BANQUET IN THE HOUSE OF ALCINOUS—THE GAMES.





Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Alcinous

and Ulysses both rose, and Alcinous led the way to the Phaeacian place

of assembly, which was near the ships. When they got there they sat

down side by side on a seat of polished stone, while Minerva took the

form of one of Alcinous’ servants, and went round the town in order to

help Ulysses to get home. She went up to the citizens, man by man, and

said, “Aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, come to the

assembly all of you and listen to the stranger who has just come off a

long voyage to the house of King Alcinous; he looks like an immortal

god.”



With these words she made them all want to come, and they flocked to

the assembly till seats and standing room were alike crowded. Every one

was struck with the appearance of Ulysses, for Minerva had beautified

him about the head and shoulders, making him look taller and stouter

than he really was, that he might impress the Phaeacians favourably as

being a very remarkable man, and might come off well in the many trials

of skill to which they would challenge him. Then, when they were got

together, Alcinous spoke:



“Hear me,” said he, “aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians,

that I may speak even as I am minded. This stranger, whoever he may be,

has found his way to my house from somewhere or other either East or

West. He wants an escort and wishes to have the matter settled. Let us

then get one ready for him, as we have done for others before him;

indeed, no one who ever yet came to my house has been able to complain

of me for not speeding on his way soon enough. Let us draw a ship into

the sea—one that has never yet made a voyage—and man her with two and

fifty of our smartest young sailors. Then when you have made fast your

oars each by his own seat, leave the ship and come to my house to

prepare a feast.65 I will find you in everything. I am giving these

instructions to the young men who will form the crew, for as regards

you aldermen and town councillors, you will join me in entertaining our

guest in the cloisters. I can take no excuses, and we will have

Demodocus to sing to us; for there is no bard like him whatever he may

choose to sing about.”



Alcinous then led the way, and the others followed after, while a

servant went to fetch Demodocus. The fifty-two picked oarsmen went to

the sea shore as they had been told, and when they got there they drew

the ship into the water, got her mast and sails inside her, bound the

oars to the thole-pins with twisted thongs of leather, all in due

course, and spread the white sails aloft. They moored the vessel a

little way out from land, and then came on shore and went to the house

of King Alcinous. The out houses,66 yards, and all the precincts were

filled with crowds of men in great multitudes both old and young; and

Alcinous killed them a dozen sheep, eight full grown pigs, and two

oxen. These they skinned and dressed so as to provide a magnificent

banquet.



A servant presently led in the famous bard Demodocus, whom the muse had

dearly loved, but to whom she had given both good and evil, for though

she had endowed him with a divine gift of song, she had robbed him of

his eyesight. Pontonous set a seat for him among the guests, leaning it

up against a bearing-post. He hung the lyre for him on a peg over his

head, and showed him where he was to feel for it with his hands. He

also set a fair table with a basket of victuals by his side, and a cup

of wine from which he might drink whenever he was so disposed.



The company then laid their hands upon the good things that were before

them, but as soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, the muse

inspired Demodocus to sing the feats of heroes, and more especially a

matter that was then in the mouths of all men, to wit, the quarrel

between Ulysses and Achilles, and the fierce words that they heaped on

one another as they sat together at a banquet. But Agamemnon was glad

when he heard his chieftains quarrelling with one another, for Apollo

had foretold him this at Pytho when he crossed the stone floor to

consult the oracle. Here was the beginning of the evil that by the will

of Jove fell both upon Danaans and Trojans.



Thus sang the bard, but Ulysses drew his purple mantle over his head

and covered his face, for he was ashamed to let the Phaeacians see that

he was weeping. When the bard left off singing he wiped the tears from

his eyes, uncovered his face, and, taking his cup, made a

drink-offering to the gods; but when the Phaeacians pressed Demodocus

to sing further, for they delighted in his lays, then Ulysses again

drew his mantle over his head and wept bitterly. No one noticed his

distress except Alcinous, who was sitting near him, and heard the heavy

sighs that he was heaving. So he at once said, “Aldermen and town

councillors of the Phaeacians, we have had enough now, both of the

feast, and of the minstrelsy that is its due accompaniment; let us

proceed therefore to the athletic sports, so that our guest on his

return home may be able to tell his friends how much we surpass all

other nations as boxers, wrestlers, jumpers, and runners.”



