Homer

c.800 BC

THE ODYSSEY

translated by Samuel Butler

Book XXI

Penelope bringeth forth her husband’s bow, which the
suitors could not bend, but was bent by Odysseus.

—-Bow Of Ulysses: Penelope carrying the bow of Ulysses to
the Suitors.]

Now the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, put it into the heart of
the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope, to set the bow and the axes of grey
iron, for the wooers in the halls of Odysseus, to be the weapons of the contest,
and the beginning of death. So she descended the tall staircase of her chamber,
and took the well-bent key in her strong hand, a goodly key of bronze, whereon
was a handle of ivory. And she betook her, with her handmaidens, to the
treasure-chamber in the uttermost part of the house, where lay the treasures of
her lord, bronze and gold and well-wrought iron. And there lay the back-bent bow
and the quiver for the arrows, and many shafts were therein, winged for death,
gifts of a friend of Odysseus, that met with him in Lacedaemon, Iphitus son of
Eurytus, a man like to the gods. These twain fell in with one another in Messene,
in the house of wise Ortilochus. Now Odysseus had gone thither to recover
somewhat that was owing to him from all the people, for the men of Messene had
lifted three hundred sheep in benched ships from out of Ithaca, with the
shepherds of the flock. In quest of these it was that Odysseus went on a far
embassy, being yet a lad; for his father and the other elders sent him forth.
Moreover, Iphitus came thither in his search for twelve brood mares, which he
had lost, with sturdy mules at the teat. These same it was that brought him
death and destiny in the latter end, when he came to the child of Zeus, hardy of
heart, the man Heracles, that had knowledge of great adventures, who smote
Iphitus though his guest in his house, in his frowardness, and had no regard for
the vengeance of the gods, nor for the table which he spread before him; for
after the meal he slew him, his guest though he was, and kept for himself in the
halls the horses strong of hoof. After these was Iphitus asking, when he met
with Odysseus, and he gave the bow, which of old great Eurytus bare and had left
at his death to his son in his lofty house. And Odysseus gave Iphitus a sharp
sword and a mighty spear, for the beginning of a loving friendship; but never
had they acquaintance one of another at the board; ere that might be, the son of
Zeus slew Iphitus son of Eurytus, a man like to the immortals, the same that
gave Odysseus the bow. But goodly Odysseus would never take it with him on the
black ships, as he went to the wars, but the bow was laid by at home in the
halls as a memorial of a dear guest, and he carried it on his own land.

—-Suitors: Penelope surprised by the Suitors.]

Now when the fair lady had come even to the
treasure-chamber, and had stept upon the threshold of oak, which the carpenter
had on a time planed cunningly, and over it had made straight the line, –
doorposts also had he fitted thereby, whereon he set shining doors, – anon she
quickly loosed the strap from the handle of the door, and thrust in the key, and
with a straight aim shot back the bolts. And even as a bull roars that is
grazing in a meadow, so mightily roared the fair doors smitten by the key; and
speedily they flew open before her. Then she stept on to the high floor, where
the coffers stood, wherein the fragrant raiment was stored. Thence she stretched
forth her hand, and took the bow from off the pin, all in the bright case which
sheathed it around. And there she sat down, and set the case upon her knees, and
cried aloud and wept, and took out the bow of her lord. Now when she had her
fill of tearful lament, she set forth to go to the hall to the company of the
proud wooers, with the back-bent bow in her hands, and the quiver for the
arrows, and many shafts were therein winged for death. And her maidens along
with her bare a chest, wherein lay much store of iron and bronze, the gear of
combat of their lord. Now when the fair lady had come unto the wooers, she stood
by the pillar of the well-builded roof, holding up her glistening tire before
her face; and a faithful maiden stood on either side of her, and straightway she
spake out among the wooers and declared her word, saying:

‘Hear me, ye lordly wooers, who have vexed this house, that
ye might eat and drink here evermore, forasmuch as the master is long gone, nor
could ye find any other mark1 for your speech, but all your desire
was to wed me and take me to wife. Nay come now, ye wooers, seeing that this is
the prize that is put before you. I will set forth for you the great bow of
divine Odysseus, and whoso shall most easily string the bow in his hands, and
shoot through all twelve axes, with him will I go and forsake this house, this
house of my wedlock, so fair and filled with all livelihood, which methinks I
shall yet remember, aye, in a dream.’

