The Odyssey by Homer
you all need stay in my house no longer against your will;
but there is another journey you must accomplish first:
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you must go to the realm of Hades and dread Persephone,
to consult the ghostly spirit of Theban Teiresias,
blind seer, whose reasoning mind remains intact,
since on him alone, when dead, Persephone bestowed
full mental powers: the rest are only flitting shadows.'
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"So she spoke. But the spirit within me was shattered:
I wept as I sat on the bed, and my heart no longer
had any desire to live, to behold the sunlight.
But when I'd had my fill of weeping and agonizing,
I found the words to reply with, and addressed her, saying:
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'Kirke, who will serve as our guide upon this journey?
No one yet in a black ship has ever voyaged to Hades.'
"So I spoke. She, bright among goddesses, at once replied:
'Son of Laertes, scion of Zeus, resourceful Odysseus,
don't worry about installing a pilot aboard your ship--
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Just set up your mast, spread your white sail, and then
sit down, and let the north wind carry you onward!
But when in your ship you've traversed the stream of Ocean,
and come to a wooded shore and the groves of Persephone,
with their tall poplars, and willows that shed their fruit,
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there beach your vessel, close by deep-eddying Ocean,
and yourself go on to the dank domain of Hades. There
it is that into Acheron Pyriphlegethon flows,
and Kokytos, that branches off from the waters of Styx:5
a rock marks the confluence of these two loud rivers.
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Go close in there, hero, exactly as I instruct you,
and dig out a pit, about a cubit deep and wide,
and around it pour a libation to all the dead--
first with milk and honey, then with sweet wine,
and thirdly with water: sprinkle white barley on it,
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and entreat the weak heads of the dead with many vows--
that when you're back on Ithake you'll sacrifice the best
barren heifer in your domain, load the pyre with good things,
and, just for Teiresias, you'll make a sacrifice
of an all-black ram, the finest one in your flocks.
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Then, when you've supplicated the famous tribes of the dead,
you must slaughter a ram and a black ewe, making them face
toward Erebos, while you turn your back on them, reach out
to the streams of the river. This is the place where many
ghosts of those who have perished will now gather.
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At that point arouse your comrades, and command them
to take the sheep that lie there, slain by the ruthless bronze,
and flay and burn them, along with prayers to the gods--
strong Hades and dread Persephone. You yourself,
drawing the keen-edged sword from beside your thigh,
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must sit there, and not allow the weak heads of the dead
to get near the blood until you've questioned Teiresias.
The seer will then quickly approach you, leader of men:
He will show you your route, explain your journey's stages,
your homecoming, how you're to traverse the fish-rich deep.'
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"So she spoke; and at once the golden-throned Dawn arose.
She gave me a mantle to wear, and a tunic; and she, the nymph,
dressed herself in a long white robe, made of finely
woven and beautiful stuff, and around her waist
knotted a fine golden sash, set a veil on her head.
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Now I went through the house and aroused my comrades
with kindly words, approaching each man in turn:
'Lie no longer in bed enjoying sweet slumber! Time
for us to be going! Lady Kirke has briefed me fully.'
"So I spoke, and their proud spirits consented. Yet not
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even from there could I get my comrades away
without loss. The youngest, Elpenor--neither outstanding
in battle nor yet particularly bright-minded--had
lain down apart from his comrades in Kirke's house,
in search of cool air, being heavy with wine, on the roof.
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Hearing the noise and clatter of his comrades stirring
he got up suddenly, and, quite forgetting that he should
make his way back down by way of the long ladder,
fell headlong off the roof: his neck was snapped through
at the spine, and his ghost went down to Hades' realm.
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"As my men were bustling about I spoke among them, saying:
'You may think you're on the way to your own dear country,
but Kirke's informed me we must first make another journey,
to the realm of Hades and of dread Persephone, there
to consult the ghostly spirit of Theban Teiresias.'
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"So I spoke, and their spirit was shattered within them, they
sat down wherever they were, and wailed, and tore their hair;
but all their lamenting accomplished nothing for them.
"While we were on our way to the swift ship and the seashore,
full of sorrow and shedding big tears, meanwhile
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Kirke had gone on ahead of us and tethered there,
by the black ship, a ram and a black ewe,
overtaking us easily; when gods don't desire it, who
can witness their passage, either coming or going?"
Book 11
"But when we came down to the ship and the sea, first off
we hauled our vessel into the bright salt water, and then
stepped the mast, set the sail in the black ship, and took
the sheep and put them aboard, and ourselves embarked,
full of sorrow and shedding big tears. For us
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in the wake of our dark-prowed vessel a following breeze
that filled our sail, a trusty companion, was sent us
by fair-tressed Kirke, dread goddess of mortal speech.
So when we'd secured the tackle throughout the ship we then
sat down, leaving wind and steersman to keep her on her course.
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All day long her sail spread taut as she sheared through the deep,
till the sun went down and all the ways were in shadow.
She came to the boundary marked by deep-flowing Ocean,
where are the land and settlement of the Kimmerians,
enveloped in mist and cloud: upon them never
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does the bright-gleaming sun look down with his rays,
either while he's climbing into the starry heavens
or when he turns back again from heaven to earth,
but deathly night's spread out over hapless mortals.
"There we now came, and beached our ship. Unloading
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the sheep, we made our way beside the stream of Ocean
until we reached the place of which Kirke had told us.
There Perimedes and Eurylochos held the victims,
while I unsheathed the sharp sword from beside my thigh,
and dug out a pit, about a cubit deep and wide,
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and around it poured a libation to all the dead--
first with milk and honey, then with sweet wine,
and thirdly with water: I sprinkled white barley in it,
besought the weak heads of the dead with many vows--
&nbs
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barren heifer in my domain, load the pyre with good things,
and, for Teiresias only, would offer a sacrifice
of an all-black ram, the finest one in my flocks.
