The Odyssey 1732 Studios

Ancient Greek · The Wanderings

Ὀδυσσείας λ

Book 11. The Book of the Dead: Odysseus Among the Shades

Odysseus sails to the edge of the world and calls up the dead: Tiresias, his mother, Agamemnon, Achilles, and the great sinners at their punishments.

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  1. 1

    But when we had come down to the ship and the sea,

    Metre

    αὐτὰρbutἀτάρ · particlesentence particle
    ἐπείwhenἐπεί · conjunctionsubordinating conjunction
    ῥ(then)ἄρα · particlesentence particle

    ῥα is a light connective particle, untranslatable, common in Homeric narrative flow.

    ἐπὶtoἐπί · prepositionpreposition
    νῆαshipναῦς · accusative singular feminine nounobject of ἠδὲ
    κατήλθομενwe came downκατέρχομαι · aorist active indicative, 1st plural verbadverbial to ἐπεί

    κατήλθομεν: aorist of κατέρχομαι, 'went down' — the compound κατά- marks descent from Circe's isle to shore.

    ἠδὲandἠδέ · conjunctioncoordinating word
    θάλασσανseaθάλασσα · accusative singular feminine nounobject of ἠδὲ
  2. 2

    first of all we dragged the ship down into the bright sea,

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    and set the mast and sails in the black ship,

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    and took the sheep and put them aboard, and ourselves too

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    embarked, grieving and shedding swelling tears.

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    And for us, behind the dark-prowed ship,

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    a fair following wind that filled the sail, a good companion,

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    was sent by fair-haired Circe, dread goddess with a human voice.

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    And we, when we had seen to each piece of tackle throughout the ship,

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    sat still; and the wind and the helmsman kept her straight.

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    All day long her sails were stretched as she crossed the deep;

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    then the sun set and all the ways grew dark.

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    She came to the bounds of deep-flowing Okeanos,

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    where lie the land and the city of the Cimmerian men,

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    wrapped in mist and cloud; never upon them

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    does the shining sun look down with his rays,

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    neither when he climbs toward the starry heaven,

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    nor when he turns back to earth from heaven,

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    but deadly night is stretched over those wretched mortals.

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    Coming there, we beached the ship, and the sheep

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    we took out; then we ourselves went along the stream of Okeanos

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    until we reached the place that Circe had told us of.

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    There Perimedes and Eurylochus held the victims,

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    while I drew the sharp sword from beside my thigh

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    and dug a pit, about a cubit each way,

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    and around it I poured a drink-offering to all the dead,

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    first with mixed honey and milk, then with sweet wine,

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    and a third time with water; and over it I sprinkled white barley meal.

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    And earnestly I prayed to the strengthless heads of the dead,

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    vowing that, when I came to Ithaca, a barren cow, the best I had,

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    I would sacrifice in my halls and heap the pyre with good things,

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    and that to Teiresias apart I would offer a sheep, one alone,

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    all black, the finest among my flocks.

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    When with prayers and entreaties I had besought the tribes of the dead,

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    I took the sheep and cut their throats

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    over the pit, and the dark blood flowed; and there gathered

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    the souls of the dead and departed, up out of Erebus.

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    Brides and unwed young men and toil-worn old men,

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    and tender maidens with grief fresh in their hearts,

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    and many pierced by bronze-tipped spears,

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    men slain in war, wearing armor stained with blood;

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    in throngs they flocked about the pit from every side,

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    with an eerie cry; and pale fear seized me.

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    Then at once I urged my companions and ordered them

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    to take the sheep that lay there, slaughtered by the pitiless bronze,

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    and flay them and burn them, and to pray to the gods,

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    to mighty Hades and dread Persephone;

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    and I myself, drawing the sharp sword from beside my thigh,

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    sat there, and would not let the strengthless heads of the dead

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    come near the blood before I had questioned Teiresias.

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    First came the soul of my companion Elpenor,

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    for he had not yet been buried beneath the wide-wayed earth;

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    his body we had left behind in Circe's hall,

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    unwept and unburied, since another task was pressing us.

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    When I saw him I wept and pitied him in my heart,

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    and I spoke to him and addressed him with winged words:

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    "Elpenor, how did you come beneath the murky gloom?

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    You have come on foot quicker than I in my black ship."

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    So I spoke, and he with a groan answered me:

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    "Zeus-born son of Laertes, resourceful Odysseus,

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    an evil doom from some god undid me, and measureless wine.

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    Lying down in Circe's hall, I did not think

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    to go back down again by the long ladder,

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    but fell straight from the roof; and my neck

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    was broken at the joint, and my soul went down to Hades.

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    Now I beseech you by those left behind, who are not here,

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    by your wife and your father, who reared you when you were little,

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    and by Telemachus, the only son you left in your halls:

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    for I know that, when you leave this house of Hades,

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    you will bring your well-built ship to the island of Aeaea.

