Homer is a legendary ancient Greek poet and storyteller. Mythology Myths of Ancient Greece Homer

"The rampant fashion for black glasses that everyonewants to be at least a little Homer.

Andrei Voznesensky

It is well known that myths are ancient tales about gods and legendary heroes, about the origin of the world and life on earth. But, most often, a myth is understood as something fantastic, improbable, unreal and invented. In fact, this is not so, because a person, as a product of Nature, is not able to come up with something that has never been, or will not be.

For a long time it was believed that the Iliad and the Odyssey were Homer's fiction, which had no historical truth, and Homer himself was not considered the author, because he did not sign any of his works with his name, and there was not a single real biography of him. there was. Do not be surprised, but the fact that we today attribute these epics to Homer is justified only by the fact that they were read every time at Panathenaia at the beginning of the 6th century. BC, as his works. This was the state of affairs until the publication in 1795 of the study of the famous German philologist F. A. Wolf "Prolegomena ad Homerum". Based on the principle of contradictions and noting, in his opinion, numerous compositionally weak places in epics, Wolf tried to prove that: The Iliad and the Odyssey could not belong to one poet, but were the fruit of the work of many singers and poets; the unification of individual songs into two great epics took place many centuries after the time of songwriting; little outstanding personalities were engaged in compilation and editing of songs; the final edition belonged to 602,602 editors at the court of the Athenian tyrant Peisistratus at the beginning of the 6th century. BC. Thus, the foundations of the “Homeric question” were laid: did Homer really exist?

But, as it is said in the Gospel: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (Heb.11.1). As soon as Heinrich Schliemann believed in the veracity of Homer's description of the location of Troy in the Iliad, as an archeology lover, he found the city where no one was looking for it. And along with this, as a reward for perseverance, he also found the treasure of Priam. Then G. Schliemann found the treasure of Agamemnon in Mycenae. The only pity is that we are not able to date all archaeological finds. Nevertheless, the discoveries of Heinrich Schliemann put on the agenda the question of Homer as a real historical figure who described very real historical events. Our wonderful philosopher and encyclopedist A.F. Losev, summarizing the results of two centuries of studies of world Homeric studies, came to the conclusion that Homer lived at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC. and, like most writers of the world, is an immanent author. This means that he wrote about most of the real events that are directly related to his own life. This, it turns out, is why G. Schliemann was not mistaken in his trust in Homer! But, the specific dates of events, as well as the time of Homer's life, still remain unclear. Therefore, today in all encyclopedias it is presumably considered that Homer lived in the 9th century. BC, and the events of the Trojan War date back to the 12th century. BC. In this regard, the question arises: do not Homer's texts contain indications of specific dates of events and details of his biography? And if they do, then how to conduct “archaeological excavations” of the text in order to undeniably get to the truth hidden by the author millennia ago?

Let us ask ourselves: what is the minimum structure of the text of such epics as the Iliad and the Odyssey, apart from letters and words? Probably, this is, following them, a poetic line called a hexameter. We will not go into historical details, recorded by the ancient Greeks themselves, that they were taught to compose hexameters by the Hyperboreans, i.e. Cimmerians and Scythians. Note that the hexameter is the key structure of the text, which allows you to split the text written continuously, and also makes it possible to check the safety and even the quality of the Homeric text. The loss of one hexameter can also be noticed when analyzing the content of the epic.

Another, larger structure is the breakdown of each of the epics into songs. It is believed that this work, allegedly for Homer, was carried out by Alexandrian scholars. In fact, it turned out that the original texts with the author's breakdown came to us. Another structural division of the narrative text by day was proposed by V.A. Zhukovsky, using Homer's formulaic phrases denoting the beginning of the day, for example, such as "A young woman with purple fingers, Eos, got up from the darkness." Guided by this, he broke the entire narrative of the Odyssey into 40 days, although there were other points of view on this matter. Upon detailed analysis, it turned out that the whole story about the 10-year voyage of Odysseus (the allegorical meaning of the name "Odysseus" - "It's me"), Homer put in 58 days, which ended with his 58th birthday and the words "I was born in Alibant", placed in the last, 24th, song, in 304 hexameter, with the serial number of the name Alibant in this song - 119. The question arises: how, in this case, could Homer encrypt these key years and dates for the future?

Before answering this question, it is necessary to turn to the chronology that could then exist. Of course, Homer still did not know anything about the Nativity of Christ and the new era associated with it. It is believed that in the IV century. BC. it was customary to count the years from the 1st Olympiad, when the names of its winners were first recorded, this happened in 776 BC. So, all subsequent years were counted by the number of the Olympics and the number of years before or after it. It is possible that it was Homer who proposed to keep the chronology precisely from 776 BC. This is evidenced by the attention he paid to the description in the Iliad and the Odyssey of sports games. Probably, it was the Olympics that prompted Homer to break each epic into 24 songs, and together into 48 songs, which symbolize 48 months or 4 years, which corresponds to the period of the Olympics. But, apparently, Homer himself kept a simple account of years, starting from the year of the first Olympiad. So, after all, the account from the dates of the Olympics did not appear in the 4th century. BC, and after the Panathenaic games, i.e. at the beginning of the VI century. BC.

We will not go into the complex calculation of the months of ancient Greek chronology, there were 12 of them since ancient times, and talk about how it was possible to close the year if the months were alternately divided into 30 and 29 days. There were no weeks then, and the month was divided into three decades. I will only note that, probably, after a seven-year stay in Egypt, Homer developed his own calendar for internal use, very close to ours. His year was divided into 12 months with alternation in each of the months called Ids and dedicated to certain gods and events, while odd months contained 31 days, and even - 30. Ids, called the "Month of Mutual Treats" and falling on our February 15-March 15 (16), in ordinary years had 28 days, and in leap years - 29, i.e. one more day was added as a "treat". Moreover, Homer's leap years fell not on the years of the Olympics (as is customary with us today), but on the even years between them. As for the beginning of the year, it was different in different policies of ancient Greece. Homer was guided by Athens, where the year began after the summer solstice (around the beginning of August), which, according to our calendar, happens on June 22. Therefore, the first day of the month of their new year corresponded approximately to the 2nd half of our July and the 1st half of August, i.e. Conventionally, according to our calendar, July 16 is considered the first day of the ancient Greek year.

If we now put ourselves in the place of Homer and take into account all the complexity of calculating years and days, then the question is: what is the simplest and most reliable way and in what way it was possible to encrypt the number of years and days from the first Olympiad? Probably, the first thing that suggested itself was to take into account the number of hexameters from the beginning of the poem to the key words, as the consecutive number of years and the number of days after the new year, without specifying the month. In this case, even a partial loss of the text threatened at most the loss of a number of days, not years. But for this, they had to be written as a single digit, i.e. 10 years and 250 days should be 10250 hexameters. Or it should be 102 years and 50 days. When this idea occurred to me, I began to look for keywords at the end of the Odyssey that would indicate Odysseus' birthday, i.e. Homer, taking into account immanence. It is clear that this is probably what caused the creation of epics in such a large volume. That's what came out of it.

In total, the ancient Greek text of the Odyssey, which I had, contained 12106 hexameters. In the last XXIV canto there is a phrase in verse 304: "I was born in Alibant". The calculation of the number of hexameters showed that this key phrase falls on the 11862nd hexameter. Since the figure 862 is too large for 365 days in a year, then you need to count the number of years that have passed since the 1st Olympiad equal to 118, and the number of days equal to 62 after the new year (from July 16 according to our calendar) and as a result you can get Homer's birthday - September 15, 657 BC. But that is not all. Homer was well aware that the date needed to be fixed in a more reliable way than counting the total number of hexameters, the loss of which was more likely than, for example, the names mentioned inside the text of one song. It was then that I had to pay attention to the above-mentioned numbers with the name Alibant: the 304th hexameter and the 119th serial number of the name. As a result, the date was refined by subtracting 304 from 365 days of the 119th year, and we will get the exact birthday after the end of the 118th year: i.e. 365-304=61st day, or according to our reckoning, it will be September 14, 657 BC. Since this calculation is a priori more accurate, it can be argued that in one of the extant copies of the ancient Greek text of the Odyssey, an extra hexameter appeared, but obviously not in the 24th canto. These calculations serve as clear evidence of the reverent care with which Homer's texts were rewritten. I may rightly be told that my pathos is not justified here, since these are just two cases. I hasten to reassure, today there are already several dozen confirmations of this date, and not only from texts on papyrus and parchment, but also in epigraphic records on the so-called Mastor stone. This stone was found on the island of Berezan in 1900 by Skadovsky and the text on it was mostly deciphered by the famous epigrapher V.P. Yaylenko. The deciphering was continued by me only for 3 letters out of 45, and only for those that were not readable. As a result, it turned out that it was an epitaph dedicated to Homer. It is clear that the epitaph was not read in plain text. The details of identifying the acrotelestic on the Mastor stone, as well as identifying all the places of Odysseus' journey with real objects, can be found in my book “Homer. An immanent biography” (Nikolaev, 2001). From reading the acrotelestic of the epitaph, the date of Homer's birth was confirmed, obtained from a completely different material - the text of the Odyssey, and the exact date of Homer's death was found out - August 14, 581. BC. The most striking thing is that, according to the myth about the death of Odysseus, he was buried on the island of Ey (Berezani), where Circe lived, and this was confirmed! The question is, what after that can be more real than a myth?!

