Minerva now put it in Penelope's mind to make the suitors try
their
skill with the bow and with the iron axes, in contest among
themselves,
as a means of bringing about their destruction. She went
upstairs
and got the store room key, which was made of bronze and had a
handle
of ivory; she then went with her maidens into the store room at
the
end of the house, where her husband's treasures of gold, bronze,
and
wrought iron were kept, and where was also his bow, and the
quiver
full of deadly arrows that had been given him by a friend whom
he
had met in Lacedaemon- Iphitus the son of Eurytus. The two fell
in
with one another in Messene at the house of Ortilochus, where
Ulysses
was staying in order to recover a debt that was owing from the
whole
people; for the Messenians had carried off three hundred sheep
from
Ithaca, and had sailed away with them and with their shepherds.
In
quest of these Ulysses took a long journey while still quite
young,
for his father and the other chieftains sent him on a mission to
recover
them. Iphitus had gone there also to try and get back twelve
brood
mares that he had lost, and the mule foals that were running
with
them. These mares were the death of him in the end, for when he
went
to the house of Jove's son, mighty Hercules, who performed such
prodigies
of valour, Hercules to his shame killed him, though he was his
guest,
for he feared not heaven's vengeance, nor yet respected his own
table
which he had set before Iphitus, but killed him in spite of
everything,
and kept the mares himself. It was when claiming these that
Iphitus
met Ulysses, and gave him the bow which mighty Eurytus had been
used
to carry, and which on his death had been left by him to his
son.
Ulysses gave him in return a sword and a spear, and this was the
beginning
of a fast friendship, although they never visited at one
another's
houses, for Jove's son Hercules killed Iphitus ere they could do
so.
This bow, then, given him by Iphitus, had not been taken with
him
by Ulysses when he sailed for Troy; he had used it so long as he
had
been at home, but had left it behind as having been a keepsake
from
a valued friend.
Penelope presently reached the oak threshold of the store room;
the
carpenter had planed this duly, and had drawn a line on it so as
to
get it quite straight; he had then set the door posts into it
and
hung the doors. She loosed the strap from the handle of the
door,
put in the key, and drove it straight home to shoot back the
bolts
that held the doors; these flew open with a noise like a bull
bellowing
in a meadow, and Penelope stepped upon the raised platform,
where
the chests stood in which the fair linen and clothes were laid
by
along with fragrant herbs: reaching thence, she took down the
bow
with its bow case from the peg on which it hung. She sat down
with
it on her knees, weeping bitterly as she took the bow out of its
case,
and when her tears had relieved her, she went to the cloister
where
the suitors were, carrying the bow and the quiver, with the many
deadly
arrows that were inside it. Along with her came her maidens,
bearing
a chest that contained much iron and bronze which her husband
had
won as prizes. When she reached the suitors, she stood by one of
the
bearing-posts supporting the roof of the cloister, holding a
veil
before her face, and with a maid on either side of her. Then she
said:
"Listen to me you suitors, who persist in abusing the
hospitality
of this house because its owner has been long absent, and
without
other pretext than that you want to marry me; this, then, being
the
prize that you are contending for, I will bring out the mighty
bow
of Ulysses, and whomsoever of you shall string it most easily
and
send his arrow through each one of twelve axes, him will I
follow
and quit this house of my lawful husband, so goodly, and so
abounding
in wealth. But even so I doubt not that I shall remember it in
my
dreams."
As she spoke, she told Eumaeus to set the bow and the pieces of
iron
before the suitors, and Eumaeus wept as he took them to do as
she
had bidden him. Hard by, the stockman wept also when he saw his
master's
bow, but Antinous scolded them. "You country louts," said he,
"silly
simpletons; why should you add to the sorrows of your mistress
by
crying in this way? She has enough to grieve her in the loss of
her
husband; sit still, therefore, and eat your dinners in silence,
or
go outside if you want to cry, and leave the bow behind you. We
suitors
shall have to contend for it with might and main, for we shall
find
it no light matter to string such a bow as this is. There is not
a
man of us all who is such another as Ulysses; for I have seen
him
and remember him, though I was then only a child."
This was what he said, but all the time he was expecting to be
able
to string the bow and shoot through the iron, whereas in fact he
was
to be the first that should taste of the arrows from the hands
of
Ulysses, whom he was dishonouring in his own house- egging the
others
on to do so also.
Then Telemachus spoke. "Great heavens!" he exclaimed, "Jove must
have
robbed me of my senses. Here is my dear and excellent mother
saying
she will quit this house and marry again, yet I am laughing and
enjoying
myself as though there were nothing happening. But, suitors, as
the
contest has been agreed upon, let it go forward. It is for a
woman
whose peer is not to be found in Pylos, Argos, or Mycene, nor
yet
in Ithaca nor on the mainland. You know this as well as I do;
what
need have I to speak in praise of my mother? Come on, then, make
no
excuses for delay, but let us see whether you can string the bow
or
no. I too will make trial of it, for if I can string it and
shoot
through the iron, I shall not suffer my mother to quit this
house
with a stranger, not if I can win the prizes which my father won
before
me."