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    There then, my lord, I beg you to remember me.

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    Do not, when you leave, go away and abandon me

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    turning aside from me, lest I become a cause of the gods' wrath against you,

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    but burn me with whatever armor is mine,

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    and heap up a tomb for me on the shore of the gray sea,

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    the grave of an unlucky man, for those yet to come to learn of.

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    Do these things for me, and fix on the mound the oar

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    with which I rowed in life among my companions."

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    So he spoke, and I answered him and said:

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    "These things, unhappy man, I will fulfill and do for you."

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    So we two sat exchanging grievous words,

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    I on the one side holding my sword over the blood,

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    while the phantom of my companion spoke much from the other side.

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    Then came up the soul of my dead mother,

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    Anticleia, daughter of great-hearted Autolycus,

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    whom I had left alive when I went to sacred Ilion.

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    When I saw her I wept and pitied her in my heart,

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    but even so, though I grieved sorely, I would not let her come first

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    near the blood before I had questioned Teiresias.

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    Then came up the soul of Theban Teiresias,

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    holding a golden staff; and he knew me and spoke:

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    "Zeus-born son of Laertes, resourceful Odysseus,

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    why now, unhappy man, leaving the light of the sun,

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    have you come to see the dead and this joyless place?

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    Stand back from the pit and hold off your sharp sword,

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    that I may drink of the blood and tell you the truth."

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    So he spoke, and I drew back and the silver-studded sword

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    thrust into its sheath. And when he had drunk the dark blood,

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    then at last the noble seer spoke to me with words:

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    "You seek a honey-sweet homecoming, glorious Odysseus,

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    but a god will make it hard for you; for I do not think

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    you will escape the Earth-shaker, who has set anger in his heart against you,

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    enraged because you blinded his dear son.

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    Yet even so, though suffering hardships, you may still reach home,

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    if you are willing to restrain your own heart and your companions',

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    when first you bring your well-built ship near

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    to the island of Thrinacia, escaping the violet sea,

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    and you find grazing there the cattle and sturdy sheep

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    of Helios, who sees all things and hears all things.

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    If you leave these unharmed and keep your mind on your homecoming,

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    then you may still reach Ithaca, though after much suffering;

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    but if you harm them, then I foretell ruin for you,

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    for your ship and your comrades. And even if you yourself escape,

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    you will come home late and in misery, having lost all your comrades,

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    aboard another man's ship; and you will find troubles in your house,

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    arrogant men who are devouring your livelihood,

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    courting your godlike wife and offering bridal gifts.

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    But you will surely avenge their violence when you come;

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    and after you have killed the suitors in your halls,

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    whether by guile or openly with sharp bronze,

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    then you must set out, taking a well-fitted oar,

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    until you reach men who know nothing of the sea

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    and eat no food mixed with salt;

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    they know nothing of ships with crimson cheeks,

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    nor of well-fitted oars, which are the wings of ships.

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    I will tell you a very clear sign, and it will not escape you:

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    when another wayfarer, meeting you,

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    says you have a winnowing-fan on your shining shoulder,

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    then plant the well-fitted oar in the earth,

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    and sacrifice fine offerings to lord Poseidon,

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    a ram, a bull, and a boar that mounts the sows,

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    and then go home and offer sacred hecatombs

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    to the immortal gods who hold the wide heaven,

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    to all in due order. And for you death will come from the sea,

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    a death so gentle, that will lay you low

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    worn out under sleek old age; and around you your people

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    will be prosperous. This is the truth I tell you.

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    So he spoke, and I answered him, saying:

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    "Teiresias, all this surely the gods themselves have spun.

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    But come, tell me this and recount it truly:

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    I see here the ghost of my dead mother;

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    she sits in silence near the blood, and has not dared

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    to look her own son in the face nor to speak to him.

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    Tell me, lord, how can she know me for who I am?"

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    So I spoke, and he at once answered me, saying:

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    "Easy is the word I will tell you and set in your mind.

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    Whichever of the dead departed you allow

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    to come near the blood will speak to you truly;

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    but whoever you refuse will go back again."

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    Having spoken so, the ghost went into the house of Hades,

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    the ghost of lord Teiresias, once he had told the decrees of fate;

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    but I stayed firmly there, until my mother

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    came and drank the dark-clouded blood; and at once she knew me,

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    and wailing she spoke winged words to me:

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    "My child, how did you come beneath the murky gloom

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    while still alive? Hard it is for the living to behold these things.

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    For in between are great rivers and dread streams,

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    Okeanos first of all, which there is no way to cross

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    on foot, unless one has a well-built ship.

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    Have you only now come here, wandering from Troy

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    with your ship and comrades, after long time? Have you not yet come

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    to Ithaca, nor seen your wife in your halls?"

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    So she spoke, and I answered her, saying:

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    "My mother, need brought me down to Hades

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    to consult the ghost of Theban Teiresias.