Similarly, one can determine the time of the arrival of Homer's sister, Helen, in Ilion and the beginning of the Trojan War. In the Iliad, the key is the segment of Elena's lamentation for Hector, starting from verse 765 of the XXIVth song: “Now the twentieth year of circular times is running / From the time I came to Ilion, ..” and to the words at the end of the monologue: “ ... I am equally hated by everyone" in verse 775. Here the beginning of this segment of the text differs from the end by 10 hexameters, which simultaneously indicate the difference in the number of days and years between the arrival of Helen in Ilion and the beginning of the Trojan War. The total number of verses up to the last verse of this monologue of Helen, which falls on the 775th line, ranges from 15659 to 15664 hexameters for 4 versions of the text of the Iliad. This means that Helen arrived in Ilion on September 2-7, 629 BC, and the Trojan War began on September 12-17, 619 BC. From here it immediately became clear that the war of Miletus with Lydia, known to historians, which he waged for the passage to the Black Sea, served as the prototype of the Trojan War for Homer. Historians believe that the successor of Ardis, Sadiates (late 7th century BC) started the last 12-year war with Miletus, which ended in peace around 600 BC. In fact, the war was started by Ardis (according to Homer - by Paris), lasted about 10 years and ended in 609 under Sadiatta. And this means that Schliemann (the scientific world reproached him for finding the later Troy) found exactly the Troy that Homer described. I note that the later date of Homer's life solves many problems of the "Homeric question", starting with the answer to the most important question of how it was possible to preserve the most ancient texts.

From the myths about the Trojan War (see, for example, Robert Graves, Myths of Ancient Greece. Transl. from English. Ed. twice collected the Greek fleet in Aulis for a campaign in Ilion. For the first time, immediately after the abduction of Elena, but this campaign ended with the fact that the storm scattered the ships and they returned home. The second time Agamemnon assembled a fleet after 10 years, but according to the prediction of Kalhant, he had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia so that the Greek fleet could freely reach Troy. An immanent reading of the Iliad made it possible to find out that the land siege of Troy was preceded by a 10-year naval war unknown to historians, during which the Greek squadron of 415 ships led by Achilles and Agamemnon destroyed 800 Trojan ships. In this naval war, Achilles rammed the Trojan ships, destroyed them from a distance with stones fired from a sling, and set them on fire with sulfur bombs. Moreover, he fought not only in the Aegean and Marmara, but also in the Black Sea, i.e. at home. For all this, he gained immense fame in Greece as an invincible admiral. Only after that, the Greeks, without fear of attacks from the sea, were able to pull their ships ashore near Troy. Homer did not take part in this war, since he spent 7 years in Egypt in the service of Psammetichus I and 1 year in Phoenicia with his relatives.

If Homer described 10 years of his life in the Odyssey, then the last 10 years are described in the Iliad, or rather, the text is structurally laid out in the description of the last 49 days from the life of his twin brother Achilles, who died on October 8, 609 BC .e. at the age of 49. Thus, the text by day covers the time from August 21st to October 8th. In the 19th song of the Iliad, the birthday of Achilles is described, which falls on September 15, 657 BC. Pay attention to hexameters 243-247 in this song, where the gifts presented to Achilles on this day are listed: 7 tripods + 20 tubs + 12 horses + 8 wives with Briseis + 1 gold of Odysseus = 48 years! In the same place, Homer humorously noted his seniority over Achilles (on the same day!) In hexameter 219. Homer described the composition of the family and friendship with his twin brother in the myths about Leda, the Dioscuri brothers, and in the exploits of Hercules about his life from 15 to 27 years .

Thus, as it follows from what has been said above, the determination of only a few dates makes it possible to restore, from epics, myths and hymns, a more or less real biography of Homer, as well as his Cimmerian-Greek origin, which we will talk about another time. I, following Jean Jacques Rousseau, will repeat: "My job is to tell the truth, and not to force you to believe in it."

From the very beginning of world literature to the present day, genuine literature has relied on both internal (hidden - insider) and external - symbolism and symbolism (meta-metaphor). So, metametaphor and insideout, discovered by the poet and philosopher K. Kedrov, constitute the essence of all world literature, in which the choice between Myths or Reality is left to K. Kedrov's "OR".

Anatoly Zolotukhin,

Flood, Deucalion, Hellenic. People who lived in ancient times passed on a tragic tradition from fathers to children. As if many thousands of years ago, a global flood happened on Earth: for several days there was a continuous downpour, raging streams flooded fields, forests, roads, villages, cities. Everything was hidden under water. People died. The only person who managed to escape was Deucalion. He had a son, who received the beautiful and sonorous name of Ellin. It was he who chose the rocky land for settlement in those parts where the country of Greece is now located. By the name of its first inhabitant, it was called Hellas, and its population - Hellenes.

Hellas. It was an amazing country. A lot of work had to be spent on growing bread in its fields, olives in its gardens, and grapes on the slopes of the mountains. Each patch of land was watered with the sweat of grandfathers and great-grandfathers. A clear blue sky stretched over Hellas, mountain ranges crossed the whole country from end to end. The tops of the mountains were lost in the clouds, and how could one not believe that in the heights, hidden from human eyes, eternal spring reigns and immortal gods live!

On all sides, the beautiful country was surrounded by the sea, and there was no place in Hellas from which it would not be possible to reach its shores in one day's journey. The sea was visible from everywhere, it was only necessary to climb some hill. The sea attracted the Hellenes, and even more attracted their unknown overseas countries. From the stories of the brave sailors who visited there, wonderful stories were born. The ancient Hellenes were very fond of listening to them, having gathered around a hot fire after a day's work.

Homer, Hesiod and Myths. This is how myths and legends were born in ancient times, into the fascinating world of which we entered. The Greeks were cheerful, courageous, knew how to find the good in every day, knew how to cry and laugh, get angry and admire. All this was reflected in their myths, which, fortunately, have not been lost for centuries. Ancient writers beautifully presented ancient legends in their works - some in verse, some in prose. The wise blind poet Homer, who lived almost three thousand years ago, was the first to take up the retelling of myths. His famous poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" tell about the Greek heroes, their battles and victories, as well as about the Greek gods, their lives on the top of the impregnable Mount Olympus, feasts and adventures, quarrels and reconciliations.

And about where the world itself and all the gods came from, the poet Hesiod, who lived a little later than Homer, wrote beautifully. His poem is called "Theogony", which means "The Origin of the Gods". The ancient Greeks were very fond of watching plays about the lives of gods and heroes. They were written by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides. Until now, these plays (the Greeks called them "tragedies") are in many theaters around the world. Of course, they have long been translated from ancient Greek into modern languages, including Russian. From them you can also learn a lot of interesting things about the heroes of Greek myths.

The myths of ancient Hellas are beautiful, as the country itself is beautiful; the gods of Greek myths are in many ways similar to humans, only more powerful. They are beautiful and eternally young, for them there is no hard work and illness ...

On the land of ancient Hellas, many ancient sculptures depicting gods and heroes are found. Look at them in the illustrations of the book - they are as if alive. True, not all statues are intact, because they have lain for many centuries in the ground, and therefore their arm or leg may be broken off, sometimes even their heads are beaten off, sometimes only the torso remains, but still they are beautiful, like the immortal gods of Hellenic myths themselves.

Ancient Hellas lives in works of art. And it is connected with many threads with mythology. Gods of the ancient Greeks:

