The Odyssey (Oxford World's Classics Hardback Collection), page 43
So come forward, suitors—here is the prize set before you,
a woman whose like does not exist throughout the land of
Achaea, neither in holy Pylos, nor in Argos, nor in Mycenae,
nor in Ithaca itself, nor anywhere on the dark mainland.
But you yourselves know this; why need I praise my mother?110
So come: do not drag things out with excuses, nor hold back
any longer from this bow-stringing; and then we shall see.
I too may try my hand with the bow, and if I chance to be
successful in the attempt, and shoot through the iron axes,
I would not grieve at my revered mother leaving this house115
and going away with another man, so long as I remain here,
now man enough to win the fine prizes won by my father.’
So he spoke, and springing up to his full height threw off the
purple cloak from his shoulders, and unslung his sharp sword.
First, he dug a trench of full length and set up the axes, one120
long trench for them all, making it straight against a line, and
stamped the earth flat around them. Amazement gripped all the
onlookers at how neatly he ordered them, having never seen it done
before. Then he went and stood on the threshold and tried the bow.
Three times he set it quivering as he strained to bend it, and125
three times he gave up the struggle, yet still hoping in his heart
to stretch the string and shoot through the iron axes. And indeed
the fourth time he would have succeeded, pulling strongly on it,
had not Odysseus cut his efforts short with a jerk of his head.
Then Telemachus, man of divine strength, spoke to them again:130
‘Curse the thing! I suppose I shall always be a coward and a
weakling, or else I am still too young, not yet confident in my
hands’ strength to take on a man who picks a fight with me.
So step forward, you whose strength is surely superior to
mine, and try the bow. Then let us make an end of the contest.’135
So he spoke, and put the bow from him, down on the ground,
propping it against the well-polished, close-fitting doors,
and leaned the swift arrow there against the fine door-handle,
and went back and sat on the chair from which he had risen.
Now Antinous, son of Eupeithes, addressed the company:140
‘Stand up, my friends, all of you, and take turns from left
to right, starting from the place where the wine is poured.’
So spoke Antinous, and his words found favour with them.
The first to rise to his feet was Leodes, son of Oenops,
who interpreted their sacrifices, and always sat furthest away,145
next to the fine mixing-bowl; he was the only one who hated
the suitors’ reckless deeds, and was indignant with them all.
He then was the first to pick up the bow and its swift shaft.
He went to the threshold and stood there and tried the bow,
but could not string it; too soon, he wore out his delicate,150
unhardened hands with bending it, and spoke to the suitors:
‘My friends, I cannot string it; let someone else take it up.
I tell you, this bow will deprive many a chieftain of his
breath and spirit, for it is surely much better for us to die
than to stay alive and fail to gain the prize for which we are155
forever gathered here, living in expectation all our days.
There are many here who even now fervently hope in their
hearts to marry Penelope, the wedded wife of Odysseus;
but once they have tried the bow and seen the outcome,
they should then seek out some other fine-robed Achaean160
woman and pay court to her with gifts. Then, let her marry
the man who offers most and comes as her destined lord.’
So he spoke, and put the bow from him, propping it
against the well-polished, close-fitting doors, and leaned
the swift arrow there against the fine door-handle. Then165
he went back and sat on the chair from which he had risen.
But Antinous flung a rebuke at him, hailing him in these words:
‘Leodes, what a word has escaped the barrier of your teeth—
a terrible thing to say, and hard to bear; I am outraged to
hear it! To think that this bow will deprive chieftains of their170
breath and spirit, simply because you are unable to string it!
The truth is, your revered mother did not bear you to be
the kind of man who draws bows and shoots arrows. But
there are other lordly suitors here who will soon string it.’
So he spoke, and gave orders to Melanthius, herder of goats: 175
‘Look sharp now, Melanthius, and light a fire in the hall.
Set a great stool next to the fire and throw a fleece over it;
then bring a great round of tallow out from the stores within,
and we young men will warm the bow and grease it with fat.
Then let us try our hands at it, and so end the contest.’180
So he spoke, and without more ado Melanthius lit the tireless fire.
He drew up a stool and laid a fleece over it, and then brought
out a great round of tallow from the stores within. The young
men warmed it, greased the bow, and tried their luck; but they
could not string it, for their strength fell far short of the task.185
Now Antinous and godlike Eurymachus, leaders of the suitors,
were still holding back, though they were by far the best of them.
Meanwhile the two men, the oxherd and swineherd of godlike
Odysseus, went out of the house, both at the same time,
and glorious Odysseus too left the house and followed them.190
When they were well clear of the doors and the courtyard,
Odysseus spoke up and addressed them with winning words:
‘Oxherd, and you too, swineherd—shall I say something, or
shall I keep it to myself? No, my heart urges me to speak.
