August 21, 2025 • 26 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Book twenty one. Minerva now put it in Penelope's mind
to make the suitors try their skill with the bow
and with the iron axes in contest among themselves, as
a means of bringing about their destruction. She went upstairs
and got the store room key, which was made of
bronze and had a handle of ivory. She then went
(00:22):
with her maidens into the store room at the end
of the house, where her husband's treasures of gold, bronze
and wrought iron were kept, and where was also his
bow and the quiver full of deadly arrows that had
been given him by a friend whom he had met
in Lazi Damon Iphithus, the son of Eurytus. The two
(00:43):
fell in with one another in Messine at the house
of Orticholus, where Ulysses was staying, in order to recover
a debt that was owing from the whole people, for
the Messenians had carried off three hundred sheep from Ithaca
and had sailed away with them and with their shepherds
in quest of these. Ulysses took a long journey while
(01:04):
still quite young, for his father and the other chieftains
sent him on a mission to recover them. Ephythus had
gone there also to try to get back twelve brute
mares that he had lost, and the mule folds that
were running with them. These mares were the death of
him in the end, for when he went to the
house of Jove's son Mighty Hercules, who performed such prodigies
(01:27):
of valor, Hercules, to his shame, killed him, though he
was his guest, for he feared not Heaven's vengeance, nor
yet respected his own table, which he had set before Iphythus,
but killed him in spite of everything, and kept the
mares himself. It was when claiming these that Yoppethus met
Ulysses and gave him the bow which Mighty Eurytus had
(01:51):
been used to carry, and which on his death had
been left by him to his son. Ulysses gave him
in return a sword and as, and this was the
beginning of a fast friendship, although they never visited at
one another's houses, for Jove's son Hercules killed Iphythus ere
(02:11):
they could do so. This bow, then given him by Iphythus,
had not been taken with him by Ulysses when he
sailed for Troy. He had used it so long as
he had been at home, but had left it behind
as having been a keepsake from a valued friend. Penelope
presently reached the oaked threshold of the storeroom. The carpenter
(02:35):
had planned this, Julie, and had drawn a line on
it so as to get it quite straight. He had
then set the doorposts into it and hung the doors.
She loosed the strap from the handle of the door,
put in the key, and drove it straight home to
shoot back the bolts that held the doors. These flew
(02:55):
open with a noise like a bull bellowing in a meadow.
Andy stepped upon the raised platform where the chests stood,
in which the fair linen and clothes were laid by,
along with fragrant herbs. Reaching thence, she took down the
bow with its bowcase from the peg on which it hung.
She sat down with it on her knees, weeping bitterly
(03:18):
as she took the bow out of its case, and
when her tears had relieved her, she went to the
cloister where the suitors were carrying the bow and a
quiver with the many deadly arrows that were inside it.
Along with her came her maidens, bearing a chest that
contained much iron and bronze, which her husband had won
(03:41):
as prizes. When she reached the suitors, she stood by
one of the bearing posts supporting the roof of the cloister,
holding a whale before her face, and with a mate
on either side of her. Then she said, listen to me,
you suitors, who persist in a using the hospitality of
(04:01):
this house because its owner has been long absent, and
without other pretext than that you want to marry me. This, then,
being the prize that you are contending for, I will
bring out the mighty bow of Ulysses, and whomsoever of
you shall string it most easily and send his arrow
(04:22):
through each one of twelve axes him will I follow
and quit this house of my lawful husband, so goodly
and so abounding in wealth. But even so I doubt
not that I shall remember it in my dreams. As
she spoke, she told Eumanus to set the bow and
the pieces of iron before the suitors, and Eumenus wept
(04:45):
as he took them to do as she had bidden him.
Hard By the stockman wept also when he saw his
master's bow. But Antinuous scolded them, you country a lots,
said he, silly importance, Why should you add to the
sorrows of your mistress by crying. In this way, she
(05:06):
has enough to grieve her in the loss of her husband.
Sit still, therefore, and eat your dinners in silence, or
go outside if you want to cry, and leave the
bow behind you. We suitors shall have to contend for
it with might and main, for we shall find it
no light matter to string such a bow as this his.
(05:26):
There is not a man of us all who is
such another as Ulysses, for I have seen him and
remember him, though I was then only a child. This
was all he said. But all the time he was
expecting to be able to string the bow and shoot
through the iron, whereas in fact he was to be
the first that should taste of the arrows from the
(05:49):
hands of Ulysses, whom he was dishonoring in his own house,
aching the others on to do so also. Then Telemachus
spoke great heavens. He exclaimed, Jove must have robbed me
of my senses. Here is my dear and excellent mother,
saying she will quit this house and marry again. Yet
(06:11):
I am laughing and enjoying myself, as though there were
nothing happening, but suitors as the contest has been agreed upon,
let it go forward. It is for a woman whose
peer is not to be found in pylas Argos or
my scene, nor yet in Ithaca, nor on mainland. You
(06:31):
know this as well as I do. What need have
I to speak in praise of my mother? Come on, then,
make no excuses for delay, But let us see whether
you can string the bow or no, I too will
make trial of it. For if I can string it
and shoot through the iron, I shall not suffer my
mother to quit this house with a stranger, not if
(06:53):
I can win the prizes which my father won before me.