Ancient Hellas. Homer, Hesiod and myths

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Page 1 of 8

SONG ONE

Muse, tell me about that experienced husband who,
Wandering long since the day when Saint Ilion was destroyed by him,
I visited many people of the city and saw customs,
I grieved a lot with my heart on the seas, caring about salvation
Your life and the return of companions to the homeland; futile
There were, however, worries, he did not save his companions: they themselves
They brought death on themselves by sacrilege, madmen,
Having eaten the bulls of Helios, the god walking above us, -
He stole the return day from them. Tell me about it
Something for us, O daughter of Zeves, benevolent Muse.
All the others, who escaped the faithful death, were
At home, avoiding both war and the sea; its only, separation
With a sweet wife and the homeland of the crushed one, in a deep grotto
Light nymph Calypso, goddess of goddesses, arbitrary
She held her by force, in vain wishing that he was her husband.
But when, at last, the reversal of times brought
The year in which the gods appointed him to return
To his house, to Ithaca (but where and in the arms of true friends he
All did not escape from anxiety), the gods were filled with pity
All; Poseidon alone persisted in persecuting Odysseus,
God-like husband, until he reached his homeland.
But at that time he was in a remote country of the Ethiopians
(Extreme people settled in two ways: one, where descends
God is luminous, others, where it rises), so that there from the people
Lush obese bulls and rams take the hecatomb.
There he, sitting at a feast, had fun; the other gods
At times they were gathered in the halls of Zeves.
With them people and immortals, the father begins a conversation;
In his thoughts was Aegistus blameless (his own Atridov
Son, the famous Orestes, killed); and thinking about it
Zeus the Olympian addresses the word to the assembly of the gods:
"It's strange how mortal people blame us gods for everything!
Evil is from us, they say; but don't you often
Death, contrary to fate, is brought on by madness?
So is Aegisthus: is it not fate, in spite of the wife of Atrids
Did he take him by killing him when he returned to his homeland?
He knew the true death; from us was sharp-eyed to him
Ermius, the destroyer of Argus, was sent down to kill
He did not dare to encroach on his husband and refrained from marrying his wife.
"Revenge for Atris will be done by the hand of Orestes when he
He wants to enter his house, having matured, as an heir, "so it was
Ermiy said - in vain! did not touch Aegist's heart
God is gracious with advice, and he paid for everything at once."
Zeus said: "Our father, Kronion, the supreme ruler,
Your truth, he deserved death, and so let him die
Every such villain! But now it breaks my heart
With his heavy fate, Odysseus is cunning; long time ago
Suffering, separated from his own, on an island, embraced by waves
The navel of the wide sea, wooded, where the nymph rules,
Daughter of Atlas, the thief who knows the seas
All the depths and which alone supports the bulk
Long huge pillars pushing the sky and the earth apart.
By the power of Atlanta, the daughter of Odysseus, shedding tears,
Holds, with the magic of insidious and caressing words about Ithaca
Memory hoping to destroy it. But wishing in vain
To see at least smoke rising from the native shores in the distance,
Death alone he prays. Compassion will not enter
In your heart, Olympian? Are you not satisfied with gifts
He honored in the Trojan land, in the midst of the Achaean ships there
Making sacrifices to you? Why are you angry, Kronion?
Objecting to her, the cloud-collector Kronion answered:
"Strange, my daughter, the word has flown out of your mouth.
I forgot Odysseus, immortal like a man,
So distinguished in the host of people and mind and diligent
Offering sacrifices to the gods, boundless heaven to the lords?
Not! Poseidon, the enveloper of the earth, stubbornly feuds with him,
All indignant because the Cyclops Polyphemus is divine
He is blinded by him: the strongest of the Cyclopes, Phosoy a nymph,
Daughter of Fork, lord of the desert-salty sea,
He was born from her union with Poseidon in deep
Grote. While the earth shaker Poseidon Odysseus
To betray death and not powerful, but, driving everywhere by sea,
He leads him away from Ithaca. Let's think together
How would he return his homeland. Poseidon refuse
Must from anger: one with all the immortals in a dispute,
Despite the eternal gods, without success, he will be angry.
Here is the bright-eyed Zeus daughter of Athenaeus Pallas
Zeus said: "Our father, Kronion, the supreme ruler!
If it pleases the blessed gods to see the homeland
Could Odysseus the cunning, then Ermius the argus-killer,
The performer of the will of the gods, let him be on the island of Ogygsky
To the nymph, beautifully curly-haired was sent down from us to announce to her
Our verdict is unchanged, that the time has come to return
In the land of his Odyssey, in trouble constant. I
I'll go straight to Ithaca to excite the son of Odysseus
Fill his heart with anger and courage, so that he calls
He is at the council of the thick-haired Achaeans and in the house of the Odysseus
The entrance was forbidden to suitors, who mercilessly destroy him
Small cattle and bulls, crooked-horned and slow-moving.
Sparta and Pylos sandy then he will visit to know,
Are there any rumors about the dear father and his return,
Also, so that a good reputation is established in people about him.
When she finished, she tied golden soles to her feet,
Ambrosial, everywhere it is above water and above solid
By the bosom of the boundless earth, lightly carried by the wind;
Then she took a war spear, studded with copper,
Solid heavy and huge, it also fights in anger
She is the strength of the heroes, the birth of the thundering god.
The goddess stepped violently from the top of Olympus to Ithaca.
There in the yard, at the threshold of the doors of the Odyssey house,
She stood with a copper-sharp spear, clothed in the image
Guest, ruler of the Tafians, Mentes; brought together
All the suitors, riotous husbands, there the goddess saw;
Playing dice, they sat in front of the entrance on the skins
Bulls killed by them; and the heralds, establishing the table,
Together with the agile slaves they ran: they poured
Water with wine in the pier craters; and those nostril
Having washed the tables with a sponge, they were moved and various meats
Having cut a lot, they carried it. Goddess Athena
Before the other Telemachus the god-like saw. Regrettable
With his heart, in the circle of suitors, he sat, thinking about one thing:
Where is the noble father and how, returning to his homeland,
He disperses predators throughout his dwelling,
The authorities will perceive and will again be their master.
In such thoughts with the suitors, sitting, he saw Athena;
He immediately got up and hurried to the entrance, indignantly
In the heart that the wanderer was forced to wait outside the threshold; approaching
He took the stranger's right hand, took his spear,
Then he raised his voice and threw out a winged word:
"Rejoice, stranger; come in to us; we will treat you cordially;
You will declare your need to us, being satisfied with our food.
Having finished, he went ahead, followed by Pallas Athenaeus.
With her, entering the banquet chamber, to the high column
Right with a spear he came up and hid it there in a setting
Smoothly hewn, where they were locked in the old days
The spears of King Odysseus, in constant trouble, were.
To rich armchairs, skillfully made, bringing Athena,
He invited her to sit in them, covering them in advance with a patterned
Cloth; for the feet there was a bench; then he put
A chair carved for yourself at a distance from others, so that the guest
The noise of the wildly merry crowd did not spoil the dinner,
Also, to secretly ask him about his distant father.
Then she brought a silver hand to the tub to wash them
A golden washstand filled with cold water, a slave,
Smooth then pushed the table; put on him
Housekeeper bread with various edibles, from the stock
Issued by her willingly; on the dishes, lifting them high,
The local clerk brought various meat and, having offered it to them,
He placed golden cups on the table in front of them;
The herald began to look for wine to be filled more often
Cups. Grooms came in, riotous men, and sat down
Chin on armchairs and chairs; the heralds brought water
Wash their hands; the slaves brought them bread in baskets;
The youths poured cups with a light drink to the brim.
They raised their hands to the prepared food; when
The hunger of their delicious food was satisfied, it entered them
There is something else in the heart - the desire for sweet singing and dancing:
To feast they are an adornment; and a ringing zither herald
Femiya gave, to the singer, in front of them at all times
Sing to the compelled; Striking the strings, he sang beautifully.
Then Telemachus carefully said to the bright-eyed Athena,
He bowed his head to her so that others would not hear him:
"My dear guest, do not be angry with me for my frankness;
Here they have fun; they have only music and singing on their minds;
It's easy: they devour someone else's without pay, wealth
Husband, whose white bones, perhaps, or rain
Somewhere it wets on the shore, or the waves roll along the seaside.
If he suddenly appeared before them in Ithaca, then everything would
Instead of saving both clothes and gold, they began
Just pray that their legs are faster.
But he died, comprehended by an angry fate, and consolation
No to us, although sometimes they come from earthly people
News that he will return, there will be no return for him.
Who are you? What tribe are you? Where do you live? Who is your father?
Who is your mother? On what ship and what way
Arrived in Ithaca and who are your sailors? To our edge
(This, of course, I know myself) you didn’t come on foot.
Also speak frankly, so that I may know the whole truth:
Was it the first time you visited Ithaca, or have you already been here
Guest of the Odysseys? In those days, foreigners gathered a lot
In our house: my parent loved to treat people.
"I will tell you everything frankly; I am King Anchialus
Wise son, called Mentes, I rule the people
Cheerful Tafians; and now my ship to Ithaca
Together with my people I led, traveling dark
By sea to the peoples of a different language; I want in Temes
Obtain copper by exchanging shiny iron for it;
I put my own ship under the forested slope of Neyon
On the field, in the pier of Retre, far from the city. Our
Ancestors have long been considered guests to each other; This,
Perhaps you yourself often hear when you visit
The grandfather of the hero Laertes ... and they say he no longer walks
More to the city, but far away lives in the field, dejected
Grief, with the old maid, who, the old man of peace,
Reinforces him with food when he gets tired, dragging
Across the field back and forth in the midst of his grapes.
I am with you because they told me that your father
At home ... but it is clear that the gods delayed him on the way:
For the noble Odysseus has not yet died on earth;
Somewhere, surrounded by the sea abyss, on a wave-embracing
The island is locked alive, or maybe he suffers in captivity
Wild predators who forcibly took possession of it. But listen
What I will predict to you, what almighty gods to me
They invested in the heart, which will inevitably come true, like myself
I believe, although I am not a prophet and I am inexperienced in guessing by birds.
He will not be long apart from his dear homeland, at least

He was bound by iron bonds; but return home
He will find the right remedy: he is cunning for inventions.
You tell me now, without hiding anything from me:
Do I truly see in you the son of Odysseus? You are wonderful
With his head and beautiful eyes he is similar; still me
I remember him; in the old days we saw each other often;
It was before sailing to Troy, where from the Achaeans
The best with him in their steep-sided ships rushed.
Since then, neither he nor I have met him anywhere.
"My good guest," answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
I will tell you everything frankly, so that you can know the whole truth.
Mother assures me that I am his son, but I myself do not know:
It is probably impossible for us to know who our father is.
It would be better, however, I wished that I was not so ill-fated
The husband was the father; in his possessions he is to old age b late
Lived. But if you ask, then he, from the living
The most unfortunate now, my father, as people think.
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"It seems that it pleases the immortals that he was not without glory in the future
Your house, when Penelope was given such as you
Son. Now tell me without hiding anything from me
What's going on here? What congregation? Do you give
A holiday, or are you celebrating a wedding? Not a folding feast here, of course.
It only seems that your guests are unbridled in your
They are outrageous at home: every decent person in society with them
Be ashamed, seeing their shameful behavior."
"My good guest," answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
If you want to know, then I will tell you frankly.
Once our house was full of wealth; he was respected
All while that husband was inseparably here.
Now the hostile gods have decided otherwise, having covered
His fate is impregnable darkness for the whole world;
I would be less upset about him when he died:
If he had perished in the Trojan land among his warlike comrades.
Or in the arms of friends, having endured the war, he died here,
The tomb hill above it would have been poured by the Achaean people,
He would leave great glory to his son for all time ...
Now the Harpies have taken him, and he has gone missing,
Forgotten by the light, graveless, one contrition and cries
Leaving a legacy for my son. But I'm not only talking about him
crying; the gods sent me another great grief:
Everyone who is famous and strong on our different islands.
The first people of Dulikhia, Zama, forest Zakynthos,
The first people of Ithaca rocky mother Penelope
They stubbornly push for marriage and rob our estate;
The mother does not want to enter into a hated marriage, nor from marriage
He has no means to escape; and they devour mercilessly
Our goodness and myself will finally be ruined."
The goddess Athena answered him with great anger:
"Woe! I see how distant your father is now
It is necessary to deal with shameless suitors with a strong hand.
Oh, if he entered those doors, returning suddenly,
In a helmet, covered with a shield, in his hand two copper-pointed spears! ..
So for the first time I saw him at the time when he
In our house he rejoiced with wine, having visited in Ether
Ila, son of Mermer (and that side of the distant
King Odysseus reached on his fast ship;
Poison, deadly to people, he was looking for in order to give them drink
Their arrows, encrusted with copper; but Eli refused
Give him poison, fearing to irritate the all-seeing gods;
My father endowed it with him out of great friendship with him).
If in the form of such Odysseus suddenly appeared to the suitors,
Marriage would be made to them, the fate of the inevitable comprehended, bitter.
But - that we, of course, do not know - in the bosom of the immortals
Hidden: is it appointed from above for him, returning, to destroy them
In this house, or not. We now think collectively
How would you clean your house from robbers yourself.
Listen to what I say, and notice to yourself that you will hear:
Tomorrow, calling the noble Achaeans to the council, before them
Announce everything, calling the immortals as witnesses of the truth;
After that, demand that all the suitors go home;
Mother, if marriage is not disgusting to her heart,
You suggest that you return to the house of the powerful father,
A dear daughter, as befits a dignity, he will endow her.
I also zealously advise, if you accept my advice:
A strong ship with twenty equipped rowers, set off
Himself for his distant father, to find out what

