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Book V
And now, as Dawn rose from her couch beside Tithonus–harbinger of light alike to mortals
and immortals–the gods met in council and with them, Jove the lord of thunder, who is their king.
Thereon Minerva began to tell them of the many sufferings of Ulysses, for she pitied him away there
in the house of the nymph Calypso.
"Father Jove," said she, "and all you other gods that live in everlasting bliss,
I hope there may never be such a thing as a kind and well-disposed ruler any more, nor one
who will govern equitably. I hope they will be all henceforth cruel and unjust, for there is not one
of his subjects but has forgotten Ulysses, who ruled them as though he were their father.
There he is, lying in great pain in an island where dwells the nymph Calypso, who will not
let him go; and he cannot get back to his own country, for he can find neither ships nor sailors
to take him over the sea. Furthermore, wicked people are now trying to murder his only son
Telemachus, who is coming home from Pylos and Lacedæmon, where he has been
to see if he can get news of his father."
"What, my dear, are you talking about?" replied her father, "did you not
send him there yourself, because you thought it would help Ulysses to get home and
punish the suitors? Besides, you are perfectly able to protect Telemachus, and to see him
safely home again, while the suitors have to come hurry-skurrying back without having
killed him."
When he had thus spoken, he said to his son Mercury, "Mercury, you are our messenger,
go therefore and tell Calypso we have decreed that poor Ulysses is to return home. He is to be
convoyed neither by gods nor men, but after a perilous voyage of twenty days upon a raft he is
to reach fertile Scheria, the land of the Phæacians, who are near of kin to the gods,
and will honour him as though he were one of ourselves. They will send him in a ship
to his own country, and will give him more bronze and gold and raiment than he would
have brought back from Troy, if he had had had all his prize money and had got home
without disaster. This is how we have settled that he shall return to his country and
his friends."
Thus he spoke, and Mercury, guide and guardian, slayer of Argus, did as he was told.
Forthwith he bound on his glittering golden sandals with which he could fly like the wind
over land and sea. He took the wand with which he seals men's eyes in sleep or wakes
them just as he pleases, and flew holding it in his hand over Pieria; then he swooped down
through the firmament till he reached the level of the sea, whose waves he skimmed
like a cormorant that flies fishing every hole and corner of the ocean, and drenching
its thick plumage in the spray. He flew and flew over many a weary wave, but when at last
he got to the island which was his journey's end, he left the sea and went on by land
till he came to the cave where the nymph Calypso lived.
He found her at home. There was a large fire burning on the hearth, and one could smell
from far the fragrant reek of burning cedar and sandal wood. As for herself, she was busy
at her loom, shooting her golden shuttle through the warp and singing beautifully. Round
her cave there was a thick wood of alder, poplar, and sweet smelling cypress trees, wherein
all kinds of great birds had built their nests—owls, hawks, and chattering sea-crows
that occupy their business in the waters. A vine loaded with grapes was trained and grew
luxuriantly about the mouth of the cave; there were also four running rills of water in channels
cut pretty close together, and turned hither and thither so as to irrigate the beds of violets
and luscious herbage over which they flowed. Even a god could not help being charmed
with such a lovely spot, so Mercury stood still and looked at it; but when he had admired it
sufficiently he went inside the cave.
Calypso knew him at once—for the gods all know each other, no matter how far they live
from one another—but Ulysses was not within; he was on the sea-shore as usual, looking
out upon the barren ocean with tears in his eyes, groaning and breaking his heart for sorrow.
Calypso gave Mercury a seat and said: "Why have you come to see me, Mercury—honoured,
and ever welcome—for you do not visit me often? Say what you want; I will do it for be you at once
if I can, and if it can be done at all; but come inside, and let me set refreshment before you."