How would you be at fighting on Odysseus’ side, if he were195
suddenly to appear from somewhere, just like this, brought
here by some god? Would you fight for Odysseus, or the
suitors? Tell me what your heart and spirit urge you to do.’
Then in turn the oxherd who tended his cattle addressed him:
‘Father Zeus—if only you could bring this wish to fulfilment—200
that this man could return home, guided by a god! Then
you would soon know what strength there is in my hands.’
In the same way Eumaeus made a prayer to all the gods, that
Odysseus, man of many designs, might return to his own home.
When Odysseus understood the true temper of these men,205
he answered them once again, speaking in these words:
‘Here I am before you, the man himself! After much toil
I have come back in this twentieth year to my native land.
I know that you are the only ones among my servants who
longed for me to return, for I have not heard any of the210
rest of them praying that I might come back home again.
So I will spell out for you exactly what is going to happen.
If at my hands a god is going to beat down the lordly suitors,
I shall provide both of you with a wife, and set you up with
possessions and houses close to mine; and henceforth in my215
eyes you will be companions and brothers to Telemachus.
Now look; I will show you something, a clear sign, so that
you may be quite sure about me, and be convinced in your
hearts: the scar where a boar’s white tusk gored me, long
ago when I went to Parnassus with the sons of Autolycus.’220
So he spoke, and pulled his rags aside from the huge scar.
When the two men had looked and examined it thoroughly,
they threw their arms around shrewd Odysseus and wept,
and kissed his head and shoulders, welcoming him back;
and Odysseus too kissed their heads and hands. And225
indeed the sun’s light would have gone down upon their
weeping, had not Odysseus himself checked them, saying:
‘Stop your weeping and wailing, you two, in case someone
comes out of the hall and sees you, and tells those inside.
Go back in one by one, not together; I will go first,230
and you must follow me. Now, let this be our signal:
all the others there, as many as are lordly suitors, will not
allow the bow and its quiver to be given to me; so you,
good Eumaeus, must bring the bow down through the hall
and put it in my hands. And you must tell the women235
to bolt the close-fitting doors of their quarters; and if any
of them hears from there the sound of groaning or the noise
of men caught in our snares, she should not venture outside
but should remain there in silence and stay by her work.
Your task, good Philoetius, is to secure the courtyard240
door with its bolt and quickly knot the fastening on it.’
So he spoke, and went back into the well-established palace,
and sat down on the seat from which he had arisen.
And the two servants of godlike Odysseus entered also.
Now Eurymachus was already turning the bow in his hands,245
warming it round and round in the fire’s blaze; but for all that
he could not string it, and groaned loudly from his proud heart.
In his frustration he cried aloud and called out to them all:
‘Curse it! My pain is not for myself alone, but for everyone.
It is not so much the marriage I grieve for, bitter though this is;250
there are many other women in Achaea, some in sea-girt
Ithaca itself, and others in cities elsewhere. No, it is the
thought that we are so obviously inferior in might to godlike
Odysseus, because we are not strong enough to string his bow.
And that will be a reproach for men of future times to hear of.’255
Then in turn Antinous, son of Eupeithes, addressed him:
‘Eurymachus, it will not be so—and you yourself know it.
Today is a holy feast among the people in honour of the god
of archery; and who would string bows at such a time? No,
put it quietly aside; as for the axes, perhaps we can leave them260
all in place—I do not think that anyone else will come into
the hall of Odysseus, son of Laertes, and take them away.
So let the wine-steward pour the first drops into our cups,
and we will make offerings and put the curved bow aside.
Then in the morning tell Melanthius, the one who herds goats,265
to drive here the very best beasts in all his flocks, and we shall
lay thigh-bones on the altar of Apollo, famed with the bow;
after that let us try our hands at this bow, and end the contest.’
So spoke Antinous, and his words found favour with them.
Heralds set about pouring water over their hands, and270
young men brimmed the mixing-bowls with wine and
served it round to all, first pouring a drop into their cups.
When they had made offerings and drunk as much as each
man’s heart desired, Odysseus of many wiles spoke to them
with guile in mind: ‘Listen to me, suitors of our renowned275
queen, and I will say what the heart in my breast commands.
It is Eurymachus especially I entreat, and godlike Antinous,
since what he said just now was also right and proper:
leave the bow alone for now, and hand it over to the gods;
in the morning some god will give the victory to whoever280
he wills. But now, give me the well-polished bow, so that
here among you I may test my hands’ strength, to see if
I still have the power that was once in my supple limbs,
or if wandering and lack of care have wrecked it for me.’
