August 22, 2025 • 29 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Book twenty two. Then Ulysses tore off his rags and
sprang on to the broad pavement with his bow and
his quiver full of arrows. He shed the arrows on
to the ground at his feet, and said, the mighty
contest is at an end. I will now see whether
Apollo will vouchsafe it to me to hit another mark
(00:23):
which no man has yet hit. On this he aimed
a deadly arrow at Antinous, who was about to take
up a two handed gold cup to drink his wine,
and already had it in his hands. He had no
thought of death. Who amongst all the revelers would think
that one man, however brave, would stand alone among so
(00:46):
many and kill him. The arrow struck Antinuus in a throat,
and the point went clean through his neck, so that
he fell over, and a cup dropped from his hand,
while a thick stream of blood gushed from his nostrils.
He kicked the table from him and upset the things
on it, so that the bread and roasted meats were
(01:08):
all soiled. As they fell over on to the ground.
The suitors were in an uproar when they saw that
a man had been hit. They sprang in dismay one
and all of them from their seats and looked everywhere
towards the walls. But there was neither shield nor spear,
and they rebuked Ulysses very angrily. Stranger said they, you
(01:31):
shall pay for shooting people in this way. You shall
see no other contest. You are a doomed man. He
whom you have slain was the foremost youth in Ithaca,
and the vultures shall devour you for having killed him.
Thus they spoke, for they thought that he had killed
(01:51):
Antinous by mistake, and did not perceive that death was
hanging over the head of every one of them. But
Ulysses cleared at them and said, dogs, did you think
that I should not come back from Troy. You have
wasted my substance, have forced my women servants to lie
with you, and have wooed my wife while I was
(02:14):
still living. You have feared neither God nor man, and
now you shall die. They turned pale with fear as
he spoke, and every man looked round to see whither
he might fly for safety. But Eurymachus alone spoke. If
you are Ulysses, said he, then what you have said
(02:35):
is just. We have done much wrong. On your lands
and in your house. But continuous who was the head
and front of the offending lies low Already it was
all his doing. It was not that he wanted to
marry Penelope. He did not so much care about that.
What he wanted was something quite different, and Jove has
(02:58):
not vouchsafed it to him. He wanted to kill your
son and to be chief man in Ithaca. Now therefore,
that he has met the death which was his due,
spare the lives of your people. We will make everything
good among ourselves and pay you in full for all
that we have eaten and drunk. Each one of us
(03:21):
shall pay you a fine worth twenty oxen, and we
will keep on giving you gold and bronze till your
heart is softened. Until we have done this, no one
can complain of your being enraged against us. Ulysses again
glared at him and said, though you should give me
all that you have in the world, both now and
(03:43):
all that you ever shall have, I will not stay
my hands till I have paid all of you in full.
You must fight or fly for your lives, and fly
not a man of you shall. Their hearts sank as
they heard him, but Eurymachus again spoke, saying, my friends,
(04:04):
this man will give us no quarter. He will stand
where he is and shoot us down till he has
killed every man among us. Let us then show fight,
draw your swords, and hold up the tables to shield
you from his arrows. Let us have at him with
a rush to drive him from the pavement and doorway.
(04:24):
We can then get through into the town and raise
such an alarm as shall soon stay his shooting. As
he spoke, he drew his keen blade of bronze, sharpened
on both sides, and with a loud cry, sprang towards Ulysses.
But Ulysses instantly shut an arrow into his breast that
caught him by the nipple and fixed itself in his liver.
(04:48):
He dropped his sword and fell doubled over his table.
The cup and all the meads went over on to
the ground as he smote the earth with his forehead
in the agonies of death, and he kicked the stool
with his feet until his eyes were closed in darkness.
Then Amphinomus drew his sword and made straight at Ulysses
(05:11):
to try to get him away from the door, but
Telemachus was too quick for him and struck him from behind.
The spear caught him between the shoulders and went right
through his chest, so that he fell heavily to the
ground and struck the earth with his forehead. Then Telemachus
sprang away from him, leaving his spear still in the body,
(05:34):
for he feared that if he stayed to draw it out,
some of the Achaeans might come up and hag at
him with the sword or knock him down. So he
set off at a run and immediately was at his
father's side. Then he said, father, let me bring you
a shield, two spears, and a brass helmet for your temples.
(05:55):
I will arm myself as well, and bring other armor
for the swineherd and the stockman, for we had better
be armed. Run and fetch them, answered, Ulysses, while my
arrows hold out, or when I am alone, they may
get me away from the door. Telemachus did as his
father said, and went off to the storeroom where the
(06:17):
armor was kept. He chose four shields, eight spears, and
four brass helmets with horse hair plumes. He brought them
with all speed to his father and armed himself first,
while a stockman and the swineherd also put on their
armor and took their places near Ulysses. Meanwhile, Ulysses, as
(06:39):
long as his arrows lasted, had been shooting the suitors
one by one, and they fell thick on one another.
When his arrows gave out, he set the bow to
stand against the end wall of the house by the
door post, and hung a shield four hides thick about
his shoulders on his comely head. He said at his helmet,
(07:01):
well wrought with a crest of horsehair that nodded menacingly
above it, and he grasped two redoubtable bronze shod spears.