[Footnote 1: The accepted interpretation of enloxeoiN (a
word which occurs only here) is ‘pretext’; but this does not agree with any of
the meanings of the verb from which the noun is derived. The usage of enexw in
Od. xix. 71, xxii. 75, of enloxelv in Il. xvii. 465, and of enloxomevos in Od.
xxii. 15, suggests rather for enloxeoin the idea of ‘aiming at a mark,’]

So spake she, and commanded Eumaeus, the goodly swineherd,
to set the bows for the wooers and the axes of grey iron. And Eumaeus took them
with tears, and laid them down; and otherwhere the neatherd wept, when he beheld
the bow of his lord. Then Antinous rebuked them, and spake and hailed them:

‘Foolish boors, whose thoughts look not beyond the day, ah,
wrethced pair, wherefore now do ye shed tears, and stir the soul of the lady
within her, when her heart already lies low in pain, for that she has lost her
dear lord? Nay sit, and feast in silence, or else get ye forth and weep, and
leave the bow here behind, to be a terrible contest for the wooers, for methinks
that this polished bow does not lightly yield itself to be strung. For there is
no man among all these present such as Odysseus was, and I myself saw him, yea I
remember it well, though I was still but a child.’

So spake he, but his heart within him hoped that he would
string the bow, and shoot through the iron. Yet verily, he was to be the first
that should taste the arrow at the hands of the noble Odysseus, whom but late he
was dishonouring as he sat in the halls, and was inciting all his fellows to do
likewise.

Then the mighty prince Telemachus spake among them, saying:
‘Lo now, in very truth, Cronion has robbed me of my wits! My dear mother, wise
as she is, declares that she will go with a stranger and forsake this house; yet
I laugh and in my silly heart I am glad. Nay come now, ye wooers, seeing that
this is the prize which is set before you, a lady, the like of whom there is not
now in the Achaean land, neither in sacred Pylos, nor in Argos, nor in Mycenae,
nor yet in Ithaca, nor in the dark mainland. Nay but ye know all this
yourselves, – why need I praise my mother? Come therefore, delay not the issue
with excuses, nor hold much longer aloof from the drawing of the bow, that we
may see the thing that is to be. Yea and I myself would make trial of this bow.
If I shall string it, and shoot through the iron, then should I not sorrow if my
lady mother were to quit these halls and go with a stranger, seeing that I
should be left behind, well able now to lift my father’s goodly gear of combat.’

Therewith he cast from off his neck his cloak of scarlet,
and sprang to his full height, and put away the sword from his shoulders. First
he dug a good trench and set up the axes, one long trench for them all, and over
it he made straight the line and round about stamped in the earth. And amazement
fell on all that beheld how orderly he set the axes, though never before had he
seen it so. Then he went and stood by the threshold and began to prove the bow.
Thrice he made it to tremble in his great desire to draw it, and thrice he
rested from his effort, though still he hoped in his heart to string the bow,
and shoot through the iron. And now at last he might have strung it, mightily
straining thereat for the fourth time, but Odysseus nodded frowning and stayed
him, for all his eagerness. Then the strong prince Telemachus spake among them
again:

‘Lo you now, even to the end of my days I shall be a coward
and a weakling, or it may be I am too young, and have as yet no trust in my
hands to defend me from such an one as does violence without a cause. But come
now, ye who are mightier men than I, essay the bow and let us make an end of the
contest.’

