Book III: Interview of Telemachus With Nestor

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Arrival of Telemachus, with Pallas in the shape of Mentor, at Pylos`His interview with Nestor`Nestor's narrative of his return from Troy`History of the death of Agamemnon and the revenge of Orestes`Departure of Pallas to heaven`Telemachus sent by Nestor with his son Peisistratus to Menelaus at Sparta. Now from the fair broad bosom of the sea Into the brazen vault of heaven the sun Rose shining for the immortals and for men Upon the foodful earth. The voyagers Arrived at Pylos, nobly built, the town Of Neleus. There, upon the ocean-side, They found the people offering coal-black steers To dark-haired Neptune. On nine seats they sat, Five hundred on each seat; nine steers were slain For each five hundred there. While they performed The rite, and, tasting first the entrails, burned The thighs to ocean's god, the Ithacans Touched land, and, lifting up the good ship's sail, Furled it and moored the keel, and then stepped out Upon the shore. Forth from the galley came Telemachus, the goddess guiding him, And thus to him the blue-eyed Pallas said:` "Telemachus, there now is no excuse, Not even the least, for shamefaced backwardness. Thou hast come hither o'er the deep to ask For tidings of thy father`what far land Conceals him, what the fate that he has met. Go then at once to Nestor, the renowned In horsemanship, and we shall see what plan He hath in mind for thee. Entreat him there That frankly he declare it. He will speak No word of falsehood; he is truly wise." And thus discreet Telemachus replied:` "O Mentor, how shall I approach the chief, And with what salutation? Little skill Have I in courtly phrase, and shame becomes A youth in questioning an aged man." Pallas, the blue-eyed goddess, spake again:` "In part thy mind will prompt thy speech; in part A god will put the words into thy mouth` For well I deem that thou wert neither born Nor trained without the favor of the gods." Thus having said, the blue-eyed Pallas moved With hasty pace before, and in her steps He followed close, until they reached the seats Of those assembled Pylians. Nestor there Sat with his sons, while his companions stood Around him and prepared the feast, and some Roasted the flesh at fires, and some transfixed The parts with spits. As they beheld the approach Of strangers they advanced, and took their hands, And bade them sit. Peisistratus, a son Of Nestor, came the first of all, and took A hand of each, and placed them at the feast On the soft hides that o'er the ocean sand Were spread beside his brother Thrasymedes And his own father; brought for their repast Parts of the entrails, poured for them the wine Into a golden goblet, held it forth In his right hand, and with these words bespake Pallas, the child of aegis-bearing Jove:` "Pray, stranger, to King Neptune. Ye have chanced Upon his feast in coming to our coast. And after thy libation poured, and prayer Made to the god, give over to thy friend The goblet of choice wine that he may make Libation also; he, I question not, Prays to the gods; we all have need of them. A younger man is he than thou, and seems In age to be my equal; therefore I Will give the golden goblet first to thee." He spake, and in the hands of Pallas placed The goblet of choice wine. Well pleased was she With one so just and so discreet`well pleased That first to her he reached the cup of gold, And thus she prayed to Neptune fervently:` "Hear, Neptune, thou who dost embrace the earth, And of thy grace disdain not to bestow These blessings on thy suppliants. First of all Vouchsafe to Nestor and his sons increase Of glory; on the Pylian people next Bestow, for this most sumptuous hecatomb, Large recompense; and, lastly, grant to us` Telemachus and me`a safe return To our own country with the end attained Which brought us hither in our gallant barque." Thus did she pray, while she fulfilled the prayer; And then she handed to Telemachus The fair round goblet, and in words like hers The dear son of Ulysses prayed. Meanwhile The Pylians, having roasted well the flesh And drawn it from the spits, distributing To each his portion, held high festival. And when the calls of hunger and of thirst Were silenced, Nestor, the Gerenian knight, Began discourse, and thus bespake his guests:` "The fitting time is come to ask our guests Who they may be, since now their feast is o'er. Say then, O strangers, who ye are, and whence Ye come along the pathway of the deep. Have ye an errand here, or do ye roam The seas at large, like pirates, braving