As he spoke, he sprang from his seat, threw his
crimson cloak from him, and took his sword from his shoulder.
First he set the axis in a row in a
long groove, which he had dug for them and had
weighed straight by line. Then he stamped the earth tight
(07:15):
round them, and everyone was surprised when he saw him
set up so orderly, though he had never seen anything
of the kind Before this done, he went on to
the pavement to make trial of the bow. Thrice did
he tug at it, trying with all his might to
draw the string and thrice he had to leave off,
(07:35):
though he had hoped to string the bow and shoot
through the iron. He was trying for the fourth time
and would have strung it had not Ulysses made a
sign to check him in spite of all his eagerness,
So he said, alas, I shall either be always feeble
and of no prowess, or I am too young and
(07:56):
have not yet reached my full strength so as to
be able to hold my if any one attacks me.
You others, therefore, who are stronger than I, make trial
of the bow and get this contest settled. On this,
he put the bow down, letting it lean against the
door that led into the house, with the arrow standing
(08:17):
against the top of the bow. Then he sat down
on a seat from which he had risen, and Antinouis said,
come on, each of you, in his turn, going to words,
to ride from the place at which the cup bearer
when he is handing round the wine. The rest agreed,
and Laodes, son of Oenop's, was the first to rise.
(08:40):
He was sacrificial priest to the suitors and sat in
a corner near the mixing bowl. He was the only
man who hated their evil deeds and was indignant with
the others, he was now the first to take the
bow and arrow. So he went on to the payment
to make his trial. But he could not string the bow,
for his hands were weak and unused to hard work.
(09:03):
They therefore soon grew tired, and he said to the suitors,
my friends, I cannot string it. Let another have it.
This bow shall take the life and soul out of
many a chief among us, for it is better to
die than to live, after having missed the prize that
we have so long striven for, and which has brought
us so long together. Some one of us is even
(09:27):
now hoping and praying that he may marry Penelope. But
when he has seen this bow and tried it, let
him woo and make bridal offerings to some other woman,
and let Penelope marry who ever makes her the best offer,
and whose lut it is to win her. On this
he put the bow down, letting it lean against the door,
(09:49):
with the arrow standing against the tip of the bow.
Then he took his seat again on the seat from
which he had risen, and Antinous rebuked him, saying, lay odies,
what are you talking about. Your words are monstrous and intolerable.
It makes me angry to listen to you, shall then
(10:10):
this bow take the life of many a chief among us,
merely because you cannot bend it yourself. True, you were
not born to be an archer. But there are others
who will soon string it. Then he said to Melanthius,
the goatherd, look sharp, Light a fire in the court,
(10:31):
and set a seat hard by with a sheepskin on it.
Bring us also a large ball of lard from what
they have in a house. Let us warm the bow
and grease it. We will then make trial of it
again and bring the contest to an end. Melanthius lit
the fire and set a seat covered with sheepskins beside it.
(10:53):
He also brought a great ball of lard from what
they had in the house, and the suitors warmed the
bow and again made trial of it. But they were
none of them nearly strong enough to string it. Nevertheless,
there still remained Antinuous and Eurymachus, who were the ringleaders
among the suitors, and much the foremost among them all. Then,
(11:17):
the swineherd and the stockman left the cloisters together, and
Ulysses followed them. When they had got outside the gates,
and youter yard Ulysses said to them quietly, Stockman, and
you swineherd, I have something in my mind which I
am in doubt whether to say or no, But I
(11:38):
think I will say it. What manner of men would
you be to stand by Ulysses if some God should
bring him back here? All of a sudden, Say which
you are disposed to do, to side with the suitors
or with Ulysses. Father Jove answered the stockman would indeed
(11:58):
that you might so obtain it. If some God were
but to bring Ulysses back, you should see with what
might and main I would fight for him. In like words,
Eumaeus prayed to all the gods that Ulysses might return.
When therefore he saw for certain what mind they were
(12:19):
of Ulysses said, it is I Ulysses who am here.
I have suffered much, but at last, in the twentieth year,
I am come back to my own country. I find
that you two, alone, of all my servants, are glad
that I should do so, for I have not heard
any of the others praying for my return to you two.