Now there was a trap door on the wall, while
at one end of the pavement there was an exit
leading to a narrow passage, and this exit was closed
(07:21):
by a well made door. Ulysses told Philoteus to stand
by this door and guard it, for only one person
could attack it at a time. But Agilos shouted out,
cannot some one go up to the trap door and
tell the people what is going on? Help would come
at once, and we should soon make an end of
(07:43):
this man and his shooting. This may not be Egdilos,
answered Melanthius. The mouth of the narrow passage is dangerously
near the entrance to the outer court. One brave man
could prevent any number from getting in. But I know
what I will do. I will bring your arms from
the storeroom, for I am sure it is there that
(08:06):
Ulysses and his son have put them on. This the
goatered Melanthius went by back passages to the storeroom of
ulysses house. There he chose twelve shields with as many
helmets and spears, and brought them back as fast as
he could give them to the suitors. Ulysses heart began
(08:27):
to fail him when he saw the suitors putting on
their armor and brandishing their spears. He saw the greatness
of the danger and said to Telemachus, some one of
the women inside is helping the suitors against us, or
it may be Melanthius. Telemachus answered, the fault father is
mine and mine only. I left the storeroom door open,
(08:51):
and they have kept a sharp look out than I have.
Go Eumanus to put the door to and see whether
it is one of the women who is doing this,
or whether, as I suspect, it is Melanthius, the son
of Dolius. Thus did they converse. Meanwhile, Melanthius was again
going to the storeroom to fetch more armor, but the
(09:13):
swineherd saw him and said to Ulysses, who was beside him, Ulysses,
noble son of Loyertes, it is that scoundrel Melanthius, just
as we suspected, who is going to the storeroom. Say
shall I kill him if I can get the better
of him, or shall I bring him here that you
may take your own revenge for all the many wrongs
(09:36):
that he has done in your house? Ulysses answered Telemachus,
and I will hold these suitors in check no matter
what they do. Go back, both of you and bind
Melanthius hands and feet behind him, throw him into the storeroom,
and make the door fast behind you. Then fasten on
(09:57):
news about his body, and string him close up to
the rafters from a high bearing post, that he may
linger on in an agony. Thus did he speak, and
they did even as he had said. They went to
the storeroom, which they entered before Melanthius saw them, for
he was busy searching for arms in the innermost part
(10:18):
of the room. So the two took their stand on
either side of the door, and waited by and by
Melanthius came out with a helmet in one hand and
an old, dry rotted shield in the other, which had
been borne by Laathes when he was young, but which
had been long since thrown aside, and the straps had
(10:40):
become ansoon. On this the two seized him, dragged him
back by the hair, and threw him struggling to the ground.
They bent his hands and feet well behind his back,
and bound them tied together with a painful bunt, as
Ulysses had told them. Then they fastened a noose about
his body and strung him up from a high pillar,
(11:02):
till he was close up to the rafters and over him.
Did you then want o swineherd, Eumeneus saying, Melanthius, you
will pass the night on a soft bed as you deserve.
You will know very well when morning comes from the
streams of Oceanus, and it is time for you to
(11:23):
be driving in your goats for the suitors to feast
on there. Then they left him in a very cruel bondage,
and having put on their armor, they closed the door
behind them and went back to take their places by
the side of Ulysses, whereon the four men stood in
the cloister fierce and full of fury. Nevertheless, those who
(11:47):
were in the body of the court were still both
brave and many. Then Jove's daughter, Minerva came up to them,
having assumed the voice and form of Mentor. Ulysses was
glad when he saw her and said, Mentor, lend me
your help, and forget not your old comrade nor the
many good turns he has done you. Besides, you are
(12:10):
my age mate. But all the time he felt sure
it was Minerva, and the suitors from the other side
raised an uproar when they saw her. Aguilos was the
first to reproach her Mentor. He cried, do not let
Ulysses beguile you into siding with him and fighting the suitors.
(12:32):
This is what we will do. When we have killed
these people, father and son, we will kill you too.
You shall pay for it with your head. And when
we have killed you, we will take all you have
indoors or out, and bring it into hotchpot with Ulysses property.
(12:52):
We will not let your sons live in your house,
nor your daughter's, nor shall your widow continued to live
in the city of Itaca. This made Minerva still more furious,
so she scolded Ulysses very angrily, Ulysses said she, Your
(13:12):
strength and prowess are no longer what they were when
you fought for nine long years among the Trojans about
the noble lady Helen. You killed many a man in
those days, and it was through your stratagem that Prime's
city was taken. How comes it that you are so
lamentably less valiant now that you are on your own ground,
(13:36):
face to face with the suitors in your own house.
Come on, my good fellow, stand by my side and
see how Mentor, son of Alcinous, shall fight your foes
and requite your kindnesses conferred upon him. But she would
not give him full victory as yet, for she wished
(13:58):
still further to prove his own prowess and that of
his brave son. So she flew up to one of
the rafters in the roof of the cloister and sat
upon it in the form of a swallow. Meanwhile, Agilos,
son of Damaster, Eurynomus Amphimedon, Demoptolemus Pysander, and Polybus, son
(14:22):
of Polyctor, bore the brunt of the fight upon the
suitor's side. Of all those who were still fighting for
their lives. They were by far the most valiant, for
the others had already fallen under the arrows of Ulysses.