As she spoke she drew a table loaded with ambrosia beside him and mixed him some red nectar,
so Mercury ate and drank till he had had enough, and then said:
"We are speaking god and goddess to one another, one another, and you ask me why
I have come here, and I will tell you truly as you would have me do. Jove sent me; it was no doing
of mine; who could possibly want to come all this way over the sea where there are no cities
full of people to offer me sacrifices or choice hecatombs? Nevertheless I had to come, for none
of us other gods can cross Jove, nor transgress his orders. He says that you have here the most
ill-starred of alf those who fought nine years before the city of King Priam and sailed home
in the tenth year after having sacked it. On their way home they sinned against Minerva,
who raised both wind and waves against them, so that all his brave companions perished,
and he alone was carried hither by wind and tide. Jove says that you are to let this by man go
at once, for it is decreed that he shall not perish here, far from his own people, but shall return
to his house and country and see his friends again."
Calypso trembled with rage when she heard this, "You gods," she exclaimed,
"ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You are always jealous and hate seeing a goddess
take a fancy to a mortal man, and live with him in open matrimony. So when rosy-fingered Dawn
made love to Orion, you precious gods were all of you furious till Diana went and killed him
in Ortygia. So again when Ceres fell in love with Iasion, and yielded to him in a thrice-ploughed
fallow field, Jove came to hear of it before so long and killed Iasion with his thunder-bolts.
And now you are angry with me too because I have a man here. I found the poor creature
sitting all alone astride of a keel, for Jove had struck his ship with lightning and sunk it
in mid ocean, so that all his crew were drowned, while he himself was driven by wind
and waves on to my island. I got fond of him and cherished him, and had set my heart
on making him immortal, so that he should never grow old all his days; still I cannot cross
Jove, nor bring his counsels to nothing; therefore, if he insists upon it, let the man go beyond
the seas again; but I cannot send him anywhere myself for I have neither ships nor men
who can take him. Nevertheless I will readily give him such advice, in all good faith, as will be
likely to bring him safely to his own country."
"Then send him away," said Mercury, "or Jove will be angry with you and punish you."
On this he took his leave, and Calypso went out to look for Ulysses, for she had heard Jove's message.
She found him sitting upon the beach with his eyes ever filled with tears, and dying of sheer home-sickness;
for he had got tired of Calypso, and though he was forced to sleep with her in the cave by night, it was she,
not he, that would have it so. As for the day time, he spent it on the rocks and on the sea-shore, weeping,
crying aloud for his despair, and always looking out upon the sea. Calypso then went close up to him said:
"My poor fellow, you shall not stay here grieving and fretting your life out any longer. I am going
to send you away of my own free will; so go, cut some beams of wood, and make yourself a large raft
with an upper deck that it may carry you safely over the sea. I will put bread, wine, and water on board
to save you from starving. I will also give you clothes, and will send you a fair wind to take you home,
if the gods in heaven so will it—for they know more about these things, and can settle them
better than I can."
Ulysses shuddered as he heard her. "Now goddess," he answered, "there is
something behind all this; you cannot be really meaning to help me home when you bid me do
such a dreadful thing as put to sea on a raft. Not even a well-found ship with a fair wind could venture
on such a distant voyage: nothing that you can say or do shall make me go on board a raft unless
you first solemnly swear that you mean me no mischief."
Calypso smiled at this and caressed him with her hand: "You know a great deal,"
said she, "but you are quite wrong here. May heaven above and earth below be my witnesses,
with the waters of the river Styx—and this is the most solemn oath which a blessed god
can take—that I mean you no sort of harm, and am only advising you to do exactly what
I should do myself in your place. I am dealing with you quite straightforwardly; my heart is not
made of iron, and I am very sorry for you."
When she had thus spoken she led the way rapidly before him, and Ulysses followed in her steps;
so the pair, goddess and man, went on and on till they came to Calypso's cave, where Ulysses took
the seat that Mercury had just left. Calypso set meat and drink before him of the food that mortals eat;
but her maids brought ambrosia and nectar for herself, and they laid their hands on the good things
that were before them. When they had satisfied themselves with meat and drink, Calypso spoke, saying:
"Ulysses, noble son of Lærtes, so you would start home to your own land at once?