Then, when with vows and prayers I'd made my entreaties
to the tribes of the dead, I took the sheep, cut their throats
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over the pit. The dark blood flowed, there came up out
from Erebos1 the shades of corpses dead and buried:
brides, still-unmarried youths, toil-worn old men,
tender young girls, their hearts still new to sorrow,
and many with wounds inflicted by bronze-tipped spears,
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men slain while fighting, still in their bloodstained armor--
many crowding around the pit from every quarter
with an eerie clamor. Pale fear took possession of me.
But still I called my companions, gave them orders to take
the sheep that lay there, slain by the ruthless bronze,
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and flay and burn them, along with prayers to the gods--
strong Hades and holy Persephone. I myself,
unsheathing the sharp sword from beside my thigh,
sat there, and would not allow the weak heads of the dead
to come near the blood until I'd questioned Teiresias.
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"The first shade to come was that of my comrade Elpenor.
Not yet had he been interred beneath the wide-traveled earth,
for we'd left his body behind in Kirke's hall, unwept
and unburied, since this other business was what now drove us.
On seeing him I wept, and my heart felt pity for him,
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and speaking with winged words, I addressed him, saying:
'Elpenor, how did you come here through the murky darkness?
You traveled faster on foot than I in my black ship.'
"So I spoke. He groaned, and responded to me, saying:
'Son of Laertes, scion of Zeus, resourceful Odysseus,
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some god's ill-will undid me--that, and too much wine!
When I lay down to sleep in Kirke's house I forgot
I must make my way back down by the long ladder,
so fell headlong off the roof: my neck was snapped through
at the spine; my shade went down to Hades' realm.
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Now I beseech you, by those left behind who are not here,
by your wife, by the father who cared for you as an infant,
by Telemachos, whom you left as the sole child in your halls--
I know when you go on from here, leave the realm of Hades,
you'll put in, with your well-built ship, at the isle of Aiaia.
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It's there, my lord, that I need your remembrance most--
Don't abandon me there unwept, unburied, lest I
become the occasion of some god's wrath against you!
Burn me there, I beg you, with such armor as I possess,
and heap me a burial mound by the shore of the grey sea,
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for those yet unborn to learn of an unfortunate man.
Do this for me, and set on my tomb the oar
with which I rowed, when alive, among my comrades.'
"So he spoke, and I then answered him, saying: 'All this,
unhappy man, I'll most surely carry out on your behalf.'
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"So the two of us sat there, exchanging these grim words,
I on one side with my sword held over the blood,
on the other, addressing me, the wraith of my companion.
"Then there drew near the ghost of my dead mother,
Antikleia, daughter of great-hearted Autolykos,
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whom I'd left alive when I first sailed for sacred Ilion.
On seeing her I wept, and pitied her in my heart;
Yet not even so, for all my deep sorrow, would I
let her come near the blood till I'd questioned Teiresias.
And then he came, did the ghost of Theban Teiresias,
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gold staff in hand, and he recognized and addressed me:
'Son of Laertes, scion of Zeus, resourceful Odysseus,
why, hapless man, have you turned your back on the sunlight
and come to gaze on the dead and their joyless region?
Stand back from the pit, and take your sharp sword away,
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so I can drink of the blood, and speak words of truth to you.'
"So he spoke, and I drew back, returning my silver-studded
sword to its sheath; only when he'd drunk the dark blood
did the matchless seer address me, saying: 'Great Odysseus,
you want to know all about your sweet homecoming.
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This a god will make hard for you: I do not foresee
you escaping the Earth-Shaker's notice. He holds a grudge
against you, is wrathful because you blinded his dear son.
Yet even so you can make it, though after much hardship,
if you're willing to curb your own and your comrades' spirits
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from the moment you put in with your well-built ship,
forsaking the violet deep, to the isle of Thrinakie
and find there at pasture the cattle and well-fed sheep
of Helios, the all-seeing, all-hearing sun. If you
leave these unharmed and take care over your return
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you may still get home to Ithake, after much suffering;
but should you harm them, then I foresee destruction
for your ship and your comrades. You yourself may escape,
but you'll get home late and in bad shape, your comrades all lost,
in a ship not your own, find troubles plaguing your house--
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arrogant fellows installed there, devouring your livelihood,
wooing your godlike wife and sending her bridal gifts!
Indeed, when you come you'll avenge their violent conduct,
but when you've killed off the suitors in your halls,
whether by guile or openly with the sharp bronze,
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then you must set out again, taking a well-shaped oar,
until you come among men who know nothing of the sea,
who eat their food without putting salt in it,
and have never set eyes on ships with purple cheeks
or on the well-shaped oars that serve as a ship's wings;
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and I'll tell you a very clear sign, one that won't escape you:
when on the road you meet another man who believes
it's a winnowing-fan that you have on your sturdy shoulder,
then fix your well-shaped oar on end in the ground,
and offer a lavish sacrifice to the lord Poseidon--
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a ram, a bull, and a stud boar that mounts its sows.
Then go back home, and make rich sacred offerings
to the immortal gods who possess broad heaven,
in due order. Death will come to you from the sea,2
the gentlest of ends, but will take you only after
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you've worn out a sleek old age, with your people round you
prospering. This that I tell you is the truth.'
"So he spoke, and I then responded to him, saying:
'Teiresias, it may be that the gods have spun this thread.
But come, now tell me this, and answer me truthfully:
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I see before me the shade of my departed mother,
sitting, silent, close to the blood. I am her own son,
yet she's not brought herself to look at me or address me!
Tell me, my lord, how may she know me fo
"So I spoke, and at once he responded to me, saying:
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'Very simple the answer I'll give you and put in your mind: