Chapter VIII: Part 8

And now the queen was astonished in her turn, and cried out with shame that she had been so cruelly deceived. Then the keeper of the door, who was the same that had been sent with the letter, came forward and told the truth regarding the whole matter. And Clytemnestra cried to Achilles, "O son of the silver-footed Thetis! Help me and help my daughter Iphigenia, in this time of sorest need! For we have no friend in all this host, and none in whom we can confide but thee."

Achilles answered, "Long time ago I was a pupil of old Cheiron the most righteous of men, and from him I learned to be honest and true. If Agamemnon rule according to right, then I will obey him; but not otherwise. And now since thy daughter was brought to this place under pretence of giving her to me as my bride, I will see that she shall not be slain, neither shall any one dare take her from me."

On the following day, while Agamemnon sat grief-stricken in his tent, the maiden came before him carrying the babe Orestes in her arms; and she cast herself upon her knees at his feet, and caressing his hands, she thus besought him: "Would, dear father, that I had the voice of Orpheus, to whom even the rocks did listen! then I would persuade thee. O father! I am thy child. I was the first to call thee 'Father,' and the first to whom thou saidst 'My child.'"

The father turned his face away, and wept; he could not speak for sadness. Then the maiden went on: "O, father, hear me! thou to whom my voice was once so sweet that thou wouldst waken me to hear my prattle amid the songs of birds when it was meaningless as theirs. And when I was older grown, then thou wouldst say to me, 'Some day, my birdling, thou shalt have a nest of thy own, a home of which thou shalt be the mistress.' And I did answer, 'Yes, dear father, and when thou art old I will care for thee, and pay thee with all my heart for the kindness thou dost show me.' But now thou hast forgotten it all, and art ready to slay my young life."

A deep groan burst from the lips of the mighty king, but he spoke not a word. Then after a death-like silence broken only by the deep breathings of father and child, Iphigenia spoke again: "My father, can there be any prayer more pure and more persuasive than that of a maiden for her father's welfare? and when the cruel knife shall strike me down, thou wilt have one daughter less to pray for thee." A shudder shook the frame of Agamemnon, but he answered not a word.

At that moment Achilles entered. He had come in haste from the tents beside the shore, and he spoke in hurried, anxious accents.

"Behold," said he, "a great tumult has arisen in the camp; for Calchas has given out among the men that you refuse to do what Artemis has bidden, and that hence these delays and troubles have arisen. And the rude soldiers are crying out against you, and declaring that the maiden must die. When I would have stayed their anger, they took up stones to stone me,--my own Myrmidons among the rest. And now they are making ready to move upon your tent, threatening to sacrifice you also with your daughter. But I will fight for you to the utmost, and the maiden shall not die."

As he was speaking, Calchas entered, and, grasping the wrist of the pleading maiden, lifted her to her feet. She looked up, and saw his stony face and hard cold eyes; and turning again to Agamemnon, she said, "O father, the ships shall sail, for I will die for thee."

Then Achilles said to her, "Fair maiden, thou art by far the noblest and most lovely of thy sex. Fain would I save thee from this fate, even though every man in Hellas be against me. Fly with me quickly to my long-oared galley, and I will carry thee safely away from this accursed place."

"Not so," answered Iphigenia: "I will give up my life for my father and this land of the Hellenes, and no man shall suffer for me."

And the pitiless priest led her through the throng of rude soldiers, to the grove of Artemis, wherein an altar had been built. But Achilles and Agamemnon covered their faces with their mantles, and staid inside the tent. Then Talthybius the herald stood up, and bade the warriors keep silence; and Calchas put a garland of sweet-smelling flowers about the victim's head.

"Let no man touch me," said the maiden, "for I offer my neck to the sword with right good will, that so my father may live and prosper."

In silence and great awe, the warriors stood around, while Calchas drew a sharp knife from its scabbard. But, lo! as he struck, the maiden was not there; and in her stead, a noble deer lay dying on the altar. Then the old soothsayer cried out in triumphant tones, "See now, ye men of Hellas, how the gods have provided for you a sacrifice, and saved the innocent daughter of the king!" And all the people shouted with joy; and in that self-same hour, a strong breeze came down the Euripus, and filled the idle sails of the waiting ships.

"To Troy! to Troy!" cried the Hellenes; and every man hastened aboard his vessel.

How it was that fair Iphigenia escaped the knife; by whom she was saved, or whither she went,--no one knew. Some say that Artemis carried her away to the land of the Taurians, where she had a temple and an altar; and that, long years afterward, her brother Orestes found her there, and bore her back to her girlhood's home, even to Mycenae. But whether this be true or not, I know that there have been maidens as noble, as loving, as innocent as she, who have given up their lives in order to make this world a purer and happier place in which to live; and these are not dead, but live in the grateful memories of those whom they loved and saved.

_*ADVENTURE XXI*_*.*

*THE LONG SIEGE.*

The great fleet sailed once more across the sea, piloted now by Telephus, the king of Mysia; and the ships of Achilles and those of Philoctetes of Meliboea led all the rest. When they had put a little more than half the distance behind them, they came to the isle of Chryse, where were a fair temple and altars built in honor of Athene. Here many of the heroes landed; and while some were busied in refilling the water-casks from the springs of fresh water near the shore, others went up to the temple and offered gifts and heartfelt thanks to Pallas Athene. But as Philoctetes, the cunning archer, stood near one of the altars, a water-snake came out of the rocks and bit him on the foot. Terrible, indeed, was the wound, and great were the hero's sufferings; day and night he groaned and cried aloud by reason of the bitter pain; and there was no physician that could heal him of the grievous hurt. In a few days, a noisome stench began to issue from the wound, and the hero's complainings waxed so loud and piteous that the warriors stopped their ears, so that they might not hear them. Then the chiefs took counsel as to what it were best to do with him; and, although some advised that he be cast into the sea, it was thought best to follow a milder course, and leave him alone on the isle of Lemnos. Hence, while the hero slept, Odysseus and his men carried him on shore; and they laid his great bow, even the bow of Heracles, by his side upon the sand, and put a cask of water and a basket of food within easy reach of his hand. Then they sailed away, and left him alone in his great distress and sorrow.