Therewith he put the bow from him on the ground, leaning it
against the smooth and well-compacted doors, and the swift shaft he propped hard
by against the fair bow-tip, and then he sat down once more on the high seat,
whence he had risen.

Then Antinous, son of Eupeithes, spake among them, saying:
‘Rise up in order, all my friends, beginning from the left, even from the place
whence the wine is poured.’

So spake Antinous, and the saying pleased them well. Then
first stood up Leiodes, son of Oenops, who was their soothsayer and ever sat by
the fair mixing bowl at the extremity of the hall; he alone hated their
infatuate deeds and was indignant with all the wooers. He now first took the bow
and the swift shaft, and he went and stood by the threshold, and began to prove
the bow; but he could not bend it; or ever that might be, his hands grew weary
with the straining, his unworn delicate hands; so he spake among the wooers,
saying:

‘Friends, of a truth I cannot bend it, let some other take
it. Ah, many of our bravest shall this bow rob of spirit and of life, since
truly it is far better for us to die, than to live on and to fail of that for
which we assemble evermore in this place, d y by day expecting the prize. Many
there be even now that hope in their hearts and desire to wed Penelope, the
bedfellow of Odysseus: but when such an one shall make trial of the bow and see
the issue, thereafter let him woo some other fair-robed Achaean woman with his
bridal gifts and seek to win her. So may our lady wed the man that gives most
gifts, and comes as the chosen of fate.’

So he spake, and put from him the bow, leaning it against
the smooth and well-compacted doors, and the swift shaft he propped hard by
against the fair bow-tip, and then he sat down once more on the high seat,
whence he had risen.

But Antinous rebuked him, and spake and hailed him: ‘Leiodes,
what word hath escaped the door of thy lips; a hard word, and a grievous? Nay,
it angers me to hear it, and to think that a bow such as this shall rob our
bravest of spirit and of life, and all because thou canst not draw it. For I
tell thee that thy lady mother bare thee not of such might as to draw a bow and
shoot arrows: but there be others of the proud wooers that shall draw it soon.’

So he spake, and commanded Melanthius, the goatherd,
saying: ‘Up now, light a fire in the halls, Melanthius; and place a great settle
by the fire and a fleece thereon, and bring forth a great ball of lard that is
within, that we young men may warm and anoint the bow therewith and prove it,
and make an end of the contest.’

So he spake, and Melanthius soon kindled the never-resting
fire, and drew up a settle and placed it near, and put a fleece thereon, and he
brought forth a great ball of lard that was within. Therewith the young
menwarmed the bow, and made essay, but could not string it, for they were
greatly lacking of such might. And Antinous still held to the task and godlike
Eurymachus, chief men among the wooers, who were far the most excellent of all.

But those other twain went forth both together from the
house, the neatherd and the swineherd of godlike Odysseus; and Odysseus passed
out after them. But when they were now gotten without the gates and the
courtyard, he uttered his voice and spake to them in gentle words:

‘Neatherd and thou swineherd, shall I say somewhat or keep
it to myself? Nay, my spirit bids me declare it. What manner of men would ye be
to help Odysseus, if he should come thus suddenly, I know not whence, and some
god were to bring him? Would ye stand on the side of the wooers or of Odysseus?
Tell me even as your heart and spirit bid you.’

Then the neatherd answered him, saying: ‘Father Zeus, if
but thou wouldst fulfil this wish:2 – oh, that that man might come,
and some god lead him hither! So shouldest thou know what my might is, and how
my hands follow to obey.’

[Footnote 2: Placing a colon at eeXdwP.]

In like manner Eumaeus prayed to all the gods that wise
Odysseus might return to his own home.