death, And visiting with ravage foreign states?" And then discreet Telemachus replied Boldly`for Pallas strengthened in that hour His heart that he might confidently ask News of his absent father, and so win A worthy fame among the sons of men:` "O Nestor, son of Neleus, pride of Greece! Thou bid'st us tell thee whence we came, and I Will faithfully declare it. We are come From Ithaca, beneath the Neritus, And private, and not general, is the cause Of which I am to speak. I came to ask Concerning my great father, the large-souled And nobly-born Ulysses, who 'tis said With thee, his friend in arms, laid waste the town Of Ilium. We have heard where all the rest Who warred against the Trojans were cut off, And died sad deaths; his fate alone the son Of Saturn hath not chosen to reveal` Whether he fell on land by hostile hands, Or while at sea was whelmed beneath the waves Of Amphitrit�. Wherefore to thy knees I come, to ask that thou`if so thou wilt` Relate the manner of his mournful death, As thou didst see it with thine eyes, or else As thou from other wanderers hast heard Its history; for she who brought him forth Bore him to be unhappy. Think thou not To soften aught, through tenderness to me, In thy recital, but in faithful words Tell me the whole, whatever thou hast seen. And I conjure thee, that if, in his life, My father, great Ulysses, ever gave Promise of word or deed for thee, and kept His promise, in the realm of Troy, where ye Achaians bore such hardships, that thou now Remember it and speak without disguise." And Nestor the Gerenian knight replied:` "My friend, since thou recallest to my mind The sufferings borne by us the sons of Greece, Although of peerless valor, in that land, Both when we ranged in ships the darkling sea For booty wheresoe'er Achilles led, And when around King Priam's populous town We fought, where fell our bravest, know thou then That there the valiant Ajax lies, and there Achilles; there Patroclus, like the gods In council; there my well-beloved son Blameless and brave, Antilochus the swift Of foot and warlike`many woes beside We bore, and who of mortal birth could give Their history? Nay, though thou shouldst remain Five years or six, and ask of all the griefs Endured by the brave Greeks, thou wouldst depart Outwearied to thy home, ere thou hadst heard The whole. Nine years in harassing the foe We passed, beleaguering them and planning wiles Innumerable. Saturn's son at last With difficulty seemed to close the war. Then was there none who might presume to vie In wisdom with Ulysses; that great man Excelled in every kind of stratagem` Thy father`if indeed thou be his son. I look on thee amazed; all thy discourse Is just like his, and one would ne'er believe A younger man could speak so much like him. While we were there, Ulysses and myself In council or assembly never spake On different sides, but with a like intent We thoughtfully consulted how to guide The Achaians in the way we deemed the best; But after we had overthrown and spoiled King Priam's lofty city, and set sail For home, and by some heavenly power the Greeks Were scattered, Jupiter ordained for them A sad return. For all were neither wise Nor just, and many drew upon themselves An evil doom`the fatal wrath of her, The blue-eyed maid, who claims her birth from Jove. 'Twas she who kindled strife between the sons Of Atreus. They had called the Achaians all To an assembly, not with due regard To order, at the setting of the sun, And thither came the warriors overpowered With wine. The brother kings set forth the cause Of that assembly. Menelaus first Bade all the Greeks prepare for their return O'er the great deep. That counsel little pleased King Agamemnon, who desired to keep The people longer there, that he might soothe By sacred hecatombs the fiery wrath Of Pallas. Fool! who could not see how vain Were such persuasion, for the eternal gods Are not soon won to change their purposes. They stood disputing thus, with bitter words, Till wrangling noisily on different sides Rose up the well-armed Greeks. The ensuing night We rested, but we cherished in our breasts A mutual hate; so for our punishment Had Jove ordained. With early morn we drew Our ships to the great deep, and put our goods And our deep-bosomed women all on board. Yet half the host went not, but on the shore Remained with Agamemnon, Atreus' son, And shepherd of the people. All the rest Embarked, weighed anchor, and sailed swiftly thence; A deity made smooth the mighty deep, And when we came to Tenedos we paid Our offerings to the gods and longed for home` Vainly; it pleased