Book 11

1 When we had come down to the ship and the sea, first of all we hauled the ship down into the bright sea, and set the mast and the sails in the black ship, and took the sheep and put them aboard, and we ourselves went aboard, grieving and shedding big tears. And behind our dark-prowed ship lovely-haired Circe, dread goddess with a human voice, sent a favoring wind that filled the sail, a good companion. When we had set all the tackle in order throughout the ship, we sat, and the wind and the helmsman kept her on course. All day long her sails were stretched as she crossed the sea. The sun set, and all the ways grew dark.

13 And she came to the limits of deep-flowing Ocean. There is the land and the city of the Cimmerians, wrapped in mist and cloud. Never does the shining sun look down on them with his rays, neither when he climbs toward the starry sky nor when he turns back again from the sky toward the earth; deadly night is spread over those wretched mortals. There we came and beached our ship and took the sheep out, and we ourselves went along beside the stream of Ocean until we came to the place that Circe had told us of.

23 There Perimedes and Eurylochus held the victims, while I drew the sharp sword from beside my thigh and dug a pit about a cubit long each way, and around it I poured a drink offering to all the dead, first with milk and honey, then with sweet wine, and a third time with water; and I sprinkled white barley meal over it. Then I prayed earnestly to the strengthless heads of the dead, and promised that when I came to Ithaca I would sacrifice in my halls a barren cow, the best I had, and heap the pyre with good things, and that to Tiresias alone, apart, I would offer a ram that was black all over, the finest among our flocks. And when I had entreated them with vows and prayers, the tribes of the dead, I took the sheep and cut their throats over the pit, and the dark blood flowed; and up out of Erebus the spirits of the dead who had perished gathered: brides and unwed youths and old men who had suffered much, and tender girls with hearts new to grief, and many men wounded by bronze-tipped spears, killed in battle, still wearing their blood-stained armor. They came flocking in crowds around the pit from every side, with an unearthly cry, and pale fear took hold of me. Then I urged my companions on and ordered them to flay the sheep that lay there slaughtered by the pitiless bronze and burn them, and pray to the gods, to mighty Hades and dread Persephone. And I myself drew the sharp sword from beside my thigh and sat there, and did not let the strengthless heads of the dead come near the blood until I had questioned Tiresias.

51 The first to come was the spirit of my companion Elpenor. He had not yet been buried beneath the broad-wayed earth, for we had left his body behind in Circe’s hall, unwept and unburied, since another task was pressing us. When I saw him I wept, and pitied him in my heart, and I spoke to him, and my words had wings:

57 “Elpenor, how did you come down beneath the misty darkness? You have come faster on foot than I in my black ship.”

59 So I spoke, and he groaned and answered me: “Son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, resourceful Odysseus, an evil doom from some god was my ruin, and wine beyond all measure. I lay down to sleep in Circe’s house and never thought to go back down by the long ladder, but fell headlong from the roof. My neck was broken away from the spine, and my spirit went down to Hades. Now I beg you by those you left behind, who are not here with you, by your wife and by your father, who reared you when you were small, and by Telemachus, whom you left alone in your halls: for I know that when you go from here, out of the house of Hades, you will put in with your well-made ship at the island of Aeaea. There, my lord, I ask you to remember me. Do not go away and leave me behind unwept and unburied, turning your back on me, or I may become a cause of the gods’ anger against you. Burn me with my armor, all I have, and heap up a mound for me on the shore of the gray sea, the grave of an unlucky man, for men to come to know of. Do this for me, and fix on the mound the oar I used to row with in life, when I was with my companions.”

79 So he spoke, and I answered him: “All this, poor man, I will accomplish and do for you.”

81 So we two sat exchanging sad words, I on one side holding my sword over the blood, while on the other side the phantom of my companion talked on and on.

84 Then came the spirit of my dead mother, Anticleia, daughter of great-hearted Autolycus, whom I had left alive when I went to sacred Ilion. When I saw her I wept, and pitied her in my heart; but even so, deep as my grief was, I would not let her come near the blood before I had questioned Tiresias.

