August 7, 2025 • 18 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Book seven, Reception of Ulysses at the palace of King Alcinous.
Thus then did Ulysses wait and pray, But the girl
drove on to the town. When she reached her father's house,
she drew up at the gateway, and her brother's comely
as the gods gathered round her. Took the mules out
(00:20):
of the wagon and carried the clothes into the house,
while she went to her own room, where an old servant,
eury Medusa of Aperia, lit the fire for her. This
old woman had been brought by sea from Aperia and
had been chosen as a prize for Alcinous, because he
was king over the Phaecians, and the people obeyed him
(00:42):
as though he were a god. She had been nursed
to Nausicaa, and had now lit the fire for her
and brought her supper for her in her own room. Presently,
Ulysses got up to go towards town, and Minerva shed
a thick mist all round him to hide him in
case of the proud Faycians who met him should be
(01:03):
rude to him or ask him who he was. Then,
as he was just entering the town, she came towards
him in the likeness of a little girl carrying a pitcher.
She stood right in front of him, and Ulysses said,
my dear, will you be so kind as to show
me the house of King Alcinous. I am an unfortunate
foreigner in distress, and do not know one in your
(01:25):
town and country. Then Minerva said, yes, father, stranger, I
will show you the house you want, for Alcinous lives
quite close to my own. Father. I will go before
you and show you the way, But say not a
word as you go, and do not look at any
man nor ask him questions, for the people here cannot
abide strangers, and do not like men who come from
(01:46):
some other place. They are as seafaring folk and sail
the seas by the grace of Neptune in ships that
glide along like thought, or as a bird in the air.
On this she led the way, and Ulysses followed in
her steps. But not one of the Phaecians could see
him as he passed through the city in the midst
(02:07):
of them, for the great Goddess Minerva, in her good
will towards him, had hidden him in a thick cloud
of darkness. He admired their harbors, ships, places of assembly
and lofty walls of the city, which with the palisade
on top of them, were very striking. And when they
reached the king's house, Minerva said, this is the house, father, stranger,
(02:29):
which you would have me show you. You will find
a number of great people sitting at table, But do
not be afraid go straight in, for the bolder a
man is, the more likely is to carry his point,
even though he is a stranger. First to find the queen.
Her name is Arete, and she comes of the same
family as her husband Alcinous. They both descend originally from Neptune,
(02:52):
who was father to Naustus by Periboea, a woman of
great beauty. Periboea is the young youngest daughter of Eurymedon,
who at one time reigned over all the giants, but
he ruined his ill fated people and lost his own
life to boot. Neptune, however, lay with his daughter, and
she had a son by him, the great Nausithos, who
(03:15):
reigned over the Phaecians. Nausthus had two sons, Reexenor and Alcinous.
Apollo killed the first of them while he was still
a bridegroom and without male issue, but he left a
daughter Arete, whom Alcinous married and honors as no other
woman is honored of all those that keep house along
with their husbands. Thus she both was and still is
(03:38):
respected beyond measure by her children, by Alcinos himself, and
by the whole people, who look upon her as a
goddess and greet her wherever she goes about the city.
For she is a thoroughly good woman, both in head
and heart. And when any woman are friends of hers,
she will help their husbands so to settle their disputes.
(03:59):
If you can gain her goodwill, you may have every
hope of seeing your friends again and getting safely back
to your home and country. Then Minerva left Cheria and
went away over the sea. She went to Marathon and
to the spacious streets of Athens, where she entered the
abode of Erechtheus. But Ulysses went on to the house
of Alcinous, and he pondered much as he paused awhile
(04:21):
before reaching the threshold of bronze. For the splendor of
the palace was like that of the sun or moon.
