Standing across the threshold, he called out
to Eurycleia.
“Nanny! Did you women
make sure our guest was honored, with a meal130
and comfortable bed? Or did he lie there
neglected? This is typical of Mother!
She may be clever, but she acts on whims!
She treats unwanted guests with great respect,
and rudely sends the better ones away.”
The nurse said tactfully, “Child, do not blame her,
not now. He drank some wine, and chose a chair.
He said he had already had his dinner—
she asked him. And at bedtime, she brought out
a cot, so that the girls could make his bed. 140
Poor destitute old man! He would not take
nice bedding. He slept outside on the porch,
on oxhide and a fleece; we spread a cloak
on top of him.”
Telemachus marched off
out of the palace, with his sword in hand,
accompanied by two swift dogs, and went
down to the meeting place of the Achaeans.
Then noble Eurycleia, child of Ops,
called to the slaves.
“Now hurry! You girls sweep
the floors and sprinkle them. Spread purple cloths150
across the chairs. You others, sponge the tables,
and wash the double-handled cups and bowls.
And you, go fetch the water from the spring.
Be quick! They will be coming soon; it is
a festival for all of them today.”
They listened carefully and followed orders.
Twenty ran off to fetch the dark spring water;
the other well-trained slaves were working hard160
around the house. The able-bodied men
came in and chopped the wood. They knew their work.
The women got back from the spring, and with them
the swineherd came with three fat pigs—his best.
He penned them in the yard to root around,
and kindly asked Odysseus,
“My friend,
are they now treating you with more respect,
or still abusing you, just as before?”
Odysseus, the cunning strategist,
replied, “Eumaeus, may the gods avenge
these upstarts for their wickedness and schemes!
The scoundrels have abused me in a house170
which is not theirs! They show no shame!”
While they
were talking in this way, Melanthius
arrived with two more herders. They were driving
the very fattest she-goats from the flock—
a contribution to the suitors’ banquet.
He tied the goats up on the portico,
and started picking on Odysseus.
“Stranger! Are you still here, still causing trouble,
with begging and annoying those inside?
I promise you a beating if you stay!180
Your begging is not welcome! This is not
the only place in Greece where there is food.”
Inscrutable Odysseus said nothing;
he bowed his head in silence, contemplating
his murderous plans.
The third and final herdsman,
Philoetius, an overseer, came
herding fat he-goats and an uncalved heifer,
brought by a ferryman to Ithaca—
the ferries also carry passengers
when anybody needs to get across.190
Philoetius tied up his animals
outside, and asked the swineherd,
“Who is this
new guest who has arrived? Who are his people?
Where is his native land? His ancestry?
Poor man, he has a kingly look; his bearing
is like a lord’s. When gods spin threads of pain,
even great kings are made to wander far
and suffer greatly.”
Then he shook his hand
and greeted him. “Good morning, sir! You are
down on your luck; I hope things change for you.200
No god is more destructive, Zeus, than you!
You are the father of humanity,
but you do not take pity on our pain.
My eyes are wet, my skin is damp with sweat,
as I think of Odysseus. If he
still lives and sees the sun, he must be lost,
and dressed in rags like these. Or if he has
already died, oh, Lord Odysseus!
I am so sorry! He entrusted me
with my first herd when I was just a boy,210
in Cephallenia. His cattle now
are countless; they would not have multiplied
so well for someone else. But now these men
are telling me to drive the cows to them
for food. They do not care about the boy,
or tremble at the eyes of watchful gods.
My master has been gone a long time now.
They want to share his wealth among themselves,
and I keep turning over in my mind
that it would not be right to take the cows 220
and go to foreign lands, when master’s son
is here. But it is worse to sit and suffer,
just taking care of other people’s cattle.
I would have run away and gone to serve
another king; things are unbearable.
But I keep hoping my unlucky master
will come back from wherever he may be
and scatter all these suitors in his halls.”
Crafty Odysseus replied, “I see
you are intelligent. So I will swear 230
a solemn oath to you. I vow by Zeus,
and hospitality, and by this hearth,
that while you are still here, Odysseus
will come back home, and if you want, you can
watch as the boys who swagger here are killed.”
The cowherd answered, “Stranger, may Zeus make
your words come true—and you would see my strength,
and how prepared my hands would be to fight.”
Eumaeus also prayed to all the gods
to bring his many-minded master home.240
As they were talking in this way, the suitors
were planning how to kill Telemachus.
But then an eagle flew high on their left,
holding a wild dove. Amphinomus
said to them, “Friends, this plan of ours, this murder,
will fail. So let us think about our banquet.”
They all agreed, and went inside the house
of godlike King Odysseus. They spread
cloths on the chairs and sofas, and they killed
large sheep, fat goats, big pigs, and one tame cow.250
They cooked the innards and divided them,
and mixed the wine in bowls; the swineherd poured it
into the cups. Philoetius served bread
in baskets, and Melanthius passed round
the wine. They helped themselves to all the food.
Then thinking carefully, Telemachus
seated Odysseus inside the hall,
beside the stony threshold, and he brought
a table and a stool. He served him meat
and poured a gold cup full of wine, and said,260
“Now you are sitting here and drinking wine
among them. I will stop them touching you
or mocking you. This is no public house!
Odysseus acquired it for me.
And you there, suitors! Please, no blows or insults.
We do not want to start an argument.”
They bit their lips, surprised to hear the boy
speaking so boldly, and Antinous,
Eupeithes’ son, declared,
“My lords, we must
accept the threats Telemachus has made,270
annoying though they are. Zeus would not let us
kill him—or else by now we could have stopped
his speechifying in our banquet hall.”
Telemachus ignored him, and meanwhile,
the house boys drove one hundred animals
through town for sacrifice. The Ithacans
assembled at Apollo’s shady grove—
the lord of archery.
Inside the house,
the suitors cooked the meat kebabs, took out
the skewers, then divided up the portions—280
a splendid feast. They served Odysseus
an equal portion with their own; his son,
Telemachus, had ordered them to do so.
But still Athena would not let the suitors
refrain from hurtful insults and abuse,
so even deeper bitterness would sink
into the heart of great Odysseus.
One lawless man from Same named Ctesippus,
encouraged by extraordinary wealth,
had come to court Odysseus’ wife290
because he had been absent for so long.
He shouted to the other reckless suitors,
“Listen! This stranger got an equal share,