90 Then came the spirit of Theban Tiresias, holding a golden staff, and he knew me and spoke to me: “Son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, resourceful Odysseus, why, unlucky man, have you left the light of the sun and come to see the dead and this joyless place? Draw back from the pit and hold your sharp sword away, so that I may drink of the blood and tell you the truth.”

97 So he spoke, and I drew back and thrust my silver-studded sword into its sheath. And when he had drunk the dark blood, then the excellent prophet spoke to me:

100 “You seek a homecoming sweet as honey, shining Odysseus; but a god will make it hard for you. For I do not think you will escape the notice of the Earth-shaker, who has laid up anger in his heart against you, furious because you blinded his dear son. Yet even so, though you suffer much, you may still come home, if you are willing to restrain your own heart and your companions’ when you first bring your well-made ship to the island of Thrinacia, escaping from the violet sea, and you find grazing there the cattle and fat sheep of Helios, who sees everything and hears everything. If you leave them unharmed and keep your mind on your homecoming, you may still reach Ithaca, though you suffer much. But if you harm them, then I foretell destruction for your ship and your companions. And even if you yourself escape, you will come home late and in misery, having lost all your companions, in another man’s ship; and you will find troubles in your house, overbearing men who are eating up your livelihood, courting your godlike wife and offering her bride-gifts. Yet when you come you will surely take vengeance for their violence. But when you have killed the suitors in your halls, whether by cunning or openly with the sharp bronze, then take a well-shaped oar and go on until you come to men who do not know the sea, and do not eat food mixed with salt, who know nothing of ships with crimson cheeks or of well-shaped oars, which are wings to ships. And I will tell you a sign, a very clear one, and it will not escape you. When another traveler meets you and says that you have a winnowing fan on your shining shoulder, then fix your well-shaped oar in the ground and make fine sacrifices to lord Poseidon, a ram and a bull and a boar that mounts the sows, and go back home and offer sacred hecatombs to the immortal gods who hold the wide sky, to all of them in order. And death will come to you yourself away from the sea, a death so very gentle, that will take you worn out by a sleek old age; and your people around you will be prosperous. This is the truth I tell you.”

138 So he spoke, and I answered him: “Tiresias, the gods themselves, I suppose, have spun this thread of fate. But come, tell me this, and tell it truly: I see here the spirit of my dead mother. She sits in silence near the blood, and she cannot bring herself to look her own son in the face or speak to him. Tell me, lord, how can she know me for who I am?”

145 So I spoke, and he answered me at once: “It is an easy word I will tell you and put in your mind. Whichever of the dead who have perished you let come near the blood will tell you the truth; but whomever you grudge it to will go back again.”

150 So saying, the spirit of lord Tiresias went away into the house of Hades, when he had spoken his prophecies. But I stayed there, steadfast, until my mother came and drank the dark blood. At once she knew me, and lamenting she spoke to me, and her words had wings:

155 “My child, how did you come down beneath the misty darkness, still alive? It is hard for the living to see these places. For between lie great rivers and dreadful streams, Ocean first of all, which no one can cross on foot, unless he has a well-made ship. Have you come here only now from Troy, after long wandering with your ship and your companions? Have you not yet come to Ithaca, or seen your wife in your halls?”

163 So she spoke, and I answered her: “Mother, need brought me down to the house of Hades, to consult the spirit of Theban Tiresias. For I have not yet come near the land of Achaea, nor yet set foot on our own country; I have wandered always in misery, ever since I first followed noble Agamemnon to Ilion of the fine horses, to fight the Trojans. But come, tell me this, and tell it truly: what doom of death that lays men out at length overcame you? Was it a long sickness, or did Artemis, the arrow-showering, come upon you with her gentle arrows and kill you? And tell me of my father and my son, whom I left behind: does my royal portion still remain with them, or does some other man already hold it, and they say I will never come home? And tell me of my wedded wife, what she intends and what is in her mind: does she stay with our son and keep everything safe, or has the best of the Achaeans already married her?”

