Circe

Chapter 10

“Our next landfall was the floating island of Aeolia, the home of Aeolus son of Hippotas, who is a favourite of the immortal gods. All round this isle there runs an unbroken wall of bronze, and below it the cliffs rise sheer from the sea. Aeolus shares his house with his family of twelve, six daughters and six grown-up sons; and I must tell you that he has given his daughters to his sons in marriage. With their father and their estimable mother they spend their days in feasting. Of luxuries they have a never-failing store. All day long the house is fragrant with the roasting of meat, and the courtyard echoes to the sounds of banqueting within. At night they sleep in blankets by their loving wives on well-made wooden beds.”
“To this domain of theirs and this palatial home we found our way. For a whole month Aeolus was my kind host and I was able to satisfy his thirst for news by giving him a full account of the Argive expedition to Ilium and the Achaeans’ start for home. Nor was he less obliging when it came to my turn and I asked him whether I might now continue my journey and count on his help. He gave it willingly and presented me with a leather bag, made from the flayed skin of a full-grown ox, in which he had imprisoned the boisterous energies of all the Winds. For you must know that Zeus has made him Warden of the Gales, with power to lay or rouse them each at will. This pouch he stowed in the hold of my ship, securing it tightly with a burnished silver wire so as to prevent the slightest leakage. Then, for my present purpose, he called up a breeze from the west to blow my ships and their crews across the sea. But his measures were doomed to failure, for we came to grief, through our own criminal folly.
“For the next nine days we sailed on, day and night; and on the tenth we were already in sight of our homeland, and had actually come near enough to see the people tending their fires, when I fell fast asleep. I was utterly exhausted, for in my anxiety to make a quick run home I had refused to let any of my men handle the sheet of my ship and had managed it myself without a break.”
“The crew seized this chance to discuss matters among themselves, and word went round that I was bringing home a fortune in gold and silver which the generous Aeolus son of Hippotas had given me. You can imagine the glances and comments that were exchanged: ‘What a captain we have, welcomed wherever he goes and popular in every port! Back he comes from Troy with a splendid haul of plunder, though we who have gone every bit as far come home with empty hands – and what must Aeolus do but give him all this into the bargain, just for friendship’s sake! Come on; let’s find out all about it and see what gold and silver is hidden in that bag.”
“A few speeches in this vein – and evil counsels carried the day. They undid the bag, the Winds all rushed out, and in an instant the tempest was upon them, carrying them head-long out to sea. They had good reason for their tears: Ithaca was vanishing astern. As for myself, when I awoke to this, my spirit failed me and I had half a mind to jump over­board and drown myself in the sea rather than stay alive and quietly accept such a calamity. However, I steeled myself to bear it, and covering my head with my cloak I lay where I was in the ship. So the whole fleet was driven back again to the Aeolian Isle by that accursed storm, and in it my repentant crews.”
“Once there, we disembarked and watered. The men fell to and took a quick meal by the ships. But as soon as we had had something to eat and drink, I detailed a messenger and one sailor to accompany me and set out for the palace of Aeolus, whom we found at dinner with his wife and family. We went in and sat down on the threshold by the pillars of the door.”
“Our friends were astounded at the sight of us. ‘Odysseus?’ they exclaimed. ‘How do you come to be here? What evil power is to blame for this? Surely, when we sent you off, we thought of all you could possibly need to get you home to Ithaca or to any port you might choose?”
“I was utterly downcast. I could only explain that two things had combined to bring me to this pass, a rascally crew and a fatal sleep. ‘But my friends,’ I went on, ‘won’t you put things right for me? You easily could.’
“My humble appeal had no effect. The sons held their tongues. Their father answered only to denounce me.” ‘Begone from this island instantly!’ he cried. ‘The world holds no greater sinner than you, and I am not one to enter­tain and equip a man detested by the blessed gods. Your very presence here is proof of their enmity. Be off!’
