Material on the poem of the Odyssey briefly. "Odyssey

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SONG ONE

Muse, tell me about that experienced husband who,
Wandering long since the day when Saint Ilion was destroyed by him,
I visited many people of the city and saw customs,
I grieved a lot with my heart on the seas, caring about salvation
Your life and the return of companions to the homeland; futile
There were, however, worries, he did not save his companions: they themselves
They brought death on themselves by sacrilege, madmen,
Having eaten the bulls of Helios, the god walking above us, -
He stole the return day from them. Tell me about it
Something for us, O daughter of Zeves, benevolent Muse.
All the others, who escaped the faithful death, were
At home, avoiding both war and the sea; its only, separation
With a sweet wife and the homeland of the crushed one, in a deep grotto
Light nymph Calypso, goddess of goddesses, arbitrary
She held her by force, in vain wishing that he was her husband.
But when, at last, the reversal of times brought
The year in which the gods appointed him to return
To his house, to Ithaca (but where and in the arms of true friends he
All did not escape from anxiety), the gods were filled with pity
All; Poseidon alone persisted in persecuting Odysseus,
A godlike husband until he reaches his homeland.
But at that time he was in a remote country of the Ethiopians
(Extreme people settled in two ways: one, where descends
God is luminous, others, where it rises), so that there from the people
Lush obese bulls and rams take the hecatomb.
There he, sitting at a feast, had fun; the other gods
At times they were gathered in the halls of Zeves.
With them people and immortal father starts a conversation
In his thoughts was Aegistus blameless (his own Atridov
Son, the famous Orestes, killed); and thinking about it
Zeus the Olympian addresses the word to the assembly of the gods:
"It's strange how mortal people blame us gods for everything!
Evil is from us, they say; but don't you often
Death, contrary to fate, is brought on by madness?
So is Aegisthus: is it not fate, in spite of the wife of Atrids
Did he take him by killing him when he returned to his homeland?
He knew the true death; from us was sharp-eyed to him
Ermius, the destroyer of Argus, was sent down to kill
He did not dare to encroach on his husband and refrained from marrying his wife.
"Revenge for Atris will be done by the hand of Orestes when he
He wants to enter his house, having matured, as an heir, "so it was
Ermiy said - in vain! did not touch Aegist's heart
God is gracious with advice, and he paid for everything at once."
Zeus said: "Our father, Kronion, the supreme ruler,
Your truth, he deserved death, and so let him die
Every such villain! But now it breaks my heart
With his heavy fate, Odysseus is cunning; long time ago
Suffering, separated from his own, on an island, embraced by waves
The navel of the wide sea, wooded, where the nymph rules,
Daughter of Atlas, the thief who knows the seas
All the depths and which alone supports the bulk
Long huge pillars pushing the sky and the earth apart.
By the power of Atlanta, the daughter of Odysseus, shedding tears,
Holds, with the magic of insidious and caressing words about Ithaca
Memory hoping to destroy it. But wishing in vain
To see at least smoke rising from the native shores in the distance,
He prays for death alone. Compassion will not enter
In your heart, Olympian? Are you not satisfied with gifts
He honored in the Trojan land, in the midst of the Achaean ships there
Making sacrifices to you? Why are you angry, Kronion?
Objecting to her, the cloud-collector Kronion answered:
"Strange, my daughter, the word has flown out of your mouth.
I forgot Odysseus, immortal like a man,
So distinguished in the host of people and mind and diligent
Offering sacrifices to the gods, boundless heaven to the lords?
Not! Poseidon, the enveloper of the earth, stubbornly feuds with him,
All indignant because the Cyclops Polyphemus is divine
He is blinded by him: the strongest of the Cyclopes, Phosoy a nymph,
Daughter of Fork, lord of the desert-salty sea,
He was born from her union with Poseidon in deep
Grote. While the earth shaker Poseidon Odysseus
To betray death and not powerful, but, driving everywhere by sea,
He leads him away from Ithaca. Let's think together
How would he return his homeland. Poseidon refuse
Must from anger: one with all the immortals in a dispute,
Despite the eternal gods, without success, he will be angry.
Here is the bright-eyed Zeus daughter of Athenaeus Pallas
Zeus said: "Our father, Kronion, the supreme ruler!
If it pleases the blessed gods to see the homeland
Could Odysseus the cunning, then Ermius the argus-killer,
The performer of the will of the gods, let him be on the island of Ogygsky
To the nymph, beautifully curly-haired was sent down from us to announce to her
Our verdict is unchanged, that the time has come to return
In the land of his Odyssey, in trouble constant. I
I'll go straight to Ithaca to excite the son of Odysseus
Fill his heart with anger and courage, so that he calls
He is at the council of the thick-haired Achaeans and in the house of the Odysseus
The entrance was forbidden to suitors, who mercilessly destroy him
Small cattle and bulls, crooked-horned and slow-moving.
Sparta and Pylos sandy then he will visit to know,
Are there any rumors about the dear father and his return,
Also, so that a good reputation is established in people about him.
When she finished, she tied golden soles to her feet,
Ambrosial, everywhere it is above water and above solid
By the bosom of the boundless earth, lightly carried by the wind;
Then she took a war spear, studded with copper,
Solid heavy and huge, it also fights in anger
She is the strength of the heroes, the birth of the thundering god.
The goddess stepped violently from the top of Olympus to Ithaca.
There in the yard, at the threshold of the doors of the Odyssey house,
She stood with a copper-sharp spear, clothed in the image
Guest, ruler of the Tafians, Mentes; brought together
All the grooms, riotous husbands, there the goddess saw;
Playing dice, they sat in front of the entrance on the skins
Bulls killed by them; and the heralds, establishing the table,
Together with the agile slaves they ran: they poured
Water with wine in the pier craters; and those nostril
Having washed the tables with a sponge, they were moved and various meats
Having cut a lot, they carried it. Goddess Athena
Before other Telemachus the god-equal saw. Regrettable
With his heart, in the circle of suitors, he sat, thinking about one thing:
Where is the noble father and how, returning to his homeland,
He disperses predators throughout his dwelling,
The authorities will perceive and will again be their master.
In such thoughts with the suitors, sitting, he saw Athena;
He immediately got up and hurried to the entrance, indignantly
In the heart that the wanderer was forced to wait outside the threshold; approaching
He took the stranger's right hand, took his spear,
Then he raised his voice and threw winged word:
"Rejoice, stranger; come in to us; we will treat you cordially;
You will declare your need to us, being satisfied with our food.
Having finished, he went ahead, followed by Pallas Athenaeus.
With her, entering the banquet chamber, to the high column
Right with a spear he came up and hid it there in a setting
Smoothly hewn, where they were locked in the old days
The spears of King Odysseus, in constant trouble, were.
To rich armchairs, skillfully made, bringing Athena,
He invited her to sit in them, covering them in advance with a patterned
Cloth; for the feet there was a bench; then he put
A chair carved for oneself at a distance from others, so that the guest
The noise of the wildly merry crowd did not spoil the dinner,
Also, to secretly ask him about his distant father.
Then she brought a silver hand to the tub to wash them
A golden washstand filled with cold water, a slave,
Smooth then pushed the table; put on it
Housekeeper bread with various edibles, from the stock
Issued by her willingly; on the dishes, lifting them high,
The local clerk brought various meat and, having offered it to them,
He placed golden cups on the table in front of them;
The herald began to look for wine to be filled more often
Cups. Grooms came in, riotous men, and sat down
Chin on armchairs and chairs; the heralds brought water
Wash their hands; the slaves brought them bread in baskets;
The youths poured cups with a light drink to the brim.
They raised their hands to the prepared food; when
The hunger of their delicious food was satisfied, it entered them
There is something else in the heart - the desire for sweet singing and dancing:
To feast they are an adornment; and a ringing zither herald
Femiya gave, to the singer, in front of them at all times
Sing to the forced; Striking the strings, he sang beautifully.
Then Telemachus carefully said to the bright-eyed Athena,
He bowed his head to her so that others would not hear him:
"My dear guest, do not be angry with me for my frankness;
Here they have fun; they only have music and singing on their minds;
It's easy: they devour someone else's without pay, wealth
Husband, whose white bones, perhaps, or rain
Somewhere it wets on the shore, or the waves roll along the seaside.
If he suddenly appeared before them in Ithaca, then everything would
Instead of saving both clothes and gold, they began
Just pray that their legs are faster.
But he died, comprehended by an angry fate, and consolation
No to us, although sometimes they come from earthly people
News that he will return, there will be no return for him.
Who are you? What tribe are you? Where do you live? Who is your father?
Who is your mother? On what ship and what way
Arrived in Ithaca and who are your sailors? To our edge
(This, of course, I know myself) you didn’t come on foot.
Also speak frankly, so that I may know the whole truth:
Was it the first time you visited Ithaca, or have you already been here
Guest of the Odysseys? In those days, foreigners gathered a lot
In our house: my parent loved to treat people.
"I will tell you everything frankly; I am King Anchialus
Wise son, called Mentes, I rule the people
Cheerful Tafians; and now my ship to Ithaca
Together with my people I led, traveling dark
By sea to the peoples of a different language; I want in Temes
Obtain copper by exchanging shiny iron for it;
I put my own ship under the forested slope of Neyon
On the field, in the pier of Retre, far from the city. Our
Ancestors have long been considered guests to each other; this is,
Perhaps you yourself often hear when you visit
The grandfather of the hero Laertes ... and they say he no longer walks
More to the city, but far away lives in the field, dejected
Grief, with the old maid, who, the old man of peace,
Reinforces him with food when he gets tired, dragging
Across the field back and forth in the midst of his grapes.
I am with you because they told me that your father
At home ... but it is clear that the gods delayed him on the way:
For the noble Odysseus has not yet died on earth;
Somewhere, surrounded by the sea abyss, on a wave-embracing
The island is locked alive, or maybe he suffers in captivity
Wild predators who forcibly took possession of it. But listen
What I will predict to you, what almighty gods to me
Invested in the heart, which will inevitably come true, as I myself
I believe, although I am not a prophet and I am inexperienced in guessing by birds.
He will not be long apart from his dear homeland, at least

He was bound by iron bonds; but return home
He will find the right remedy: he is cunning for inventions.
You tell me now, without hiding anything from me:
Do I truly see in you the son of Odysseus? You are wonderful
With his head and beautiful eyes he is similar; still me
I remember him; in the old days we saw each other often;
It was before sailing to Troy, where from the Achaeans
The best with him in their steep-sided ships rushed.
Since then, neither he nor I have met him anywhere.
"My good guest," answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
I will tell you everything frankly, so that you can know the whole truth.
Mother assures me that I am his son, but I myself do not know:
It is probably impossible for us to know who our father is.
It would be better, however, I wished that I was not so ill-fated
The husband was the father; in his possessions he is to old age b late
Lived. But if you ask, then he, from the living
The most unfortunate now, my father, as people think.
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"It seems that it pleases the immortals that he was not without glory in the future
Your house, when Penelope such as you was granted
Son. Now tell me without hiding anything from me
What is going on here? What congregation? Do you give
A holiday, or are you celebrating a wedding? Not a folding feast here, of course.
It only seems that your guests are unbridled in your
They are outrageous at home: every decent person in society with them
Be ashamed, seeing their shameful behavior."
"My good guest," answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
If you want to know, then I will tell you frankly.
Once our house was full of wealth; he was respected
All while that husband was inseparably here.
Now the hostile gods have decided otherwise, having covered
His fate is impregnable darkness for the whole world;
I would be less upset about him when he died:
If he had perished in the Trojan land among his warlike comrades.
Or in the arms of friends, having endured the war, he died here,
The tomb hill above it would have been poured by the Achaean people,
He would leave great glory to his son for all time ...
Now the Harpies have taken him, and he has gone missing,
Forgotten by the light, graveless, one contrition and cries
Leaving a legacy for my son. But I'm not talking about him alone
crying; the gods sent me another great grief:
Everyone who is famous and strong on our different islands.
The first people of Dulikhia, Zama, forest Zakynthos,
The first people of Ithaca rocky mother Penelope
They stubbornly push for marriage and rob our estate;
The mother does not want to enter into a hated marriage, nor from marriage
He has no means to escape; and they devour mercilessly
Our goodness and myself will finally be ruined."
The goddess Athena answered him with great anger:
"Woe! I see how distant your father is now
Needed to strong hand deal with shameless suitors.
Oh, if he entered those doors, returning suddenly,
In a helmet, covered with a shield, in his hand two copper-pointed spears! ..
So for the first time I saw him at the time when he
In our house he rejoiced with wine, having visited in Ether
Ila, Mermer's son (and that side of the distant
King Odysseus reached on his fast ship;
Poison, deadly to people, he was looking for in order to give them drink
Their arrows, encrusted with copper; but Eli refused
Give him poison, fearing to irritate the all-seeing gods;
My father endowed it with him out of great friendship with him).
If in the form of such Odysseus suddenly appeared to the suitors,
Marriage would be made to them, the fate of the inevitable comprehended, bitter.
But - that we, of course, do not know - in the bosom of the immortals
Hidden: is it appointed from above for him, returning, to destroy them
In this house, or not. We now think collectively
How would you clean your house from robbers yourself.
Listen to what I say, and notice to yourself that you will hear:
Tomorrow, calling the noble Achaeans to the council, before them
Announce everything, calling the immortals as witnesses of the truth;
After that, demand that all the suitors go home;
Mother, if marriage is not disgusting to her heart,
You suggest that you return to the house of the powerful father,
A dear daughter, as befits a dignity, he will endow her.
I also zealously advise, if you accept my advice:
A strong ship with twenty equipped rowers, set off
Himself for his distant father, to find out what

Pylos first visit, you know that the divine Nestor
Will say; then Menelaus find the golden-haired in Sparta:
He arrived home last of all the copper-plated Achaeans.
If you hear that your parent is alive, that he will return,
Wait for him a year, patiently enduring oppression; when

In honor of him, the mound of the grave here is an embankment and the usual magnificent
Perform a feast on him; Get Penelope to marry you.
After, when you arrange everything in the proper order,
Having firmly decided, with a prudent mind, think up a means,
How would you suitors who forcibly seized your house,
In it, destroy either by deception, or by sheer force; you
You can’t be a child anymore, you’ve gone out of childhood;
Do you know what a divine youth Orestes is before the whole
He was adorned with light with honor, having avenged Aegisthus, with whom
Was his glorious parent slain maliciously?
It must be firm so that your name and descendants are praised.
The time, however, is for me to return to my swift ship.
To companions, waiting, of course, for me with impatience and boredom.
You take care of yourself, respecting what I said."
"My dear guest," answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
Desiring my benefits, you speak to me as to a son
Good father; I will not forget what you advised.
But wait, though you are in a hurry to go; it's cool here
Having refreshed your bath and members and soul, you will return
You are on a ship, a rich gift to the pleasure of the heart
Taking it from me so that I can keep it as a keepsake, as a custom
There is between people, so that when they say goodbye, the guests give each other.
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"No! Don't hold me back, I'm in an immense hurry on the road;
Your gift, promised me so cordially by you,
Returning to you, I will accept and take you home gratefully,
Having received something dear as a gift, and giving dearly himself."
With these words Zeus' bright-eyed daughter disappeared,
Quick invisibly bird suddenly flying away. Settled
Firmness and courage she is in Telemakhov's heart, livelier
Recall making him about his father; but he penetrated the soul
Mystery and felt fear, guessing that he was talking with God.
Then he, the divine husband, approached the suitors; In front of them
sang famous singer and sat with deep attention
They are silent; about the sad return of the Achaeans from Troy,
Once established by the goddess Athena, he sang.
In the upper rest, hearing inspired singing,
Penelope hurried down the high steps,
Elder Ikaria's wise daughter: they went down together with her
Two of her maids; and she, the god among women,
Entering that chamber where her suitors feasted,
Beside the pillar, the ceiling holding high there, she became,
Covering your cheeks with a shiny head veil;
On the right and on the left, the maids stood respectfully; queen
With weeping, she then addressed the inspired word to the singer:
"Phemius, you know so many others that delight the soul
Songs composed by singers to the glory of gods and heroes;
Sing one of them, sitting before the assembly, one; and in silence
Guests will listen to her for wine; but stop what you started
a sad song; my heart skips a beat when i
I hear her: of all, I got the most severe grief;
Having lost such a husband, I always mourn for the deceased,
So filled with his glory and Hellas and Argos.
"Dear mother," objected the judicious son of Odysseus,
How do you want the singer to ban our pleasure
Then to sing that his heart awakens in him? Guilty
This is not a singer, but Zeus is guilty, sending from above
People of high spirit will be inspired by their will.
No, do not prevent the singer about the sad return of the Danae
Sing - with great praise people listen to that song,
Every time with her, as with a new one, admiring her soul;
You yourself will find in it not sadness, but sadness delight:
Was not one from the gods condemned to lose the return day
King Odysseus, and many other famous people died.
But good luck: do, as you should, the order of the economy,
Yarn, weaving; see that the slaves are diligent in their work
Were our own: to speak is not a woman’s business, but a business
Husband, and now mine: I am my only master.
So he said; amazed, Penelope went back;
To the heart of the words of the wise son, having accepted and at rest
Shut up on top, in the circle of close maids
She wept bitterly for her Odysseus,
The goddess Athena did not bring sweet sleep to her eyes.
That sometimes the grooms in the darkened chamber were noisy,
Arguing about which of them will share the bed with Penelope.
Turning to them, the judicious son of Odysseus said:
"You suitors of Penelope, arrogant with violent pride,
Let us now quietly have fun: interrupt your noisy
Dispute; it is more fitting for us to pay attention to the chanter who,
Our hearing is captivating, like the gods with high inspiration.
Tomorrow morning I invite you all to gather in the square.
There, I’ll tell you publicly to your face, so that you all cleanse