180 So I spoke, and at once my lady mother answered: “She waits, indeed, with an enduring heart, in your halls; and the nights and the days always wane for her in misery as she weeps. No one yet holds your fine royal portion. Telemachus holds your lands in peace and dines at equal feasts, such as a man who gives judgment ought to share in, for everyone invites him. But your father stays out there in the country and never comes down to the city. He has no bed, no bedding or cloaks or shining blankets; in winter he sleeps where the servants sleep in the house, in the dust by the fire, and wears wretched clothes on his body. But when summer comes and rich autumn, all over the slope of his vineyard there are beds of fallen leaves heaped on the ground for him. There he lies grieving, and nurses great sorrow in his heart, longing for your return, and hard old age has come upon him. And that was how I too perished and met my fate. It was not that the keen-sighted, arrow-showering goddess came upon me in my halls with her gentle arrows and killed me, nor did any sickness come over me, of the kind that most often takes the life from the limbs with a hateful wasting. No: it was longing for you, and your counsels, shining Odysseus, and your gentleness, that took away my life, sweet as honey.”

204 So she spoke, and I pondered in my heart and longed to take hold of the spirit of my dead mother. Three times I sprang toward her, and my heart urged me to take hold of her; three times she flew out of my hands like a shadow or a dream. And the pain grew ever sharper in my heart, and I spoke to her, and my words had wings:

210 “Mother, why will you not stay for me when I long to take hold of you, so that even in the house of Hades we may throw our arms around each other and both take our fill of cold lament? Or is this some phantom that noble Persephone has sent me, so that I may weep and groan still more?”

215 So I spoke, and at once my lady mother answered: “Ah me, my child, most ill-fated of all men, Persephone, daughter of Zeus, is not deceiving you. This is the way with mortals when they die. The sinews no longer hold the flesh and the bones together; the strong force of the blazing fire destroys them, as soon as the life has left the white bones, and the spirit flits away like a dream and hovers there. But hurry to the light as quickly as you can; and remember all this, so that afterward you may tell it to your wife.”

225 So we two talked with each other, and the women came, for noble Persephone sent them, all who had been the wives and daughters of princes. They gathered in a crowd around the dark blood, and I considered how I might question each one. And this seemed to my mind the best plan: I drew the long-edged sword from beside my sturdy thigh and would not let them all drink the dark blood at once. So they came up one after another, and each declared her lineage; and I questioned them all.

235 There the first I saw was Tyro, born of a noble father, who said she was the daughter of excellent Salmoneus, and said she was the wife of Cretheus, son of Aeolus. She fell in love with a river, godlike Enipeus, by far the most beautiful of the rivers that flow upon the earth, and she used to haunt the lovely streams of Enipeus. Taking his likeness, the earth-holder, the Earth-shaker, lay with her at the mouths of the eddying river; and a dark wave stood up around them like a mountain, arching over, and hid the god and the mortal woman. He loosed her virgin girdle and poured sleep over her. And when the god had finished the work of love, he took her hand and spoke to her and called her by name:

248 “Be glad, woman, in this love. As the year comes round you will bear glorious children, for the beds of the immortals are not fruitless. You must care for them and bring them up. Now go home, and hold your tongue, and do not tell anyone; but know that I am Poseidon the Earth-shaker.”

253 So saying, he plunged beneath the surging sea. And she conceived and bore Pelias and Neleus, who both became mighty servants of great Zeus. Pelias, rich in flocks, lived in Iolcus with its spacious dancing floors, and the other in sandy Pylos. And to Cretheus the queen among women bore other sons, Aeson and Pheres and Amythaon, who fought from chariots.

260 After her I saw Antiope, daughter of Asopus, who boasted that she had slept in the arms of Zeus himself. She bore two sons, Amphion and Zethus, who first founded the seat of seven-gated Thebes and built towers around it, for they could not live in spacious Thebes without towers, strong as they were.

266 After her I saw Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon, who lay in the arms of great Zeus and bore Heracles, bold and steadfast, with the heart of a lion; and Megara, daughter of high-hearted Creon, whom the son of Amphitryon, whose strength never wearied, had for his wife.

271 And I saw the mother of Oedipus, beautiful Epicaste, who did a monstrous thing in the ignorance of her mind: she married her own son, and he married her after killing his own father; and soon the gods made it known among men. He, suffering pains, went on ruling the Cadmeans in lovely Thebes, through the deadly counsels of the gods; but she went down to the house of Hades, the strong gatekeeper, tying a noose from a high roof beam, held fast by her grief; and to him she left pains behind, very many, all that a mother’s Erinyes bring to pass.