As he spoke he sprang from his seat, threw his crimson cloak
from
him, and took his sword from his shoulder. First he set the axes
in
a row, in a long groove which he had dug for them, and had Wade
straight
by line. Then he stamped the earth tight round them, and
everyone
was surprised when they saw him set up so orderly, though he had
never
seen anything of the kind before. This done, he went on to the
pavement
to make trial of the bow; thrice did he tug at it, trying with
all
his might to draw the string, and thrice he had to leave off,
though
he had hoped to string the bow and shoot through the iron. He
was
trying for the fourth time, and would have strung it had not
Ulysses
made a sign to check him in spite of all his eagerness. So he
said:
"Alas! I shall either be always feeble and of no prowess, or I
am
too young, and have not yet reached my full strength so as to be
able
to hold my own if any one attacks me. You others, therefore, who
are
stronger than I, make trial of the bow and get this contest
settled."
On this he put the bow down, letting it lean against the door
[that
led into the house] with the arrow standing against the top of
the
bow. Then he sat down on the seat from which he had risen, and
Antinous
said:
"Come on each of you in his turn, going towards the right from
the
place at which the. cupbearer begins when he is handing round
the
wine."
The rest agreed, and Leiodes son of OEnops was the first to
rise.
He was sacrificial priest to the suitors, and sat in the corner
near
the mixing-bowl. He was the only man who hated their evil deeds
and
was indignant with the others. He was now the first to take the
bow
and arrow, so he went on to the pavement to make his trial, but
he
could not string the bow, for his hands were weak and unused to
hard
work, they therefore soon grew tired, and he said to the
suitors,
"My friends, I cannot string it; let another have it; this bow
shall
take the life and soul out of many a chief among us, for it is
better
to die than to live after having missed the prize that we have
so
long striven for, and which has brought us so long together.
Some
one of us is even now hoping and praying that he may marry
Penelope,
but when he has seen this bow and tried it, let him woo and make
bridal
offerings to some other woman, and let Penelope marry whoever
makes
her the best offer and whose lot it is to win her."
On this he put the bow down, letting it lean against the door,
with
the arrow standing against the tip of the bow. Then he took his
seat
again on the seat from which he had risen; and Antinous rebuked
him
saying:
"Leiodes, what are you talking about? Your words are monstrous
and
intolerable; it makes me angry to listen to you. Shall, then,
this
bow take the life of many a chief among us, merely because you
cannot
bend it yourself? True, you were not born to be an archer, but
there
are others who will soon string it."
Then he said to Melanthius the goatherd, "Look sharp, light a
fire
in the court, and set a seat hard by with a sheep skin on it;
bring
us also a large ball of lard, from what they have in the house.
Let
us warm the bow and grease it we will then make trial of it
again,
and bring the contest to an end."
Melanthius lit the fire, and set a seat covered with sheep skins
beside
it. He also brought a great ball of lard from what they had in
the
house, and the suitors warmed the bow and again made trial of
it,
but they were none of them nearly strong enough to string it.
Nevertheless
there still remained Antinous and Eurymachus, who were the
ringleaders
among the suitors and much the foremost among them all.
Then the swineherd and the stockman left the cloisters together,
and
Ulysses followed them. When they had got outside the gates and
the
outer yard, Ulysses said to them quietly:
"Stockman, and you swineherd, I have something in my mind which
I
am in doubt whether to say or no; but I think I will say it.
What
manner of men would you be to stand by Ulysses, if some god
should
bring him back here all of a sudden? Say which you are disposed
to
do- to side with the suitors, or with Ulysses?"
"Father Jove," answered the stockman, "would indeed that you
might
so ordain it. If some god were but to bring Ulysses back, you
should
see with what might and main I would fight for him."
In like words Eumaeus prayed to all the gods that Ulysses might
return;
when, therefore, he saw for certain what mind they were of,
Ulysses
said, "It is I, Ulysses, who am here. I have suffered much, but
at
last, in the twentieth year, I am come back to my own country. I
find
that you two alone of all my servants are glad that I should do
so,
for I have not heard any of the others praying for my return. To
you
two, therefore, will I unfold the truth as it shall be. If
heaven
shall deliver the suitors into my hands, I will find wives for
both
of you, will give you house and holding close to my own, and you
shall
be to me as though you were brothers and friends of Telemachus.
I
will now give you convincing proofs that you may know me and be
assured.
See, here is the scar from the boar's tooth that ripped me when
I
was out hunting on Mount Parnassus with the sons of Autolycus."