Pylos first visit, you know that the divine Nestor
Will say; then Menelaus find the golden-haired in Sparta:
He arrived home last of all the copper-plated Achaeans.
If you hear that your parent is alive, that he will return,
Wait for him a year, patiently enduring oppression; when

In honor of him, the mound of the grave here is an embankment and the usual magnificent
Perform a feast on him; Get Penelope to marry you.
After, when you arrange everything in the proper order,
Having firmly decided, with a prudent mind, think up a means,
How would you suitors who forcibly seized your house,
In it, destroy either by deception, or by sheer force; you
You can’t be a child anymore, you’ve gone out of childhood;
Do you know what a divine youth Orestes is before the whole
He was adorned with light with honor, having avenged Aegisthus, with whom
Was his glorious parent slain maliciously?
It must be firm so that your name and descendants are praised.
The time, however, is for me to return to my swift ship.
To companions, waiting, of course, for me with impatience and boredom.
You take care of yourself, respecting what I said."
"My dear guest," answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
Desiring my benefits, you speak to me as to a son
Good father; I will not forget what you advised.
But wait, though you are in a hurry to go; it's cool here
Having refreshed your bath and limbs and soul, you will return
You are on a ship, a rich gift to the pleasure of the heart
Taking it from me so that I can keep it as a keepsake, as a custom
There is between people, so that when they say goodbye, the guests give each other.
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"No! Don't hold me back, I'm in an immense hurry on the road;
Your gift, promised me so cordially by you,
Returning to you, I will accept and take you home gratefully,
Having received something dear as a gift, and giving dearly himself."
With these words Zeus' bright-eyed daughter disappeared,
Quick invisibly bird suddenly flying away. Settled
Firmness and courage she is in Telemakhov's heart, livelier
Recall making him about his father; but he penetrated the soul
Mystery and felt fear, guessing that he was talking with God.
Then he, the divine husband, approached the suitors; In front of them
The famous singer sang, and with deep attention they sat
They are silent; about the sad return of the Achaeans from Troy,
Once established by the goddess Athena, he sang.
In the upper rest, hearing inspired singing,
Penelope hurried down the high steps,
Elder Ikaria's wise daughter: they went down together with her
Two of her maids; and she, the god among women,
Entering that chamber where her suitors feasted,
Beside the pillar, the ceiling holding high there, she became,
Covering your cheeks with a shiny head veil;
On the right and on the left, the maids stood respectfully; queen
With weeping, she then addressed the inspired word to the singer:
"Phemius, you know so many others that delight the soul
Songs composed by singers to the glory of gods and heroes;
Sing one of them, sitting before the assembly, one; and in silence
Guests will listen to her for wine; but stop what you started
a sad song; my heart skips a beat when i
I hear her: of all, I got the most severe grief;
Having lost such a husband, I always mourn for the deceased,
So filled with his glory and Hellas and Argos.
"Dear mother," objected the judicious son of Odysseus,
How do you want the singer to ban our pleasure
Then to sing that his heart awakens in him? Guilty
This is not a singer, but Zeus is guilty, sending from above
People of high spirit will be inspired by their will.
No, do not prevent the singer about the sad return of the Danae
Sing - with great praise people listen to that song,
Every time with her, as with a new one, admiring her soul;
You yourself will find in it not sadness, but sadness delight:
Was not one from the gods condemned to lose the return day
King Odysseus, and many other famous people died.
But good luck: do, as you should, the order of the economy,
Yarn, weaving; see that the slaves are diligent in their work
Were our own: to speak is not a woman’s business, but a business
Husband, and now mine: I am my only master.
So he said; amazed, Penelope went back;
To the heart of the words of the wise son, having accepted and at rest
Shut up on top, in the circle of close maids
She wept bitterly for her Odysseus,
The goddess Athena did not bring sweet sleep to her eyes.
That sometimes the grooms in the darkened chamber were noisy,
Arguing about which of them will share the bed with Penelope.
Turning to them, the judicious son of Odysseus said:
"You suitors of Penelope, arrogant with violent pride,
Let us now quietly have fun: interrupt your noisy
Dispute; it is more fitting for us to pay attention to the chanter who,
Our hearing is captivating, like the gods with high inspiration.
Tomorrow morning I invite you all to gather in the square.
There, I will tell you publicly to your face, so that you all clean up


All; but on you I will call the gods; and Zeus won't slow down

He fell silent. Grooms, biting their lips with annoyance,
Those who were struck by his bold word were surprised at him.
But Antinous, the son of Evpeytov, answered him, objecting:
"The gods themselves, of course, taught you, Telemachus
To be so arrogant and impudent in words, and trouble for us when you
In wave-embracing Ithaca, by the will of Kronion, you will
Our king, already having the right to do so by birth!
"Friend of Antinous, do not be angry with me for my frankness:
If Zeus gave me dominion, I would gladly accept.
Or do you think that the royal lot of all is worse in the world?
No, of course, being a king is not bad; wealth in the royal
The house accumulates soon, and he himself is in honor of the people.
But among the Achaeans of the wave-embracing Ithaca there is
Many worthy of power, both old and young; between them
You choose when King Odysseus is no more.
In my house, I am the only master; I belong here
Power over slaves, for us Odysseus obtained in battles.
Here Eurymachus, the son of Polybius, answered Telemachus like this:
"O Telema, we do not know - that is hidden in the bosom of the immortals, -
Who is appointed over the Achaeans of the wave-embracing Ithaca
Reign; in your house, of course, you are the only ruler;
No, there will not be, as long as Ithaca is inhabited,
There is no one here who would dare to encroach on your property.
But I would like to know, my dear, about the current guest.
What is his name? What fatherland does he glorify
Earth? What kind and tribe is he? Where he was born?
Did he come to you with the news of the desired return of your father?
Or visited us, having come to Ithaca for his own needs?
Suddenly he disappeared from here, without waiting for at least a little
We reviewed; he was not an easy man, of course.
“Friend Eurymachus,” answered the judicious son of Odysseus, “
The day of meeting with my father is forever lost to me; I won't
Believe no more rumors about his imminent return,
Below the vain prophecies about him, to which, calling
In the house of fortunetellers, the mother comes running. And our current guest
Was Odyssey's guest; he hails from Tafos, Mentes,
The son of Anchialus, the wise king, rules the people
Gay-loving Tafians." But, speaking so, I was convinced
In his heart Telemachus that he saw the immortal goddess.
The same, again turning to dance and sweet song,
They began to make noise again in anticipation of the night; when
Black night in the midst of their cheerful noise has come,
Everyone went home to indulge in carefree peace.
Soon Telemachus himself in his high chamber (on a beautiful
The courtyard was facing it with a vast view in front of the windows),
After seeing everyone off, he went, thinking to himself about many things.
Carrying a lighted torch, in front of him with careful zeal
There was Eurycleia, the intelligent daughter of Pevsenorids Ops;
She was bought in the blooming years by Laertes - he paid
Twenty bulls, and her with her well-behaved wife
In his house he respected equally, and did not allow himself
Lodge touch her, fearing the jealousy of a woman.
Carrying the torch, Eurycleia led Telemachus - behind him
From childhood she went and pleased him more diligently
Other slaves. She opened into the rich bedroom
doors; he sat down on the bed and, taking off his thin shirt,
He threw it into the hands of a caring old woman; carefully
Folded into folds and angled, on the nail of Eurycleus a shirt
Beside the bed, artfully chiseled, hung; quiet
She left the bedroom; closed the door with a silver handle;
I tightened the latch tightly with a belt; then she left.
He is all night on the bed, covered with soft sheepskin,
In his heart he pondered the path established by the goddess Athena.

