Ancient Greek · The Homecoming

Ὀδυσσείας ξ

Book 14. At the Hut of Eumaeus the Swineherd

The beggar goes to the hut of Eumaeus the swineherd, who feeds him and tells him the suitors are eating the house bare.

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But he went up from the harbor along the rough track
Metre
αὐτὰρὁἐκλιμένος‖προσέβητρηχεῖανἀταρπὸν
αὐτὰρbutἀτάρ · particlesentence particle
ὁheὁ · nominative singular masculine pronounsubject of προσέβη
ἐκfromἐκ · prepositionpreposition
λιμένοςthe harborλιμήν · genitive singular masculine nounadverbial to ἐκ
προσέβηwent upπροσβαίνω · aorist active indicative, 3rd singular verbmain verb
προσβαίνω 'go toward/up'; aorist marks the completed climb from the shore.
τρηχεῖανroughτραχύς · accusative singular feminine adjectivemodifies ἀταρπὸν
ἀταρπὸνtrackἀτραπός · accusative singular feminine nounobject of προσέβη
ἀτραπός is feminine despite the -ον ending, hence feminine adjective τρηχεῖαν agreeing with it.
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through the wooded country, across the heights, to where Athena
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had told him the noble swineherd was, who cared for his master's living
WordNoble swineherd Homer dignifies the lowly swineherd Eumaeus with the epithet 'noble' (dios), normally reserved for heroes. This marks him as a man of true worth despite his station.
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most of all the household servants whom noble Odysseus had won.
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He found him sitting in the front porch, where his courtyard
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had been built high, on a site with a view all around,
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both fair and large, with a clear run around it; this the swineherd
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had built himself for the swine, while his master was away,
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apart from his mistress and the old man Laertes,
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with quarried stones, and topped it with a coping of wild pear.
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Outside he drove a line of stakes the whole way round, this side and that,
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set thick and close, splitting the dark heart of the oak.
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Inside the courtyard he made twelve sties,
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close to one another, beds for the swine; and in each
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fifty pigs that sleep on the ground were penned,
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breeding sows; but the boars slept outside,
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far fewer in number, for the godlike suitors
GrammarIterative imperfect The form minytheskon uses the -sk- suffix to mark repeated, habitual action in past time: the suitors kept dwindling the herd by eating it day after day.
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kept dwindling them by eating, since the swineherd had to send
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always the best of all the fattened hogs;
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and these came to three hundred and sixty in all.
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Beside them dogs, like wild beasts, slept always,
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four of them, which the swineherd had reared, that leader of men.
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He himself was fitting sandals to his feet,
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cutting an ox hide of good color; and the others,
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they had gone off, each his own way, with the gathered swine,
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the three of them; the fourth he had sent away to the city
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to bring a hog for the overbearing suitors under compulsion,
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so that they might sacrifice it and glut their hearts with meat.
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Suddenly the baying dogs caught sight of Odysseus.
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Yelping they rushed at him; but Odysseus
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sat down in his cunning, and the staff fell from his hand.
WordCunning instinct Kerdosyne, 'shrewdness, cunning,' captures Odysseus's signature wit even in a small reflex: dogs are less likely to attack a man who sits and lowers himself.
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There by his own farmstead he would have suffered shameful hurt,
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but the swineherd, quick on his nimble feet, came after them
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and dashed out through the gateway, and the hide fell from his hand.
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With a shout he scattered the dogs, this way and that,
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with a hail of stones; then he spoke to his master:
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"Old man, the dogs nearly tore you to pieces
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in a moment, and you would have poured shame upon me.
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The gods have given me other sorrows and groans besides;
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for grieving and mourning over my godlike master
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I sit here, and rear fat swine for others
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to eat; while he, longing perhaps for food,
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wanders over the land and city of men of strange speech,
WordForeign-tongued Allothroon, literally 'speaking otherwise,' marks foreigners by their unfamiliar language, a recurring Homeric way of describing the alien lands of Odysseus's wanderings.
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if indeed he still lives and sees the light of the sun.
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But follow me, let us go to the hut, old man, so that you too,
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having filled your heart with food and wine,
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may tell where you are from and how many troubles you have endured."
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So speaking, the noble swineherd led the way to the hut,
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brought him in and seated him, and spread out thick brushwood,
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and laid on it the hide of a shaggy wild goat,
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his own bedding, great and thick. And Odysseus rejoiced
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that he received him so, and spoke a word and addressed him:
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"May Zeus grant you, stranger, and the other immortal gods,
GrammarOptative of wish Doie is an aorist optative expressing a wish or prayer: 'may Zeus grant.' The optative is the Greek mood for what one hopes or wishes might happen.
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whatever you most desire, since you have welcomed me with a willing heart."
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Then in answer you spoke to him, Eumaeus the swineherd:
GrammarApostrophe to Eumaeus The poet turns to address Eumaeus directly in the second person ('you spoke'), a rare and affectionate device reserved for a few sympathetic characters. The verb is a second-person imperfect.
