The Odyssey
Book XI
Then, when we had got down to the sea shore we drew our ship into the water
and got her mast and sails into her; we also put the sheep on board and
took our places, weeping and in great distress of mind. Circe, that great
and cunning goddess, sent us a fair wind that blew dead aft and stayed
steadily with us keeping our sails all the time well filled; so we did
whatever wanted doing to the ship′s gear and let her go as the wind and
helmsman headed her. All day long her sails were full as she held her course
over the sea, but when the sun went down and darkness was over all the
earth, we got into the deep waters of the river Oceanus, where lie the
land and city of the Cimmerians who live enshrouded in mist and darkness
which the rays of the sun never pierce neither at his rising nor as he
goes down again out of the heavens, but the poor wretches live in one long
melancholy night. When we got there we beached the ship, took the sheep
out of her, and went along by the waters of Oceanus till we came to the
place of which Circe had told us.
"Here Perimedes and Eurylochus held the victims, while I drew my
sword and dug the trench a cubit each way. I made a drink-offering to all
the dead, first with honey and milk, then with wine, and thirdly with water,
and I sprinkled white barley meal over the whole, praying earnestly to
the poor feckless ghosts, and promising them that when I got back to Ithaca
I would sacrifice a barren heifer for them, the best I had, and would load
the pyre with good things. I also particularly promised that Teiresias
should have a black sheep to himself, the best in all my flocks. When I
had prayed sufficiently to the dead, I cut the throats of the two sheep
and let the blood run into the trench, whereon the ghosts came trooping
up from Erebus- brides, young bachelors, old men worn out with toil, maids
who had been crossed in love, and brave men who had been killed in battle,
with their armour still smirched with blood; they came from every quarter
and flitted round the trench with a strange kind of screaming sound that
made me turn pale with fear. When I saw them coming I told the men to be
quick and flay the carcasses of the two dead sheep and make burnt offerings
of them, and at the same time to repeat prayers to Hades and to Proserpine;
but I sat where I was with my sword drawn and would not let the poor feckless
ghosts come near the blood till Teiresias should have answered my
questions.
"The first ghost ′that came was that of my comrade Elpenor, for
he had not yet been laid beneath the earth. We had left his body unwaked
and unburied in Circe′s house, for we had had too much else to do. I was
very sorry for him, and cried when I saw him: ′Elpenor,′ said I, ′how did
you come down here into this gloom and darkness? You have here on foot
quicker than I have with my ship.′
"′Sir,′ he answered with a groan, ′it was all bad luck, and my
own unspeakable drunkenness. I was lying asleep on the top of Circe′s house,
and never thought of coming down again by the great staircase but fell
right off the roof and broke my neck, so my soul down to the house of Hades.
And now I beseech you by all those whom you have left behind you, though
they are not here, by your wife, by the father who brought you up when
you were a child, and by Telemachus who is the one hope of your house,
do what I shall now ask you. I know that when you leave this limbo you
will again hold your ship for the Aeaean island. Do not go thence leaving
me unwaked and unburied behind you, or I may bring heaven′s anger upon
you; but burn me with whatever armour I have, build a barrow for me on
the sea shore, that may tell people in days to come what a poor unlucky
fellow I was, and plant over my grave the oar I used to row with when I
was yet alive and with my messmates.′ And I said, ′My poor fellow, I will
do all that you have asked of me.′
"Thus, then, did we sit and hold sad talk with one another, I on
the one side of the trench with my sword held over the blood, and the ghost
of my comrade saying all this to me from the other side. Then came the
ghost of my dead mother Anticlea, daughter to Autolycus. I had left her
alive when I set out for Troy and was moved to tears when I saw her, but
even so, for all my sorrow I would not let her come near the blood till
I had asked my questions of Teiresias.
"Then came also the ghost of Theban Teiresias, with his golden
sceptre in his hand. He knew me and said, ′Ulysses, noble son of Laertes,
why, poor man, have you left the light of day and come down to visit the
dead in this sad place? Stand back from the trench and withdraw your sword
that I may drink of the blood and answer your questions
truly.′
"So I drew back, and sheathed my sword, whereon when he had drank
of the blood he began with his prophecy.