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    For not yet have I come near Achaea, nor yet

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    set foot on my own land, but always wander in misery,

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    from the very first, when I followed godlike Agamemnon

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    to Ilion of the fine horses, to fight against the Trojans.

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    But come, tell me this and recount it truly:

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    what doom of grievous death overcame you?

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    Was it a long illness, or did Artemis the archer

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    come upon you with her gentle arrows and slay you?

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    Tell me too of my father and of the son I left behind,

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    whether my honor still rests with them, or whether some

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    other man already holds it, and they say I will return no more.

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    Tell me too of my wedded wife, her purpose and her mind,

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    whether she stays with our son and keeps all secure,

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    or whether some best man of the Achaeans has already married her."

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    So I spoke, and at once my honored mother answered:

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    "Indeed she stays with enduring heart

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    in your halls; and ever wretchedly for her

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    the nights and days waste away as she sheds tears.

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    No one yet holds your fine honor, but in peace

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    Telemachus tends the estates and shares in equal feasts,

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    the banquets it befits a man who deals justice to attend,

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    for all invite him. But your father stays out there

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    in the country, and does not come down to town. He has no bed,

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    no bedstead, no cloaks, no glossy coverlets,

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    but in winter he sleeps where the servants do in the house,

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    in the dust beside the fire, and wears poor clothes upon his body;

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    but when summer comes and the rich autumn,

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    everywhere along the slope of his vineyard ground

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    low beds of fallen leaves are strewn for him.

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    There he lies grieving, and the great sorrow swells in his heart

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    as he longs for your return, and harsh old age comes upon him.

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    For so I too perished and met my doom:

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    it was not the keen-eyed archer goddess who in my halls

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    came upon me with her gentle arrows and slew me,

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    nor did any illness come over me, the kind that most often

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    with hateful wasting takes the spirit from the limbs;

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    but longing for you, and your counsels, glorious Odysseus,

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    and your tenderness, took my honey-sweet life away."

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    So she spoke, and I, pondering in my heart, longed

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    to clasp the ghost of my dead mother.

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    Three times I rushed forward, and my heart urged me to clasp her,

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    but three times she flew from my hands, like a shadow or a dream,

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    and the sharp grief grew the more within my heart,

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    and I spoke winged words to her:

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    "My mother, why do you not stay for me, who long to hold you,

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    so that even in Hades, throwing our dear arms around each other,

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    we might both take our fill of chilling lament?

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    Or is this only a phantom that majestic Persephone

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    has sent me, so that I may groan and grieve still more?"

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    So I spoke, and at once my honored mother answered:

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    "Ah me, my child, most ill-fated of all men,

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    it is not Persephone, daughter of Zeus, who deceives you,

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    but this is the way of mortals when one of them dies:

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    for the sinews no longer hold the flesh and the bones,

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    but the mighty force of blazing fire

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    subdues them, once the spirit first leaves the white bones,

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    and the soul flits away like a dream and is gone, fluttering off.

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    But long for the light with all speed; and all these things

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    know, so that hereafter you may tell them to your wife.

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    So the two of us went on exchanging words, and the women

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    came, for noble Persephone urged them on,

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    all those who had been the wives and daughters of great men.

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    They gathered in a throng about the dark blood,

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    while I was planning how I might question each of them.

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    And this seemed to my mind the best plan:

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    drawing the long-edged sword from beside my stout thigh,

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    I would not let them all drink the dark blood at once.

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    So they came forward one after another, and each

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    declared her lineage; and I questioned them all.

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    There first I saw Tyro, born of a noble father,

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    who said she was the daughter of blameless Salmoneus,

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    and said she was the wife of Cretheus, son of Aeolus.

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    She fell in love with the river, divine Enipeus,

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    who is by far the fairest of rivers that flow upon the earth,

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    and she would often haunt the beautiful streams of Enipeus.

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    Taking his shape, the earth-holder, the earth-shaker,

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    lay with her at the outpourings of the eddying river.

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    A dark wave stood arched around them, high as a mountain,

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    curving over, and it hid the god and the mortal woman.

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    He loosed her maiden girdle and poured sleep upon her.

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    But when the god had finished the work of love,

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    he clasped her hand, spoke a word, and called her by name:

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    "Rejoice, woman, in this love; and as the year comes round

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    you will bear splendid children, for the beds of the immortals

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    are not barren; and you must nurse and rear them.

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    But now go to your house, and hold back, and name no name;

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    but know that I am Poseidon, the earth-shaker."

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    So saying, he plunged beneath the surging sea.

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    And she conceived and bore Pelias and Neleus,

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    who both became mighty servants of great Zeus,

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    the two of them: Pelias in spacious Iolcus

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    dwelt, rich in flocks, and the other in sandy Pylos.

