And now, as Dawn rose from her couch beside Tithonus--harbinger
of light alike to mortals and immortals--the gods met in council
and with them, Jove the lord of thunder, who is their king.
Thereon Minerva began to tell them of the many sufferings of
Ulysses, for she pitied him away there in the house of the nymph
Calypso.
"Father Jove," said she, "and all you other gods that live in
everlasting bliss, I hope there may never be such a thing as a
kind and well-disposed ruler any more, nor one who will govern
equitably. I hope they will be all henceforth cruel and unjust,
for there is not one of his subjects but has forgotten Ulysses,
who ruled them as though he were their father. There he is,
lying in great pain in an island where dwells the nymph Calypso,
who will not let him go; and he cannot get back to his own
country, for he can find neither ships nor sailors to take him
over the sea. Furthermore, wicked people are now trying to
murder his only son Telemachus, who is coming home from Pylos
and Lacedaemon, where he has been to see if he can get news of
his father."
"What, my dear, are you talking about?" replied her father, "did
you not send him there yourself, because you thought it would
help Ulysses to get home and punish the suitors? Besides, you
are perfectly able to protect Telemachus, and to see him safely
home again, while the suitors have to come hurry-skurrying back
without having killed him."
When he had thus spoken, he said to his son Mercury, "Mercury,
you are our messenger, go therefore and tell Calypso we have
decreed that poor Ulysses is to return home. He is to be
convoyed neither by gods nor men, but after a perilous voyage of
twenty days upon a raft he is to reach fertile Scheria, the
land of the Phaeacians, who are near of kin to the gods, and
will honour him as though he were one of ourselves. They will
send him in a ship to his own country, and will give him more
bronze and gold and raiment than he would have brought back from
Troy, if he had had all his prize money and had got home without
disaster. This is how we have settled that he shall return to
his country and his friends."
Thus he spoke, and Mercury, guide and guardian, slayer of Argus,
did as he was told. Forthwith he bound on his glittering golden
sandals with which he could fly like the wind over land and sea.
He took the wand with which he seals men's eyes in sleep or
wakes them just as he pleases, and flew holding it in his hand
over Pieria; then he swooped down through the firmament till he
reached the level of the sea, whose waves he skimmed like a
cormorant that flies fishing every hole and corner of the ocean,
and drenching its thick plumage in the spray. He flew and flew
over many a weary wave, but when at last he got to the island
which was his journey's end, he left the sea and went on by land
till he came to the cave where the nymph Calypso lived.
He found her at home. There was a large fire burning on the
hearth, and one could smell from far the fragrant reek of
burning cedar and sandal wood. As for herself, she was busy at
her loom, shooting her golden shuttle through the warp and
singing beautifully. Round her cave there was a thick wood of
alder, poplar, and sweet smelling cypress trees, wherein all
kinds of great birds had built their nests--owls, hawks, and
chattering sea-crows that occupy their business in the waters. A
vine loaded with grapes was trained and grew luxuriantly about
the mouth of the cave; there were also four running rills of
water in channels cut pretty close together, and turned hither
and thither so as to irrigate the beds of violets and luscious
herbage over which they flowed. Even a god could not help
being charmed with such a lovely spot, so Mercury stood still
and looked at it; but when he had admired it sufficiently he
went inside the cave.
Calypso knew him at once--for the gods all know each other, no
matter how far they live from one another--but Ulysses was not
within; he was on the sea-shore as usual, looking out upon the
barren ocean with tears in his eyes, groaning and breaking his
heart for sorrow. Calypso gave Mercury a seat and said: "Why
have you come to see me, Mercury--honoured, and ever
welcome--for you do not visit me often? Say what you want; I
will do it for you at once if I can, and if it can be done at
all; but come inside, and let me set refreshment before you."