“Thus he dismissed me from his palace, and all my protests went for nothing. We left the island and resumed our journey in a state of gloom; and the heart was taken out of my men by the wearisome rowing, though it was certainly through our own folly that the friendly breeze we had before enjoyed now failed us.”
“For six days we forged ahead, never lying up even at night, and on the seventh we came to Telepylus, Lamus’ stronghold in the Laestrygonian land, where shepherds bring­ing in their flocks at night hail and are answered by their fellows driving out at dawn. For in this land nightfall and morning tread so closely on each other’s heels that a man who could do without sleep might earn a double set of wages, one as a neatherd and the other for shepherding white flocks of sheep. Here we found an excellent harbour, closed in on all sides by an unbroken ring of precipitous cliffs, with two bold headlands facing each other at the mouth so as to leave only a narrow channel in between. The captains of my squadron all steered their craft straight into the cove and tied up in the sheltered waters within. They remained close together, for it was obvious that the spot was never exposed to a heavy or even a moderate sea, and the weather outside was bright and calm. But I did not follow them. Instead I brought my ship to rest outside the cove and made her fast with a cable to a rock at the end of the point. I then climbed the headland to get a view from the top, and took my bearings. No ploughed fields or other signs of human activities were to be seen: all we caught sight of was a wisp of smoke rising up from the contryside. So I sent a party inland to find out what sort of people the inhabitants were, for which duty I detailed two of my sailors, together with a messenger.”
“When they had left the ships they found a well-worn track which had been used by waggons bringing timber down from the high mountains to the settlement. Presently they fell in with a girl who was drawing water outside the village and for this purpose had come down to a bubbling spring called Artacie, which supplied the place. This strapping young woman proved to be the daughter of Antiphates, the Laestrygonian chief. When they went up and asked her who was the ruler of the country and what his people were called, she pointed at once to the high roof of her father’s dwelling. So they made their way to his house, and had no sooner gone in than they were confronted by Antiphates’ wife, a creature of mountainous proportions, one glance at whom was enough to fill them with horror. The woman rushed off to the market-place to call her husband, Antiphates himself. And he gave my men a murderous reception, pouncing on one of them at once with a view to eating him for supper. The other two beat a hasty retreat and managed to make their way to the ships. Meanwhile Antiphates raised a hue and cry through the place, which brought the Laestrygonians running up from every side in their thousands – huge fellows, more like giants than men. Standing at the top of the cliffs they began pelting my flotilla with lumps of rock such as a man could barely lift; and the din that now rose from the ships, where the groans at dying men could be heard above the splintering of timbers, was appalling. One by one they harpooned their prey like fish and so carried them off to make their loathsome meal. But while this massacre was still going on in the depths of the cove, I drew my sword from my hip, slashed through the hawser of my vessel, and yelled to the crew to dash in with their oars if they wished to save their skins. With the fear of death upon them they struck the water like one man, and with a sigh of relief we shot out to sea and left those frowning cliffs behind. My ship was safe. But that was the end of all the rest.”
“We travelled on in utter dejection, thankful to have escaped alive, but grieving for the good comrades we had lost. In due course we came to the island of Aeaea, the home of the beautiful Circe, a formidable goddess, though her voice is like a woman’s. She is the sister of the wizard Aeetes, both being children of the Sun who lights the world, by the same mother, Perse the Daughter of Ocean. We approached the coast of this island and brought our ship into the shelter of the haven without making a sound. Some god must have guided us in. And when we had disembarked, for two whole days and nights we lay on the beach, suffering not only from exhaustion but from the horrors we had been through. The third day was heralded by a lovely dawn. When the sun was up I took my spear and sword, slipped away from the ship, and struck inland, making for a coign of vantage from which I might look out for signs of human industry or hear men’s voices. I climbed a rocky height which promised a wide view, and on reaching the top I was able to see the smoke rising from the distant spot where Circe’s house lay screened by the dense oak-­scrub and forest trees. That glimpse I had of ruddy smoke left me in two minds whether or not to press forward and reconnoitre. After some hesitation I thought the better course would be to return first to my ship on the beach, give my men a meal and send out an exploring party. And here some god must have been moved to pity by my forlorn condition. For when I had almost got back to the ship, I fell in with a great antlered stag, right across my path. The fierce heat of the sun had brought him down from the forest pastures to drink at a stream, and as he came up from the water I caught him on the spine half way down his back. The bronze point of my spear went right through him, and with a groan he fell in the dust and was dead. With one foot on his carcass I dragged the spear out of the wound, laid it on the ground, and left it there while I plucked myself some withes and willow-twigs, which I twisted into a fathom’s length of rope carefully plaited from end to end. With this I tied his feet together, and since he was far too big for me to carry on one shoulder and steady with a single hand, I slung the great beast round my neck, and using my spear as a staff I set off for my ship. When I reached it, I threw the stag down by the hull, made the round of all my men and roused them with the cheerful news.”