All; but on you I will call the gods; and Zeus won't slow down

He fell silent. Grooms, biting their lips with annoyance,
Those who were struck by his bold word were surprised at him.
But Antinous, the son of Evpeytov, answered him, objecting:
"The gods themselves, of course, taught you, Telemachus
To be so arrogant and impudent in words, and trouble for us when you
In wave-embracing Ithaca, by the will of Kronion, you will
Our king, already having the right to do so by birth!
"Friend of Antinous, do not be angry with me for my frankness:
If Zeus gave me dominion, I would gladly accept.
Or do you think that the royal lot of all is worse in the world?
No, of course, being a king is not bad; wealth in the royal
The house accumulates soon, and he himself is in honor of the people.
But among the Achaeans of the wave-embracing Ithaca there is
Many worthy of power, both old and young; between them
You choose when King Odysseus is no more.
In my house, I am the only master; I belong here
Power over slaves, for us Odysseus obtained in battles.
Here Eurymachus, the son of Polybius, answered Telemachus like this:
"O Telema, we do not know - that is hidden in the bosom of the immortals, -
Who is appointed over the Achaeans of the wave-embracing Ithaca
Reign; in your house, of course, you are the only ruler;
No, there won't be, as long as Ithaca is inhabited,
There is no one here who would dare to encroach on your property.
But I would like to know, my dear, about the current guest.
What is his name? What fatherland does he glorify
Earth? What kind and tribe is he? Where he was born?
Did he come to you with the news of the desired return of your father?
Or visited us, having come to Ithaca for his own needs?
Suddenly he disappeared from here, without waiting for at least a little
We reviewed; he was not an easy man, of course.
“Friend Eurymachus,” answered the judicious son of Odysseus, “
The day of meeting with my father is forever lost to me; I won't
Believe no more rumors about his imminent return,
Below the vain prophecies about him, to which, calling
In the house of fortunetellers, the mother comes running. And our current guest
Was Odyssey's guest; he hails from Taphos, Mentes,
The son of Anchialus, the king of wisdom, rules the people
Gay-loving Tafians." But, speaking so, I was convinced
In his heart Telemachus that he saw the immortal goddess.
The same, again turning to dance and sweet song,
They began to make noise again in anticipation of the night; when
Black night in the midst of their cheerful noise has come,
Everyone went home to indulge in carefree peace.
Soon Telemachus himself in his high chamber (on a beautiful
The courtyard was facing it with a vast view in front of the windows),
After seeing everyone off, he went, thinking to himself about many things.
Carrying a lighted torch, in front of him with careful zeal
There was Eurycleia, the intelligent daughter of Pevsenorids Ops;
She was bought in the blooming years by Laertes - he paid
Twenty bulls, and her with her well-behaved wife
In his house he respected equally, and did not allow himself
Lodge touch her, fearing the jealousy of a woman.
Carrying the torch, Eurycleia led Telemachus - behind him
From childhood she went and pleased him more diligently
Other slaves. She opened into the rich bedroom
doors; he sat down on the bed and, taking off his thin shirt,
He threw it into the hands of a caring old woman; carefully
Folded into folds and angled, on the nail of Eurycleus a shirt
Beside the bed, artfully chiseled, hung; quiet
She left the bedroom; closed the door with a silver handle;
I tightened the latch tightly with a belt; then she left.
He is all night on the bed, covered with soft sheepskin,
In his heart he pondered the path established by the goddess Athena.

CANTO TWO

Then the beloved son of the Odysseus also left the bed;
Having put on a dress, he hung his sophisticated sword on his shoulder;
After, beautiful soles tied to light legs,
He left the bedroom, his face like a radiant god.
Calling the sonorous heralds of the king, he commanded
Call them a call to gather thick-haired Achaeans on the square;
They clicked; others gathered in the square; when
They all gathered and the assembly became complete,
With a copper spear in his hand, he appeared before the host of the people -
There was not one, two dashing dogs ran after him.
Athena illuminated his image with inexpressible beauty,
So people marveled when they saw him approaching.
The elders parted before him, and he sat down in his father's place.
The first word then spoke the noble Egypt,
An old man, bent over the years and experienced a lot in life;
His son Antiphon, a spearman with King Odysseus
In the horse-bearing Troy long ago in a ship with a twisted side
swam; he was put to death by Polyphemus the fierce in deep
Grote, the last kidnapped by him for supper food.
Three remained for the elder: one, Evrin, with suitors
Rampant; two helped their father cultivate the field;
But he could not forget about the deceased; he cried about him
Everyone was distressed; And so, broken, he said to the people:
"I invite you to listen to my word, people of Ithaca;
We haven't had a council meeting since we left here.
King Odysseus departed in his fast ships.
Who has gathered us now? Who needs that suddenly?
Is the youth flourishing? Is it a husband, ripe for years?
Have you heard the news about the enemy force coming towards us?
Does he want to warn us, scouting everything in detail in advance?
Or about the benefits of what the people intend to offer us?
He must be an honest citizen; glory to him! Yes it will help
Zeus, his good thoughts will be successful.
Finished. The son of Odysseus was delighted with his words;
He immediately decided to stand up and speak to the assembly;
He spoke before the people, and he, going to them, into the hand
The scepter was invested by Pevseneor, the herald, the sensible adviser.
First turning to the elder, he said to him: "Noble
Elder, he is close (and soon you will recognize him), who are you here
Collected - it's me, and my sadness is great now.
I have not heard of the enemy force coming towards us;
I don’t want to warn you, having explored everything in detail in advance,
Also, the benefits of folk now do not intend to offer.
Now I am talking about my own misfortune that has befallen my house.
Two misfortunes for me; one: I have lost my noble father,
Who was king over you and always loved you like children;
More evil is another misfortune, from which our whole house
Soon it will perish and everything that is in it will be completely destroyed,
The one that pursues the mother of relentless suitors, our
Citizens of the most distinguished, gathered here, sons; they are disgusted
Directly to the Ikariev house to turn to their offer
The elder listened to the daughter, endowed with a generous dowry,
I gave of my own free will to someone who is more pleasant to the heart.
Not; it is more convenient for them, every day bursting into our house in a crowd,
To cut our bulls, and rams, and fattened goats,
Eat until you drop and our light wine is merciless
Spend. Our house is ruined, because there is no such
Husband, what is Odysseus, to save him from the curse.
We ourselves are helpless now, evenly and after
We will be, worthy of pity, without any protection at all.
If there was strength, then I myself would find control;
But grievances become unbearable; house of the Odysseys
They rob shamelessly. Doesn't your conscience bother you? At least
To the extent of strangers, be ashamed of the people and peoples of the district,
Our neighbors, gods be afraid of vengeance, so that with anger
They themselves did not comprehend you, being indignant at your untruth.
Well, I appeal to the Olympic Zeus, I appeal to Themis,
Strict goddess, the advice of the founding husbands! Our
Recognize the right, friends, and me alone to lament
Leave grief. Or maybe my noble parent
How he offended here the deliberately copper-shod Achaeans;
Maybe you deliberately take revenge on me,
Robbing our house to excite others? But wish it were better
We, so that both our livestock and our recumbent stock, you yourself
They took it by force; then there would be hope for us:
Until then, we would have begun to wander the streets, begging you
Give us what is ours, as long as not everything is given to us;
Now you are tormenting my heart with hopeless grief.
So he said in anger and threw his scepter to the ground;
Tears from the eyes rushed: compassion penetrated the people;
Everyone sat motionless and silent; no one dared
To respond with a bold word to the son of King Odysseus.
But Antinous got up and exclaimed, objecting to him:
"What did you say, Telemachus, unbridled, arrogant?
Having offended us, are you plotting to lay the blame on us?
No, you do not blame us, suitors, before the Achaean people
I must now, but my cunning mother, Penelope.
Three years have passed, the fourth has already come
Since playing with us, she gives us hope
To everyone, and to everyone separately, he promises himself, and to lead
Good sends to us, unkind in the heart for us plotting.
Know what she treacherously came up with a trick:
The great camp in the chambers, setting its own, began there
Thin-wide fabric and, having gathered us all, she said to us:
"Young men, now my suitors, - because in the world
There is no Odysseus - let's postpone our marriage until the time it will be
My work is over, so that the fabric I have begun will not be wasted to me;
Elder Laertes I want to prepare a coffin cover
Before he is in the hands of forever sleepy death
Given away by the parks, so that the Achaean wives would not dare
I reproach that such a rich husband is buried without cover.
So she told us, and we obeyed her with a man's heart.
What? She spent the whole day at weaving, and at night,
Having lit the torch, she herself unraveled everything woven during the day.
The deception lasted for three years, and she knew how to convince us;
But when the fourth was brought by the reversal of times,
One of the servants, who knew the secret, revealed to all of us;
We ourselves then found her behind a loose cloth;
So she was reluctantly reluctant to finish her work.
You listen to us; we answer you so that you can know everything
Himself and so that the Achaeans are in charge of everything evenly with you:
Mother departed, commanding her immediately, agreeing to marriage,
Choose between us the one who is pleasing to the father and herself.
But if he continues to play with the sons of the Achaeans...
Reason generously endowed her with Athena; Not only
She is skilled in various needlework, but also a lot
Knows tricks unheard of in ancient days and Achaean
Wives beautifully curly-haired unknown; whatever Alcmene
Ancient, neither Tyro, nor the magnificently crowned princess of Mycenae
It didn’t enter into the mind, then the now evasive mind of Penelope
Invented to our detriment; but her inventions are in vain;
Know that we will not stop destroying your house until
She will be stubborn in her thoughts, by the gods
Into the heart of the invested; of course, to her great glory
That will turn, but you will mourn the destruction of wealth;
We, I say, will not leave you either home or anywhere else.
A place until Penelope chooses a husband between us."
"O Antinous," answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
I do not dare to think about ordering to leave
The one who gave birth to me and nursed me; my father is far away;
Whether he is alive or dead, I do not know; but it will be difficult with Icarium
I pay when Penelope is forced out of here
I will send - then I will be subjected to both the wrath of my father and persecution
Demon: terrible Erinyes, leaving his house, calls
Mother on me, and I will cover myself with eternal shame before people.
No, I would never dare to say such a word to her.
You, when your conscience bothers you a little, leave
My house; establish other feasts, your own, not ours
Spending on them and watching in turn in their treats.
If you find what is more pleasant and easier for you
To destroy one and all arbitrarily, without payment, - devour
All; but I will call the gods on you, and Zeus will not slow down
To strike you for a lie: then inevitably all of you,
Likewise, without pay, you will perish in the house that you have plundered."
Thus spoke Telemachus. And suddenly Zeus the Thunderer
He sent down two eagles from above to him from a rocky mountain;
Both at first, as if carried by the wind, flew
Nearby they spread their huge wings wide;
But, having flown into the middle of a meeting full of noise,
They began to circle rapidly with incessant flapping of wings;
Their eyes, looking down on their heads, sparkled with misfortune;
Themselves then, scratching each other and chest and neck,
To the right they sped away, flying over the assembly and the hail.
Everyone, amazed, followed the birds with their eyes, and each
I thought that their appearance foreshadowed the future.
Alifers, an experienced old man, spoke here before the people,
Son of Mastors; of all his peers, he is the only one in flight
Bird was skillful in guessing and prophesied the future; full
"I invite you to listen to my word, people of Ithaca.
First, however, in order to bring the suitors to reason, I will say
They, that the inevitable misfortune rushes at them, which is not for long
Odysseus will be separated from his family, that he
Somewhere close lurks, and death and death are preparing
To all of them, and also to many others who live in Ithaca
Mountainous disaster will be. Let's think about how
In time for us to curb them; but it's better, of course, when
They themselves pacified; then now everything would be more useful
It was for them: not inexperienced so I say, but probably
Knowing what will happen; came true, I affirm, and everything that I told him
Here he predicted before the ships of the Achaeans went
Odysseus the wise went to Troy and with them. For many
Disasters (so I said) and lost all companions,
Unfamiliar to everyone, at the end of the twentieth year to the fatherland
He will return. My prophecy is now being fulfilled."
Finished. Eurymachus, the son of Polybius, answered him: "Better
Old storyteller, return home to your minors
Prophesy to the children there, so that no misfortune happens to them.
In our case, more truly than you, I am a prophet; we are pretty
We see flying in the sky in the light rays of Helios
Birds, but not all fatal. And King Odysseus in the distant
The edge died. And you would die with him! Then
Here you did not invent such predictions, exciting
Anger in Telemachus, already irritated, and, surely, hoping
Get something as a gift from him for yourself and your family.
Listen, however, - and what you hear will be true, -
If you are this young man with his old knowledge
If you arouse anger with empty words, then, of course,
This will turn to him in pure grief;
He won't be able to do anything against us all.
Well, you reckless old man, you will incur punishment,
Heavy heart: we will bitterly make you lament.
Now I am more useful advice I will offer Telemachus:
Let him command his mother to return to Ikaria's house,
Where, having prepared everything necessary for marriage, a rich dowry
A dear daughter, how fittingly her rank, he will endow.
Otherwise, I think, we, the sons of the noble Achaeans,
We will not stop torturing her with our matchmaking. no one here
We are not afraid of Telemachus full of sonorous speeches,
Below the prophecies with which you, gray-haired talker,
You annoy everyone - that's why you are more hated by us; and their house
We will ruin the whole for our feasts, and retribution from us
They don't have any until the desired by us
Marriage will not be decided by her; waiting everyday for who will
She of us is finally preferred, we turn to others
We delay the brides in order to choose, as it should, wives among them.
The sensible son of Odysseus meekly answered him:
"O Evrimah, and all of you, famous suitors, more
I don’t want to convince you and I won’t say a word to you in advance;
The gods know everything, the noble Achaeans know everything.
You are a strong ship to me with twenty accustomed quickly
Now equip the rowers on the sea: I want
Sparta and Pylos sandy first visit to visit,
Are there any rumors about a dear father and what
In people there is a rumor about him, or hear a prophecy about him
Ossa, who always repeats Zeves' word to people.
If I know that he is alive, that he will return, then I will
Wait for him a year, patiently enduring oppression; when
Rumor will say that he died, that he is no longer among the living,
Then, immediately returning to the dear land of the fathers,
In honor of him, I will build a tomb hill here and splendidly
I will perform a feast on him; I will persuade Penelope to marry."
When he had finished, he sat down and was silent. Then rose the unchanging
Companion and friend of Odysseus, the immaculate king, Mentor.
Odysseus entrusted him with the departure of the house, to be submissive
Elder Laertes and commanded to save everything. And complete
Good thoughts, turning to fellow citizens, he said to them:
"I invite you to listen to my word, people of Ithaca:
Meek, good and friendly to be no one ahead
The skiptron-bearing king must not, but having expelled the truth from his heart,
Let everyone oppress people, boldly lawlessness,
If you could forget Odysseus who was ours
He loved his people as a good king, like a benevolent father.
There is no need for me to blame the unbridled daring suitors
The fact that they, self-ruling here, are plotting evil.
They themselves play with their heads, ruining
The house of Odysseus, which, they think, we will not see.
I want to shame you, citizens of Ithaca: having gathered here,
You sit indifferently and do not say a word against
A small crowd of suitors, even though your number is large."
The son of the Evenors then, Leocritus, exclaimed indignantly:
"What did you say, reckless, malicious Mentor? Humble us
Citizens you offer; but deal them with us, whom
Also a lot, at a feast it's hard. At least suddenly
Your Odysseus himself, ruler of Ithaca, appeared also by force
Us, noble suitors, in his rejoicing house,
He planned to expel him from there, his return to his homeland
It would be for his wife, who yearned for him for so long, not for joy:
An evil death would have befallen him if many of us
He decided to overcome one; you said a stupid word.
Well, you disperse, people, and everyone take care of home
Deed. And let the Mentor and the sage Alifers, Odysseus
Those who have kept their loyalty, Telemachus will be equipped on the way;
For a long time, however, I think he will sit here, collecting
News; but he will not be able to make his way."
So saying, he arbitrarily dismissed the assembly of the people.
Everyone, leaving, went to their homes; suitors
They returned to the house of Odysseus, the noble king.
But Telemachus went alone to the sandy seaside.
Washing his hands with salty moisture, he exclaimed to Athena:
"You who visited my house yesterday and in the misty sea
She commanded me to swim, so that I would explore, wandering, isn't it
Rumors of a sweet father and his return, goddess,
Help me kindly; the Achaeans make my way difficult;
More than others, suitors are powerful, full of malice.
So he spoke, praying, and before him in the twinkling of an eye,
Similar to the Mentor in appearance and speech, Athena appeared.
Raising her voice, the winged goddess threw a word:
"You are brave, Telemachus, and you will be wise when you have
Toyu great power with what word and deed
All your father wanted to do; and you will achieve what you want
Goals, finishing your way unhindered; when you are not straight
Son of Odysseus, not son of Penelopin direct, then hope
Rarely are sons like fathers; more and more
Some are worse than their fathers, and few are better. But you will
You, Telemachus, are both wise and bold, since not at all
You are deprived of the great Odysseus power; and hope
There is for you that you will successfully complete the undertaking.
Let the suitors, iniquity, plot evil - leave them;
Woe to the insane! They are in blindness, unfamiliar with the truth,
They do not foresee their death, nor the black fate, daily
Coming closer and closer to them, to suddenly destroy them.
You can undertake your journey immediately;
Being your father's friend, I will equip
A fast ship for you and I will follow you myself.
But now return to the suitors; and you on the road
Let them prepare food, let them fill the vessels;
Let them pour wine and flour into amphoras, sailor
Nutritious food, in leather, dense furs will be prepared.
That sometimes I will recruit rowers; ships in Ithaca,
Embraced by the sea, there are many both new and old; between them
The best one I will choose myself; and immediately he will be us
The path is made, and let us lower it to the sacred sea."
Thus spoke Athena, Zeus's daughter, to Telemachus.
Hearing the voice of the goddess, he immediately left the shore.
Returning to the house with sadness of a sweet heart, he found
There are powerful suitors: some were ripped off in the chambers
Goats, and others, having slaughtered pigs, fired at them in the yard.
With a sharp grin, Antinous approached him and, forcibly
Taking him by the hand and calling him by name, he said:
"A hot-tempered young man, an evil talker, Telemachus, do not worry
More about harming us either in word or deed, but rather
Be friendly with us without any worries, have fun, as it used to be.
Well, the Achaeans will not slow down your will to fulfill: you will receive
You and the ship and selected rowers, in order to quickly reach
To Pylos, dear to the gods, and learn about the distant father."
The sensible son of Odysseus meekly answered him:
"No, Antinous, it is indecent for me to be with you, arrogant, together
Against the desire to sit at the table, having fun carefree;
Be satisfied with the fact that our property is the best
You, suitors, ruined while I was a minor.
Now, when, having matured and listening to smart advisers,
I learned everything, and when courage awakened in me,
I'll try to call on your neck the Park of the inevitable,
Is it so, or otherwise, whether having gone to Pylos, or having found here
Means. I'm going - and my path will not be in vain, although I
I'm going as a fellow traveler, because (it was so arranged by you)
It is impossible for me to have my own ship and rowers here."
So he said his hand from Antinous's hand
Pulled out. Meanwhile, suitors, establishing a plentiful dinner,
Many sharp words offended his heart.
Thus spoke some of the impudently haughty scoffers:
"Telemachus intended to destroy us in earnest; perhaps
Many he will bring to his aid from the sandy Pylos, many
Also from Sparta; about that he, we see, cares much.
It may also happen that the rich land of Ether
He will visit, so that, having obtained poison there, deadly to people,
Here, poison the craters with them and destroy us all at once.
“But,” the others answered mockingly first, “who knows!
It can easily happen that he himself, like a father, will die,
Long wandering the seas far from friends and family.
That, of course, will concern us too: then we will have to
All to divide among themselves their property; let's give up the house
We are Penelope and the husband she has chosen among us."
So grooms. Telemachus went to his father's pantry,
The building is spacious; heaps of gold and copper lay there;
There were a lot of dresses in chests and fragrant oil stored;
Clay kufas with perennial and sweet wine stood
Next to the walls, concluding a divinely pure drink
In the bowels of the deep, in case Odysseus returns
To the house, having endured severe sorrows and many vicissitudes.
Double-leaf doors, double-closed, to that pantry
Served as an entrance; venerable housekeeper day and night
There, with a highly experienced, vigilant zeal, she kept in order
All Eurycleia, intelligent daughter of Pevsenorids Ops.
Calling Eurycleia into that pantry, Telemachus said to her:
"Nanny, fill the amphorae with fragrant, delicious wine
After the dear one that you keep here,
Remembering him, the unfortunate one, and all hoping that in his house
King Odysseus will return, and escaped death and the Park.
With it you fill twelve amphorae and cork amphorae;
Similarly, prepare leather, dense furs, organ
full of flour; and that each of them contained twenty
Mer; but you alone know about this; collect all supplies
in a bunch; I will come for them in the evening, at a time when
Penelope will go to her upper rest, thinking about sleep.
I want to visit Sparta and Pylos sandy to visit.
Are there any rumors about the dear father and his return?
Finished. He Eurycleia, diligent nurse, crying,
With a loud sob, the winged one threw the word: "Why are you,
Our dear child, open to such thoughts
Heart? Why do you aspire to a distant, alien land
You, our only consolation? your parent is
Met the end between hostile peoples far from home;
Here, while you are wandering, they will insidiously arrange
Kov, to lime both you and your wealth will be divided.
Better stay with us at your own; there is no need
In the terrible sea you will go into trouble and into storms.
Answering her, the judicious son of Odysseus said:
"Nanny, my friend, do not worry; not past the gods, I decided
On the road, but swear to me that your mother will not know anything from you.
Before, until eleven or twelve days have passed,
Or until she asks about me herself, or someone else
She won’t tell secrets - I’m afraid that she won’t fade from crying
Freshness of the face." Eurycleia became great gods
To swear; when she swore and made her oath,
Immediately she poured all the amphorae with fragrant wine,
She prepared thick leather sacks full of flour.
He, having returned home, remained there with the suitors.
A clever thought was born here in the heart of Pallas Athena:
Taking the form of Telemachus, she ran around the whole city;
To everyone you meet, affectionately addressing, get together
She invited everyone to the fast ship in the evening.
After, having come to Noemon, the reasonable son of Phronius,
She asked to give the ship - Noemon agreed willingly.
A light ship for salty moisture, having lowered and stocks,
Necessary for every strong ship, having collected, in fact
The goddess placed him at the exit to the sea from the bay.
People came together, and in everyone she aroused courage.
A new thought was born here in the heart of Pallas Athena:
In the house of Odysseus, the noble king, having entered, the goddess
Sweet Dreams brought on the grooms feasting there, confused
The thoughts of the drinkers and snatched the goblets from their hands; attraction
Having yielded to sleep, they went home and did not last long.
They waited for him, he was not slow to fall on tired eyes.
Then the bright-eyed daughter of Zeus told Telemachus,
Calling him out of the lavish dining room,
Similar to the Mentor in appearance and speech: "It's time, Telemachus, for us;
All our light-shod companions have already gathered;
Sitting by the oars, they wait for you impatiently;
Time to go; it is not good for us to put off our way.”
Having finished, Pallas Athena went ahead of Telemachus
Quick step; Telemachus hastily followed the goddess.
Having approached the sea and the ship that was waiting for them, they were there
Companions of the thick-haired ones were found near the sandy shore.
Telemakhov's holy power then turned to them:
"Brothers, let's hasten to bring travel supplies; they are already
Everything is prepared in the house, and the mother has not heard of anything;
Also, nothing is said to the slaves; only one secret
He knows." And he quickly went ahead; after him all the others.
Taking supplies, they have them on a well-arranged ship
Folded, as the beloved son of Odysseus commanded them.
Soon he himself entered the ship for the goddess Athena;
Near the stern of the ship, she fit; next to her
Telemachus sat down, and the rowers, hastily untying the ropes,
They also boarded the ship and sat on the benches by the oars.
Then the bright-eyed daughter of Zeus gave them a fair wind,
A marshmallow wafted fresh, roaring the dark sea.
Exciting the vigorous rowers, Telemachus ordered them to
Arrange tackle; obeying him, a pine mast
They raised at once and, deep into the nest, hoisted,
She was approved in it, and ropes were pulled from the sides;
White was then tied with braided sail straps;
Filled with wind, it rose, and the purple waves
There was a loud noise under the keel of the ship flowing into them;
He ran along the waves, raking his way into them.
Here shipbuilders, having arranged a black fast ship,
They filled the bowls with sweet wine and, praying, created
A libation due to the ever-born, immortal gods,
More than others, the bright-eyed goddess, the great Pallas.
The ship calmly made its way all night and all morning.