As she spoke she drew a table loaded with ambrosia beside him
and mixed him some red nectar, so Mercury ate and drank till he
had had enough, and then said:
"We are speaking god and goddess to one another, and you ask me
why I have come here, and I will tell you truly as you would
have me do. Jove sent me; it was no doing of mine; who could
possibly want to come all this way over the sea where there are
no cities full of people to offer me sacrifices or choice
hecatombs? Nevertheless I had to come, for none of us other
gods can cross Jove, nor transgress his orders. He says that you
have here the most ill-starred of all those who fought nine
years before the city of King Priam and sailed home in the tenth
year after having sacked it. On their way home they sinned
against Minerva, who raised both wind and waves against
them, so that all his brave companions perished, and he alone
was carried hither by wind and tide. Jove says that you are to
let this man go at once, for it is decreed that he shall not
perish here, far from his own people, but shall return to his
house and country and see his friends again."
Calypso trembled with rage when she heard this, "You gods," she
exclaimed, "ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You are always
jealous and hate seeing a goddess take a fancy to a mortal man,
and live with him in open matrimony. So when rosy-fingered Dawn
made love to Orion, you precious gods were all of you furious
till Diana went and killed him in Ortygia. So again when Ceres
fell in love with Iasion, and yielded to him in a
thrice-ploughed fallow field, Jove came to hear of it before so
very long and killed Iasion with his thunderbolts. And now you
are angry with me too because I have a man here. I found the
poor creature sitting all alone astride of a keel, for Jove had
struck his ship with lightning and sunk it in mid ocean, so that
all his crew were drowned, while he himself was driven by wind
and waves on to my island. I got fond of him and cherished him,
and had set my heart on making him immortal, so that he should
never grow old all his days; still I cannot cross Jove, nor
bring his counsels to nothing; therefore, if he insists upon it,
let the man go beyond the seas again; but I cannot send him
anywhere myself for I have neither ships nor men who can take
him. Nevertheless I will readily give him such advice, in all
good faith, as will be likely to bring him safely to his own
country."
"Then send him away," said Mercury, "or Jove will be angry with
you and punish you".
On this he took his leave, and Calypso went out to look for
Ulysses, for she had heard Jove's message. She found him sitting
upon the beach with his eyes ever filled with tears, and dying
of sheer home sickness; for he had got tired of Calypso, and
though he was forced to sleep with her in the cave by night, it
was she, not he, that would have it so. As for the day time, he
spent it on the rocks and on the sea shore, weeping, crying
aloud for his despair, and always looking out upon the sea.
Calypso then went close up to him said:
"My poor fellow, you shall not stay here grieving and fretting
your life out any longer. I am going to send you away of my own
free will; so go, cut some beams of wood, and make yourself a
large raft with an upper deck that it may carry you safely over
the sea. I will put bread, wine, and water on board to save you
from starving. I will also give you clothes, and will send you a
fair wind to take you home, if the gods in heaven so will
it--for they know more about these things, and can settle them
better than I can."
Ulysses shuddered as he heard her. "Now goddess," he answered,
"there is something behind all this; you cannot be really
meaning to help me home when you bid me do such a dreadful thing
as put to sea on a raft. Not even a well found ship with a fair
wind could venture on such a distant voyage: nothing that you
can say or do shall make me go on board a raft unless you first
solemnly swear that you mean me no mischief."
Calypso smiled at this and caressed him with her hand: "You know
a great deal," said she, "but you are quite wrong here. May
heaven above and earth below be my witnesses, with the waters of
the river Styx--and this is the most solemn oath which a blessed
god can take--that I mean you no sort of harm, and am only
advising you to do exactly what I should do myself in your
place. I am dealing with you quite straightforwardly; my heart
is not made of iron, and I am very sorry for you."
When she had thus spoken she led the way rapidly before him, and
Ulysses followed in her steps; so the pair, goddess and man,
went on and on till they came to Calypso's cave, where Ulysses
took the seat that Mercury had just left. Calypso set meat and
drink before him of the food that mortals eat; but her maids
brought ambrosia and nectar for herself, and they laid their
hands on the good things that were before them. When they had
satisfied themselves with meat and drink, Calypso spoke, saying:
"Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, so you would start home to your
own land at once? Good luck go with you, but if you could only
know how much suffering is in store for you before you get back
to your own country, you would stay where you are, keep house
along with me, and let me make you immortal, no matter how
anxious you may be to see this wife of yours, of whom you are
thinking all the time day after day; yet I flatter myself that I
am no whit less tall or well-looking than she is, for it is not
to be expected that a mortal woman should compare in beauty with
an immortal."