“ ‘My friends,’ I said, ‘we may be miserable but we are not going down below just yet, not till our time has come. Up you get, and while there’s food and drink on board, let us have something to eat instead of dying here of starvation.”
“This was a hint they took readily enough. All heads were at once unmuffled, and there on the desolate sea-beach they saw the stag. They had good reason to stare; for he really was a monster. When they had feasted their eyes on the sight they washed their hands and prepared a glorious meal. So the whole day long till sundown we sat and banqueted on our rich supply of meat washed down by mellow wine. When the sun set and darkness fell, we lay down for sleep on the sea-shore. But as soon as Dawn had flecked the sky with red, I gathered my men round me and made them a speech.”
‘My friends,’ I said, ‘East and West mean nothing to us here. Where the Sun is rising from when he comes to light the world, and where he is sinking, we do not know. So the sooner we decide on a sensible plan the better – if one can still be found (which I doubt). For when I climbed a crag to reconnoitre I found that this is an island, and for the most part low-lying, as all round it in a ring I saw the sea stretching away to the horizon. What I did catch sight of, right in the middle, through dense oak-scrub and forest, was a wisp of smoke.”
“When they heard my report they broke down com­pletely. They could not help remembering what Antiphates the Laestrygonian had done, and the unbridled savagery of the man-eating Cyclops. They burst into sobs and the tears streamed down their cheeks. But they might have spared themselves their lamentations for all the good they did.”
“In the end I numbered them off into two well-armed parties with a commander for each. Of one, I myself took charge; the other I gave to an officer of noble birth called Eurylochus; and without more ado we shook lots in a bronze helmet. Out came the gallant Eurylochus’ lot, and so he went off with his two-and-twenty men, a tearful company, leaving us, who stayed behind, in no better case. In due course they came upon Circe’s house, which was built of dressed stone and stood in the middle of a clearing in a forest dell. Prowling about the place were mountain wolves and lions, actually the drugged victims of Circe’s magic, for they not only refrained from attacking my men, but rose on their hind legs to caress them, with much wagging of their long tails, like dogs fawning on their master, as he comes from table, for the tasty bits they know he always brings. But these were wolves and lions with great claws that were gambolling in this way round my men. Terrified at the sight of the formidable beasts, they shrunk away and took refuge in the porch of the fair goddess’ castle. From there they could hear Circe within, singing in her beautiful voice as she went to and fro at her great and everlasting loom, on which she was weaving one of those delicate, graceful, and dazzling fabrics that goddesses love to make.”
“Polites, one of my captains and the man in my party whom I liked and trusted most, now took the lead. ‘Friends,’ he said, ‘there is someone in the castle working at a loom. The whole place echoes to that lovely voice. It’s either a goddess or a woman. Let us waste no more time, but give her a shout.”