"You want to know,′ said he, ′about your return home, but heaven
will make this hard for you. I do not think that you will escape the eye
of Neptune, who still nurses his bitter grudge against you for having blinded
his son. Still, after much suffering you may get home if you can restrain
yourself and your companions when your ship reaches the Thrinacian island,
where you will find the sheep and cattle belonging to the sun, who sees
and gives ear to everything. If you leave these flocks unharmed and think
of nothing but of getting home, you may yet after much hardship reach Ithaca;
but if you harm them, then I forewarn you of the destruction both of your
ship and of your men. Even though you may yourself escape, you will return
in bad plight after losing all your men, [in another man′s ship, and you
will find trouble in your house, which will be overrun by high-handed people,
who are devouring your substance under the pretext of paying court and
making presents to your wife.
"′When you get home you will take your revenge on these suitors;
and after you have killed them by force or fraud in your own house, you
must take a well-made oar and carry it on and on, till you come to a country
where the people have never heard of the sea and do not even mix salt with
their food, nor do they know anything about ships, and oars that are as
the wings of a ship. I will give you this certain token which cannot escape
your notice. A wayfarer will meet you and will say it must be a winnowing
shovel that you have got upon your shoulder; on this you must fix the oar
in the ground and sacrifice a ram, a bull, and a boar to Neptune. Then
go home and offer hecatombs to an the gods in heaven one after the other.
As for yourself, death shall come to you from the sea, and your life shall
ebb away very gently when you are full of years and peace of mind, and
your people shall bless you. All that I have said will come
true].′
"′This,′ I answered, ′must be as it may please heaven, but tell
me and tell me and tell me true, I see my poor mother′s ghost close by
us; she is sitting by the blood without saying a word, and though I am
her own son she does not remember me and speak to me; tell me, Sir, how
I can make her know me.′
"′That,′ said he, ′I can soon do Any ghost that you let taste of
the blood will talk with you like a reasonable being, but if you do not
let them have any blood they will go away again.′
"On this the ghost of Teiresias went back to the house of Hades,
for his prophecyings had now been spoken, but I sat still where I was until
my mother came up and tasted the blood. Then she knew me at once and spoke
fondly to me, saying, ′My son, how did you come down to this abode of darkness
while you are still alive? It is a hard thing for the living to see these
places, for between us and them there are great and terrible waters, and
there is Oceanus, which no man can cross on foot, but he must have a good
ship to take him. Are you all this time trying to find your way home from
Troy, and have you never yet got back to Ithaca nor seen your wife in your
own house?′
"′Mother,′ said I, ′I was forced to come here to consult the ghost
of the Theban prophet Teiresias. I have never yet been near the Achaean
land nor set foot on my native country, and I have had nothing but one
long series of misfortunes from the very first day that I set out with
Agamemnon for Ilius, the land of noble steeds, to fight the Trojans. But
tell me, and tell me true, in what way did you die? Did you have a long
illness, or did heaven vouchsafe you a gentle easy passage to eternity?
Tell me also about my father, and the son whom I left behind me; is my
property still in their hands, or has some one else got hold of it, who
thinks that I shall not return to claim it? Tell me again what my wife
intends doing, and in what mind she is; does she live with my son and guard
my estate securely, or has she made the best match she could and married
again?′
"My mother answered, ′Your wife still remains in your house, but
she is in great distress of mind and spends her whole time in tears both
night and day. No one as yet has got possession of your fine property,
and Telemachus still holds your lands undisturbed. He has to entertain
largely, as of course he must, considering his position as a magistrate,
and how every one invites him; your father remains at his old place in
the country and never goes near the town. He has no comfortable bed nor
bedding; in the winter he sleeps on the floor in front of the fire with
the men and goes about all in rags, but in summer, when the warm weather
comes on again, he lies out in the vineyard on a bed of vine leaves thrown
anyhow upon the ground. He grieves continually about your never having
come home, and suffers more and more as he grows older. As for my own end
it was in this wise: heaven did not take me swiftly and painlessly in my
own house, nor was I attacked by any illness such as those that generally
wear people out and kill them, but my longing to know what you were doing
and the force of my affection for you- this it was that was the death of
me.′
"Then I tried to find some way of embracing my mother′s ghost.