"Goddess," replied Ulysses, "do not be angry with me about this.
I am quite aware that my wife Penelope is nothing like so tall
or so beautiful as yourself. She is only a woman, whereas you
are an immortal. Nevertheless, I want to get home, and can think
of nothing else. If some god wrecks me when I am on the sea, I
will bear it and make the best of it. I have had infinite
trouble both by land and sea already, so let this go with the
rest."
Presently the sun set and it became dark, whereon the pair
retired into the inner part of the cave and went to bed.
When the child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Ulysses
put on his shirt and cloak, while the goddess wore a dress of a
light gossamer fabric, very fine and graceful, with a beautiful
golden girdle about her waist and a veil to cover her head. She
at once set herself to think how she could speed Ulysses on his
way. So she gave him a great bronze axe that suited his hands;
it was sharpened on both sides, and had a beautiful olive-wood
handle fitted firmly on to it. She also gave him a sharp adze,
and then led the way to the far end of the island where the
largest trees grew--alder, poplar and pine, that reached the
sky--very dry and well seasoned, so as to sail light for him in
the water. Then, when she had shown him where the best
trees grew, Calypso went home, leaving him to cut them, which he
soon finished doing. He cut down twenty trees in all and adzed
them smooth, squaring them by rule in good workmanlike fashion.
Meanwhile Calypso came back with some augers, so he bored holes
with them and fitted the timbers together with bolts and rivets.
He made the raft as broad as a skilled shipwright makes the beam
of a large vessel, and he fixed a deck on top of the ribs, and
ran a gunwale all round it. He also made a mast with a yard arm,
and a rudder to steer with. He fenced the raft all round with
wicker hurdles as a protection against the waves, and then he
threw on a quantity of wood. By and by Calypso brought him some
linen to make the sails, and he made these too, excellently,
making them fast with braces and sheets. Last of all, with the
help of levers, he drew the raft down into the water.
In four days he had completed the whole work, and on the fifth
Calypso sent him from the island after washing him and giving
him some clean clothes. She gave him a goat skin full of black
wine, and another larger one of water; she also gave him a
wallet full of provisions, and found him in much good meat.
Moreover, she made the wind fair and warm for him, and gladly
did Ulysses spread his sail before it, while he sat and guided
the raft skilfully by means of the rudder. He never closed his
eyes, but kept them fixed on the Pleiads, on late-setting
Bootes, and on the Bear--which men also call the wain, and which
turns round and round where it is, facing Orion, and alone never
dipping into the stream of Oceanus--for Calypso had told him to
keep this to his left. Days seven and ten did he sail over the
sea, and on the eighteenth the dim outlines of the mountains on
the nearest part of the Phaeacian coast appeared, rising like a
shield on the horizon.
But King Neptune, who was returning from the Ethiopians, caught
sight of Ulysses a long way off, from the mountains of the
Solymi. He could see him sailing upon the sea, and it made him
very angry, so he wagged his head and muttered to himself,
saying, "Good heavens, so the gods have been changing their
minds about Ulysses while I was away in Ethiopia, and now he is
close to the land of the Phaeacians, where it is decreed that he
shall escape from the calamities that have befallen him. Still,
he shall have plenty of hardship yet before he has done with
it."
Thereon he gathered his clouds together, grasped his trident,
stirred it round in the sea, and roused the rage of every wind
that blows till earth, sea, and sky were hidden in cloud, and
night sprang forth out of the heavens. Winds from East, South,
North, and West fell upon him all at the same time, and a
tremendous sea got up, so that Ulysses' heart began to fail him.
"Alas," he said to himself in his dismay, "what ever will become
of me? I am afraid Calypso was right when she said I should have
trouble by sea before I got back home. It is all coming true.