“So they shouted to attract attention, and the next moment Circe came out, opened the polished doors, and invited them to enter. In their innocence, the whole party except Eurylochus followed her in. But he suspected a trap and stayed outside. Circe ushered the rest into her hall, gave them settles and chairs to sit on, and then prepared them a mixture of cheese, barley-meal, and yellow honey flavoured with Pramnian wine. But into this dish she introduced a powerful drug, to make them lose all memory of their native land. And when they had emptied the bowls in which she had served them, she struck them with her wand, drove them off and penned them in the pig-sties. For now to all appear­ance they were swine: they had pigs’ heads and bristles, and they grunted like pigs; but their minds were as human as they had been before the change. Indeed, they shed tears in their sties. But Circe flung them some mast, acorns, and cornel-berries, and left them to eat this pigs’ fodder and wallow in the mud.”
“Meanwhile Eurylochus came back to the good black ship to report the catastrophe his party had met with. He was in such anguish that for all his eagerness to tell us he could utter not a single word; his eyes were filled with tears, and ­the rising sobs stuck in his throat. Aghast at the sight, we all bombarded him with questions, till at length the story of his comrades’ fate came out.”
“ ‘My lord Odysseus,’ he said, ‘we followed your orders. We made our way through the oaklands and in a clearing in a glade we came to a well-built castle of dressed stone. Some­one was working at a great loom inside and singing in a clear voice – either a goddess or a woman. My men gave a shout to attract her attention. In a moment she came out, opened the polished doors and invited us in. Not knowing better, the men followed her into the house in a body. But I stayed where I was, for I thought it might be a trap. And now the whole party have vanished. Not a single man showed up, though I sat there a long time and kept a sharp lookout.”
“When I heard this story I slung my bow over my shoulder, and my big bronze sword in its silver scabbard, and I told Eurylochus to take me back with him by the way he had come. But he threw his arms round my knees in supplication and broke into a pitiful appeal.”
“ ‘My king,’ he said, ‘leave me behind and don’t force me to go with you there. You will never come back yourself and you won’t rescue a man of your crew. I am certain of it. Let us get away quickly with those that are left here. We might still save our skins.’ ”
“ ‘Very well, Eurylochus,’ I replied; ‘stay where you are, and eat and drink by the black ship’s hull. But I shall go. It is my plain and bounden duty.’ ”
“With this, I turned my back on the ship and the sea, and struck inland. But as I was threading my way through the enchanted glades that led to the witch’s castle, whom should I fall in with but Hermes, god of the golden wand, who came up to me just before I reached the house, looking like a young man at that most charming age when the beard first starts to grow. He took my hand in his and greeted me amiably.”
“ ‘Where are you off to now, my poor fellow,’ he said, ‘wandering alone through the wilds in unknown country, with your friends there in Circe’s house penned like pigs in their crowded sties? I suppose you have come here to free them, though I think you are more likely to stay with them yourself and never see your home again. However, I am coming to the rescue and will see you through. Look; here is a drug of real virtue that you must take with you into Circe’s palace to save yourself from disaster. But I must explain how she works her black magic. She will begin by mixing you a pottage, into which she will put her poison. But even with its help she will be unable to enchant you, for this antidote that I am going to give you and describe will rob it of its power. When Circe strikes you with her long wand, you must draw your sword from your side and rush at her as though you meant to take her life. She will shrink from you in terror and invite you to her bed. Nor must you hesitate to accept the goddess’ favours, if you want her to free your men and treat you kindly. But make her swear a solemn oath by the blessed gods not to try on you any more of her tricks, or when she has you stripped she may rob you of your courage and your manhood.’ ”
“Then the Giant-killer handed me a herb he had plucked from the ground, and showed me what it was like. It had a black root and a milk-white flower. The gods call it Moly, and it is an awkward plant to dig up, at any rate for a mere man. But the gods, after all, can do anything.”
“Hermes went off through the island forest, making for high Olympus, while I with a heart oppressed by many dark forebodings pursued my way to Circe’s home, till I found myself at the doors of the lovely goddess’ palace. Here I halted and gave a shout. Circe heard my call, came out at once, and opening the polished doors invited me in. Filled with misgivings, I followed her indoors and was asked to sit down on a beautiful chair with silver decorations and a stool for my feet, while she prepared some pottage in a golden bowl for me to drink, and for her own evil purposes threw in some poison. When I had taken the bowl from her and drained it, but without suffering any magic effects, she touched me with her wand and sharply ordered me to be off to the pigsties and lie down with my friends. Whereupon I snatched my sword from my hip and rushed on Circe as though I meant to kill her. But with a shriek she slipped below my blade, fell at my knees and burst into tears.”