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"Stranger, it is not right for me, even if one poorer than you should come,
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to dishonor a stranger; for all are from Zeus,
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both strangers and beggars; and a gift, though small, is welcome
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when it comes from us; for this is the way of servants,
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always in fear, when new masters hold the power over them,
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the young ones. For truly the gods have blocked the homecoming of that man
WordNostos Nostos, 'homecoming, return,' is the great theme of the whole poem. Here the gods are said to have 'bound' Odysseus's return, keeping him from home.
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who would have loved me kindly and given me possessions,
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a house, a plot of land, and a much-courted wife,
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such things as a kind-hearted master gives to his servant
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who has labored much for him, and whose work a god has increased,
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as this work of mine has grown, at which I stay.
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So my master would have greatly rewarded me, had he grown old here;
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but he is gone. Would that Helen's whole breed had perished
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utterly, since she loosed the knees of many men;
GrammarLoosed the knees A formulaic phrase for killing: to 'loose the knees' of a man is to slay him, making the body collapse. Homer favors such concrete bodily images for death.
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for he too went, for the honor of Agamemnon,
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to Ilium of the fine horses, to fight against the Trojans."
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So speaking, he quickly bound up his tunic with a belt,
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and went off to the sties, where the droves of piglets were penned.
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From there he took two, and sacrificed them both;
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he singed them and cut them up and skewered them on spits.
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When he had roasted it all, he brought it and set it before Odysseus,
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hot, still on the spits; and he sprinkled it with white barley meal.
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Then in an ivy-wood bowl he mixed honey-sweet wine,
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and sat down himself opposite, and urging him on he said:
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"Eat now, stranger, such as is here for servants,
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young pig; the fatted hogs the suitors devour,
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having no thought in their hearts of divine wrath, nor pity.
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Yet the blessed gods love not reckless deeds,
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but honor justice and the lawful deeds of men.
WordDike: justice Dike, 'justice, right order,' is what the gods reward; aisima erga are 'fitting, lawful deeds.' Eumaeus sets up the moral standard the suitors violate.
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Even enemies and hostile men, who land upon
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a foreign shore, and Zeus grants them plunder,
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and they fill their ships and go off home again,
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even into their hearts falls a strong fear of divine vengeance.
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But these men know something, they have heard some voice of a god,
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his grim destruction, since they are unwilling to woo justly
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nor to go back to their own homes, but at their ease
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they devour his goods recklessly, and there is no sparing.
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For as many nights and days as come from Zeus,
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never do they sacrifice one victim, nor two only;
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and they waste his wine, drawing it off without measure.
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For truly his living was beyond telling; no other man had so much,
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of all the heroes, neither on the dark mainland
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nor in Ithaca itself; not even twenty men together
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have such wealth; and I will count it out for you.
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Twelve herds of cattle on the mainland; as many flocks of sheep,
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as many droves of swine, as many broad herds of goats
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are pastured by strangers and by his own herdsmen.
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And here broad herds of goats, eleven in all,
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graze at the far end of the island, and good men watch over them.
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Each of these men brings them, day by day, a beast,
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whichever of the fattened goats seems the best.
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But I guard and protect these swine here,
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and pick out the best of the hogs and send it to them."
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So he spoke; and the other eagerly ate the meat and drank the wine,
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greedily, in silence; and he was sowing trouble for the suitors.
GrammarPlotting evil (imperfect) Phyteuen, literally 'was planting,' is used metaphorically of sowing or contriving evil. The imperfect tense shows the ongoing scheming in Odysseus's mind as he eats.
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But when he had dined and satisfied his heart with food,
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the swineherd filled the cup from which he himself drank and gave it to him,
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brimful of wine; and Odysseus took it, and his heart was glad,
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and he spoke to him and addressed him with winged words:
GrammarWinged words The formulaic phrase 'winged words' (epea pteroenta) is one of Homer's most recurrent epithets for speech. We keep the literal image.
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"My friend, who was it that bought you with his own wealth,
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a man so rich and so powerful as you describe?
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You say he perished for the sake of Agamemnon's honor.
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Tell me, in case I might somewhere have known such a man.
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For Zeus surely knows this, and the other immortal gods,
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whether I might report having seen him; for I have wandered far."
GrammarAorist of wandering ἀλήθην is the aorist passive of ἀλάομαι, 'I wandered.' Homer often uses the aorist for the speaker's whole completed history of roaming.
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Then the swineherd answered him, leader of men:
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"Old man, no man wandering and coming here
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with news of him could persuade his wife and dear son,
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but vagrants in need of food and care
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tell lies, and have no wish to speak the truth.
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Whoever wanders and comes to the land of Ithaca
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goes to my mistress and babbles his deceits;
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and she receives him kindly, makes much of him, and asks of every detail,
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and as she grieves the tears fall from her eyelids,
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as is the way of a woman whose husband has died abroad.
WordWhat is right θέμις denotes established custom and what is proper or fitting. Here it marks a wife's weeping as the rightful, expected response.
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And you too, old man, would quickly frame up a tale,
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if someone should give you a cloak and tunic for clothing.
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But by now the swift dogs and birds of prey have likely
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torn the skin from his bones, and his spirit has left him;
WordThe departing psyche ψυχή here is the life-breath that leaves a man at death, not the modern 'soul.' Homer pictures it slipping away from the body.