The walls on either side were of bronze from end
to end, and the cornice was of blue enamel. The
doors were gold and hung on pillars of silver that
rose from the floor of bronze, while the lintel was
silver and the hook of the door was gold. On
(04:43):
either side there stood gold and silver mastiffs, which Vulcan,
with his consummate skill, had fashioned expressly to keep watch
over the palace of King Alcinous. So they were immortal
and could never grow old. Seats were ranged all along
the wall here and there, from one end to the other,
with coverings of fine woven work which the women of
(05:04):
the house had made. Here the chief persons of the
Phaeacians used to sit and eat and drink, for there
was abundance at all seasons, and there were golden figures
of young men with lighted torches in their hands, raised
on pedestals to give light by night to those who
were at table. There are fifty maid servants in the house,
(05:25):
some of whom are always grinding rich yellow grain at
the mill, while others work at the loom, or sit
and spin, and their shuttles go backwards and forwards like
the fluttering of aspen leaves. While the linen is so
closely woven that it will turn oil as the Faecians
are the best sailors in the world. So their women
excel all others in weaving, for Minerva has taught them
(05:48):
all manner of useful arts, and they are very intelligent.
Outside the gate of the outer Court there is a
large garden of about four acres, with a wall all
round it. It is full of beautiful trees, hares, pomegranates,
and the most delicious apples. There are luscious figs also,
and olives in full growth. The fruits never rot nor
(06:09):
fail all year round, neither winter nor summer, for the
air is so soft that a new crop ripens before
the old has drawn. Pear grows on pere, apple on apple,
and fig on fig, and so also with the grapes.
For there is an excellent vineyard on the level ground
of a part of this the grapes are being made
into raisins. In another part they are being gathered, Some
(06:32):
are being trodden in the wine tubs. Others further on
have shed their blossom and are beginning to show fruit.
Others again are just changing color. In the furthest part
of the ground there are beautifully arranged beds of flowers
that are in bloom all year round. Two streams go
through it, the one turned in ducts throughout the whole garden,
while the other is carried under a ground of the
(06:54):
outer court of the house itself, and the towns people
draw water from it. Such then, were the with which
the gods had endowed the house of King Alcinous. So
here Ulysses stood for a while and looked about him.
But when he looked long enough, he crossed the threshold
and went within the precincts of the house. There he
found all the chief people among the Phaecians, making their
(07:17):
drink offerings to mercury, which they always did last thing
before going away for the night. He went straight through
the court, still hidden by the cloak of darkness in
which Minerva had enveloped him, till he reached Arete and
King Alcinous. Then he laid his hands upon the knees
of the queen, and at the moment the miraculous darkness
fell away from him, and he became visible. Every One
(07:41):
was speechless with surprise at seeing a man there, But
Ulysses began at once with his petition. Queen Arette. He exclaimed,
daughter of Great Rexinoor, in my distress, I humbly pray
you as also your husband, and these your guests, whom
may Heaven prosper with long life and head happiness, and
may they leave their possessions to their children and all
(08:04):
the honors conferred upon them by the state. To help
me home to my own country as soon as possible,
for I have been long in trouble and away from
my friends. Then he sat down on the hearth among
the ashes, and they all held their peace till presently.
