THE MEETING BETWEEN NAUSICAA AND ULYSSES.





So here Ulysses slept, overcome by sleep and toil; but Minerva went off

to the country and city of the Phaeacians—a people who used to live in

the fair town of Hypereia, near the lawless Cyclopes. Now the Cyclopes

were stronger than they and plundered them, so their king Nausithous

moved them thence and settled them in Scheria, far from all other

people. He surrounded the city with a wall, built houses and temples,

and divided the lands among his people; but he was dead and gone to the

house of Hades, and King Alcinous, whose counsels were inspired of

heaven, was now reigning. To his house, then, did Minerva hie in

furtherance of the return of Ulysses.



She went straight to the beautifully decorated bedroom in which there

slept a girl who was as lovely as a goddess, Nausicaa, daughter to King

Alcinous. Two maid servants were sleeping near her, both very pretty,

one on either side of the doorway, which was closed with well made

folding doors. Minerva took the form of the famous sea captain Dymas’s

daughter, who was a bosom friend of Nausicaa and just her own age;

then, coming up to the girl’s bedside like a breath of wind, she

hovered over her head and said:



“Nausicaa, what can your mother have been about, to have such a lazy

daughter? Here are your clothes all lying in disorder, yet you are

going to be married almost immediately, and should not only be well

dressed yourself, but should find good clothes for those who attend

you. This is the way to get yourself a good name, and to make your

father and mother proud of you. Suppose, then, that we make tomorrow a

washing day, and start at daybreak. I will come and help you so that

you may have everything ready as soon as possible, for all the best

young men among your own people are courting you, and you are not going

to remain a maid much longer. Ask your father, therefore, to have a

waggon and mules ready for us at daybreak, to take the rugs, robes, and

girdles, and you can ride, too, which will be much pleasanter for you

than walking, for the washing-cisterns are some way from the town.”



When she had said this Minerva went away to Olympus, which they say is

the everlasting home of the gods. Here no wind beats roughly, and

neither rain nor snow can fall; but it abides in everlasting sunshine

and in a great peacefulness of light, wherein the blessed gods are

illumined for ever and ever. This was the place to which the goddess

went when she had given instructions to the girl.



By and by morning came and woke Nausicaa, who began wondering about her

dream; she therefore went to the other end of the house to tell her

father and mother all about it, and found them in their own room. Her

mother was sitting by the fireside spinning her purple yarn with her

maids around her, and she happened to catch her father just as he was

going out to attend a meeting of the town council, which the Phaeacian

aldermen had convened. She stopped him and said:



“Papa dear, could you manage to let me have a good big waggon? I want

to take all our dirty clothes to the river and wash them. You are the

chief man here, so it is only right that you should have a clean shirt

when you attend meetings of the council. Moreover, you have five sons

at home, two of them married, while the other three are good looking

bachelors; you know they always like to have clean linen when they go

to a dance, and I have been thinking about all this.”



She did not say a word about her own wedding, for she did not like to,

but her father knew and said, “You shall have the mules, my love, and

whatever else you have a mind for. Be off with you, and the men shall

get you a good strong waggon with a body to it that will hold all your

clothes.”



On this he gave his orders to the servants, who got the waggon out,

harnessed the mules, and put them to, while the girl brought the

clothes down from the linen room and placed them on the waggon. Her

mother prepared her a basket of provisions with all sorts of good

things, and a goat skin full of wine; the girl now got into the waggon,

and her mother gave her also a golden cruse of oil, that she and her

women might anoint themselves. Then she took the whip and reins and

lashed the mules on, whereon they set off, and their hoofs clattered on

the road. They pulled without flagging, and carried not only Nausicaa

and her wash of clothes, but the maids also who were with her.



When they reached the water side they went to the washing cisterns,

through which there ran at all times enough pure water to wash any

quantity of linen, no matter how dirty. Here they unharnessed the mules

and turned them out to feed on the sweet juicy herbage that grew by the

water side. They took the clothes out of the waggon, put them in the

water, and vied with one another in treading them in the pits to get

the dirt out. After they had washed them and got them quite clean, they

laid them out by the sea side, where the waves had raised a high beach

of shingle, and set about washing themselves and anointing themselves

with olive oil. Then they got their dinner by the side of the stream,

and waited for the sun to finish drying the clothes. When they had done

dinner they threw off the veils that covered their heads and began to

play at ball, while Nausicaa sang for them. As the huntress Diana goes

forth upon the mountains of Taygetus or Erymanthus to hunt wild boars

or deer, and the wood nymphs, daughters of Aegis-bearing Jove, take

their sport along with her (then is Leto proud at seeing her daughter

stand a full head taller than the others, and eclipse the loveliest

amid a whole bevy of beauties), even so did the girl outshine her

handmaids.