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or in the deep the fishes have eaten him, and his bones
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lie on some mainland shore, wrapped in heaps of sand.
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So he has perished there, and for his loved ones grief in days to come
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has been wrought for all, but most of all for me; for never again
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shall I find so kind a master, wherever I may go,
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not even if I were to come again to the home of my father
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and mother, where first I was born and they themselves reared me.
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Yet it is not for them that I grieve so much now, longing though I am
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to see them with my eyes again in my native land;
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but the longing for Odysseus, who is gone, takes hold of me.
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Him, my guest, even in his absence I am ashamed
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to name; for greatly he loved me and cared for me in his heart;
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but I call him 'dear master,' though he is far away."
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Then much-enduring noble Odysseus said to him in turn:
GrammarMuch-enduring Odysseus πολύτλας ('much-enduring') is Odysseus's standing epithet. We preserve the formula, as it recurs throughout the poem.
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"My friend, since you utterly deny it and say no longer
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that he will come, and your heart is forever disbelieving,
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yet I will speak not idly, but with an oath,
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that Odysseus is on his way home; and let there be a reward for my good news
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at once, the moment he comes and reaches his own halls:
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clothe me in a cloak and a tunic, fine garments.
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But before that, however great my need, I would take nothing.
GrammarOptative of refusal δεχοίμην is a present optative expressing what the speaker would (not) do; Homer uses the optative for hypothetical or polite assertions.
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For hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man
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who, yielding to poverty, babbles deceits.
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Let Zeus now know it first among gods, and the table of hospitality,
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and the hearth of blameless Odysseus, to which I have come:
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truly all this shall be fulfilled just as I say.
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Within this very year Odysseus will come here.
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As one month wanes and the next begins,
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he will return home, and take vengeance on whoever
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here dishonors his wife and his glorious son."
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Then you answered him, Eumaeus the swineherd:
GrammarAddress to Eumaeus Homer breaks the narrative to address Eumaeus directly in the second person ('you answered'), a rare apostrophe reserved for a few sympathetic characters. προσέφης is 2nd-person singular imperfect.
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"Old man, neither shall I pay you that reward for good news,
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nor will Odysseus ever come home; rather, at your ease
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drink, and let us turn our minds to other things, and do not
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remind me of these matters; for truly the heart in my breast
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is grieved whenever anyone makes mention of my good master.
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But as for your oath, let us leave it be; and may Odysseus
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come, as I myself wish, and Penelope,
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and old Laertes, and godlike Telemachus.
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But now I grieve unceasingly for the boy whom Odysseus fathered,
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for Telemachus; when the gods had reared him like a young sapling,
WordLike a sapling ἔρνος is a young shoot or sapling; comparing a youth to a thriving sapling is a recurrent Homeric image of growth and promise.
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and I thought he would be among men in no way worse
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than his dear father, splendid in build and form,
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then one of the immortals harmed his well-balanced wits,
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or some man did; and he went after news of his father
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to sacred Pylos; and the proud suitors
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lie in wait for him as he comes home, so that the race
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of godlike Arceisius may perish nameless out of Ithaca.
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But let us leave him be, whether he is caught,
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or escapes, and the son of Kronos holds his hand over him.
GrammarSon of Kronos Κρονίων ('son of Kronos') is a patronymic epithet of Zeus, formed with the -ίων suffix. Homer freely substitutes such patronymics for the god's name.
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But come now, old man, tell me of your own troubles,
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and tell me this truly, so that I may know it well:
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Who among men are you, and from where? Where is your city and your parents?
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On what kind of ship did you arrive? And how did sailors
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bring you to Ithaca? Who did they claim to be?
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For I hardly think you came here on foot."
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Then Odysseus of many counsels answered him:
GrammarOdysseus of many counsels πολύμητις ('of many devices, much-cunning') is a defining epithet of Odysseus, fittingly used here as he prepares an elaborate lie.
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"Then I will tell you these things very truthfully.
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If only there were for us both, for a long time, both food
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and sweet wine, here within the hut,
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to feast quietly, while others went about their work,
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then easily, even for a whole year on end,
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I would not finish telling the sorrows of my heart,
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all that, indeed, by the will of the gods I have suffered.
WordBy the will of the gods ἰότης means 'will' or 'design.' The phrase 'by the will of the gods' frames human suffering as divinely ordained throughout Homer.
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From spacious Crete I declare my lineage springs,
GrammarI claim, I declare εὔχομαι in Homer often means not 'I pray' but 'I declare/boast' one's descent or status. Here Odysseus 'claims' Cretan birth as he begins his fabricated identity.
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the son of a wealthy man; and many other
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sons too were both reared and born in his hall,
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legitimate, from his wedded wife; but me a bought mother bore,
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a concubine, yet he honored me equally with his lawful sons,
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Castor son of Hylax, of whose line I claim to be;
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he was then honored like a god among the people of Crete
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for his good fortune and his wealth and his glorious sons.
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But the fates of death came and bore him away
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to the house of Hades; and his high-spirited sons
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divided his living and cast lots for the shares,
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but to me they gave very little and assigned a dwelling.