not unpropitious Jove To favor our return, and once again He sent among us strife. A part of us Led by Ulysses, that sagacious prince, To please Atrides Agamemnon turned Their well-oared galleys back. But I, with all The vessels of the fleet that followed me, Fled on my way, perceiving that some god Was meditating evil. With us fled, Encouraging his men, the warlike son Of Tydeus. Fair-haired Menelaus came Later to us in Lesbos, where we planned For a long voyage, whether we should sail Around the rugged Chios, toward the isle Of Psyria, keeping that upon the left, Or under Chios pass beside the steeps Of windy Mimas. We besought the god That he would show a sign, and he complied, And bade us to Euboea cross the deep Right in the midst, the sooner to escape All danger. Then the wind blew strong and shrill, And swiftly o'er the fishy gulfs our fleet Flew on, and reached Geraestus in the night. There, having passed the mighty deep, we made To Neptune offerings of many a thigh Of beeves. The fourth day dawned, and now the men Of Diomed, the mighty horseman, son Of Tydeus, stopped at Argos with their fleet, While I went on to Pylos with the wind, Which never, from the moment that the god First sent it o'er the waters, ceased to blow. "So, my dear child, I reached my home, nor knew Nor heard from others who among the Greeks Was saved, or who had perished on the way. Yet what I since have heard while here I sit Within my palace thou shalt duly learn. Nor is it what I ought to keep from thee. " 'Tis said the Myrmidonian spearmen, led By great Achilles' famous son, returned Happily home; as happily the son Of Paeas, Philoctetes the renowned. Idomeneus brought also back to Crete All his companions who survived the war; The sea took none of them. But ye have heard, Though far away, the fate of Atreus' son` How he came home, and how Aegisthus laid A plot to slay him, yet on his own head Drew heavy punishment`so fortunate It is when he who falls by murder leaves A son; for 'twas the monarch's son who took Vengeance upon the crafty murderer Aegisthus, by whose hand Atrides died. Thou too, my friend, for thou art large of frame, And of a noble presence, be thou brave, That men in time to come may give thee praise." Then spake discreet Telemachus again:` "O Nestor, son of Neleus, pride of Greece, Ample was his revenge, and far and wide The Greeks will spread his fame to be the song Of future times. O might the gods confer On me an equal power to avenge myself On that importunate, overbearing crew Of suitors, who insult me, and devise Evil against me! But the gods deny Such fortune to my father and to me, And all that now is left me is to bear." Again spake Nestor the Gerenian knight:` "Since thou, my friend, hast spoken words which bring What I have heard to mind`the rumor goes That in thy palace many suitors wait About thy mother, and in spite of thee Do grievous wrong. Now tell me; dost thou yield Willingly, or because the people, swayed By oracles, regard thee as their foe? Thy father yet may come again`who knows?` Alone, or with the other Greeks, to take The vengeance which these violent deeds deserve. Should blue-eyed Pallas deign to favor thee, As once she watched to guard the glorious chief Ulysses in the realm of Troy, where we, The Achaians, bore such hardships`for I ne'er Have seen the gods so openly befriend A man as Pallas there befriended him` Should she thus deign to favor thee and keep Watch over thee, then haply some of these Will never think of marriage rites again." Then spake discreet Telemachus again:` "O aged man! I cannot think thy words Will be fulfilled! for they import too much And they amaze me. What thou sayst I wish May come to pass, but know it cannot be, Not even though the gods should will it so." Then thus the blue-eyed goddess, Pallas, spake:` "Telemachus, what words have passed thy lips? Easily can a god, whene'er he will, In the most distant regions safely keep A man; and I would rather reach my home Securely, after many hardships borne, Than perish suddenly on my return As Agamemnon perished by the guile Of base Aegisthus and the queen. And yet The gods themselves have not the power to save Whom most they cherish from the common doom When cruel fate brings on the last long sleep." Discreet Telemachus made answer thus:` "Let us, O Mentor, talk no more of this, Though much we grieve; he never will return, For his is the black doom of death ordained By the great gods. Now suffer me to ask Of Nestor further, since to him are known, Beyond all other men, the rules of right And prudence. He has governed, so