At length the shores of Ilios were reached, and the high towers of Troy were seen. Then the sails of the vessels were furled and laid away in the roomy holds, the masts were lowered with speed, and the oarsmen seated themselves upon the benches and rowed the ships forward until they stood in one line, stretching more than a league along the shore. But as they drew nearer the sea-beach, the heroes saw all the plain before them covered with armed men and horses and chariots drawn up to hinder their landing. And they paused, uncertain what to do; for Calchas the soothsayer had declared that he who should first step foot upon the shores of Ilios should meet a sudden death.

"Who among all the heroes will dare be the first to die for Hellas?" was the anxious question heard on every vessel. Not a man was there who was not willing and ready to be the second one to step on shore; but who would be the first? The Trojan host now began to shoot their arrows toward the ships, and to taunt the Hellenes with cowardice. Yet even Achilles and Ajax Telamon, the mightiest of the heroes, fell back and would not take the fearful risk of beginning the fight. Then Protesilaus, who had led forty black ships from Phylace and the shore of Antrona, seeing that some one must die for the cause, leaped boldly out of the ship upon the shelving beach. At once a hundred arrows whistled through the air, and glanced from his sevenfold shield of ox-hide; and a heavy spear, thrown by Hector, the mightiest of the Trojans, pierced his fair armor, and laid him bleeding and dead upon the sand. Quickly the warriors leaped ashore; face to face and hand to hand they fought with the Trojan host; and, led by Achilles and by Diomede of the loud war-cry, they drove their foes across the plain and even through the city gates.

But Protesilaus lay dead upon the beach; and few of the heroes remembered that to him they owed their victory. And when his newly-wedded wife, fair Laodamia, heard in far Phylace that he had fallen first in the fight, she dight herself in mourning and went to pray at the shrine of mighty Zeus. And the prayer which she offered was that she might see her husband once again, and holding his hand, might talk with him if it were only for the space of three hours. Then Hermes led the war-loving hero back to the upper world; and he sat in his bridal chamber, and spoke sweet words of comfort to Laodamia. But when the short hours were past, and the messenger came to lead Protesilaus back to the land of shades, his wife prayed that she might return with him. And men say that this prayer, also, was heard, and that arm in arm the two went forth together to their shadowy home in Hades.

Time would fail me to tell you how the Greeks encamped upon the plain of Troy, and how for more than nine long years they laid siege to that great city. Neither can I speak of the ruinous wrath of Achilles which brought so much woe upon the Hellenes; for of that you will read in the oldest and grandest poem that the world has ever known,--the Iliad of Homer. And there, also, you will read of the death of Patroclus; and of the vengeance which Achilles wrought, even by the slaying of godlike Hector; and of the mighty deeds of Diomede and of Ajax and of Agamemnon on the plains of Troy; and of the shrewd counsels and crafty schemes of Odysseus, who, though in strength surpassing other men, learned to trust rather to his skill in words than to his mastery of arms.

The time at length drew near when that which had been spoken concerning the doom of Achilles was to be fulfilled. For, when he saw that he, more than all the Hellenes, was held in dread by the Trojans, his heart was puffed up with unseemly pride, and he boasted of his deeds, and spoke of himself as greater even than Phoebus Apollo. Then the archer-god was greatly angered, and no longer covered him with his great shield of protection, but left him to his doom. Hence, on a day, when he stood before the Scaean gate, and taunted the Trojans on the walls, a mighty spear smote him, and pierced his heart. Some say that the weapon was thrown by Paris, the perfidious one who had caused this bloody war; and others say that far-darting Apollo in his wrath launched the fatal bolt. The body of Achilles incased in his glorious armor lay all day long in the dust, while Hellenes and Trojans fought around it, and neither could gain the mastery, or carry away the ghastly prize. At length a great storm burst upon the combatants: the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, the rain and hail fell in blinding torrents; and the Trojans withdrew behind their walls. Then the Hellenes lifted the body of Achilles, and carried it to their ships; and, stripping it of his matchless armor, they laid it on a couch, and standing around it, they bewailed his untimely death. And his mother, silver-footed Thetis, came across the waves with all the sea-nymphs in her train; and, while she wept over the body of her child, the nymphs arrayed it in shining robes which they themselves had woven in their coral caves. Then, after many days and nights of bitter lamentation, the Hellenes built a great funeral pile upon the beach; and they laid the hero thereon, and set fire to it, and the flames leaped high over the sea, and Achilles was no more. Then Thetis took the hero's glorious armor, and set it up as a prize to that one who should excel in feats of strength and skill in a grand trial to be made beside the ships. Only two of all the host stood up for the trial,--Ajax Telamon and Odysseus; for no other man dared contend with either of these. Mighty indeed was the contest; but in the end Odysseus prevailed, and the matchless armor was awarded him. Then, when Ajax knew that he had been beaten in the suit,--and beaten not more by honest strength and skill than by crafty guile,--he fell prone upon the earth, and his great mind lost its balance. And when he arose to his feet, he knew no longer his friends and comrades, nor did he remember any thing. But like a roaring wild beast, he rushed from the tents into the fields and pasture lands; and, seeing a flock of sheep browsing among the herbage, he fell upon them with his sword, and slaughtered great numbers of them, fancying that they were foemen seeking his life. Nor did any man dare say any thing to him, or try in any way to check him, or turn him aside from his mad freaks. When he grew tired, at length, of slaughtering the helpless beasts, he went down into a green dell, and fell upon his own sword. A great stream of blood gushed from the wound, and dyed the earth, and from it sprang a purple flower bearing upon its edges both the initials of his name and a sign of woe, the letters [Greek: ai].