With these words he led the way, and the others followed after. A

servant hung Demodocus’s lyre on its peg for him, led him out of the

cloister, and set him on the same way as that along which all the chief

men of the Phaeacians were going to see the sports; a crowd of several

thousands of people followed them, and there were many excellent

competitors for all the prizes. Acroneos, Ocyalus, Elatreus, Nauteus,

Prymneus, Anchialus, Eretmeus, Ponteus, Proreus, Thoon, Anabesineus,

and Amphialus son of Polyneus son of Tecton. There was also Euryalus

son of Naubolus, who was like Mars himself, and was the best looking

man among the Phaeacians except Laodamas. Three sons of Alcinous,

Laodamas, Halios, and Clytoneus, competed also.



The foot races came first. The course was set out for them from the

starting post, and they raised a dust upon the plain as they all flew

forward at the same moment. Clytoneus came in first by a long way; he

left every one else behind him by the length of the furrow that a

couple of mules can plough in a fallow field.67 They then turned to the

painful art of wrestling, and here Euryalus proved to be the best man.

Amphialus excelled all the others in jumping, while at throwing the

disc there was no one who could approach Elatreus. Alcinous’s son

Laodamas was the best boxer, and he it was who presently said, when

they had all been diverted with the games, “Let us ask the stranger

whether he excels in any of these sports; he seems very powerfully

built; his thighs, calves, hands, and neck are of prodigious strength,

nor is he at all old, but he has suffered much lately, and there is

nothing like the sea for making havoc with a man, no matter how strong

he is.”



“You are quite right, Laodamas,” replied Euryalus, “go up to your guest

and speak to him about it yourself.”



When Laodamas heard this he made his way into the middle of the crowd

and said to Ulysses, “I hope, Sir, that you will enter yourself for

some one or other of our competitions if you are skilled in any of

them—and you must have gone in for many a one before now. There is

nothing that does any one so much credit all his life long as the

showing himself a proper man with his hands and feet. Have a try

therefore at something, and banish all sorrow from your mind. Your

return home will not be long delayed, for the ship is already drawn

into the water, and the crew is found.”



Ulysses answered, “Laodamas, why do you taunt me in this way? my mind

is set rather on cares than contests; I have been through infinite

trouble, and am come among you now as a suppliant, praying your king

and people to further me on my return home.”



Then Euryalus reviled him outright and said, “I gather, then, that you

are unskilled in any of the many sports that men generally delight in.

I suppose you are one of those grasping traders that go about in ships

as captains or merchants, and who think of nothing but of their outward

freights and homeward cargoes. There does not seem to be much of the

athlete about you.”



“For shame, Sir,” answered Ulysses, fiercely, “you are an insolent

fellow—so true is it that the gods do not grace all men alike in

speech, person, and understanding. One man may be of weak presence, but

heaven has adorned this with such a good conversation that he charms

every one who sees him; his honeyed moderation carries his hearers with

him so that he is leader in all assemblies of his fellows, and wherever

he goes he is looked up to. Another may be as handsome as a god, but

his good looks are not crowned with discretion. This is your case. No

god could make a finer looking fellow than you are, but you are a fool.

Your ill-judged remarks have made me exceedingly angry, and you are

quite mistaken, for I excel in a great many athletic exercises; indeed,

so long as I had youth and strength, I was among the first athletes of

the age. Now, however, I am worn out by labour and sorrow, for I have

gone through much both on the field of battle and by the waves of the

weary sea; still, in spite of all this I will compete, for your taunts

have stung me to the quick.”



So he hurried up without even taking his cloak off, and seized a disc,

larger, more massive and much heavier than those used by the Phaeacians

when disc-throwing among themselves.68 Then, swinging it back, he threw

it from his brawny hand, and it made a humming sound in the air as he

did so. The Phaeacians quailed beneath the rushing of its flight as it

sped gracefully from his hand, and flew beyond any mark that had been

made yet. Minerva, in the form of a man, came and marked the place

where it had fallen. “A blind man, Sir,” said she, “could easily tell

your mark by groping for it—it is so far ahead of any other. You may

make your mind easy about this contest, for no Phaeacian can come near

to such a throw as yours.”



