Scroll 18
Now there came a certain common
tramp who used to go begging all over the city of
Ithaca, and was
notorious as an incorrigible glutton and drunkard. This man had no
strength [biê] nor stay in him, but he was a
great hulking fellow to look at; his real name, the one his mother
gave him, was Arnaios, but the young men of the place called him
Iros, because he used to run errands for any one who would send him.
As soon as he came he began to insult Odysseus, and to try and drive
him out of his own house.
"Be off, old man," he cried, "from
the doorway, or you shall be dragged out neck and heels. Do you not
see that they are all giving me the wink, and wanting me to turn you
out by force, only I do not like to do so? Get up then, and go of
yourself, or we shall come to blows."
Odysseus frowned on him and said,
"My friend, I do you no manner of harm; people give you a great deal,
but I am not jealous. There is room enough in this doorway for the
pair of us, and you need not grudge me things that are not yours to
give. You seem to be just such another tramp as myself, but perhaps
the gods will give us better luck [olbos] by and by.
Do not, however, talk too much about fighting or you will incense me,
and old though I am, I shall cover your mouth and chest with blood. I
shall have more peace tomorrow if I do, for you will not come to the
house of Odysseus any more."
Iros was very angry and answered,
"You filthy glutton, you run on trippingly like an old fish-fag. I
have a good mind to lay both hands about you, and knock your teeth
out of your head like so many boar's tusks. Get ready,
therefore, and let these people here stand by and look on. You will
never be able to fight one who is so much younger than
yourself."
Thus roundly did they rate one
another on the smooth pavement in front of the doorway, and when
Antinoos saw what was going on he laughed heartily and said to the
others, "This is the finest sport that you ever saw; heaven never yet
sent anything like it into this house. The stranger and Iros have
quarreled and are going to fight, let us set them on to do so at
once."
The suitors all came up laughing,
and gathered round the two ragged tramps. "Listen to me," said
Antinoos, "there are some goats’ paunches down at the fire,
which we have filled with blood and fat, and set aside for supper; he
who is victorious and proves himself to be the better man shall have
his pick of the lot; he shall be free of our table and we will not
allow any other beggar about the house at all."
The others all agreed, but
Odysseus, to throw them off the scent, said, "Sirs, an old man like
myself, worn out with suffering, cannot hold his own against a young
one; but my irrepressible belly urges me on, though I know it can
only end in my getting a drubbing. You must swear, however that none
of you will give me a foul blow to favor Iros and secure him the
victory."
They swore as he told them, and
when they had completed their oath Telemakhos put in a word and said,
"Stranger, if you have a mind to settle with this fellow, you need
not be afraid of any one here. Whoever strikes you will have to fight
more than one. I am host, and the other chiefs, Antinoos and
Eurymakhos, both of them men of understanding, are of the same mind
as I am."
Every one assented, and Odysseus
girded his old rags about his loins, thus baring his stalwart thighs,
his broad chest and shoulders, and his mighty arms; but Athena came
up to him and made his limbs even stronger still. The suitors were
beyond measure astonished, and one would turn towards his neighbor
saying, "The stranger has brought such a thigh out of his old rags
that there will soon be nothing left of Iros."
Iros began to be very uneasy as he
heard them, but the servants girded him by force, and brought him
into the open part of the court in such a fright that his limbs were
all of a tremble. Antinoos scolded him and said, "You swaggering
bully, you ought never to have been born at all if you are afraid of
such an old broken-down creature as this tramp is. I say, therefore -
and it shall surely be - if he beats you and proves himself the
better man, I shall pack you off on board ship to the mainland and
send you to king Echetos, who kills every one that comes near him. He
will cut off your nose and ears, and draw out your entrails for the
dogs to eat."
This frightened Iros still more,
but they brought him into the middle of the court, and the two men
raised their hands to fight. Then Odysseus considered whether he
should let drive so hard at Iros as to make his psukhê
leave him there and then as he fell, or whether he should give
him a lighter blow that should only knock him down; in the end he
deemed it best to give the lighter blow for fear the Achaeans should
begin to suspect who he was. Then they began to fight, and Iros hit
Odysseus on the right shoulder; but Odysseus gave Iros a blow on the
neck under the ear that broke in the bones of his skull, and the
blood came gushing out of his mouth; he fell groaning in the dust,
gnashing his teeth and kicking on the ground, but the suitors threw
up their hands and nearly died of laughter, as Odysseus caught hold
of him by the foot and dragged him into the outer court as far as the
gate-house. There he propped him up against the wall and put his
staff in his hands. "Sit here," said he, "and keep the dogs and pigs
off; you are a pitiful creature, and if you try to make yourself king
of the beggars any more you shall fare still worse."