The old hero Echenus, who was an excellent speaker and
(08:25):
an elder among the Phaeacians, plainly and in all honesty,
addressed them thus Alcinous, He said, it is not creditable
to you that a stranger should be seen sitting among
the ashes of your hearth. Everyone is waiting to hear
what you are about to say. Tell him then to
rise and take a seat on a stool inlaid with silver,
(08:45):
and bid your servants mix some wine and water that
we may drink in offering to Jove, the lord of Thunder,
who takes all well disposed suppliance under his protection. And
let the housekeeper give him some supper of whatever there
may be in the house. When Alcinus heard this, he
took Ulysses by the hand, raised him from the hearth,
(09:05):
and bade him take the seat of Laudamus, who had
been sitting beside him and was his favorite son. A
maid servant then brought him water in a beautiful golden
ewer and poured it in a silver basin for him
to wash his hands, and she drew a clean table
beside him. An upper servant brought him bread and offered
him many good things of what there was in the house,
(09:28):
and Ulysses ate and drank. Then Alcinus said to one
of the servants, Pontanus, mix a cup of wine and
handed round, that we may drink offerings to Jove, the
Lord of Thunder, who is the protector of all well
disposed suppliants. Pontanus then mixed wine and water and handed
it round, after giving every man his drinking offering. Then
(09:49):
they made their offerings and drunk each as much as
he was minded. Alcinus said, aldermen and town counselors of
the Phaecians, he my words, you have had your supper,
So now go home to bed. Tomorrow morning I shall
invite a still larger number of aldermen and will give
a sacrificial banquet in honor of our guest. We can
(10:12):
then discuss the question of his escort, and consider how
we may at once send him back, rejoicing to his
own country, without trouble or inconvenience to himself, no matter
how distant it may be. We must see that he
comes to no harm while on his homeward journey. But
when he is once at home, he will have to
take the luck he was born with, for better or
(10:33):
for worse, like other people. It is possible, however, that
the stranger is one of the immortals who has come
down from heaven to visit us. But in this case
the gods are departing from their usual practice, for hitherto
they have made themselves perfectly clear to us, when we
have been offering them hecatoons. They come and sit at
(10:53):
our feasts just like one of ourselves, And if any
solitary wayfarer happens to stumble upon some or other of them,
they effect no concealment, for we are as near of
kin to the gods as the cyclopses and the savage
giants are. Then Ulysses said pray Alcinous, do not take
any such notion into your head. I have nothing of
(11:14):
the immortal about me, neither in my body nor mind,
and most resemble those among you who are the most afflicted. Indeed,
were I to tell you all that Heaven has seen
fit to lay upon me, you would say that I
was still worse off than they are. Nevertheless, let me
sup in spite of sorrow, for an empty stomach is
very inopportune thing, and thrust itself on a man's notice,
(11:37):
no matter how dire is his distress. I am in
great trouble. Yet it insists that I shall eat and drink,
bids me lay aside all memory of my sorrows, and
dwell only on the dew replenishing of itself as for yourselves.
Do as you propose, and at break of day, set
about helping me to get home. I shall be content
to die if I may first once more behold my
(12:00):
my property, my bondsman, and all the greatness of my house.
Thus did he speak. Everyone approved as his saying, and
agreed that he should have his escort inasmuch as he
had spoken reasonably. Then, when they made their drink offerings,
and had drunk each as much as he was minded,
they went home to bed, every man in his own abode,
(12:21):
leaving Ulysses in the cloister with Arete and Alcinous. While
the servants were taking the things away after supper, Arete
was the first to speak, for she recognized the shirt, cloak,
and good clothes that Ulysses was wearing as the work
of herself and of her maids. So she said, stranger,
(12:41):
before we go any further, there is a question I
should like to ask you, who and whence are you?
And who gave you those clothes? Did you not say
you had come from beyond the sea? And Ulysses answered,
it would be a long story, madam, were I to
relate and full the tale of my misfortunes, for the
hand of Heaven has been laid heavy upon me. But
as regards your question, there is an island far away
(13:04):
in the sea, which is called the Augigion. Here dwells
the cunning and powerful goddess Calypso, daughter of Atlas. She
lives by herself, far from all neighbors, human or divine. Fortune, however,
brought me to her hearth, all desolate and alone, for
Jove struck my ship with his thunderbolts and broke it
(13:25):
up in mid ocean. My brave comrades were drowned, every
man of them. But I stuck to the keel and
was carried hither and thither for the space of nine days,
till at last, during the darkness of the tenth night,
the gods brought me to the Ogigion island, where the
great goddess Calypso lives. She took me in and treated
(13:46):
me with the utmost kindness. Indeed, she wanted to make
me immortal, that I might never grow old, but she
could not persuade me to let her do. So. I
stayed with Calypso seven years straight on end, and watered
the good clothes she gave me with my tears during
the whole time. But at last, when the eighth year
came round, she bade me depart of her own free will,
(14:07):
either because Jove had told her she must, or because
she had changed her mind. She sent me from her
island on a raft, which she provisioned with abundance of
bread and wine. Moreover, she gave me good stout clothing
and sent me a wind that blew warm and fair.