Agilos shouted to them and said, my friends, he will
(14:42):
soon have to leave off, for Mentor has gone away
after having done nothing for him but brag. They are
standing at the doors unsupported. Do not aim at him
all at once, but six of you throw your spears first,
and see if you cannot cover yourself with glory by
killing him. When he has fallen. We need not be
(15:05):
uneasy about the others. They threw their spears as he
bade them, but Minerva made them all of no effect.
One hit the door post, another went against the door,
the pointed shaft of another struck the wall. And as
soon as they had avoided all the spears of the suitors,
Ulysses said to his own men, my friends, I should say,
(15:30):
we two had better let drive into the middle of them,
or they will crown all the harm they have done
us by killing us outright. They therefore aimed straight in
front of them and threw their spears. Ulysses killed Demoptolemus, Telemachus, Euryadus, Eumeneus, Elatus,
(15:52):
while the stockman killed Passander. These all bit the dust,
and as the others drew back into a corner, Ulysses
and his men rushed forward and regained their spears by
drawing them from the bodies of the dead. The suitors
now aimed a second time, but again Minerva made their
(16:13):
weapons for the most part without effect. One hit a
bearing post of the cloister, another went against the door,
while the pointed shaft of another struck the wall. Still,
Amphimedon just took a piece of the top skin from
off Telemachus's wrist, and Steesippus managed to graze Eumanus's shoulder
(16:35):
above his shield, but the spear went on and fell
to the ground. Then Ulysses and his men let drive
into the crowd of suitors. Ulysses hit Eurydemus, Telemachus, Amphimidon,
and Eumanus Polybus. After this, the stockman hit Stecippus in
(16:55):
the breast and taunted him, saying, foul mouthed son of
poly Theories, do not be so foolish as to talk
wickedly another time, But let Heaven direct your speech, for
the gods are far stronger than men. I make you
a present of this advice to repay you for the
foot which you gave Ulysses when he was begging about
(17:18):
in his own house. Thus spoke the stockman, and Ulysses
struck the son of Damaster with a spear in close fight,
while Telemachus hit Leocritus, son of Evanor, in the belly,
and the dart went clean through him, so that he
fell forward, full on his face upon the ground. Then Minerva,
(17:39):
from her seat on the rafter, held up her deadly aegis,
and the hearts of the suitors quailed. They fled to
the other end of the court like a herd of cattle,
maddened by the gadfly. In early summer, when the days
are at their longest, as eagle beaked, crooked talon vultures
from the mountons swoop down on the smaller birds that
(18:02):
cower in flocks upon the ground and kill them, for
they cannot either fight or fly, and lookers on enjoy
the sport. Even so did Ulysses and his men fall
upon the suitors and smite them on every side. They
made a horrible groaning as their brains were being battered in,
and the ground seethed with their blood. Laodes then caught
(18:28):
the knees of Ulysses and said, Ulysses, I beseech you
have mercy upon me and spare me. I never wronged
any of the women in your house, either in word
or deed, and I tried to stop the others I
saw them, but they would not listen. And now they
are paying for their folly. I was their sacrificing priest.
(18:53):
If you kill me, I shall die without having done
anything to deserve it, and shall have got no thanks
for all the good that I did. Ulysses looked sternly
at him and answered, if you were their sacrificing priest,
you must have prayed many a time that it did
be long before I got home again, and that you
(19:15):
might marry my wife and have children by her. Therefore
you shall die. With these words, he picked up the
sword that Aggilaus had dropped when he was being killed,
and which was lying upon the ground. Then he struck
Laotes on the back of his neck, so that his
head fell rolling in the dust. While he was yet speaking.
(19:39):
The minstrel Femeius, son of Turpes, He who had been
forced by the suitors to sing by them, now tried
to save his life. He was standing near towards the
trap door, and held his lyre in his hand. He
did not know whether to fly out of the cloister
and sit down by the altar of Jove that was
in the outer court, and on which both Loyarties and
(20:03):
Ulysses had offered up the thigh bones of many an Ox,
or whether to go straight up to Ulysses and embrace
his knees. But in the end he deemed it best
to embrace ulysses knees. So he laid his lyre on
the ground between a mixing bowl and a silver studded seat. Then,
(20:24):
going up to Ulysses, he caught hold of his knees
and said, Ulysses, I beseech you have mercy on me
and spare me. You will be sorry for it afterwards
if you kill a bard who can sing both for
gods and men, as I can, I make all my
lace myself, and Heaven visits me with every kind of inspiration.
(20:47):
I would sing to you as though you were a god.
Do not therefore, be in such a hurry to cut
my head off Your own son, Telemachus will tell you
that I did not want to frequent your house and
sing to the suitors after their meals, but they were
too many and too strong for me, so they made me.
(21:08):
Telemachus heard him, and at once went up to his father.
Hold He cried, the man is guiltless. Do him no hurt,
and we will spare Medan too, who was always good
to me when I was a boy, Unless Philoctets or
Eumaneus has already killed him, or he has fallen in
(21:28):
your way. When you were raging about the court, Medon
caught these words of Telemachus, for he was crouching under
a seat beneath which he had hidden by covering himself
up with a freshly flayed heifer's hide. So he threw
off the hide, went up to Telemachus and laid hold
of his knees. Here I am, my dear sir, said
(21:52):
he stay your hand. Therefore and tell your father, or
he will kill me in his rage against the suitors,
for he wasted his substance and been so foolishly disrespectful
to yourself. Ulysses smiled at him and answered, fear not,
Telemachus has saved your life, that you may know in
(22:13):
the future and tell other people how greatly better good
deeds prosper than evil ones. Go therefore outside the cloisters
into the outer court, and be out of the way
of the slaughterer. You and a bard while I finished
my work here inside. The peer went into the outer
(22:34):
court as fast as they could, and sat down by
Jove's great altar, looking fearfully round and still expecting that
they would be killed. Then Ulysses searched the whole court
carefully over to see if any one had managed to
hide himself and was still living. But he found them
(22:55):
all lying in the dust and weltering in their blood.
