“Stop now; if someone steps outside
and sees you crying, they may tell the men.
Go in, not both at once but taking turns,230
first me, then you, then you. And this will be
our sign: when all the noblemen refuse
to let me have the bow and set of arrows,
then you must bring them through the hall, Eumaeus,
and put them in my hands. Command the women
to shut up tight the entrance to the hall,
and go to their own quarters; if they hear
men screaming or loud noises, they must not
come out, but stay there quietly, and work.
And you, Philoetius, lock up the gates240
leading out from the courtyard with the bolt
and put the rope on too. We must move fast.”
With that, he went inside, and sat back down
on the same chair he sat on earlier.
Then the two slaves went in. Eurymachus
was handling the bow and warming it,
turning it back and forth beside the fire.
But even after that, he could not manage
to string it, and he groaned, and yelled in fury,
“This is disastrous! For all of us!250
I do not even mind so much about
the marriage. There are lots of other women
on Ithaca, and in the other cities.
But that we should be proven so much weaker
than King Odysseus, that we should fail
to string his bow! Our deep humiliation
will be well-known for many years to come!”
Antinous said, “No, Eurymachus,
it will not be like that, as you well know.
No one should shoot a bow today; it is260
a feast day for Apollo! We should sit
calmly and leave the axe heads standing there.
No one will come and take them. Let the boy
pour wine, so we can make drink offerings,
and leave the bow for now. At dawn, call back
Melanthius, to bring the finest goats,
so we can make our offerings to the god,
Apollo, lord of archery, then try
the bow again, and finish up the contest.”
They all agreed with him. Attendants poured270
water to wash their hands, and boys began
to mix the wine in bowls, and poured a serving
in every cup, so they could make libations
and drink. Odysseus, the lord of lies,
had carefully considered how to fool them.
He said,
“Now hear me, suitors of the Queen;
let me reveal the promptings of my heart.
Eurymachus and Lord Antinous,
I ask you specially, because you spoke
so welclass="underline" now set the bow aside, and turn280
towards the gods. At dawn, the god will choose
the victor and give him success. For now,
give me the polished bow, so I can try
my strength and find out if my hands still have
the suppleness and vigor of my youth,
or if it has been lost in all my years
of homelessness and poverty.”
They bristled,
nervous in case he strung the polished bow.
Antinous said, “Foreigner! You fool!
Are you not grateful that we let you stay here290
and eat with noblemen like us, and share
our feast, and hear us talk? No other beggars
can hear our conversation. This good wine
has made you drunk. It does have that effect
on those who gulp and fail to pace themselves.
Wine even turned the famous Centaur’s head.
When Eurytion visited the Lapiths,
inside the house of brave Pirithous
the wine made him go crazy, and he did
terrible things. The warriors were outraged,300
and dragged him from the house. Their ruthless swords
cut off his ears and cropped his nose right off.
He wandered, still insane and blown about
by gusts of madness. From that day, the Centaurs
and humans have been enemies. His drinking
was harmful to himself. If you should string
that bow, it would be worse for you. No man
will treat you kindly in our house. We will
send you by ship to Echetus, the king
of cruelty; you will find no escape.310
Sit quietly, drink up, and do not quarrel
with younger men.”
Astute Penelope
said, “No, Antinous, it is not right
to disrespect a guest Telemachus
has welcomed to this house. And do you think
that if this stranger’s hands were strong enough
to string the bow, he would take me away
to marry him and live with him? Of course not!
He does not even dream of such a thing.
No need to spoil the feast by worrying320
about such things; there is no need of that.”
Eurymachus said, “Shrewd Penelope,
it is indeed unlikely that this man
would marry you. But we would feel ashamed
if some rude person said, ‘Those men are weak!
They court a fighter’s wife, but cannot string
his bow! Some random beggar has shown up
and strung it easily, and shot right through
all of the axes!’ They will talk like that,
and we will be humiliated!”
Calmly,330
Penelope replied, “Eurymachus,
people who waste the riches of a king
have lost their dignity. Why fuss at this?
The stranger is quite tall and muscular;
his father must be noble. Go on, give him
the bow, and let us watch. I tell you, if
he strings it by the blessing of Apollo,
I will give him a proper cloak and tunic,
fine clothes and sandals, and a two-edged sword
and dagger, sharp enough to ward away 340
both men and dogs, and I will help him go
wherever he desires to go.”
With quick
intake of breath, Telemachus replied,
“No, Mother, no one has a better right
than I to give the bow to anyone
or to refuse it. No one on this island
or out towards the pasturelands of Elis,
and no man in this house can force my hand,
even if I should choose to give the bow
to him to take away. Go up and work 350
with loom and distaff; tell your girls the same.
The bow is work for men, especially me.
I am the one with power in this house.”
She was amazed, and went back to her room,
taking to heart her son’s assertive words.
Inside her bedroom with her girls, she wept
for her dear husband, her Odysseus,
until clear-eyed Athena let her sleep.
Meanwhile, the swineherd lifted up the bow.
The suitors made an uproar.
“Dirty pig-man!360
Where are you taking it? Are you insane?
The dogs you raised yourself will eat you up
when you are out there with your pigs alone,
if we find favor with Apollo and
the other deathless gods.”
He was afraid,
because there were so many people shouting
inside the hall, and set the bow he carried
down on the ground. Telemachus called out,
in forceful tones.
“No, Grandpa! Keep on going!
Keep carrying the bow! You will soon see370
you have to choose which master to obey.
Though I am younger than you, I am stronger;
watch out, or I will chase you to the fields,
pelting your back with stones. I wish I had
an equal edge on all those who invaded
my home to court my mother and make mischief.
I would soon throw them out and make them pay!”
At that, the suitors all began to laugh;
their anger at Telemachus was gone.
Eumaeus went across the hall and gave380
the bow to competent Odysseus.
And then he summoned Eurycleia, saying,
“Telemachus gave orders you must lock
the doors into the hall and tie them fast.
If any of you women hear a noise
of screaming men, stay up there in your quarters;
do not come out; keep quiet and keep working.”
At that, she held her tongue and locked the doors
that led into the feast-hall. Philoetius
scurried outside to bolt the outer gates390
that led into the courtyard. On the porch
lay a fresh-knotted cable made of byblos;
with that, he tied the gates, rushed in and sat
back down, and looked towards Odysseus.
The master was already handling