As he spoke he drew his rags aside from the great scar, and when
they
had examined it thoroughly, they both of them wept about
Ulysses,
threw their arms round him and kissed his head and shoulders,
while
Ulysses kissed their hands and faces in return. The sun would
have
gone down upon their mourning if Ulysses had not checked them
and
said:
"Cease your weeping, lest some one should come outside and see
us,
and tell those who a are within. When you go in, do so
separately,
not both together; I will go first, and do you follow
afterwards;
Let this moreover be the token between us; the suitors will all
of
them try to prevent me from getting hold of the bow and quiver;
do
you, therefore, Eumaeus, place it in my hands when you are
carrying
it about, and tell the women to close the doors of their
apartment.
If they hear any groaning or uproar as of men fighting about the
house,
they must not come out; they must keep quiet, and stay where
they
are at their work. And I charge you, Philoetius, to make fast
the
doors of the outer court, and to bind them securely at once."
When he had thus spoken, he went back to the house and took the
seat
that he had left. Presently, his two servants followed him
inside.
At this moment the bow was in the hands of Eurymachus, who was
warming
it by the fire, but even so he could not string it, and he was
greatly
grieved. He heaved a deep sigh and said, "I grieve for myself
and
for us all; I grieve that I shall have to forgo the marriage,
but
I do not care nearly so much about this, for there are plenty of
other
women in Ithaca and elsewhere; what I feel most is the fact of
our
being so inferior to Ulysses in strength that we cannot string
his
bow. This will disgrace us in the eyes of those who are yet
unborn."
"It shall not be so, Eurymachus," said Antinous, "and you know
it
yourself. To-day is the feast of Apollo throughout all the land;
who
can string a bow on such a day as this? Put it on one side- as
for
the axes they can stay where they are, for no one is likely to
come
to the house and take them away: let the cupbearer go round with
his
cups, that we may make our drink-offerings and drop this matter
of
the bow; we will tell Melanthius to bring us in some goats
to-morrow-
the best he has; we can then offer thigh bones to Apollo the
mighty
archer, and again make trial of the bow, so as to bring the
contest
to an end."
The rest approved his words, and thereon men servants poured
water
over the hands of the guests, while pages filled the
mixing-bowls
with wine and water and handed it round after giving every man
his
drink-offering. Then, when they had made their offerings and had
drunk
each as much as he desired, Ulysses craftily said:
"Suitors of the illustrious queen, listen that I may speak even
as
I am minded. I appeal more especially to Eurymachus, and to
Antinous
who has just spoken with so much reason. Cease shooting for the
present
and leave the matter to the gods, but in the morning let heaven
give
victory to whom it will. For the moment, however, give me the
bow
that I may prove the power of my hands among you all, and see
whether
I still have as much strength as I used to have, or whether
travel
and neglect have made an end of it."
This made them all very angry, for they feared he might string
the
bow; Antinous therefore rebuked him fiercely saying, "Wretched
creature,
you have not so much as a grain of sense in your whole body; you
ought
to think yourself lucky in being allowed to dine unharmed among
your
betters, without having any smaller portion served you than we
others
have had, and in being allowed to hear our conversation. No
other
beggar or stranger has been allowed to hear what we say among
ourselves;
the wine must have been doing you a mischief, as it does with
all
those drink immoderately. It was wine that inflamed the Centaur
Eurytion
when he was staying with Peirithous among the Lapithae. When the
wine
had got into his head he went mad and did ill deeds about the
house
of Peirithous; this angered the heroes who were there assembled,
so
they rushed at him and cut off his ears and nostrils; then they
dragged
him through the doorway out of the house, so he went away
crazed,
and bore the burden of his crime, bereft of understanding.
Henceforth,
therefore, there was war between mankind and the centaurs, but
he
brought it upon himself through his own drunkenness. In like
manner
I can tell you that it will go hardly with you if you string the
bow:
you will find no mercy from any one here, for we shall at once
ship
you off to king Echetus, who kills every one that comes near
him:
you will never get away alive, so drink and keep quiet without
getting
into a quarrel with men younger than yourself."
Penelope then spoke to him. "Antinous," said she, "it is not
right
that you should ill-treat any guest of Telemachus who comes to
this
house. If the stranger should prove strong enough to string the
mighty
bow of Ulysses, can you suppose that he would take me home with
him
and make me his wife? Even the man himself can have no such idea
in
his mind: none of you need let that disturb his feasting; it
would
be out of all reason."
"Queen Penelope," answered Eurymachus, "we do not suppose that
this
man will take you away with him; it is impossible; but we are
afraid
lest some of the baser sort, men or women among the Achaeans,
should
go gossiping about and say, 'These suitors are a feeble folk;
they
are paying court to the wife of a brave man whose bow not one of
them
was able to string, and yet a beggarly tramp who came to the
house
strung it at once and sent an arrow through the iron.' This is
what
will be said, and it will be a scandal against us."