They were like fishes which fishermen have netted out of
the sea and thrown upon the beach, to lie gasping
for water, till the heat of the sun makes an
end of them. Even so were the suitors lying, all
huddled up, one against the other. Then Ulysses said to Telemachus,
(23:20):
cool nurse Eurycleia, I have something to say to her.
Telemachus went and knocked at the door of the women's room.
Make haste, said he, you, old woman, who have been
set over all the other women in the house, Come outside.
My father wishes to speak to you. When Eurycleia heard this,
(23:41):
she unfastened the door of the women's room and came
out following Telemachus. She found Ulysses among the corpses, be
spattered with blood and filth, like a lion that has
just been devouring an ox. And his breast and both
his cheeks are all bloody, so that he is a
fearful sight. Even so was Ulysses besmirched from head to
(24:05):
foot with gore. When she saw all the corpses and
such a quantity of blood, she was beginning to cry
out for joy, for she saw that a great deed
had been done. But Ulysses checked her. Old woman said
he rejoice in silence. Restrain yourself, and do not make
(24:25):
any noise about it. It is an unholy thing to
want over dead men. Heaven's doom and their own evil
deeds have brought these men to destruction, for they respected
no man in the whole world, neither rich nor poor,
who came near them, and they have come to a
bad end as a punishment for their wickedness and folly. Now, however,
(24:50):
tell me which of the women in the house have
misconducted themselves, and who are innocent. I will tell you
the truth, my son answered, Eurycleia, there are fifty women
in the house whom we teach to do things such
as carding, wool, and all kinds of household work. Of these,
(25:11):
twelve in all have misbehaved and have been wanting in
respect to me and also to Penelope. They showed no
disrespect to Telemachus, for he has only lately grown, and
his mother never permitted him to give orders to the
female servants. But let me go up stairs and tell
(25:32):
your wife all that has happened. For some God has
been sending her to sleep. Do not wake her yet,
answered Ulysses, but tell the women who have misconducted themselves
to come to me. Euryclea left the cloister to tell
the women and make them come to Ulysses. In the meanwhile,
(25:54):
he called Telemachus, the stockman and the swineherd, begin said
he to remove the dead and make the women help. You.
Then get sponges and clean water to swill down the
tables and seat. When you have thoroughly cleansed the whole, cloisters,
take the women into the space between the domed room
(26:14):
and the wall of the outer court, and run them
through with your swords till they are quite dead, and
have forgotten all about the love and the way in
which they used to lie in secret with the suitors.
On this the women came down in a body, weeping
and wailing bitterly. First they carried the dead bodies out
(26:37):
and propped them up against one another in a gatehouse.
Ulysses ordered them about and made them do their work quickly,
so they had to carry the bodies out. When they
had done this, they cleaned all the tables and seats
with sponges and water, while Telemachus and the two others
shoaled up the blood and dirt from the ground, and
(27:00):
the women carried it all away and put it out
of doors. Then, when they had made the whole place
quite clean and orderly, they took the women and hammed
them in the narrow space between the wall of the
domed room and that of the yard, so that they
could not get away. And Telemachus said to the other two,
(27:21):
I shall not let these women die a clean death,
for they were insolent to me and my mother, and
used to sleep with the suitors. So saying, he made
a ship's cable fast to one of the bearing posts
that supported the roof of the domed room, and secured
it all around the building at a good height lest
(27:43):
any of the women's feet should touch the ground. And
as thrushes or doves beat against a net that had
been set for them in a thicket, just as they
were getting to their nest, and a terrible fate awaits them.
Even so did the women have to put their heads
in nooses, one after the other, and die most miserably.
(28:06):
Their feet moved convulsively for a while, but not for
very long. As for Melanthius, they took him through the
cloister into the inner court. There they cut off his
nose and his ears. They drew out his vitals and
gave them to the dogs roar, And then, in their fury,
(28:27):
they cut off his hands and his feet. When they
had done this, they washed their hands and feet and
went back into the house. For all was now over,
and Ulysses said to the dear old nurse Eurycleia, bring
me sulfur which cleanses all pollution, and fetch fire, also
(28:49):
that I may burn it and purify the cloisters. Go moreover,
and tell Penelope to come here with her attendants, and
also all the maid servants that are in a house.
All that you have said is true, answered Euryclea. But
let me bring you some clean clothes, a shirt and cloak.
(29:10):
Do not keep these rags on your back any longer.
It is not right. First light me a fire, replied Ulysses.