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Yet I took a wife from a family of much property
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by reason of my own worth, since I was no fool
WordWorth, excellence ἀρετή is excellence or merit, here the personal valor that earns the speaker a good marriage despite his low birth.
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nor a shirker of battle; but now all that has gone from me.
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Still, even so, I think that, seeing the stubble, you can
WordStubble of the harvest καλάμη is the dry stalk left after the grain is reaped. The metaphor: even ruined now, his old strength can be guessed, as the stubble shows what the ear was.
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tell what it was; for in truth misery, vast and heavy, holds me.
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Truly, courage was given me by Ares and Athena,
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and power to break the ranks of men; and whenever I picked, for an ambush,
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the best of men, sowing evil for the enemy,
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never did my proud heart foresee my own death,
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but far the first I would leap forward and bring down with my spear
GrammarIterative imperfect ἕλεσκον is an iterative imperfect (the -σκ- suffix marks repeated action): 'I used to bring down again and again.' Homer uses this form for habitual past deeds.
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of the enemy, whoever gave way before me on foot.
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Such was I in war; but farm-work was never dear to me,
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nor the keeping of a household, which rears bright children,
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but always the oared ships were dear to me
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and wars and polished javelins and arrows—
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grim things, which to other men are a horror.
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But to me these were dear, things a god had set in my heart;
Wordphrenes as seat of thought Homer locates feeling and impulse in the phrenes, the midriff or diaphragm, treated as the seat of mind and emotion. 'In the breast/heart' is the natural rendering.
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for one man takes his delight in one kind of work, another in another.
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For before the sons of the Achaeans set foot on Troy,
GrammarHomeric infinitive ἐπιβήμεναι is the epic form of the aorist infinitive 'to set foot upon,' taking a genitive of the place reached. The longer -μεναι ending is characteristic of Homeric diction.
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nine times I led men and swift-faring ships
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against foreign peoples, and much spoil fell to me.
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From it I would choose out what pleased my heart, and much besides
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I drew by lot. So my house grew rich quickly, and from then on
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I was feared and respected among the Cretans.
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But when far-seeing Zeus contrived that hateful journey,
WordEpithet of Zeus εὐρύοπα, 'far-seeing' or 'wide-thundering,' is a fixed epithet for Zeus. Its exact sense was debated already in antiquity, but it marks his all-encompassing power.
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which loosed the knees of many men beneath them,
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then they ordered me and glorious Idomeneus
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to lead the ships to Ilion; and there was no means
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of refusing, for the people's harsh talk held us fast.
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There for nine years we sons of the Achaeans made war,
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and in the tenth, having sacked the city of Priam, we set out
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homeward with our ships, and a god scattered the Achaeans.
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But against me, wretched man, Zeus the counselor devised evils.
WordZeus the counselor μητίετα, 'the counselor' or 'deviser of plans,' is a standing epithet of Zeus, pointing to his cunning and his shaping of events.
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For only one month I stayed, taking joy in my children
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and my wedded wife and my goods; but after that
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my heart urged me to make a voyage to Egypt,
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after fitting out my ships well with godlike companions.
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Nine ships I fitted out, and the crews quickly gathered.
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Then for six days my trusty companions
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feasted; and I myself supplied many victims
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both to sacrifice to the gods and to make ready a feast for the men.
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On the seventh we embarked and set out from broad Crete,
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and sailed with a North wind, fresh and fair,
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easily, as if downstream; nor did any one
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of my ships come to harm, but unscathed and free of sickness
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we sat, and the wind and the steersmen kept them on course.
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On the fifth day we came to the fair-flowing Egypt,
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and I moored my curved ships in the river of Egypt.
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There I ordered my trusty companions
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to stay by the ships and to guard them,
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and I sent scouts out to the lookout points.
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But they, yielding to insolence and following their own impulse,
Wordhubris ὕβρις is overweening, violent arrogance—the disregard for limit and for others' rights. It is the keynote of the men's ruinous disobedience here.
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at once began to ravage the lovely fields of the Egyptians,
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and led away the women and little children,
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and killed the men; and quickly the outcry reached the city.
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And they, hearing the shouting, came at the showing of dawn;
GrammarOld instrumental ending -φι The suffix -φι(ν) is an archaic Homeric case-ending serving as instrumental, locative, or genitive/dative. Here ἠοῖ φαινομένηφιν means 'at the appearing of dawn.'
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the whole plain was filled with foot soldiers and horses
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and the flash of bronze; and Zeus who delights in thunder
WordZeus who delights in the thunderbolt τερπικέραυνος is a standing epithet of Zeus, 'delighting in the thunderbolt,' fitting here as he casts panic on the men.
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cast an evil rout upon my companions, and no one dared
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to stand and face them, for ruin pressed round on every side.
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There they killed many of us with the sharp bronze,
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and others they led away alive, to do forced labor for them.
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But to me Zeus himself put this thought in my heart—
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would that I had died and met my fate
GrammarWish for the unattainable past ὄφελον with the infinitive expresses an unfulfilled wish—'would that I had died.' It looks back with regret on what did not happen.
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there in Egypt—for still more grief awaited me—
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at once I set the well-made helmet from my head
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and the shield from my shoulders, and let the spear fall from my hand;
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then I went up to the king's chariot, facing him,
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and clasped and kissed his knees; and he saved me and pitied me,
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and seating me in his chariot he took me, weeping, to his home.
