So here Ulysses slept, overcome by sleep and toil; but Minerva
went
off to the country and city of the Phaecians- a people who used
to
live in the fair town of Hypereia, near the lawless Cyclopes.
Now
the Cyclopes were stronger than they and plundered them, so
their
king Nausithous moved them thence and settled them in Scheria,
far
from all other people. He surrounded the city with a wall, built
houses
and temples, and divided the lands among his people; but he was
dead
and gone to the house of Hades, and King Alcinous, whose
counsels
were inspired of heaven, was now reigning. To his house, then,
did
Minerva hie in furtherance of the return of Ulysses.
She went straight to the beautifully decorated bedroom in which
there
slept a girl who was as lovely as a goddess, Nausicaa, daughter
to
King Alcinous. Two maid servants were sleeping near her, both
very
pretty, one on either side of the doorway, which was closed with
well-made
folding doors. Minerva took the form of the famous sea captain
Dymas's
daughter, who was a bosom friend of Nausicaa and just her own
age;
then, coming up to the girl's bedside like a breath of wind, she
hovered
over her head and said:
"Nausicaa, what can your mother have been about, to have such a
lazy
daughter? Here are your clothes all lying in disorder, yet you
are
going to be married almost immediately, and should not only be
well
dressed yourself, but should find good clothes for those who
attend
you. This is the way to get yourself a good name, and to make
your
father and mother proud of you. Suppose, then, that we make
tomorrow
a washing day, and start at daybreak. I will come and help you
so
that you may have everything ready as soon as possible, for all
the
best young men among your own people are courting you, and you
are
not going to remain a maid much longer. Ask your father,
therefore,
to have a waggon and mules ready for us at daybreak, to take the
rugs,
robes, and girdles; and you can ride, too, which will be much
pleasanter
for you than walking, for the washing-cisterns are some way from
the
town."
When she had said this Minerva went away to Olympus, which they
say
is the everlasting home of the gods. Here no wind beats roughly,
and
neither rain nor snow can fall; but it abides in everlasting
sunshine
and in a great peacefulness of light, wherein the blessed gods
are
illumined for ever and ever. This was the place to which the
goddess
went when she had given instructions to the girl.
By and by morning came and woke Nausicaa, who began wondering
about
her dream; she therefore went to the other end of the house to
tell
her father and mother all about it, and found them in their own
room.
Her mother was sitting by the fireside spinning her purple yarn
with
her maids around her, and she happened to catch her father just
as
he was going out to attend a meeting of the town council, which
the
Phaeacian aldermen had convened. She stopped him and said:
"Papa dear, could you manage to let me have a good big waggon? I
want
to take all our dirty clothes to the river and wash them. You
are
the chief man here, so it is only right that you should have a
clean
shirt when you attend meetings of the council. Moreover, you
have
five sons at home, two of them married, while the other three
are
good-looking bachelors; you know they always like to have clean
linen
when they go to a dance, and I have been thinking about all
this."
She did not say a word about her own wedding, for she did not
like
to, but her father knew and said, "You shall have the mules, my
love,
and whatever else you have a mind for. Be off with you, and the
men
shall get you a good strong waggon with a body to it that will
hold
all your clothes."
On this he gave his orders to the servants, who got the waggon
out,
harnessed the mules, and put them to, while the girl brought the
clothes
down from the linen room and placed them on the waggon. Her
mother
prepared her a basket of provisions with all sorts of good
things,
and a goat skin full of wine; the girl now got into the waggon,
and
her mother gave her also a golden cruse of oil, that she and her
women
might anoint themselves. Then she took the whip and reins and
lashed
the mules on, whereon they set off, and their hoofs clattered on
the
road. They pulled without flagging, and carried not only
Nausicaa
and her wash of clothes, but the maids also who were with her.
When they reached the water side they went to the
washing-cisterns,
through which there ran at all times enough pure water to wash
any
quantity of linen, no matter how dirty. Here they unharnessed
the
mules and turned them out to feed on the sweet juicy herbage
that
grew by the water side. They took the clothes out of the waggon,
put
them in the water, and vied with one another in treading them in
the
pits to get the dirt out. After they had washed them and got
them
quite clean, they laid them out by the sea side, where the waves
had
raised a high beach of shingle, and set about washing themselves
and
anointing themselves with olive oil. Then they got their dinner
by
the side of the stream, and waited for the sun to finish drying
the
clothes. When they had done dinner they threw off the veils that
covered
their heads and began to play at ball, while Nausicaa sang for
them.
As the huntress Diana goes forth upon the mountains of Taygetus
or
Erymanthus to hunt wild boars or deer, and the wood-nymphs,
daughters
of Aegis-bearing Jove, take their sport along with her (then is
Leto
proud at seeing her daughter stand a full head taller than the
others,
and eclipse the loveliest amid a whole bevy of beauties), even
so
did the girl outshine her handmaids.
When it was time for them to start home, and they were folding
the
clothes and putting them into the waggon, Minerva began to
consider
how Ulysses should wake up and see the handsome girl who was to
conduct
him to the city of the Phaeacians. The girl, therefore, threw a
ball
at one of the maids, which missed her and fell into deep water.