CANTO THREE

Helios rose from the beautiful sea and appeared on a copper
The vault of heaven to shine for the immortal gods and for mortals,
Rock subject to people living on a fruitful land.
That sometimes the ship reached Neleev city
Lush, Pylos. The people sacrificed there on the shore
Black bulls to Poseidon, the azure-curly god;
There were nine benches there; on the benches, five hundred each,
People were sitting, and there were nine bulls in front of each.
Having tasted sweet wombs, they already burned before God
Hips while the sailors entered the pier. removed
Tackle and anchor the rickety ship, settling down to earth
They went out; Telemachus, following Athena, also
Came out. Turning to him, the goddess Athena said:
"Son of the Odysseus, now you must not be shy;
For then we set off into the sea, in order to find out in what
Your father was abandoned to the earth by fate and what he endured.
Boldly approach the horses bridle Nestor; know us
It must be what thoughts are in his soul.
Feel free to ask him to tell you the whole truth;
Of course, he will not tell a lie, gifted with a great mind.
“But,” the judicious son of Odysseus answered the goddess, “
How to approach me? What greeting shall I say, Mentor?
Few still in reasonable conversations with people I am skillful;
Also, I don't know if it's proper for the younger ones to question the older ones?"
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
“Many things yourself, Telemachus, you will guess with your mind;
A benevolent demon will reveal much to you; do not mind
The will of the immortals, I think you were born and raised.
Having finished, the goddess Athena went ahead of Telemachus
Quick step; Telemachus followed her; and hastily
They come to the place where the Pilaeans, having gathered, sat;
There with his sons and Nestor sat; their friends, establishing
They feasted, fussed, hung on skewers, roasted meat.
Everyone, seeing foreigners, went to meet them and, hands
When serving them, they asked them to sit down in a friendly manner with the people.
The first, who met them, Nestor's son, noble Pisistratus,
Gently taking both by the hand, on the sandy shore
Place on soft spread skins invited them to take
Between the elderly father and the younger brother Thrasimedes.
Give them a sweet taste of the womb, he is fragrant wine
He filled the cup, took a sip of wine and said bright-eyed
Daughters of Zeus aegis holder Pallas Athena:
"Wanderer, you must call Poseidon the lord: you are now
Arrived at us great holiday his; having committed
Here, as custom dictates, before him is a libation with a prayer,
You and your comrade cup with a divinely pure drink
Give, I think he also prays to the gods, because
All of us, people, have need of beneficent gods.
He is younger than you and, of course, the same age as me;
That is why I offer you the cup in advance."
When he had finished, he handed the goblet of fragrant wine to Athena.
She was pleased with the act of a reasonable young man, the first
Who offered her a goblet of fragrant wine; and became
With a loud voice, she calls on Poseidon the lord:
"King Poseidon, landowner, I pray to you, do not reject
We who hope here that you will fulfill our desires.
Glory to Nestor with his sons, first, grant you;
After the rich mercy, show others favorably
Here, from the Pylians, now having taken the great hecatomb;
Give us then, Telemachus and me, to return, having finished
Everything for which we came here in a ship with a rough side."
So having prayed, the goddess herself made a libation;
After a two-tiered goblet, she served Telemachus;
In his turn, the beloved son of Odysseus also prayed.
Parts were distributed and a glorious feast began; when
The speech was addressed to the visitors by Nestor, the hero of the Gereneas:
"Wanderers, now it will not be indecent for me to ask you,
Who are you, since you have enjoyed enough food.
Who are you, tell me? Where did they come to us on a wet road;
What is your business? Or wandering around without work,
Back and forth across the seas, like free miners, rushing,
Playing with his life and adventuring troubles to the peoples?
Having gathered his spirit, the judicious son of Odysseus
So, answering, he said (and Athena encouraged him
Heart, so that he could ask Nestor about his distant father,
Also, so that a good reputation is established in people about him):
You want to know where and who we are from; I'll tell the whole truth:
We are from Ithaca, lying under the wooded slope of Neyon;
Well, they came to you not for the common folk, for own business;
I wander, so that, asking about my father, I can visit,
Where is the noble Odysseus, constant in trouble, with whom
Ratouya together, you are the city of Ilion, they say, crushed.
Others, no matter how many there were, fought against the Trojans,
Disastrously, we heard, died in the distant side
All; and his death from us impregnable Kronion
Hid; where he found his end, no one knows: is it on earth
He fell firmly, overpowered by evil enemies, whether in swells
The sea died, swallowed by the cold wave of Amphitrite.
I hug your knees so that you favorably
The fate of my father revealed to me, declaring that his
I saw with my eyes or that from which I heard by chance
Wanderer. He was born by his mother into misfortune and grief.
You, not sparing me and out of pity, not softening the words,
All tell me in detail what you yourself were an eyewitness to.
If, then, my father, noble Odysseus, is for you,
Whether in word or deed, could be useful in those days, as with you
He was in Troy, where you suffered so much trouble, Achaeans,
Remember this now and truly tell me everything."
"My son, how strongly you reminded me of the misfortunes in that land
Met by us, the Achaeans, firm in strict experience,
Part, when in the ships, led by the cheerful Pelid,
We chased prey across the dark foggy sea,
Part, when in front of the strong Priam city with enemies
They fought furiously. Of ours at that time, all the best fell:
Poor Ajax lay there, Achilles and councils lay there
Wisdom equal to the immortal Patroclus, and there lies my dear
Son of Antilochus, blameless, brave and just as wondrous
The ease of running, how he was a fearless fighter. And a lot
We experienced various other great disasters, about them
Can even one of the earthly people tell everything?
If for five whole years and six years you could incessantly
Collect news about the troubles that happened to the cheerful Achaeans,
You would, without knowing everything, returned home dissatisfied.
For nine years we worked to destroy them, inventing
Many tricks, - Kronion decided to end violently.
AT smart tips no one there could be put along
With him: far ahead of everyone by the invention of many
Cunning King Odysseus, your noble parent, if
Truly you are his son. I look at you with amazement;
With him and speeches you are similar; but who would have thought that
Is it possible for a young man to resemble him so much in clever speech?
Well, I constantly, as long as we waged a war, on the advice,
In the assembly of the people, he always spoke at the same time with Odysseus;
We agree in opinions, we are always together, having considered strictly,
They chose only one thing, which was more useful for the Achaeans.
But when, having overthrown the great city of Priam,
We returned to the ships, God parted us: Kronion
The Achaeans planned to prepare a disastrous path across the seas.
Not everyone had a bright mind, not everyone is fair
They were - that's why an evil fate befell
Many who angered the bright-eyed daughter of a terrible god.
The goddess Athena kindled a strong strife among the Atrids:
Both, to convene intent people for advice, recklessly
We collected them not at the usual time, when it was already setting
Sun; the Achaeans got together, drunk with wine; The same
One by one they began to explain to them the reason for the meeting:
King Menelaus demanded that the Argive men return
The path along the wide sea ridge rushed immediately;
That Agamemnon rejected: he still holds the Achaeans
Then he thought that they, having made the holy hecatomb,
Wrath reconciled the terrible goddess... baby! Still he
Evidently, he did not know that there could be no reconciliation with her:
The eternal gods do not change quickly in their thoughts.
So, turning insulting speeches to each other, there both
Brothers stood; collection of light-shod Achaeans
The cry was filled with fury, opinions divided into two.
All that night we spent hostile against each other
Thoughts: Zeus prepared punishment for us, lawless ones.
In the morning alone on the beautiful sea again by ships
(Taking both booty and virgins deeply girded) went out.
But half the other Achaeans remained on the shore
Together with King Agamemnon, shepherd of many nations.
We gave way to the ships, and they ran along the waves
Quickly: under them, the god was smoothing the deep sea.
Coming soon to Tenedos, we sacrificed there to the immortals,
Give us a homeland by praying to them, but Diy is still adamant to us
He hesitated to allow the return: he angered us with a secondary enmity.
Part of the king Odysseus, the giver of wise advice,
In multi-oared ships, she rushed in the opposite
The path for Atrid to submit to King Agamemnon again.
I hastily with all the ships subject to me
He swam forward, guessing that a demon was preparing a disaster for us;
And the son of the poor Tydeus swam with all his own;
Later, Menelaus the golden-haired went on his way: in Lesbos
He overtook us, undecided which way to choose for us:
Above the rocks of plentiful Chios, your way to Psyra
Edit, leaving it left hand, or below
Chios past the howling Mimant?
We prayed to Diya for a sign to give us; and, having given a sign,
He commanded that, cutting the sea in the very middle,
We went to Euboea for a quick, close misfortune to avoid;
The wind is fair, whistling, rustled, and, fishy
Making the path easily, the ships reached Gerest
By the night; from many bulls we laid fat thighs
There on the altar of Poseidon, measuring the great sea.
The fourth day was completed, when, having reached Argos,
All the ships of Diomedes, the currier of the horses, became
At the pier. Right in the meantime, I sailed to Pylos, and not once
The fair wind, initially sent to us by Diem, did not subside.
So I returned, my son, without any news; and until now
I still could not tell who died from the Achaeans, who was saved.
What did we learn from others, living under a home roof,
Then I will tell you, as it should, without hiding anything.
We heard that with the young Achilles the great son
All his myrmidons, spearmen returned home;
Live, they say, Philoctetes, beloved son of Pean; healthy
Idomeneo (none of the companions who escaped with him
Together the war, without losing at sea) reached Crete;
To you, of course, and to a distant land came about Atris
Rumor how he returned home, how he was put to death by Aegisthus,
Like Aegisthus, at last he deserved his reward.
Happiness when the deceased husband remains cheerful
Son to avenge, like Orestes, who struck down Aegisthus, with which
His many-glorious parent was slaughtered maliciously!
So it is with you, my beloved friend, so beautifully ripened,
It must be firm so that your name and descendants will be praised."
After listening to Nestor, the noble Telemachus answered:
"Son of Neleus, O Nestor, great glory of the Achaeans,
True, he took revenge, and terribly took revenge, and to him from the peoples
The honor will be universal and there will be praise from posterity.
Oh, if only they gave me the same power
Gods, so that in the same way I could take revenge on suitors who inflict
So many insults to me, insidiously plotting my death!
But they did not want to send such a great grace
Gods neither to me, nor to my father - and my lot from now on is patience.
So Nestor, the hero of the Gerenees, answered Telemachus:
"You yourself, my dear, reminded me of that in your own words;
We heard that, oppressing your noble mother,
In your house, the suitors do a lot of lawless things.
I would like to know: do you yourself bear it with your will? Is the people
Does your land hate you, at the instigation of God?
We do not know; it can easily happen that he himself
When he returns, he will destroy them, whether alone, having called the Achaeans ...
Oh, when to love the bright-eyed maiden Pallas
So could you, as she loved Odysseus
In the land of Troy, where we have suffered many troubles, Achaeans!
No, the gods have never been so frank in love,
How frank was Pallas Athena with Odysseus!
If you were appropriated by her with the same love,
The very memory of marriage would be lost in many of them."
The sensible son of Odysseus answered Nestor thus:
"Old man, unrealizable, I think your word; about the great
You talk, and it's terrible for me to listen to you; won't happen
That is never at my request, nor at the will of the immortals.
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"A strange word from your mouth, Telemachus, flew out;
It is easy for God to protect us from afar, if He wants;
Well, I would have agreed to meet disasters sooner, so that only
Sweet return day to see how, having avoided disasters,
Return to the house to fall before your hearth, like a great
Agamemnon fell by the betrayal of a cunning wife and Aegisthus.
But it is also impossible for the gods from the common hour of death
To save a person dear to them when he is already betrayed
In the hands of forever lulling death, fate will be."
So the judicious son of Odysseus answered the goddess:
"Mentor, we will not talk about it, although it destroys us
It is the heart; We won't see him return.
The black fate and death were prepared for him by the gods.
But now, asking about something else, I want to turn
To Nestor - with truth and wisdom he surpasses all people;
He was, they say, a king, the ruler of three generations,
In his bright image, he is like an immortal god -
Son of Neleus, tell me without hiding anything from me,
How was Atrid Agamemnon the space-powerful was put to death?
Where was Menelaus? What a destructive
Did the cunning Aegisthus invent to make it easier to cope with the strongest?
Or, before reaching Argos, he was still among strangers
Was he also daring his enemy to an evil murder?
"Friend," answered Nestor, the hero of the Gereneas, to Telemachus,
I will tell you everything frankly, so that you can know the whole truth;
Indeed, everything happened just as you yourself think; but if