(12:43):
Therefore will I unfold the truth as it shall be,
if Heaven shall deliver the suitors into my hands. I
will find wives for both of you, will give you
house and holding close to my own, and you shall
be to me as though you were brothers and friends
of Telemachus. I will now give you convincing proofs that
(13:05):
you may know me and be assured. See here is
the scar from the boar's tooth that ripped me when
I was out hunting on Mount Parnassus with the sons
of Autolysis. As he spoke, he drew his rags aside
from the great scar. And when they had examined it thoroughly,
(13:25):
they both of them wept about. Ulysses threw their arms
around him and kissed his head and shoulders, while Ulysses
kissed their hands and faces in return. The sun would
have gone down upon their mourning if Ulysses had not
checked them and said, cease your weeping, lest someone should
come outside and see us, and tell those who are within.
(13:49):
When you go in, do so separately, not both together.
I will go first, and do you follow afterwards. Let
this moreover be the token between us the suitors. Will
all of them try to prevent me from getting hold
of the bow and quiver. Do you, therefore, Eumaneus, place
it in my hands when you are carrying it about,
(14:12):
and tell the women to close the doors of their apartment.
If they hear any groaning or uproar as of men
fighting about the house, they must not come out. They
must keep quiet and stay where they are at their work.
And I charge you, Philouetius, to make fast the doors
of the outer court and to bind them securely at once.
(14:34):
When he had thus spoken, he went back to the
house and took the seat that he had left presently.
His two servants followed him inside. At this moment, the
bow was in the hands of Eurymachus, who was warming
it by the fire. But even so he could not
string it, and he was greatly grieved. He heaved a
(14:55):
deep sigh and said, I grieve for myself and for us.
I grieve that I shall have to forego the marriage.
But I do not care nearly so much about this,
for there are plenty of other women in Ithaca and elsewhere.
What I feel most is the fact of our being
so inferior to Ulysses in strength that we cannot string
(15:17):
his bow. This will disgrace us in the eyes of
those who are yet unborn. It shall not be so
Eurymachus said, Antinous, and you know it yourself. To day
is the feast of Apollo throughout all the land. Who
can string a bow on such a day as this
put it on one side. As for the axes, they
(15:40):
can stay where they are, for no one is likely
to come to the house and take them away. Let
the cup bearer go round with his cups, that we
may make our drink offerings, and drop this matter of
the bow. We will tell Melanthius to bring us some
goats to morrow, the best he has. We can then
offer thigh bones to Apollo, the mighty archer, and again
(16:04):
make trial of the bow, as to bring the contest
to an end. The rest approved his words, and thereon
men servants poured water over the hands of the guests,
while pages filled the mixing poles with wine and water
and handed it round, after giving every man his drink offering. Then,
(16:24):
when they had made their offerings and had drunk each
as much as he desired, Ulysses craftily said, suitors of
the illustrious queen, listen that I may speak, even as
I am minded. I appeal more especially to Eurymachus and
to Antonius, who has just spoken with so much reason,
(16:49):
cease shooting for the present, and leave the matter to
the gods. But in the morning, let Heaven give victory
to whom it will. For the moment, however, give me
the bow, that I may prove the power of my
hands among you all, and see whether I still have
as much strength as I used to have, or whether
travel and neglect have made an end of it. This
(17:12):
made them all very angry, for they feared he might
string the bow. Antinous therefore rebuked him fiercely, saying, wretched creature,
you have not so much as a grain of sense
in your whole body. You ought to think yourself lucky
in being allowed to dine unharmed among your betters, without
(17:32):
having any smaller portion served you than we others have had,
and in being allowed to hear our conversation. No other
beggar or stranger has been allowed to hear what we
have said among ourselves. The wine must have been doing
you a mischief, as it does with all those drinking immoderately.
(17:52):
It was wine that inflamed the centure Eurythian when he
was staying with Pirithus among the lappy things. When the
wine had got into his head he went mad and
did ill deeds about the house of Pirithius. This angered
the heroes who were there assembled, so they rushed at
(18:13):
him and cut off his ears and nostrils. Then they
dragged him through the doorway out of the house. So
he went away grazed and bore the burden of his crime,
bereft of understanding. Henceforth, therefore there was war between mankind
and the centaurs. But he brought it upon himself through
(18:34):
his own drunkenness. In like manner. I can tell you
that it will go hardly with you. If you string
the bow, you will find no mercy from anyone here,
for we shall at once ship you off to King Achithus,
who kills every one that comes near him. You will
never get away alive. So drink and keep quiet without
(18:58):
getting into a quarrel with men younger than yourself. Penelope
then spoke to him. Antinous said, she, it is not
right that you should ill treat any guests of Telemachus
who comes to this house. If the stranger should prove
strong enough to string the mighty bow of Ulysses, can
(19:19):
you suppose that he would take me home with him
and make him his wife even the man himself can
have no such idea in his mind. None of you
need let that disturb his feasting. It would be out
of all reason. Queen Penelope answered, Eurymachus, we do not
suppose that this man will take you away with him.
(19:42):
It is impossible. But we are afraid lest some of
the baser sort men or women among their achaeans, should
go gossiping about and say these suitors are a feeble folk.