She brought the fire and sulfur as he had bidden her,
and Ulysses thoroughly purified the cloisters and both the inner
and outer courts. Then she went inside to call the
(29:31):
women and tell them what had happened. Whereon they came
from their apartment with torches in their hands, and pressed
round Ulysses to embrace him, kissing his head and shoulders
and taking hold of his hands. It made him feel
as if he should like to weep, for he remembered
every one of them. End of Book twenty two
Book twenty two. Then Ulysses tore off his rags and
sprang on to the broad pavement with his bow and
his quiver full of arrows. He shed the arrows on
to the ground at his feet, and said, the mighty
contest is at an end. I will now see whether
Apollo will vouchsafe it to me to hit another mark
(00:23):
which no man has yet hit. On this he aimed
a deadly arrow at Antinous, who was about to take
up a two handed gold cup to drink his wine,
and already had it in his hands. He had no
thought of death. Who amongst all the revelers would think
that one man, however brave, would stand alone among so
(00:46):
many and kill him. The arrow struck Antinuus in a throat,
and the point went clean through his neck, so that
he fell over, and a cup dropped from his hand,
while a thick stream of blood gushed from his nostrils.
He kicked the table from him and upset the things
on it, so that the bread and roasted meats were
(01:08):
all soiled. As they fell over on to the ground.
The suitors were in an uproar when they saw that
a man had been hit. They sprang in dismay one
and all of them from their seats and looked everywhere
towards the walls. But there was neither shield nor spear,
and they rebuked Ulysses very angrily. Stranger said they, you
(01:31):
shall pay for shooting people in this way. You shall
see no other contest. You are a doomed man. He
whom you have slain was the foremost youth in Ithaca,
and the vultures shall devour you for having killed him.
Thus they spoke, for they thought that he had killed
(01:51):
Antinous by mistake, and did not perceive that death was
hanging over the head of every one of them. But
Ulysses cleared at them and said, dogs, did you think
that I should not come back from Troy. You have
wasted my substance, have forced my women servants to lie
with you, and have wooed my wife while I was
(02:14):
still living. You have feared neither God nor man, and
now you shall die. They turned pale with fear as
he spoke, and every man looked round to see whither
he might fly for safety. But Eurymachus alone spoke. If
you are Ulysses, said he, then what you have said
(02:35):
is just. We have done much wrong. On your lands
and in your house. But continuous who was the head
and front of the offending lies low Already it was
all his doing. It was not that he wanted to
marry Penelope. He did not so much care about that.
What he wanted was something quite different, and Jove has
(02:58):
not vouchsafed it to him. He wanted to kill your
son and to be chief man in Ithaca. Now therefore,
that he has met the death which was his due,
spare the lives of your people. We will make everything
good among ourselves and pay you in full for all
that we have eaten and drunk. Each one of us
(03:21):
shall pay you a fine worth twenty oxen, and we
will keep on giving you gold and bronze till your
heart is softened. Until we have done this, no one
can complain of your being enraged against us. Ulysses again
glared at him and said, though you should give me
all that you have in the world, both now and
(03:43):
all that you ever shall have, I will not stay
my hands till I have paid all of you in full.
You must fight or fly for your lives, and fly
not a man of you shall. Their hearts sank as
they heard him, but Eurymachus again spoke, saying, my friends,
(04:04):
this man will give us no quarter. He will stand
where he is and shoot us down till he has
killed every man among us. Let us then show fight,
draw your swords, and hold up the tables to shield
you from his arrows. Let us have at him with
a rush to drive him from the pavement and doorway.
(04:24):
We can then get through into the town and raise
such an alarm as shall soon stay his shooting. As
he spoke, he drew his keen blade of bronze, sharpened
on both sides, and with a loud cry, sprang towards Ulysses.
But Ulysses instantly shut an arrow into his breast that
caught him by the nipple and fixed itself in his liver.
(04:48):
He dropped his sword and fell doubled over his table.
The cup and all the meads went over on to
the ground as he smote the earth with his forehead
in the agonies of death, and he kicked the stool
with his feet until his eyes were closed in darkness.
Then Amphinomus drew his sword and made straight at Ulysses
(05:11):
to try to get him away from the door, but
Telemachus was too quick for him and struck him from behind.
The spear caught him between the shoulders and went right
through his chest, so that he fell heavily to the
ground and struck the earth with his forehead. Then Telemachus
sprang away from him, leaving his spear still in the body,
(05:34):
for he feared that if he stayed to draw it out,
some of the Achaeans might come up and hag at
him with the sword or knock him down. So he
set off at a run and immediately was at his
father's side. Then he said, father, let me bring you
a shield, two spears, and a brass helmet for your temples.
(05:55):
I will arm myself as well, and bring other armor
for the swineherd and the stockman, for we had better
be armed. Run and fetch them, answered, Ulysses, while my
arrows hold out, or when I am alone, they may
get me away from the door. Telemachus did as his
father said, and went off to the storeroom where the
(06:17):
armor was kept. He chose four shields, eight spears, and
four brass helmets with horse hair plumes. He brought them
with all speed to his father and armed himself first,
while a stockman and the swineherd also put on their
armor and took their places near Ulysses. Meanwhile, Ulysses, as
(06:39):
long as his arrows lasted, had been shooting the suitors
one by one, and they fell thick on one another.
When his arrows gave out, he set the bow to
stand against the end wall of the house by the
door post, and hung a shield four hides thick about
his shoulders on his comely head. He said at his helmet,
(07:01):
well wrought with a crest of horsehair that nodded menacingly
above it, and he grasped two redoubtable bronze shod spears.