CANTO TWO

Then the beloved son of the Odysseus also left the bed;
Having put on a dress, he hung his sophisticated sword on his shoulder;
After, beautiful soles tied to light legs,
He left the bedroom, his face like a radiant god.
Calling the sonorous heralds of the king, he commanded
Call them a call to gather thick-haired Achaeans on the square;
They clicked; others gathered in the square; when
They all gathered and the assembly became complete,
With a copper spear in his hand, he appeared before the host of the people -
There was not one, two dashing dogs ran after him.
Athena illuminated his image with inexpressible beauty,
So people marveled when they saw him approaching.
The elders parted before him, and he sat down in his father's place.
The first word then spoke the noble Egypt,
An old man, bent over the years and experienced a lot in life;
His son Antiphon, a spearman with King Odysseus
In the horse-bearing Troy long ago in a ship with a twisted side
swam; he was put to death by Polyphemus the fierce in deep
Grote, the last kidnapped by him for supper food.
Three remained for the elder: one, Evrin, with suitors
Rampant; two helped their father cultivate the field;
But he could not forget about the deceased; he cried about him
Everyone was distressed; And so, broken, he said to the people:
"I invite you to listen to my word, people of Ithaca;
We haven't had a council meeting since we left here.
King Odysseus departed in his fast ships.
Who has gathered us now? Who needs that suddenly?
Is the youth flourishing? Is it a husband, ripe for years?
Have you heard the news about the enemy force coming towards us?
Does he want to warn us, scouting everything in detail in advance?
Or about the benefits of what the people intend to offer us?
He must be an honest citizen; glory to him! Yes it will help
Zeus, his good thoughts will be successful.
Finished. The son of Odysseus was delighted with his words;
He immediately decided to stand up and speak to the assembly;
He spoke before the people, and he, going to them, into the hand
The scepter was invested by Pevseneor, the herald, the sensible adviser.
First turning to the elder, he said to him: "Noble
Elder, he is close (and soon you will recognize him), who are you here
Collected - it's me, and my sadness is great now.
I have not heard of the enemy force coming towards us;
I don’t want to warn you, having explored everything in detail in advance,
Also, the benefits of folk now do not intend to offer.
Now I am talking about my own misfortune that has befallen my house.
Two troubles for me; one: I have lost my noble father,
Who was king over you and always loved you like children;
More evil is another misfortune, from which our whole house
Soon it will perish and everything that is in it will be completely destroyed,
The one that pursues the mother of relentless suitors, our
Citizens of the most distinguished, gathered here, sons; they are disgusted
Directly to the Ikariev house to turn to their offer
The elder listened to the daughter, endowed with a generous dowry,
I gave of my own free will to someone who is more pleasant to the heart.
Not; it is more convenient for them, every day bursting into our house in a crowd,
To cut our bulls, and rams, and fattened goats,
Eat until you drop and our light wine is merciless
Spend. Our house is ruined, because there is no such
Husband, what is Odysseus, to save him from the curse.
We ourselves are helpless now, evenly and after
We will be, worthy of pity, without any protection at all.
If there was strength, then I myself would find control;
But grievances become unbearable; house of the Odysseys
They rob shamelessly. Doesn't your conscience bother you? At least
To the extent of strangers, be ashamed of the people and peoples of the district,
Our neighbors, gods be afraid of vengeance, so that with anger
They themselves did not comprehend you, being indignant at your untruth.
Well, I appeal to the Olympic Zeus, I appeal to Themis,
Strict goddess, the advice of the founding husbands! Is our
Recognize the right, friends, and me alone to lament
Leave grief. Or maybe my noble parent
How he offended here the deliberately copper-shod Achaeans;
Maybe you deliberately take revenge on me,
Robbing our house to excite others? But wish it were better
We, so that both our livestock and our recumbent stock, you yourself
They took it by force; then there would be hope for us:
Until then, we would have begun to wander the streets, begging you
Give us what is ours, as long as not everything is given to us;
Now you are tormenting my heart with hopeless grief.
So he said in anger and threw his scepter to the ground;
Tears from the eyes rushed: compassion penetrated the people;
Everyone sat motionless and silent; no one dared
To respond with a bold word to the son of King Odysseus.
But Antinous got up and exclaimed, objecting to him:
"What did you say, Telemachus, unbridled, arrogant?
Having offended us, are you plotting to lay the blame on us?
No, you do not blame us, suitors, before the Achaean people
I must now, but my cunning mother, Penelope.
Three years have passed, the fourth has already come
Since playing with us, she gives us hope
To everyone, and to everyone separately, he promises himself, and to lead
Good sends to us, unkind in the heart for us plotting.
Know what she treacherously came up with a trick:
The great camp in the chambers, setting its own, began there
Thin-wide fabric and, having gathered us all, she said to us:
"Young men, now my suitors, - because in the world
There is no Odysseus - let's postpone our marriage until the time it will be
My work is over, so that the fabric I have begun will not be wasted to me;
Elder Laertes I want to prepare a coffin cover
Before he is in the hands of forever sleepy death
Given away by the parks, so that the Achaean wives would not dare
I reproach that such a rich husband is buried without cover.
So she told us, and we obeyed her with a man's heart.
What? She spent the whole day at weaving, and at night,
Having lit the torch, she herself unraveled everything woven during the day.
The deception lasted for three years, and she knew how to convince us;
But when the fourth was brought by the reversal of times,
One of the servants, who knew the secret, revealed to all of us;
We ourselves then found her behind a loose cloth;
So she was reluctantly reluctant to finish her work.
You listen to us; we answer you so that you can know everything
Himself and so that the Achaeans are in charge of everything evenly with you:
Mother departed, commanding her immediately, agreeing to marriage,
Choose between us the one who is pleasing to the father and herself.
But if he continues to play with the sons of the Achaeans...
Reason generously endowed her with Athena; Not only
She is skilled in various needlework, but also a lot
Knows tricks unheard of in ancient days and Achaean
Wives beautifully curly-haired unknown; whatever Alcmene
Ancient, neither Tyro, nor the magnificently crowned princess of Mycenae
It didn’t enter into the mind, then the now shifty mind of Penelope
Invented to our detriment; but her inventions are in vain;
Know that we will not stop destroying your house until
She will be stubborn in her thoughts, by the gods
Into the heart of the invested; of course, to her great glory
That will turn, but you will mourn the destruction of wealth;
We, I say, will not leave you either home or anywhere else.
A place until Penelope chooses a husband between us."
"O Antinous," answered the judicious son of Odysseus,
I do not dare to think about ordering to leave
The one who gave birth to me and nursed me; my father is far away;
Whether he is alive or dead, I do not know; but it will be difficult with Icarium
I pay when Penelope is forced out of here
I will send - then I will be subjected to both the wrath of my father and persecution
Demon: terrible Erinyes, leaving his house, calls
Mother on me, and I will cover myself with eternal shame before people.
No, I would never dare to say such a word to her.
You, when your conscience bothers you a little, leave
My house; establish other feasts, your own, not ours
Spending on them and watching in turn in their treats.
If you find what is more pleasant and easier for you
To destroy one and all arbitrarily, without payment, - devour
All; but I will call the gods on you, and Zeus will not slow down
To strike you for a lie: then inevitably all of you,
Likewise, without pay, you will perish in the house that you have plundered."
Thus spoke Telemachus. And suddenly Zeus the Thunderer
He sent down two eagles from above to him from a rocky mountain;
Both at first, as if carried by the wind, flew
Nearby they spread their huge wings wide;
But, having flown into the middle of a meeting full of noise,
They began to circle rapidly with incessant flapping of wings;
Their eyes, looking down on their heads, sparkled with misfortune;
Themselves then, scratching each other and chest and neck,
To the right they sped away, flying over the assembly and the hail.
Everyone, amazed, followed the birds with their eyes, and each
I thought that their appearance foreshadowed the future.
Alifers, an experienced old man, spoke here before the people,
Son of Mastors; of all his peers, he is the only one in flight
Bird was skillful in guessing and prophesied the future; full
"I invite you to listen to my word, people of Ithaca.
First, however, in order to bring the suitors to reason, I will say
They, that the inevitable misfortune rushes at them, which is not for long
Odysseus will be separated from his family, that he
Somewhere close lurks, and death and death are preparing
To all of them, and also to many others who live in Ithaca
Mountainous disaster will be. Let's think about how
In time for us to curb them; but it's better, of course, when
They themselves pacified; then now everything would be more useful
It was for them: not inexperienced so I say, but probably
Knowing what will happen; came true, I affirm, and everything that I told him
Here he predicted before the ships of the Achaeans went
Odysseus the wise went to Troy and with them. For many
Disasters (so I said) and lost all companions,
Unfamiliar to everyone, at the end of the twentieth year to the fatherland
He will return. My prediction is now being fulfilled."
Finished. Eurymachus, the son of Polybius, answered him: "Better
Old storyteller, return home to your minors
Prophesy to the children there, so that no misfortune happens to them.
In our case, more truly than you, I am a prophet; we are pretty
We see flying in the sky in the light rays of Helios
Birds, but not all fatal. And King Odysseus in the distant
The edge died. And you would die with him! Then
Here you did not invent such predictions, exciting
Anger in Telemachus, already irritated, and, of course, hoping
Get something as a gift from him for yourself and your family.
Listen, however, - and what you hear will be true, -
If you are this young man with his old knowledge
If you arouse anger with empty words, then, of course,
This will turn to him in pure grief;
He won't be able to do anything against us all.
Well, you reckless old man, you will incur punishment,
Heavy heart: we will bitterly make you lament.
Now I will offer Telemachus more useful advice:
Let him command his mother to return to Ikaria's house,
Where, having prepared everything necessary for marriage, a rich dowry
A dear daughter, how fittingly her rank, he will endow.
Otherwise, I think, we, the sons of the noble Achaeans,
We will not stop torturing her with our matchmaking. no one here
We are not afraid of Telemachus full of sonorous speeches,
Below the prophecies with which you, gray-haired talker,
You annoy everyone - that's why you are more hated by us; and their house
We will ruin the whole for our feasts, and retribution from us
They don't have any until the desired by us
Marriage will not be decided by her; waiting everyday for who will
She of us is finally preferred, we turn to others
We delay the brides in order to choose, as it should, wives among them.
The sensible son of Odysseus meekly answered him:
"O Evrimah, and all of you, famous suitors, more
I don’t want to convince you and I won’t say a word to you in advance;
The gods know everything, the noble Achaeans know everything.
You are a strong ship to me with twenty accustomed quickly
Now equip the rowers on the sea: I want
Sparta and Pylos sandy first visit to visit,
Are there any rumors about a dear father and what
In people there is a rumor about him, or hear a prophecy about him