They are paying court to the wife of a brave
man whose bow. Not one of them was a to string,
and yet a beggarly tramp who came to the house
(20:04):
strung it at once and sent an arrow through the iron.
This is what will be said, and it will be
a scandal against us. Eurymachus Penelope answered, people who persist
in eating up the estate of a great chieftain and
dishonoring his house must not expect others to think well
(20:26):
of them. Why then, should you mind if men talk
as you think they will. This stranger is strong and
well built. He says, moreover that he is of noble birth.
Give him the bow, and let us see whether he
can string it or no, I say, and it shall
surely be that if Apollo vouchsafes him the glory of
(20:50):
stringing it, I will give him a cloak and a
shirt of good wear, with the javelin to keep off
dogs and robbers, and a sharp sword. I will also
give him sandals, and will see him send safely wherever
he wants to go. Then, Telemachus said mother, I am
the only man, either in Ithaca or in the islands
(21:13):
that are over against Elis, who has the right to
let any one have the bow or to refuse it.
No one shall force me one way or the other,
not even though I choose to make the stranger a
present of the bow outright and let him take it
away with him. Go then within the house, and busy
yourself with your daily duties, your loom, your distaff, and
(21:36):
the ordering of your servants. This bow is a man's matter,
and mine above all others, for it is I who
am master. Here. She went, wandering back into the house
and laid her sons, saying in her heart. Then going
upstairs with her handmaids into her room, she mourned her
dear husband till Minerva sent sweet sleep over her. The
(22:01):
Swinehertz now took up the bow and was for taking
it to Ulysses. But the suitors clamored at him from
all parts of the cloisters, and one of them said,
you idiot, where are you taking the bow to? Are
you out of your wits? If Apollo and the other
gods will grant our prayer, your own boarhounds shall get
(22:24):
you into some quiet little place and worry you to death.
Eumaeus was frightened at the outcry they all raised, so
he put the bow down then and there. But Telemachus
shouted out at him from the other side of the
cloisters and threatened him, saying, father, Eumaeus, bring the bow
(22:44):
on in spite of them, or young as I am,
I will pelt you with stones back to the country.
For I am the better man of the two. I
wish I was as much stronger than all the other
suitors in a house as I am than you. I
would soon send some of them off, sick and sorry
for their mean mischief. Thus did he speak, and they
(23:08):
all of them laughed heartily, which put them in a
better humor with Telemachus. So Eumaeus brought the bow on
and placed it in the hands of Ulysses. When he
had done this, he called Eurycleia apart, and said to her, Eurycleia,
Telemachus says, you are to close the doors of the
(23:28):
women's apartments. If they hear any groaning or uproar as
of men fighting about the house, they are not to
come out, but are to keep quiet and stay where
they are at their work. Euryclea did as she was
told and closed the doors of the women's apartments. Meanwhile,
Philoetius slipped quietly on and made fast the gates of
(23:50):
the outer court. There was a ship's cable of biblus
fiber lying in the gatehouse, so he made the gates
fast with it, and then came in again, resuming the
seat that he had left, and keeping an eye on Ulysses,
who had now got the bow in his hands and
was turning it every way about and proving it all
(24:11):
over to see whether the worms had been eating into
its two horns during his absence. Then would one turn
towards his neighbor, saying, this is some tricky old bow fancier.
Either he has got one leged at home, or he
wants to make one in such workman light style. Does
(24:31):
the old vagabond handle it? Another said, I hope he
may be no more successful in other things than he
is likely to be in stringing this bow. But Ulysses,
when he had taken it up and examined it all over,
strung it as easily as a skilled bart strings a
(24:52):
new peg of his lyre and makes the twisted gut
fast at both ends. Then he took it in his
right hand to prove the string, and it sang sweetly
under his touch, like the twittering of a swallow. The
suitors were dismayed and turned color as they heard it
at that moment. Moreover, Jove thundered loudly as a sign,
(25:15):
and the heart of Ulysses rejoiced as he heard the
omen that the son of scheming Saturn had sent him.