Then he threw his dirty old
wallet, all tattered and torn, over his shoulder with the cord by
which it hung, and went back to sit down upon the threshold; but the
suitors went within the cloisters, laughing and saluting him, "May
Zeus, and all the other gods," said they, ‘grant you whatever
you want for having put an end to the importunity of this insatiable
tramp. We will take him over to the mainland presently, to king
Echetos, who kills every one that comes near him."
Odysseus hailed this as of good
omen, and Antinoos set a great goat's paunch before him filled
with blood and fat. Amphinomos took two loaves out of the
bread-basket and brought them to him, pledging him as he did so in a
golden goblet of wine. "Good luck to you," he said, "father stranger,
you are very badly off at present, but I hope you will have better
times [olbos] by and by."
To this Odysseus answered,
"Amphinomos, you seem to be a man of good understanding, as indeed
you may well be, seeing whose son you are. I have heard your father
well spoken of [kleos]; he is Nisus of Dulichium, a
man both brave and wealthy. They tell me you are his son, and you
appear to be a considerable person; listen, therefore, and take heed
to what I am saying. Man is the vainest of all creatures that have
their being upon earth. As long as the gods grant him aretê
and his knees are steady, he thinks that he shall come to no harm
hereafter, and even when the blessed gods bring sorrow upon him, he
bears it as he needs must, and makes the best of it; for the father
of gods and men gives men their daily minds [noos] day
by day. I know all about it, for I was a rich [olbios]
man once, and did much wrong in the stubbornness
[biâ] of my pride, and in the confidence that my
father and my brothers would support me; therefore let a man be pious
in all things always, and take the good that the gods may see fit to
send him without vainglory. Consider the infamy of what these suitors
are doing; see how they are wasting the estate, and doing dishonor to
the wife, of one who is certain to return some day, and that, too,
not long hence. Nay, he will be here soon; may a daimôn
send you home quietly first that you may not meet with him in the day
of his coming, for once he is here the suitors and he will not part
bloodlessly."
With these words he made a
drink-offering, and when he had drunk he put the gold cup again into
the hands of Amphinomos, who walked away serious and bowing his head,
for he foreboded evil. But even so he did not escape destruction, for
Athena had doomed him fall by the hand of Telemakhos. So he took his
seat again at the place from which he had come.
Then Athena put it into the mind
of Penelope to show herself to the suitors, that she might make them
still more enamored of her, and win still further honor from her son
and husband. So she feigned a mocking laugh and said, "Eurynome, I
have changed my and have a fancy to show myself to the suitors
although I detest them. I should like also to give my son a hint that
he had better not have anything more to do with them. They speak
fairly enough but they mean mischief."
"My dear child," answered
Eurynome, "all that you have said is true, go and tell your son about
it, but first wash yourself and anoint your face. Do not go about
with your cheeks all covered with tears; it is not right that you
should grieve so incessantly; for Telemakhos, whom you always prayed
that you might live to see with a beard, is already grown
up."
"I know, Eurynome," replied
Penelope, "that you mean well, but do not try and persuade me to wash
and to anoint myself, for heaven robbed me of all my beauty on the
day my husband sailed; nevertheless, tell Autonoe and Hippodameia
that I want them. They must be with me when I am in the room; I am
not going among the men alone; it would not be proper for me to do
so."
On this the old woman went out of
the room to bid the maids go to their mistress. In the meantime
Athena bethought her of another matter, and sent Penelope off into a
sweet slumber; so she lay down on her couch and her limbs became
heavy with sleep. Then the goddess shed grace and beauty over her
that all the Achaeans might admire her. She washed her face with the
ambrosial loveliness that Aphrodite wears when she goes dancing
[khoros] with the Graces; she made her taller and of a
more commanding figure, while as for her complexion it was whiter
than sawn ivory. When Athena had done all this she went away, whereon
the maids came in from the women's room and woke Penelope with
the sound of their talking.
"What an exquisitely delicious
sleep I have been having," said she, as she passed her hands over her
face, "in spite of all my misery. I wish Artemis would let me die so
sweetly now at this very moment, that I might no longer waste in
despair for the loss of my dear husband, who possessed every kind of
good quality [aretê] and was the most
distinguished man among the Achaeans."
With these words she came down
from her upper room, not alone but attended by two of her maidens,
and when she reached the suitors she stood by one of the
bearing-posts supporting the roof of the room, holding a veil before
her face, and with a staid maid servant on either side of her. As
they beheld her the suitors were so overpowered and became so
desperately enamored of her, that each one prayed he might win her
for his own bed fellow.