Days seven and ten did I sail over the sea,
And on the eighteenth I caught sight of the first
(14:29):
outlines of the mountains upon your coast, and glad indeed
was I to set eyes upon them. Nevertheless, there was
still much trouble in store for me, for at this
point Neptune would let me go no further and raised
a great storm against me. The sea was so terribly
high that I could no longer keep my raft, which
went to pieces under the fury of the gale, and
(14:51):
I had to swim for it till wind and current
brought me to your shores. There I tried to land,
but could not, for it was a bad place. Waves
dashed me against the rocks. So I again took to
the sea and swam on till I came to a
river that seemed the most likely landing place, for there
were no rocks and it was sheltered from the wind. Here.
(15:13):
Then I got out of the water and gathered my
senses together again. Night was coming on, so I left
the river and went into a thicket, where I covered
myself all over with leaves, and presently Heaven sent me
off into a very deep sleep. Sick and sorry I was.
I slept among the leaves all night and through the
next day, till afternoon, when I woke as the sun
(15:36):
was westering, and saw your daughter's maid servants playing upon
the beach, and your daughter among them, looking like a goddess.
I besought her aid, and she proved to be of
excellent disposition, much more so than could be expected from
so young a person, for young people are apt to
be thoughtless. She gave me plenty of bread and wine,
(15:56):
and when she had me washed in the river, she
also gave me the clothes in which you see me now. Therefore,
though it has pained me to do so, I have
told you the whole truth. Then, Alcinous, said Stranger, it
was very wrong of my daughter not to bring you
on at once to my house along with the maids,
seeing that she was the first person whose aid you asked. Pray,
(16:19):
do not scold her, replied Ulysses. She is not to blame.
She did tell me to follow along with the maids,
But I was ashamed and afraid, for I thought you
might perhaps be displeased if you saw me. Every human
being is sometimes a little suspicious and irritable, Stranger replied Alcinous.
I am not the kind of man to get angry
about nothing. It is always better to be reasonable. But
(16:41):
by Father Jove, Minerva and Apollo. Now that I see
what kind of person you are, and how much you
think as I do, I wish you would stay here,
marry my daughter, and become my son in law. If
you will stay, I will give you a house and
an estate. But no one Heaven forbid, shall keep you
here against your own wish. And that you may be
sure of this, I will attend tomorrow to the matter
(17:02):
of your escort. You can sleep during the whole voyage
if you like, and the men shall sail you over
smooth waters, either to your own home or wherever you please,
even though it may be a long way further off
than you Boea, which those of my people who saw
it when they took yellow haired rhadamanthus to see Titius,
(17:24):
the son of Gaia, tell me is the furthest of
any place. And yet they did the whole voyage in
a single day without distressing themselves, and came back again afterwards.
You will thus see how much my ships excel all others,
and what magnificent oarsmen my sailors are. Then Ulysses was
glad and prayed aloud, saying Father Jove grant that Alcinous
(17:46):
may do all that he has said, for he so
will win an imperishable name among mankind, and at the
same time I shall return to my country. Thus did
they converse. Then Arete told her maids to set a
bed in the room that was in the gatehouse, and
make it with good red rugs, and to spread coverlets
(18:06):
on the top of them, with woolen cloaks for Ulysses
to wear. The maids thereon went out with torches in
their hands, And when they had made their bed, they
came up to Ulysses and said, rise, sir stranger, and
come with us, for your bed is ready. And glad
indeed was he to go to his rest. So Ulysses
slept in a bed placed in a room over the
(18:27):
echoing gateway. But Alcinous lay in the inner part of
the house, with the Queen his wife by his side.