When it was time for them to start home, and they were folding the

clothes and putting them into the waggon, Minerva began to consider how

Ulysses should wake up and see the handsome girl who was to conduct him

to the city of the Phaeacians. The girl, therefore, threw a ball at one

of the maids, which missed her and fell into deep water. On this they

all shouted, and the noise they made woke Ulysses, who sat up in his

bed of leaves and began to wonder what it might all be.



“Alas,” said he to himself, “what kind of people have I come amongst?

Are they cruel, savage, and uncivilised, or hospitable and humane? I

seem to hear the voices of young women, and they sound like those of

the nymphs that haunt mountain tops, or springs of rivers and meadows

of green grass. At any rate I am among a race of men and women. Let me

try if I cannot manage to get a look at them.”



As he said this he crept from under his bush, and broke off a bough

covered with thick leaves to hide his nakedness. He looked like some

lion of the wilderness that stalks about exulting in his strength and

defying both wind and rain; his eyes glare as he prowls in quest of

oxen, sheep, or deer, for he is famished, and will dare break even into

a well fenced homestead, trying to get at the sheep—even such did

Ulysses seem to the young women, as he drew near to them all naked as

he was, for he was in great want. On seeing one so unkempt and so

begrimed with salt water, the others scampered off along the spits that

jutted out into the sea, but the daughter of Alcinous stood firm, for

Minerva put courage into her heart and took away all fear from her. She

stood right in front of Ulysses, and he doubted whether he should go up

to her, throw himself at her feet, and embrace her knees as a

suppliant, or stay where he was and entreat her to give him some

clothes and show him the way to the town. In the end he deemed it best

to entreat her from a distance in case the girl should take offence at

his coming near enough to clasp her knees, so he addressed her in

honeyed and persuasive language.



“O queen,” he said, “I implore your aid—but tell me, are you a goddess

or are you a mortal woman? If you are a goddess and dwell in heaven, I

can only conjecture that you are Jove’s daughter Diana, for your face

and figure resemble none but hers; if on the other hand you are a

mortal and live on earth, thrice happy are your father and

mother—thrice happy, too, are your brothers and sisters; how proud and

delighted they must feel when they see so fair a scion as yourself

going out to a dance; most happy, however, of all will he be whose

wedding gifts have been the richest, and who takes you to his own home.

I never yet saw any one so beautiful, neither man nor woman, and am

lost in admiration as I behold you. I can only compare you to a young

palm tree which I saw when I was at Delos growing near the altar of

Apollo—for I was there, too, with much people after me, when I was on

that journey which has been the source of all my troubles. Never yet

did such a young plant shoot out of the ground as that was, and I

admired and wondered at it exactly as I now admire and wonder at

yourself. I dare not clasp your knees, but I am in great distress;

yesterday made the twentieth day that I had been tossing about upon the

sea. The winds and waves have taken me all the way from the Ogygian

island,55 and now fate has flung me upon this coast that I may endure

still further suffering; for I do not think that I have yet come to the

end of it, but rather that heaven has still much evil in store for me.



“And now, O queen, have pity upon me, for you are the first person I

have met, and I know no one else in this country. Show me the way to

your town, and let me have anything that you may have brought hither to

wrap your clothes in. May heaven grant you in all things your heart’s

desire—husband, house, and a happy, peaceful home; for there is nothing

better in this world than that man and wife should be of one mind in a

house. It discomfits their enemies, makes the hearts of their friends

glad, and they themselves know more about it than any one.”



To this Nausicaa answered, “Stranger, you appear to be a sensible,

well-disposed person. There is no accounting for luck; Jove gives

prosperity to rich and poor just as he chooses, so you must take what

he has seen fit to send you, and make the best of it. Now, however,

that you have come to this our country, you shall not want for clothes

nor for anything else that a foreigner in distress may reasonably look

for. I will show you the way to the town, and will tell you the name of

our people; we are called Phaeacians, and I am daughter to Alcinous, in

whom the whole power of the state is vested.”



Then she called her maids and said, “Stay where you are, you girls. Can

you not see a man without running away from him? Do you take him for a

robber or a murderer? Neither he nor any one else can come here to do

us Phaeacians any harm, for we are dear to the gods, and live apart on

a land’s end that juts into the sounding sea, and have nothing to do

with any other people. This is only some poor man who has lost his way,

and we must be kind to him, for strangers and foreigners in distress

are under Jove’s protection, and will take what they can get and be

thankful; so, girls, give the poor fellow something to eat and drink,

and wash him in the stream at some place that is sheltered from the

wind.”



On this the maids left off running away and began calling one another

back. They made Ulysses sit down in the shelter as Nausicaa had told

them, and brought him a shirt and cloak. They also brought him the

little golden cruse of oil, and told him to go and wash in the stream.

But Ulysses said, “Young women, please to stand a little on one side

that I may wash the brine from my shoulders and anoint myself with oil,

for it is long enough since my skin has had a drop of oil upon it. I

cannot wash as long as you all keep standing there. I am ashamed to

strip56 before a number of good looking young women.”