Then Odysseus bewailed his comrade's unhappy death. "Would that I had never prevailed, and won that prize!" he cried. "So goodly a head hath the earth closed over for the sake of these arms, even that of Ajax, who in beauty and in feats of war was of a mould far above all other men, save only peerless Achilles. What a tower of strength wert thou! Long indeed shall it be ere Hellas shall see another like thee!"[1]

[1] See Note 16 at the end of this volume.

After this the Hellenes began to despair; for many of their noblest heroes had perished. Who now should lead them on to victory? Surely not Patroclus, nor Achilles, nor Ajax. Bitter murmurings were heard among the ships, and the men declared that ere another moon should pass, they would embark and sail back to their loved homes, nor ask the leave of Agamemnon.

At the foot of Mount Ida there stood a temple of Apollo, built by the Trojans while yet sweet Peace was smiling on the land. To that temple Helenus the wise soothsayer, one of Priam's sons, was wont to go, stealing out from the city in the darkness of midnight, and returning ere the gray dawn of morning appeared. He went there that he might learn from Apollo the secrets of the future, and he fondly hoped that his going was unknown to the foes of Troy. But shrewd Odysseus found him out; and one night, with a band of men, he lay in wait for the prophet-prince, and took him captive.

"This is a rich treasure that we have taken," said Odysseus, "and it shall repay us for all our losses."

Helenus was straightway taken to the camp. Around him gathered the heroes,--Agamemnon, Nestor, Menelaus, and all the rest,--demanding that he should uncover the secrets of the future.

"When and how shall the Hellenes overcome your city of Troy?" said Odysseus. "Tell us this, and tell us truly, or death in its fearfullest form shall come upon thee swiftly."

Then the trembling seer revealed to his enemies that which he had learned at Apollo's shrine. He told them that within the present year the Hellenes would certainly prevail if only they did three things, without which Troy could never be taken. First, the Palladion, the monster image of Athene, must be removed from the temple in the city, and set up in the camp by the seashore. Second, young Pyrrhus the son of Achilles must be brought from his island-home of Scyros to take the place of his father at the head of the Myrmidon host. And third, Philoctetes, who had been so deeply wronged by the chiefs, and left to perish on the desert shores of Lemnos, must be found and brought to Troy, and healed of his grievous wound.

"These are great tasks and heavy," said Odysseus. "Nevertheless I will undertake to see them performed."

Then he ordered a swift ship to be made ready; and with old Phoinix as companion, and a score of trusted fighting-men, he went on board, and sailed at once for Scyros the quondam home of great Achilles. Ten days afterward he returned, bringing with him the lad Pyrrhus, so like his glorious father in face and figure that the Myrmidons hailed him at once as their chief and king.

"Thus have I done one of the three tasks," said Odysseus. "I shall perform the other two, mayhap as easily, and then the high walls of Troy shall fall before us."

Three days later the swift ship of Odysseus again put to sea; and young Pyrrhus was the hero's comrade. It was but a short voyage to Lemnos; and, when they reached that island, they moored their vessel in the sheltering cove close by the spot where, nine years before, the suffering Philoctetes had been left. Odysseus concealed himself, and sent the young prince on shore with some of the warriors who had come with them; for he rightly guessed that Philoctetes had not forgotten the wrong which he had suffered at his hands.

Pyrrhus found the hero living alone in a wretched cave with no friend but the mighty bow of Heracles, and suffering still great torments from the horrid wound in his foot. Yet the prince could not prevail upon him to sail to Troy; for he said that he would rather endure the distress, the hunger, and the loneliness which were his in Lemnos, than meet again those false friends who had left him there to die. Then Odysseus came forth from his hiding-place, with a company of men, to seize the hero and carry him by force on board the vessel. But this the young prince would not permit; and Philoctetes, when he saw them, fled into the innermost parts of his cave, and would not come forth. When Odysseus found that neither threats nor entreaties would prevail upon the hero, he went back to his ship, and made ready to return to Troy. Then it was that a vision appeared to Philoctetes,--a vision of mighty Heracles clothed in bright raiment, and a great glory shining in his face.

"Go thou to the land of Ilios," said the vision. "There thou shalt first be healed of thy grievous sickness; and afterwards thou shalt do great deeds, and shalt aid in taking the city; and the first prize of valor shall be awarded to thee among all the heroes. For it is the will of the immortals that Troy shall be taken, and that my bow shall mightily aid in its overthrow."

Then Philoctetes went forth from his hiding-place, and was taken on board the vessel. And as the sails were spread, and the breezes wafted them towards the Trojan shore, he bade a tearful farewell to Lemnos, where he had spent so many years of loneliness and sorrow:--

"Farewell to thee, O home that didst befriend me when others failed! Farewell, ye nymphs that haunt the meadows and the shore, or dwell beside the gushing mountain springs. Farewell, O cave that oft hast been my shelter from the winter's frosty winds and the sweltering rays of the summer's sun. I leave you now; and thou, O sea-girt Lemnos, I may never more behold! And grant, ye gods, that favoring winds may blow, and carry me safely wheresoe'er the Fates would have me go!"

As soon as the heroes reached the Trojan shore, and the ship was drawn to its place high on the beach, Philoctetes was carried to the tents, and given in charge of Machaon, Asclepius' noble son. And as he lay upon a cot in the tent of the kind physician, a sweet odor, like that of blossoming orchards and the bloom of clover, filled the air around him, and he slept; and men said that the spirit of Asclepius had fanned him into slumber. Then Machaon, with matchless skill, cut out the poisoned flesh from his foot, and cleansed it, and bound it up with soft linen. And when the hero awoke, the pain had left him; and the wound from which he had suffered such untold torments began at once to heal.