End of Ulysses Book seven.
Book seven, Reception of Ulysses at the palace of King Alcinous.
Thus then did Ulysses wait and pray, But the girl
drove on to the town. When she reached her father's house,
she drew up at the gateway, and her brother's comely
as the gods gathered round her. Took the mules out
(00:20):
of the wagon and carried the clothes into the house,
while she went to her own room, where an old servant,
eury Medusa of Aperia, lit the fire for her. This
old woman had been brought by sea from Aperia and
had been chosen as a prize for Alcinous, because he
was king over the Phaecians, and the people obeyed him
(00:42):
as though he were a god. She had been nursed
to Nausicaa, and had now lit the fire for her
and brought her supper for her in her own room. Presently,
Ulysses got up to go towards town, and Minerva shed
a thick mist all round him to hide him in
case of the proud Faycians who met him should be
(01:03):
rude to him or ask him who he was. Then,
as he was just entering the town, she came towards
him in the likeness of a little girl carrying a pitcher.
She stood right in front of him, and Ulysses said,
my dear, will you be so kind as to show
me the house of King Alcinous. I am an unfortunate
foreigner in distress, and do not know one in your
(01:25):
town and country. Then Minerva said, yes, father, stranger, I
will show you the house you want, for Alcinous lives
quite close to my own. Father. I will go before
you and show you the way, But say not a
word as you go, and do not look at any
man nor ask him questions, for the people here cannot
abide strangers, and do not like men who come from
(01:46):
some other place. They are as seafaring folk and sail
the seas by the grace of Neptune in ships that
glide along like thought, or as a bird in the air.
On this she led the way, and Ulysses followed in
her steps. But not one of the Phaecians could see
him as he passed through the city in the midst
(02:07):
of them, for the great Goddess Minerva, in her good
will towards him, had hidden him in a thick cloud
of darkness. He admired their harbors, ships, places of assembly
and lofty walls of the city, which with the palisade
on top of them, were very striking. And when they
reached the king's house, Minerva said, this is the house, father, stranger,
(02:29):
which you would have me show you. You will find
a number of great people sitting at table, But do
not be afraid go straight in, for the bolder a
man is, the more likely is to carry his point,
even though he is a stranger. First to find the queen.
Her name is Arete, and she comes of the same
family as her husband Alcinous. They both descend originally from Neptune,
(02:52):
who was father to Naustus by Periboea, a woman of
great beauty. Periboea is the young youngest daughter of Eurymedon,
who at one time reigned over all the giants, but
he ruined his ill fated people and lost his own
life to boot. Neptune, however, lay with his daughter, and
she had a son by him, the great Nausithos, who
(03:15):
reigned over the Phaecians. Nausthus had two sons, Reexenor and Alcinous.
Apollo killed the first of them while he was still
a bridegroom and without male issue, but he left a
daughter Arete, whom Alcinous married and honors as no other
woman is honored of all those that keep house along
with their husbands. Thus she both was and still is
(03:38):
respected beyond measure by her children, by Alcinos himself, and
by the whole people, who look upon her as a
goddess and greet her wherever she goes about the city.
For she is a thoroughly good woman, both in head
and heart. And when any woman are friends of hers,
she will help their husbands so to settle their disputes.
(03:59):
If you can gain her goodwill, you may have every
hope of seeing your friends again and getting safely back
to your home and country. Then Minerva left Cheria and
went away over the sea. She went to Marathon and
to the spacious streets of Athens, where she entered the
abode of Erechtheus. But Ulysses went on to the house
of Alcinous, and he pondered much as he paused awhile
(04:21):
before reaching the threshold of bronze. For the splendor of
the palace was like that of the sun or moon.
