| Homer, Odyssey (English) (XML Header) [word count] [lemma count] [Hom. Od.]. | ||
| <<Hom. Od. 14.130 | Hom. Od. 14.220 (GreekEnglish) | >>Hom. Od. 14.295 |
14.185But come, do thou, old man, tell me of thine own sorrows, and declare me this truly, that I may know full well. Who art thou among men, and from whence? Where is thy city, and where thy parents? On what manner of ship didst thou come, and how did sailors bring thee to Ithaca ? Who did they declare themselves to be?
14.190For nowise, methinks, didst thou come hither on foot.”
Crete I declare that I am come by lineage,
14.200the son of a wealthy man. And many other sons too were born and bred in his halls, true sons of a lawful wife; but the mother that bore me was bought, a concubine. Yet Castor, son of Hylax, of whom I declare that I am sprung, honored me even as his true-born sons.
14.205He was at that time honored as a god among the Cretans in the land for his good estate, and his wealth, and his glorious sons. But the fates of death bore him away to the house of Hades, and his proud sons divided among them his substance, and cast lots therefor.
14.210To me they gave a very small portion, and allotted a dwelling. But I took unto me a wife from a house that had wide possessions, winning her by my valor; for I was no weakling, nor a coward in fight. Now all that strength is gone; yet even so, in seeing the stubble, methinks
14.215thou mayest judge what the grain was; for verily troubles in full measure encompass me. But then Ares and Athena gave me courage, and strength that breaks the ranks of men; and whenever I picked the best warriors for an ambush, sowing the seeds of evil for the foe, never did my proud spirit forbode death,
14.220but ever far the first did I leap forth, and slay with my spear whosoever of the foe gave way in flight before me. note Such a man was I in war, but labour in the field was never to my liking, nor the care of a household, which rears goodly children, but oared ships were ever dear to me,
14.225and wars, and polished spears, and arrows,—grievous things, whereat others are wont to shudder. But those things, I ween, were dear to me, which a god put in my heart; for different men take joy in different works. For before the sons of the Achaeans set foot on the land of Troy ,
14.230I had nine times led warriors and swift-faring ships against foreign folk, and great spoil had ever fallen to my hands. Of this I would choose what pleased my mind, and much I afterwards obtained by lot. Thus my house straightway grew rich, and thereafter I became one feared and honored among the Cretans.
Ilios , nor was there any way to refuse, for the voice of the people pressed hard upon us.
14.240There for nine years we sons of the Achaeans warred, and in the tenth we sacked the city of Priam, and set out for home in our ships, and a god scattered the Achaeans. But for me, wretched man that I was, Zeus, the counsellor, devised evil. For a month only I remained, taking joy in my children,
14.245my wedded wife, and my wealth; and then to Egypt did my spirit bid me voyage with my godlike comrades, when I had fitted out my ships with care. Nine ships I fitted out, and the host gathered speedily. Then for six days my trusty comrades
14.250feasted, and I gave them many victims, that they might sacrifice to the gods, and prepare a feast for themselves; and on the seventh we embarked and set sail from broad Crete , with the North Wind blowing fresh and fair, and ran on easily as if down stream. No
14.255harm came to any of my ships, but free from scathe and from disease we sat, and the wind and the helmsman guided the ships.
“On the fifth day we came to fair-flowing Aegyptus , and in the river Aegyptus I moored my curved ships. Then verily I bade my trusty comrades
14.260to remain there by the ships, and to guard the ships, and I sent out scouts to go to places of outlook. But my comrades, yielding to wantonness, and led on by their own might, straightway set about wasting the fair fields of the men of Egypt ; and they carried off the women and little children,
14.265and slew the men; and the cry came quickly to the city. Then, hearing the shouting, the people came forth at break of day, and the whole plain was filled with footmen, and chariots and the flashing of bronze. But Zeus who hurls the thunderbolt cast an evil panic upon my comrades, and none had the courage
| Homer, Odyssey (English) (XML Header) [word count] [lemma count] [Hom. Od.]. | ||
| <<Hom. Od. 14.130 | Hom. Od. 14.220 (GreekEnglish) | >>Hom. Od. 14.295 |