It chanced one day as Philoctetes was sitting outside of his tent, that a party of Trojans led by Paris made a sally from the city gates, and came scouring across the plain, intent on doing mischief to the Hellenes. As the daring warriors drew near the tents, Philoctetes fitted an arrow to the great bow of Heracles, and took aim at their fair-faced leader. The deadly dart pierced the shoulder of Paris, and he fell headlong from his chariot; and there he would have met his death, had not his comrades quickly rallied, and carried him, faint with pain, back to the city and his father's halls. Terrible were the tortures which the hero suffered, for the arrow was one of those which Heracles had poisoned by dipping in the blood of the hydra. The venom sped through his burning veins; his strength failed him; the torments of a thousand deaths seemed to be upon him. Then he forgot fair Helen, for whose sake was all this war and bloodshed; and he bethought him of gentle OEnone, whom, in the innocent days of youth, he had wooed and won in the pleasant dales of Ida. And he cried aloud, "Bring to me OEnone, her whom I have so grievously wronged! She alone can heal me of my hurt!"

Then swift messengers were sent to the woody slopes of Ida, to find, if it might be, the long-deserted, long-forgotten wife. "Come quickly and save thy erring but repentant husband,"--such was the message,--"behold, he suffers from a grievous wound! But thou art skilled in the healing art above all who dwell in Ilios; and he prays that, forgiving all wrong, thou wilt hasten to help him."

When OEnone heard the message, she remembered the cruel wrongs which she had endured so long at the hands of faithless Paris; and without a word in answer, she turned away and went about her daily tasks in her humble cottage home. Then the messengers returned to Troy, and told the prince that OEnone would not come to help him. And Paris, with a groan of pain and a sigh of despair, turned his face to the wall, and died.

Then OEnone, too late, repented that she had turned a deaf ear to her husband's last request. And in haste she clad herself in her wedding robes, and came to the sad halls of the prince, not knowing that death had taken him. Fair and beautiful as in the days of her youth, she stood before his lifeless form. She took his cold hands in her warm palm, and said, "I have come, O Paris! Waken, and speak to me! Dost thou not remember me,--OEnone, whom thou didst woo in the flowery dells of Ida? I am still the same, and never have I wronged thee. Speak to me, O Paris!" Then she knelt beside him, and saw the gaping wound which the arrow of Philoctetes had made; and she knew that life had fled, and that the hero never more would waken or speak to her. And the gentle heart of OEnone was broken with the anguish which came upon her; and when the men of Troy laid Paris upon the funeral pile, and the smoke and flame arose towards heaven, the fair, perfidious prince was not alone, for OEnone shared his blazing couch.

While Troy was in mourning for the unhappy death of Paris, Odysseus and Diomede were planning the means by which to obtain the sacred image of Athene--the Palladion of Troy. In the guise of a ragged beggar, Odysseus found his way into the city, and to the door of the temple where the great image stood.

"Ah, Odysseus! I know thee despite thy rags!" was whispered into his ear, as a fair hand offered him a pittance. He looked up, and saw the peerless Helen before him, as beautiful as when, a score of years before, the princes of Hellas had sued for her hand at the court of old Tyndareus.

"Be not afraid," she said, "I will not betray you."

And then she told him how unhappy she had been in Troy, and how she longed to return to her countrymen and to her much-wronged husband Menelaus. And she promised to aid him in whatever way she could, to carry off the treasured Palladion, and to open the way for the overthrow of Troy. Odysseus, shrewdest of men, talked not long with the princess, but soon returned to the camp. Three nights later, he and Diomede made their way by stealth into the city, and carried away the priceless Palladion.

And now the three tasks which Helenus had spoken of, had been performed. What more remained ere the doomed city should be overthrown? The chiefs must needs again consult with shrewd Odysseus; and the plan which he proposed was carried out. A wooden horse, of wondrous size, was made; and in it the doughtiest heroes of the host, with young Pyrrhus as their leader, hid themselves. Then the rest of the Hellenes embarked, with all their goods, aboard their ships, and sailed away beyond the wooded shores of Tenedos. But the monster horse, with its hidden load of heroes, stood alone upon the beach.

When the Trojans, looking from their high towers, beheld their enemies depart, they were filled with joy; and, opening wide their gates, they poured out of the city, and crowded across the plain, anxious to see the wonderful horse,--the only relic which their foes had left upon their shores. While they were gazing upon it, and hazarding many a guess at its purpose and use, a prisoner was brought before the chiefs. It was Sinon, a young Hellene, who had been found lurking among the rocks by the shore. Trembling with pretended fear, he told the Trojans a sad, false story, of wrongs which he said he had suffered at the hands of Odysseus.

"But what meaneth this monster image of a horse? Tell us that," said the Trojan chiefs.

Then Sinon told them how the Hellenes had suffered great punishment at the hands of Athene, because they had stolen the sacred Palladion of Troy, and how it was on this account that they had at last given up the siege of Troy, and had sailed away for their homes in distant Hellas. And he told them, too, of the words of Calchas the soothsayer; that they should leave on the shores of Ilios an image which should serve the same purpose to those who honored it, as the sacred Palladion had served within the walls of Troy; and that if the Trojans should revere this figure, and set it up within their walls, it would prove a tower of strength to them, insuring eternal greatness to Troy, and utter destruction to Hellas.

Need I tell you how this artful story deceived the Trojans, and how with shouts of triumph they dragged the great image into the city? Need I tell you how, in the darkness of the night, the fleet returned from Tenedos, and the mighty host again landed upon the Trojan shore; or how the heroes, concealed within the wooden horse, came out of their hiding-place, and opened the gates to their friends outside; or how the Hellenes fell upon the astonished Trojans, awakened so suddenly from a false dream of peace; or how, with sword and torch, they slew and burned, and meted out the doom of the fated city? It was thus that the princes of Hellas performed the oath which they had sworn, years and years before, in the halls of King Tyndareus; and it was thus that the wrongs of Menelaus were avenged, fair Helen was given back to her husband, and the honor of Hellas was freed from blemish.