How black is Jove making heaven with his clouds, and what a sea
the winds are raising from every quarter at once. I am now safe
to perish. Blest and thrice blest were those Danaans who fell
before Troy in the cause of the sons of Atreus. Would that I had
been killed on the day when the Trojans were pressing me so
sorely about the dead body of Achilles, for then I should have
had due burial and the Achaeans would have honoured my name; but
now it seems that I shall come to a most pitiable end."
As he spoke a sea broke over him with such terrific fury that
the raft reeled again, and he was carried overboard a long way
off. He let go the helm, and the force of the hurricane was so
great that it broke the mast half way up, and both sail and yard
went over into the sea. For a long time Ulysses was under water,
and it was all he could do to rise to the surface again, for the
clothes Calypso had given him weighed him down; but at last he
got his head above water and spat out the bitter brine that was
running down his face in streams. In spite of all this, however,
he did not lose sight of his raft, but swam as fast as he could
towards it, got hold of it, and climbed on board again so as to
escape drowning. The sea took the raft and tossed it about as
Autumn winds whirl thistledown round and round upon a road. It
was as though the South, North, East, and West winds were all
playing battledore and shuttlecock with it at once.
When he was in this plight, Ino daughter of Cadmus, also called
Leucothea, saw him. She had formerly been a mere mortal, but had
been since raised to the rank of a marine goddess. Seeing in
what great distress Ulysses now was, she had compassion upon
him, and, rising like a sea-gull from the waves, took her seat
upon the raft.
"My poor good man," said she, "why is Neptune so furiously angry
with you? He is giving you a great deal of trouble, but for all
his bluster he will not kill you. You seem to be a sensible
person, do then as I bid you; strip, leave your raft to drive
before the wind, and swim to the Phaeacian coast where better
luck awaits you. And here, take my veil and put it round your
chest; it is enchanted, and you can come to no harm so long as
you wear it. As soon as you touch land take it off, throw it
back as far as you can into the sea, and then go away again."
With these words she took off her veil and gave it him. Then she
dived down again like a sea-gull and vanished beneath the dark
blue waters.
But Ulysses did not know what to think. "Alas," he said to
himself in his dismay, "this is only some one or other of the
gods who is luring me to ruin by advising me to quit my raft. At
any rate I will not do so at present, for the land where she
said I should be quit of all troubles seemed to be still a good
way off. I know what I will do--I am sure it will be best--no
matter what happens I will stick to the raft as long as her
timbers hold together, but when the sea breaks her up I will
swim for it; I do not see how I can do any better than this."
While he was thus in two minds, Neptune sent a terrible great
wave that seemed to rear itself above his head till it broke
right over the raft, which then went to pieces as though it were
a heap of dry chaff tossed about by a whirlwind. Ulysses got
astride of one plank and rode upon it as if he were on
horseback; he then took off the clothes Calypso had given him,
bound Ino's veil under his arms, and plunged into the
sea--meaning to swim on shore. King Neptune watched him as he
did so, and wagged his head, muttering to himself and saying,
"There now, swim up and down as you best can till you fall in
with well-to-do people. I do not think you will be able to say
that I have let you off too lightly." On this he lashed his
horses and drove to Aegae where his palace is.
But Minerva resolved to help Ulysses, so she bound the ways of
all the winds except one, and made them lie quite still; but she
roused a good stiff breeze from the North that should lay the
waters till Ulysses reached the land of the Phaeacians where he
would be safe.
Thereon he floated about for two nights and two days in the
water, with a heavy swell on the sea and death staring him in
the face; but when the third day broke, the wind fell and there
was a dead calm without so much as a breath of air stirring. As
he rose on the swell he looked eagerly ahead, and could see land
quite near. Then, as children rejoice when their dear father
begins to get better after having for a long time borne sore
affliction sent him by some angry spirit, but the gods deliver
him from evil, so was Ulysses thankful when he again saw land
and trees, and swam on with all his strength that he might once
more set foot upon dry ground. When, however, he got within
earshot, he began to hear the surf thundering up against the
rocks, for the swell still broke against them with a terrific
roar. Everything was enveloped in spray; there were no harbours
where a ship might ride, nor shelter of any kind, but only
headlands, low-lying rocks, and mountain tops.