So he spoke, and they were all greatly indignant at him,285
fearing he might be able to string the well-polished bow.
Antinous flung a rebuke at him, hailing him in these words:
‘Wretched stranger, there is no sense in you, not even a little.
Are you not content to eat here unmolested, among powerful
men, lacking no fair share in the feast and listening to our290
discourse and conversation? There is no stranger or beggar
besides you who is allowed to listen to what we talk about.
It is the honey-sweet wine that is your undoing, wine that
always ruins anyone who takes it in gulps, not in moderation.
It was wine that drove the splendid centaur Eurytion into295
madness in great-spirited Peirithous’ palace, when he was
visiting the Lapiths.* His wits were driven crazy with it,
and he went berserk, and caused havoc in Peirithous’ house.
Then anger seized the hero Lapiths, and they leapt up and
dragged him out through the porch, and sliced off his ears300
and nose with the pitiless bronze; and he went on his way
deranged in mind, bearing the weight of his heart’s folly.
At that time the feud between Centaurs and men began;
and he was the first to find his own torment in drunkenness.
Just so I predict great misery for you, too, if you happen to305
string this bow, for you will meet with no act of kindness
from anyone in our land; we shall send you off smartly
in a black ship to Echetus,* the bane of all mortal men,
and nothing on earth can save you from him. So drink on
undisturbed, and do not pick fights with younger men.’310
Then in turn circumspect Penelope addressed him:
‘Antinous, it is not a good or proper thing to maltreat
any guest of Telemachus who comes to this palace.
Do you really think that if the stranger is able to string
Odysseus’ great bow, trusting in his hands’ strength,315
he will carry me off to his house and make me his wife?
Surely not even he expects in his heart that this will happen.
Let not any of you feasting here be distressed in your heart
on this account; it is not likely to happen, no, not at all.’
Then in turn Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered her:320
‘Daughter of Icarius, circumspect Penelope; of course we
do not suppose this man will take you in marriage; it is not
credible. But we feel shame at the talk of men and women,
in case one of the lower sort among the Achaeans might say,
“These men who are courting the wife of a blameless man325
are far inferior to him! They could not string his well-polished
bow, while some other fellow, a vagabond beggar, came here
and strung it without effort and shot through the iron axes.”
That is what they will say, and it will be a reproach to us.’
Then in turn circumspect Penelope spoke to him: ‘There can 330
be no question, Eurymachus, of enjoying a good reputation
among our people for those who openly dishonour and devour
a great man’s estate; why then be concerned about disgrace?
This stranger here is a fine big man, and well built, and
he claims to be the son of a man of noble birth. So come,335
give him the well-polished bow, and let us see what happens.
I tell you this plainly, and it will surely come to fulfilment:
if he strings the bow, and Apollo grants him his prayer,
I will give him a tunic and a cloak, fine clothes to wear, and
I will give him a sharp spear, a defence against dogs and340
men, and I will give him a two-edged sword and sandals for
his feet, and send him wherever his heart and spirit desire.’
Then in turn wise Telemachus addressed her directly:
‘Mother—as to the bow, no man of the Achaeans has more
authority than I have to give or refuse it to whoever I wish—345
neither all those who are lords in rugged Ithaca, nor
those who hold sway in the islands off horse-rearing Elis.
None of these will force me against my will, even if I choose
to give the bow to the stranger outright, for him to take away.
So go now to your quarters and take charge of your own tasks,350
the loom and the distaff, and order your women servants to
go about their work. The bow must be men’s concern, all of
them, and me especially, for the authority in the house is mine.’
Penelope was amazed, and went back into her own quarters,
and stored the discerning words of her son in her heart.355
She went up into her rooms with her women servants and
there wept for Odysseus, her dear husband, until Athena
the grey-eyed let fall sweet sleep upon her eyelids.
Now the good swineherd had picked up the curved bow, to
hand it over, but the suitors in the hall all shouted threats at him;360
and this is what one of the arrogant young men would say:
‘Hey, you miserable swineherd, where are you taking that
curved bow, you madman? Soon enough the swift dogs you
bred will eat you up, alone among your pigs and far from men—
if Apollo and the other immortal gods will look kindly upon us.’365
So they spoke, and Eumaeus put the bow down where he was,
afraid because many men were threatening him in the hall.
But Telemachus shouted a stern warning from the opposite side:
‘Bring the bow on, old friend! You cannot easily obey everyone.
Watch out, or I might chase you out into the field with a shower370