The walls on either side were of bronze from end
to end, and the cornice was of blue enamel. The
doors were gold and hung on pillars of silver that
rose from the floor of bronze, while the lintel was
silver and the hook of the door was gold. On
(04:43):
either side there stood gold and silver mastiffs, which Vulcan,
with his consummate skill, had fashioned expressly to keep watch
over the palace of King Alcinous. So they were immortal
and could never grow old. Seats were ranged all along
the wall here and there, from one end to the other,
with coverings of fine woven work which the women of
(05:04):
the house had made. Here the chief persons of the
Phaeacians used to sit and eat and drink, for there
was abundance at all seasons, and there were golden figures
of young men with lighted torches in their hands, raised
on pedestals to give light by night to those who
were at table. There are fifty maid servants in the house,
(05:25):
some of whom are always grinding rich yellow grain at
the mill, while others work at the loom, or sit
and spin, and their shuttles go backwards and forwards like
the fluttering of aspen leaves. While the linen is so
closely woven that it will turn oil as the Faecians
are the best sailors in the world. So their women
excel all others in weaving, for Minerva has taught them
(05:48):
all manner of useful arts, and they are very intelligent.
Outside the gate of the outer Court there is a
large garden of about four acres, with a wall all
round it. It is full of beautiful trees, hares, pomegranates,
and the most delicious apples. There are luscious figs also,
and olives in full growth. The fruits never rot nor
(06:09):
fail all year round, neither winter nor summer, for the
air is so soft that a new crop ripens before
the old has drawn. Pear grows on pere, apple on apple,
and fig on fig, and so also with the grapes.
For there is an excellent vineyard on the level ground
of a part of this the grapes are being made
into raisins. In another part they are being gathered, Some
(06:32):
are being trodden in the wine tubs. Others further on
have shed their blossom and are beginning to show fruit.
Others again are just changing color. In the furthest part
of the ground there are beautifully arranged beds of flowers
that are in bloom all year round. Two streams go
through it, the one turned in ducts throughout the whole garden,
while the other is carried under a ground of the
(06:54):
outer court of the house itself, and the towns people
draw water from it. Such then, were the with which
the gods had endowed the house of King Alcinous. So
here Ulysses stood for a while and looked about him.
But when he looked long enough, he crossed the threshold
and went within the precincts of the house. There he
found all the chief people among the Phaecians, making their
(07:17):
drink offerings to mercury, which they always did last thing
before going away for the night. He went straight through
the court, still hidden by the cloak of darkness in
which Minerva had enveloped him, till he reached Arete and
King Alcinous. Then he laid his hands upon the knees
of the queen, and at the moment the miraculous darkness
fell away from him, and he became visible. Every One
(07:41):
was speechless with surprise at seeing a man there, But
Ulysses began at once with his petition. Queen Arette. He exclaimed,
daughter of Great Rexinoor, in my distress, I humbly pray
you as also your husband, and these your guests, whom
may Heaven prosper with long life and head happiness, and
may they leave their possessions to their children and all
(08:04):
the honors conferred upon them by the state. To help
me home to my own country as soon as possible,
for I have been long in trouble and away from
my friends. Then he sat down on the hearth among
the ashes, and they all held their peace till presently.