Now there was a trap door on the wall, while
at one end of the pavement there was an exit
leading to a narrow passage, and this exit was closed
(07:21):
by a well made door. Ulysses told Philoteus to stand
by this door and guard it, for only one person
could attack it at a time. But Agilos shouted out,
cannot some one go up to the trap door and
tell the people what is going on? Help would come
at once, and we should soon make an end of
(07:43):
this man and his shooting. This may not be Egdilos,
answered Melanthius. The mouth of the narrow passage is dangerously
near the entrance to the outer court. One brave man
could prevent any number from getting in. But I know
what I will do. I will bring your arms from
the storeroom, for I am sure it is there that
(08:06):
Ulysses and his son have put them on. This the
goatered Melanthius went by back passages to the storeroom of
ulysses house. There he chose twelve shields with as many
helmets and spears, and brought them back as fast as
he could give them to the suitors. Ulysses heart began
(08:27):
to fail him when he saw the suitors putting on
their armor and brandishing their spears. He saw the greatness
of the danger and said to Telemachus, some one of
the women inside is helping the suitors against us, or
it may be Melanthius. Telemachus answered, the fault father is
mine and mine only. I left the storeroom door open,
(08:51):
and they have kept a sharp look out than I have.
Go Eumanus to put the door to and see whether
it is one of the women who is doing this,
or whether, as I suspect, it is Melanthius, the son
of Dolius. Thus did they converse. Meanwhile, Melanthius was again
going to the storeroom to fetch more armor, but the
(09:13):
swineherd saw him and said to Ulysses, who was beside him, Ulysses,
noble son of Loyertes, it is that scoundrel Melanthius, just
as we suspected, who is going to the storeroom. Say
shall I kill him if I can get the better
of him, or shall I bring him here that you
may take your own revenge for all the many wrongs
(09:36):
that he has done in your house? Ulysses answered Telemachus,
and I will hold these suitors in check no matter
what they do. Go back, both of you and bind
Melanthius hands and feet behind him, throw him into the storeroom,
and make the door fast behind you. Then fasten on
(09:57):
news about his body, and string him close up to
the rafters from a high bearing post, that he may
linger on in an agony. Thus did he speak, and
they did even as he had said. They went to
the storeroom, which they entered before Melanthius saw them, for
he was busy searching for arms in the innermost part
(10:18):
of the room. So the two took their stand on
either side of the door, and waited by and by
Melanthius came out with a helmet in one hand and
an old, dry rotted shield in the other, which had
been borne by Laathes when he was young, but which
had been long since thrown aside, and the straps had
(10:40):
become ansoon. On this the two seized him, dragged him
back by the hair, and threw him struggling to the ground.
They bent his hands and feet well behind his back,
and bound them tied together with a painful bunt, as
Ulysses had told them. Then they fastened a noose about
his body and strung him up from a high pillar,
(11:02):
till he was close up to the rafters and over him.
Did you then want o swineherd, Eumeneus saying, Melanthius, you
will pass the night on a soft bed as you deserve.
You will know very well when morning comes from the
streams of Oceanus, and it is time for you to
(11:23):
be driving in your goats for the suitors to feast
on there. Then they left him in a very cruel bondage,
and having put on their armor, they closed the door
behind them and went back to take their places by
the side of Ulysses, whereon the four men stood in
the cloister fierce and full of fury. Nevertheless, those who
(11:47):
were in the body of the court were still both
brave and many. Then Jove's daughter, Minerva came up to them,
having assumed the voice and form of Mentor. Ulysses was
glad when he saw her and said, Mentor, lend me
your help, and forget not your old comrade nor the
many good turns he has done you. Besides, you are
(12:10):
my age mate. But all the time he felt sure
it was Minerva, and the suitors from the other side
raised an uproar when they saw her. Aguilos was the
first to reproach her Mentor. He cried, do not let
Ulysses beguile you into siding with him and fighting the suitors.
(12:32):
This is what we will do. When we have killed
these people, father and son, we will kill you too.
You shall pay for it with your head. And when
we have killed you, we will take all you have
indoors or out, and bring it into hotchpot with Ulysses property.
(12:52):
We will not let your sons live in your house,
nor your daughter's, nor shall your widow continued to live
in the city of Itaca. This made Minerva still more furious,
so she scolded Ulysses very angrily, Ulysses said she, Your
(13:12):
strength and prowess are no longer what they were when
you fought for nine long years among the Trojans about
the noble lady Helen. You killed many a man in
those days, and it was through your stratagem that Prime's
city was taken. How comes it that you are so
lamentably less valiant now that you are on your own ground,
(13:36):
face to face with the suitors in your own house.
Come on, my good fellow, stand by my side and
see how Mentor, son of Alcinous, shall fight your foes
and requite your kindnesses conferred upon him. But she would
not give him full victory as yet, for she wished
(13:58):
still further to prove his own prowess and that of
his brave son. So she flew up to one of
the rafters in the roof of the cloister and sat
upon it in the form of a swallow. Meanwhile, Agilos,
son of Damaster, Eurynomus Amphimedon, Demoptolemus Pysander, and Polybus, son
(14:22):
of Polyctor, bore the brunt of the fight upon the
suitor's side. Of all those who were still fighting for
their lives. They were by far the most valiant, for
the others had already fallen under the arrows of Ulysses.