Ulysses was glad when he found he had a friend among the lookers-on, so

he began to speak more pleasantly. “Young men,” said he, “come up to

that throw if you can, and I will throw another disc as heavy or even

heavier. If anyone wants to have a bout with me let him come on, for I

am exceedingly angry; I will box, wrestle, or run, I do not care what

it is, with any man of you all except Laodamas, but not with him

because I am his guest, and one cannot compete with one’s own personal

friend. At least I do not think it a prudent or a sensible thing for a

guest to challenge his host’s family at any game, especially when he is

in a foreign country. He will cut the ground from under his own feet if

he does; but I make no exception as regards any one else, for I want to

have the matter out and know which is the best man. I am a good hand at

every kind of athletic sport known among mankind. I am an excellent

archer. In battle I am always the first to bring a man down with my

arrow, no matter how many more are taking aim at him alongside of me.

Philoctetes was the only man who could shoot better than I could when

we Achaeans were before Troy and in practice. I far excel every one

else in the whole world, of those who still eat bread upon the face of

the earth, but I should not like to shoot against the mighty dead, such

as Hercules, or Eurytus the Oechalian—men who could shoot against the

gods themselves. This in fact was how Eurytus came prematurely by his

end, for Apollo was angry with him and killed him because he challenged

him as an archer. I can throw a dart farther than any one else can

shoot an arrow. Running is the only point in respect of which I am

afraid some of the Phaeacians might beat me, for I have been brought

down very low at sea; my provisions ran short, and therefore I am still

weak.”



They all held their peace except King Alcinous, who began, “Sir, we

have had much pleasure in hearing all that you have told us, from which

I understand that you are willing to show your prowess, as having been

displeased with some insolent remarks that have been made to you by one

of our athletes, and which could never have been uttered by any one who

knows how to talk with propriety. I hope you will apprehend my meaning,

and will explain to any one of your chief men who may be dining with

yourself and your family when you get home, that we have an hereditary

aptitude for accomplishments of all kinds. We are not particularly

remarkable for our boxing, nor yet as wrestlers, but we are singularly

fleet of foot and are excellent sailors. We are extremely fond of good

dinners, music, and dancing; we also like frequent changes of linen,

warm baths, and good beds, so now, please, some of you who are the best

dancers set about dancing, that our guest on his return home may be

able to tell his friends how much we surpass all other nations as

sailors, runners, dancers, and minstrels. Demodocus has left his lyre

at my house, so run some one or other of you and fetch it for him.”



On this a servant hurried off to bring the lyre from the king’s house,

and the nine men who had been chosen as stewards stood forward. It was

their business to manage everything connected with the sports, so they

made the ground smooth and marked a wide space for the dancers.

Presently the servant came back with Demodocus’s lyre, and he took his

place in the midst of them, whereon the best young dancers in the town

began to foot and trip it so nimbly that Ulysses was delighted with the

merry twinkling of their feet.



Meanwhile the bard began to sing the loves of Mars and Venus, and how

they first began their intrigue in the house of Vulcan. Mars made Venus

many presents, and defiled King Vulcan’s marriage bed, so the sun, who

saw what they were about, told Vulcan. Vulcan was very angry when he

heard such dreadful news, so he went to his smithy brooding mischief,

got his great anvil into its place, and began to forge some chains

which none could either unloose or break, so that they might stay there

in that place.69 When he had finished his snare he went into his

bedroom and festooned the bed-posts all over with chains like cobwebs;

he also let many hang down from the great beam of the ceiling. Not even

a god could see them so fine and subtle were they. As soon as he had

spread the chains all over the bed, he made as though he were setting

out for the fair state of Lemnos, which of all places in the world was

the one he was most fond of. But Mars kept no blind look out, and as

soon as he saw him start, hurried off to his house, burning with love

for Venus.



Now Venus was just come in from a visit to her father Jove, and was

about sitting down when Mars came inside the house, and said as he took

her hand in his own, “Let us go to the couch of Vulcan: he is not at

home, but is gone off to Lemnos among the Sintians, whose speech is

barbarous.”