In the fraternal dwelling, Aegisthus found alive, returning
To your house from the battle of the Trojans, Atrids Menelaus, golden-haired,
His corpse would then not have been covered by the earth of the grave,
Birds of prey and dogs would have torn him to pieces, without honor
In a field far beyond the city of Argos, lying, his wife
Our people would not mourn him - he did a terrible thing.
That time, as we fought on the fields of Ilion,
He is in a safe corner of the multi-equestrian city of Argos.
The heart of Agamemnon's wife was entangled with cunning flattery.
Before the divine Clytemnestra herself was disgusted
It was a shameful thing - she had no vicious thoughts;
There was a singer with her, to whom King Agamemnon,
In preparation for sailing to Troy, he commanded to watch his wife;
But, as soon as fate betrayed her to crime,
That song-singer was exiled by Aegisthus to a barren island,
Where he was left: and the birds of prey tore him to pieces.
He invited her, who wanted one with him, to his house;
He burned many thighs on holy altars before the gods,
With many contributions, and with gold and fabrics, he decorated the temples,
Such a daring thing with an unexpected ending with success.
We, having left the land of Troy, sailed together,
I and Atrids Menelaus, bound by close friendship.
We were already before the sacred Sounion, the Cape of Attia;
Suddenly Menelaev's feeder Phoebus Apollo invisibly
He killed with his quiet arrow: controlling the fleeing
The ship, the helm was held by a highly experienced firm hand
Frontis, Onetor's son, the most of all earthly
The secret penetrated to own the ship in the ensuing storm.
He slowed down his path, although he was in a hurry, Menelaus, so that on the shore
Honor the burial of a friend with a proper triumph;
But when on his steep-sided ships again he
The high cape of Malea went into the dark sea
Quickly reached - everywhere thundering Kronion, planning
Death, overtook him with a noisy wind breathing,
He raised mighty, heavy, mountainous waves.
Suddenly, parting the ships, he threw half of them to Crete,
Where the kydons live near the bright streams of Yardan.
A smooth cliff is seen there, rising above the salty moisture,
Moving into the dark sea at the extreme limits of Gortyn;
Where the great waves hit the western shore near Phaistos
Note catches up and a small cliff crushes them, repelling,
Those ships found themselves; by dexterity escaped death
People; their ships perished, shattered on sharp stones.
Five other dark-nosed ships, stolen by the storm,
A mighty wind and waves rushed to the coast of Egypt.
There Menelaus, gathering treasures and much gold,
Wandered among the peoples of a different language, and at the same
Time Aegisthus committed a lawless deed in Argos,
Having betrayed Atrids to death, the people submitted silently.
For seven whole years he ruled in the golden-bountiful Mycenae;
But on the eighth from Athens returned to his death
Godlike Orestes; and he slew the murderer, with whom
His many-glorious parent was slaughtered maliciously.
Having established a great feast for the Argives, he made a burial
He and the criminal mother, together with Aegisthus the contemptible.
On that very day, and Atrids Menelaus, the challenger in battle,
He arrived, having collected wealth, as much as he could fit in the ships.
You are not for long, my son, wander far from your homeland,
The house and legacy of the noble father leaving the victim
Daring robbers, eating yours mercilessly; plunder
Everything, and the path you have made will remain useless.
But Menelaus Atris (I advise, I demand) must
You visit; he recently arrived in the fatherland from alien
Countries, from people from whom no one, once brought
To them across the wide sea with a swift wind, could not
Alive to return, from where he cannot fly to us in a year
A swift bird, so terrifying is the great abyss of space.
You will go from here or by sea with all yours,
Or, when you wish, with earth: horses with a chariot
I will give, and I will send my son with you, so that he will show you
The path to Lacedaemon is divine, where Menelaus is golden-haired
reigns; you can ask Menelaus about everything yourself;
He, of course, will not tell a lie, gifted with a great mind.
Finished. In the meantime, the sun had gone dark and darkness had set in.
Turning her word to Nestor, Athena said:
“Elder, your speeches are reasonable, but we will not hesitate;
Must now cut out tongues, and King Poseidon
Together with other gods, make a libation with wine;
Time to think about the bed of the deceased and the dream of peace;
The day at sunset is gone, and it won't be decent anymore
Here we sit at the meal of the gods; It's time for us to leave."
Thus spoke the goddess; everyone respectfully listened to her.
Here the servants gave them water to wash their hands;
Youths, filling bright craters to the brim with a drink,
In bowls it was smashed, according to custom, starting on the right;
Throwing their tongues into the fire, they made a libation,
standing; when they created it and enjoyed the wine,
How much the soul desired, Telemachus the noble with Athena
They began to gather for the night on their high-speed ship.
Nestor, having restrained the guests, said: “Yes, they won’t allow
Eternal Zeus and other immortal gods, so that now
You have gone from here to a fast ship for the night!
Don't we have clothes? Am I a beggar?
As if in my house there are no covers, no soft beds
No, so that I myself and my guests enjoy the deceased
Sleep? But there are enough covers and soft beds.
Is it possible that the son of such a great man, that the son of Odysseus
Chose the ship's deck as a bedroom while I
Alive and my sons dwell with me under one
A roof, so that everyone who comes to us can be treated in a friendly way?
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"buzzword you said, beloved old man, and you must
Telemachus will fulfill your will: that, of course, is more decent.
Here I will leave him to rest under your roof
He spent the night. I myself should return to the black ship
It should be to encourage our people and tell them a lot:
I am the oldest of our companions for years; they are
(All young, all the same age as Telemachus) kindly
Will, out of friendship, they agreed to see him on the ship;
That's why I want to return to the black ship.
Tomorrow, with the dawn, I will go to the people of the brave kavkons
It is necessary that there people pay me an old, considerable
Duty. Telemachus, after he stays with you,
With your son in the chariot, send you, commanding the horses
Give them the most agile in running and the most excellent in strength.
So saying to them, the bright-eyed daughter of Zeus withdrew,
Flying like a swift eagle; the people were amazed; amazed
Seeing such a miracle with your own eyes, Nestor.
Taking Telemachus by the hand, he amiably said to him:
"Friend, you, of course, are not timid in heart and strong in strength,
If you, young, are so clearly accompanied by the gods.
Here from the immortals living in the abodes of the bright Olympus,
There was none other than Dieva, the glorious daughter of Tritogen,
So distinguished your father in the host of the Argives.
Be favorable, goddess, and to us and great glory
Give to me, and to my children, and to my well-behaved wife;
I'm your one-year-old heifer, forehead, in the field
Freely wandering, still unfamiliar with the yoke, as a sacrifice
Here I will bring her, adorning her horns with pure gold.
Thus he spoke, praying; and Pallas heard it.
Having finished, he went ahead of the sons and sons-in-law of the noble
To his house, richly decorated Nestor, the hero of the Herenia;
With Nestor to the royal richly decorated house and others
They also entered and sat down in order on armchairs and chairs.
The elder then filled the goblet to the brim for the assembled
Light wine, poured from an amphora after eleven years
The housekeeper, who removed the roof from that treasured amphora for the first time.
With them he made a libation of the great
Daughters of Zeus the aegis holder; when the others
All, having made a libation, enjoyed the wine enough,
Everyone returned to himself, thinking about the bed and sleep.
Wishing the guest peace, Nestor, the hero of the Gerenei,
Telemachus himself, the intelligent son of King Odysseus,
In the resoundingly spacious rest, the bed indicated a welt;
Peisistrat lay down beside him, spearman, leader of men,
The former of the brothers is alone unmarried in his father's dwelling.
Himself, in the interior of the royal house, peace is removed,
Lying down on the bed, softly remade by the queen, Nestor.
A young woman with purple fingers arose from the darkness Eos;
From the soft bed rose Nestor, the hero of the Gereneas,
Coming out of the bedroom, he sat down on hewn, smooth, wide
Stones, at the door of a high serving as a seat, white,
Shining brightly, as if anointed with oil, on them
Before, Neleus sat, like a god with many minds;
But long ago he was taken away by fate to the abode of Hades.
Now Nestor sat on the stones of the Neleevs, skiptron-bearing
Pestun Achaean. To him the sons gathered, from the bedrooms
Released: Ekhefron, Perseus, Stration, and Aretos, and young
God like beauty Thrasymedes; finally the sixth to them,
The youngest of the brothers has come, the noble Peisistratus. And next
The beloved son of the Odysseus was invited to sit with Nestor.
Nestor, the hero of the Gereneas, addressed the audience here:
"Dear children, hasten to fulfill my command:
More than others, I wish to bow down to the mercy of Athena,
Apparently, who was with us at the great feast of God.
In the field, run one after the heifer, so that immediately from the field
The shepherd, who looks after the flocks, drove her out to us; the other
Should go to the black ship Telemakhs and call to us
All seafaring people, leaving only two there; finally
Let the third immediately be the goldsmith Laerkos
Called to decorate the heifer with pure gold horns.
All the rest, stay with me, commanding the slaves
Arrange a plentiful dinner in the house, arrange in order
Chairs, firewood to prepare and bright water to bring us."
So he said; everyone began to take care: from the field a heifer
Soon they drove; Telemach's people came from the ship,
With him they swam across the sea; the goldsmith also appeared,
Bring the projectile necessary for forging metals: an anvil,
Hammer, jewel-finish pincers, and more than usual
He did his work; the goddess Athena came
Accept the sacrifice. Here is the artist Nestor, the buffer of horses,
Gave pure gold; he bound the horns of the heifer,
Strive diligently so that the sacrificial gift is pleasing to the goddess.
Then they took the heifer by the horns of Stration and Ekhefron;
Wash their hands with water in a tub lined with flowers
Carried out of the house Aretos, in the other hand he is with barley
The box was holding; Thrasymedes, the mighty warrior, came up,
With a sharp ax in hand, strike the victim while preparing;
Perseus set up the cup. Here is Nestor, the bridle of the horses,
Washing his hands, he showered the heifer with barley and, leaving
Wool from her head to the fire, prayed to Athena;
Behind him and others praying a heifer with barley
They showered the same. Nestor's son, Thrasymedes the mighty,
Muscles tensed, hit, and, deeply stuck in the neck,
The ax crossed the veins; the heifer fell down; cried out
All daughters, and daughters-in-law of the king, and with them the queen,
Meek in heart, Klimenova is the eldest daughter of Eurydice.
The same heifer, clinging to the bosom of the path-bearing earth,
They raised it - the noble Pisistratus stabbed her at once.
After, when the black blood was exhausted and there was no
Life in the bones, having decomposed it into parts, separated
The thighs and on top of them (twice wrapped around, as it should, the bones
Fat) bloody meat covered with pieces; together
Nestor lit it at the stake and sprinkled it with sparkling wine;
They started, substituting the grips with five points.
Burning thighs and tasting the sweet womb, the rest
They cut everything into pieces and began to fry on skewers,
Sharp skewers quietly in the hands over the fire turning.
That sometimes Telemachus Polycaste, the youngest daughter
Nestor, was taken to the bath for washing; when
The virgin washed him and rubbed clean with oil,
Putting on a light tunic and putting on a rich mantle,
He came out of the bath, with a radiant face like a god;
He took a place near Nestor, the shepherd of many peoples.
The same, having roasted and removed the spinal meat from the skewers,
They sat down for a delicious dinner, and the servants carefully began
Run, pouring wine into golden vessels; when
Their hunger was satisfied with sweet drink and food,
Nestor, the hero of the Herenia, said to the noble sons:
"Children, harness the thick-maned horses to the chariot immediately
It is necessary that Telemachus be able to rush on the path at will.
That command of the king was soon fulfilled;
Two thick-maned horses were harnessed to the chariot; into her
The housekeeper put bread and wine in reserve, with various
Food, which is only suitable for kings, pets of Zeus.
Then the noble Telemachus became in the shining chariot;
Next to him is Nestor's son Pisistratus, the leader of the peoples,
Became; pulling the reins with a mighty hand, he struck
With a strong whip on the horses, and fast horses rushed
Field, and the resplendent Pylos soon disappeared behind them.
The horses raced all day, shaking the chariot drawbar.
In the meantime, the sun had set, and all the roads had darkened.
The travelers arrived at Thera, where the son of Ortiloch, Alpheus
Born bright, the noble Diocles had his own house;
Having given them lodging for the night, Diocles treated them cordially.
A young girl with purple fingers Eos came out of the darkness.
Travelers, once again standing in their shining chariot,
Quickly on it from the yard through the portico rushed sonorous,
Often chasing horses, and the horses galloped willingly.
Lush plains, abundant in wheat, having reached, they are there
They finished the path made by mighty horses quickly;
In the meantime, the sun had set, and all the roads had darkened.

Odyssey (Odysseia) - Epic poem

The Trojan War was started by the gods so that the time of heroes would end and the present, human, iron age would come. Who did not die at the walls of Troy, he had to die on the way back.