Good luck go with you, but if you could only know how much suffering is in store for you before
you get back to your own country, you would stay where you are, keep house along with me,
and let me make you immortal, no matter how anxious you may be to see this wife of yours,
of whom you are thinking all the time day after day; yet I flatter myself that at am no whit less tall
or well-looking than she is, for it is not to be expected that a mortal woman should compare
in beauty with an immortal."
"Goddess," replied Ulysses, "do not be angry with me about this.
I am quite aware that my wife Penelope is nothing like so tall or so beautiful as yourself.
She is only a woman, whereas you are an immortal. Nevertheless, I want to get home,
and can think of nothing else. If some god wrecks me when I am on the sea, I will bear it
and make the best of it. I have had infinite trouble both by land and sea already, so let this go
with the rest."
Presently the sun set and it became dark, whereon the pair retired into the inner part of the cave
and went to bed.
When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Ulysses put on his shirt and cloak,
while the goddess wore a dress of a light gossamer fabric, very fine and graceful, with a beautiful
golden girdle about her waist and a veil to cover her head. She at once set herself to think how
she could speed Ulysses on his way. So she gave him a great bronze axe that suited his hands;
it was sharpened on both sides, and had a beautiful olive-wood handle fitted firmly on to it.
She also gave him a sharp adze, and then led the way to the far end of the island where
the largest trees grew—alder, poplar and pine, that reached the sky—very dry
and well seasoned, so as to sail light for him in the water. Then, when she had shown him
where the best trees grew, Calypso went home, leaving him to cut them, which he soon finished
doing. He cut down twenty trees in all and adzed them smooth, squaring them by rule in good
workmanlike fashion. Meanwhile Calypso came back with some augers, so he bored holes
with them and fitted the timbers together with bolts and rivets. He made the raft as broad
as a skilled shipwright makes the beam of a large vessel, and he filed a deck on top of the ribs,
and ran a gunwale all round it. He also made a mast with a yard arm, and a rudder to steer with.
He fenced the raft all round with wicker hurdles as a protection against the waves, and then he threw
on a quantity of wood. By and by Calypso brought him some linen to make the sails, and he made
these too, excellently, making them fast with braces and sheets. Last of all, with the help of levers,
he drew the raft down into the water.
In four days he had completed the whole work, and on the fifth Calypso sent him from the island
after washing him and giving him some clean clothes. She gave him a goat skin full of black wine,
and another larger one of water; she also gave him a wallet full of provisions, and found him
in much good meat. Moreover, she made the wind fair and warm for him, and gladly did Ulysses
spread his sail before it, while he sat and guided the raft skilfully by means of the rudder.
He never closed his eyes, but kept them fixed on the Pleiads, on late-setting Bootes,
and on the Bear—which men also call the wain, and which turns round and round
where it is, facing Orion, and alone never dipping into the stream of Oceanus—for
Calypso had told him to keep this to his left. Days seven and ten did he sail over the sea,
and on the eighteenth the dim outlines of the mountains on the nearest part of the Phæacian
coast appeared, rising like a shield on the horizon.
But King Neptune, who was returning from the Ethiopians, caught sight of Ulysses a long way off,
from the mountains of the Solymi. He could see him sailing upon the sea, and it made him very angry,
so he wagged his head and muttered to himself, saying, "heavens, so the gods have been
changing their minds about Ulysses while I was away in Ethiopia, and now he is close to the land
of the Phæacians, where it is decreed that he shall escape from the calamities that have
befallen him. Still, he shall have plenty of hardship yet before he has done with it."
Thereon he gathered his clouds together, grasped his trident, stirred it round in the sea,
and roused the rage of every wind that blows till earth, sea, and sky were hidden in cloud,
and night sprang forth out of the heavens. Winds from East, South, North, and West fell
upon him all at the same time, and a tremendous sea got up, so that Ulysses' heart began
to fail him. "Alas," he said to himself in his dismay, "what ever will become
of me? I am afraid Calypso was right when she said I should have trouble by sea before
I got back home. It is all coming true. How black is Jove making heaven with his clouds,
and what a sea the winds are raising from every quarter at once. I am now safe to perish.