men say, Three generations, and to me he seems In aspect like the ever-living gods. O Nestor, son of Neleus, truly say How died the monarch over mighty realms, Atrides Agamemnon? Where was then His brother Menelaus? By what arts Did treacherous Aegisthus plan his death, And slay a braver warrior than himself? Was not the brother in the Achaian town Of Argos? or was he a wanderer In other lands, which made the murderer bold?" The knight, Gerenian Nestor, answered thus:` "I will tell all and truly. Thou hast guessed Rightly and as it happened. Had the son Of Atreus, fair-haired Menelaus, come From Troy, and found Aegisthus yet alive Within the palace, he had never flung The loose earth on his corpse, but dogs and birds Had preyed upon it, lying in the fields Far from the city, and no woman's voice Of all the Greeks had raised the wail for him. Great was the crime he plotted. We were yet Afar, enduring the hard toils of war, While he, securely couched in his retreat At Argos, famed for steeds, with flattering words Corrupted Agamemnon's queen. At first The noble Clytemnestra turned away With horror from the crime; for yet her heart Was right, and by her side there stood a bard With whom Atrides, when he went to Troy, Had left his wife with many an earnest charge. But when the gods and fate had spread a net For his destruction, then Aegisthus bore The minstrel to a desert isle, and there Left him to be devoured by birds of prey, And led the queen, as willing as himself, To his own palace. Many a victim's thigh Upon the hallowed altars of the gods He offered, many a gift of ornaments Woven or wrought in gold he hung within Their temples, since at length the mighty end For which he hardly dared to hope was gained. We sailed together from the coast of Troy, Atrides, Menelaus, and myself, Friends to each other. When the headland height Of Athens, hallowed Sunium, met our eyes, Apollo smote with his still shafts, and slew Phrontis, Onetor's son, who steered the barque Of Menelaus, holding in his hands The rudder as the galley scudded on` And skilled was he beyond all other men To guide a vessel when the storm was high. So there did Menelaus stay his course, Though eager to go on, that he might lay His friend in earth and pay the funeral rites. But setting sail again with all his fleet Upon the dark-blue sea, all-seeing Jove Decreed a perilous voyage. He sent forth His shrill-voiced hurricane, and heaped on high The mountain waves. There, scattering the barques Far from each other, part he drove to Crete, Where the Cydonians dwell, beside the stream Of Jardanus. A smooth and pointed rock Just on the bounds of Gortys stands amidst The dark-blue deep. The south wind thitherward Sweeps a great sea towards Phoestus, and against The headland on the left, where that small rock Meets and withstands the mighty wave. The ships Were driven on this, and scarce the crews escaped With life; the ships were dashed against the crags And wrecked, save five, and these, with their black prows, Were swept toward Egypt by the winds and waves. "Thus adding to his wealth and gathering gold He roamed the ocean in his ships among Men of strange speech. Aegisthus meantime planned His guilty deeds at home; he slew the king Atrides, and the people took his yoke. Seven years in rich Mycenae he bore rule, And on the eighth, to his destruction, came The nobly-born Orestes, just returned From Athens, and cut off that man of blood, The crafty wretch Aegisthus, by whose hand Fell his illustrious father. Then he bade The Argives to the solemn burial-feast Of his bad mother and the craven wretch Aegisthus. Menelaus, that same day, The great in war, arrived, and brought large wealth` So large his galleys could contain no more. "And thou, my friend, be thou not long away, Wandering from home, thy rich possessions left, And in thy palace-halls a lawless crew, Lest they devour thy substance, and divide Thy goods, and thou have crossed the sea in vain. Yet must I counsel and enjoin on thee To visit Menelaus, who has come Just now from lands and nations of strange men, Whence one could hardly hope for a return; Whom once the tempest's violence had driven Into that great wide sea o'er which the birds Of heaven could scarce fly hither in a year, Such is its fearful vastness. Go thou now, Thou with thy ship and friends; or if thou choose The way by land, a car and steeds are here, And here my sons to guide thee to the town Of hallowed Lacedaemon, there to find The fair-haired Menelaus. Earnestly Beseech of him that he declare the truth. Falsely he will not speak, for he is