Thrice I sprang towards her and tried to clasp her in my arms, but each
time she flitted from my embrace as it were a dream or phantom, and being
touched to the quick I said to her, ′Mother, why do you not stay still
when I would embrace you? If we could throw our arms around one another
we might find sad comfort in the sharing of our sorrows even in the house
of Hades; does Proserpine want to lay a still further load of grief upon
me by mocking me with a phantom only?′
"′My son,′ she answered, ′most ill-fated of all mankind, it is
not Proserpine that is beguiling you, but all people are like this when
they are dead. The sinews no longer hold the flesh and bones together;
these perish in the fierceness of consuming fire as soon as life has left
the body, and the soul flits away as though it were a dream. Now, however,
go back to the light of day as soon as you can, and note all these things
that you may tell them to your wife hereafter.′
"Thus did we converse, and anon Proserpine sent up the ghosts of
the wives and daughters of all the most famous men. They gathered in crowds
about the blood, and I considered how I might question them severally.
In the end I deemed that it would be best to draw the keen blade that hung
by my sturdy thigh, and keep them from all drinking the blood at once.
So they came up one after the other, and each one as I questioned her told
me her race and lineage.
"The first I saw was Tyro. She was daughter of Salmoneus and wife
of Cretheus the son of Aeolus. She fell in love with the river Enipeus
who is much the most beautiful river in the whole world. Once when she
was taking a walk by his side as usual, Neptune, disguised as her lover,
lay with her at the mouth of the river, and a huge blue wave arched itself
like a mountain over them to hide both woman and god, whereon he loosed
her virgin girdle and laid her in a deep slumber. When the god had accomplished
the deed of love, he took her hand in his own and said, ′Tyro, rejoice
in all good will; the embraces of the gods are not fruitless, and you will
have fine twins about this time twelve months. Take great care of them.
I am Neptune, so now go home, but hold your tongue and do not tell any
one.′
"Then he dived under the sea, and she in due course bore Pelias
and Neleus, who both of them served Jove with all their might. Pelias was
a great breeder of sheep and lived in Iolcus, but the other lived in Pylos.
The rest of her children were by Cretheus, namely, Aeson, Pheres, and Amythaon,
who was a mighty warrior and charioteer.
"Next to her I saw Antiope, daughter to Asopus, who could boast
of having slept in the arms of even Jove himself, and who bore him two
sons Amphion and Zethus. These founded Thebes with its seven gates, and
built a wall all round it; for strong though they were they could not hold
Thebes till they had walled it.
"Then I saw Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon, who also bore to Jove
indomitable Hercules; and Megara who was daughter to great King Creon,
and married the redoubtable son of Amphitryon.
"I also saw fair Epicaste mother of king OEdipodes whose awful
lot it was to marry her own son without suspecting it. He married her after
having killed his father, but the gods proclaimed the whole story to the
world; whereon he remained king of Thebes, in great grief for the spite
the gods had borne him; but Epicaste went to the house of the mighty jailor
Hades, having hanged herself for grief, and the avenging spirits haunted
him as for an outraged mother- to his ruing bitterly
thereafter.
"Then I saw Chloris, whom Neleus married for her beauty, having
given priceless presents for her. She was youngest daughter to Amphion
son of Iasus and king of Minyan Orchomenus, and was Queen in Pylos. She
bore Nestor, Chromius, and Periclymenus, and she also bore that marvellously
lovely woman Pero, who was wooed by all the country round; but Neleus would
only give her to him who should raid the cattle of Iphicles from the grazing
grounds of Phylace, and this was a hard task. The only man who would undertake
to raid them was a certain excellent seer, but the will of heaven was against
him, for the rangers of the cattle caught him and put him in prison; nevertheless
when a full year had passed and the same season came round again, Iphicles
set him at liberty, after he had expounded all the oracles of heaven. Thus,
then, was the will of Jove accomplished.
"And I saw Leda the wife of Tyndarus, who bore him two famous sons,
Castor breaker of horses, and Pollux the mighty boxer. Both these heroes
are lying under the earth, though they are still alive, for by a special
dispensation of Jove, they die and come to life again, each one of them
every other day throughout all time, and they have the rank of
gods.
"After her I saw Iphimedeia wife of Aloeus who boasted the embrace
of Neptune. She bore two sons Otus and Ephialtes, but both were short lived.
They were the finest children that were ever born in this world, and the
best looking, Orion only excepted; for at nine years old they were nine
fathoms high, and measured nine cubits round the chest. They threatened
to make war with the gods in Olympus, and tried to set Mount Ossa on the
top of Mount Olympus, and Mount Pelion on the top of Ossa, that they might
scale heaven itself, and they would have done it too if they had been grown
up, but Apollo, son of Leto, killed both of them, before they had got so
much as a sign of hair upon their cheeks or chin.