The old hero Echenus, who was an excellent speaker and
(08:25):
an elder among the Phaeacians, plainly and in all honesty,
addressed them thus Alcinous, He said, it is not creditable
to you that a stranger should be seen sitting among
the ashes of your hearth. Everyone is waiting to hear
what you are about to say. Tell him then to
rise and take a seat on a stool inlaid with silver,
(08:45):
and bid your servants mix some wine and water that
we may drink in offering to Jove, the lord of Thunder,
who takes all well disposed suppliance under his protection. And
let the housekeeper give him some supper of whatever there
may be in the house. When Alcinus heard this, he
took Ulysses by the hand, raised him from the hearth,
(09:05):
and bade him take the seat of Laudamus, who had
been sitting beside him and was his favorite son. A
maid servant then brought him water in a beautiful golden
ewer and poured it in a silver basin for him
to wash his hands, and she drew a clean table
beside him. An upper servant brought him bread and offered
him many good things of what there was in the house,
(09:28):
and Ulysses ate and drank. Then Alcinus said to one
of the servants, Pontanus, mix a cup of wine and
handed round, that we may drink offerings to Jove, the
Lord of Thunder, who is the protector of all well
disposed suppliants. Pontanus then mixed wine and water and handed
it round, after giving every man his drinking offering. Then
(09:49):
they made their offerings and drunk each as much as
he was minded. Alcinus said, aldermen and town counselors of
the Phaecians, he my words, you have had your supper,
So now go home to bed. Tomorrow morning I shall
invite a still larger number of aldermen and will give
a sacrificial banquet in honor of our guest. We can
(10:12):
then discuss the question of his escort, and consider how
we may at once send him back, rejoicing to his
own country, without trouble or inconvenience to himself, no matter
how distant it may be. We must see that he
comes to no harm while on his homeward journey. But
when he is once at home, he will have to
take the luck he was born with, for better or
(10:33):
for worse, like other people. It is possible, however, that
the stranger is one of the immortals who has come
down from heaven to visit us. But in this case
the gods are departing from their usual practice, for hitherto
they have made themselves perfectly clear to us, when we
have been offering them hecatoons. They come and sit at
(10:53):
our feasts just like one of ourselves, And if any
solitary wayfarer happens to stumble upon some or other of them,
they effect no concealment, for we are as near of
kin to the gods as the cyclopses and the savage
giants are. Then Ulysses said pray Alcinous, do not take
any such notion into your head. I have nothing of
(11:14):
the immortal about me, neither in my body nor mind,
and most resemble those among you who are the most afflicted. Indeed,
were I to tell you all that Heaven has seen
fit to lay upon me, you would say that I
was still worse off than they are. Nevertheless, let me
sup in spite of sorrow, for an empty stomach is
very inopportune thing, and thrust itself on a man's notice,
(11:37):
no matter how dire is his distress. I am in
great trouble. Yet it insists that I shall eat and drink,
bids me lay aside all memory of my sorrows, and
dwell only on the dew replenishing of itself as for yourselves.
Do as you propose, and at break of day, set
about helping me to get home. I shall be content
to die if I may first once more behold my
(12:00):
my property, my bondsman, and all the greatness of my house.
Thus did he speak. Everyone approved as his saying, and
agreed that he should have his escort inasmuch as he
had spoken reasonably. Then, when they made their drink offerings,
and had drunk each as much as he was minded,
they went home to bed, every man in his own abode,
(12:21):
leaving Ulysses in the cloister with Arete and Alcinous. While
the servants were taking the things away after supper, Arete
was the first to speak, for she recognized the shirt, cloak,
and good clothes that Ulysses was wearing as the work
of herself and of her maids. So she said, stranger,
(12:41):
before we go any further, there is a question I
should like to ask you, who and whence are you?
And who gave you those clothes? Did you not say
you had come from beyond the sea? And Ulysses answered,
it would be a long story, madam, were I to
relate and full the tale of my misfortunes, for the
hand of Heaven has been laid heavy upon me. But
as regards your question, there is an island far away
(13:04):
in the sea, which is called the Augigion. Here dwells
the cunning and powerful goddess Calypso, daughter of Atlas. She
lives by herself, far from all neighbors, human or divine. Fortune, however,
brought me to her hearth, all desolate and alone, for
Jove struck my ship with his thunderbolts and broke it
(13:25):
up in mid ocean. My brave comrades were drowned, every
man of them. But I stuck to the keel and
was carried hither and thither for the space of nine days,
till at last, during the darkness of the tenth night,
the gods brought me to the Ogigion island, where the
great goddess Calypso lives. She took me in and treated
(13:46):
me with the utmost kindness. Indeed, she wanted to make
me immortal, that I might never grow old, but she
could not persuade me to let her do. So. I
stayed with Calypso seven years straight on end, and watered
the good clothes she gave me with my tears during
the whole time. But at last, when the eighth year
came round, she bade me depart of her own free will,
(14:07):
either because Jove had told her she must, or because
she had changed her mind. She sent me from her
island on a raft, which she provisioned with abundance of
bread and wine. Moreover, she gave me good stout clothing
and sent me a wind that blew warm and fair.