Ossa, who always repeats Zeves' word to people.
If I know that he is alive, that he will return, then I will
Wait for him a year, patiently enduring oppression; when
Rumor will say that he died, that he is no longer among the living,
Then, immediately returning to the dear land of the fathers,
In honor of him, I will build a tomb hill here and splendidly
I will perform a feast on him; I will persuade Penelope to marry."
When he had finished, he sat down and was silent. Then rose the unchanging
Companion and friend of Odysseus, the immaculate king, Mentor.
Odysseus entrusted him with the departure of the house, to be submissive
Elder Laertes and commanded to save everything. And complete
Good thoughts, turning to fellow citizens, he said to them:
"I invite you to listen to my word, people of Ithaca:
Meek, good and friendly to be no one ahead
The skiptron-bearing king must not, but having expelled the truth from his heart,
Let everyone oppress people, boldly lawlessness,
If you could forget Odysseus who was ours
He loved his people as a good king, like a benevolent father.
There is no need for me to blame the unbridled daring suitors
The fact that they, self-ruling here, are plotting evil.
They themselves play with their heads, ruining
The house of Odysseus, which, they think, we will not see.
I want to shame you, citizens of Ithaca: having gathered here,
You sit indifferently and do not say a word against
A small crowd of suitors, even though your number is large."
The son of the Evenors then, Leocritus, exclaimed indignantly:
"What did you say, reckless, malicious Mentor? Humble us
Citizens you offer; but deal them with us, whom
Also a lot, at the feast it is difficult. At least suddenly
Your Odysseus himself, ruler of Ithaca, appeared also by force
Us, noble suitors, in his rejoicing house,
He planned to expel him from there, his return to his homeland
It would be for his wife, who yearned for him for so long, not for joy:
An evil death would have befallen him if many of us
He decided to overcome one; you said a stupid word.
Well, you disperse, people, and everyone take care of home
Deed. And let the Mentor and the sage Alifers, Odysseus
Those who have kept their loyalty, Telemachus will be equipped on the way;
For a long time, however, I think he will sit here, collecting
News; but he will not be able to make his way."
So saying, he arbitrarily dismissed the assembly of the people.
Everyone, leaving, went to their homes; suitors
They returned to the house of Odysseus, the noble king.
But Telemachus went alone to the sandy seaside.
Washing his hands with salty moisture, he exclaimed to Athena:
"You who visited my house yesterday and in the misty sea
She commanded me to swim, so that I would explore, wandering, isn't it
Rumors of a sweet father and his return, goddess,
Help me kindly; the Achaeans make my way difficult;
More than others, suitors are powerful, full of malice.
So he spoke, praying, and before him in the twinkling of an eye,
Similar to the Mentor in appearance and speech, Athena appeared.
Raising her voice, the winged goddess threw a word:
"You are brave, Telemachus, and you will be wise when you have
That great power with which both word and deed
All your father wanted to do; and you will achieve what you want
Goals, finishing your way unhindered; when you are not straight
Son of Odysseus, not son of Penelopin direct, then hope
Rarely are sons like fathers; more and more
Some are worse than their fathers, and few are better. But you will
You, Telemachus, are both wise and bold, since not at all
You are deprived of the great Odysseus power; and hope
There is for you that you will successfully complete the undertaking.
Let the suitors, iniquity, plot evil - leave them;
Woe to the insane! They are in blindness, unfamiliar with the truth,
They do not foresee their death, nor the black fate, daily
Coming closer and closer to them, to suddenly destroy them.
You can undertake your journey immediately;
Being your father's friend, I will equip
A fast ship for you and I will follow you myself.
But now return to the suitors; and you on the road
Let them prepare food, let them fill the vessels;
Let them pour wine and flour into amphoras, sailor
Nutritious food, in leather, dense furs will be prepared.
That sometimes I will recruit rowers; ships in Ithaca,
Embraced by the sea, there are many both new and old; between them
The best one I will choose myself; and immediately he will be us
The path is made, and let us lower it to the sacred sea."
Thus spoke Athena, Zeus's daughter, to Telemachus.
Hearing the voice of the goddess, he immediately left the shore.
Returning to the house with sadness of a sweet heart, he found
There are powerful suitors: some were ripped off in the chambers
Goats, and others, having slaughtered pigs, fired at them in the yard.
With a sharp grin, Antinous approached him and, forcibly
Taking him by the hand and calling him by name, he said:
"A hot-tempered young man, an evil talker, Telemachus, do not worry
More about harming us either in word or deed, but rather
Be friendly with us without any worries, have fun, as it used to be.
Well, the Achaeans will not slow down your will to fulfill: you will receive
You and the ship and selected rowers, in order to quickly reach
To Pylos, dear to the gods, and learn about the distant father."
The sensible son of Odysseus meekly answered him:
"No, Antinous, it is indecent for me to be with you, arrogant, together
Against the desire to sit at the table, having fun carefree;
Be satisfied with the fact that our property is the best
You, suitors, ruined while I was a minor.
Now, when, having matured and listening to smart advisers,
I learned everything, and when courage awakened in me,
I'll try to call on your neck the Park of the inevitable,
Is it so, or otherwise, whether having gone to Pylos, or having found here
Means. I'm going - and my path will not be in vain, although I
I'm going as a fellow traveler, because (it was so arranged by you)
It is impossible for me to have my own ship and rowers here."
So he said his hand from Antinous's hand
Pulled out. Meanwhile, suitors, establishing a plentiful dinner,
Many sharp words offended his heart.
Thus spoke some of the impudently haughty scoffers:
"Telemachus intended to destroy us in earnest; perhaps
Many he will bring to his aid from the sandy Pylos, many
Also from Sparta; about that he, we see, cares much.
It may also happen that the rich land of Ether
He will visit, so that, having obtained poison there, deadly to people,
Here, poison the craters with them and destroy us all at once.
“But,” the others answered mockingly first, “who knows!
It can easily happen that he himself, like a father, will die,
Long wandering the seas far from friends and family.
That, of course, will concern us too: then we will have to
All to divide among themselves their property; let's give up the house
We are Penelope and the husband she has chosen among us."
So grooms. Telemachus went to his father's pantry,
The building is spacious; heaps of gold and copper lay there;
There were a lot of dresses in chests and fragrant oil stored;
Clay kufas with perennial and sweet wine stood
Next to the walls, concluding a divinely pure drink
In the bowels of the deep, in case Odysseus returns
To the house, having endured severe sorrows and many vicissitudes.
Double-leaf doors, double-locked, to that pantry
Served as an entrance; venerable housekeeper day and night
There, with a highly experienced, vigilant zeal, she kept in order
All Eurycleia, intelligent daughter of Pevsenorids Ops.
Calling Eurycleia into that pantry, Telemachus said to her:
"Nanny, fill the amphorae with fragrant, delicious wine
After the dear one that you keep here,
Remembering him, about the unfortunate, and all hoping that in his house
King Odysseus will return, and escaped death and the Park.
With it you fill twelve amphorae and cork amphoras;
Similarly, prepare leather, dense furs, organ
full of flour; and that each of them contained twenty
Mer; but you alone know about this; collect all supplies
in a bunch; I will come for them in the evening, at a time when
Penelope will go to her upper rest, thinking about sleep.
I want to visit Sparta and Pylos sandy to visit.
Are there any rumors about the dear father and his return?
Finished. He Eurycleia, diligent nurse, crying,
With a loud sob, the winged one threw the word: "Why are you,
Our dear child, open to such thoughts
A heart? Why do you aspire to a distant, alien land
You, our only consolation? your parent is
Met the end between hostile peoples far from home;
Here, while you are wandering, they will insidiously arrange
Kov, to lime both you and your wealth will be divided.
Better stay with us at your own; there is no need
In the terrible sea you will go into trouble and into storms.
Answering her, the judicious son of Odysseus said:
"Nanny, my friend, do not worry; not past the gods, I decided
On the road, but swear to me that your mother will not know anything from you.
Before, until eleven or twelve days have passed,
Or until she asks about me herself, or someone else
She won’t tell secrets - I’m afraid that she won’t fade from crying
Freshness of the face." Eurycleia became great gods
To swear; when she swore and made her oath,
Immediately she poured all the amphorae with fragrant wine,
She prepared thick leather sacks full of flour.
He, having returned home, remained there with the suitors.
A clever thought was born here in the heart of Pallas Athena:
Taking the form of Telemachus, she ran around the whole city;
To everyone you meet, affectionately addressing, get together
She invited everyone to the fast ship in the evening.
After, having come to Noemon, the reasonable son of Phronius,
She asked to give the ship - Noemon agreed willingly.
A light ship for salty moisture, having lowered and stocks,
Necessary for every durable ship, having collected, in fact
The goddess placed him at the exit to the sea from the bay.
People came together, and in everyone she aroused courage.
A new thought was born here in the heart of Pallas Athena:
In the house of Odysseus, the noble king, having entered, the goddess
She brought a sweet dream to the suitors feasting there, clouded
The thoughts of the drinkers and snatched the goblets from their hands; attraction
Having yielded to sleep, they went home and did not last long.
They waited for him, he was not slow to fall on tired eyes.
Then the bright-eyed daughter of Zeus told Telemachus,
Calling him out of the lavish dining room,
Similar to the Mentor in appearance and speech: "It's time, Telemachus, for us;
All our light-shod companions have already gathered;
Sitting by the oars, they wait for you impatiently;
Time to go; it is not good for us to put off our way.”
Having finished, Pallas Athena went ahead of Telemachus
Quick step; Telemachus hastily followed the goddess.
Having approached the sea and the ship that was waiting for them, they were there
Companions of the thick-haired ones were found near the sandy shore.
Telemakhov's holy power then turned to them:
"Brothers, let's hasten to bring travel supplies; they are already
Everything is prepared in the house, and the mother has not heard of anything;
Also, nothing is said to the slaves; only one secret
He knows." And he quickly went ahead; after him all the others.
Taking supplies, they have them on a well-arranged ship
Folded, as the beloved son of Odysseus commanded them.
Soon he himself entered the ship for the goddess Athena;
Near the stern of the ship, she fit; next to her
Telemachus sat down, and the oarsmen, hastily untying the ropes,
They also boarded the ship and sat on the benches by the oars.
Then the bright-eyed daughter of Zeus gave them a fair wind,
A marshmallow wafted fresh, roaring the dark sea.
Exciting the vigorous rowers, Telemachus ordered them to
Arrange tackle; obeying him, a pine mast
They raised at once and, deep into the nest, hoisted,
She was approved in it, and ropes were pulled from the sides;
White was then tied with braided sail straps;
Filled with wind, it rose, and the purple waves
There was a loud noise under the keel of the ship flowing into them;
He ran along the waves, raking his way into them.
Here shipbuilders, having arranged a black fast ship,
They filled the bowls with sweet wine and, praying, created
A libation due to the ever-born, immortal gods,
More than others, the bright-eyed goddess, the great Pallas.
The ship calmly made its way all night and all morning.