Now when he knew for a surety what spirit they were of,
once more he answered and spake to them, saying:

‘Behold, home am I come, even I; after much travail and
sore am I come in the twentieth year to mine our country. And I know how that my
coming is desired by you alone of all my thralls, for from none besides have I
heard a prayer that I might return once more to my home. And now I will tell you
all the truth, even as it shall come to pass. If the god shall subdue the proud
wooers to my hands, I will bring you each one a wife, and will give you a
heritage of your own and a house builded near me, and ye twain shall be
thereafter in mine eyes as the brethren and companions of Telemachus. But
behold, I will likewise show you a most manifest token, that ye may know me well
and be certified in heart, even the wound that the boar dealt me with his white
tusk long ago, when I went to Parnassus with the sons of Autocyclus.’

Therewith he drew aside the rags from the great scar. And
when the twain had beheld it and marked it well, they cast their arms about the
wise Odysseus, and fell a weeping; and kissed him lovingly on head and
shoulders. And in like manner Odysseus too kissed their heads and hands. And now
would the sunlight have gone down upon their sorrowing, had not Odysseus himself
stayed them saying:

‘Cease ye from weeping and lamentation, lest some one come
forth from the hall and see us, and tell it likewise in the house. Nay, go ye
within one by one and not both together, I first and you following, and let this
be the token between us. All the rest, as many as are proud wooers, will not
suffer that I should be given the bow and quiver; do thou then, goodly Eumaeus,
as thou bearest the bow through the hall, set it in my hands and speak to the
women that they bar the well-fitting doors of their chamber. And if any of them
hear the sound of groaning or the din of men within our walls, let them not run
forth but abide where they are in silence at their work. But on thee, goodly
Philoetius, I lay this charge, to bolt and bar the outer gate of the court and
swiftly to tie the knot.’

Therewith he passed within the fair-lying halls, and went
and sat upon the settle whence he had risen. And likewise the two thralls of
divine Odysseus went within.

And now Eurymachus was handling the bow, warming it on this
side and on that at the light of the fire; yet even so he could not string it,
and in his great heart he groaned mightily; and in heaviness of spirit he spake
and called aloud, saying:

‘Lo you now, truly am I grieved for myself and for you all!
Not for the marriage do I mourn so greatly, afflicted though I be; there are
many Achaean women besides, some in sea-begirt Ithaca itself and some in other
cities. Nay, but I grieve, if indeed we are so far worse than godlike Odysseus
in might, seeing that we cannot bend the bow. It will be a shame even for men
unborn to hear thereof.’

Then Antinous, son of Eupeithes, answered him: ‘Eurymachus,
this shall not be so, and thou thyself too knowest it. For to-day the feast of
the archer god is held in the land, a holy feast. Who at such a time would be
bending bows? Nay, set it quietly by; what and if we should let the axes all
stand as they are? None methinks will come to the hall of Odysseus, son of
Laertes, and carry them away. Go to now, let the wine-bearer pour for libation
into each cup in turn, that after the drink-offering we may set down the curved
bow, And in the morning bid Melanthius, the goatherd, to lead thither the very
best goats in all his herds, that we may lay pieces of the thighs on the altar
of Apollo the archer, and assay the bow and make an end of the contest.’

So spake Antinous, and the saying pleased them well. Then
the henchmen poured water on their hands, and pages crowned the mixing-bowls
with drink, and served out the wine to all, when they had poured for libation
into each cup in turn. But when they had poured forth and had drunken to their
hearts’ desire, Odysseus of many counsels spake among them out of a crafty
heart, saying:

‘Hear me, ye wooers of the renowned queen, that I may say
that which my heart within me bids. And mainly to Eurymachus I make my prayer
and to the godlike Antinous, forasmuch as he has spoken even this word aright,
namely, that for this present ye cease from your archery and leave the issue to
the gods; and in the morning the god will give the victory to whomsoever he
will. Come, therefore, give me the polished bow, that in your presence I may
prove my hands and strength, whether I have yet any force such as once was in my
supple limbs, or whether my wanderings and needy fare have even now destroyed
it.’