wise." He spake; the sun went down; the darkness crept Over the earth, and blue-eyed Pallas said:` "Most wisely hast thou spoken, ancient man. Now cut ye out the tongues, and mingle wine, That we to Neptune and the other gods May pour libations, and then think of rest; For now the hour is come; the light is gone, Nor at a feast in honor of the gods Should we long sit, but in good time withdraw." Jove's daughter spake; they hearkened to her words; The heralds came to them, and on their hands Poured water; boys began to fill the bowls To the hard brim, and ministered to each From left to right. Then threw they to the flames The victims' tongues, and, rising, poured on earth Wine to the gods; and when that rite was paid, And when their thirst was satiate, Pallas rose With nobly-born Telemachus to go To their good ship, but Nestor still detained The twain, and chidingly bespake them thus:` "Now Jove and all the other gods forbid That ye should go from me to your good ship, As from some half-clad wretch, too poor to own Mantles and blankets in whose soft warm folds He and his guests might sleep; but I have both`�� Mantles and blankets`beautifully wrought, And never shall the son of that great man Ulysses lie upon a galley's deck While I am living. After me I hope My sons, who dwell within my palace-halls, Will duly welcome all who enter here." And thus again the blue-eyed Pallas spake:` "Well hast thou said, my aged friend, and well Doth it become Telemachus to heed Thy words, for that were best. Let him remain With thee and sleep in thine abode, while I Repair to our black ship, encouraging The crew, and setting them their proper tasks, For I am eldest of them all; the rest Are young men yet, and moved by friendship joined Our enterprise; the peers in age are they Of the large-souled Telemachus. Tonight I sleep within the hull of our black ship, And sail with early morning for the land Of the Cauconians, large of soul, from whom A debt is due me, neither new nor small. Send meantime from thy palace in a car, And with thy son, this youth, and be the steeds The fleetest and the strongest in thy stalls." The blue-eyed Pallas, having spoken thus, Passed like an eagle out of sight, and all Were seized with deep amazement as they saw. The aged monarch, wondering at the sight, Took by the hand Telemachus, and said:` "Of craven temper, and unapt for war, O friend, thou canst not be, since thus the gods Attend and guide thee in thy youth. And this, Of all the gods whose dwelling is in heaven, Can be no other than the spoiler-queen Pallas, the child of Jove, who also held Thy father in such eminent esteem Among the Grecians. Deign to favor us, O queen! bestow on me and on my sons And on my venerable spouse the meed Of special glory. I will bring to thee A sacrifice, a broad-horned yearling steer, Which never man hath tamed or led beneath The yoke. Her will I bring with gilded horns, And lay an offering on thine altar-fires." Such were his words, and Pallas heard the prayer, And then Gerenian Nestor led the way, And with his sons and sons-in-law approached His glorious palace. When they came within The monarch's sumptuous halls, each took his place In order on the couches and the thrones. The old man mingled for them as they came A bowl of delicate wine, eleven years old, Drawn by the damsel cupbearer, who took Its cover from the jar. The aged chief Mingled it in the bowl, and, pouring out A part to Pallas, offered earnest prayer To her, who sprang from aegis-bearing Jove. When due libations had been made, and all Drank till they wished no more, most went away, Each to his home to sleep; but Nestor made Telemachus, the son of the great chief Ulysses, rest upon a sumptuous couch Within the echoing hall, and near to him The chief of squadrons, skilled to wield the spear, Peisistratus, who only of his sons Abode in Nestor's halls unwedded yet; While in an inner room of that tall pile The monarch slumbered on a bed of state, Decked for him by the labors of his queen. Soon as the daughter of the dawn appeared, The rosy-fingered Morning, Nestor left His bed and went abroad, and took his seat On smooth white stones before his lofty doors, That glistened as with oil, on which before Sat Neleus, wise in council as the gods. But he had yielded to the will of fate, And passed into the Underworld. Now sat Gerenian Nestor in his father's place, The guardian of the Greeks. Around his seat, Just from the chambers of their rest, his sons Echephron, Stratius, and Aretus came, Perseus, and Thrasymedes; after these Came brave Peisistratus, the sixth and