CANTO THREE

Helios rose from the beautiful sea and appeared on a copper
The vault of heaven to shine for the immortal gods and for mortals,
Rock subject to people living on a fruitful land.
That sometimes the ship reached Neleev city
Lush, Pylos. The people sacrificed there on the shore
Black bulls to Poseidon, the azure-curly god;
There were nine benches there; on the benches, five hundred each,
People were sitting, and there were nine bulls in front of each.
Having tasted sweet wombs, they already burned before God
Hips while the sailors entered the pier. removed
Tackle and anchor the rickety ship, settling down to earth
They went out; Telemachus, following Athena, also
Released. Turning to him, the goddess Athena said:
"Son of the Odysseys, now you must not be shy;
For then we set off into the sea, in order to find out in what
Your father was abandoned to the earth by fate and what he endured.
Boldly approach the horses bridle Nestor; know us
It must be what thoughts are in his soul.
Feel free to ask him to tell you the whole truth;
Of course, he will not tell a lie, gifted with a great mind.
“But,” the judicious son of Odysseus answered the goddess, “
How to approach me? What greeting shall I say, Mentor?
Few still in reasonable conversations with people I am skillful;
Also, I don't know if it's proper for the younger ones to question the older ones?"
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
“Many things yourself, Telemachus, you will guess with your mind;
A benevolent demon will reveal much to you; not against
The will of the immortals, I think you were born and raised.
Having finished, the goddess Athena went ahead of Telemachus
Quick step; Telemachus followed her; and hastily
They come to the place where the Pilaeans, having gathered, sat;
There with his sons and Nestor sat; their friends, establishing
They feasted, fussed, put on skewers, roasted meat.
Everyone, seeing foreigners, went to meet them and, hands
When serving them, they asked them to sit down in a friendly manner with the people.
The first, who met them, Nestor's son, noble Pisistratus,
Gently taking both by the hand, on the sandy shore
Place on soft spread skins invited them to take
Between the elderly father and the younger brother Thrasimedes.
Give them a sweet taste of the womb, he is fragrant wine
He filled the cup, took a sip of wine and said bright-eyed
Daughters of Zeus aegis holder Pallas Athena:
"Wanderer, you must call Poseidon the lord: you are now
They came to us for his great feast; having committed
Here, as custom dictates, before him is a libation with a prayer,
You and your comrade cup with a divinely pure drink
Give, I think he also prays to the gods, because
All of us, people, have need of beneficent gods.
He is younger than you and, of course, the same age as me;
That is why I offer you the cup in advance."
When he had finished, he handed the goblet of fragrant wine to Athena.
She was pleased with the act of a reasonable young man, the first
Who offered her a goblet of fragrant wine; and became
With a loud voice, she calls on Poseidon the lord:
"King Poseidon, landowner, I pray to you, do not reject
We who hope here that you will fulfill our desires.
Glory to Nestor with his sons, first, grant you;
After the rich mercy, show others favorably
Here, from the Pylians, now having taken the great hecatomb;
Give us then, Telemachus and me, to return, having finished
Everything for which we came here in a ship with a rough side."
So having prayed, the goddess herself made a libation;
After a two-tiered goblet she served Telemachus;
In his turn, the beloved son of Odysseus also prayed.
Parts were distributed and a glorious feast began; when
The speech was addressed to the visitors by Nestor, the hero of the Gereneas:
"Wanderers, now it will not be indecent for me to ask you,
Who are you, since you have enjoyed enough food.
Who are you, tell me? Where did they come to us on a wet road;
What is your business? Or wandering around without work,
Back and forth across the seas, like free miners, rushing,
Playing with his life and adventuring troubles to the peoples?
Having gathered his spirit, the judicious son of Odysseus
So, answering, he said (and Athena encouraged him
Heart, so that he could ask Nestor about his distant father,
Also, so that a good reputation is established in people about him):
You want to know where and who we are from; I'll tell the whole truth:
We are from Ithaca, lying under the wooded slope of Neyon;
Well, they came to you not for the common people, for their own business;
I wander, so that, inquiring about my father, I can visit,
Where is the noble Odysseus, constant in trouble, with whom
Ratouya together, you are the city of Ilion, they say, crushed.
Others, no matter how many there were, fought against the Trojans,
Disastrously, we heard, died in the distant side
All; and his death from us impregnable Kronion
Hid; where he found his end, no one knows: is it on earth
He fell firmly, overpowered by evil enemies, whether in swells
The sea died, swallowed by the cold wave of Amphitrite.
I hug your knees so that you favorably
The fate of my father revealed to me, declaring that his
I saw with my eyes or that from which I heard by chance
Wanderer. He was born by his mother into misfortune and grief.
You, not sparing me and out of pity, not softening the words,
All tell me in detail what you yourself were an eyewitness to.
If, then, my father, noble Odysseus, is for you,
Whether in word or deed, could be useful in those days, as with you
He was in Troy, where you suffered so much trouble, Achaeans,
Remember this now and truly tell me everything."
"My son, how strongly you reminded me of the misfortunes in that land
Met by us, the Achaeans, firm in strict experience,
Part, when in the ships, led by the cheerful Pelid,
We chased prey across the dark foggy sea,
Part, when in front of the strong Priam city with enemies
They fought furiously. Of ours at that time, all the best fell:
Poor Ajax lay down there, Achilles and councils lay there
Wisdom equal to the immortal Patroclus, and there lies my dear
Son of Antilochus, blameless, brave and just as wondrous
The ease of running, how he was a fearless fighter. And a lot
We experienced various other great disasters, about them
Can even one of the earthly people tell everything?
If for five whole years and six years you could incessantly
Collect news about the troubles that happened to the cheerful Achaeans,
You would, without knowing everything, returned home dissatisfied.
For nine years we worked to destroy them, inventing
Many tricks, - Kronion decided to end violently.
In smart councils, no one there could be put along
With him: far ahead of everyone by the invention of many
Cunning King Odysseus, your noble parent, if
Truly you are his son. I look at you with amazement;
With him and speeches you are similar; but who would have thought that
Is it possible for a young man to resemble him so much in clever speech?
Well, I constantly, as long as we waged a war, on the advice,
In the assembly of the people, he always spoke at the same time with Odysseus;
We agree in opinions, we are always together, having considered strictly,
They chose only one thing, which was more useful for the Achaeans.
But when, having overthrown the great city of Priam,
We returned to the ships, God parted us: Kronion
The Achaeans planned to prepare a disastrous path across the seas.
Not everyone had a bright mind, not everyone is fair
They were - that's why an evil fate befell
Many who angered the bright-eyed daughter of a terrible god.
The goddess Athena kindled a strong strife among the Atrids:
Both, convene intent people for advice, recklessly
We collected them not at the usual time, when it was already setting
The sun; the Achaeans got together, drunk with wine; The same
One by one they began to explain to them the reason for the meeting:
King Menelaus demanded that the Argive men return
The path along the wide sea ridge rushed immediately;
That Agamemnon rejected: he still holds the Achaeans
Then he thought that they, having made the holy hecatomb,
Wrath reconciled the terrible goddess... baby! Still he
Evidently, he did not know that there could be no reconciliation with her:
The eternal gods do not change quickly in their thoughts.
So, turning insulting speeches to each other, there both
Brothers stood; collection of light-shod Achaeans
The cry was filled with fury, opinions divided into two.
All that night we spent hostile against each other
Thoughts: Zeus prepared punishment for us, lawless ones.
In the morning alone on the beautiful sea again by ships
(Taking both booty and virgins deeply girded) went out.
But half the other Achaeans remained on the shore
Together with King Agamemnon, shepherd of many nations.
We gave way to the ships, and they ran along the waves
Quickly: under them, the god was smoothing the deep sea.
Coming soon to Tenedos, we sacrificed there to the immortals,
Give us a homeland by praying to them, but Diy is still adamant to us
He hesitated to allow the return: he angered us with a secondary enmity.
Part of the king Odysseus, the giver of wise advice,
In multi-oared ships, she rushed in the opposite
The path for Atrid to submit to King Agamemnon again.
I hastily with all the ships subject to me
He swam forward, guessing that a demon was preparing a disaster for us;
And the son of the poor Tydeus swam with all his own;
Later, Menelaus the golden-haired went on his way: in Lesbos
He overtook us, undecided which way to choose for us:
Above the rocks of plentiful Chios, your way to Psyra
Edit, leaving it on the left hand, or below
Chios past the howling Mimant?
We prayed to Diya for a sign to give us; and, having given a sign,
He commanded that, cutting the sea in the very middle,
We went to Euboea for a quick, close misfortune to avoid;
The wind is fair, whistling, rustled, and, fishy
Making the path easily, the ships reached Gerest
By the night; from many bulls we laid fat thighs
There on the altar of Poseidon, measuring the great sea.
The fourth day was completed, when, having reached Argos,
All the ships of Diomedes, the currier of the horses, became
At the pier. Right in the meantime, I sailed to Pylos, and not once
The fair wind, initially sent to us by Diem, did not subside.
So I returned, my son, without any news; and until now