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    The rest she bore to Cretheus, that queen among women:

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    Aeson and Pheres and Amythaon, who delights in chariots.

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    After her I saw Antiope, daughter of Asopus,

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    who boasted that she had slept in the very arms of Zeus,

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    and she bore two sons, Amphion and Zethus,

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    who first founded the seat of seven-gated Thebes

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    and walled it, since they could not, for all their strength,

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    dwell in spacious Thebes unwalled, mighty though they were.

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    After her I saw Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon,

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    who bore Heracles, bold in spirit, lion-hearted,

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    after she lay in the arms of great Zeus.

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    And Megara, daughter of proud-hearted Creon,

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    whom the son of Amphitryon held, ever unwearied in strength.

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    And I saw the mother of Oedipus, fair Epicaste,

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    who did a monstrous thing in the blindness of her mind,

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    marrying her own son; and he, having killed his father,

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    married her; and at once the gods made it known to mortals.

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    Yet he, suffering pains in lovely Thebes,

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    ruled the Cadmeans through the gods' deadly designs;

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    but she went down to the house of Hades, the strong gatekeeper,

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    having fastened a sheer noose from the high rafter,

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    gripped by her grief; and to him she left sorrows behind,

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    very many, all that a mother's Furies bring to pass.

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    And I saw beautiful Chloris, whom once Neleus

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    married for her beauty, after he gave countless bridal gifts,

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    the youngest daughter of Amphion son of Iasus,

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    who once ruled mightily in Minyan Orchomenus.

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    She was queen of Pylos, and bore him splendid children,

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    Nestor and Chromius and lordly Periclymenus.

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    And besides them she bore mighty Pero, a wonder to mortals,

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    whom all the neighbors wooed; but Neleus

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    would give her to no man who did not drive off the curved-horned,

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    broad-browed cattle from Phylace, those of mighty Iphicles,

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    hard to take; these alone a blameless seer undertook

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    to drive away; but the harsh fate of the god bound him fast,

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    with grievous bonds and the rustic herdsmen.

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    But when at last the months and the days were fulfilled,

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    as the year came round again and the seasons returned,

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    then mighty Iphicles set him free,

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    once he had told all the oracles; and the will of Zeus was fulfilled.

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    And I saw Leda, the bedmate of Tyndareus,

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    who bore to Tyndareus two stout-hearted sons,

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    Castor tamer of horses and Polydeuces, good with his fists.

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    Both of them the life-giving earth holds, though alive,

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    who even beneath the earth, holding honor from Zeus,

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    live one day at a time, and at another

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    are dead; and they have won honor equal to the gods.

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    After her I saw Iphimedeia, the bedmate of Aloeus,

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    who claimed that she had lain with Poseidon,

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    and she bore two sons, but they were short-lived,

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    godlike Otus and far-famed Ephialtes,

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    whom the grain-giving earth reared to be the tallest

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    and by far the fairest, after famous Orion;

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    for at nine years old they were nine cubits

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    in breadth, and in height the two of them grew nine fathoms.

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    These two even threatened the immortals on Olympus

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    to raise the din of furious war.

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    They strove to set Ossa on Olympus, and on Ossa

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    leaf-shaking Pelion, that heaven might be scaled.

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    And they would have done it, had they reached the measure of youth;

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    but the son of Zeus, whom fair-haired Leto bore, destroyed

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    them both, before the down beneath their temples

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    could bloom and thicken their cheeks with flowering beard.

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    Phaedra and Procris I saw, and fair Ariadne,

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    daughter of malign-minded Minos, whom once Theseus

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    from Crete toward the hill of sacred Athens

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    tried to bring, but had no joy of her; for first Artemis killed her

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    in sea-girt Dia, on the testimony of Dionysus.

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    Maera and Clymene I saw, and hateful Eriphyle,

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    who took precious gold as the price of her own husband.

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    But I could not name or recount them all,

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    as many as the wives and daughters of heroes I saw;

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    before that, the immortal night would wane. But it is time

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    to sleep, whether after going to the swift ship and my comrades

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    or staying here; my escort shall be the gods' concern and yours.

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    So he spoke, and they all fell hushed in silence,

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    and they were held spellbound throughout the shadowy halls.

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    Among them white-armed Arete was the first to speak:

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    "Phaeacians, how does this man seem to you to be,

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    in looks and stature and the well-balanced mind within?

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    He is my own guest, yet each of you has a share in the honor.

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    So do not be hasty to send him off, nor cut short the gifts

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    for one in such need; for many are the

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    treasures that lie in your halls by the will of the gods."

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    Then the old hero Echeneus spoke among them too,

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    who was the eldest of the Phaeacian men:

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    "Friends, surely not wide of the mark nor of our own judgment

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    does our wise queen speak; so be persuaded.

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    Yet on Alcinous here the deed and the word depend."