He took an arrow that was lying upon the table,
for those which the Achaeans were so shortly about to
taste were all inside the quiver. He laid it on
the centerpiece of the bow, and drew the notch of
(25:36):
the arrow and a string toward him, still seated on
his seat. When he had taken aim, he let fly,
and his arrow pierced every one of the handle holes
of the axes, from the first onwards. Till it had
gone right through them and into the outer courtyard. Then
he said to Telemachus, your guest has not disgraced you. Lemachus,
(26:01):
I did not miss what I aimed at, and I
was not long in stringing my bow. I am still strong,
and not as the suitors twit me with being. Now, however,
it is time for the Achaeans to prepare supper while
there is still daylight, and then otherwise to disport themselves
with song and dance, which are the crowning ornaments of
(26:23):
a banquet. As he spoke, he made a sign with
his eyebrows, and Telemachus girded on his sword, grasped his spear,
and stood on beside his father's seat. End of Book
twenty one
Book twenty one. Minerva now put it in Penelope's mind
to make the suitors try their skill with the bow
and with the iron axes in contest among themselves, as
a means of bringing about their destruction. She went upstairs
and got the store room key, which was made of
bronze and had a handle of ivory. She then went
(00:22):
with her maidens into the store room at the end
of the house, where her husband's treasures of gold, bronze
and wrought iron were kept, and where was also his
bow and the quiver full of deadly arrows that had
been given him by a friend whom he had met
in Lazi Damon Iphithus, the son of Eurytus. The two
(00:43):
fell in with one another in Messine at the house
of Orticholus, where Ulysses was staying, in order to recover
a debt that was owing from the whole people, for
the Messenians had carried off three hundred sheep from Ithaca
and had sailed away with them and with their shepherds
in quest of these. Ulysses took a long journey while
(01:04):
still quite young, for his father and the other chieftains
sent him on a mission to recover them. Ephythus had
gone there also to try to get back twelve brute
mares that he had lost, and the mule folds that
were running with them. These mares were the death of
him in the end, for when he went to the
house of Jove's son Mighty Hercules, who performed such prodigies
(01:27):
of valor, Hercules, to his shame, killed him, though he
was his guest, for he feared not Heaven's vengeance, nor
yet respected his own table, which he had set before Iphythus,
but killed him in spite of everything, and kept the
mares himself. It was when claiming these that Yoppethus met
Ulysses and gave him the bow which Mighty Eurytus had
(01:51):
been used to carry, and which on his death had
been left by him to his son. Ulysses gave him
in return a sword and as, and this was the
beginning of a fast friendship, although they never visited at
one another's houses, for Jove's son Hercules killed Iphythus ere
(02:11):
they could do so. This bow, then given him by Iphythus,
had not been taken with him by Ulysses when he
sailed for Troy. He had used it so long as
he had been at home, but had left it behind
as having been a keepsake from a valued friend. Penelope
presently reached the oaked threshold of the storeroom. The carpenter
(02:35):
had planned this, Julie, and had drawn a line on
it so as to get it quite straight. He had
then set the doorposts into it and hung the doors.
She loosed the strap from the handle of the door,
put in the key, and drove it straight home to
shoot back the bolts that held the doors. These flew
(02:55):
open with a noise like a bull bellowing in a meadow.
Andy stepped upon the raised platform where the chests stood,
in which the fair linen and clothes were laid by,
along with fragrant herbs. Reaching thence, she took down the
bow with its bowcase from the peg on which it hung.
She sat down with it on her knees, weeping bitterly
(03:18):
as she took the bow out of its case, and
when her tears had relieved her, she went to the
cloister where the suitors were carrying the bow and a
quiver with the many deadly arrows that were inside it.
Along with her came her maidens, bearing a chest that
contained much iron and bronze, which her husband had won
(03:41):
as prizes. When she reached the suitors, she stood by
one of the bearing posts supporting the roof of the cloister,
holding a whale before her face, and with a mate
on either side of her. Then she said, listen to me,
you suitors, who persist in a using the hospitality of
(04:01):
this house because its owner has been long absent, and
without other pretext than that you want to marry me. This, then,
being the prize that you are contending for, I will
bring out the mighty bow of Ulysses, and whomsoever of
you shall string it most easily and send his arrow
(04:22):
through each one of twelve axes him will I follow
and quit this house of my lawful husband, so goodly
and so abounding in wealth. But even so I doubt
not that I shall remember it in my dreams. As
she spoke, she told Eumanus to set the bow and
the pieces of iron before the suitors, and Eumenus wept
(04:45):
as he took them to do as she had bidden him.
Hard By the stockman wept also when he saw his
master's bow. But Antinuous scolded them, you country a lots,
said he, silly importance, Why should you add to the
sorrows of your mistress by crying. In this way, she
(05:06):
has enough to grieve her in the loss of her husband.
Sit still, therefore, and eat your dinners in silence, or
go outside if you want to cry, and leave the
bow behind you. We suitors shall have to contend for
it with might and main, for we shall find it
no light matter to string such a bow as this his.
(05:26):
There is not a man of us all who is
such another as Ulysses, for I have seen him and
remember him, though I was then only a child. This
was all he said. But all the time he was
expecting to be able to string the bow and shoot
through the iron, whereas in fact he was to be
the first that should taste of the arrows from the
(05:49):
hands of Ulysses, whom he was dishonoring in his own house,
aching the others on to do so also. Then Telemachus
spoke great heavens. He exclaimed, Jove must have robbed me
of my senses. Here is my dear and excellent mother,
saying she will quit this house and marry again. Yet
(06:11):
I am laughing and enjoying myself, as though there were
nothing happening, but suitors as the contest has been agreed upon,
let it go forward. It is for a woman whose
peer is not to be found in pylas Argos or
my scene, nor yet in Ithaca, nor on mainland. You
(06:31):
know this as well as I do. What need have
I to speak in praise of my mother? Come on, then,
make no excuses for delay, But let us see whether
you can string the bow or no, I too will
make trial of it. For if I can string it
and shoot through the iron, I shall not suffer my
mother to quit this house with a stranger, not if
(06:53):
I can win the prizes which my father won before me.