281 And I saw Chloris, the very beautiful, whom Neleus once married for her beauty, when he had given countless bride-gifts: the youngest daughter of Amphion son of Iasus, who once ruled in might at Minyan Orchomenus. She was queen in Pylos, and bore him glorious children, Nestor and Chromius and proud Periclymenus; and besides them she bore stately Pero, a wonder to mortals, whom all the neighbors courted. But Neleus would not give her to anyone who could not drive off from Phylace the cattle of mighty Iphicles, with curving horns and broad foreheads, hard to win. Only the excellent prophet undertook to drive them off; but a hard fate from a god bound him fast, cruel bonds and the herdsmen of the fields. But when the months and days were fulfilled as the year came round again, and the seasons returned, then mighty Iphicles set him free, when he had told him all the prophecies; and the will of Zeus was accomplished.

298 And I saw Leda, the wife of Tyndareus, who bore to Tyndareus two sons with strong hearts, Castor, tamer of horses, and Polydeuces, good with his fists. The life-giving earth holds them both alive. Even beneath the earth they have honor from Zeus: one day they live, and the next day they are dead in turn; and they have won honor equal to the gods.

305 And after her I saw Iphimedeia, the wife of Aloeus, who said she had lain with Poseidon. She bore two sons, but they were short-lived, godlike Otus and far-famed Ephialtes, the tallest men the grain-giving land ever nourished, and by far the most handsome after famous Orion. At nine years old they were nine cubits across and nine fathoms tall. They even threatened the immortals on Olympus that they would raise the din of furious war against them. They were eager to pile Ossa on Olympus, and on Ossa Pelion with its quivering leaves, so that the sky might be climbed. And they would have done it, if they had reached the full measure of youth; but the son of Zeus, whom fair-haired Leto bore, destroyed them both, before the down had bloomed beneath their temples and covered their chins with a fine growth of beard.

321 And I saw Phaedra and Procris and beautiful Ariadne, daughter of baleful-minded Minos, whom Theseus once tried to bring from Crete to the hill of sacred Athens; but he had no joy of her, for before that Artemis killed her in sea-washed Dia, on the word of Dionysus.

326 And I saw Maera and Clymene and hateful Eriphyle, who took precious gold as the price of her own husband’s life. But I could not tell of them all or name them all, all the wives and daughters of heroes that I saw; before that, immortal night would wane. And it is time to sleep, either at the swift ship with my companions or here; my passage will be the concern of the gods and of you.

333 So he spoke, and they all fell silent and were still, and throughout the shadowy halls they were held spellbound. Then white-armed Arete began to speak among them:

336 “Phaeacians, how does this man seem to you, in looks and stature and in the balanced mind within him? He is my guest, though each of you shares in the honor. So do not be in a hurry to send him away, and do not stint your gifts to a man in such need; for you have many possessions stored in your halls by the favor of the gods.”

342 And the old hero Echeneus spoke among them, the eldest of the Phaeacian men: “Friends, what our prudent queen says is not wide of the mark or of what we would expect. Do as she says. But on Alcinous here depend both deed and word.”

347 Then Alcinous answered him and said: “This word shall be so, as surely as I live and rule over the oar-loving Phaeacians. But let our guest, much as he longs for his homecoming, bear to stay on until tomorrow, until I have made up the whole of his gift. His passage home shall be the concern of all the men, and mine above all, for mine is the power in this land.”

354 Odysseus of many wiles answered him: “Lord Alcinous, most renowned of all the people, if you told me to stay here even for a year, and arranged my passage and gave me glorious gifts, I would be willing, and it would be far better to come to my dear native land with a fuller hand. I would be more respected and more loved by all the men who saw me come home to Ithaca.”