Blest and thrice blest were those Danaans who fell before Troy in the cause of the sons
of Atreus. Would that had been killed on the day when the Trojans were pressing me so
sorely about the dead body of Achilles, for then I should have had due burial and the Achæans
would have honoured my name; but now it seems that I shall come to a most pitiable end."
As he spoke a sea broke over him with such terrific fury that the raft reeled again, and he was
carried overboard a long way off. He let go the helm, and the force of the hurricane was so great
that it broke the mast half way up, and both sail and yard went over into the sea. For a long time
Ulysses was under water, and it was all he could do to rise to the surface again, for the clothes
Calypso had given him weighed him down; but at last he got his head above water and spat out
the bitter brine that was running down his face in streams. In spite of all this, however, he did
not lose sight of his raft, but swam as fast as he could towards it, got hold of it, and climbed on
board again so as to escape drowning. The sea took the raft and tossed it about as Autumn winds
whirl thistledown round and round upon a road. It was as though the South, North, East, and West
winds were all playing battledore and shuttlecock with it at once.
When he was in this plight, Ino daughter of Cadmus, also called Leucothea, saw him.
She had formerly been a mere mortal, but had been since raised to the rank of a marine goddess.
Seeing in what great distress Ulysses now was, she had compassion upon him, and, rising
like a sea-gull from the waves, took her seat upon the raft.
"My poor good man," said she, "why is Neptune so furiously angry with you?
He is giving you a great deal of trouble, but for all his bluster he will not kill you. You seem to be
a sensible person, do then as I bid you; strip, leave your raft to drive before the wind, and swim
to the Phæcian coast where better luck awaits you. And here, take my veil and put it round
your chest; it is enchanted, and you can come to no harm so long as you wear it. As soon as
you touch land take it off, throw it back as far as you can into the sea, and then go away again."
With these words she took off her veil and gave it him. Then she dived down again like a sea-gull
and vanished beneath the dark blue waters.
But Ulysses did not know what to think. "Alas," he said to himself in his dismay,
"this is only some one or other of the gods who is luring me to ruin by advising me to will
quit my raft. At any rate I will not do so at present, for the land where she said I should be quit
of all troubles seemed to be still a good way off. I know what I will do—I am sure it will be
best—no matter what happens I will stick to the raft as long as her timbers hold together,
but when the sea breaks her up I will swim for it; I do not see how I can do any better than this."
While he was thus in two minds, Neptune sent a terrible great wave that seemed to rear itself above
his head till it broke right over the raft, which then went to pieces as though it were a heap of dry chaff
tossed about by a whirlwind. Ulysses got astride of one plank and rode upon it as if he were on horseback;
he then took off the clothes Calypso had given him, bound Ino's veil under his arms, and plunged into
the sea—meaning to swim on shore. King Neptune watched him as he did so, and wagged
his head, muttering to himself and saying, "There now, swim up and down as you best can
till you fall in with well-to-do people. I do not think you will be able to say that I have let you off too lightly."
On this he lashed his horses and drove to Ægae where his palace is.
But Minerva resolved to help Ulysses, so she bound the ways of all the winds except one,
and made them lie quite still; but she roused a good stiff breeze from the North that should
lay the waters till Ulysses reached the land of the Phæacians where he would be safe.
Thereon he floated about for two nights and two days in the water, with a heavy swell on the sea
and death staring him in the face; but when the third day broke, the wind fell and there was a dead
calm without so much as a breath of air stirring. As he rose on the swell he looked eagerly ahead,
and could see land quite near. Then, as children rejoice when their dear father begins to get better
after having for a long time borne sore affliction sent him by some angry spirit, but the gods deliver
him from evil, so was Ulysses thankful when he again saw land and trees, and swam on with all
his strength that he might once more set foot upon dry ground. When, however, he got within earshot,
he began to hear the surf thundering up against the rocks, for the swell still broke against them
with a terrific roar. Everything was enveloped in spray; there were no harbours where a ship
might ride, nor shelter of any kind, but only headlands, low-lying rocks, and mountain tops.