As he spoke, he sprang from his seat, threw his
crimson cloak from him, and took his sword from his shoulder.
First he set the axis in a row in a
long groove, which he had dug for them and had
weighed straight by line. Then he stamped the earth tight
(07:15):
round them, and everyone was surprised when he saw him
set up so orderly, though he had never seen anything
of the kind Before this done, he went on to
the pavement to make trial of the bow. Thrice did
he tug at it, trying with all his might to
draw the string and thrice he had to leave off,
(07:35):
though he had hoped to string the bow and shoot
through the iron. He was trying for the fourth time
and would have strung it had not Ulysses made a
sign to check him in spite of all his eagerness,
So he said, alas, I shall either be always feeble
and of no prowess, or I am too young and
(07:56):
have not yet reached my full strength so as to
be able to hold my if any one attacks me.
You others, therefore, who are stronger than I, make trial
of the bow and get this contest settled. On this,
he put the bow down, letting it lean against the
door that led into the house, with the arrow standing
(08:17):
against the top of the bow. Then he sat down
on a seat from which he had risen, and Antinouis said,
come on, each of you, in his turn, going to words,
to ride from the place at which the cup bearer
when he is handing round the wine. The rest agreed,
and Laodes, son of Oenop's, was the first to rise.
(08:40):
He was sacrificial priest to the suitors and sat in
a corner near the mixing bowl. He was the only
man who hated their evil deeds and was indignant with
the others, he was now the first to take the
bow and arrow. So he went on to the payment
to make his trial. But he could not string the bow,
for his hands were weak and unused to hard work.
(09:03):
They therefore soon grew tired, and he said to the suitors,
my friends, I cannot string it. Let another have it.
This bow shall take the life and soul out of
many a chief among us, for it is better to
die than to live, after having missed the prize that
we have so long striven for, and which has brought
us so long together. Some one of us is even
(09:27):
now hoping and praying that he may marry Penelope. But
when he has seen this bow and tried it, let
him woo and make bridal offerings to some other woman,
and let Penelope marry who ever makes her the best offer,
and whose lut it is to win her. On this
he put the bow down, letting it lean against the door,
(09:49):
with the arrow standing against the tip of the bow.
Then he took his seat again on the seat from
which he had risen, and Antinous rebuked him, saying, lay odies,
what are you talking about. Your words are monstrous and intolerable.
It makes me angry to listen to you, shall then
(10:10):
this bow take the life of many a chief among us,
merely because you cannot bend it yourself. True, you were
not born to be an archer. But there are others
who will soon string it. Then he said to Melanthius,
the goatherd, look sharp, Light a fire in the court,
(10:31):
and set a seat hard by with a sheepskin on it.
Bring us also a large ball of lard from what
they have in a house. Let us warm the bow
and grease it. We will then make trial of it
again and bring the contest to an end. Melanthius lit
the fire and set a seat covered with sheepskins beside it.
(10:53):
He also brought a great ball of lard from what
they had in the house, and the suitors warmed the
bow and again made trial of it. But they were
none of them nearly strong enough to string it. Nevertheless,
there still remained Antinuous and Eurymachus, who were the ringleaders
among the suitors, and much the foremost among them all. Then,
(11:17):
the swineherd and the stockman left the cloisters together, and
Ulysses followed them. When they had got outside the gates,
and youter yard Ulysses said to them quietly, Stockman, and
you swineherd, I have something in my mind which I
am in doubt whether to say or no, But I
(11:38):
think I will say it. What manner of men would
you be to stand by Ulysses if some God should
bring him back here? All of a sudden, Say which
you are disposed to do, to side with the suitors
or with Ulysses. Father Jove answered the stockman would indeed
(11:58):
that you might so obtain it. If some God were
but to bring Ulysses back, you should see with what
might and main I would fight for him. In like words,
Eumaeus prayed to all the gods that Ulysses might return.
When therefore he saw for certain what mind they were
(12:19):
of Ulysses said, it is I Ulysses who am here.
I have suffered much, but at last, in the twentieth year,
I am come back to my own country. I find
that you two, alone, of all my servants, are glad
that I should do so, for I have not heard
any of the others praying for my return to you two.