362 Then Alcinous answered him and said: “Odysseus, when we look at you we do not take you for a cheat or a swindler, such as the black earth breeds in great numbers, men scattered far and wide who fashion lies out of things no one could ever see. You have grace in your words and good sense within, and you have told your tale with skill, like a bard, the grievous sorrows of all the Argives and of yourself. But come, tell me this, and tell it truly: did you see any of your godlike companions who went with you to Ilion and met their fate there? The night is very long, beyond telling, and it is not yet time to sleep in the hall. Tell me of these wondrous deeds. I could hold out until bright Dawn, if you would bear to tell me your sorrows here in the hall.”

377 Odysseus of many wiles answered him: “Lord Alcinous, most renowned of all the people, there is a time for many words, and a time also for sleep. But if you still long to listen, I would not grudge to tell you of these things, and of others more pitiful still, the sorrows of my companions who perished afterward, who escaped the grim war cry of the Trojans but perished on their homecoming through the will of an evil woman.”

385 When chaste Persephone had scattered the spirits of the women this way and that, then came the spirit of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, grieving; and around him were gathered the others, all who had died with him in the house of Aegisthus and met their fate. He knew me at once, when he had drunk the dark blood, and he wept aloud, shedding big tears, and stretched out his hands toward me, eager to reach me. But he no longer had any strength or power left, such as there had once been in his supple limbs.

395 When I saw him I wept, and pitied him in my heart, and I spoke to him, and my words had wings: “Most glorious son of Atreus, Agamemnon, lord of men, what doom of death that lays men out at length overcame you? Did Poseidon overcome you among your ships, rousing the cruel blast of savage winds? Or did hostile men do you harm on land, as you were cutting off their cattle and their fine flocks of sheep, or fighting for a city and its women?”

404 So I spoke, and he answered me at once: “Son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, resourceful Odysseus, Poseidon did not overcome me among my ships, rousing the cruel blast of savage winds, nor did hostile men do me harm on land. It was Aegisthus who contrived my death and doom and killed me, with the help of my accursed wife, when he had invited me to his house and given me dinner, as a man kills an ox at the manger. So I died the most pitiful death, and around me my other companions were killed relentlessly, like white-tusked swine killed in the house of a rich and very powerful man, for a wedding or a shared meal or a lavish feast. You have been present before now at the slaughter of many men, killed in single combat or in the press of battle; but you would have grieved in your heart above all to see that sight, how we lay in the hall around the mixing bowl and the loaded tables, and the whole floor steamed with blood. And the most pitiful cry I heard was that of Priam’s daughter, Cassandra, whom guileful Clytemnestra killed over my body; and I, lying on the ground, raised my hands and beat the earth, dying, with the sword through me. But the dog-faced woman turned away, and did not bring herself, though I was going down to the house of Hades, to close my eyes with her hands or shut my mouth. So true it is that there is nothing more terrible or more shameless than a woman who sets her mind on such deeds as these, as she plotted that unspeakable deed and contrived the murder of the husband of her youth. I had thought, truly, that I would come home welcome to my children and my servants; but she, with her mind set on utter wickedness, has poured shame on herself and on all women who will come after, even on one who is a good woman.”

435 So he spoke, and I answered him: “Ah! Truly, far-seeing Zeus has hated the race of Atreus terribly from the beginning, through the schemes of women. For Helen’s sake many of us perished, and Clytemnestra laid a trap for you while you were far away.”

440 So I spoke, and he answered me at once: “So now you too must never be gentle even with your wife, and never tell her every word you know well; tell her one thing, and keep another hidden. But not for you, Odysseus, will death come from your wife; for she is very wise and has good sense in her heart, the daughter of Icarius, prudent Penelope. She was a young bride when we left her as we went to the war, and there was a child at her breast, an infant, who now, I suppose, sits among the number of the men, a happy man; for his dear father will see him when he comes, and he will embrace his father, as is right. But my wife would not even let me feast my eyes on my son; before that she killed me myself. And I will tell you something else, and you lay it to heart: bring your ship in to your dear native land in secret, not openly; for there is no trusting women any more. But come, tell me this, and tell it truly: have you heard anything of my son, that he is still alive, in Orchomenus perhaps, or in sandy Pylos, or perhaps with Menelaus in wide Sparta? For noble Orestes has not yet died upon the earth.”