"Telemakhos," said she,
addressing her son, "I fear you are no longer so discreet and well
conducted as you used to be. When you were younger you had a subtler
thoughtfulness [kerdos]; now, however, that you are
grown up, though a stranger to look at you would take you for the son
of a well-to-do [olbios] father as far as size and
good looks go, your conduct is by no means what it should be. What is
all this disturbance that has been going on, and how came you to
allow a stranger to be so disgracefully ill-treated? What would have
happened if he had suffered serious injury while a suppliant in our
house? Surely this would have been very discreditable to
you."
"I am not surprised, my dear
mother, at your displeasure," replied Telemakhos, "I understand all
about it and know when things are not as they should be, which I
could not do when I was younger; I cannot, however, behave with
perfect propriety at all times. First one and then another of these
wicked people here keeps driving me out of my mind, and I have no one
to stand by me. After all, however, this fight between Iros and the
stranger did not turn out as the suitors meant it to do, for the
stranger got the best of it. I wish Father Zeus, Athena, and Apollo
would break the neck of every one of these wooers of yours, some
inside the house and some out; and I wish they might all be as limp
as Iros is over yonder in the gate of the outer court. See how he
nods his head like a drunken man; he has had such a thrashing that he
cannot stand on his feet nor get back to his home
[nostos], wherever that may be, for has no strength
left in him."
Thus did they converse.
Eurymakhos then came up and said, "Queen Penelope, daughter of
Ikarios, if all the Achaeans in Iasian Argos could see you at this
moment, you would have still more suitors in your house by tomorrow
morning, for you are the most admirable woman in the whole world both
as regards personal beauty and strength of understanding."
To this Penelope replied,
"Eurymakhos, heaven robbed me of all my beauty
[aretê] whether of face or figure when the
Argives set sail for
Troy and my dear husband with them. If he were
to return and look after my affairs, I should both be more respected
[kleos] and show a better presence to the world. As it
is, I am oppressed with care, and with the afflictions which a
daimôn has seen fit to heap upon me. My husband foresaw
it all, and when he was leaving home he took my right wrist in his
hand - ‘Wife, ‘he said, ‘we shall not all of us come
safe home from
Troy, for the Trojans fight well both with bow and
spear. They are excellent also at fighting from chariots, and nothing
decides [krînô] the issue of a fight
sooner than this. I know not, therefore, whether heaven will send me
back to you, or whether I may not fall over there at
Troy. In the
meantime do you look after things here. Take care of my father and
mother as at present, and even more so during my absence, but when
you see our son growing a beard, then marry whom you will, and leave
this your present home. This is what he said and now it is all coming
true. A night will come when I shall have to yield myself to a
marriage which I detest, for Zeus has taken from me all hope of
happiness [olbos]. This further grief
[akhos], moreover, cuts me to the very heart. You
suitors are not wooing me after the custom
[dikê] of my country. When men are courting a
woman who they think will be a good wife to them and who is of noble
birth, and when they are each trying to win her for himself, they
usually bring oxen and sheep to feast the friends of the lady, and
they make her magnificent presents, instead of eating up other
people's property without paying for it."
This was what she said, and
Odysseus was glad when he heard her trying to get presents out of the
suitors, and flattering them with fair words which he knew she did
not mean in her noos.
Then Antinoos said, "Queen
Penelope, daughter of Ikarios, take as many presents as you please
from any one who will give them to you; it is not well to refuse a
present; but we will not go about our business nor stir from where we
are, till you have married the best man among us whoever he may
be."
The others applauded what
Antinoos had said, and each one sent his servant to bring his
present. Antinoos’ man returned with a large and lovely dress
most exquisitely embroidered. It had twelve beautifully made brooch
pins of pure gold with which to fasten it. Eurymakhos immediately
brought her a magnificent chain of gold and amber beads that gleamed
like sunlight. Eurydamas’ two men returned with some earrings
fashioned into three brilliant pendants which glistened most
beautifully [kharis]; while king Peisandros son of
Polyktor gave her a necklace of the rarest workmanship, and every one
else brought her a beautiful present of some kind.
Then the queen went back to her
room upstairs, and her maids brought the presents after her.
Meanwhile the suitors took to singing and dancing, and stayed till
evening came. They danced and sang till it grew dark; they then
brought in three braziers to give light, and piled them up with
chopped firewood very and dry, and they lit torches from them, which
the maids held up turn and turn about. Then Odysseus said:
"Maids, servants of Odysseus who
has so long been absent, go to the queen inside the house; sit with
her and amuse her, or spin, and pick wool. I will hold the light for
all these people. They may stay till morning, but shall not beat me,
for I can stand a great deal."
