| Homer, Odyssey (English) (XML Header) [genre: poetry; hexameter] [word count] [lemma count] [Hom. Od.]. | ||
| <<Hom. Od. 14.1 | Hom. Od. 14.55 (Greek English(2)) | >>Hom. Od. 14.148 |
14.1Odysseus now left the haven, and
took the rough track up through the wooded country and over the crest
of the mountain till he reached the place where Athena had said that
he would find the swineherd, who was the most thrifty servant he had.
He found him sitting in front of his hut, which was by the yards that
he had built on a site which could be seen from far. He had made them
spacious and fair to see, with a free ran for the pigs all round
them; he had built them during his master's absence, of stones
which he had gathered out of the ground, without saying anything to
Penelope or Laertes , and he had fenced them on top with thorn bushes.
Outside the yard he had run a strong fence of oaken posts, split, and
set pretty close together, while inside lie had built twelve sties
near one another for the sows to lie in. There were fifty pigs
wallowing in each sty, all of them breeding sows; but the boars slept
outside and were much fewer in number, for the suitors kept on eating
them, and the swineherd had to send them the best he had continually.
There were three hundred and sixty boar pigs, and the herdsman's
four hounds, which were as fierce as wolves, slept always with them.
The swineherd was at that moment cutting out a pair of sandals from a
good stout ox hide. Three of his men were out herding the pigs in one
place or another, and he had sent the fourth to town with a boar that
he had been forced to send the suitors that they might sacrifice it
and have their fill of meat.
dêmos . But come inside, and when you have had
your fill of bread and wine, tell me where you come from, and all
about your misfortunes."
nostos ] of him who would have been always
good to me and given me something of my own - a house, a piece of
land, a good looking wife, and all else that a liberal master allows
a servant who has worked hard for him, and whose labor the gods have
prospered as they have mine in the situation which I hold. If my
master had grown old here he would have done great things by me, but
he is gone, and I wish that Helen's whole race were utterly
destroyed, for she has been the death of many a good man. It was this
matter that took my master to Ilion , the land of noble steeds, to
fight the Trojans in the cause of king Agamemnon."
dikê ]. Even the fierce
free-booters who go raiding on other people's land, and Zeus
gives them their spoil - even they, when they have filled their ships
and got home again live conscience-stricken, and look fearfully for
judgment; but some god seems to have told these people that Odysseus
is dead and gone; they will not, therefore, go back to their own
homes and make their offers of marriage in the proper way
[dikaios ], but waste his estate by force, without fear
or stint. Not a day or night comes out of heaven, but they sacrifice
not one victim nor two only, and they take the run of his wine, for
he was exceedingly rich. No other great man either in Ithaca or on
the mainland is as rich as he was; he had as much as twenty men put
together. I will tell you what he had. There are twelve herds of
cattle upon the mainland, and as many flocks of sheep, there are also
twelve droves of pigs, while his own men and hired strangers feed him
twelve widely spreading herds of goats. Here in Ithaca he runs even
large flocks of goats on the far end of the island, and they are in
the charge of excellent goatherds. Each one of these sends the
suitors the best goat in the flock every day. As for myself, I am in
charge of the pigs that you see here, and I have to keep picking
[krinô ] out the best I have and sending it to
them."
14.29When the hounds saw Odysseus they set up a furious barking and flew at him, but Odysseus was cunning enough to sit down and loose his hold of the stick that he had in his hand: still, he would have been torn by them in his own homestead had not the swineherd dropped his ox hide, rushed full speed through the gate of the yard and driven the dogs off by shouting and throwing stones at them. Then he said to Odysseus, "Old man, the dogs were likely to have made short work of you, and then you would have got me into trouble. The gods have given me quite enough worries without that, for I have lost the best of masters, and am in continual grief on his account. I have to attend swine for other people to eat, while he, if he yet lives to see the light of day, is starving in some distant
14.48On this the swineherd led the way into the hut and bade him sit down. He strewed a good thick bed of rushes upon the floor, and on the top of this he threw the shaggy chamois skin - a great thick one - on which he used to sleep by night. Odysseus was pleased at being made thus welcome, and said "May Zeus, sir, and the rest of the gods grant you your heart's desire in return for the kind way in which you have received me."
14.55To this you answered, O swineherd Eumaios, "Stranger, though a still poorer man should come here, it would not be right for me to insult him, for all strangers and beggars are from Zeus. You must take what you can get and be thankful, for servants live in fear when they have young lords for their masters; and this is my misfortune now, for heaven has hindered the return [
14.72As he spoke he bound his belt round him and went to the sties where the young sucking pigs were penned. He picked out two which he brought back with him and sacrificed. He singed them, cut them up, and spitted on them; when the meat was cooked he brought it all in and set it before Odysseus, hot and still on the spit, whereon Odysseus sprinkled it over with white barley meal. The swineherd then mixed wine in a bowl of ivy-wood, and taking a seat opposite Odysseus told him to begin.
14.80"Fall to, stranger," said he, "on a dish of servant's pork. The fat pigs have to go to the suitors, who eat them up without shame or scruple; but the blessed gods love not such shameful doings, and respect those who do what is lawful and right [
| Homer, Odyssey (English) (XML Header) [genre: poetry; hexameter] [word count] [lemma count] [Hom. Od.]. | ||
| <<Hom. Od. 14.1 | Hom. Od. 14.55 (Greek English(2)) | >>Hom. Od. 14.148 |