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    Then in answer Alcinous spoke to him:

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    "This word shall indeed be so, as surely as I

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    live and rule over the oar-loving Phaeacians.

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    But let the stranger, however much he longs for his homecoming,

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    still endure to wait until tomorrow, until I complete

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    the whole gift; and his escort shall be the men's concern,

  353. 353

    all of them, and mine above all; for the power in this land is mine."

  354. 354

    Then resourceful Odysseus answered him and said:

  355. 355

    "Lord Alcinous, most renowned of all people,

  356. 356

    even if you bade me wait here a full year,

  357. 357

    and urged on my escort and gave me splendid gifts,

  358. 358

    I would even wish for that, and it would be far more profitable,

  359. 359

    to reach my dear homeland with a fuller hand;

  360. 360

    and I would be more respected and more dear to all men

  361. 361

    who should see me come home to Ithaca."

  362. 362

    Then in answer Alcinous spoke to him and said:

  363. 363

    "Odysseus, as we look at you we judge you in no way

  364. 364

    to be a deceiver and a cheat, such as the black earth

  365. 365

    breeds in great numbers, men scattered far and wide,

  366. 366

    framing lies out of things no one could ever see.

  367. 367

    But upon you is grace of words, and good sense within.

  368. 368

    You have told your tale skillfully, like a bard,

  369. 369

    the grievous sorrows of all the Argives and of yourself.

  370. 370

    But come, tell me this and recount it truly:

  371. 371

    did you see any of your godlike comrades, who along with you

  372. 372

    followed to Ilium and there met their doom?

  373. 373

    This night is very long, beyond telling; and it is not yet the hour

  374. 374

    to sleep in the hall, so tell me of these marvelous deeds.

  375. 375

    I could hold out even until the bright dawn, if you

  376. 376

    would bear to tell me of your sorrows here in the hall."

  377. 377

    Then resourceful Odysseus answered him and said:

  378. 378

    "Lord Alcinous, most renowned of all people,

  379. 379

    there is a time for many tales, and a time also for sleep.

  380. 380

    But if you still long to listen, I would not

  381. 381

    grudge you these things, nor telling of others more pitiful still,

  382. 382

    the sorrows of my comrades, who perished afterward,

  383. 383

    who escaped the grievous war-cry of the Trojans

  384. 384

    but died on their homecoming by the will of an evil woman.

  385. 385

    Now after holy Persephone had scattered this way and that

  386. 386

    the spirits of the women,

  387. 387

    there came the spirit of Agamemnon, son of Atreus,

  388. 388

    grieving; and round him were gathered the others, all who with him

  389. 389

    died in the house of Aegisthus and met their doom.

  390. 390

    He knew me at once, when he had drunk the dark blood;

  391. 391

    he wept shrilly, letting fall big tears,

  392. 392

    stretching his hands toward me, eager to embrace me;

  393. 393

    but no longer was there firm strength in him, nor any vigor,

  394. 394

    such as once was in his supple limbs.

  395. 395

    When I saw him I wept and pitied him in my heart,

  396. 396

    and speaking to him I addressed winged words:

  397. 397

    "Most glorious son of Atreus, Agamemnon, lord of men,

  398. 398

    what doom of death that lays men low brought you down?

  399. 399

    Did Poseidon overcome you among your ships,

  400. 400

    rousing the cruel blast of grievous winds?

  401. 401

    Or did hostile men do you harm on dry land

  402. 402

    as you cut off their cattle and fine flocks of sheep,

  403. 403

    or while fighting for their city and their women?"

  404. 404

    So I spoke, and at once he answered me and said:

  405. 405

    "Zeus-born son of Laertes, resourceful Odysseus,

  406. 406

    Poseidon did not overcome me among my ships,

  407. 407

    rousing the cruel blast of grievous winds,

  408. 408

    nor did hostile men do me harm on dry land,

  409. 409

    but Aegisthus, contriving my death and doom,

  410. 410

    killed me with the help of my accursed wife, after he had called me home,

  411. 411

    and feasted me, as one slaughters an ox at the manger.

  412. 412

    So I died by a most pitiful death; and around me my other comrades

  413. 413

    were slain without pause, like white-tusked swine,

  414. 414

    such as are killed in the house of a rich and powerful man

  415. 415

    for a wedding, or a feast, or a lavish banquet.

  416. 416

    You have come upon the slaughter of many men before,

  417. 417

    killed in single combat and in the fierce press of battle;

  418. 418

    but you would have grieved most in your heart to see that,

  419. 419

    how around the mixing-bowl and the laden tables

  420. 420

    we lay in the hall, and the whole floor steamed with blood.

  421. 421

    And I heard the most piteous cry of Priam's daughter,

  422. 422

    Cassandra, whom guileful Clytemnestra was killing

  423. 423

    over me, while I, raising my hands toward the ground,

  424. 424

    let them fall, dying, upon the sword; and she, the dog-faced one,

  425. 425

    turned away, and did not bear, though I was going down to Hades,

  426. 426

    to close my eyes with her hands or to shut my mouth.