Ulysses' heart now began to fail him, and he said despairingly
to himself, "Alas, Jove has let me see land after swimming so
far that I had given up all hope, but I can find no landing
place, for the coast is rocky and surf-beaten, the rocks are
smooth and rise sheer from the sea, with deep water close under
them so that I cannot climb out for want of foot hold. I am
afraid some great wave will lift me off my legs and dash me
against the rocks as I leave the water--which would give me a
sorry landing. If, on the other hand, I swim further in search
of some shelving beach or harbour, a hurricane may carry me out
to sea again sorely against my will, or heaven may send some
great monster of the deep to attack me; for Amphitrite breeds
many such, and I know that Neptune is very angry with me."
While he was thus in two minds a wave caught him and took him
with such force against the rocks that he would have been
smashed and torn to pieces if Minerva had not shown him what to
do. He caught hold of the rock with both hands and clung to it
groaning with pain till the wave retired, so he was saved that
time; but presently the wave came on again and carried him back
with it far into the sea--tearing his hands as the suckers of a
polypus are torn when some one plucks it from its bed, and the
stones come up along with it--even so did the rocks tear the
skin from his strong hands, and then the wave drew him deep down
under the water.
Here poor Ulysses would have certainly perished even in spite of
his own destiny, if Minerva had not helped him to keep his wits
about him. He swam seaward again, beyond reach of the surf that
was beating against the land, and at the same time he kept
looking towards the shore to see if he could find some haven, or
a spit that should take the waves aslant. By and by, as he swam
on, he came to the mouth of a river, and here he thought would
be the best place, for there were no rocks, and it afforded
shelter from the wind. He felt that there was a current, so he
prayed inwardly and said:
"Hear me, O King, whoever you may be, and save me from the anger
of the sea-god Neptune, for I approach you prayerfully. Any one
who has lost his way has at all times a claim even upon the
gods, wherefore in my distress I draw near to your stream, and
cling to the knees of your riverhood. Have mercy upon me, O
king, for I declare myself your suppliant."
Then the god staid his stream and stilled the waves, making all
calm before him, and bringing him safely into the mouth of the
river. Here at last Ulysses' knees and strong hands failed him,
for the sea had completely broken him. His body was all swollen,
and his mouth and nostrils ran down like a river with sea-water,
so that he could neither breathe nor speak, and lay swooning
from sheer exhaustion; presently, when he had got his breath and
came to himself again, he took off the scarf that Ino had given
him and threw it back into the salt stream of the river,
whereon Ino received it into her hands from the wave that bore
it towards her. Then he left the river, laid himself down among
the rushes, and kissed the bounteous earth.
"Alas," he cried to himself in his dismay, "what ever will
become of me, and how is it all to end? If I stay here upon the
river bed through the long watches of the night, I am so
exhausted that the bitter cold and damp may make an end of
me--for towards sunrise there will be a keen wind blowing from
off the river. If, on the other hand, I climb the hill side,
find shelter in the woods, and sleep in some thicket, I may
escape the cold and have a good night's rest, but some savage
beast may take advantage of me and devour me."
In the end he deemed it best to take to the woods, and he found
one upon some high ground not far from the water. There he
crept beneath two shoots of olive that grew from a single
stock--the one an ungrafted sucker, while the other had been
grafted. No wind, however squally, could break through the cover
they afforded, nor could the sun's rays pierce them, nor the
rain get through them, so closely did they grow into one
another. Ulysses crept under these and began to make himself a
bed to lie on, for there was a great litter of dead leaves lying
about--enough to make a covering for two or three men even in
hard winter weather. He was glad enough to see this, so he laid
himself down and heaped the leaves all round him. Then, as one
who lives alone in the country, far from any neighbor, hides a
brand as fire-seed in the ashes to save himself from having to
get a light elsewhere, even so did Ulysses cover himself up with
leaves; and Minerva shed a sweet sleep upon his eyes, closed his
eyelids, and made him lose all memories of his sorrows.
Back to: The Odyssey