"Eurymachus," Penelope answered, "people who persist in eating
up
the estate of a great chieftain and dishonouring his house must
not
expect others to think well of them. Why then should you mind if
men
talk as you think they will? This stranger is strong and
well-built,
he says moreover that he is of noble birth. Give him the bow,
and
let us see whether he can string it or no. I say- and it shall
surely
be- that if Apollo vouchsafes him the glory of stringing it, I
will
give him a cloak and shirt of good wear, with a javelin to keep
off
dogs and robbers, and a sharp sword. I will also give him
sandals,
and will see him sent safely whereever he wants to go."
Then Telemachus said, "Mother, I am the only man either in
Ithaca
or in the islands that are over against Elis who has the right
to
let any one have the bow or to refuse it. No one shall force me
one
way or the other, not even though I choose to make the stranger
a
present of the bow outright, and let him take it away with him.
Go,
then, within the house and busy yourself with your daily duties,
your
loom, your distaff, and the ordering of your servants. This bow
is
a man's matter, and mine above all others, for it is I who am
master
here."
She went wondering back into the house, and laid her son's
saying
in her heart. Then going upstairs with her handmaids into her
room,
she mourned her dear husband till Minerva sent sweet sleep over
her
eyelids.
The swineherd now took up the bow and was for taking it to
Ulysses,
but the suitors clamoured at him from all parts of the
cloisters,
and one of them said, "You idiot, where are you taking the bow
to?
Are you out of your wits? If Apollo and the other gods will
grant
our prayer, your own boarhounds shall get you into some quiet
little
place, and worry you to death."
Eumaeus was frightened at the outcry they all raised, so he put
the
bow down then and there, but Telemachus shouted out at him from
the
other side of the cloisters, and threatened him saying, "Father
Eumaeus,
bring the bow on in spite of them, or young as I am I will pelt
you
with stones back to the country, for I am the better man of the
two.
I wish I was as much stronger than all the other suitors in the
house
as I am than you, I would soon send some of them off sick and
sorry,
for they mean mischief."
Thus did he speak, and they all of them laughed heartily, which
put
them in a better humour with Telemachus; so Eumaeus brought the
bow
on and placed it in the hands of Ulysses. When he had done this,
he
called Euryclea apart and said to her, "Euryclea, Telemachus
says
you are to close the doors of the women's apartments. If they
hear
any groaning or uproar as of men fighting about the house, they
are
not to come out, but are to keep quiet and stay where they are
at
their work."
Euryclea did as she was told and closed the doors of the women's apartments.
Meanwhile Philoetius slipped quietly out and made fast the gates
of
the outer court. There was a ship's cable of byblus fibre lying
in
the gatehouse, so he made the gates fast with it and then came
in
again, resuming the seat that he had left, and keeping an eye on
Ulysses,
who had now got the bow in his hands, and was turning it every
way
about, and proving it all over to see whether the worms had been
eating
into its two horns during his absence. Then would one turn
towards
his neighbour saying, "This is some tricky old bow-fancier;
either
he has got one like it at home, or he wants to make one, in such
workmanlike
style does the old vagabond handle it."
Another said, "I hope he may be no more successful in other
things
than he is likely to be in stringing this bow."
But Ulysses, when he had taken it up and examined it all over,
strung
it as easily as a skilled bard strings a new peg of his lyre and
makes
the twisted gut fast at both ends. Then he took it in his right
hand
to prove the string, and it sang sweetly under his touch like
the
twittering of a swallow. The suitors were dismayed, and turned
colour
as they heard it; at that moment, moreover, Jove thundered
loudly
as a sign, and the heart of Ulysses rejoiced as he heard the
omen
that the son of scheming Saturn had sent him.
He took an arrow that was lying upon the table- for those which
the
Achaeans were so shortly about to taste were all inside the
quiver-
he laid it on the centre-piece of the bow, and drew the notch of
the
arrow and the string toward him, still seated on his seat. When
he
had taken aim he let fly, and his arrow pierced every one of the
handle-holes
of the axes from the first onwards till it had gone right
through
them, and into the outer courtyard. Then he said to Telemachus:
"Your guest has not disgraced you, Telemachus. I did not miss
what
I aimed at, and I was not long in stringing my bow. I am still
strong,
and not as the suitors twit me with being. Now, however, it is
time
for the Achaeans to prepare supper while there is still
daylight,
and then otherwise to disport themselves with song and dance
which
are the crowning ornaments of a banquet."
As he spoke he made a sign with his eyebrows, and Telemachus
girded
on his sword, grasped his spear, and stood armed beside his
father's
seat.