*THE AFTER WORD.*

And now, if you would learn more concerning the great heroes of the Golden Age, you must read the noble poems in which the story of their deeds is told. In the Iliad of Homer, truly the grandest of all poems written by men, you will read of what befell the Greeks before the walls of Troy,--of the daring of Diomede; of the wisdom of Nestor; of the shrewdness of Odysseus; of the foolish pride of Agamemnon; of the nobility of Hector; of the grief of old King Priam; of the courage of Achilles. In the AEneid of Virgil, you will read of the last day of the long siege, and the fatal folly of the Trojans; of crafty Sinon; of the sad end of Laocoon, who dared suspect the object of the wooden horse; of the destruction of the mighty city; and of the wanderings of AEneas and the remnant of the Trojans until they had founded a new city on the far Lavinian shore. In the tragedies of AEschylus, you will read of the return of the heroes to Greece; of the sad death of Agamemnon in his own great banquet-hall; of the wicked career of Clytemnestra; of the terrible vengeance of Orestes; of what befell Iphigenia in Tauris, and how she returned to her native land. And in the Odyssey of Homer, second only to the Iliad in grandeur, you will read of the strange adventures of Odysseus; how he, storm-tossed and wind-driven, strove for ten weary years to return to Ithaca; how, after the fall of Troy,--

"He overcame the people of Ciconia; how he passed thence to the rich fields of the race who feed upon the lotus; what the Cyclops did, and how upon the Cyclops he avenged the death of his brave comrades, whom the wretch had piteously slaughtered and devoured; and how he came to AEolus, and found a friendly welcome, and was sent by him upon his voyage; yet 'twas not his fate to reach his native land; a tempest caught his fleet, and far across the fishy deep bore him away, lamenting bitterly. And how he landed at Telepylus, among the Laestrigonians, who destroyed his ships and warlike comrades, he alone in his black ship escaping." ...

You will read, too, of how he was driven to land upon the coast where Circe the sorceress dwelt, and how he shrewdly dealt with her deceit and many arts:--

"And how he went to Hades' dismal realm in his good galley, to consult the soul of him of Thebes, Tiresias, and beheld all his lost comrades and his mother,--her who brought him forth, and trained him when a child; and how he heard the Sirens afterward, and how he came upon the wandering rocks, the terrible Charybdis, and the crags of Scylla,--which no man had ever passed in safety; how his comrades slew for food the oxen of the Sun; how mighty Zeus, the Thunderer, with a bolt of fire from heaven smote his swift bark; and how, his gallant crew all perished, he alone escaped with life. And how he reached Ogygia's isle, and met the nymph Calypso, who long time detained and fed him in her vaulted grot, and promised that he ne'er should die, nor know decay of age, through all the days to come; yet moved she not the purpose of his heart. And how he next through many hardships came to the Phaeacians, and they welcomed him and honored him as if he were a god, and to his native country in a bark sent him with ample gifts of brass and gold and raiment."

How he made himself known to old Eumaeus the swineherd, and to his son Telemachus, and how his old nurse, Eurycleia, knew him by the scar which he had received when a boy from the wild boar on Mount Parnassus. How he found his palace full of rude suitors seeking the hand of faithful Penelope; and how, with the great bow of Eurytus, he slew them all, and spared not one.

... "Never shall the fame
Of his great valor perish; and the gods
Themselves shall frame, for those who dwell on earth,
Sweet strains in praise of sage Penelope."

*NOTES.*

NOTE 1.--ODYSSEUS AND HIS NURSE. _Page_ 12.

In the Odyssey, Book I., lines 425-444, a similar incident is related concerning Telemachus and Eurycleia. Many of the illustrations of life and manners given in this volume have been taken, with slight changes, from Homer. It has not been thought necessary to make distinct mention of such passages. The student of Homer will readily recognize them.

NOTE 2.--APOLLO AND THE PYTHON. _Page_ 43.

Readers of the "Story of Siegfried" cannot fail to notice the resemblance of the legends relating to that hero, to some of the myths of Apollo. Siegfried, like Apollo, was the bright being whose presence dispelled the mists and the gloom of darkness. He dwelt for a time in a mysterious but blessed region far to the north. He was beneficent and kind to his friends, terrible to his foes. Apollo's favorite weapons were his silver bow and silent arrows; Siegfried's main dependence was in his sun-bright armor and his wonderful sword Balmung. Apollo slew the Python, and left it lying to enrich the earth; Siegfried slew Fafnir the dragon, and seized its treasures for his own.--See _The Story of Siegfried_.

NOTE 3.--SISYPHUS. _Page_ 50.

"Yea, and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a monstrous stone with both his hands. He was pressing thereat with hands and feet, and trying to roll the stone upward toward the brow of the hill. But oft as he was about to hurl it over the top, the weight would drive him back: so once again to the plain rolled the stone, the shameless thing. And he once more kept heaving and straining; and the sweat the while was pouring down his limbs, and the dust rose upwards from his head."--_Homer's Odyssey_, XI. 595.

NOTE 4.--A SON OF HERMES. _Page_ 50.

Autolycus was said to have been a son of Hermes, doubtless on account of his shrewdness and his reputation for thievery. Hermes is sometimes spoken of as the god of thieves.

NOTE 5.--THE CHOICE OF HERACLES. _Page_ 61.

This moral lesson is, of course, of much later date than that of our story. It is the invention of the Greek sophist Prodicus, who was a contemporary of Socrates.

NOTE 6.--MELEAGER. _Page_ 68.

Readers of the "Story of Roland" will readily recognize several points of resemblance between the legend of Meleager's childhood and the story of Ogier the Dane. It is, indeed, probable that very much of the latter is simply a medieval adaptation of the former.--See also the account of the three Norns in _The Story of Siegfried_.

NOTE 7.--THE DEATH OF ASCLEPIUS. _Page_ 91.