Then they stood on one side and went to tell the girl, while Ulysses

washed himself in the stream and scrubbed the brine from his back and

from his broad shoulders. When he had thoroughly washed himself, and

had got the brine out of his hair, he anointed himself with oil, and

put on the clothes which the girl had given him; Minerva then made him

look taller and stronger than before, she also made the hair grow thick

on the top of his head, and flow down in curls like hyacinth blossoms;

she glorified him about the head and shoulders as a skilful workman who

has studied art of all kinds under Vulcan and Minerva enriches a piece

of silver plate by gilding it—and his work is full of beauty. Then he

went and sat down a little way off upon the beach, looking quite young

and handsome, and the girl gazed on him with admiration; then she said

to her maids:



“Hush, my dears, for I want to say something. I believe the gods who

live in heaven have sent this man to the Phaeacians. When I first saw

him I thought him plain, but now his appearance is like that of the

gods who dwell in heaven. I should like my future husband to be just

such another as he is, if he would only stay here and not want to go

away. However, give him something to eat and drink.”



They did as they were told, and set food before Ulysses, who ate and

drank ravenously, for it was long since he had had food of any kind.

Meanwhile, Nausicaa bethought her of another matter. She got the linen

folded and placed in the waggon, she then yoked the mules, and, as she

took her seat, she called Ulysses:



“Stranger,” said she, “rise and let us be going back to the town; I

will introduce you at the house of my excellent father, where I can

tell you that you will meet all the best people among the Phaeacians.

But be sure and do as I bid you, for you seem to be a sensible person.

As long as we are going past the fields and farm lands, follow briskly

behind the waggon along with the maids and I will lead the way myself.

Presently, however, we shall come to the town, where you will find a

high wall running all round it, and a good harbour on either side with

a narrow entrance into the city, and the ships will be drawn up by the

road side, for every one has a place where his own ship can lie. You

will see the market place with a temple of Neptune in the middle of it,

and paved with large stones bedded in the earth. Here people deal in

ship’s gear of all kinds, such as cables and sails, and here, too, are

the places where oars are made, for the Phaeacians are not a nation of

archers; they know nothing about bows and arrows, but are a sea-faring

folk, and pride themselves on their masts, oars, and ships, with which

they travel far over the sea.



“I am afraid of the gossip and scandal that may be set on foot against

me later on; for the people here are very ill-natured, and some low

fellow, if he met us, might say, ‘Who is this fine-looking stranger

that is going about with Nausicaa? Where did she find him? I suppose

she is going to marry him. Perhaps he is a vagabond sailor whom she has

taken from some foreign vessel, for we have no neighbours; or some god

has at last come down from heaven in answer to her prayers, and she is

going to live with him all the rest of her life. It would be a good

thing if she would take herself off and find a husband somewhere else,

for she will not look at one of the many excellent young Phaeacians who

are in love with her.’ This is the kind of disparaging remark that

would be made about me, and I could not complain, for I should myself

be scandalised at seeing any other girl do the like, and go about with

men in spite of everybody, while her father and mother were still

alive, and without having been married in the face of all the world.



“If, therefore, you want my father to give you an escort and to help

you home, do as I bid you; you will see a beautiful grove of poplars by

the road side dedicated to Minerva; it has a well in it and a meadow

all round it. Here my father has a field of rich garden ground, about

as far from the town as a man’s voice will carry. Sit down there and

wait for a while till the rest of us can get into the town and reach my

father’s house. Then, when you think we must have done this, come into

the town and ask the way to the house of my father Alcinous. You will

have no difficulty in finding it; any child will point it out to you,

for no one else in the whole town has anything like such a fine house

as he has. When you have got past the gates and through the outer

court, go right across the inner court till you come to my mother. You

will find her sitting by the fire and spinning her purple wool by

firelight. It is a fine sight to see her as she leans back against one

of the bearing-posts with her maids all ranged behind her. Close to her

seat stands that of my father, on which he sits and topes like an

immortal god. Never mind him, but go up to my mother, and lay your

hands upon her knees if you would get home quickly. If you can gain her

over, you may hope to see your own country again, no matter how distant

it may be.”



So saying she lashed the mules with her whip and they left the river.

The mules drew well, and their hoofs went up and down upon the road.

She was careful not to go too fast for Ulysses and the maids who were

following on foot along with the waggon, so she plied her whip with

judgement. As the sun was going down they came to the sacred grove of

Minerva, and there Ulysses sat down and prayed to the mighty daughter

of Jove.



“Hear me,” he cried, “daughter of Aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable, hear

me now, for you gave no heed to my prayers when Neptune was wrecking

me. Now, therefore, have pity upon me and grant that I may find friends

and be hospitably received by the Phaeacians.”



Thus did he pray, and Minerva heard his prayer, but she would not show

herself to him openly, for she was afraid of her uncle Neptune, who was

still furious in his endeavors to prevent Ulysses from getting home.