Ulysses' heart now began to fail him, and he said despairingly to himself, "Alas, Jove
has let me see land after swimming so far that I had given up all hope, but I can find no landing
place, for the coast is rocky and surf-beaten, the rocks are smooth and rise sheer from the sea,
with deep water close under them so that I cannot climb out for want of foothold. I am afraid
some great wave will lift me off my legs and dash me against the rocks as I leave the
water—which would give me a sorry landing. If, on the other hand, I swim further
in search of some shelving beach or harbour, a hurricane may carry me out to sea again
sorely against my will, or heaven may send some great monster of the deep to attack me;
for Amphitrite breeds many such, and I know that Neptune is very angry with me."
While he was thus in two minds a wave caught him and took him with such force against the rocks
that he would have been smashed and torn to pieces if Minerva had not shown him what to do.
He caught hold of the rock with both hands and clung to it groaning with pain till the wave retired,
so he was saved that time; but presently the wave came on again and carried him back with it far
into the sea-tearing his hands as the suckers of a polypus are torn when some one plucks it
from its bed, and the stones come up along with it even so did the rocks tear the skin from
his strong hands, and then the wave drew him deep down under the water.
Here poor Ulysses would have certainly perished even in spite of his own destiny, if Minerva had
not helped him to keep his wits about him. He swam seaward again, beyond reach of the surf
that was beating against the land, and at the same time he kept looking towards the shore
to see if he could find some haven, or a spit that should take the waves aslant. By and by,
as he swam on, he came to the mouth of a river, and here he thought would be the best place,
for there were no rocks, and it afforded shelter from the wind. He felt that there was a current,
so he prayed inwardly and said:
"Hear me, O King, whoever you may be, and save me from the anger of the sea-god
Neptune, for I approach you prayerfully. Any one who has lost his way has at all times a claim even
upon the gods, wherefore in my distress I draw near to your stream, and cling to the knees of your riverhood.
Have mercy upon me, O king, for I declare myself your suppliant."
Then the god stayed his stream and stilled the waves, making all calm before him, and bringing him
safely into the mouth of the river. Here at last Ulysses' knees and strong hands failed him, for the sea
had completely broken him. His body was all swollen, and his mouth and nostrils ran down like a river
with sea-water, so that he could neither breathe nor speak, and lay swooning from sheer exhaustion;
presently, when he had got his breath and came to himself again, he took off the scarf that Ino had
given him and threw it back into the salt stream of the river, whereon Ino received it into her hands
from the wave that bore it towards her. Then he left the river, laid himself down among the rushes,
and kissed the bounteous earth.
"Alas," he cried to himself in his dismay, "what ever will become of me,
and how is it all to end? If I stay here upon the river bed through the long watches of the night,
I am so exhausted that the bitter cold and damp may make an end of me—for towards
sunrise there will be a keen wind blowing from off the river. If, on the other hand, I climb the hill
side, find shelter in the woods, and sleep in some thicket, I may escape the cold and have
a good night's rest, but some savage beast may take advantage of me and devour me."
In the end he deemed it best to take to the woods, and he found one upon some high ground
not far from the water. There he crept beneath two shoots of olive that grew from a single
stock—the one an ungrafted sucker, while the other had been grafted. No wind,
however squally, could break through the cover they afforded, nor could the sun's rays
pierce them, nor the rain get through them, so closely did they grow into one another.
Ulysses crept under these and began to make himself a bed to lie on, for there was
a great litter of dead leaves lying about—enough to make a covering for two or
three men even in hard winter weather. He was glad enough to see this, so he laid
himself down and heaped the leaves all round him. Then, as one who lives alone
in the country, far from any neighbor, hides a brand as fire-seed in the ashes to save
himself from having to get a light elsewhere, even so did Ulysses cover himself up
with leaves; and Minerva shed a sweet sleep upon his eyes, closed his eyelids,
and made him lose all memories of his sorrows.
[Book VI]
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