The story of Balder, as related in the Norse mythology, has many points of resemblance to that of Asclepius. Balder, although a being of a higher grade than Asclepius, was the friend and benefactor of mankind. He was slain through the jealousy of the evil one: his death was bewailed by all living beings, birds, beasts, trees, and plants.--See _The Story of Siegfried_.

NOTE 8.--PARIS AND OENONE. _Page_ 109.

A very beautiful version of this story is to be found in Tennyson's poem entitled "OEnone." It will well repay reading.

NOTE 9.--THE SWINEHERD'S STORY. _Page_ 119.

This story was afterwards related to Odysseus under very different circumstances. The curious reader is referred to the Odyssey, Book XV., 390-485.

NOTE 10.--PRAYERS. _Page_ 129.

"The gods themselves are placable, though far
Above us all in honor and in power
And virtue. We propitiate them with vows,
Incense, libations, and burnt-offerings,
And prayers for those who have offended. Prayers
Are daughters of almighty Jupiter,--
Lame, wrinkled, and squint-eyed,--that painfully
Follow Misfortune's steps; but strong of limb
And swift of foot Misfortune is, and, far
Outstripping all, comes first to every land,
And there wreaks evil on mankind, which Prayers
Do afterwards redress. Whoe'er receives
Jove's daughters reverently when they approach,
Him willingly they aid, and to his suit
They listen. Whosoever puts them by
With obstinate denial, they appeal
To Jove, the son of Saturn, and entreat
That he will cause Misfortune to attend
The offender's way in life, that he in turn
May suffer evil, and be punished thus."
_The Iliad_ (BRYANT'S Translation), IX. 618-636.

A sacrifice to Poseidon similar to that described here is spoken of in the Odyssey, III. 30-60.

NOTE 11.--THE LABORS OF HERACLES. _Page_ 140.

It seems to have been one of the unexplainable decrees of fate that Heracles should serve Eurystheus twelve years, and that at his bidding he should perform the most difficult undertakings. The account of the twelve labors of Heracles, undertaken by command of his master, belongs to a later age than that of Homer, The twelve labors were as follows:--

1. The fight with the Nemean lion.
2. The fight with the Lernaean hydra.
3. Capture of the Arcadian stag.
4. Destruction of the Erymanthian boar.
5. Cleansing the stables of Augeas.
6. Putting to flight the Harpies, or Stymphalian birds.
7. Capture of the Cretan bull.
8. Capture of the mares of Thracian Diomede.
9. Seizure of the girdle of the queen of the Amazons.
10. Capture of the oxen of Geryones.
11. Fetching the golden apples of the Hesperides.
12. Bringing Cerberus from the lower world.

NOTE 12. _Page_ 151.

The description of the palace of Tyndareus given here has many points of resemblance to the description of the palace of Alcinous.--See _Odyssey_, VII. 85.

NOTE 13. THE VENGEANCE OF ODYSSEUS. _Page_ 224.

Palamedes, according to the ancient story, went to Troy with the heroes, where he distinguished himself by his wisdom and courage. But Odysseus, who could never forgive him, caused a captive Phrygian to write to Palamedes a letter in the name of Priam, and bribed a servant of Palamedes to conceal the letter under his master's bed. He then accused Palamedes of treachery. Upon searching the tent, the letter was found, and Palamedes was stoned to death. When Palamedes was led to death, he exclaimed, "Truth, I lament thee, for thou hast died even before me!" There are other stories as to the manner of the death of Palamedes. Some say that Odysseus and Diomede induced him to descend into a well, where they pretended they had discovered a treasure; and when he was below, they cast stones upon him, and killed him. Others state that he was drowned by them while fishing; and others that he was killed by Paris with an arrow.--See _Smith's Classical Dictionary_.

NOTE 14.--THE GARDEN OF LYCOMEDES. _Page_ 230.

The curious reader may find in the description of the garden of Alcinous (Odyssey, VII. 85, _et seq._) some resemblance to the description here given of the garden of Lycomedes.

NOTE 15.--THE CASKETS OF ZEUS. _Page_ 233.

"Beside Jove's threshold stand
Two casks of gifts for man. One cask contains
The evil, one the good; and he to whom
The Thunderer gives them mingled sometimes falls
Into misfortune, and is sometimes crowned
With blessings. But the man to whom he gives
The evil only stands a mark exposed
To wring, and, chased by grim calamity,
Wanders the teeming earth, alike unloved
By gods and men."--_The Iliad_, XXIV. 663-672,

NOTE 16.--DEATH OF AJAX. _Page_ 258.

"The soul of Ajax, son of Telawon, alone stood apart, being still angry for the victory wherein I prevailed against him, in the suit by the ships concerning the arms of Achilles that his lady mother had set for a prize; and the sons of the Trojans made award and Pallas Athene. Would that I had never prevailed and won such a prize!"--_Odyssey_, XI. 544-548.

*INDEX TO PROPER NAMES.*

[_The figures in parentheses indicate the page or pages on which the name receives fullest mention._]

Acarnania (3, 72), the most western province of Hellas.

Acastus (92), son of Pelias, king of Iolcos; he was slain by Peleus.

Achaia (5), the northern coast of Peloponnesus.

Achilles (91, 109, 225-236, 246, 255), son of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis. The chief hero among the Hellenes.

Actaeon (87), a celebrated huntsman. He was changed by Artemis into a stag, and torn to pieces by his own dogs.

Admetus (90, 166), king of Pherze in Thessaly.

AEson (80), son of Cretheus, and father of Jason. He was excluded from the kingship of Iolcos by his half-brother Pelias.

AEtolia (5), a country north of the Corinthian Gulf (Bay of Crissa), and east of Acarnania.

Agamemnon (150, 233, 238, 251), king of Mycenae, and commander-in-chief of the Hellenic forces in the war against Troy.