462 So he spoke, and I answered him: “Son of Atreus, why do you ask me this? I do not know at all whether he is alive or dead; and it is wrong to babble empty words.”

465 So we two stood exchanging sad words, grieving and shedding big tears. Then came the spirit of Achilles, son of Peleus, and of Patroclus, and of excellent Antilochus, and of Ajax, who in looks and build was the best of all the Danaans after the excellent son of Peleus. And the spirit of the swift-footed grandson of Aeacus knew me, and lamenting he spoke to me, and his words had wings:

473 “Son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, resourceful Odysseus, reckless man, what greater deed than this will you devise in your heart? How did you dare to come down to Hades, where the dead dwell without their wits, the phantoms of men worn out by life?”

477 So he spoke, and I answered him: “Achilles, son of Peleus, by far the mightiest of the Achaeans, I came because I needed Tiresias, to see if he would tell me some plan by which I might reach rugged Ithaca. For I have not yet come near the land of Achaea, nor yet set foot on our own country; I am always in trouble. But no man, Achilles, has ever been more blessed than you, or ever will be. Before, when you were alive, we Argives honored you as equal to the gods, and now here you are a great power among the dead. So do not grieve at being dead, Achilles.”

487 So I spoke, and he answered me at once: “Do not try to console me for death, shining Odysseus. I would rather be a laborer on the land, hired out to another man, some man with no land of his own and not much to live on, than be lord over all the dead who have perished. But come, tell me some news of my noble son: did he follow me to the war to be a leader, or not? And tell me of excellent Peleus, if you have heard anything: does he still have his honor among the many Myrmidons, or do they slight him throughout Hellas and Phthia, because old age binds him hand and foot? For I am not there to help him under the rays of the sun, such as I was once in wide Troy, when I killed the best of their army, defending the Argives. If only I could come like that, even for a little while, to my father’s house! Then I would make my strength and my invincible hands hateful to any of those who do him violence and keep him from his honor.”

504 So he spoke, and I answered him: “Of excellent Peleus I have heard nothing; but of your dear son Neoptolemus I will tell you the whole truth, as you ask me. For I myself brought him in my hollow, balanced ship from Scyros to join the well-greaved Achaeans. Whenever we took counsel around the city of Troy, he was always first to speak, and his words never missed the mark; only godlike Nestor and I surpassed him. And whenever we fought with the bronze on the Trojan plain, he never stayed back in the mass of men or in the throng, but ran far out in front, yielding to no one in his fury, and he killed many men in grim combat. I could not tell of them all or name them all, all the men he killed defending the Argives; but only what a man he cut down with the bronze, the son of Telephus, the hero Eurypylus! And many of his companions, the Ceteians, were killed around him, all for a woman’s gifts. He was the most handsome man I ever saw, after noble Memnon. And when we, the best of the Argives, were going down into the horse that Epeius made, and the whole command was given to me, to open and close our close-packed ambush, then the other leaders and counselors of the Danaans were wiping away tears, and each man’s legs trembled beneath him; but him I never once saw with my eyes go pale in his fair skin or wipe a tear from his cheeks. Again and again he begged me to let him out of the horse, and he kept feeling for the hilt of his sword and his spear heavy with bronze, and his heart was set on harm for the Trojans. And when we had sacked the steep city of Priam, he went on board his ship with his share and a fine prize, unscathed, never hit by the sharp bronze from afar or wounded in close fighting, as so often happens in war, for Ares rages blindly.”

538 So I spoke, and the spirit of the swift-footed grandson of Aeacus went away with long strides across the asphodel meadow, rejoicing because I had told him that his son was renowned.

541 And the other spirits of the dead who had perished stood there grieving, and each one asked me about its own sorrows. Only the spirit of Ajax, son of Telamon, stood apart, still angry because of the victory I had won over him when I pleaded my case by the ships for the armor of Achilles. His lady mother had set it as a prize, and the sons of the Trojans and Pallas Athena were the judges. I wish I had never won in such a contest; for because of that armor the earth closed over such a man, Ajax, who in looks and in deeds was above all the other Danaans, after the excellent son of Peleus. I spoke to him with honeyed words:

553 “Ajax, son of excellent Telamon, were you not to forget your anger against me even in death, because of that accursed armor? The gods made it a bane for the Argives, for in you they lost so great a tower of strength; and we Achaeans grieve for your death without ceasing, as much as for the life of Achilles, son of Peleus. No one else is to blame but Zeus, who hated the army of Danaan spearmen terribly and laid this doom on you. But come here, my lord, so that you may hear my word and what I have to say. Master your fury and your proud heart.”