She was nothing loth, so they went to the couch to take their rest,

whereon they were caught in the toils which cunning Vulcan had spread

for them, and could neither get up nor stir hand or foot, but found too

late that they were in a trap. Then Vulcan came up to them, for he had

turned back before reaching Lemnos, when his scout the sun told him

what was going on. He was in a furious passion, and stood in the

vestibule making a dreadful noise as he shouted to all the gods.



“Father Jove,” he cried, “and all you other blessed gods who live for

ever, come here and see the ridiculous and disgraceful sight that I

will show you. Jove’s daughter Venus is always dishonouring me because

I am lame. She is in love with Mars, who is handsome and clean built,

whereas I am a cripple—but my parents are to blame for that, not I;

they ought never to have begotten me. Come and see the pair together

asleep on my bed. It makes me furious to look at them. They are very

fond of one another, but I do not think they will lie there longer than

they can help, nor do I think that they will sleep much; there,

however, they shall stay till her father has repaid me the sum I gave

him for his baggage of a daughter, who is fair but not honest.”



On this the gods gathered to the house of Vulcan. Earth-encircling

Neptune came, and Mercury the bringer of luck, and King Apollo, but the

goddesses staid at home all of them for shame. Then the givers of all

good things stood in the doorway, and the blessed gods roared with

inextinguishable laughter, as they saw how cunning Vulcan had been,

whereon one would turn towards his neighbour saying:



“Ill deeds do not prosper, and the weak confound the strong. See how

limping Vulcan, lame as he is, has caught Mars who is the fleetest god

in heaven; and now Mars will be cast in heavy damages.”



Thus did they converse, but King Apollo said to Mercury, “Messenger

Mercury, giver of good things, you would not care how strong the chains

were, would you, if you could sleep with Venus?”



“King Apollo,” answered Mercury, “I only wish I might get the chance,

though there were three times as many chains—and you might look on, all

of you, gods and goddesses, but I would sleep with her if I could.”



The immortal gods burst out laughing as they heard him, but Neptune

took it all seriously, and kept on imploring Vulcan to set Mars free

again. “Let him go,” he cried, “and I will undertake, as you require,

that he shall pay you all the damages that are held reasonable among

the immortal gods.”



“Do not,” replied Vulcan, “ask me to do this; a bad man’s bond is bad

security; what remedy could I enforce against you if Mars should go

away and leave his debts behind him along with his chains?”



“Vulcan,” said Neptune, “if Mars goes away without paying his damages,

I will pay you myself.” So Vulcan answered, “In this case I cannot and

must not refuse you.”



Thereon he loosed the bonds that bound them, and as soon as they were

free they scampered off, Mars to Thrace and laughter-loving Venus to

Cyprus and to Paphos, where is her grove and her altar fragrant with

burnt offerings. Here the Graces bathed her, and anointed her with oil

of ambrosia such as the immortal gods make use of, and they clothed her

in raiment of the most enchanting beauty.



Thus sang the bard, and both Ulysses and the seafaring Phaeacians were

charmed as they heard him.



Then Alcinous told Laodamas and Halius to dance alone, for there was no

one to compete with them. So they took a red ball which Polybus had

made for them, and one of them bent himself backwards and threw it up

towards the clouds, while the other jumped from off the ground and

caught it with ease before it came down again. When they had done

throwing the ball straight up into the air they began to dance, and at

the same time kept on throwing it backwards and forwards to one

another, while all the young men in the ring applauded and made a great

stamping with their feet. Then Ulysses said:



“King Alcinous, you said your people were the nimblest dancers in the

world, and indeed they have proved themselves to be so. I was

astonished as I saw them.”



The king was delighted at this, and exclaimed to the Phaeacians,

“Aldermen and town councillors, our guest seems to be a person of

singular judgement; let us give him such proof of our hospitality as he

may reasonably expect. There are twelve chief men among you, and

counting myself there are thirteen; contribute, each of you, a clean

cloak, a shirt, and a talent of fine gold; let us give him all this in

a lump down at once, so that when he gets his supper he may do so with

a light heart. As for Euryalus he will have to make a formal apology

and a present too, for he has been rude.”