So spake he and they all were exceeding wroth, for fear
lest he should string the polished bow. And Antinous rebuked him, and spake and
hailed him:

‘Wretched stranger, thou hast no wit, nay never so little.
Art thou not content to feast at ease in our high company, and to lack not thy
share of the banquet, but to listen to our speech and our discourse, while no
guest and beggar beside thee hears our speech? Wine it is that wounds thee,
honey sweet wine, that is the bane of others too, even of all who take great
draughts and drink out of measure. Wine it was that darkened the mind even of
the Centaur, renowned Eurytion, in the hall of the high-hearted Peirithous, when
he went to the Lapithae; and after that his heart was darkened with wine, he
wrought foul deeds in his frenzy, in the house of Peirithous. Then wrath fell on
all the heroes, and they leaped up and dragged him forth through the porch, when
they had shorn off his ears and nostrils with the pitiless sword, and then with
darkened mind he bare about with him the burden of his sin in foolishness of
heart. Thence was the feud begun between the Centaurs and mankind; but first for
himself gat he hurt, being heavy with wine. And even so I declare great mischief
unto thee if thou shalt string the bow for thou shalt find no courtesy at the
hand of anyone in our land, and anon we will send thee in a black ship to
Echetus, the maimer of all men, and thence thou shalt not be saved alive. Nay
then, drink at thine ease, and strive not still with men that are younger than
thou.’

Then wise Penelope answered him: ‘Antinous, truly it is not
fair nor just to rob the guests of Telemachus of their due, whosoever he may be
that comes to this house. Dost thou think if yonder stranger strings the great
bow of Odysseus, in the pride of his might and of his strength of arm, that he
will lead me to his home and make me his wife? Nay he himself, methinks, has no
such hope in his breast; so, as for that, let not any of you fret himself while
feasting in this place; that were indeed unmeet.’

The Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered her, saying:
‘Daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope, it is not that we deem that he will lead
thee to his home, – far be such a thought from us, – but we dread the speech of
men and women, lest some day one of the baser sort among the Achaeans say:
“Truly men far too mean are wooing the wife of one that is noble, nor can they
string the polished bow. But a stranger and a beggar came in his wanderings, and
lightly strung the bow, and shot through the iron.” Thus will they speak, and
this will turn to our reproach.’

Then wise Penelope answered him: ‘Eurymachus, never can
there be fair fame in the land for those that devour and dishonour the house of
prince, but why make ye this thing into a reproach? But, behold, our guest is
great of growth and well-knit, and avows him to be born the son of a good
father. Come then, give ye him the polished bow, that we may see that which is
to be. For thus will I declare my saying, and it shall surely come to pass. If
he shall string the bow and Apollo grant him renown, I will clothe him in a
mantle and a doublet, goodly raiment, and I will give him a sharp javelin to
defend him against dogs and men, and a two-edged sword and sandals to bind
beneath his feet, and I will send him whithersoever his heart and spirit bid him
go.’

Then wise Telemachus answered her, saying: ‘My mother, as
for the bow, no Achaean is mightier than I to give or to deny it to whomso I
will, neither as many as are lords in rocky Ithaca nor in the isles on the side
of Elis, the pastureland of horses. Not one of these shall force me in mine own
despite, if I choose to give this boy, yea once and for all, to the stranger to
bear away with him. But do thou go to thine own chamber and mind thine own
housewiferies, the loom and distaff, and bid thine handmaids ply their tasks.
But the bow shall be for men, for all, but for me in chief, for mine is the
lordship in the house.’

Then in amaze she went back to her chamber, for she laid up
the wise saying of her son in her heart. She ascended to her upper chamber with
the women her handmaids, and then was bewailing Odysseus, her dear lord, till
grey – eyed Athene cast sweet sleep upon her eyelids.