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Indeed many men rushed at me with their ashen spears,
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eager to kill me—for they were exceedingly enraged—
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but he held them off, and feared the wrath of Zeus,
Wordmenis, divine wrath μῆνις is the heavy, lasting wrath proper to gods (the very first word of the Iliad). Here it is the wrath of Zeus Xeinios, guardian of strangers.
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the god of strangers, who most of all resents evil deeds.
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There I stayed for seven years, and gathered much
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wealth among the Egyptian men; for all of them gave to me.
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But when the eighth year came round upon me,
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then came a Phoenician man, skilled in deceit,
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a greedy cheat, who had already done many evils to men;
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he led me, persuading me with his cunning mind, until we came
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to Phoenicia, where his house and possessions lay.
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There I stayed beside him for a full year.
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But when the months and days were completed
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as the year came round again and the seasons returned,
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he set me aboard a seafaring ship for Libya,
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having plotted lies, so that I should help him carry a cargo,
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but really that there he might sell me and fetch an enormous price.
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So I went with him aboard the ship, suspecting it, but under compulsion.
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She ran on with a North wind, fresh and fair,
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over the open sea above Crete; but Zeus devised their destruction.
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But when we had left Crete behind, and no other
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land appeared, but only sky and sea,
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then the son of Kronos set a dark cloud
WordSon of Kronos Κρονίων, 'son of Kronos,' is a standard patronymic title for Zeus. Patronymics like this carry a tone of dignity in epic.
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over the hollow ship, and the sea grew dark beneath it.
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And Zeus thundered all at once and hurled his bolt at the ship;
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and she reeled through and through, struck by the bolt of Zeus,
GrammarAorist passive participle πληγεῖσα is the aorist passive participle of πλήσσω, 'having been struck,' agreeing with the ship. The passive marks the ship as the thing acted upon by Zeus's bolt.
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and was filled with sulphur; and all fell from the ship.
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Like sea-crows they were borne on the waves
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around the black ship; and the god took away their homecoming.
Wordnostos, homecoming νόστος is the homecoming, the return journey that is the whole theme of the Odyssey. To 'take away the nostos' is to deny the men any return.
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But for me Zeus himself, though I had grief in my heart,
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set into my hands the huge mast of the dark-prowed ship,
WordDark-prowed ship κυανόπρῳρος, 'dark-prowed' or 'blue-prowed,' is a common epic epithet for ships, evoking their painted prows.
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so that I might still escape from ruin.
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Wrapped around it, I was carried by the deadly winds.
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Nine days I was carried, and on the tenth, in the black night,
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a great rolling wave brought me near the land of the Thesprotians.
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There the king of the Thesprotians, Pheidon, took me in,
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the hero, without ransom; for his own dear son came upon me
WordWithout ransom ἀπριάτην means 'unbought, without payment'—Pheidon shelters the stranger freely, the mark of true hospitality rather than commerce.
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and led me, worn out by cold and weariness, to his home,
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raising me by the hand, until I reached his father's house;
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and around me he put clothing, a cloak and a tunic.
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There I heard of Odysseus; for the king said
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he had received him as a guest and shown him kindness on his way to his native land,
323
and he showed me the treasures Odysseus had gathered,
324
bronze and gold and well-wrought iron.
325
Indeed it would feed his children to the tenth generation,
326
so much treasure lay stored for him in the halls of the king.
327
But he said Odysseus had gone to Dodona, to hear
328
the will of Zeus from the god's high-crowned oak,
329
how he might return to the rich land of Ithaca,
330
after being away so long, openly or in secret.
331
And he swore to me himself, pouring a libation in his house,
WordPouring a libation A drink-offering poured to the gods to seal an oath; the gesture made a sworn promise binding.
332
that a ship was drawn down to the water and the crew made ready,
333
who would convey him to his own dear native land.
334
But me he sent off first, for a ship of Thesprotian men
335
chanced to be sailing to Dulichium, rich in wheat.
336
There he bade them carry me to king Acastus,
337
with kind care; but an evil plan pleased their hearts
GrammarImperfect of pleasing The imperfect ἥνδανε ('was pleasing') frames the crew's scheme as an ongoing inclination, setting up the betrayal that follows.
338
concerning me, so that I might fall utterly into the depth of misery.
339
But when the seafaring ship had sailed far from land,
340
at once they began contriving the day of slavery for me.
WordThe day of slavery A formulaic phrase, like 'the day of freedom,' that names enslavement as a fate that overtakes a person rather than a mere event.
341
They stripped from me my cloak and tunic, my clothing,
342
and threw around me other rags, a vile one, and a tunic,
343
tattered, the very ones you see now with your own eyes.
344
And at evening they reached the farmlands of clear-skied Ithaca.
345
There they bound me fast in the well-benched ship
346
with a tightly twisted rope, securely, and they themselves stepped ashore
347
in haste and took their supper along the shore of the sea.
348
But the gods themselves loosened my bonds for me
349
easily; and wrapping the rag about my head,
350
I climbed down the smooth steering-oar and let my chest
351
touch the sea, then with both hands I rowed myself along,
352
swimming, and very quickly I was out and away from them.