Agilos shouted to them and said, my friends, he will
(14:42):
soon have to leave off, for Mentor has gone away
after having done nothing for him but brag. They are
standing at the doors unsupported. Do not aim at him
all at once, but six of you throw your spears first,
and see if you cannot cover yourself with glory by
killing him. When he has fallen. We need not be
(15:05):
uneasy about the others. They threw their spears as he
bade them, but Minerva made them all of no effect.
One hit the door post, another went against the door,
the pointed shaft of another struck the wall. And as
soon as they had avoided all the spears of the suitors,
Ulysses said to his own men, my friends, I should say,
(15:30):
we two had better let drive into the middle of them,
or they will crown all the harm they have done
us by killing us outright. They therefore aimed straight in
front of them and threw their spears. Ulysses killed Demoptolemus, Telemachus, Euryadus, Eumeneus, Elatus,
(15:52):
while the stockman killed Passander. These all bit the dust,
and as the others drew back into a corner, Ulysses
and his men rushed forward and regained their spears by
drawing them from the bodies of the dead. The suitors
now aimed a second time, but again Minerva made their
(16:13):
weapons for the most part without effect. One hit a
bearing post of the cloister, another went against the door,
while the pointed shaft of another struck the wall. Still,
Amphimedon just took a piece of the top skin from
off Telemachus's wrist, and Steesippus managed to graze Eumanus's shoulder
(16:35):
above his shield, but the spear went on and fell
to the ground. Then Ulysses and his men let drive
into the crowd of suitors. Ulysses hit Eurydemus, Telemachus, Amphimidon,
and Eumanus Polybus. After this, the stockman hit Stecippus in
(16:55):
the breast and taunted him, saying, foul mouthed son of
poly Theories, do not be so foolish as to talk
wickedly another time, But let Heaven direct your speech, for
the gods are far stronger than men. I make you
a present of this advice to repay you for the
foot which you gave Ulysses when he was begging about
(17:18):
in his own house. Thus spoke the stockman, and Ulysses
struck the son of Damaster with a spear in close fight,
while Telemachus hit Leocritus, son of Evanor, in the belly,
and the dart went clean through him, so that he
fell forward, full on his face upon the ground. Then Minerva,
(17:39):
from her seat on the rafter, held up her deadly aegis,
and the hearts of the suitors quailed. They fled to
the other end of the court like a herd of cattle,
maddened by the gadfly. In early summer, when the days
are at their longest, as eagle beaked, crooked talon vultures
from the mountons swoop down on the smaller birds that
(18:02):
cower in flocks upon the ground and kill them, for
they cannot either fight or fly, and lookers on enjoy
the sport. Even so did Ulysses and his men fall
upon the suitors and smite them on every side. They
made a horrible groaning as their brains were being battered in,
and the ground seethed with their blood. Laodes then caught
(18:28):
the knees of Ulysses and said, Ulysses, I beseech you
have mercy upon me and spare me. I never wronged
any of the women in your house, either in word
or deed, and I tried to stop the others I
saw them, but they would not listen. And now they
are paying for their folly. I was their sacrificing priest.
(18:53):
If you kill me, I shall die without having done
anything to deserve it, and shall have got no thanks
for all the good that I did. Ulysses looked sternly
at him and answered, if you were their sacrificing priest,
you must have prayed many a time that it did
be long before I got home again, and that you
(19:15):
might marry my wife and have children by her. Therefore
you shall die. With these words, he picked up the
sword that Aggilaus had dropped when he was being killed,
and which was lying upon the ground. Then he struck
Laotes on the back of his neck, so that his
head fell rolling in the dust. While he was yet speaking.
(19:39):
The minstrel Femeius, son of Turpes, He who had been
forced by the suitors to sing by them, now tried
to save his life. He was standing near towards the
trap door, and held his lyre in his hand. He
did not know whether to fly out of the cloister
and sit down by the altar of Jove that was
in the outer court, and on which both Loyarties and
(20:03):
Ulysses had offered up the thigh bones of many an Ox,
or whether to go straight up to Ulysses and embrace
his knees. But in the end he deemed it best
to embrace ulysses knees. So he laid his lyre on
the ground between a mixing bowl and a silver studded seat. Then,
(20:24):
going up to Ulysses, he caught hold of his knees
and said, Ulysses, I beseech you have mercy on me
and spare me. You will be sorry for it afterwards
if you kill a bard who can sing both for
gods and men, as I can, I make all my
lace myself, and Heaven visits me with every kind of inspiration.
(20:47):
I would sing to you as though you were a god.
Do not therefore, be in such a hurry to cut
my head off Your own son, Telemachus will tell you
that I did not want to frequent your house and
sing to the suitors after their meals, but they were
too many and too strong for me, so they made me.
(21:08):
Telemachus heard him, and at once went up to his father.
Hold He cried, the man is guiltless. Do him no hurt,
and we will spare Medan too, who was always good
to me when I was a boy, Unless Philoctets or
Eumaneus has already killed him, or he has fallen in
(21:28):
your way. When you were raging about the court, Medon
caught these words of Telemachus, for he was crouching under
a seat beneath which he had hidden by covering himself
up with a freshly flayed heifer's hide. So he threw
off the hide, went up to Telemachus and laid hold
of his knees. Here I am, my dear sir, said
(21:52):
he stay your hand. Therefore and tell your father, or
he will kill me in his rage against the suitors,
for he wasted his substance and been so foolishly disrespectful
to yourself. Ulysses smiled at him and answered, fear not,
Telemachus has saved your life, that you may know in
(22:13):
the future and tell other people how greatly better good
deeds prosper than evil ones. Go therefore outside the cloisters
into the outer court, and be out of the way
of the slaughterer. You and a bard while I finished
my work here inside. The peer went into the outer
(22:34):
court as fast as they could, and sat down by
Jove's great altar, looking fearfully round and still expecting that
they would be killed. Then Ulysses searched the whole court
carefully over to see if any one had managed to
hide himself and was still living. But he found them
(22:55):
all lying in the dust and weltering in their blood.
