The Odyssey by Stephen Mitchell
Author:Stephen Mitchell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2023-05-05T00:00:00+00:00
Book 14
Odysseus now left the harbor and took the rough path
up through the woodlands and over the crest of the hills
till he reached the place that Athena had told him about
where the swineherd lived. Of all Odysseusâs slaves
he was the one who cared best for his masterâs possessions.
*
He found him sitting in front of his hut. It was near
a large yard enclosed by a high wall, in a place
with an open view all around. The swineherd had built it
himself while Odysseus was absent, without the help
of his mistress or of the old man Laértes. The wall
was of quarried stones, with a hedge of wild pear on top.
On all its sides, he had fenced the whole length of the yard
with closely set posts that he had split from the black
core of an oak tree. Inside the yard he had made
twelve sties, all in a row, for the pigs to lie in.
Fifty wallowing brood-sows slept in each one,
along with their litters. The boars slept outside; there were far
fewer of these, since the suitors kept feasting on them,
and the swineherd was forced to send them the fattest ones
that he had, and only three hundred sixty were left.
They were guarded at night by four dogs, savage as wolves,
who had been carefully bred and trained by the swineherd.
As Odysseus approached, he was making a pair of sandals
for his own feet, cutting them out of a prime
piece of dark-colored oxhide. Three of his men
had gone off in different directions with herds of pigs;
the fourth one had driven a boar to the suitors for dinner
to satisfy their incessant craving for meat.
*
As soon as the dogs saw Odysseus, they all leaped up
and rushed at him with a ferocious barking,
but he knew what to do: He sat down and dropped his staff.
Yet even so, he would have been mauled on his own land
if the swineherd hadnât run after them through the gateway,
letting the oxhide fall from his hands and shouting
and cursing at them and driving them off with stones.
He said to his master, âOld man, the dogs would have torn you
to pieces in one more moment, and you would have caused me
a good deal of blameâas if I donât have enough
trouble without that. The gods have sent me great sorrows;
I lost the kindest of masters and sit here grieving
and mourning for him, and I have to fatten his hogs
for others to eat, while he himself may be starving,
alone, in a country where people donât even speak
our languageâif, indeed, he is still alive.
But follow me. There is plenty of food and wine
inside, and when you have had enough, you can tell me
where you were born and what your troubles have been.â
*
With these words the swineherd led him back to his hut,
invited him in, and had him sit down on a pile
of brushwood that he had spread for him on the floor;
on top of it he had thrown the skin of a wild goat,
thick and shaggy, which served at night as his mattress.
Odysseus was overjoyed by this welcome and said,
âStranger, may Zeus and the other immortals grant you
your heartâs desire in return for this generous welcome.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Ancient & Classical | Medieval |
The Universe of Us by Lang Leav(14381)
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur(13725)
Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna(8154)
Whiskey Words & a Shovel II by r.h. Sin(7484)
Love Her Wild by Atticus(7238)
Smoke & Mirrors by Michael Faudet(5520)
Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi(4601)
The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace(4514)
Love & Misadventure by Lang Leav(4362)
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur(4233)
Memories by Lang Leav(4177)
Good morning to Goodnight by Eleni Kaur(3808)
Bluets by Maggie Nelson(3722)
Too Much and Not the Mood by Durga Chew-Bose(3701)
Algedonic by r.h. Sin(3508)
Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell(3414)
The Poetry of Pablo Neruda by Pablo Neruda(3371)
HER II by Pierre Alex Jeanty(3176)
Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately by Alicia Cook(3057)