Most of the surviving Greek leaders sailed to their homeland, as they sailed to Troy - in a common fleet through the Aegean Sea. When they were halfway there, the sea god Poseidon broke out in a storm, the ships were swept away, people drowned in the waves and crashed on the rocks. Only the chosen ones were destined to be saved. But even those were not easy. Perhaps only the wise old Nestor managed to calmly reach his kingdom in the city of Pylos. The supreme king Agamemnon overcame the storm, but only then, in order to die an even more terrible death - in his native Argos he was killed by his own wife and her avenging lover; the poet Aeschylus will later write a tragedy about this. Menelaus, with Helen returned to him, was carried by the winds far into Egypt, and it took him a very long time to get to his Sparta. But the longest and most difficult of all was the path of the cunning king Odysseus, whom the sea carried around the world for ten years. About his fate, Homer composed his second poem: “Muse, tell me about that highly experienced husband who, / Wandering long since the day Saint Ilion was destroyed by him, / Visited many people of the city and saw customs, / Endured much grief on the seas caring about salvation ... "

The Iliad is a heroic poem, its action takes place on a battlefield and in a military camp. "Odyssey" is a fabulous and everyday poem, its action takes place, on the one hand, in the magical lands of giants and monsters, where Odysseus wandered, on the other hand, in his small kingdom on the island of Ithaca and in its environs, where Odysseus was waiting for his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. As in the Iliad, only one episode, "the wrath of Achilles", is chosen for the narrative, so in the Odyssey - only the very end of his wanderings, the last two hauls, from the far western edge of the earth to his native Ithaca. About everything that happened before, Odysseus tells at the feast in the middle of the poem, and tells very briefly: all these fabulous adventures the poem accounts for fifty pages out of three hundred. In the Odyssey, the tale sets off everyday life, and not vice versa, although readers, both ancient and modern, were more willing to re-read and recall the tale.

In the Trojan War, Odysseus did a lot for the Greeks - especially where they needed not strength, but intelligence. It was he who guessed to bind Elena's suitors with an oath to help her chosen one against any offender, and without this the army would never have gathered on a campaign. It was he who attracted the young Achilles to the campaign, and without this the victory would have been impossible. It was he who, when at the beginning of the Iliad, the Greek army, after a general meeting, almost rushed from Troy on the way back, managed to stop him. It was he who persuaded Achilles, when he quarreled with Agamemnon, to return to the battle. When, after the death of Achilles, the best warrior of the Greek camp was to receive the armor of the slain, Odysseus received them, and not Ajax. When Troy could not be taken by siege, it was Odysseus who came up with the idea of ​​​​building a wooden horse, in which the bravest Greek leaders hid and thus penetrated into Troy - and he is one of them. The goddess Athena, the patroness of the Greeks, loved Odysseus the most of them and helped him at every step. But the god Poseidon hated him - we will soon find out why - and it was Poseidon who, with his storms, did not allow him to reach his homeland for ten years. Ten years under Troy, ten years in wanderings - and only in the twentieth year of his trials does the action of the Odyssey begin.

It begins, as in the Iliad, Zeus' will. The gods hold a council, and Athena intercedes with Zeus for Odysseus. He is a prisoner of the nymph Calypso, who is in love with him, on an island in the very middle of a wide sea, and languishes, in vain wishing "to see at least smoke rising from his native shores in the distance." And in his kingdom, on the island of Ithaca, everyone already considers him dead, and the surrounding nobles demand that Queen Penelope choose a new husband from among them, and a new king for the island. There are more than a hundred of them, they live in the Odyssey Palace, feast and drink wildly, ruining the Odyssey economy, and have fun with the Odyssey slaves. Penelope tried to deceive them: she said that she had made a vow to announce her decision not before weaving a shroud for old Laertes, Odysseus's father, who was about to die. During the day she wove in front of everyone, and at night she secretly unraveled what was woven. But the servants betrayed her cunning, and it became more and more difficult for her to resist the insistence of the suitors. With her is her son Telemachus, whom Odysseus left as a baby; but he is young and is not considered.

And now an unfamiliar wanderer comes to Telemachus, calls himself an old friend of Odysseus and gives him advice: "Finish the ship, go around the surrounding lands, collect news about the missing Odysseus; if you hear that he is alive, you will tell the suitors to wait another year; if you hear that he is dead, you will say that you will celebrate the wake and persuade your mother to marry. He advised and disappeared - for Athena herself appeared in his image. So Telemachus did. The suitors resisted, but Telemachus managed to leave and board the ship unnoticed - for the same Athena helped him in this,

Telemachus sails to the mainland - first to Pylos to the decrepit Nestor, then to Sparta to the newly returned Menelaus and Elena. The talkative Nestor tells how the heroes sailed from under Troy and drowned in a storm, how Agamemnon later died in Argos and how his son Orestes avenged the murderer; but he knows nothing about the fate of Odysseus. The hospitable Menelaus tells how he, Menelaus, getting lost in his wanderings, on the Egyptian coast, waylaid the prophetic sea elder, the seal shepherd Proteus, who knew how to turn into a lion, and a boar, and a leopard, and a snake, and into water, and into wood; how he fought with Proteus, and overcame him, and learned from him the way back; and at the same time he learned that Odysseus was alive and suffering in the middle of the wide sea on the island of the nymph Calypso. Delighted by this news, Telemachus is about to return to Ithaca, but then Homer interrupts his story about him and turns to the fate of Odysseus.

The intercession of Athena helped: Zeus sends the messenger of the gods Hermes to Calypso: the time has come, it's time to let Odysseus go. The nymph grieves: "Did I save him from the sea, did I want to give him immortality?" - but dare not disobey. Odysseus does not have a ship - you need to put together a raft. For four days he works with an ax and a drill, on the fifth - the raft is lowered. For seventeen days he sails, ruling over the stars, on the eighteenth a storm breaks out. It was Poseidon, seeing the hero escaping from him, that swept the abyss with four winds, the logs of the raft scattered like straw. "Oh, why didn't I die near Troy!" cried Odysseus. Two goddesses helped Odysseus: a kind sea nymph threw him a magical blanket that saved him from drowning, and faithful Athena calmed three winds, leaving the fourth to carry him by swimming to the near shore. For two days and two nights he swims without closing his eyes, and on the third wave they throw him onto land. Naked, tired, helpless, he buries himself in a pile of leaves and falls into a dead sleep.

It was the land of the blessed feacs, over which the good king Alcinus ruled in a high palace: copper walls, golden doors, embroidered fabrics on the benches, ripe fruits on the branches, eternal summer over the garden. The king had a young daughter, Nausicaa; At night, Athena appeared to her and said: “Soon you will be married, but your clothes have not been washed; gather the maids, take the chariot, go to the sea, wash your dresses.” They left, washed, dried, began to play ball; the ball flew into the sea, the girls screamed loudly, their cry woke up Odysseus. He rises from the bushes, terrible, covered with dried sea mud, and prays: “Whether you are a nymph or a mortal, help me: let me cover my nakedness, show me the way to people, and may the gods send you good husband". He washes, anoints himself, dresses, and Nausicaa, admiring, thinks: "Oh, if the gods would give me such a husband." He goes to the city, enters Tsar Alcinous, tells him about his misfortune, but does not call himself Alkinoi promises that the Phaeacian ships will take him wherever he asks.

Odysseus sits at the Alkinoic feast, and the wise blind singer Demodocus entertains the feasters with songs. "Sing about the Trojan War!" - asks Odysseus; and Demodocus sings about the wooden horse of Odysseus and the capture of Troy. Odysseus has tears in his eyes. "Why are you crying?" says Alkinoy. "That's why the gods send death to the heroes, so that the descendants sing glory to them. Is it true that someone close to you fell near Troy?" And then Odysseus opens: "I am Odysseus, the son of Laertes, the king of Ithaca, small, stony, but dear to the heart ..." - and begins the story of his wanderings. There are nine adventures in this story.

The first adventure is with the lotophages. The storm took the Odyssey ships from under Troy to the far south, where the lotus grows - a magical fruit, after tasting which, a person forgets about everything and does not want anything in life except the lotus. The lotus-eaters treated the Odyssey companions to the lotus, and they forgot about their native Ithaca and refused to sail further. By force of them, weeping, they took them to the ship and set off.

The second adventure is with the Cyclopes. They were monstrous giants with one eye in the middle of their foreheads; they herded sheep and goats and did not know wine. Chief among them was Polyphemus, the son of the sea Poseidon. Odysseus wandered into his empty cave with a dozen companions. In the evening, Polyphemus came, huge as a mountain, drove a herd into the cave, blocked the exit with a block, asked: "Who are you?" - "Wanderers, Zeus is our guardian, we ask you to help us." - "I'm not afraid of Zeus!" - and the Cyclops grabbed two, smashed them against the wall, ate them with bones and snored. In the morning he left with the herd, again blocking the entrance; and then Odysseus came up with a trick. He and his comrades took a Cyclops club, as big as a mast, sharpened it, burned it on fire, hid it; and when the villain came and devoured two more comrades, he brought him wine to put him to sleep. The monster liked the wine. "What is your name?" - he asked. "Nobody!" Odysseus replied. "For such a treat, I'll eat you, Nobody, last!" - and drunken cyclops snored. Then Odysseus and his companions took a club, approached, swung it and plunged it into the single giant's eye. The blinded ogre roared, other Cyclops ran: "Who offended you, Polyphemus?" - "Nobody!" - "Well, if no one, then there is nothing to make noise" - and dispersed. And in order to get out of the cave, Odysseus tied his comrades under the belly of the Cyclopean rams so that he would not grope them, and so, together with the herd, they left the cave in the morning. But, already sailing away, Odysseus could not stand it and shouted:

"Here's an execution from me, Odysseus from Ithaca, for insulting the guests!" And the Cyclops furiously prayed to his father Poseidon: "Don't let Odysseus swim to Ithaca - and if it's destined to do so, then let him swim a long time, alone, on a strange ship!" And God heard his prayer.

The third adventure is on the island of the wind god Eol. God sent them a fair wind, and tied the rest in a leather bag and gave Odysseus: "When you swim - let go." But when Ithaca was already visible, the tired Odysseus fell asleep, and his companions untied the bag ahead of time; a hurricane arose, they rushed back to Aeolus. "So the gods are against you!" - Eol said angrily and refused to help the disobedient.

The fourth adventure is with the lestrigons, wild cannibal giants. They ran to the shore and brought down huge rocks on the Odysseus ships; eleven of the twelve ships perished, Odysseus and a few comrades escaped on the last.

The fifth adventure is with the sorceress Kirka, the queen of the West, who turned all aliens into animals. She brought wine, honey, cheese and flour with a poisonous potion to the Odyssey messengers - and they turned into pigs, and she drove them into a barn. He escaped alone and in horror told Odysseus about this; he took a bow and went to help his comrades, not hoping for anything. But Hermes, the messenger of the gods, gave him a divine plant: a black root, a white flower, and the spell was powerless against Odysseus. Threatening with a sword, he forced the sorceress to return the human form to his friends and demanded: "Get us back to Ithaca!" - "Ask the way of the prophetic Tiresias, the prophet of the prophets," said the sorceress. "But he's dead!" - "Ask the dead!" And she told me how to do it.

The sixth adventure is the most terrible: the descent into the realm of the dead. The entrance to it is at the end of the world, in the country of eternal night. The souls of the dead in it are incorporeal, insensible and thoughtless, but after drinking the sacrificial blood, they acquire speech and reason. On the threshold of the kingdom of the dead, Odysseus slaughtered a black ram and a black sheep as a sacrifice; the souls of the dead flocked to the smell of blood, but Odysseus drove them away with a sword until the prophetic Tiresias appeared before him. After drinking blood, he said:

“Your troubles are for insulting Poseidon; your salvation is if you don’t offend the Sun-Helios; if you offend, you will return to Ithaca, but alone, on a strange ship, and not soon. and you will have a long kingdom and a peaceful old age." After that, Odysseus admitted to the sacrificial blood and other ghosts. The shadow of his mother told how she died of longing for her son; he wanted to hug her, but under his arms there was only empty air. Agamemnon told how he died from his wife: "Be careful, Odysseus, it's dangerous to rely on wives." Achilles told him:

"I'd rather be a laborer on earth than a king among the dead." Only Ajax did not say anything, not forgiving that Odysseus, and not he, got the armor of Achilles. From afar I saw Odysseus and the infernal judge My-nos, and the eternally executed proud Tantalus, the cunning Sisyphus, the impudent Titius; but then horror seized him, and he hurried away, towards the white light.

The seventh adventure was Sirens - predators, seductive singing luring sailors to death. Odysseus outwitted them: he sealed the ears of his companions with wax, and ordered himself to be tied to the mast and not let go, no matter what. So they sailed past, unharmed, and Odysseus also heard singing, the sweetest of which is none.

The eighth adventure was the strait between the monsters Skilla and Charybdis: Skilla - about six heads, each with three rows of teeth, and twelve paws; Charybdis - about one larynx, but such that in one gulp it drags the whole ship. Odysseus preferred Skilla Charybdis - and he was right: she grabbed six of his comrades from the ship and ate six of his comrades with six mouths, but the ship remained intact.

The ninth adventure was the island of the Sun-Helios, where his sacred herds grazed - seven herds of red bulls, seven herds of white rams. Odysseus, mindful of the covenant of Tiresias, took a terrible oath from his comrades not to touch them; but opposite winds blew, the ship stopped, the satellites were hungry, and when Odysseus fell asleep, they slaughtered and ate the best bulls. It was scary: the flayed skins moved, and the meat on the skewers mooed. The Sun-Helios, who sees everything, hears everything, knows everything, prayed to Zeus: "Punish the offenders, otherwise I will descend into the underworld and will shine among the dead." And then, as the winds subsided and the ship sailed away from the shore, Zeus raised a storm, struck with lightning, the ship crumbled, the satellites drowned in a whirlpool, and Odysseus, alone on a fragment of a log, rushed across the sea for nine days, until he was thrown ashore on the island of Calypso.

This is how Odysseus ends his story.

King Alkina fulfilled his promise: Odysseus boarded the Phaeacian ship, plunged into an enchanted dream, and woke up already on the foggy coast of Ithaca. Here he is met by the patroness Athena. “The time has come for your cunning,” she says, “hide, beware of suitors and wait for your son Telemachus!” She touches him, and he becomes unrecognizable: old, bald, poor, with a staff and a bag. In this form, he goes deep into the island - to ask for shelter from the good old swineherd Evmey. He tells Eumeus that he comes from Crete, fought near Troy, knew Odysseus, sailed to Egypt, fell into slavery, was with pirates and barely escaped. Eumeus calls him to the hut, puts him to the hearth, treats him, grieves for the missing Odysseus, complains about violent suitors, pities Queen Penelope and Prince Telemachus. The next day, Telemachus himself comes, returning from his wandering - of course, Athena herself also sent him here. In front of him, Athena returns Odysseus his true appearance, mighty and proud. "Are you a god?" - asks Telemachus. "No, I am your father," Odysseus replies, and they, embracing, cry with happiness,

The end is near. Telemachus goes to the city, to the palace; behind him wander Eumeus and Odysseus, again in the form of a beggar. At the palace threshold, the first recognition is made: the decrepit Odysseus dog, who for twenty years has not forgotten the voice of the owner, raises his ears, crawls up to him with his last strength and dies at his feet. Odysseus enters the house, goes around the room, asks for alms from the suitors, endures ridicule and beatings. Suitors pit him against another beggar, younger and stronger; Odysseus, unexpectedly for everyone, knocks him over with one blow. The suitors laugh: "Let Zeus send you what you want for this!" - and do not know that Odysseus wishes them a speedy death. Penelope calls the stranger to her: has he heard the news of Odysseus? "I heard," says Odysseus, "he is in a distant land and will soon arrive." Penelope can't believe it, but she is grateful for the guest. She tells the old maid to wash the wanderer's dusty feet before going to bed, and invites him to be in the palace at tomorrow's feast. And here a second recognition takes place: the maid brings in the basin, touches the guest's legs and feels the scar on her lower leg, which Odysseus had after hunting the boar in his younger years. Her hands trembled, her leg slipped out: "You are Odysseus!" Odysseus clamps her mouth: "Yes, it's me, but be quiet - otherwise you will ruin the whole thing!"

The last day is coming. Penelope calls the suitors to the banquet chamber: "Here is the bow of my dead Odysseus; whoever pulls it and shoots an arrow through twelve rings on twelve axes in a row will become my husband!" One after another, one hundred and twenty suitors try on the bow - not a single one can even pull the bowstring. They already want to postpone the competition until tomorrow - but then Odysseus gets up in his impoverished form: "Let me try too: after all, I was once strong!" The suitors are indignant, but Telemachus stands up for the guest:

"I am the heir of this bow, to whom I want - I give it; and you, mother, go to your women's affairs." Odysseus takes up the bow, easily bends it, rings the bowstring, the arrow flies through the twelve rings and pierces the wall. Zeus thunders over the house, Odysseus straightens up to his full heroic height, next to him is Telemachus with a sword and a spear. "No, I have not forgotten how to shoot: now I will try another target!" And the second arrow strikes the most impudent and violent of suitors. "Ah, you thought that Odysseus was dead? No, he is alive for truth and retribution!" The suitors grab their swords, Odysseus strikes them with arrows, and when the arrows run out - with spears, which the faithful Eumeus brings. The suitors rush about the ward, the invisible Athena darkens their minds and diverts their blows from Odysseus, they fall one by one. A pile of dead bodies is piled up in the middle of the house, faithful slaves and slaves crowd around and rejoice when they see their master.