“ ‘Who on earth are you?’ she asked. ‘What parents begot, what city bred such a man? I am amazed to see you take my poison and suffer no magic change. For never before have I known a man who could resist that drug once he had taken it and swallowed it down. You must have a heart in your breast that is proof against all enchantment. I am sure you are Odysseus, the man whom nothing defeats, the man whom the Giant-slayer with the golden wand always told me to expect here on his way back from Troy in his good black ship. But I beg you now to put up your sword and come with me to my bed, so that in love and sleep we may learn to trust one another.”
“ ‘Circe,’ I answered her, ‘how can you expect me to be gentle with you, who have turned my friends into pigs here in your house, and now that you have me too in your clutches are inveigling* me to your bedroom and inviting me to your bed, to make a coward and a weakling of me when you have me stripped? Nothing, goddess, would induce me to sleep with you, unless you can bring yourself to swear a solemn oath that you have no other mischief in store for me.’ ”
“Circe complied and swore that she had no evil intentions. So when she had given me her word with due solemnity, I went with the goddess to her beautiful bed.”
“Meanwhile the four maids who do the housework for Circe were busying themselves in the palace. They are the daughters of Springs and Groves and the sacred Rivers that flow out into the sea. One of them threw covers over the chairs and spread fine purple rugs on top. Another drew silver tables up to the chairs and placed golden baskets upon them; while the third was mixing the sweet and mellow wine in a silver bowl and setting out the golden cups; and the fourth fetched water and lit up a great fire under the big cauldron so that the water grew warm.”
“When the bright copper was boiling, she sat me down in a bath and washed me with water from the great cauldron mixed with cold to a comfortable heat, sluicing my head and shoulders till all the painful weariness was gone from my limbs. My bath done, she rubbed me with olive oil, clothed me in a tunic and a splendid cloak, and conducted me to the hall, where she seated me in a beautiful chair with silver decorations and a footstool below. Next came another maid with water in a splendid golden ewer. She poured it out over a silver basin so that I could rinse my hands, and then drew up a polished table to my side. A staid housekeeper brought some bread, which she put by me with a variety of dainties; and after helping me liberally to all she had brought she invited me to fall to. But I had no heart for eating. I sat there heedless, engrossed in my cares.”
“When Circe saw me sitting so quiet and not helping myself to the food, she knew that I had some serious trouble on my mind. So she faced me and came straight to the point.”
“ ‘Odysseus,’ she said, ‘why are you sitting here like this as though you were dumb, and feeding on your own thoughts instead of helping yourself to meat and wine? Do you suspect another trap? You need have no fears: I have given you my solemn word to do you no more harm.’ ”
“ ‘Circe,’ I answered her, ‘could any honest man in my position bear to taste food and drink before he had freed his men and seen them face to face? If you really mean me to eat and drink, give them their liberty and let me set eyes on my loyal followers.’ ”
“Wand in hand, Circe went straight out of the hall, threw open the pigsty gate and drove them out, looking exactly like full-grown swine. And there they stood and faced her. She went in among them and smeared them each in turn with some new salve she had. Whereupon the bristles which her first deadly potion had made them sprout dropped off their limbs, and they not only became men again but looked younger and much handsomer and taller than before. They recognized me now, and one after the other ran up and seized my hand. We were so moved that we all wept for happiness. It was a strange sound for those walls to echo. Even the goddess was touched.”