"Then I saw Phaedra, and Procris, and fair Ariadne daughter of
the magician Minos, whom Theseus was carrying off from Crete to Athens,
but he did not enjoy her, for before he could do so Diana killed her in
the island of Dia on account of what Bacchus had said against
her.
"I also saw Maera and Clymene and hateful Eriphyle, who sold her
own husband for gold. But it would take me all night if I were to name
every single one of the wives and daughters of heroes whom I saw, and it
is time for me to go to bed, either on board ship with my crew, or here.
As for my escort, heaven and yourselves will see to
it."
Here he ended, and the guests sat all of them enthralled and speechless
throughout the covered cloister. Then Arete said to
them:
"What do you think of this man, O Phaecians? Is he not tall and
good looking, and is he not Clever? True, he is my own guest, but all of
you share in the distinction. Do not he a hurry to send him away, nor niggardly
in the presents you make to one who is in such great need, for heaven has
blessed all of you with great abundance."
Then spoke the aged hero Echeneus who was one of the oldest men
among them, "My friends," said he, "what our august queen has just said
to us is both reasonable and to the purpose, therefore be persuaded by
it; but the decision whether in word or deed rests ultimately with King
Alcinous."
"The thing shall be done," exclaimed Alcinous, "as surely as I
still live and reign over the Phaeacians. Our guest is indeed very anxious
to get home, still we must persuade him to remain with us until to-morrow,
by which time I shall be able to get together the whole sum that I mean
to give him. As regards- his escort it will be a matter for you all, and
mine above all others as the chief person among you."
And Ulysses answered, "King Alcinous, if you were to bid me to
stay here for a whole twelve months, and then speed me on my way, loaded
with your noble gifts, I should obey you gladly and it would redound greatly
to my advantage, for I should return fuller-handed to my own people, and
should thus be more respected and beloved by all who see me when I get
back to Ithaca."
"Ulysses," replied Alcinous, "not one of us who sees you has any
idea that you are a charlatan or a swindler. I know there are many people
going about who tell such plausible stories that it is very hard to see
through them, but there is a style about your language which assures me
of your good disposition. Moreover you have told the story of your own
misfortunes, and those of the Argives, as though you were a practised bard;
but tell me, and tell me true, whether you saw any of the mighty heroes
who went to Troy at the same time with yourself, and perished there. The
evenings are still at their longest, and it is not yet bed time- go on,
therefore, with your divine story, for I could stay here listening till
to-morrow morning, so long as you will continue to tell us of your
adventures."
"Alcinous," answered Ulysses, "there is a time for making speeches,
and a time for going to bed; nevertheless, since you so desire, I will
not refrain from telling you the still sadder tale of those of my comrades
who did not fall fighting with the Trojans, but perished on their return,
through the treachery of a wicked woman.
"When Proserpine had dismissed the female ghosts in all directions,
the ghost of Agamemnon son of Atreus came sadly up tome, surrounded by
those who had perished with him in the house of Aegisthus. As soon as he
had tasted the blood he knew me, and weeping bitterly stretched out his
arms towards me to embrace me; but he had no strength nor substance any
more, and I too wept and pitied him as I beheld him. ′How did you come
by your death,′ said I, ′King Agamemnon? Did Neptune raise his winds and
waves against you when you were at sea, or did your enemies make an end
of you on the mainland when you were cattle-lifting or sheep-stealing,
or while they were fighting in defence of their wives and
city?′
"′Ulysses,′ he answered, ′noble son of Laertes, was not lost at
sea in any storm of Neptune′s raising, nor did my foes despatch me upon
the mainland, but Aegisthus and my wicked wife were the death of me between
them. He asked me to his house, feasted me, and then butchered me most
miserably as though I were a fat beast in a slaughter house, while all
around me my comrades were slain like sheep or pigs for the wedding breakfast,
or picnic, or gorgeous banquet of some great nobleman. You must have seen
numbers of men killed either in a general engagement, or in single combat,
but you never saw anything so truly pitiable as the way in which we fell
in that cloister, with the mixing-bowl and the loaded tables lying all
about, and the ground reeking with our-blood. I heard Priam′s daughter
Cassandra scream as Clytemnestra killed her close beside me. I lay dying
upon the earth with the sword in my body, and raised my hands to kill the
slut of a murderess, but she slipped away from me; she would not even close
my lips nor my eyes when I was dying, for there is nothing in this world
so cruel and so shameless as a woman when she has fallen into such guilt
as hers was. Fancy murdering her own husband! I thought I was going to
be welcomed home by my children and my servants, but her abominable crime
has brought disgrace on herself and all women who shall come after- even
on the good ones.′
"And I said, ′In truth Jove has hated the house of Atreus from
first to last in the matter of their women′s counsels. See how many of
us fell for Helen′s sake, and now it seems that Clytemnestra hatched mischief
against too during your absence.′
"′Be sure, therefore,′ continued Agamemnon, ′and not be too friendly
even with your own wife. Do not tell her all that you know perfectly well
yourself. Tell her a part only, and keep your own counsel about the rest.