Penelope did not hear anything: Athena sent a deep sleep on her in her chamber. The old maid runs to her with good news:

Odysseus is back. Odysseus punished the suitors! She does not believe: no, yesterday's beggar is not at all like Odysseus, as he was twenty years ago; and the suitors were probably punished by angry gods. "Well," says Odysseus, "if the queen has such an unkind heart, let them make a bed for me alone." And here the third, main recognition takes place. "Well," says Penelope to the maid, "take the guest to his rest the bed from the king's bedroom." “What are you saying, woman?” Odysseus exclaims, “this bed cannot be moved, instead of legs it has an olive tree stump, I once knocked it together on it and adjusted it.” And in response, Penelope weeps with joy and rushes to her husband: it was a secret, they alone knew a sign.

It's a victory, but it's not peace yet. The fallen suitors have relatives left, and they are ready to take revenge. With an armed crowd, they go to Odysseus, he comes forward to meet them with Telemachus and several henchmen. The first blows are already thundering, the first blood is shed - but Zeus's will puts an end to the brewing discord. Lightning flashes, striking the ground between the fighters, thunder rumbles, Athena appears with a loud cry: "... Do not shed blood in vain and stop the evil enmity!" - and the frightened avengers retreat. And then:

"With a sacrifice and an oath, the union between the king and the people was sealed / The bright daughter of the Thunderer, the goddess Pallas Athena."

With these words, the Odyssey ends.

The Odyssey was the second poem after the Iliad, the creation of which is attributed to the great ancient Greek poet Homer. According to researchers, the work was written in the 8th century BC, perhaps a little later. The poem is divided into 24 songs and consists of 12110 verses. Presumably, the "Odyssey" was created on the Asia Minor coast of Hellas, where the Ionian tribes lived (currently Turkey is located on this territory).

Probably, the primordial "Odyssey" does not exist. However, many of the plots and mythological characters mentioned in the poem already existed at the time of the creation of the work. In addition, echoes of Hittite mythology and Minoan culture can be found in the poem. Despite the fact that many researchers find features of various dialects of Greek in the Odyssey, the work does not correspond to any of the regional variants of the language. Perhaps Homer used the Ionian dialect, however great amount archaic forms indicates belonging to the Mycenaean era. Elements of the Aeolian dialect are found, the origin of which is unknown. A significant number of inflectional forms used in the poem have never been used in live colloquial speech.

Like the Iliad, the Odyssey begins with an appeal to the Muse, whom the author asks to tell about the "experienced husband."

The poem describes the events that took place 10 years after the fall of Troy. The protagonist Odysseus, returning home after the war, was captured by the nymph Calypso, who refuses to let him go. Faithful wife Penelope is waiting for Odysseus in Ithaca. Every day, numerous applicants for a hand and heart woo her. Penelope is sure that Odysseus will return, and refuses everyone. The gods gathered in council decide to make Athena their messenger. The goddess comes to Telemachus, the son of the protagonist, and encourages him to go to Sparta and Pylos to find out about the fate of Odysseus.

Nestor, the king of Pylos, gives Telemachus some information about the Achaean leaders, and then invites him to contact Menelaus in Sparta, from whom the young man learns that his father became a prisoner of Calypso. Upon learning of Telemachus' departure, Penelope's numerous suitors want to ambush and kill him when he returns home.

Through Hermes, the gods give the order to Calypso to release the prisoner. Having received the long-awaited freedom, Odysseus builds a raft and sets sail. Poseidon, with whom main character is in a conflict relationship, raises a storm. However, Odysseus managed to survive and get to the island of Scheria. Phaeacians live here - sailors with fast ships. The protagonist meets Nausicaa, the daughter of the local king Alcinous, who arranges a feast in honor of his guest. During the holiday, Odysseus tells about his adventures that happened to him before he got to the island of Calypso. After listening to the guest's story, the faeacs want to help him return home. However, Poseidon again tries to kill the hated Odysseus and turns the ship of the feacs into a cliff. Athena turned the protagonist into a beggarly old man. Odysseus goes to live with the swineherd Eumeus.

Returning home, Telemachus was able to avoid an ambush set by his mother's suitors. Then the protagonist's son sends Eumea to the swineherd, where he meets his father. Arriving at the palace, Odysseus found that no one recognized him. The servants mock and laugh at him. The protagonist intends to take revenge on his wife's suitors. Penelope decided to arrange a competition between applicants for a hand and a heart: it is necessary to pass an arrow through 12 rings using her husband's bow. Only the true owner of the bow was able to cope with this task. Odysseus tells his wife a secret that was known only to the two of them, thanks to which Penelope finally recognizes her husband. Enraged, Odysseus kills all the servants and suitors of his wife who mocked him. The relatives of the dead rebel, but Odysseus manages to make peace with them.

Despite the fact that the main character trait of Odysseus is heroism, the author does not try to emphasize this trait. Events take place after the end of the war in Troy, that is, the reader does not have the opportunity to evaluate the main character on the battlefield. Instead, the author wants to show completely different qualities of his character.

The image of Odysseus has two dissimilar sides. On the one hand, this is a patriot, devoted to his homeland, a loving son, husband and parent. The protagonist is not just a talented military leader, he is well versed in trade, hunting, carpentry and maritime affairs. All actions of the hero are guided by an irresistible desire to return to the family.

The other side of the Odyssey is not as perfect as the first. The author does not hide the fact that the brave warrior and navigator enjoys his adventures and in the depths of his soul wishes that the return home would be delayed. He likes to overcome all sorts of obstacles, pretend and go for tricks. Odysseus is able to show greed and cruelty. He, without hesitation, cheats on his faithful wife, lies for his own benefit. The author points out minor, but very unpleasant details. For example, at a feast, the main character chooses the best piece for himself. At some point, Homer realizes that he "went too far", and rehabilitates Odysseus, forcing him to mourn his dead comrades.

Analysis of the work

Chronology of events

The odyssey itself, that is, the wanderings of the protagonist, took 10 years. Moreover, all the events of the poem fit in 40 days. Researchers from the US National Academy of Sciences, relying on the astronomical signs mentioned in the work, were able to establish that the protagonist returned home on April 16, 1178 BC.

It is assumed that the character of Odysseus appeared long before the creation of the poem. Researchers believe that the main character is a pre-Greek figure, that is, the image was not created by the ancient Greeks themselves, but borrowed. Passing into Greek folklore, Odysseus received a Hellenized name.

At least 2 folklore plots can be found in the poem. Firstly, this is a story about a son who went in search of his father. Secondly, the plot is about the head of the family, who returns to his homeland after many years of wandering for one reason or another. The husband usually returns on the day of his wife's wedding with another man. The wife, considering her first husband dead, tries to arrange her happiness a second time. At first, no one recognizes the Stranger, but then they still manage to identify him by some sign, for example, a scar.

It is possible to draw analogies not only with ancient Greek folklore, but also with well-known works of world literature. The most striking example is the novel "Dead Souls".

Features of the work

"Odyssey" has a symmetrical composition. This means that both the beginning and the end of the poem are dedicated to the events in Ithaca. The compositional center is the story of the protagonist about his journey.

Narrative style
The description of wanderings is conducted in the first person, that is, the protagonist speaks directly. The feature is traditional for works this genre. A similar technique is known from Egyptian literature. It was often used in the folklore of seafarers.

Interpreter Arkady Arkadyevich Kazansky

Editor Tatyana Borisovna Kazanskaya

Editor Irina Arkadievna Kazanskaya

© Homer, 2017

© Arkady Arkadyevich Kazansky, translation, 2017

ISBN 978-5-4485-8177-9

Created with the intelligent publishing system Ridero

110th anniversary of my Father, who returned from the War,

On the 105th anniversary of my Mother, who waited for her Husband,

To the blessed memory of Wives who waited for Husbands from the War

I dedicate

Arkady Kazansky

2017

Foreword

It is extremely difficult for a modern Russian person not only to understand the works of the great Homer, but also simply to read them. Translations of poems by great poets 19th century, are written in archaic pre-Pushkin Russian, which is not spoken or written today. Great difficulties are presented by reading a poetic text that is not subject to strict rhythm, devoid of rhyme, and not built in stanzas that are visible to the eye.

The proposed transcription of the text of Homer's Odyssey sets itself the task of conveying to the modern reader great poem in its maximum completeness, with the preservation of all named actors and names, without exception, in the form in which they are presented in Homer. The order and number of poetic lines in each of the 24 songs is preserved. Archaisms and long polysyllabic epithets are eliminated from the text as much as possible, which is why the poem acquires new dynamics and expressiveness.

The rhythmic structure of the poem is represented by a pentameter anapaest (three-syllable, with stress on the third syllable), with a constant alternation of female and male stanza endings. The graphic structure of the poem is adopted in the image and likeness of the Dante Comedy, broken down into stanzas of three lines; the first and third lines of each three-line rhymes with the second line of the previous three-line, which gives a coherent text throughout such a long work, convenient for reading.

For a clear understanding of the meaning and action of the poem, each Song is preceded by summary its content in prose. At the end of the poem, information necessary for the modern reader on the nominative series of names and titles of the poem is presented, with brief explanations of each name and title:

– An alphabetical list of the Uranid gods mentioned in the poem;

- An alphabetical list of the heroes of Homer and the characters of the poem;

- An alphabetical list of other names and concepts of the poem.

Introduction

With the undoubted authorship of the great Homer, the poem "Odyssey" is strikingly different from the poem "Iliad". If the Iliad is a majestic historical epic in which the Olympian gods appear as people of previous generations, deified in the memory of living people; Odyssey is an unrestrained flight of the author's fantasy, in which, with the exception of the Olympian gods, some realities of the world surrounding the author are hidden.

These are immortal nymph goddesses living somewhere on distant islands, and cannibal giants lestrigons, and cannibal giants cyclops, and peaceful lotophages that feed on the same color of the lotus, and friendly Phaeacians, whose ships themselves find their way in the seas. Add to this terrible monsters - Scylla and Charybdis; sirens, bewitching travelers with their beautiful songs; countries where there is no sunlight so do not know where the east is, where the west is; the god Aeolus, who holds the winds shut up and controls them. And what about the gloomy kingdom of the dead - Hades, where Odysseus directs his path to the soul of the prophet Tiresias. And the scene of the beating of more than a hundred suitors of Penelope by father and son in the limited space of the dining room, albeit the royal hall, is unrealistic. Involuntarily, you question each of the scenes of the Odyssey, up to the murder of King Agamemnon by an unfaithful wife who sinned with his cousin. Yes, and the culmination of the Trojan War - the introduction of the Trojan Horse, full of armed soldiers, into the walls of Ilion, raises a lot of questions.

Amazingly, if we consider the storylines of the Odyssey, in isolation from the narrative of Homer, the storylines of the New Testament involuntarily come to mind.

Let's take the story of three shepherds - Eumeus, Philoitius and Melanthia, meeting and accompanying Odysseus when returning to their homeland - three shepherds-sorcerers immediately come to mind - Caspar, Belshazzar and Melchior, meeting the Mother of God and the baby Christ after the Nativity of Christ. In the plot about the descent of Odysseus into Hades, the descent into Hell of Christ after His Crucifixion before the Resurrection from the dead is recognized. Remarkable is the appearance before Odysseus in Hades of the soul of Mary, the daughter of Pretus, the grandson of Sisyphus, who gave birth to the son Locri from Zeus, and at the same time retained her virginity, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Christ, and died a virgin.

The plot of the beating of Odysseus' companions by cannibal giants, the Laestrygons, recalls the beating of babies in Bethlehem; the story of the cannibal giant Polyphemus, recalls Christ's covenant to partake of His flesh and blood, which is replaced by bread and church wine, in addition, the covenant - you have no other god in heaven; the story of the unfaithful wife Clytemnestra, the covenant - do not commit adultery. In this row, one can also put the plot of the struggle and victory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (which is the goddess Athena) over the mighty of the world this, - the story of the beating of the suitors of Penelope. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are the canonical Christian Trinity.

Even small details - the plot of Odysseus's tying to the ship's mast during the passage of the island of sirens, his tying to the ship's mast during shipwrecks, resembles the plot of the crucifixion of Christ on the cross; the plot of his appearance naked in front of Nausicaa with his girlfriends, the plot of the appearance of Christ to his wives after the Resurrection, and much more.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the strange custom of diluting wine with water before drinking it during feasts, and libations to the gods. Ordinary grape wine is not so strong; if it is further diluted with water, you get a drink to quench your thirst, but not cause hopping at feasts. But if you use alcohol as a drink, you won’t be able to drink it without dilution with water, which clearly shows the plot of the intoxication of the ogre giant cyclops with Odysseus’ undiluted wine. In addition, grape wine spoils quickly unless kept in a cold cellar; they can be poisoned; alcohol does not deteriorate during long-term storage, taking up little volume in the belongings of the troops. Here, just, we recall the Gospel story of the transformation of water into wine by Jesus Christ, where Christ orders water to be poured into large vessels.

Yes, one can say that in his huge poem, Homer uses almost all the storylines of human relationships and passions, reflected in the Gospel teaching of Christ, but the coincidence of plots about the three shepherds, the descent to Hades, diluting wine with water can hardly be called accidental in this context. . Whether the Evangelists copy from Homer, or vice versa, is a question that requires research.

Genealogy of the Homeric gods mentioned in the poem

In the beginning there was a gloomy, immeasurable Chaos, in which Gaia (Earth) was born. Gaia gave birth to Uranus (Sky) and married him. From this marriage were born the titans (Iapetus, Coy, Phoebe, Oceanus, Tethys, Mnemosyne, Themis, Kronos, Rhea, Crius, Hyperion, Teia), as well as the Cyclopes, Hundred-handed (Hecatoncheirs) and Erinnia.

The titan Kron married his sister, the titanide Rhea. From this marriage were born the Olympic gods of the first generation (Hera, Zeus, Demeter, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia). By the name of their ancestor Uranus, all the Olympian gods are called Uranids, along with other descendants of Uranus.

The supreme Olympian god Zeus (Diy) Kronid married his sister, the Olympian goddess Hera. From this marriage were born the Olympic gods of the second generation (Hephaestus, Hebe, Ilithyia, Ares).

In addition, the Olympic gods of the second generation include the numerous children of Zeus and the descendants of Uranus from other women, of whom there were a great many. Beyond the second generation from Zeus, the generation of heroes begins. Many of the second and subsequent generations of heroes take part in the events of the Trojan War described by Homer.

Thus, the genealogy of the gods of Homer is very short. From Chaos to the Trojan War, only 4-5 generations of gods and heroes fit in, which can be put into a time period of about 150 years. It can be said that Odysseus returned home in 150 after the birth of the Earth from Chaos. Remarkably, when descending to Hades, Odysseus sees there the soul of the giant Titius, the son of Gaia (Earth), as the most ancient of the titans.

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Canto One

Ten years ago, the Trojan War ended with the capture of Troad, the ruin and burning of its capital, Ilion. All the surviving heroes return home, one cunning king of Ithaca, Odysseus, who brought immortal glory to his homeland - Hellas and Argos, is still wandering around the wide world. Twenty years have passed since he went to the Trojan War, leaving his wife Penelope with her infant son Telemachus. Odysseus loses in his wanderings all his ships, all his comrades. He loses his last comrades after they, despite the strict prohibition of the gods, eat the cows of the solar god, Helios Hyperion. God Poseidon is angry with Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and does not let him return home to Ithaca. For a long time, Odysseus has been on the island of Ogygia, with the daughter of the titan Atlanta, the nymph goddess Calypso, who wants to make him her husband, promising immortality and eternal youth in return.

However, the terms appointed by the gods for Odysseus's stay away from his homeland expire. God Poseidon briefly departs at this time to the inhabitants of the other side of the Earth, the Ethiopians, to accept their sacrifices. At this time, the rest of the gods gather on Olympus at the supreme god Zeus, to decide the fate of Odysseus, for whom the goddess Athena asks. Zeus commemorates the fate of King Agamemnon, who was killed by his nephew Aegistus, the son of Fiesta, brother of Atreus, in collusion with Agamemnon's unfaithful wife, Clytemnestra. They commit murder despite a warning from the gods given to them by the god Hermes. Zeus also recalls the fate of Aegisthus himself and Clytemnestra, who were killed by Agamemnon's son Orestes, in revenge for the death of their father. For the murder of Orestes' mother, the evil goddesses of vengeance, Erinnia, are persecuted.