353
There I climbed up, where there was a thicket of richly blooming wood,
354
and lay crouching. They, groaning loudly,
355
went searching about; but since it seemed to them no longer of any use
356
to seek further, they went back again and boarded
357
their hollow ship; and the gods themselves hid me
358
easily, and they led me on and brought me to the farmstead
359
of a man who knows his work; for it is still my lot to live.
WordIt is my lot to live Aisa is one's allotted portion or destiny; Odysseus closes his tale by claiming fate has not yet assigned him death.
360
Then in answer you spoke to him, Eumaeus the swineherd:
GrammarAddress to Eumaeus Homer turns to address Eumaeus directly in the second person ('you spoke'), a recurring apostrophe that lends warmth to the loyal swineherd.
361
"Ah, most wretched of strangers, truly you have deeply stirred my heart
362
in telling each of these things, all that you suffered and all your wandering.
363
But this part is not, I think, in good order, and you will not persuade me
WordNot in good order Kata kosmon means 'properly,' 'fittingly'; Eumaeus judges the part of the tale about Odysseus to be out of order, that is, untrue.
364
in what you say about Odysseus. Why must a man like you
365
lie so pointlessly? I myself know well
366
the homecoming of my master, that he was hated by all the gods
367
utterly, since they did not bring him down among the Trojans
368
or in the arms of his friends, once he had wound up the war.
WordWound up the war The verb means literally to wind off a ball of wool; metaphorically, to bring a long task to its end. War is pictured as a thread spun out to completion.
369
Then all the Achaeans would have built him a tomb,
370
and for his son too he would have won great glory hereafter.
WordGlory Kleos is the fame that survives a hero in song; Eumaeus laments that Odysseus died gloriously at Troy would have passed on renown to Telemachus.
371
But now without glory the storm-spirits have snatched him away.
372
But I keep apart here with the swine, and I do not go
373
to the town, unless perhaps wise Penelope
374
urges me to come, when some message arrives from somewhere.
375
Then they sit beside the messenger and ask after each thing,
376
both those who grieve for the master long gone,
377
and those who rejoice, eating up his livelihood unpunished.
378
But it is not dear to me to make inquiry and ask,
379
ever since an Aetolian man deceived me with his tale,
380
who, having killed a man and wandered over much land,
381
came to my dwelling; and I welcomed him warmly.
382
He said he had seen him among the Cretans, at Idomeneus' side,
383
mending his ships, which the storms had shattered for him;
384
and he said he would come either by summer or by harvest-time,
385
bringing much treasure, together with his godlike companions.
386
And you too, old man of many sorrows, since a god has brought you to me,
387
do not try to please me with lies, nor bewitch me;
WordBewitch me Thelgo means to charm or enchant, often with words; Eumaeus warns against being beguiled by a flattering false story.
388
for it is not on that account that I will respect you or treat you kindly,
389
but out of fear of Zeus the protector of strangers, and pity for you."
390
Then in answer spoke to him Odysseus of many devices:
GrammarOf many devices Polymetis, 'of many counsels,' is a standing epithet of Odysseus marking his cunning intelligence. Such fixed epithets are a hallmark of Homeric style.
391
"Truly the heart in your breast is a very unbelieving one,
392
seeing that not even with an oath did I win you over or persuade you.
393
But come now, let us make a compact; and hereafter
WordA compact Rhetra is a spoken agreement or covenant. Odysseus proposes a formal bargain with the gods as witnesses.
394
let the gods who hold Olympus be witnesses to us both.
395
If your master returns home to this house,
GrammarFuture condition The subjunctive with the particle κεν (Attic ἄν) sets up an open future condition: 'if he should return.' Homer's mood marks the outcome as not yet settled.
396
clothe me in a cloak and tunic, good garments, and send me
397
to go to Dulichium, where my heart longs to be.
398
But if your master does not come as I declare,
399
set your slaves on me and throw me from a great cliff,
400
so that another beggar too may shrink from deceiving."
401
Then in answer the noble swineherd addressed him:
402
"Stranger, in that way I would have fair fame and virtue
WordVirtue, excellence Arete is a man's excellence or worth in the eyes of others. Eumaeus says, with bitter irony, that murdering his guest would hardly earn him honor.
403
among men, both at once and afterward,
404
I who, after I led you to my hut and gave you guest-gifts,
405
should then kill you and take away your dear life.
406
With a ready heart I would pray to Zeus the son of Cronus after that!
GrammarIronic optative The optative λιτοίμην ('I would pray') is bitterly ironic: a man with such guilt could hardly approach the gods with a clear conscience.
407
But now it is the hour for supper. May my companions soon
408
be inside, so that we may prepare a tasty supper in the hut."
409
So they spoke such things to one another,
410
and near at hand came the swine and the swineherd men.
411
These they then penned to sleep in their accustomed quarters,
412
and an unspeakable clamor arose from the swine being shut in their pens.
413
Then the noble swineherd called out to his companions:
414
"Bring the best of the boars, so that I may sacrifice it for the stranger
415
from a far land; and we ourselves will profit, we who endure misery
416
long, suffering for the sake of the white-tusked swine,
417
while others eat up our labor unpunished."