(12:43):
Therefore will I unfold the truth as it shall be,
if Heaven shall deliver the suitors into my hands. I
will find wives for both of you, will give you
house and holding close to my own, and you shall
be to me as though you were brothers and friends
of Telemachus. I will now give you convincing proofs that
(13:05):
you may know me and be assured. See here is
the scar from the boar's tooth that ripped me when
I was out hunting on Mount Parnassus with the sons
of Autolysis. As he spoke, he drew his rags aside
from the great scar. And when they had examined it thoroughly,
(13:25):
they both of them wept about. Ulysses threw their arms
around him and kissed his head and shoulders, while Ulysses
kissed their hands and faces in return. The sun would
have gone down upon their mourning if Ulysses had not
checked them and said, cease your weeping, lest someone should
come outside and see us, and tell those who are within.
(13:49):
When you go in, do so separately, not both together.
I will go first, and do you follow afterwards. Let
this moreover be the token between us the suitors. Will
all of them try to prevent me from getting hold
of the bow and quiver. Do you, therefore, Eumaneus, place
it in my hands when you are carrying it about,
(14:12):
and tell the women to close the doors of their apartment.
If they hear any groaning or uproar as of men
fighting about the house, they must not come out. They
must keep quiet and stay where they are at their work.
And I charge you, Philouetius, to make fast the doors
of the outer court and to bind them securely at once.
(14:34):
When he had thus spoken, he went back to the
house and took the seat that he had left presently.
His two servants followed him inside. At this moment, the
bow was in the hands of Eurymachus, who was warming
it by the fire. But even so he could not
string it, and he was greatly grieved. He heaved a
(14:55):
deep sigh and said, I grieve for myself and for us.
I grieve that I shall have to forego the marriage.
But I do not care nearly so much about this,
for there are plenty of other women in Ithaca and elsewhere.
What I feel most is the fact of our being
so inferior to Ulysses in strength that we cannot string
(15:17):
his bow. This will disgrace us in the eyes of
those who are yet unborn. It shall not be so
Eurymachus said, Antinous, and you know it yourself. To day
is the feast of Apollo throughout all the land. Who
can string a bow on such a day as this
put it on one side. As for the axes, they
(15:40):
can stay where they are, for no one is likely
to come to the house and take them away. Let
the cup bearer go round with his cups, that we
may make our drink offerings, and drop this matter of
the bow. We will tell Melanthius to bring us some
goats to morrow, the best he has. We can then
offer thigh bones to Apollo, the mighty archer, and again
(16:04):
make trial of the bow, as to bring the contest
to an end. The rest approved his words, and thereon
men servants poured water over the hands of the guests,
while pages filled the mixing poles with wine and water
and handed it round, after giving every man his drink offering. Then,
(16:24):
when they had made their offerings and had drunk each
as much as he desired, Ulysses craftily said, suitors of
the illustrious queen, listen that I may speak, even as
I am minded. I appeal more especially to Eurymachus and
to Antonius, who has just spoken with so much reason,
(16:49):
cease shooting for the present, and leave the matter to
the gods. But in the morning, let Heaven give victory
to whom it will. For the moment, however, give me
the bow, that I may prove the power of my
hands among you all, and see whether I still have
as much strength as I used to have, or whether
travel and neglect have made an end of it. This
(17:12):
made them all very angry, for they feared he might
string the bow. Antinous therefore rebuked him fiercely, saying, wretched creature,
you have not so much as a grain of sense
in your whole body. You ought to think yourself lucky
in being allowed to dine unharmed among your betters, without
(17:32):
having any smaller portion served you than we others have had,
and in being allowed to hear our conversation. No other
beggar or stranger has been allowed to hear what we
have said among ourselves. The wine must have been doing
you a mischief, as it does with all those drinking immoderately.
(17:52):
It was wine that inflamed the centure Eurythian when he
was staying with Pirithus among the lappy things. When the
wine had got into his head he went mad and
did ill deeds about the house of Pirithius. This angered
the heroes who were there assembled, so they rushed at
(18:13):
him and cut off his ears and nostrils. Then they
dragged him through the doorway out of the house. So
he went away grazed and bore the burden of his crime,
bereft of understanding. Henceforth, therefore there was war between mankind
and the centaurs. But he brought it upon himself through
(18:34):
his own drunkenness. In like manner. I can tell you
that it will go hardly with you. If you string
the bow, you will find no mercy from anyone here,
for we shall at once ship you off to King Achithus,
who kills every one that comes near him. You will
never get away alive. So drink and keep quiet without
(18:58):
getting into a quarrel with men younger than yourself. Penelope
then spoke to him. Antinous said, she, it is not
right that you should ill treat any guests of Telemachus
who comes to this house. If the stranger should prove
strong enough to string the mighty bow of Ulysses, can
(19:19):
you suppose that he would take me home with him
and make him his wife even the man himself can
have no such idea in his mind. None of you
need let that disturb his feasting. It would be out
of all reason. Queen Penelope answered, Eurymachus, we do not
suppose that this man will take you away with him.
(19:42):
It is impossible. But we are afraid lest some of
the baser sort men or women among their achaeans, should
go gossiping about and say these suitors are a feeble folk.