  427. 427

    So there is nothing more dreadful or more shameless than a woman

  428. 428

    who sets her mind on deeds like these,

  429. 429

    as that one too devised a monstrous deed,

  430. 430

    contriving murder for her wedded husband. Truly I thought

  431. 431

    I would come home welcome to my children and my servants;

  432. 432

    but she, with her thoughts set on utter ruin,

  433. 433

    poured shame upon herself and on the women yet to come hereafter,

  434. 434

    even on one who is virtuous."

  435. 435

    So he spoke, and in answer I said to him:

  436. 436

    "Ah, surely far-thundering Zeus has indeed hated the line of Atreus

  437. 437

    terribly, through the counsels of women,

  438. 438

    from the beginning. For Helen's sake many of us perished,

  439. 439

    and against you Clytemnestra wove her treachery while you were far away."

  440. 440

    So I spoke, and at once he answered me and said:

  441. 441

    So now never be too gentle, even toward your own wife.

  442. 442

    Do not reveal to her the whole of what you well know,

  443. 443

    but tell her one part, and keep the other hidden.

  444. 444

    Yet for you, Odysseus, there will be no murder at your wife's hands;

  445. 445

    for she is far too sensible, and her heart knows good counsel,

  446. 446

    the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope.

  447. 447

    Truly we left her a young bride

  448. 448

    when we set out for the war; and she had a boy at the breast,

  449. 449

    an infant, who by now no doubt sits among the ranks of men,

  450. 450

    blessed; for surely his dear father will see him when he comes,

  451. 451

    and he will embrace his father, as is right.

  452. 452

    But my wife did not let me fill even my eyes

  453. 453

    with the sight of my son; before that she killed me, his father.

  454. 454

    And another thing I will tell you, and lay it up in your heart:

  455. 455

    in secret, not openly, to your dear native land

  456. 456

    bring your ship to shore; for women are no longer to be trusted.

  457. 457

    But come, tell me this, and recount it truly:

  458. 458

    have you perhaps heard that my son is still living,

  459. 459

    somewhere in Orchomenos, or in sandy Pylos,

  460. 460

    or perhaps with Menelaus in broad Sparta?

  461. 461

    For noble Orestes has not yet died upon the earth.

  462. 462

    So he spoke, and I answered him and said:

  463. 463

    Son of Atreus, why do you ask me this? I have no idea

  464. 464

    whether he lives or is dead; and it is a bad thing to speak empty words.

  465. 465

    So the two of us stood exchanging these grievous words,

  466. 466

    grieving, shedding warm tears down our cheeks;

  467. 467

    and there came up the ghost of Achilles, son of Peleus,

  468. 468

    and of Patroclus, and of blameless Antilochus,

  469. 469

    and of Ajax, who was the best in form and stature

  470. 470

    of all the other Danaans after the blameless son of Peleus.

  471. 471

    The ghost of the swift-footed grandson of Aeacus knew me,

  472. 472

    and with lamentation she spoke to me winged words:

  473. 473

    Zeus-born son of Laertes, resourceful Odysseus,

  474. 474

    rash man, what greater deed than this will you plot in your heart?

  475. 475

    How did you dare to come down to Hades, where the dead

  476. 476

    dwell without sense, the phantoms of mortals worn out by toil?

  477. 477

    So she spoke, and I answered her and said:

  478. 478

    Achilles, son of Peleus, far the mightiest of the Achaeans,

  479. 479

    I came after Teiresias, in need of some counsel

  480. 480

    that he might tell me, how I might reach rugged Ithaca;

  481. 481

    for I have not yet come near the land of Achaea, nor have I set foot

  482. 482

    on my own ground, but always I have troubles. But you, Achilles,

  483. 483

    no man before was more blessed, nor will any be hereafter.

  484. 484

    For before, while you lived, we honored you like the gods,

  485. 485

    we Argives; and now you rule with great power among the dead,

  486. 486

    being here. So do not grieve at all that you are dead, Achilles.

  487. 487

    So I spoke, and at once he answered me and said:

  488. 488

    Do not try to console me about death, glorious Odysseus.

  489. 489

    I would rather be on the land, a hired hand serving another,

  490. 490

    beside a man with no allotment of land, whose living was not great,

  491. 491

    than to be king over all the perished dead.

  492. 492

    But come, tell me word of my noble son,

  493. 493

    whether he followed to the war to be a champion, or not.

  494. 494

    And tell me of blameless Peleus, if you have heard anything,

  495. 495

    whether he still holds his honor among the many Myrmidons,

  496. 496

    or whether they dishonor him throughout Hellas and Phthia,

  497. 497

    because old age holds him fast, in hands and feet.

