowherd and the swineherdwith scrapers scoured the floor of the well-made house;and the maidservants carried it out and put it outside.But when they had put the whole hall in order,and led the maidservants out of the well-built hall,between the round building and the good wall of the courtyard,they penned them in a narrow place, from which there was no escape.And Telemachus, sensible, began to speak to them:"I would not take the lives of these with a clean death,these who poured insults on my headand on my mother, and lay beside the suitors."So he spoke, and tied the cable of a dark-prowed shipto a great pillar, and flung it round the round building,stretching it up high, so that no one's feet could reach the floor.And as when either long-winged thrushes or dovesare caught in a snare, which is set in a thicket,as they come in to roost, and a hateful bed receives them;so their heads were in a row, and around all of themwere nooses on their necks, so that they might die most piteously.And they twitched with their feet for a little while, but not very long.And they brought Melanthius out through the porch and the courtyard;and they cut off his nose and his ears with the pitiless bronze,and tore out his privy parts, to give them raw to the dogs,and cut off his hands and his feet in their angry hearts.Then they washed their hands and their feetand went into the house of Odysseus, and the work was done;and he spoke to his dear nurse Eurycleia:"Bring sulphur, old woman, the cure of evils, and bring me fire,so that I may fumigate the hall; and tell Penelopeto come here with her attendant women;and urge all the maidservants to come through the house."And her dear nurse Eurycleia answered him:"Yes indeed, my child, you have spoken as is right.But come, let me bring you a cloak and a tunic and clothing,and do not stand like this in the halls, covered with ragsover your broad shoulders; that would be a thing to blame."And answering her Odysseus of many plans said:"First of all, let there be a fire for me in the halls."So he spoke, and his dear nurse Eurycleia did not disobey,and she brought fire and sulphur; and Odysseusfumigated the hall well, and the house and the courtyard.And the old woman went back through the fine halls of Odysseusto tell the women and to urge them to come;and they came out of the hall, holding torches in their hands.And they crowded around him and greeted Odysseus,and kissed his head and shoulders, clasping him in welcome,and took his hands; and a sweet longing seized himfor weeping and groaning, and in his heart he knew them all.