Thus did he speak. The others all of them applauded his saying, and

sent their servants to fetch the presents. Then Euryalus said, “King

Alcinous, I will give the stranger all the satisfaction you require. He

shall have my sword, which is of bronze, all but the hilt, which is of

silver. I will also give him the scabbard of newly sawn ivory into

which it fits. It will be worth a great deal to him.”



As he spoke he placed the sword in the hands of Ulysses and said, “Good

luck to you, father stranger; if anything has been said amiss may the

winds blow it away with them, and may heaven grant you a safe return,

for I understand you have been long away from home, and have gone

through much hardship.”



To which Ulysses answered, “Good luck to you too my friend, and may the

gods grant you every happiness. I hope you will not miss the sword you

have given me along with your apology.”



With these words he girded the sword about his shoulders and towards

sundown the presents began to make their appearance, as the servants of

the donors kept bringing them to the house of King Alcinous; here his

sons received them, and placed them under their mother’s charge. Then

Alcinous led the way to the house and bade his guests take their seats.



“Wife,” said he, turning to Queen Arete, “Go, fetch the best chest we

have, and put a clean cloak and shirt in it. Also, set a copper on the

fire and heat some water; our guest will take a warm bath; see also to

the careful packing of the presents that the noble Phaeacians have made

him; he will thus better enjoy both his supper and the singing that

will follow. I shall myself give him this golden goblet—which is of

exquisite workmanship—that he may be reminded of me for the rest of his

life whenever he makes a drink offering to Jove, or to any of the

gods.”70



Then Arete told her maids to set a large tripod upon the fire as fast

as they could, whereon they set a tripod full of bath water on to a

clear fire; they threw on sticks to make it blaze, and the water became

hot as the flame played about the belly of the tripod.71 Meanwhile

Arete brought a magnificent chest from her own room, and inside it she

packed all the beautiful presents of gold and raiment which the

Phaeacians had brought. Lastly she added a cloak and a good shirt from

Alcinous, and said to Ulysses:



“See to the lid yourself, and have the whole bound round at once, for

fear any one should rob you by the way when you are asleep in your

ship.” 72



When Ulysses heard this he put the lid on the chest and made it fast

with a bond that Circe had taught him. He had done so before an upper

servant told him to come to the bath and wash himself. He was very glad

of a warm bath, for he had had no one to wait upon him ever since he

left the house of Calypso, who as long as he remained with her had

taken as good care of him as though he had been a god. When the

servants had done washing and anointing him with oil, and had given him

a clean cloak and shirt, he left the bath room and joined the guests

who were sitting over their wine. Lovely Nausicaa stood by one of the

bearing-posts supporting the roof of the cloister, and admired him as

she saw him pass. “Farewell stranger,” said she, “do not forget me when

you are safe at home again, for it is to me first that you owe a ransom

for having saved your life.”



And Ulysses said, “Nausicaa, daughter of great Alcinous, may Jove the

mighty husband of Juno, grant that I may reach my home; so shall I

bless you as my guardian angel all my days, for it was you who saved

me.”



When he had said this, he seated himself beside Alcinous. Supper was

then served, and the wine was mixed for drinking. A servant led in the

favourite bard Demodocus, and set him in the midst of the company, near

one of the bearing-posts supporting the cloister, that he might lean

against it. Then Ulysses cut off a piece of roast pork with plenty of

fat (for there was abundance left on the joint) and said to a servant,

“Take this piece of pork over to Demodocus and tell him to eat it; for

all the pain his lays may cause me I will salute him none the less;

bards are honoured and respected throughout the world, for the muse

teaches them their songs and loves them.”



The servant carried the pork in his fingers over to Demodocus, who took

it and was very much pleased. They then laid their hands on the good

things that were before them, and as soon as they had had to eat and

drink, Ulysses said to Demodocus, “Demodocus, there is no one in the

world whom I admire more than I do you. You must have studied under the

Muse, Jove’s daughter, and under Apollo, so accurately do you sing the

return of the Achaeans with all their sufferings and adventures. If you

were not there yourself, you must have heard it all from some one who

was. Now, however, change your song and tell us of the wooden horse

which Epeus made with the assistance of Minerva, and which Ulysses got

by stratagem into the fort of Troy after freighting it with the men who

afterwards sacked the city. If you will sing this tale aright I will

tell all the world how magnificently heaven has endowed you.”