“Presently she came up to me and said: ‘Royal son of Laertes, you have shown your infinite resource. Get down now to your ship and the sea-shore, drag her straight up onto dry land, stow your belongings and all the ship’s tackle in a cave, and then come back yourself with the rest of your loyal company.’ ”
“I could not refuse this challenge to my adventurous spirit. So off I went to the ship and the sea-shore. I found my good fellows by the ship in woebegone state, with the tears streaming down their cheeks. Indeed I was reminded of the scene at a farm when a drove of cows come home full­-fed from the pastures to the yard and are welcomed by all their frisking calves, who burst out from the pens to gambol round their mothers and fill the air with the sound of their lowing. For my men no sooner caught sight of me than they were all round me in a weeping throng. They were as deeply moved as if they had reached their homeland and were standing in the streets of their own town in rugged Ithaca, where they were born and bred.”
“ ‘Royal master,’ they said between their sobs, ‘we are as happy to see you back as we should be to set foot in our own island of Ithaca. But tell us how our comrades met their end.’ ”
“I gave them a cheerful reply. ‘Our first business,’ I said, ‘is to drag up the ship on dry land and stow our cargo and the tackle in a cave. Then you must get ready and all come along with me yourselves, it you wish to see your friends eating and drinking in Circe’s enchanted palace, where I tell you they have enough to last them for ever.’ ”
“The rest were quick to fall in with my suggestion. But not Eurylochus, who, by infecting them with his fears, did his best to keep the whole company back.”
“ ‘Where are we poor wretches off to now?’ he cried. ‘Are you so keen on trouble that you must seek out the Witch in her stronghold, and all be turned into pigs or wolves or lions, and forced to keep watch in that great house of hers? We have had all this before, with the Cyclops, when our friends found their way into his fold with this dare-devil Odysseus for company. It was this man’s reckless folly that cost them their lives.’ ”
“Now when Eurylochus said that, I had half a mind, though he was a close kinsman of my own, to draw the long sword from my side and lop his head off to roll in the dust. But I was checked by a chorus of remonstrance from my men, who took a milder view.”
“ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘it is for you to give the order; but why not leave this fellow here by the ship on guard, while we follow your lead to Circe’s enchanted castle?’ ”
“So we turned our backs on the ship and the sea and struck inland. And Eurylochus came with us after all. He was not going to be left by the ship, and was afraid of the stinging rebuke I might give him.”
“Circe had been spending the interval in hospitable care for the party in her house. She bathed and anointed them with olive oil, and gave them all tunics and warm cloaks to wear, so that on our arrival we found them enjoying a comfortable dinner in the hall. When the two companies came face to face and each man recognized his friends, they burst into tears and the whole house echoed to their sobs, till the goddess herself, coming up and addressing me by my royal titles, appealed to me to check this fit of weeping.”
“ ‘I know as well as you,’ she said, ‘all you have gone through on the fish-infested seas and suffered at the hands of savages on land. But now I want to see you enjoying your food and putting down your wine, till you are once more the men you were when you sailed from your homes in rugged Ithaca. You are worn out and depressed: you cannot forget the buffetings you’ve had. And your suffer­ing has been so continuous that you don’t know what it is to have a merry heart.’ ”
“My gallant company were not difficult to persuade. In fact we stayed on day after day for a whole year, feasting on meat galore and mellow wine. But when the year was out, and the seasons began to repeat their round, my good friends called me aside one day and said reproachfully: ‘Master, if you are ever going to escape and get back to your old home in your own country, it’s high time you thought of Ithaca again.’ This was enough: my proud heart was convinced.”