Ajax Telamon, sometimes called the greater Ajax (150, 234, 257), son of Telamon, king of Salamis. He was a nephew of Peleus, and hence a cousin of Achilles.

Ajax Oileus, sometimes called the lesser Ajax (151, 234), son of Oileus, king of the Locrians.

Alcestis (166), daughter of Pelias, and wife of Admetus.

Alpheus (132), a river which flows through Arcadia and Elis.

Althea (65), the mother of Meleager.

Amphithea (53), grandmother of Odysseus.

Amphitryon (55), the stepfather of Heracles.

Anticleia (2, 219), daughter of Autolycus, and mother of Odysseus.

Antilochus (131, 151), son of Nestor.

Aphareus (125, 187), founder of the town of Arene in Messene, and father of Idas and Lynceus.

Aphrodite (99-110, 160), goddess of love and beauty.

Apollo (37-46, 189, 208), son of Zeus and Leto. He was the god of prophecy and of music and song, the punisher of evil, and the helper of men.

Arcadia (5, 132), a country in the middle of the Peloponnesus.

Ares (223), the god of war. _Mars_.

Arethusa (133), a sea-nymph.

Argo (2, 89), the ship upon which Jason and his companions sailed to Colchis.

Argolis, see Argos.

Argonauts (2, 67), "the sailors of the Argo."

Argos (2, 5), a name frequently applied by Homer to the whole of the Peloponnesus. A district north of Laconia, often called Argolis.

Argus (196), a monster having a hundred eyes, appointed by Here to be the guardian of Io.

Artemis (134, 239), daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin-sister of Apollo. She was the goddess of the chase, and the protectress of the young and helpless. _Diana_.

Asclepius (87-90), son of Apollo, and god of the healing art. _AEsculapius_.

Atalanta (68, 162), daughter of Iasus and Clymene; the fleet-footed wife of Milanion.

Athene (10, 14,99-105) goddess of wisdom, and "queen of the air;" often called Pallas Athene. _Minerva_.

Atropos (66, 98), one of the Fates.

Aulis (233, 239-251), a harbor in Boeotia, on the Euripus.

Autolycus (48), the grandfather of Odysseus.

Balios and Xanthos (97), the horses of Peleus.

Boeotia, a district north of the Corinthian Gulf, bounded on the east by the Euripus, and on the west by Phocis.

Bosphorus (197), the "ox ford," the strait connecting the Sea of Marmora with the Black (Euxine) Sea.

Cadmus (217), a Phoenician who settled in Hellas, and founded the city of Thebes. He is said to have brought the alphabet from Phoenicia.

Calchas (225, 241-252), the wisest soothsayer among the Hellenes. He died of grief because the soothsayer Mopsus predicted things which he had not foreseen.

Cal{~CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER SHORT U U+045e~}don (66-76), an ancient town and district of AEtolia, on the Evenus River.

Castor (56, 68, 146, 185), twin-brother of Polydeuces.

Centaurs (84-86), an ancient race inhabiting Mount Pelion and the neighboring districts of Thessaly.

Cephallenia (183), a large island near Ithaca.

Charybdis (155), a dreadful whirlpool on the side of a narrow strait opposite Scylla.

Cheiron (58, 78, 170), a Centaur, "the wisest of men," and the teacher of the heroes.

Chryse (252), an island in the AEgaean Sea; also a city on the coast of Asia Minor, south of Troy.

Circe (270), daughter of Helios, a sorceress who lived in the island of AEaea.

Cleopatra (67-76), wife of Meleager.

Clotho (66, 98), one of the Fates.

Clytemnestra (152, 242-252), daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, and sister of Castor and Polydeuces and Helen. She was married to Agamemnon, and became the mother of Iphigenia and Orestes.

Colchis (2, 87-89), a country of Asia, at the eastern extremity of the Black Sea.

Copais (40), a lake in Boeotia.

Corinth (5, 49, no), a city on the isthmus between the Corinthian Gulf and the AEgaean Sea.

Corycia (51), a nymph who lived on Mount Parnassus.

Crissa (5, 29), the ancient name of the Gulf of Corinth; also, the name of a town in Phocis.

Cronus (11,182), the youngest of the Titans, and the father of Zeus. _Saturn_.

Cythera (165), an island off the south-western point of Laconia.

Deianeira (142, 171-181), wife of Heracles.

Delos (38), the smallest of the Cyclades islands in the AEgaean Sea.

Delphi (5, 30-45), a town on the southern slope of Mount Parnassus.

Deucalion (200), son of Prometheus, and father of Hellen.

Diomede (151, 235), son of Tydeus, and king of Argos.

Dodona (171, 225), an ancient oracle of Hellas, situated in Epirus in a grove of oaks and beeches.

Echion (61, 76), son of Autolycus.

Elis (125), a country on the western coast of the Peloponnesus, south of Achala.

Epaphos (16, 198), son of Zeus and Io.

Eris (98), the goddess of discord.

Erymanthus (139), a mountain in Arcadia.

Euboea, the largest island of the AEgaean Sea, separated from Boeotia by the Euripus.

Eumaeus (114-119), the swineherd of Ithaca.

Euripus (233), the narrow strait between Euboea and Boeotia.

Eurycleia (12), the nurse of Odysseus and of Telemachus.

Eurystheus (138), the master of Heracles, king of Argolis.

Eurytion (71, 92), king of Phthia.

Eurytion (85), a Centaur.

Eurytus (55, 136-144), king of OEchalia.

Evenus (176), a river in AEtolia.

Gan{~CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER SHORT U U+045e~}medes (208), the most beautiful of mortals, son of Tros.

Glaucus (25), a fisherman who became immortal by eating of the divine herb which Cronus had sown.

Gorgons (27), three daughters of Phorcys and Ceto.

Gray Sisters (26), daughters of Phorcys.

Hades (89, 170), the god of the lower regions. _Pluto_.