The bard inspired of heaven took up the story at the point where some

of the Argives set fire to their tents and sailed away while others,

hidden within the horse,73 were waiting with Ulysses in the Trojan

place of assembly. For the Trojans themselves had drawn the horse into

their fortress, and it stood there while they sat in council round it,

and were in three minds as to what they should do. Some were for

breaking it up then and there; others would have it dragged to the top

of the rock on which the fortress stood, and then thrown down the

precipice; while yet others were for letting it remain as an offering

and propitiation for the gods. And this was how they settled it in the

end, for the city was doomed when it took in that horse, within which

were all the bravest of the Argives waiting to bring death and

destruction on the Trojans. Anon he sang how the sons of the Achaeans

issued from the horse, and sacked the town, breaking out from their

ambuscade. He sang how they overran the city hither and thither and

ravaged it, and how Ulysses went raging like Mars along with Menelaus

to the house of Deiphobus. It was there that the fight raged most

furiously, nevertheless by Minerva’s help he was victorious.



All this he told, but Ulysses was overcome as he heard him, and his

cheeks were wet with tears. He wept as a woman weeps when she throws

herself on the body of her husband who has fallen before his own city

and people, fighting bravely in defence of his home and children. She

screams aloud and flings her arms about him as he lies gasping for

breath and dying, but her enemies beat her from behind about the back

and shoulders, and carry her off into slavery, to a life of labour and

sorrow, and the beauty fades from her cheeks—even so piteously did

Ulysses weep, but none of those present perceived his tears except

Alcinous, who was sitting near him, and could hear the sobs and sighs

that he was heaving. The king, therefore, at once rose and said:



“Aldermen and town councillors of the Phaeacians, let Demodocus cease

his song, for there are those present who do not seem to like it. From

the moment that we had done supper and Demodocus began to sing, our

guest has been all the time groaning and lamenting. He is evidently in

great trouble, so let the bard leave off, that we may all enjoy

ourselves, hosts and guest alike. This will be much more as it should

be, for all these festivities, with the escort and the presents that we

are making with so much good will are wholly in his honour, and any one

with even a moderate amount of right feeling knows that he ought to

treat a guest and a suppliant as though he were his own brother.



“Therefore, Sir, do you on your part affect no more concealment nor

reserve in the matter about which I shall ask you; it will be more

polite in you to give me a plain answer; tell me the name by which your

father and mother over yonder used to call you, and by which you were

known among your neighbours and fellow-citizens. There is no one,

neither rich nor poor, who is absolutely without any name whatever, for

people’s fathers and mothers give them names as soon as they are born.

Tell me also your country, nation, and city, that our ships may shape

their purpose accordingly and take you there. For the Phaeacians have

no pilots; their vessels have no rudders as those of other nations

have, but the ships themselves understand what it is that we are

thinking about and want; they know all the cities and countries in the

whole world, and can traverse the sea just as well even when it is

covered with mist and cloud, so that there is no danger of being

wrecked or coming to any harm. Still I do remember hearing my father

say that Neptune was angry with us for being too easy-going in the

matter of giving people escorts. He said that one of these days he

should wreck a ship of ours as it was returning from having escorted

some one,74 and bury our city under a high mountain. This is what my

father used to say, but whether the god will carry out his threat or no

is a matter which he will decide for himself.



“And now, tell me and tell me true. Where have you been wandering, and

in what countries have you travelled? Tell us of the peoples

themselves, and of their cities—who were hostile, savage and

uncivilised, and who, on the other hand, hospitable and humane. Tell us

also why you are made so unhappy on hearing about the return of the

Argive Danaans from Troy. The gods arranged all this, and sent them

their misfortunes in order that future generations might have something

to sing about. Did you lose some brave kinsman of your wife’s when you

were before Troy? a son-in-law or father-in-law—which are the nearest

relations a man has outside his own flesh and blood? or was it some

brave and kindly-natured comrade—for a good friend is as dear to a man

as his own brother?”