  498. 498

    For I am no helper to him under the rays of the sun,

  499. 499

    being such as I once was on the broad plain of Troy,

  500. 500

    when I slew the best of the host, defending the Argives.

  501. 501

    If, being such, I could come even for a little while to my father's house,

  502. 502

    then I would make my strength and my invincible hands hateful

  503. 503

    to any who do him violence and bar him from his honor.

  504. 504

    So he spoke, and I answered him and said:

  505. 505

    Truly of blameless Peleus I have heard nothing,

  506. 506

    but of your dear son Neoptolemus

  507. 507

    I will tell you the whole truth, as you bid me.

  508. 508

    For I myself, in my hollow, balanced ship,

  509. 509

    brought him from Scyros to join the well-greaved Achaeans.

  510. 510

    Indeed, whenever we took counsel around the city of Troy,

  511. 511

    he always spoke first and never missed the mark in his words;

  512. 512

    godlike Nestor and I alone would surpass him.

  513. 513

    But whenever we fought with the bronze on the Trojan plain,

  514. 514

    he never stayed back in the press of men or in the throng,

  515. 515

    but ran far out in front, yielding to no one in his fury,

  516. 516

    and he slew many men in the dread carnage of battle.

  517. 517

    I could not tell or name them all,

  518. 518

    all the host he slew while defending the Argives,

  519. 519

    but only how he cut down with the bronze the son of Telephus,

  520. 520

    the hero Eurypylus; and many comrades around him,

  521. 521

    the Ceteians, were slain for the sake of a woman's gifts.

  522. 522

    He was the most handsome man I saw, after noble Memnon.

  523. 523

    And when we climbed into the horse that Epeius made,

  524. 524

    the best of the Argives, and to me everything was entrusted,

  525. 525

    both to open the close-packed ambush and to shut it,

  526. 526

    there the other leaders and counselors of the Danaans

  527. 527

    kept wiping away tears, and the limbs of each one trembled;

  528. 528

    but him I never once saw with my eyes

  529. 529

    turn his fair skin pale, nor from his cheeks

  530. 530

    wipe away a tear; rather he kept earnestly begging

  531. 531

    to be let out of the horse, and gripped the hilt of his sword

  532. 532

    and his bronze-heavy spear, eager to bring evil on the Trojans.

  533. 533

    But when we had sacked the steep city of Priam,

  534. 534

    he went aboard his ship with his share and a noble prize,

  535. 535

    unscathed, neither struck by the sharp bronze

  536. 536

    nor wounded in close combat, such as often

  537. 537

    happens in war; for Ares rages indiscriminately.

  538. 538

    So I spoke, and the ghost of the swift-footed grandson of Aeacus

  539. 539

    went striding away with long steps across the field of asphodel,

  540. 540

    rejoicing, because I had told him his son was preeminent.

  541. 541

    But the other ghosts of the dead who had perished

  542. 542

    stood there grieving, and each asked about her own cares.

  543. 543

    Only the ghost of Ajax, son of Telamon,

  544. 544

    stood apart, far off, still angry over the victory

  545. 545

    in which I had beaten him, when judgment was given by the ships

  546. 546

    over the arms of Achilles; his lady mother had set them as the prize.

  547. 547

    The sons of the Trojans gave judgment, and Pallas Athena.

  548. 548

    Would that I had never won in such a contest,

  549. 549

    for over such a head the earth closed because of those arms —

  550. 550

    Ajax, who in form and in deeds was foremost

  551. 551

    of the other Danaans, after the noble son of Peleus.

  552. 552

    Him I addressed with gentle, soothing words:

  553. 553

    "Ajax, son of noble Telamon, were you not even then

  554. 554

    going, even in death, to set aside your anger against me over those accursed

  555. 555

    arms? The gods set them as a ruin for the Argives,

  556. 556

    for in you such a tower of strength was lost. And we Achaeans

  557. 557

    grieve for you, equal to the head of Achilles, son of Peleus,

  558. 558

    now that you are dead, grieve without end. No one else

  559. 559

    is to blame, but Zeus, who against the host of Danaan spearmen

  560. 560

    raged with terrible hatred, and on you he laid this doom.

  561. 561

    But come here, lord, so you may hear my word and speech,

  562. 562

    ours; and master your fury and your proud spirit."

  563. 563

    So I spoke, but he answered me nothing and went off after the other

  564. 564

    ghosts into Erebus, among the dead who have perished.

  565. 565

    There, angry as he was, he might still have spoken to me, or I to him,

  566. 566

    but the heart within my own breast wished

  567. 567

    to see the ghosts of the other dead who have perished.

  568. 568

    There indeed I saw Minos, the glorious son of Zeus,

  569. 569

    holding a golden scepter, giving judgment to the dead,

  570. 570

    seated, while the dead asked their cases of the lord,

  571. 571

    some seated, some standing, throughout the wide-gated house of Hades.