418
So speaking he split wood with the pitiless bronze,
419
and the others led in a very fat boar, five years old.
420
Then they set it by the hearth; and the swineherd did not
421
forget the immortals, for he was endowed with a good mind.
422
As his first offering he threw into the fire bristles from the head
423
of the white-tusked boar, and prayed to all the gods
424
that Odysseus of many counsels might return to his own home.
425
He struck it, raising up an oak billet that he had left aside when splitting wood;
426
and the life left it. Then they slaughtered it and singed it,
WordThe life left it Psyche here is the life-breath that departs at death; in Homer it survives as a shade in Hades but holds no consciousness.
427
and quickly cut it up. The swineherd laid out the raw pieces,
428
beginning with bits from all the limbs, upon the rich fat,
429
and these he threw into the fire, sprinkling them with barley meal,
430
and the rest they cut up and pierced on spits,
431
and roasted it carefully and drew it all off,
432
and threw it heaped together on the platters. Then the swineherd
433
stood up to carve, for in his heart he knew what was fitting.
434
And he divided it all into seven portions, cutting it up:
435
one he set aside for the nymphs and for Hermes, son of Maia,
436
with a prayer, and the others he dealt out to each man.
437
But he honored Odysseus with the long cuts of the chine
438
of the white-tusked boar, and gladdened the heart of his master.
439
And speaking to him, Odysseus of many devices said:
440
"May you become as dear to father Zeus, Eumaeus,
GrammarOptative of wish The optative γένοιο ('may you become') voices a wish or prayer. Homer often opens blessings and curses with this mood.
441
as you do for me, honoring one in my state with the best portions."
442
And you answered him, Eumaeus the swineherd:
GrammarAddress in the second person Homer turns to address Eumaeus directly with 'you said' (second-person), a rare apostrophe used repeatedly for this loyal servant. The verb is imperfect, marking the act of speaking.
443
"Eat, my strange guest, and take your pleasure in such things
Worddaimonie A warm but startled form of address, literally 'driven by a daimon.' Here it conveys friendly wonder, roughly 'good sir' or 'my strange friend.'
444
as are at hand. A god will give one thing and withhold another,
445
whatever he wishes in his heart; for he can do all things."
446
He spoke, and burned the first cuttings as offering to the gods who live forever,
447
and after pouring a libation of gleaming wine, into the hands of Odysseus the sacker of cities
GrammarEpithet 'sacker of cities' A standing formulaic epithet for Odysseus, in the dative here to agree with him as recipient. The poet uses it even while Odysseus sits disguised as a beggar.
448
he placed it; and Odysseus sat down by his own portion.
449
Mesaulius dealt out the bread to them, a man whom the swineherd
450
had himself acquired, alone, while his master was away,
451
apart from his mistress and the old man Laertes;
452
he had bought him from the Taphians with his own possessions.
453
They reached out their hands to the good things spread ready before them.
GrammarFormulaic meal-line This whole line is a fixed formula repeated throughout Homer for the start of a meal. The verb is imperfect, picturing the ongoing reaching for food.
454
But when they had put away their desire for drink and food,
GrammarIdiom 'put away desire' A recurring Homeric formula meaning 'they had had their fill,' literally 'they sent the desire out from themselves.' It closes nearly every meal scene.
455
Mesaulius cleared away the bread from them, and they hurried to bed
456
sated with bread and meat.
457
Then a foul night came on, moonless and black, and Zeus rained
WordMoonless dark A vivid compound meaning 'with a dark, moonless night.' It sets the scene for the cold that motivates Odysseus' tale about needing a cloak.
458
all night long, and a great West Wind blew, ever bringing wet.
459
Among them Odysseus spoke, making trial of the swineherd,
WordMaking trial Odysseus is 'testing' Eumaeus, a key theme of the book: he probes others' character indirectly rather than asking outright. The present participle marks the ongoing testing.
460
to see whether he would strip off his cloak and give it, or rouse one of his companions
461
to do it, since he cared for him so greatly.
462
"Hear me now, Eumaeus, and all you other companions:
463
I will speak a word with a boast in it; for the wine commands me,
464
the bewildering wine, which sets even a very prudent man to singing
WordWine that fools The adjective means 'crazing, bewildering.' Odysseus blames the wine for loosening his tongue, a graceful cover for the deliberate story he is about to tell.
465
and to laughing softly, and stirs him up to dance,
466
and lets slip a word that had been better left unsaid.
467
But since I have once cried out, I will not hold it back.
468
Would that I were young again, and my strength were firm,
Wordbiê — bodily strength biê denotes raw physical force or might. Odysseus' wish 'if only my biê were firm' frames the whole reminiscence of the ambush at Troy.
469
as when we set and led an ambush beneath the walls of Troy.
470
Odysseus and Menelaus son of Atreus were the leaders,
471
and along with them I was a third in command; for they themselves bade me.
472
But when we had come up to the city and its steep wall,
473
we, in the dense thickets around the town,
474
among the reeds and the marsh, crouched low beneath our armor,
475
and lay there. Night came on foul, when the North Wind dropped,
476
freezing; and snow fell from above like hoarfrost,
477
cold, and ice crusted over upon our shields.