Not that your wife, Ulysses, is likely to murder you, for Penelope is a
very admirable woman, and has an excellent nature. We left her a young
bride with an infant at her breast when we set out for Troy. This child
no doubt is now grown up happily to man′s estate, and he and his father
will have a joyful meeting and embrace one another as it is right they
should do, whereas my wicked wife did not even allow me the happiness of
looking upon my son, but killed me ere I could do so. Furthermore I say-
and lay my saying to your heart- do not tell people when you are bringing
your ship to Ithaca, but steal a march upon them, for after all this there
is no trusting women. But now tell me, and tell me true, can you give me
any news of my son Orestes? Is he in Orchomenus, or at Pylos, or is he
at Sparta with Menelaus- for I presume that he is still
living.′
"And I said, ′Agamemnon, why do you ask me? I do not know whether
your son is alive or dead, and it is not right to talk when one does not
know.′
"As we two sat weeping and talking thus sadly with one another
the ghost of Achilles came up to us with Patroclus, Antilochus, and Ajax
who was the finest and goodliest man of all the Danaans after the son of
Peleus. The fleet descendant of Aeacus knew me and spoke piteously, saying,
′Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, what deed of daring will you undertake
next, that you venture down to the house of Hades among us silly dead,
who are but the ghosts of them that can labour no more?′
"And I said, ′Achilles, son of Peleus, foremost champion of the
Achaeans, I came to consult Teiresias, and see if he could advise me about
my return home to Ithaca, for I have never yet been able to get near the
Achaean land, nor to set foot in my own country, but have been in trouble
all the time. As for you, Achilles, no one was ever yet so fortunate as
you have been, nor ever will be, for you were adored by all us Argives
as long as you were alive, and now that you are here you are a great prince
among the dead. Do not, therefore, take it so much to heart even if you
are dead.′
"′Say not a word,′ he answered, ′in death′s favour; I would rather
be a paid servant in a poor man′s house and be above ground than king of
kings among the dead. But give me news about son; is he gone to the wars
and will he be a great soldier, or is this not so? Tell me also if you
have heard anything about my father Peleus- does he still rule among the
Myrmidons, or do they show him no respect throughout Hellas and Phthia
now that he is old and his limbs fail him? Could I but stand by his side,
in the light of day, with the same strength that I had when I killed the
bravest of our foes upon the plain of Troy- could I but be as I then was
and go even for a short time to my father′s house, any one who tried to
do him violence or supersede him would soon me it.′
"′I have heard nothing,′ I answered, ′of Peleus, but I can tell
you all about your son Neoptolemus, for I took him in my own ship from
Scyros with the Achaeans. In our councils of war before Troy he was always
first to speak, and his judgement was unerring. Nestor and I were the only
two who could surpass him; and when it came to fighting on the plain of
Troy, he would never remain with the body of his men, but would dash on
far in front, foremost of them all in valour. Many a man did he kill in
battle- I cannot name every single one of those whom he slew while fighting
on the side of the Argives, but will only say how he killed that valiant
hero Eurypylus son of Telephus, who was the handsomest man I ever saw except
Memnon; many others also of the Ceteians fell around him by reason of a
woman′s bribes. Moreover, when all the bravest of the Argives went inside
the horse that Epeus had made, and it was left to me to settle when we
should either open the door of our ambuscade, or close it, though all the
other leaders and chief men among the Danaans were drying their eyes and
quaking in every limb, I never once saw him turn pale nor wipe a tear from
his cheek; he was all the time urging me to break out from the horse- grasping
the handle of his sword and his bronze-shod spear, and breathing fury against
the foe. Yet when we had sacked the city of Priam he got his handsome share
of the prize money and went on board (such is the fortune of war) without
a wound upon him, neither from a thrown spear nor in close combat, for
the rage of Mars is a matter of great chance.′
"When I had told him this, the ghost of Achilles strode off across
a meadow full of asphodel, exulting over what I had said concerning the
prowess of his son.