On
this they all shouted, and the noise they made woke Ulysses, who
sat
up in his bed of leaves and began to wonder what it might all
be.
"Alas," said he to himself, "what kind of people have I come
amongst?
Are they cruel, savage, and uncivilized, or hospitable and
humane?
I seem to hear the voices of young women, and they sound like
those
of the nymphs that haunt mountain tops, or springs of rivers and
meadows
of green grass. At any rate I am among a race of men and women.
Let
me try if I cannot manage to get a look at them."
As he said this he crept from under his bush, and broke off a
bough
covered with thick leaves to hide his nakedness. He looked like
some
lion of the wilderness that stalks about exulting in his
strength
and defying both wind and rain; his eyes glare as he prowls in
quest
of oxen, sheep, or deer, for he is famished, and will dare break
even
into a well-fenced homestead, trying to get at the sheep- even
such
did Ulysses seem to the young women, as he drew near to them all
naked
as he was, for he was in great want. On seeing one so unkempt
and
so begrimed with salt water, the others scampered off along the
spits
that jutted out into the sea, but the daughter of Alcinous stood
firm,
for Minerva put courage into her heart and took away all fear
from
her. She stood right in front of Ulysses, and he doubted whether
he
should go up to her, throw himself at her feet, and embrace her
knees
as a suppliant, or stay where he was and entreat her to give him
some
clothes and show him the way to the town. In the end he deemed
it
best to entreat her from a distance in case the girl should take
offence
at his coming near enough to clasp her knees, so he addressed
her
in honeyed and persuasive language.
"O queen," he said, "I implore your aid- but tell me, are you a
goddess
or are you a mortal woman? If you are a goddess and dwell in
heaven,
I can only conjecture that you are Jove's daughter Diana, for
your
face and figure resemble none but hers; if on the other hand you
are
a mortal and live on earth, thrice happy are your father and
mother-
thrice happy, too, are your brothers and sisters; how proud and
delighted
they must feel when they see so fair a scion as yourself going
out
to a dance; most happy, however, of all will he be whose wedding
gifts
have been the richest, and who takes you to his own home. I
never
yet saw any one so beautiful, neither man nor woman, and am lost
in
admiration as I behold you. I can only compare you to a young
palm
tree which I saw when I was at Delos growing near the altar of
Apollo-
for I was there, too, with much people after me, when I was on
that
journey which has been the source of all my troubles. Never yet
did
such a young plant shoot out of the ground as that was, and I
admired
and wondered at it exactly as I now admire and wonder at
yourself.
I dare not clasp your knees, but I am in great distress;
yesterday
made the twentieth day that I had been tossing about upon the
sea.
The winds and waves have taken me all the way from the Ogygian
island,
and now fate has flung me upon this coast that I may endure
still
further suffering; for I do not think that I have yet come to
the
end of it, but rather that heaven has still much evil in store
for
me.
"And now, O queen, have pity upon me, for you are the first
person
I have met, and I know no one else in this country. Show me the
way
to your town, and let me have anything that you may have brought
hither
to wrap your clothes in. May heaven grant you in all things your
heart's
desire- husband, house, and a happy, peaceful home; for there is
nothing
better in this world than that man and wife should be of one
mind
in a house. It discomfits their enemies, makes the hearts of
their
friends glad, and they themselves know more about it than any
one."
To this Nausicaa answered, "Stranger, you appear to be a
sensible,
well-disposed person. There is no accounting for luck; Jove
gives
prosperity to rich and poor just as he chooses, so you must take
what
he has seen fit to send you, and make the best of it. Now,
however,
that you have come to this our country, you shall not want for
clothes
nor for anything else that a foreigner in distress may
reasonably
look for. I will show you the way to the town, and will tell you
the
name of our people; we are called Phaeacians, and I am daughter
to
Alcinous, in whom the whole power of the state is vested."
Then she called her maids and said, "Stay where you are, you
girls.
Can you not see a man without running away from him? Do you take
him
for a robber or a murderer? Neither he nor any one else can come
here
to do us Phaeacians any harm, for we are dear to the gods, and
live
apart on a land's end that juts into the sounding sea, and have
nothing
to do with any other people. This is only some poor man who has
lost
his way, and we must be kind to him, for strangers and
foreigners
in distress are under Jove's protection, and will take what they
can
get and be thankful; so, girls, give the poor fellow something
to
eat and drink, and wash him in the stream at some place that is
sheltered
from the wind."
On this the maids left off running away and began calling one
another
back. They made Ulysses sit down in the shelter as Nausicaa had
told
them, and brought him a shirt and cloak. They also brought him
the
little golden cruse of oil, and told him to go wash in the
stream.
But Ulysses said, "Young women, please to stand a little on one
side
that I may wash the brine from my shoulders and anoint myself
with
oil, for it is long enough since my skin has had a drop of oil
upon
it. I cannot wash as long as you all keep standing there. I am
ashamed
to strip before a number of good-looking young women."