They were like fishes which fishermen have netted out of
the sea and thrown upon the beach, to lie gasping
for water, till the heat of the sun makes an
end of them. Even so were the suitors lying, all
huddled up, one against the other. Then Ulysses said to Telemachus,
(23:20):
cool nurse Eurycleia, I have something to say to her.
Telemachus went and knocked at the door of the women's room.
Make haste, said he, you, old woman, who have been
set over all the other women in the house, Come outside.
My father wishes to speak to you. When Eurycleia heard this,
(23:41):
she unfastened the door of the women's room and came
out following Telemachus. She found Ulysses among the corpses, be
spattered with blood and filth, like a lion that has
just been devouring an ox. And his breast and both
his cheeks are all bloody, so that he is a
fearful sight. Even so was Ulysses besmirched from head to
(24:05):
foot with gore. When she saw all the corpses and
such a quantity of blood, she was beginning to cry
out for joy, for she saw that a great deed
had been done. But Ulysses checked her. Old woman said
he rejoice in silence. Restrain yourself, and do not make
(24:25):
any noise about it. It is an unholy thing to
want over dead men. Heaven's doom and their own evil
deeds have brought these men to destruction, for they respected
no man in the whole world, neither rich nor poor,
who came near them, and they have come to a
bad end as a punishment for their wickedness and folly. Now, however,
(24:50):
tell me which of the women in the house have
misconducted themselves, and who are innocent. I will tell you
the truth, my son answered, Eurycleia, there are fifty women
in the house whom we teach to do things such
as carding, wool, and all kinds of household work. Of these,
(25:11):
twelve in all have misbehaved and have been wanting in
respect to me and also to Penelope. They showed no
disrespect to Telemachus, for he has only lately grown, and
his mother never permitted him to give orders to the
female servants. But let me go up stairs and tell
(25:32):
your wife all that has happened. For some God has
been sending her to sleep. Do not wake her yet,
answered Ulysses, but tell the women who have misconducted themselves
to come to me. Euryclea left the cloister to tell
the women and make them come to Ulysses. In the meanwhile,
(25:54):
he called Telemachus, the stockman and the swineherd, begin said
he to remove the dead and make the women help. You.
Then get sponges and clean water to swill down the
tables and seat. When you have thoroughly cleansed the whole, cloisters,
take the women into the space between the domed room
(26:14):
and the wall of the outer court, and run them
through with your swords till they are quite dead, and
have forgotten all about the love and the way in
which they used to lie in secret with the suitors.
On this the women came down in a body, weeping
and wailing bitterly. First they carried the dead bodies out
(26:37):
and propped them up against one another in a gatehouse.
Ulysses ordered them about and made them do their work quickly,
so they had to carry the bodies out. When they
had done this, they cleaned all the tables and seats
with sponges and water, while Telemachus and the two others
shoaled up the blood and dirt from the ground, and
(27:00):
the women carried it all away and put it out
of doors. Then, when they had made the whole place
quite clean and orderly, they took the women and hammed
them in the narrow space between the wall of the
domed room and that of the yard, so that they
could not get away. And Telemachus said to the other two,
(27:21):
I shall not let these women die a clean death,
for they were insolent to me and my mother, and
used to sleep with the suitors. So saying, he made
a ship's cable fast to one of the bearing posts
that supported the roof of the domed room, and secured
it all around the building at a good height lest
(27:43):
any of the women's feet should touch the ground. And
as thrushes or doves beat against a net that had
been set for them in a thicket, just as they
were getting to their nest, and a terrible fate awaits them.
Even so did the women have to put their heads
in nooses, one after the other, and die most miserably.
(28:06):
Their feet moved convulsively for a while, but not for
very long. As for Melanthius, they took him through the
cloister into the inner court. There they cut off his
nose and his ears. They drew out his vitals and
gave them to the dogs roar, And then, in their fury,
(28:27):
they cut off his hands and his feet. When they
had done this, they washed their hands and feet and
went back into the house. For all was now over,
and Ulysses said to the dear old nurse Eurycleia, bring
me sulfur which cleanses all pollution, and fetch fire, also
(28:49):
that I may burn it and purify the cloisters. Go moreover,
and tell Penelope to come here with her attendants, and
also all the maid servants that are in a house.
All that you have said is true, answered Euryclea. But
let me bring you some clean clothes, a shirt and cloak.
(29:10):
Do not keep these rags on your back any longer.
It is not right. First light me a fire, replied Ulysses.
She brought the fire and sulfur as he had bidden her,
and Ulysses thoroughly purified the cloisters and both the inner
and outer courts. Then she went inside to call the
(29:31):
women and tell them what had happened. Whereon they came
from their apartment with torches in their hands, and pressed
round Ulysses to embrace him, kissing his head and shoulders
and taking hold of his hands. It made him feel
as if he should like to weep, for he remembered
every one of them. End of Book twenty two
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