563 So I spoke, but he made no answer, and went away after the other spirits of the dead who had perished, into Erebus. Even so he might have spoken to me then, angry as he was, or I to him; but the heart in my breast wanted to see the spirits of the other dead.

568 There I saw Minos, the glorious son of Zeus, holding a golden scepter, giving judgment among the dead from his seat; and they, sitting and standing around the lord, asked him for his judgments throughout the wide-gated house of Hades.

572 And after him I caught sight of huge Orion, driving together across the asphodel meadow the wild beasts that he himself had killed on the lonely mountains, holding a club all of bronze, forever unbroken.

576 And I saw Tityus, son of glorious Earth, lying on the ground. He lay stretched over nine acres, and two vultures sat on either side of him and tore at his liver, plunging their beaks into his bowels, and he could not beat them off with his hands. For he had laid violent hands on Leto, the glorious wife of Zeus, as she was going to Pytho through Panopeus with its lovely dancing floors.

582 And I saw Tantalus in harsh torment, standing in a lake, and the water came up to his chin. He stood there straining in his thirst, but he could not reach the water to drink. For every time the old man stooped down, eager to drink, the water was swallowed up and vanished, and the black earth showed around his feet, for some god dried it up. And over his head tall leafy trees let their fruit hang down, pears and pomegranates and apple trees with shining fruit, and sweet figs and luxuriant olives; but whenever the old man reached out to grasp them with his hands, the wind would toss them up toward the shadowy clouds.

593 And I saw Sisyphus in harsh torment, heaving a huge stone with both his arms. Bracing himself with hands and feet, he would push the stone up toward the crest of a hill; but whenever he was about to heave it over the top, then its overwhelming weight would turn it back, and down again to the plain the ruthless stone would roll. And he would strain and push it up again, and the sweat poured from his limbs, and the dust rose up from his head.

601 And after him I caught sight of mighty Heracles, his phantom; for he himself is among the immortal gods, taking his pleasure at their feasts, and he has for his wife Hebe of the lovely ankles, the child of great Zeus and of Hera of the golden sandals. Around him rose a clamor of the dead like the clamor of birds, scattering in terror on every side; and he, like the black night, with his bow bare and an arrow on the string, glared terribly around him, like a man always about to shoot. And terrible was the baldric around his chest, a strap of gold on which wondrous things were wrought, bears and wild boars and lions with flashing eyes, and battles and fights and murders and the slaying of men. May the man who fashioned that baldric with his art never have fashioned, nor ever fashion, another like it. He knew me in his turn when he saw me with his eyes, and lamenting he spoke to me, and his words had wings:

617 “Son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, resourceful Odysseus, ah, poor wretch, are you too dragging out some evil fate, such as I endured beneath the rays of the sun? I was the son of Zeus, son of Cronus, but I had misery without end; for I was made subject to a far lesser man, and he laid hard labors on me. Once he even sent me here to fetch the hound, for he could think of no other labor harder than this. And I brought the hound up and led him out of Hades; and Hermes guided me, and gray-eyed Athena.”

627 So saying, he went back into the house of Hades; but I stayed there, steadfast, in case any other of the heroes who had perished in earlier days might still come. And I would have seen still other men of former times, whom I wanted to see, Theseus and Peirithous, glorious children of the gods; but before that the countless tribes of the dead came thronging with an unearthly cry, and pale fear took hold of me that noble Persephone might send up from Hades against me the Gorgon’s head, the head of that dreadful monster.

636 At once I went to the ship and ordered my companions to come aboard themselves and loose the stern cables. Quickly they went aboard and sat down at the oarlocks. And the swell of the current carried the ship down the river Ocean, with rowing at first, and afterward a fair wind.