They are paying court to the wife of a brave
man whose bow. Not one of them was a to string,
and yet a beggarly tramp who came to the house
(20:04):
strung it at once and sent an arrow through the iron.
This is what will be said, and it will be
a scandal against us. Eurymachus Penelope answered, people who persist
in eating up the estate of a great chieftain and
dishonoring his house must not expect others to think well
(20:26):
of them. Why then, should you mind if men talk
as you think they will. This stranger is strong and
well built. He says, moreover that he is of noble birth.
Give him the bow, and let us see whether he
can string it or no, I say, and it shall
surely be that if Apollo vouchsafes him the glory of
(20:50):
stringing it, I will give him a cloak and a
shirt of good wear, with the javelin to keep off
dogs and robbers, and a sharp sword. I will also
give him sandals, and will see him send safely wherever
he wants to go. Then, Telemachus said mother, I am
the only man, either in Ithaca or in the islands
(21:13):
that are over against Elis, who has the right to
let any one have the bow or to refuse it.
No one shall force me one way or the other,
not even though I choose to make the stranger a
present of the bow outright and let him take it
away with him. Go then within the house, and busy
yourself with your daily duties, your loom, your distaff, and
(21:36):
the ordering of your servants. This bow is a man's matter,
and mine above all others, for it is I who
am master. Here. She went, wandering back into the house
and laid her sons, saying in her heart. Then going
upstairs with her handmaids into her room, she mourned her
dear husband till Minerva sent sweet sleep over her. The
(22:01):
Swinehertz now took up the bow and was for taking
it to Ulysses. But the suitors clamored at him from
all parts of the cloisters, and one of them said,
you idiot, where are you taking the bow to? Are
you out of your wits? If Apollo and the other
gods will grant our prayer, your own boarhounds shall get
(22:24):
you into some quiet little place and worry you to death.
Eumaeus was frightened at the outcry they all raised, so
he put the bow down then and there. But Telemachus
shouted out at him from the other side of the
cloisters and threatened him, saying, father, Eumaeus, bring the bow
(22:44):
on in spite of them, or young as I am,
I will pelt you with stones back to the country.
For I am the better man of the two. I
wish I was as much stronger than all the other
suitors in a house as I am than you. I
would soon send some of them off, sick and sorry
for their mean mischief. Thus did he speak, and they
(23:08):
all of them laughed heartily, which put them in a
better humor with Telemachus. So Eumaeus brought the bow on
and placed it in the hands of Ulysses. When he
had done this, he called Eurycleia apart, and said to her, Eurycleia,
Telemachus says, you are to close the doors of the
(23:28):
women's apartments. If they hear any groaning or uproar as
of men fighting about the house, they are not to
come out, but are to keep quiet and stay where
they are at their work. Euryclea did as she was
told and closed the doors of the women's apartments. Meanwhile,
Philoetius slipped quietly on and made fast the gates of
(23:50):
the outer court. There was a ship's cable of biblus
fiber lying in the gatehouse, so he made the gates
fast with it, and then came in again, resuming the
seat that he had left, and keeping an eye on Ulysses,
who had now got the bow in his hands and
was turning it every way about and proving it all
(24:11):
over to see whether the worms had been eating into
its two horns during his absence. Then would one turn
towards his neighbor, saying, this is some tricky old bow fancier.
Either he has got one leged at home, or he
wants to make one in such workman light style. Does
(24:31):
the old vagabond handle it? Another said, I hope he
may be no more successful in other things than he
is likely to be in stringing this bow. But Ulysses,
when he had taken it up and examined it all over,
strung it as easily as a skilled bart strings a
(24:52):
new peg of his lyre and makes the twisted gut
fast at both ends. Then he took it in his
right hand to prove the string, and it sang sweetly
under his touch, like the twittering of a swallow. The
suitors were dismayed and turned color as they heard it
at that moment. Moreover, Jove thundered loudly as a sign,
(25:15):
and the heart of Ulysses rejoiced as he heard the
omen that the son of scheming Saturn had sent him.
He took an arrow that was lying upon the table,
for those which the Achaeans were so shortly about to
taste were all inside the quiver. He laid it on
the centerpiece of the bow, and drew the notch of
(25:36):
the arrow and a string toward him, still seated on
his seat. When he had taken aim, he let fly,
and his arrow pierced every one of the handle holes
of the axes, from the first onwards. Till it had
gone right through them and into the outer courtyard. Then
he said to Telemachus, your guest has not disgraced you. Lemachus,
(26:01):
I did not miss what I aimed at, and I
was not long in stringing my bow. I am still strong,
and not as the suitors twit me with being. Now, however,
it is time for the Achaeans to prepare supper while
there is still daylight, and then otherwise to disport themselves
with song and dance, which are the crowning ornaments of
(26:23):
a banquet. As he spoke, he made a sign with
his eyebrows, and Telemachus girded on his sword, grasped his spear,
and stood on beside his father's seat. End of Book
twenty one
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