The maids looked at one another
and laughed, while pretty Melantho began to gibe at him
contemptuously. She was daughter to Dolios, but had been brought up
by Penelope, who used to give her toys to play with, and looked after
her when she was a child; but in spite of all this she showed no
consideration for the sorrows [penthos] of her
mistress, and used to misconduct herself with Eurymakhos, with whom
she was in love.
"Poor wretch," said she, "are you
gone clean out of your mind? Go and sleep in some smithy, or place of
public gossips, instead of chattering here. Are you not ashamed of
opening your mouth before your betters - so many of them too? Has the
wine been getting into your head, or do you always babble in this
way? You seem to have lost your wits because you beat the tramp Iros;
take care that a better man than he does not come and cudgel you
about the head till he pack you bleeding out of the
house."
"Vixen," replied Odysseus,
scowling at her, "I will go and tell Telemakhos what you have been
saying, and he will have you torn limb from limb."
With these words he scared the
women, and they went off into the body of the house. They trembled
all aver, for they thought he would do what he said was true
[alêthês]. But Odysseus took his stand
near the burning braziers, holding up torches and looking at the
people - brooding the while on things that should surely come to
pass.
But Athena would not let the
suitors for one moment cease their insolence, for she wanted Odysseus
to become even more bitter against them in his grief
[akhos]; she therefore set Eurymakhos son of Polybos
on to gibe at him, which made the others laugh. "Listen to me," said
he, "you suitors of Queen Penelope, that I may speak even as I am
minded. It is not for nothing that this man has come to the house of
Odysseus; I believe the light has not been coming from the torches,
but from his own head - for his hair is all gone, every bit of
it."
Then turning to Odysseus he said,
"Stranger, will you work as a servant, if I send you to the outer
limits of the field and see that you are well paid? Can you build a
stone fence, or plant trees? I will have you fed all the year round,
and will find you in shoes and clothing. Will you go, then? Not you;
for you have got into bad ways, and do not want to work; you had
rather fill your belly by going round the dêmos
begging."
"Eurymakhos," answered Odysseus,
"if you and I were to work one against the other in early summer
[hôra] when the days are at their longest - give
me a good scythe, and take another yourself, and let us see which
will fast the longer or mow the stronger, from dawn till dark when
the mowing grass is about. Or if you will plough against me, let us
each take a yoke of tawny oxen, well-mated and of great strength and
endurance: turn me into a four acre field, and see whether you or I
can drive the straighter furrow. If, again, war were to break out
this day, give me a shield, a couple of spears and a helmet fitting
well upon my temples - you would find me foremost in the fray, and
would cease your gibes about my belly. You are insolent and your
noos is cruel, and you think yourself a great man because you
live in a little world, and that a bad one. If Odysseus comes to his
own again, the doors of his house are wide, but you will find them
narrow when you try to flee through them."
Eurymakhos was furious at all
this. He scowled at him and cried, "You wretch, I will soon pay you
out for daring to say such things to me, and in public too. Has the
wine been getting into your head or do you always babble in this way?
You seem to have lost your wits because you beat the tramp Iros. With
this he caught hold of a footstool, but Odysseus sought protection at
the knees of Amphinomos of Dulichium, for he was afraid. The stool
hit the cupbearer on his right hand and knocked him down: the man
fell with a cry flat on his back, and his wine-jug fell ringing to
the ground. The suitors in the covered room were now in an uproar,
and one would turn towards his neighbor, saying, "I wish the stranger
had gone somewhere else, bad luck to hide, for all the trouble he
gives us. We cannot permit such disturbance about a beggar; if such
ill counsels are to prevail we shall have no more pleasure at our
banquet."
On this Telemakhos came forward
and said, "Sirs, are you mad? Can you not carry your meat and your
liquor decently? Some evil spirit has possessed you. I do not wish to
drive any of you away, but you have had your suppers, and the sooner
you all go home to bed the better."
The suitors bit their lips and
marveled at the boldness of his speech; but Amphinomos the son of
Nisus, who was son to Aretias, said, "Do not let us take offense; it
is reasonable [dikaios], so let us make no answer.
Neither let us do violence to the stranger nor to any of
Odysseus’ servants. Let the cupbearer go round with the
drink-offerings, that we may make them and go home to our rest. As
for the stranger, let us leave Telemakhos to deal with him, for it is
to his house that he has come."
Thus did he speak, and his saying
pleased them well, so Moulios of Dulichium, servant to Amphinomos,
mixed them a bowl of wine and water and handed it round to each of
them man by man, whereon they made their drink-offerings to the
blessed gods: Then, when they had made their drink-offerings and had
drunk each one as he was minded, they took their several ways each of
them to his own abode.