Then they stood on one side and went to tell the girl, while
Ulysses
washed himself in the stream and scrubbed the brine from his
back
and from his broad shoulders. When he had thoroughly washed
himself,
and had got the brine out of his hair, he anointed himself with
oil,
and put on the clothes which the girl had given him; Minerva
then
made him look taller and stronger than before, she also made the
hair
grow thick on the top of his head, and flow down in curls like
hyacinth
blossoms; she glorified him about the head and shoulders as a
skilful
workman who has studied art of all kinds under Vulcan and
Minerva
enriches a piece of silver plate by gilding it- and his work is
full
of beauty. Then he went and sat down a little way off upon the
beach,
looking quite young and handsome, and the girl gazed on him with
admiration;
then she said to her maids:
"Hush, my dears, for I want to say something. I believe the gods
who
live in heaven have sent this man to the Phaeacians. When I
first
saw him I thought him plain, but now his appearance is like that
of
the gods who dwell in heaven. I should like my future husband to
be
just such another as he is, if he would only stay here and not
want
to go away. However, give him something to eat and drink."
They did as they were told, and set food before Ulysses, who ate
and
drank ravenously, for it was long since he had had food of any
kind.
Meanwhile, Nausicaa bethought her of another matter. She got the
linen
folded and placed in the waggon, she then yoked the mules, and,
as
she took her seat, she called Ulysses:
"Stranger," said she, "rise and let us be going back to the
town;
I will introduce you at the house of my excellent father, where
I
can tell you that you will meet all the best people among the
Phaecians.
But be sure and do as I bid you, for you seem to be a sensible
person.
As long as we are going past the fields- and farm lands, follow
briskly
behind the waggon along with the maids and I will lead the way
myself.
Presently, however, we shall come to the town, where you will
find
a high wall running all round it, and a good harbour on either
side
with a narrow entrance into the city, and the ships will be
drawn
up by the road side, for every one has a place where his own
ship
can lie. You will see the market place with a temple of Neptune
in
the middle of it, and paved with large stones bedded in the
earth.
Here people deal in ship's gear of all kinds, such as cables and
sails,
and here, too, are the places where oars are made, for the
Phaeacians
are not a nation of archers; they know nothing about bows and
arrows,
but are a sea-faring folk, and pride themselves on their masts,
oars,
and ships, with which they travel far over the sea.
"I am afraid of the gossip and scandal that may be set on foot
against
me later on; for the people here are very ill-natured, and some
low
fellow, if he met us, might say, 'Who is this fine-looking
stranger
that is going about with Nausicaa? Where did she End him? I
suppose
she is going to marry him. Perhaps he is a vagabond sailor whom
she
has taken from some foreign vessel, for we have no neighbours;
or
some god has at last come down from heaven in answer to her
prayers,
and she is going to live with him all the rest of her life. It
would
be a good thing if she would take herself of I for sh and find a
husband
somewhere else, for she will not look at one of the many
excellent
young Phaeacians who are in with her.' This is the kind of
disparaging
remark that would be made about me, and I could not complain,
for
I should myself be scandalized at seeing any other girl do the
like,
and go about with men in spite of everybody, while her father
and
mother were still alive, and without having been married in the
face
of all the world.
"If, therefore, you want my father to give you an escort and to
help
you home, do as I bid you; you will see a beautiful grove of
poplars
by the road side dedicated to Minerva; it has a well in it and a
meadow
all round it. Here my father has a field of rich garden ground,
about
as far from the town as a man' voice will carry. Sit down there
and
wait for a while till the rest of us can get into the town and
reach
my father's house. Then, when you think we must have done this,
come
into the town and ask the way to the house of my father
Alcinous.
You will have no difficulty in finding it; any child will point
it
out to you, for no one else in the whole town has anything like
such
a fine house as he has. When you have got past the gates and
through
the outer court, go right across the inner court till you come
to
my mother. You will find her sitting by the fire and spinning
her
purple wool by firelight. It is a fine sight to see her as she
leans
back against one of the bearing-posts with her maids all ranged
behind
her. Close to her seat stands that of my father, on which he
sits
and topes like an immortal god. Never mind him, but go up to my
mother,
and lay your hands upon her knees if you would get home quickly.
If
you can gain her over, you may hope to see your own country
again,
no matter how distant it may be."
So saying she lashed the mules with her whip and they left the
river.
The mules drew well and their hoofs went up and down upon the
road.
She was careful not to go too fast for Ulysses and the maids who
were
following on foot along with the waggon, so she plied her whip
with
judgement. As the sun was going down they came to the sacred
grove
of Minerva, and there Ulysses sat down and prayed to the mighty
daughter
of Jove.
"Hear me," he cried, "daughter of Aegis-bearing Jove,
unweariable,
hear me now, for you gave no heed to my prayers when Neptune was
wrecking
me. Now, therefore, have pity upon me and grant that I may find
friends
and be hospitably received by the Phaecians."
Thus did he pray, and Minerva heard his prayer, but she would
not
show herself to him openly, for she was afraid of her uncle
Neptune,
who was still furious in his endeavors to prevent Ulysses from
getting
home.