Odysseus suffers on the island of the nymph goddess Calypso, not knowing how to return home. The goddess Athena offers to send the god Hermes as a messenger to the nymph Calypso, with the order to send Odysseus home, to which Zeus agrees; the goddess Athena herself goes to Ithaca, to the son of Odysseus, Telemachus; let him go to Pylos to King Nestor, and to Sparta to King Menelaus, to ask about the disappeared father. Arriving in Ithaca, the goddess Athena finds there a good hundred suitors who are wooing the wife of King Odysseus, Penelope, who feast in the palace of King Odysseus, eating through his supplies, despite the protests of Telemachus. The rulers of different islands gather here - Zama, Dulikhia, Zakynthos, and Ithaca itself; marriage with the widow of a basileus will give them great honor, and the opportunity to become a basileus himself. Telemachus meets the goddess Athena, who appeared in the form of Ment, the king of the Taphos, an old friend of Laertes, the father of Odysseus, as if on his way to Temes for iron. Telemachus expresses his troubles to the goddess; Athena is indignant at Penelope's suitors and prophesies a quick Death to them, telling Telemachus that his father is still alive. The goddess recalls her travels with Odysseus, says, Telemachus is very similar to his father. She invites Telemachus to convene a meeting of the Achaeans, and demand that the suitors clean the house of Odysseus; then go to Pylos and Sparta, find out about the disappeared father, then the goddess flies away. Telemachus, seeing this, realizes that he was talking to God.

The grooms of Penelope come, with them the singer Phemius, who sings about the events of the Trojan War. Penelope goes out to the suitors, asks Themius to sing about something else, but Telemachus stops her mother, sending her to the female half. Telemachus firmly addresses the suitors - let them leave his house and woo his mother from her father Icarius, as it should be. The grooms are rude to Telemachus and ask about his guest; Telemachus brushes aside and says - tomorrow he will convene a meeting of the Achaeans to reason with the suitors. Night falls, the guests go home, Telemachus also goes to bed, accompanied by his nanny, the old slave woman Eurycleia, considering the proposals of the goddess Athena about the meeting and the trip to Pylos and Sparta.

Odysseus sing of the cunning, Muse, who

The citadel of holy Troy destroyed, wandered since then,

Cities visited by many people, arguing in customs;

Suffered on the seas, take care of salvation soon

Dear life, return of faithful comrades to their homeland. (5)

All the same, he did not save his comrades, as a reproach to them, -

By blasphemy they destroyed themselves during their lifetime, -

Helios Hyperionides eating fat cows.

God forfeited his return home with reproach.

Oh, goddess, daughter of Diya, say a few words about that, - (10)

The rest at that time, having escaped certain death,

Were at home, the war was avoided, and the sea of ​​fetters.

Only him, by his wife and homeland, who had a sick heart,

Queen Calypso, goddess and nymph, holding

In a bright grotto, she wished that she would become a faithful spouse. (fifteen)

Years passed, and the fatal year came running,

Calling when the gods intended to return.

He, however, even there, on Ithaca, could not avoid

Evil labors, though he was among friends. Compassionate, swear

Gods much to him. Continuously one Poseidon (20)

Odysseus drove so that he would not touch his own land.

The shaker of the earth here went to the country of the Ethiopians,

Ethiopians, who inhabit the earth on the other side, -

Where Hyperion went, and where he went to sunrise.

Accepting from them the sacrifices of many bulls and rams, (25)

God enjoyed sitting at the feast. All other

There were lords in the house of Zeus, in the spacious Olympus.

Then the parent of men and gods turned to everyone, -

In the heart, in the memory of Vladyka Egistus, of course,

That Orestes was killed, Agamemnon's son, meanwhile. (thirty)

The god Zeus turned to the immortals, remembering verbatim:

“Strange, people willingly in everything only gods, they blame us!

Evil comes from us, they say, but, after all, by the way,

Death, contrary to Fate, does everyone want to bring upon themselves?

So Egistus, is it not Fate in spite of Atrid's wife, (35)

Having killed him when he returned to his homeland, did he take him as a wife?

He knew a formidable death, - the gods set views for him, -

They sent the Argoslayer Hermes - to think, did not dare,

Neither kill him, nor take his wife as a wife. It is seen,

For Atrids, revenge will come from Orestes - only having matured, (40)

Willing to take possession of his homeland.

Hermes failed, wishing Aegisthus well, like a lion,

Convince his heart. For which he paid with his soul.

Seroglazka, the goddess Athena said then:

“Ah, our father Kronid, the highest of the rulers of all! (45)

You spoke the truth - death is deserved as never before.

Let everyone who does such a thing perish!

For Tsar Odysseus my heart always hurts, -

He, unfortunate, is in trouble, and away from his beloved, embraced

By the sea of ​​the island, in the place where the navel overgrows the land, (50)

All overgrown with forests; the goddess lives on it,

Daughter of the titan Atlanta, who is beyond the abyss,

He himself keeps the pillars of Hercules; vault of heaven rises

Full of stars, - he perched on his powerful shoulders.

Sorrow taken, the daughter of an unfortunate titan warms, (55)

With soft, insinuating speech all the time seducing him,

To forget Odysseus about Ithaca. But, passionately cherishes

To see with the eye even the smoke of the rising native land, -

Thinking about Death alone. Will it not move

Odysseus, are your heart strings, Olympian? Away, (60)

He offered you holy sacrifices in the courts of Argives,

In Troy being myself? So why are you angry, Zeus?

Zeus answers her, gathering large clouds:

“Your word hurts, flying out of the fence of teeth!

How could I forget the divine Odysseus (65)

An outstanding thought among mortals, with the desire of all

Offering sacrifices to us, the immortal rulers of heaven?

Poseidon is a landowner to him, having no measures

Anger feeds because the Cyclops Polyphemus is incomparable

The eye is deprived of it, - an atheist, whose strength is an example to the Cyclopes (70)

She was great; he was born of the nymph Phoosa,

Daughters of Forkin, guardian of the sleepless sea, at the skerries

With Poseidon, the lord who fell asleep in a cave. And strictly

Odyssey since the shaker of the seas Poseidon

Well, we think, who is now gathered around here, -

How to return home to him. Poseidon will reject

Anger, - he will not be able to argue with all the immortals,

Against the will of the immortal gods, self-will will throw.

Seroglazka, the goddess Athena said then: (80)

“Oh, our father Kronid, you surpass all rulers!

If it pleases the blessed gods to return there

Odysseus is cunning, to the homeland, let's tell Hermes

Executor, Argoslayer, decision - yes, -

To a nymph in braids woven, to the island of Ogygia by a demon (85)

To rush, to convey to her our inexorable words, -

So that Odysseus, honest in trouble, is returned to his homeland.

I will go to the Ithacaians, so that his son there first

To inspire more will, and put God's courage in the heart, -

Calling all the hairy Achaeans to a meeting, (90)

Grooms to expel those who kill in the house immensely

From a flock of sheep, slow-moving horned bulls.

And then I will send sandy Pylos and Sparta, probably

To reconnoiter about the dear father coming from Dreams,

So that a good reputation will be established in people about him there. (95)

And she tied to her feet the shine of beautiful soles,

Ambrosial, everywhere her breaths are nice

Above the boundless land they carried, still above the water.

Taking in hand a combat spear, completed with steel, -

Very strong; they beat people under her, (100)

Bringing down the wrath of the goddess, daughters of the Almighty Father.

The goddess flew from the top of Olympus in a thunderstorm, -

Standing in Ithaca at the house of King Odysseus, like a cloud,

At the threshold of the gate, and with his sharp spear in his hand,

Taking a stranger, the guise of the ruler of Taphos Menta, (105)

I found the grooms proud. They are light

They delighted their souls, playing dice with zeal,

Sitting on the skins of bulls they ate at a picnic.

The butlers, together with the servants of the house, tried, -

Te - wine, pouring into craters, mixing with water, (110)

Those, having washed the tables with a porous sponge, moved

In the middle, and they put a lot of meat on them in a mountain.

Telemachus, the god-like goddess, noticed everyone better.

Saddened at heart, he silently sat with their crowd, -

It seemed to him how a mighty parent appeared, (115)

He would disperse all the suitors to their homes, capture

Lord possession, and again took his power steeper.

Sitting with the suitors, he saw Athena, jumped up

And he went to the door, ashamed in his soul that the innocent

The wanderer is forced to stand at the entrance; approaching, grabbed (120)

He took the stranger's right hand, took his spear, -

And affably, with a winged speech he said to him:

"Foreigner, come in! We will treat you the old fashioned way

Hearty food, then you will tell us - you came to what, ”-

So he said and went. And behind him is Pallas Athena. (125)

How they entered that high house, according to its order

He carried the peak of the guest to a high column, and pushed

In a smooth urn with spears, where there is still a lot

Odyssey of other copies, powerful in spirit in offenses.

And he brought her to a beautiful throne in appearance; (130)

He made me sit down, covered with a cloth, and moved a bench under my feet.

Nearby he himself fit on a carved chair, from insults

Suitors, so that the guest does not sit there, with the haughty together,

He did not feel aversion to food, weighed down by the game;

Ask him to secretly about his father, with interest. (135)

Here is a beautiful golden jug with washing water,

A silver basin was placed in front of them by a maid

For washing; after I set up a small table,

The venerable housekeeper put in the bread, trying

Having added various things to eat, stocks, willingly giving away. (140)

Kravchiy put them on dishes in front of them, lifting them up,

Various meats, golden goblets near them;

The cupbearer went about every now and then, pouring wine.

Proud suitors entered the hall; in rows,

In order, they sat down on armchairs and chairs; and from the edge (145)

The maids came up to them; and they sat down, having washed their hands.

The servants filled the bread in the baskets to the top,

The butlers poured the drink into the craters; filling,

Those hands immediately up to the food being pulled ready.

How the desire for drink and food was quenched by tasting, (150)

Suddenly, all the hearts of the suitors lit up with desire - they rested,

Dances, music are thirsty - the delights of beautiful feasts.

And the messenger gave the cithara the beautiful Themia into his hands, -

He involuntarily had to sing for the suitors.

The chanter raised the cithara and began a beautiful song. (155)

To gray-eyed Athena then Telemachus said again,

Bowing his head so that no one heard their news:

“You won’t be angry, my dear guest, at what I say?

Only one thing is on the mind of these - cithara, yes songs.

They squander other people's wealth here, I tremble, - (160)

Husband; his white bones had rotted away somewhere; rain

It wets them in their ashes, a wave shakes in the sea, just horror.

If you could see that he keeps a path to Ithaca,

Wish it were better to have more agile legs,

Than to accumulate clothes and gold here little by little. (165)

Evil Fate, however, ruined him, and no strength to endure

Consolations, although some of the people claim -

He will arrive! But the day of his return was hidden by Death!

Now you tell me, without hiding anything from me, -

Who are you? What kind? What other city did you live in? (170)

On what ship did you come to us, flying on the sea,

Shipmen were brought to Ithaca to visit? Tell,

Not walking here, I suppose you got to us?

So tell this frankly, I don’t need lies, -

Is it the first time you come here, or has it happened before, (175)

Are you a guest of your father? We've had a lot of them

In previous years, guests, a lot of people talked to the parent.

Seroglazka, the goddess Athena said at once:

“I will answer your questions with complete frankness, -

Name, - Ment; my father, - Anchial the wise, just (180)

I have always boasted about them; and I myself am the lord of the Taphos,

The oars of those who love, here with their own came in the ship;

To strangers for steel I sail on the wine sea,

To the distant city of Temes, and I'm going with iron. in the mist

He established his own ship, Neriton of the forest where steep, (185)

Current page: 1 (the book has 26 pages in total)

Homer
Odyssey

© The electronic version of the book was prepared by LitRes

Canto One

Muse, tell me about that experienced husband who,
Wandering long since the day when Saint Ilion was destroyed by him,
I visited many people of the city and saw customs,
I grieved a lot with my heart on the seas, caring about salvation

5

Your life and the return of companions to the homeland; futile
There were, however, worries, he did not save his companions: they themselves
They brought death on themselves by sacrilege, madmen,
Having eaten the bulls of Helios, the god walking above us, -
He stole the return day from them. Tell me about it

10

Something for us, O daughter of Zeves, benevolent Muse.
All the others, who escaped the faithful death, were
At home, avoiding both war and the sea; its only, separation
With a sweet wife and the homeland of the crushed one, in a deep grotto
Light nymph Calypso, goddess of goddesses, arbitrary

15

She held her by force, in vain wishing that he was her husband.
But when, at last, the reversal of times brought
The year in which the gods appointed him to return
To his house, to Ithaca (but where and in the arms of true friends he
All did not escape from anxiety), the gods were filled with pity

20

All; Poseidon alone persisted in persecuting Odysseus,
A godlike husband until he reaches his homeland.
But at that time he was in a remote country of the Ethiopians
(Extreme people settled in two ways: one, where descends
God is luminous, others, where it rises), so that there from the people

25

Lush obese bulls and rams take the hecatomb.
There he, sitting at a feast, had fun; the other gods
At times they were gathered in the halls of Zeves.
With them people and immortals, the father begins a conversation;
In his thoughts was Aegistus blameless (his own Atridov

30

Son, the famous Orestes, killed); and thinking about it
Zeus the Olympian addresses the word to the assembly of the gods:
“It's strange how mortal people blame us gods for everything!
Evil is from us, they say; but don't you often
Death, contrary to fate, is brought on by madness?

35

So is Aegisthus: is it not fate, in spite of the wife of Atrids
Did he take him by killing him when he returned to his homeland?
He knew the true death; from us was sharp-eyed to him
Ermius, the destroyer of Argus, was sent down to kill
He did not dare to encroach on his husband and refrained from marrying his wife.

40

“Revenge for Atris will be done by the hand of Orestes when he
He wants to enter his house, having matured, as an heir, ”so it was
Hermias said - in vain! did not touch Aegist's heart
God is gracious with advice, and he paid for everything at once.”

45

Zeus said: “Our father, Kronion, the supreme ruler,
Your truth, he deserved death, and so let him die
Every such villain! But now it breaks my heart
With his heavy fate, Odysseus is cunning; long time ago
Suffering, separated from his own, on an island, embraced by waves

50

The navel of the wide sea, wooded, where the nymph rules,
Daughter of Atlas, the thief who knows the seas
All the depths and which alone supports the bulk
Long huge pillars pushing the sky and the earth apart.
By the power of Atlanta, the daughter of Odysseus, shedding tears,

55

Holds, with the magic of insidious and caressing words about Ithaca
Memory hoping to destroy it. But wishing in vain
To see at least smoke rising from the native shores in the distance,
He prays for death alone. Compassion will not enter
In your heart, Olympian? Are you not satisfied with gifts

60

He honored in the Trojan land, in the midst of the Achaean ships there
Making sacrifices to you? Why are you angry, Kronion?”
Objecting to her, the cloud-collector Kronion answered:
“Strange, my daughter, a word has come out of your mouth.
I forgot Odysseus, immortal like a man,

65

So distinguished in the host of people and mind and diligent
Offering sacrifices to the gods, boundless heaven to the lords?
Not! Poseidon, the enveloper of the earth, stubbornly feuds with him,
All indignant because the Cyclops Polyphemus is divine
He is blinded by him: the strongest of the Cyclopes, Phosoy a nymph,

70

Daughter of Fork, lord of the desert-salty sea,
He was born from her union with Poseidon in deep
Grote. While the earth shaker Poseidon Odysseus
To betray death and not powerful, but, driving everywhere by sea,
He leads him away from Ithaca. Let's think together

75

How would he return his homeland. Poseidon refuse
Must from anger: one with all the immortals in a dispute,
Despite the eternal gods, without success, he will be angry.
Here is the bright-eyed Zeus daughter of Athenaeus Pallas
Zeus said: “Our father, Kronion, the supreme ruler!

80

If it pleases the blessed gods to see the homeland
Could Odysseus the cunning, then Ermius the argus-killer,
The performer of the will of the gods, let him be on the island of Ogygsky
To the nymph, beautifully curly-haired was sent down from us to announce to her
Our verdict is unchanged, that the time has come to return

85

In the land of his Odyssey, in trouble constant. I
I'll go straight to Ithaca to excite the son of Odysseus
Fill his heart with anger and courage, so that he calls
He is at the council of the thick-haired Achaeans and in the house of the Odysseus
The entrance was forbidden to suitors, who mercilessly destroy him

90

Small cattle and bulls, crooked-horned and slow-moving.
Sparta and Pylos sandy then he will visit to know,
Are there any rumors about the dear father and his return,
Also, so that a good reputation is established in people about him.
When she finished, she tied golden soles to her feet,

95

Ambrosial, everywhere it is above water and above solid
The boundless bosom of the earth is lightly carried by the wind;
Then she took a war spear, studded with copper,
Solid, heavy, huge, it also fights in anger
She is the strength of the heroes, the birth of the thundering god.