Days seven and ten did I sail over the sea,
And on the eighteenth I caught sight of the first
(14:29):
outlines of the mountains upon your coast, and glad indeed
was I to set eyes upon them. Nevertheless, there was
still much trouble in store for me, for at this
point Neptune would let me go no further and raised
a great storm against me. The sea was so terribly
high that I could no longer keep my raft, which
went to pieces under the fury of the gale, and
(14:51):
I had to swim for it till wind and current
brought me to your shores. There I tried to land,
but could not, for it was a bad place. Waves
dashed me against the rocks. So I again took to
the sea and swam on till I came to a
river that seemed the most likely landing place, for there
were no rocks and it was sheltered from the wind. Here.
(15:13):
Then I got out of the water and gathered my
senses together again. Night was coming on, so I left
the river and went into a thicket, where I covered
myself all over with leaves, and presently Heaven sent me
off into a very deep sleep. Sick and sorry I was.
I slept among the leaves all night and through the
next day, till afternoon, when I woke as the sun
(15:36):
was westering, and saw your daughter's maid servants playing upon
the beach, and your daughter among them, looking like a goddess.
I besought her aid, and she proved to be of
excellent disposition, much more so than could be expected from
so young a person, for young people are apt to
be thoughtless. She gave me plenty of bread and wine,
(15:56):
and when she had me washed in the river, she
also gave me the clothes in which you see me now. Therefore,
though it has pained me to do so, I have
told you the whole truth. Then, Alcinous, said Stranger, it
was very wrong of my daughter not to bring you
on at once to my house along with the maids,
seeing that she was the first person whose aid you asked. Pray,
(16:19):
do not scold her, replied Ulysses. She is not to blame.
She did tell me to follow along with the maids,
But I was ashamed and afraid, for I thought you
might perhaps be displeased if you saw me. Every human
being is sometimes a little suspicious and irritable, Stranger replied Alcinous.
I am not the kind of man to get angry
about nothing. It is always better to be reasonable. But
(16:41):
by Father Jove, Minerva and Apollo. Now that I see
what kind of person you are, and how much you
think as I do, I wish you would stay here,
marry my daughter, and become my son in law. If
you will stay, I will give you a house and
an estate. But no one Heaven forbid, shall keep you
here against your own wish. And that you may be
sure of this, I will attend tomorrow to the matter
(17:02):
of your escort. You can sleep during the whole voyage
if you like, and the men shall sail you over
smooth waters, either to your own home or wherever you please,
even though it may be a long way further off
than you Boea, which those of my people who saw
it when they took yellow haired rhadamanthus to see Titius,
(17:24):
the son of Gaia, tell me is the furthest of
any place. And yet they did the whole voyage in
a single day without distressing themselves, and came back again afterwards.
You will thus see how much my ships excel all others,
and what magnificent oarsmen my sailors are. Then Ulysses was
glad and prayed aloud, saying Father Jove grant that Alcinous
(17:46):
may do all that he has said, for he so
will win an imperishable name among mankind, and at the
same time I shall return to my country. Thus did
they converse. Then Arete told her maids to set a
bed in the room that was in the gatehouse, and
make it with good red rugs, and to spread coverlets
(18:06):
on the top of them, with woolen cloaks for Ulysses
to wear. The maids thereon went out with torches in
their hands, And when they had made their bed, they
came up to Ulysses and said, rise, sir stranger, and
come with us, for your bed is ready. And glad
indeed was he to go to his rest. So Ulysses
slept in a bed placed in a room over the
(18:27):
echoing gateway. But Alcinous lay in the inner part of
the house, with the Queen his wife by his side.
End of Ulysses Book seven.
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