Now the goodly swineherd had taken the curved bow, and was
bearing it, when the wooers all cried out upon him in the halls. And thus some
one of the haughty youths would speak: ‘Whither now art thou bearing the curved
bow, thou wretched swineherd, crazed in thy wits? Lo, soon shall the swift
hounds of thine own breeding eat thee hard by thy swine, alone and away from
men, if Apollo will be gracious to us and the other deathless gods.’

Even so they spake, and he took and set down the bow in
that very place, being affrighted because many cried out on him in the halls.
Then Telemachus from the other side spake threateningly, and called aloud:

‘Father, bring hither the bow, soon shalt thou rue it that
thou servest many masters. Take heed, lest I that am younger than thou pursue
thee to the field, and pelt thee with stones, for in might I am the better. If
only I were so much mightier in strength of arm than all the wooers that are in
the halls, soon would I send many an one forth on a woeful way from out our
house, for they imagine mischief against us.’

So he spake, and all the wooers laughed sweetly at him, and
ceased now from their cruel anger toward Telemachus. Then the swineherd bare the
bow through the hall, and went up to wise Odysseus, and set it in his hands. And
he called forth the nurse Eurycleia from the chamber and spake to her:

‘Wise Eurycleia, Telemachus bids thee bar the well-fitting
doors of thy chamber, and if any of the women hear the sound of groaning or the
din of men within our walls, let them not go forth, but abide where they are in
silence at their work.’

So he spake, and wingless her speech remained, and she
barred the doors of the fair-lying chambers.

Then Philoetius hasted forth silently from the house, and
barred the outer gates of the fenced court. Now there lay beneath the gallery
the cable of a curved ship, fashioned of the byblus plant, wherewith he made
fast the gates, and then himself passed within. Then he went and sat in the
settle whence he had risen, and gazed upon Odysseus. He already was handling the
bow, turning it every way about, and proving it on this side and on that, lest
the worms might have eaten the horns when the lord of the bow was away. And thus
men spake looking each one to his neighbour:

‘Verily he has a good eye, and a shrewd turn for a bow!
Either, methinks, he himself has such a bow lying by at home or else he is set
on making one, in such wise does he turn it hither and thither in his hands,
this evil-witted beggar.’

And another again of the haughty youths would say: ‘Would
that the fellow may have profit thereof, just so surely as he shall ever prevail
to bend this bow!’

So spake the wooers, but Odysseus of many counsels had
lifted the great bow and viewed it on every side, and even as when a man that is
skilled in the lyre and in minstrelsy, easily stretches a cord about a new peg,
after tying at either end the twisted sheepgut, even so Odysseus straightway
bent the great bow, all without effort, and took it in his right hand and proved
the bow-string, which rang sweetly at the touch, in tone like a swallow. Then
great grief came upon the wooers, and the colour of their countenance was
changed, and Zeus thundered loud showing forth his tokens. And the steadfast
goodly Odysseus was glad thereat, in that the son of deep-counselling Cronos had
sent him a sign. Then he caught up a swift arrow which lay by his table, bare,
but the other shafts were stored within the hollow quiver, those whereof the
Achaeans were soon to taste. He took and laid it on the bridge of the bow, and
held the notch and drew the string, even from the settle whereon he sat, and
with straight aim shot the shaft and missed not one of the axes, beginning from
the first axe-handle, and the bronze-weighted shaft passed clean through and out
at the last. Then he spake to Telemachus, saying:

‘Telemachus, thy guest that sits in the halls does thee no
shame. In nowise did I miss my mark, nor was I wearied with long bending of the
bow. Still is my might steadfast – not as the wooers say scornfully to slight
me. But now is it time that supper too be got ready for the Achaeans, while it
is yet light, and thereafter must we make other sport with and the dance the
lyre, for these are the crown of the feast.’

Therewith he nodded with bent brows, and Telemachus, the
dear son of divine Odysseus, girt his sharp sword about him and took the spear
in his grasp, and stood by his high seat at his father’s side, armed with the
gleaming bronze.