Hebe (98), the goddess of youth.

Hector (101, 255), son of Priam; the chief hero of the Trojans.

Helen (145-162, 216, 267), daughter of Tyndareus and Leda of Lacedaemon, represented in mythology as the daughter of Zeus and Leda. "The most beautiful woman in the world."

Helenus (258), son of Priam, soothsayer of the Trojans.

Helios (5, 15-19), the god of the sun. _Sol_.

Hellas, the name which the Greeks applied to their country. _Greece_.

Hellen (203), son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, and ancestor of all the Hellenes.

Hephaestus (90, 160, 193), the god of fire. _Vulcan_.

Here (99-105), the wife of Zeus. _Juno_.

Heracles (55, 87-90, 138-144, 169-181, 211-214), the most celebrated of all the old heroes. _Hercules_.

Hermes (100-104, 196), the herald of the gods, son of Zeus and Maia. _Mercury_.

Hesione (210-213), the sister of Priam

Hesperia (19), "the western land."

Hesperides (5, 27, 139), guardians of the golden apples which Earth gave to Here on her marriage day--said by some to be the daugters of Phorcys and Ceto.

Hippodameia (84, 167) wife of Peirithous.

Hyllus (176), son of Heracles.

Hyperboreans (6, 39), a people living in the far North.

Iasus (163), an Arcadian, father of Atalanta.

Icarius (155, 162), brother of Tyndareus, and father of Penelope.

Ida (102-109, 208), a mountain-range of Mysia in Asia Minor, east of Troy.

Idas (67, 185), "the boaster," son of Aphareus, and father of Cleopatra.

Idomeneus (151, 215, 235), king of Crete.

Ilios (206-214, 253), a name applied to the district in which Troy was situated. _Ilium_.

Ilus (208), son of Dardanus.

Inachus (196), the first king of Argos.

Io (196-199), daughter of Inachus, and mother of Epaphos from whom was descended Heracles.

Iolcos (77-110), an ancient town of Thessaly at the head of the Pegasaean Gulf.

Iole (138-144, 173-181), daughter of Eurytus of OEchalia, beloved by Heracles.

Iphigenia (242-252), daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.

Iphitus (136-153, 172), son of Eurytus, one of the Argonauts.

Ithaca (1, 113), a small island in the Ionian Sea, the birthplace of Odysseus.

Jason (2, 68, 87), leader of the Argonauts.

Lacedaemon (5, 145-169, 189-204), a district of Laconia in which was situated Sparta. The name is also applied to the town of Sparta.

Lachesis (66), one of the Fates.

Laconia (5, 145), a country in the south-east of Peloponnesus.

Laertes (2, 182), king of Ithaca, father of Odysseus.

Laodamia (254), daughter of Acastus, and wife of Protesilaus.

Laomedon (208-314), king of Troy, father of Priam.

Lapiths (84), a people inhabiting the country adjoining Mount Pelion in Thessaly.

Leda (146), wife of Tyndareus of Lacedaemon.

Lemnos (253, 260), an island in the AEgaean Sea.

Lichas (174-179), the herald of Heracles.

Linus (56), a musician, brother of Orpheus.

Lycomedes (228), king of Scyros.

Lydia (173), a district of Asia Minor.

Lynceus (185), son of Aphareus, brother of Idas.

Machaon (151, 262), son of Asclepius, the surgeon of the Greeks in the Trojan war.

Medea (89), daughter of AEetes, king of Colchis, celebrated for her skill in magic.

Medusa (27), one of the Gorgons.

Meleager (66-76), son of Oineus and Althea, husband of Cleopatra.

Menelaus (150, 234), brother of Agamemnon, and husband of Helen.

Messene (120), a country in the south-western part of the Peloponnesus.

Milanion (163), the husband of Atalanta.

Mycenae (150), an ancient town in Argolis.

Mysia (239), a country in Asia Minor.

Nedon (131), a river of Messene.

Neleus (125, 173), son of Poseidon and Tyro, brother of Pelias, and father of Nestor.

Nessus (176), a Centaur, ferryman at the River Evenus.

Nestor (125, 235), king of Pylos, son of Neleus.

Nireus (151, 160, 235), one of the heroes of the Trojan war.

Oceanus (194), god of the Ocean.

Odysseus, the hero of this story, son of Laertes, husband of Penelope. _Ulysses_.

OEchalia (138, 174), a town supposed to be somewhere in Euboea.

OEnone (103, 263), daughter of the river-god Cebren, and wife of Paris.

OEta (171, 180), a rugged pile of mountains in the south of Thessaly.

Oineus (65), king of Pleuron and Calydon.

Olympus (5, 79), a mountain in Thessaly, on the summit of which Zeus held his court.

Omphale (173), a queen of Lydia.

Orestes (244), son of Agamemnon.

Orpheus (248), the greatest of the old musicians.

Orsilochus (129, 134), son of Alpheus, king of Messene.

Ortygia (134), an island near the coast of Sicily.

Palamedes (166, 217-224), son of Nauplius, king of Euboea.

Pallas Athene, see Athene.

Paris (101-110, 204-216), son of Priam of Troy.

Parnassus (5, 30-36, 201), a mountain, or group of mountains, a few miles north of the Corinthian Gulf.

Patroclus (227, 234), the friend of Achilles.

Peirithous (84, 167), king of the Lapiths, son of Ixion and Dia.

Peleus (71, 91-100, 227), son of AEcus and Endeis the daughter of Cheiron.

Pelias (80, 125), son of Poseidon and Tyro, and brother of Neleus. He made himself king of Iolcos, by excluding his half-brother AEson from the throne.

Pelion (79-110), a lofty mountain in Thessaly not far from Iolcos.

Peloponnesus, all that part of Hellas south of the Corinthian Gulf (Bay of Crissa).

Penelope (152, 162-168), daughter of Icarius, cousin of Helen, and wife of Odysseus.