“For the rest of that day till sunset we sat and banqueted on the meat and mellow wine that were provided in such abundance. When the sun sank and night fell, my men settled down for sleep in the darkened hall. But I went to the beautiful bed where Circe lay and there clasped the goddess’ knees in prayer, while she listened to my eager words:”
“ ‘Circe,’ I said, ‘I beseech you to keep that promise which you made me once to send me home. I am eager now to be gone, and so are all my men. They wear me out and pester me with their complaints whenever you are not about.’ ”
“ ‘Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus of the nimble wits,’ the goddess answered me, ‘I am not going to keep you in my­ house against your wishes. But before I can send you home you have to make a journey of a very different kind, and find your way to the Halls of Hades and Persephone the Dread, to consult the soul of Teiresias, the blind Theban prophet, whose understanding even death has not impaired. For dead though he is, Persephone has left to him, and him alone, a mind to reason with. The rest are mere shadows flitting to and fro.’ ”
“This news broke my heart. I sat down on the bed and wept. I had no further use for life, no wish to see the sunshine any more. But when at last I grew tired of tears and of tossing about on the bed, I began to question her:”
“ ‘But tell me, Circe, who is to guide me on the way? No-one has ever sailed a black ship into Hell.’ ”
“ ‘Odysseus,’ the goddess answered me, ‘don’t think of lingering on shore for lack of a pilot. Set up your mast, spread the white sail and sit down in the ship. The North Wind will blow her on her way; and when she has brought you across the River of Ocean, you will come to a wild coast and to Persephone’s Grove, where the tall poplars grow and the willows that so quickly shed their seeds. Beach your boat there by Ocean’s swirling stream and march on into Hades’ Kingdom of Decay. There the River of Flaming Fire and the River of Lamentation, which is a branch of the Waters of Styx, unite round a pinnacle of rock to pour their thundering streams into Acheron. This is the spot, my lord, that I bid you to seek out. Once there, dig a trench about a cubit long and a cubit in breadth. Around this trench pour offerings to all the dead, first with honey mixed with milk, then with sweet wine, and last of all with water. Over all this sprinkle white barley and then begin your prayers to the helpless ghosts of the dead. Promise them that once you are in Ithaca you will sacrifice in your palace a barren heifer, the best that you have, and will heap the pyre with treasures and make Teiresias a separate offering of the finest jet-black sheep to be found in your flock. When you have finished your invocations to the glorious fellowship of the dead, sacrifice a young ram and a black ewe, holding their heads down to­wards Erebus* while you turn your own aside, as though about to recross the River of Ocean. Then the souls of the dead and departed will come up in their multitudes and you must bid your men make haste to flay the sheep that are lying there slaughtered by your blade, and burn them up while they pray to the gods, to mighty Hades and august Persephone. Sit still yourself meanwhile, with your drawn sword in your hand, and do not let any of the helpless ghosts come near the blood till you have had speech with Teiresias. Presently the prophet himself will come to you, my lord king. And he will lay down for you your journey and the distances to be covered, and direct you home across the fish-delighting seas.’ ”
“Circe finished, and soon after the Dawn enthroned herself in gold. The Nymph clothed me in my tunic and cloak and dressed herself in a long robe of silvery sheen, light in fabric and charming to the eye. She put a veil on her head, and round her waist she fastened a splendid golden belt. Then I walked through the palace and made the round of my men, rousing them each with a cheerful word.”
“ ‘Wake up,’ I said, ‘and bid your dreams farewell. We must be off. My lady Circe has given me our sailing orders.’ ”
“My gallant band made no demur. But not even now did I get them all off without a casualty. There was one called Elpenor, the youngest of the party, not much of a fighting man nor very strong in the head. This young fellow of mine had got drunk, and longing for fresh air had left his friends in the enchanted palace and gone to sleep by himself. Roused in the morning by the bustle and din of their departure, he leapt up suddenly, and forgetting to go to the long ladder and take the right way down, he toppled headlong from the roof. He broke his neck and his soul went down to Hades.”
“When the rest of the party joined me I took them into my confidence. ‘You no doubt imagine,’ I said, ‘that you are bound for home and our beloved Ithaca. But Circe has marked out for us a very different route, to the Halls of Hades and Persephone the Dread, where we must seek advice of the soul of Theban Teiresias.’ ”
“When I told them this they were heart-broken. They sat down where they were and wept and tore their hair. But they might have spared themselves their lamentations for all the good they did.”
“We made our way to our ship and the beach in a sorry mood and with many tears. Meanwhile Circe, after taking leave of us, had tethered a young ram and a black ewe by the ship. She had slipped past us with ease; and when a god wishes to remain unseen, what eye can observe his coming or his going?”