478
There all the others had cloaks and tunics,
479
and slept untroubled, their shoulders wrapped in their shields;
480
but I, setting out, had left my cloak behind with my companions
481
in my folly, since I did not think I would be cold at all,
WordIn thoughtlessness A dative of cause, 'through thoughtlessness.' The detail sets up the clever ruse by which Odysseus will get a cloak.
482
but had come with only my shield and a shining war-belt.
483
But when it was the third watch of the night, and the stars had moved past,
484
then I spoke to Odysseus, who was close beside me,
485
nudging him with my elbow; and he at once gave ear:
486
'Zeus-born son of Laertes, resourceful Odysseus,
GrammarFull address-formula in the vocative This whole line is the standard vocative formula used to hail Odysseus. Every name and epithet is in the vocative case of direct address.
487
I shall no longer be among the living, for the winter cold
488
is killing me; for I have no cloak. Some god beguiled me
Worddaimon — a god's hand The speaker blames an unnamed divine power for his oversight, a typical Homeric way of attributing misfortune or impulse to a daimon.
489
into coming with only my tunic; and now there is no escape.'
490
So I spoke, and he then formed this plan in his heart,
Wordnoos — a plan noos here means the device or scheme Odysseus conceives. The line praises his unmatched skill at both planning and fighting.
491
such was that man at devising counsel and at fighting;
492
and speaking with a low voice he said to me:
493
'Be quiet now, lest some other of the Achaeans hear you.'
GrammarNegative purpose clause The clause with mê plus the subjunctive expresses fear or purpose: 'lest someone hear.' This is the standard Greek construction after a command of caution.
494
He spoke, and raised his head on his elbow, and said his word:
495
'Hear me, friends: a divine dream came to me in my sleep.
496
We have come too far from the ships; let someone go
497
to tell Agamemnon son of Atreus, shepherd of the people,
GrammarEpithet 'shepherd of the people' A formulaic epithet for kings, here for Agamemnon, in the dative agreeing with him. It casts the leader as guardian of his army.
498
whether he might urge more men to come up from the ships.'
499
So he spoke, and then Thoas son of Andraemon sprang up
500
quickly, and threw off his crimson cloak,
501
and set off running to the ships; and I in his garment
502
lay gladly, and golden-throned Dawn appeared.
GrammarEpithet 'golden-throned Dawn' A recurring formulaic epithet for Dawn (Eos). Homer marks the coming of day with such fixed epithet-phrases.
503
Would that I were young again, and my strength were firm:
504
then someone in the swineherds' steadings would give me a cloak,
505
for both reasons — out of friendship and respect for a worthy man;
Wordaidôs — respect aidôs is the sense of honor and respect owed to others. Here Odysseus hints that a brave man deserves such regard, angling for a cloak.
506
but as it is they slight me, since I wear poor rags on my body."
507
And you answered him, Eumaeus the swineherd:
508
"Old man, the tale you have told is faultless,
Wordainos — a pointed tale An ainos is a story told with a hidden purpose or moral. Eumaeus sees through to the request behind the story and good-naturedly grants it.
509
nor have you yet spoken any word amiss or without point;
510
so you shall lack neither clothing nor anything else
511
that befits a sore-tried suppliant who has come to meet us,
512
for now; but in the morning you will have to shake out your own rags again.
513
For there are not many cloaks or changes of tunics
514
to put on here, but only a single one for each man.
515
But when the dear son of Odysseus comes,
516
he himself will give you a cloak and a tunic to wear,
517
and will send you wherever your heart and spirit bid."
518
So speaking he sprang up and set a bed for him near the fire,
519
and threw over it the skins of sheep and goats.
520
There Odysseus lay down; and over him he cast a cloak,
521
thick and large, which lay by him as a spare,
522
to put on whenever a terrible storm should arise.
523
So there Odysseus slept, and beside him
524
the young men slept; but it did not please the swineherd
525
to make his bed there, sleeping away from his swine,
526
but he went outside and armed himself; and Odysseus rejoiced
527
that he cared so much for his master's livelihood while he was away.
Wordbiotos — livelihood, property biotos means both 'life' and the means of life — here Odysseus' estate. Eumaeus' care for it, even in his master's absence, gladdens the disguised king.
528
First he slung a sharp sword about his sturdy shoulders,
529
and wrapped around himself a thick cloak to keep off the wind,
530
and took up the fleece of a great well-fed goat,
531
and chose a sharp javelin, a defense against dogs and men.
532
Then he went off to lie down where the white-tusked swine
GrammarEpithet 'white-tusked' A formulaic epithet for swine, literally 'with gleaming teeth.' Such fixed adjectives attach even to the herd animals of the poem.
533
slept under a hollow rock, sheltered from the North Wind.

The particulars

The text: Ὀδύσσεια, Homer. The Homecoming.
Translation: Public-domain Greek (Homer, ancient; text via the Perseus Digital Library). English translation © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC.
Reading aloud: Digital narration in reconstructed pronunciation, shaped to the hexameter. The complete audiobook.
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