"The ghosts of other dead men stood near me and told me each his
own melancholy tale; but that of Ajax son of Telamon alone held aloof-
still angry with me for having won the cause in our dispute about the armour
of Achilles. Thetis had offered it as a prize, but the Trojan prisoners
and Minerva were the judges. Would that I had never gained the day in such
a contest, for it cost the life of Ajax, who was foremost of all the Danaans
after the son of Peleus, alike in stature and prowess.
"When I saw him I tried to pacify him and said, ′Ajax, will you
not forget and forgive even in death, but must the judgement about that
hateful armour still rankle with you? It cost us Argives dear enough to
lose such a tower of strength as you were to us. We mourned you as much
as we mourned Achilles son of Peleus himself, nor can the blame be laid
on anything but on the spite which Jove bore against the Danaans, for it
was this that made him counsel your destruction- come hither, therefore,
bring your proud spirit into subjection, and hear what I can tell
you.′
"He would not answer, but turned away to Erebus and to the other
ghosts; nevertheless, I should have made him talk to me in spite of his
being so angry, or I should have gone talking to him, only that there were
still others among the dead whom I desired to see.
"Then I saw Minos son of Jove with his golden sceptre in his hand
sitting in judgement on the dead, and the ghosts were gathered sitting
and standing round him in the spacious house of Hades, to learn his sentences
upon them.
"After him I saw huge Orion in a meadow full of asphodel driving
the ghosts of the wild beasts that he had killed upon the mountains, and
he had a great bronze club in his hand, unbreakable for ever and
ever.
"And I saw Tityus son of Gaia stretched upon the plain and covering
some nine acres of ground. Two vultures on either side of him were digging
their beaks into his liver, and he kept on trying to beat them off with
his hands, but could not; for he had violated Jove′s mistress Leto as she
was going through Panopeus on her way to Pytho.
"I saw also the dreadful fate of Tantalus, who stood in a lake
that reached his chin; he was dying to quench his thirst, but could never
reach the water, for whenever the poor creature stooped to drink, it dried
up and vanished, so that there was nothing but dry ground- parched by the
spite of heaven. There were tall trees, moreover, that shed their fruit
over his head- pears, pomegranates, apples, sweet figs and juicy olives,
but whenever the poor creature stretched out his hand to take some, the
wind tossed the branches back again to the clouds.
"And I saw Sisyphus at his endless task raising his prodigious
stone with both his hands. With hands and feet he′ tried to roll it up
to the top of the hill, but always, just before he could roll it over on
to the other side, its weight would be too much for him, and the pitiless
stone would come thundering down again on to the plain. Then he would begin
trying to push it up hill again, and the sweat ran off him and the steam
rose after him.
"After him I saw mighty Hercules, but it was his phantom only,
for he is feasting ever with the immortal gods, and has lovely Hebe to
wife, who is daughter of Jove and Juno. The ghosts were screaming round
him like scared birds flying all whithers. He looked black as night with
his bare bow in his hands and his arrow on the string, glaring around as
though ever on the point of taking aim. About his breast there was a wondrous
golden belt adorned in the most marvellous fashion with bears, wild boars,
and lions with gleaming eyes; there was also war, battle, and death. The
man who made that belt, do what he might, would never be able to make another
like it. Hercules knew me at once when he saw me, and spoke piteously,
saying, my poor Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, are you too leading the
same sorry kind of life that I did when I was above ground? I was son of
Jove, but I went through an infinity of suffering, for I became bondsman
to one who was far beneath me- a low fellow who set me all manner of labours.
He once sent me here to fetch the hell-hound- for he did not think he could
find anything harder for me than this, but I got the hound out of Hades
and brought him to him, for Mercury and Minerva helped
me.′
"On this Hercules went down again into the house of Hades, but
I stayed where I was in case some other of the mighty dead should come
to me. And I should have seen still other of them that are gone before,
whom I would fain have seen- Theseus and Pirithous glorious children of
the gods, but so many thousands of ghosts came round me and uttered such
appalling cries, that I was panic stricken lest Proserpine should send
up from the house of Hades the head of that awful monster Gorgon. On this
I hastened back to my ship and ordered my men to go on board at once and
loose the hawsers; so they embarked and took their places, whereon the
ship went down the stream of the river Oceanus. We had to row at first,
but presently a fair wind sprang up.
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