100

The goddess stepped violently from the top of Olympus to Ithaca.
There in the yard, at the threshold of the doors of the Odyssey house,
She stood with a copper-sharp spear, clothed in the image
Guest, ruler of the Tafians, Mentes; brought together
All the grooms, riotous husbands, there the goddess saw;

105

Playing dice, they sat in front of the entrance on the skins
Bulls killed by them; and the heralds, establishing the table,
Together with the agile slaves they ran: they poured
Water with wine in the pier craters; and those nostril
Having washed the tables with a sponge, they were moved and various meats

110

Having cut a lot, they carried it. Goddess Athena
Before other Telemachus the god-equal saw. Regrettable
With his heart, in the circle of suitors, he sat, thinking about one thing:
Where is the noble father and how, returning to his homeland,
He disperses predators throughout his dwelling,

115

The authorities will perceive and will again be their master.
In such thoughts with the suitors, sitting, he saw Athena;
He immediately got up and hurried to the entrance, indignantly
In the heart that the wanderer was forced to wait outside the threshold;
getting closer
He took the stranger's right hand, took his spear,

120

Then he raised his voice and threw out a winged word:
“Rejoice, stranger; come to us; we will gladly treat you;
You will declare your need to us, being satisfied with our food.
Having finished, he went ahead, followed by Pallas Athenaeus.
With her, entering the banquet chamber, to the high column

125

Right with a spear he came up and hid it there in a setting
Smoothly hewn, where they were locked in the old days
The spears of King Odysseus, in constant trouble, were,
To rich armchairs, skillfully made, bringing Athena,
He invited her to sit in them, covering them in advance with a patterned

130

Cloth; for the feet there was a bench; then he put
A chair carved for oneself at a distance from others, so that the guest
The noise of the wildly merry crowd did not spoil the dinner,
Also, to secretly ask him about his distant father.
Then she brought a silver hand to the tub to wash them

135

A golden washstand filled with cold water, a slave,
Smooth then pushed the table; put on it
Housekeeper bread with various edibles, from the stock
Issued by her willingly; on the dishes, lifting them high,
The local clerk brought various meat and, having offered it to them,

140

He placed golden cups on the table in front of them;
The herald began to look for wine to be filled more often
Cups. Grooms came in, riotous men, and sat down
Chin on armchairs and chairs; the heralds brought water
Wash their hands; the slaves brought them bread in baskets;

145

The youths poured cups with a light drink to the brim.
They raised their hands to the prepared food; when
The hunger of their delicious food was satisfied, it entered them
There is something else in the heart - the desire for sweet singing and dancing:
To feast they are an adornment; and a ringing zither herald

150

Femiya gave, to the singer, in front of them at all times
Sing to the forced; Striking the strings, he sang beautifully.
Then Telemachus carefully said to the bright-eyed Athena,
He bowed his head to her so that others would not hear him:
“My dear guest, do not be angry with me for my frankness;

155

Here they have fun; they only have music and singing on their minds;
It's easy: they devour someone else's without pay, wealth
Husband, whose white bones, perhaps, or rain
Somewhere it wets on the shore, or the waves roll along the seaside.
If he suddenly appeared before them in Ithaca, then everything would

160

Instead of saving both clothes and gold, they began
Just pray that their legs are faster.
But he died, comprehended by an angry fate, and consolation
No to us, although sometimes they come from earthly people
News that he will return, there will be no return for him.

165

Who are you? What tribe are you? Where do you live? Who is your father?
Who is your mother? On what ship and what way
Arrived in Ithaca and who are your sailors? To our edge
(This, of course, I know myself) you didn’t come on foot.

170

Also speak frankly, so that I may know the whole truth:
Was it the first time you visited Ithaca, or have you already been here
Guest of the Odysseys? In those days, foreigners gathered a lot
In our house: my parent loved to treat people.

175

“I will tell you everything frankly; I am King Anchialus
Wise son, called Mentes, I rule the people
Cheerful Tafians; and now my ship to Ithaca
Together with my people I led, traveling dark
By sea to the peoples of a different language; I want in Temes

180

Obtain copper by exchanging shiny iron for it;
I put my own ship under the forested slope of Neyon
On the field, in the pier of Retre, far from the city. Our
Ancestors have long been considered guests to each other; this is,
Perhaps you yourself often hear when you visit

185

The grandfather of the hero Laertes ... and he, they say, no longer walks
More to the city, but far away lives in the field, dejected
Grief, with the old maid, who, the old man of peace,
Reinforces him with food when he gets tired, dragging
Across the field back and forth in the midst of his grapes.

190

I am with you because they told me that your father
At home ... but it is clear that the gods delayed him on the way:
For the noble Odysseus has not yet died on earth;
Somewhere, surrounded by the sea abyss, on a wave-embracing
The island is locked alive, or maybe he suffers in captivity

195

Wild predators who forcibly took possession of it. But listen
What I will predict to you, what almighty gods to me
Invested in the heart, which will inevitably come true, as I myself
I believe, although I am not a prophet and I am inexperienced in guessing by birds.
He will not be long apart from his dear homeland, at least

200

He was bound by iron bonds; but return home
He will find the right remedy: he is cunning for inventions.
You tell me now, without hiding anything from me:
Do I truly see in you the son of Odysseus? You are wonderful
With his head and beautiful eyes he is similar; still me

205

I remember him; in the old days we saw each other often;
It was before sailing to Troy, where from the Achaeans
The best with him in their steep-sided ships rushed.
From that time on, neither he nor I met him anywhere.”

210

I will tell you everything frankly, so that you can know the whole truth.
Mother assures me that I am his son, but I myself do not know:
It is probably impossible for us to know who our father is.
It would be better, however, I wished that I was not so ill-fated
The husband was the father; in his possessions he is to old age b late

215

Lived. But if you ask, then he, from the living
The most unfortunate now, my father, as people think.
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
“It seems that it is pleasing to the immortals that he was not without glory in the future
Your house, when Penelope such as you was granted

220

Son. Now tell me without hiding anything from me
What is going on here? What congregation? Do you give
Are you celebrating a holiday or a wedding? Not a folding feast here
certainly.
It only seems that your guests are unbridled in your
They are outrageous at home: every decent person in society with them

225

Be ashamed, seeing their shameful behavior.”
“My good guest,” answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
If you want to know, then I will tell you frankly.
Once our house was full of wealth; he was respected
All while that husband was inseparably here.

230

Now the hostile gods have decided otherwise, having covered
His fate is impregnable darkness for the whole world;
I would be less upset about him when he died:
If in the Trojan land among the warlike comrades he died
Or in the arms of friends, having endured the war, he died here,

235

The tomb hill above it would have been poured by the Achaean people,
He would leave great glory to his son for all time ...
Now the Harpies have taken him, and he has gone missing,
Forgotten by the light, graveless, one contrition and cries
Leaving a legacy for my son. But I'm not talking about him alone

240

crying; the gods sent me another great grief:
Everyone who is famous and strong on our different islands,
The first people of Dulikhia, Zama, forest Zakynthos,
The first people of Ithaca rocky mother Penelope
They stubbornly push for marriage and rob our estate;

245

The mother does not want to enter into a hated marriage, nor from marriage
He has no means to escape; and they devour mercilessly
Our goodness and myself will finally be ruined.”
The goddess Athena answered him with great anger:
“Woe! I see how distant your father is to you now

250

It is necessary to deal with shameless suitors with a strong hand.
Oh, if he entered those doors, returning suddenly,
In a helmet, covered with a shield, in his hand two copper-pointed spears! ..
So for the first time I saw him at the time when he
In our house he rejoiced with wine, having visited in Ether

255

Ila, Mermer's son (and that side of the distant
King Odysseus reached on his fast ship;
Poison, deadly to people, he was looking for in order to give them drink
Their arrows, encrusted with copper; but Eli refused
Give him poison, fearing to irritate the all-seeing gods;

260

My father endowed it with him out of great friendship with him).
If in the form of such Odysseus suddenly appeared to the suitors,
Marriage would be made to them, an inevitable fate comprehended, bitter.
But - we, of course, do not know that - in the bosom of the immortals
Hidden: is it appointed from above for him, returning, to destroy them

265

In this dwelling or not. We now think collectively
How would you clean your house from robbers yourself.
Listen to what I say, and notice to yourself that you will hear:
Tomorrow, calling the noble Achaeans to the council, before them
Announce everything, calling the immortals as witnesses of the truth;

270

After that, demand that all the suitors go home;
Mother, if marriage is not disgusting to her heart,
You suggest that you return to the house of the powerful father,
Where, having prepared everything necessary for marriage, a rich dowry
A dear daughter, as befits a dignity, he will endow her.

275

I also zealously advise, if you accept my advice:
A strong ship with twenty equipped rowers, set off
Himself for his distant father, to find out what
In people there is a rumor about him, or hear a prophecy about him
Ossa, who always repeats Zeves' word to people.

280

Pylos first visit, you know that the divine Nestor
Will say; then Menelaus find the golden-haired in Sparta:
He arrived home last of all the copper-plated Achaeans.
If you hear that your parent is alive, that he will return,
Wait for him a year, patiently enduring oppression; when

285

Rumor will say that he died, that he is no longer among the living,
Then, immediately returning to the dear land of the fathers,
In honor of him, the mound of the grave here is an embankment and the usual magnificent
Perform a feast on him; Get Penelope to marry you.
After, when you arrange everything in the proper order,

290

Having firmly decided, with a prudent mind, think up a means,
How would you suitors who forcibly seized your house,
In it, destroy either by deception, or by sheer force; you
You can’t be a child anymore, you’ve gone out of childhood;
Do you know what a divine youth Orestes is before the whole

295

He was adorned with light with honor, marking Aegisthu, with which
Was his glorious parent slain maliciously?
So it is with you, my beloved friend, so beautifully ripened,
It must be firm so that your name and descendants are praised.
The time, however, is for me to return to my swift ship.

300

To companions, waiting, of course, for me with impatience and boredom.
You take care of yourself, respecting what I said.
“My dear guest,” answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
Desiring my benefits, you speak to me as to a son
Good father; I will not forget what you advised.

305

But wait, though you are in a hurry to go; it's cool here
Having refreshed your bath and members and soul, you will return
You are on a ship, a rich gift to the pleasure of the heart
Taking it from me so that I can keep it as a keepsake, as a custom
There is between people, so that they say goodbye, guests give each other.

310

The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"Not! Don't hold me back, I'm in a hurry to get on the road;
Your gift, promised me so cordially by you,
Returning to you, I will accept and take you home gratefully,
Having received something dear as a gift, and giving dearly himself.”

315

With these words Zeus' bright-eyed daughter disappeared,
Quick invisibly bird suddenly flying away. Settled
Firmness and courage she is in Telemakhov's heart, livelier
Recall making him about his father; but he penetrated the soul
Mystery and felt fear, guessing that he was talking with God.

320

Then he, the divine husband, approached the suitors; In front of them
The famous singer sang, and with deep attention they sat
They are silent; about the sad return of the Achaeans from Troy,
Once established by the goddess Athena, he sang.
In the upper rest, hearing inspired singing,

325

Penelope hurried down the high steps,
Elder Ikaria's wise daughter: they went down together with her
Two of her maids; and she, the god among women,
Entering that chamber where her suitors feasted,
Beside the pillar, the ceiling holding high there, she became,

330

Covering your cheeks with a shiny head veil;
On the right and on the left, the maids stood respectfully; queen
With weeping, she then addressed the inspired word to the singer:
“Phemius, you know so many others that delight the soul
Songs composed by singers to the glory of gods and heroes;

335

Sing one of them, sitting before the assembly, one; and in silence
Guests will listen to her for wine; but stop what you started
a sad song; my heart skips a beat when i
I hear her: of all, I got the most severe grief;
Having lost such a husband, I always mourn for the deceased,

340

So full of his glory and Hellas and Argos.
“Dear mother,” objected the judicious son of Odysseus,
How do you want the singer to ban our pleasure
Then to sing that his heart awakens in him? Guilty
This is not a singer, but Zeus is guilty, sending from above

345

People of high spirit will be inspired by their will.
No, do not prevent the singer about the sad return of the Danae
Sing - with great praise people listen to that song,
Every time with her, as with a new one, admiring her soul;
You yourself will find in it not sadness, but sadness delight:

350

Was not one from the gods condemned to lose the return day
King Odysseus, and many other famous people died.
But good luck: do, as you should, the order of the economy,
Yarn, weaving; see that the slaves are diligent in their work
Were our own: to speak is not a woman’s business, but a business

355

Husband, and now mine: I am my only master.
So he said; amazed, Penelope went back;
To the heart of the words of the wise son, having accepted and at rest
Shut up on top, in the circle of close maids
She wept bitterly for her Odysseus,

360

The goddess Athena did not bring sweet sleep to her eyes.
That sometimes the grooms in the darkened chamber were noisy,
Arguing about which of them will share the bed with Penelope.
Turning to them, the judicious son of Odysseus said:
“You suitors of Penelope, arrogant with violent pride,

365

Let us now quietly have fun: interrupt your noisy
Dispute; it is more fitting for us to pay attention to the chanter who,
Our hearing is captivating, like the gods with high inspiration.
Tomorrow morning I invite you all to gather in the square.
There, I’ll tell you publicly to your face, so that you all cleanse

370

My house; establish other feasts, your own, not ours
Spending on them and watching in turn in their treats.
If you find what is more pleasant and easier for you
To destroy one and all arbitrarily, without payment - devour
All; but on you I will call the gods; and Zeus won't slow down

375

To strike you for a lie: then inevitably all of you,
Likewise, without pay, you will perish in the house that you have plundered.”
He fell silent. Grooms, biting their lips with annoyance,
Those who were struck by his bold word were surprised at him.
But Antinous, the son of Evpeytov, answered him, objecting:

380

“The gods themselves, of course, taught you, Telemachus
To be so arrogant and impudent in words, and trouble for us when you
In wave-embracing Ithaca, by the will of Kronion, you will
Our king, already having the right to do so by birth!”
The sensible son of Odysseus meekly answered him:

385

“Friend of Antinous, do not be angry with me for my frankness:
If Zeus gave me dominion, I would gladly accept.
Or do you think that the royal lot of all is worse in the world?
No, of course, being a king is not bad; wealth in the royal
The house accumulates soon, and he himself is in honor of the people.

390

But among the Achaeans of the wave-embracing Ithaca there is
Many worthy of power, both old and young; between them
You choose when King Odysseus is no more.
In my house, I am the only master; I belong here
Power over slaves, for us Odysseus obtained in battles.

395

Here Eurymachus, the son of Polybius, answered Telemachus like this:
“About Thelema, we do not know - that is hidden in the bosom of the immortals, -
Who is appointed over the Achaeans of the wave-embracing Ithaca
Reign; in your house, of course, you are the only ruler;
No, there won't be, as long as Ithaca is inhabited,

400

There is no one here who would dare to encroach on your property.
But I would like to know, my dear, about the current guest.
What is his name? What fatherland does he glorify
Earth? What kind and tribe is he? Where he was born?
Did he come to you with the news of the desired return of your father?

405

Or visited us, having come to Ithaca for his own needs?
Suddenly he disappeared from here, without waiting for at least
a little
We reviewed; He was not a simple man, of course.”
“Friend Eurymachus,” answered the judicious son of Odysseus, “

410

The day of meeting with my father is forever lost to me; I won't
Believe no more rumors about his imminent return,
Below the vain prophecies about him, to which, calling
In the house of fortunetellers, the mother comes running. And our current guest
Was Odyssey's guest; he hails from Taphos, Mentes,

415

The son of Anchialus, the king of wisdom, rules the people
Cheerful Tafians." But, as I said, I was convinced
In his heart Telemachus that he saw the immortal goddess.
Those, again turning to dance and sweet song,
They began to make noise again in anticipation of the night; when

420

Black night in the midst of their cheerful noise has come,
Everyone went home to indulge in carefree peace.
Soon Telemachus himself in his high chamber (on a beautiful
The courtyard was facing it with a vast view in front of the windows),
After seeing everyone off, he went, thinking to himself about many things.

425

Carrying a lighted torch, in front of him with careful zeal
There was Eurycleia, the intelligent daughter of Pevsenorids Ops;
She was bought in blooming years by Laertes - he paid
Twenty bulls, and her with her well-behaved wife
In his house he respected equally, and did not allow himself

430

Lodge touch her, feared female jealousy.
Carrying the torch, Eurycleia led Telemachus - behind him
From childhood she went and pleased him more diligently
Other slaves. She opened into the rich bedroom
doors; he sat down on the bed and, taking off his thin shirt,

435

He threw it into the hands of a caring old woman; carefully
Folded into folds and angled, on the nail of Eurycleus a shirt
Beside the bed, artfully chiseled, hung; quiet
She left the bedroom; closed the door with a silver handle;
I tightened the latch tightly with a belt; then she left.

440

He is all night on a bed covered with soft sheepskin,
In his heart he pondered the path established by the goddess Athena.