last. They led Telemachus, the godlike youth, And placed him near them. The Gerenian knight Nestor began, and thus bespake his sons:` "Do quickly what I ask, dear sons, and aid To render Pallas, first of all the gods, Propitious`Pallas, who has deigned to come, And at a solemn feast to manifest Herself to me. Let one of you go forth Among the fields, and bring a heifer thence, Led by the herdsman. To the dark-hulled ship Of the large-souled Telemachus I bid Another son repair, and bring the crew Save only two; and let another call La�rceus hither, skilled to work in gold, That he may plate with gold the heifer's horns. Let all the rest remain to bid the maids Within prepare a sumptuous feast, and bring Seats, wood, and limpid water from the fount." He spake, and all were busy. From the field The bullock came; from the swift-sailing barque Came the companions of the gallant youth Telemachus; with all his implements` Hammer and anvil, and well-jointed tongs` With which he wrought, the goldsmith also came, And to be present at the sacred rites Pallas came likewise. Nestor, aged knight, Brought forth the gold; the artisan prepared The metal, and about the bullock's horns Wound it, that Pallas might with pleasure see The victim so adorned. Then Stratius grasped The horns, and, aided by Echephron, led The bullock. From his room Aretus brought A laver filled with water in one hand, And in the other hand a canister Of cakes, while Thrasymedes, great in war, Stood near with a sharp axe, about to smite The victim. Perseus held a vase to catch The blood, while Nestor, aged horseman, took Water and cakes, and offering first a part, And flinging the shorn forelock to the flames, Prayed to the goddess Pallas fervently. And now, when they had prayed, and flung the cakes, The large-souled Thrasymedes, Nestor's son, Struck, where he stood, the blow; the bullock's strength Gave way. At once the daughters of the king, And his sons' wives, and queen Eurydic�` Nestor's chaste wife, and daughter eldest born Of Clymenus, broke forth in shrilly cries. From the great earth the sons then lifted up And held the victim's head. Peisistratus, The chief of squadrons, slew it. When the blood Had ceased to flow, and life had left its limbs, They quickly severed joint from joint; they hewed The thighs away, and duly covered them With caul, a double fold, on which they laid Raw strips of flesh. The aged monarch burned These over the cleft wood, and poured dark wine Upon them, while beside him stood the youths With five-pronged spits; and when the thighs were burned And entrails tasted, all the rest they carved Into small portions and transfixed with spits, And roasted, holding the sharp spits in hand. Meantime, fair Polycast�, youngest born Of Nestor's daughters, gave Telemachus The bath; and after he had bathed she shed A rich oil over him, and in a cloak Of noble texture and a tunic robed The prince, who, like a god in presence, left The bath, and took his place where Nestor sat, The shepherd of the people. When the youths Had roasted well and from the spits withdrawn The flesh, they took their places at the feast. Then rose up chosen men, and poured the wine Into the cups of gold; and when at length The thirst and appetite were both allayed, The knight, Gerenian Nestor, thus began:` "Rise now, my sons; join to the bright-haired steeds My car, and let Telemachus depart." He spake; they hearkened and obeyed, and straight Yoked the swift horses to the car. Then came The matron of the household, laying bread And wine within the car, and dainties such As make a prince's fare. Telemachus Then climbed into the sumptuous seat. The son Of Nestor and the chief of armed bands, Peisistratus, climbed also, took his place Beside him, grasped the reins, and with the lash Urged on the coursers. Not unwillingly They darted toward the plain, and left behind The lofty Pylos. All that day they shook The yoke on both their necks. The sun went down; The highways lay in darkness when they came To Pherae and the abode of Diocles, Son of Orsilochus, who claimed to be The offspring of Alpheius. They with him Found welcome there, and there that night they slept. And when the rosy-fingered Morn appeared, They yoked the horses, climbed the shining car, And issued from the palace gate beneath The sounding portico. Peisistratus Wielded the lash to urge the coursers on, And not unwillingly they flew and reached A land of harvests. Here the travellers found Their journey's end, so swiftly those fleet steeds Had borne them on. And now the sun went down, And darkness gathered over all the ways.