  572. 572

    After him I caught sight of monstrous Orion,

  573. 573

    herding wild beasts together across the meadow of asphodel,

  574. 574

    the same beasts he himself had killed in the lonely mountains,

  575. 575

    holding in his hands a club all of bronze, forever unbroken.

  576. 576

    And I saw Tityus, son of glorious Earth,

  577. 577

    lying on the ground. He stretched over nine acres,

  578. 578

    and two vultures, sitting on either side, tore at his liver,

  579. 579

    plunging into his belly, and he could not beat them off with his hands.

  580. 580

    For he had assaulted Leto, the honored consort of Zeus,

  581. 581

    as she went to Pytho through Panopeus of the lovely dancing-grounds.

  582. 582

    And indeed I saw Tantalus suffering harsh torments,

  583. 583

    standing in a pool; the water lapped against his chin.

  584. 584

    He strained, parched with thirst, but could take nothing to drink,

  585. 585

    for as often as the old man stooped, longing to drink,

  586. 586

    so often the water would vanish, swallowed away, and around his feet

  587. 587

    the black earth would show, and a god would dry it up.

  588. 588

    And tall, leafy trees poured down their fruit from above,

  589. 589

    pears and pomegranates and apples with their shining fruit,

  590. 590

    and sweet figs and flourishing olives.

  591. 591

    But whenever the old man reached out his hands to grasp them,

  592. 592

    the wind would toss them up toward the shadowy clouds.

  593. 593

    And indeed I saw Sisyphus suffering harsh torments,

  594. 594

    heaving a monstrous boulder with both his hands.

  595. 595

    Truly, bracing himself with hands and feet,

  596. 596

    he kept thrusting the stone up toward a crest; but whenever he was about

  597. 597

    to heave it over the summit, then its weight would turn it back,

  598. 598

    and once more down to the plain the shameless stone rolled.

  599. 599

    But he would strain and shove it back again, and the sweat

  600. 600

    poured from his limbs, and dust rose up from his head.

  601. 601

    After him I caught sight of the mighty strength of Heracles,

  602. 602

    his phantom; for he himself, among the immortal gods,

  603. 603

    takes his delight at feasts and has lovely-ankled Hebe,

  604. 604

    the daughter of great Zeus and of golden-sandaled Hera.

  605. 605

    Around him rose the clamor of the dead, like that of birds,

  606. 606

    scattering in panic on all sides; and he, like dark night,

  607. 607

    holding his bow bare and an arrow on the string,

  608. 608

    glaring terribly, forever like one about to shoot.

  609. 609

    Dreadful around his breast was the baldric,

  610. 610

    a golden strap, on which marvelous works were wrought:

  611. 611

    bears and wild boars and lions with gleaming eyes,

  612. 612

    and combats and battles and slaughters and killings of men.

  613. 613

    May he never craft another such work,

  614. 614

    whoever stored away such skill in that baldric.

  615. 615

    And he in turn knew me, once he saw me with his eyes,

  616. 616

    and grieving he addressed to me winged words:

  617. 617

    "Zeus-born son of Laertes, resourceful Odysseus,

  618. 618

    ah, wretched man, do you too drag out some evil fate,

  619. 619

    such as I myself endured beneath the rays of the sun?

  620. 620

    I was the son of Zeus, son of Cronus, yet misery

  621. 621

    I had without end; for to a far meaner man

  622. 622

    I was made subject, and he laid grievous labors on me.

  623. 623

    Once he even sent me here to fetch the hound; for he thought no other

  624. 624

    labor could be harder for me than this.

  625. 625

    But that one I carried up and led out of Hades,

  626. 626

    for Hermes guided me, and bright-eyed Athena."

  627. 627

    So saying, he went back again into the house of Hades,

  628. 628

    but I stayed firmly there, in case any other should still come,

  629. 629

    of the men who were heroes, who perished in time before.

  630. 630

    And now I would have seen still earlier men, whom I longed to see,

  631. 631

    Theseus and Peirithous, glorious children of the gods.

  632. 632

    But before that, countless tribes of the dead gathered around me

  633. 633

    with an unearthly clamor; and pale fear seized me,

  634. 634

    lest dread Persephone send up against me the Gorgon's head

  635. 635

    of that terrible monster, out of Hades, the august Persephone.

  636. 636

    At once then, going to the ship, I ordered my companions

  637. 637

    to climb aboard themselves and to loose the stern cables.

  638. 638

    And quickly they embarked and sat down at the oar-locks.

  639. 639

    Then the swell of the current carried the ship down the river Ocean,

  640. 640

    first by rowing, and afterward by a fair following wind.

The particulars

The text
Ὀδύσσεια, Homer. The Wanderings.
Translation
Public-domain Greek (Homer, ancient; text via the Perseus Digital Library). English translation © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC.
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Two whoopie pies and a pine. An inside joke.