I still could not tell who died from the Achaeans, who was saved.
What did we learn from others, living under a home roof,
Then I will tell you, as it should, without hiding anything.
We heard that with the young Achilles the great son
All his myrmidons, spearmen returned home;
Live, they say, Philoctetes, beloved son of Pean; healthy
Idomeneo (none of the companions who escaped with him
Together the war, without losing at sea) reached Crete;
To you, of course, and to a distant land came about Atris
Rumor how he returned home, how he was put to death by Aegisthus,
Like Aegisthus, at last he deserved his reward.
Happiness when the deceased husband remains cheerful
Son to avenge, like Orestes, who struck down Aegisthus, with which
His many-glorious parent was slaughtered maliciously!
So it is with you, my beloved friend, so beautifully ripened,
It must be firm so that your name and descendants will be praised."
After listening to Nestor, the noble Telemachus answered:
"Son of Neleus, O Nestor, great glory of the Achaeans,
True, he took revenge, and terribly took revenge, and to him from the peoples
The honor will be universal and there will be praise from posterity.
Oh, if only they gave me the same power
Gods, so that in the same way I could take revenge on suitors who inflict
So many insults to me, insidiously plotting my death!
But they did not want to send such a great grace
Gods neither to me, nor to my father - and my lot from now on is patience.
So Nestor, the hero of the Gerenees, answered Telemachus:
"You yourself, my dear, reminded me of that in your own words;
We heard that, oppressing your noble mother,
In your house, the suitors do a lot of lawless things.
I would like to know: do you yourself bear it with your will? Is the people
Does your land hate you, at the instigation of God?
We do not know; it can easily happen that he himself
When he returns, he will destroy them, whether alone, having called the Achaeans ...
Oh, when to love the bright-eyed maiden Pallas
So could you, as she loved Odysseus
In the land of Troy, where we have suffered many troubles, Achaeans!
No, the gods have never been so frank in love,
How frank was Pallas Athena with Odysseus!
If you were appropriated by her with the same love,
The very memory of marriage would be lost in many of them."
The sensible son of Odysseus answered Nestor thus:
"Elder, unrealizable, I think, your word; about the great
You talk, and it's terrible for me to listen to you; won't happen
That is never at my request, nor at the will of the immortals.
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"A strange word from your mouth, Telemachus, flew out;
It is easy for God to protect us from afar, if He wants;
Well, I would have agreed to meet disasters sooner, so that only
Sweet return day to see how, having avoided disasters,
Return to the house to fall before your hearth, like a great
Agamemnon fell by the betrayal of a cunning wife and Aegisthus.
But it is also impossible for the gods from the common hour of death
To save a person dear to them when he is already betrayed
In the hands of forever lulling death, fate will be."
So the judicious son of Odysseus answered the goddess:
"Mentor, we will not talk about it, although it destroys us
It is the heart; We won't see him return.
The black fate and death were prepared for him by the gods.
But now, asking about something else, I want to turn
To Nestor - with truth and wisdom he surpasses all people;
He was, they say, a king, the ruler of three generations,
In his bright image, he is like an immortal god -
Son of Neleus, tell me without hiding anything from me,
How was Atrid Agamemnon the space-powerful was put to death?
Where was Menelaus? What a destructive
Did the cunning Aegisthus invent to make it easier to cope with the strongest?
Or, before reaching Argos, he was still among strangers
Was he also daring his enemy to an evil murder?
"Friend," answered Nestor, the hero of the Gereneas, to Telemachus,
I will tell you everything frankly, so that you can know the whole truth;
Indeed, everything happened just as you yourself think; but if
In the fraternal dwelling of Aegisthus, he found alive, returning
To your house from the battle of the Trojans, Atrids Menelaus, golden-haired,
His corpse would then not have been covered by the earth of the grave,
Birds of prey and dogs would have torn him to pieces, without honor
In a field far beyond the city of Argos, lying, his wife
Our people would not mourn him - he did a terrible thing.
That time, as we fought on the fields of Ilion,
He is in a safe corner of the multi-equestrian city of Argos.
The heart of Agamemnon's wife was entangled with cunning flattery.
Before the divine Clytemnestra herself was disgusted
It was a shameful thing - she had no vicious thoughts;
There was a singer with her, to whom King Agamemnon,
In preparation for sailing to Troy, he commanded to watch his wife;
But, as soon as fate betrayed her to crime,
That song-singer was exiled by Aegisthus to a barren island,
Where he was left: and the birds of prey tore him to pieces.
He invited her, who wanted one with him, to his house;
He burned many thighs on holy altars before the gods,
With many contributions, and with gold and fabrics, he decorated the temples,
Such a daring thing with an unexpected ending with success.
We, having left the land of Troy, sailed together,
I and Atrids Menelaus, bound by close friendship.
We were already before the sacred Sounion, the Cape of Attia;
Suddenly Menelaev's feeder Phoebus Apollo invisibly
He killed with his quiet arrow: controlling the running
The ship, the helm was held by a highly experienced firm hand
Frontis, Onetor's son, the most of all earthly
The secret penetrated to own the ship in the ensuing storm.
He slowed down his path, although he was in a hurry, Menelaus, so that on the shore
Honor the burial of a friend with a proper triumph;
But when on his steep-sided ships again he
The high cape of Malea went into the dark sea
Quickly reached - everywhere thundering Kronion, planning
Death, overtook him with a noisy wind breathing,
He raised mighty, heavy, mountainous waves.
Suddenly, parting the ships, he threw half of them to Crete,
Where the kydons live near the bright streams of Yardan.
A smooth cliff is seen there, rising above the salty moisture,
Moving into the dark sea at the extreme limits of Gortyn;
Where the great waves hit the western shore at Festus
Note catches up and a small cliff crushes them, repelling,
Those ships found themselves; by dexterity escaped death
People; their ships perished, shattered on sharp stones.
Five other dark-nosed ships, stolen by the storm,
A mighty wind and waves rushed to the coast of Egypt.
There Menelaus, gathering treasures and much gold,
Wandered among the peoples of a different language, and at the same
Time Aegisthus committed a lawless deed in Argos,
Having betrayed Atrids to death, the people submitted silently.
For seven whole years he ruled in the golden-bountiful Mycenae;
But on the eighth from Athens returned to his death
Godlike Orestes; and he slew the murderer, with whom
His many-glorious parent was slaughtered maliciously.
Having established a great feast for the Argives, he made a burial
He and the criminal mother, along with Aegisthus the contemptible.
On that very day, and Atrids Menelaus, the challenger in battle,
He arrived, having collected wealth, as much as he could fit in the ships.
You are not for long, my son, wander far from your homeland,
The house and legacy of the noble father leaving the victim
Daring robbers, eating yours mercilessly; plunder
Everything, and the path you have made will remain useless.
But Menelaus Atris (I advise, I demand) must
You visit; he recently arrived in the fatherland from alien
Countries, from people from whom no one, once brought
To them across the wide sea with a swift wind, could not
Alive to return, from where he cannot fly to us in a year
A swift bird, so terrifying is the great abyss of space.
You will go from here or by sea with all yours,
Or, when you wish, with earth: horses with a chariot
I will give, and I will send my son with you, so that he will show you
The path to Lacedaemon is divine, where Menelaus is golden-haired
reigns; you can ask Menelaus about everything yourself;
He, of course, will not tell a lie, gifted with a great mind.
Finished. In the meantime, the sun had gone down and darkness had set in.
Turning her word to Nestor, Athena said:
"Elder, your speeches are reasonable, but we will not hesitate;
Must now cut out tongues, and King Poseidon
Together with other gods, make a libation with wine;
Time to think about the bed of the deceased and the dream of peace;
The day at sunset is gone, and it won't be decent anymore
Here we sit at the meal of the gods; It's time for us to leave."
Thus spoke the goddess; everyone respectfully listened to her.
Here the servants gave them water to wash their hands;
Youths, filling bright craters to the brim with a drink,
They carried it in bowls, according to custom, starting on the right;
Throwing their tongues into the fire, they made a libation,
standing; when they created it and enjoyed the wine,
How much the soul desired, Telemachus the noble with Athena
They began to gather for the night on their high-speed ship.
Nestor, having restrained the guests, said: “Yes, they won’t let
Eternal Zeus and other immortal gods, so that now
You have gone from here to a fast ship for the night!
Don't we have clothes? Am I a beggar?
As if in my house there are no covers, no soft beds
No, so that I myself and my guests enjoy the deceased
Sleep? But there are enough covers and soft beds.
Is it possible that the son of such a great man, that the son of Odysseus
Chose the ship's deck as a bedroom while I
Alive and my sons dwell with me under one
A roof, so that everyone who comes to us can be treated in a friendly way?
The daughter of the light-eyed Zeus, Athena, answered him:
"You said a clever word, beloved old man, and you must
Telemachus will fulfill your will: that, of course, is more decent.
Here I will leave him to rest under your roof
He spent the night. I myself should return to the black ship
It should be to encourage our people and tell them a lot:
I am the oldest of our companions for years; they are
(All young, all the same age as Telemachus) kindly
Will, out of friendship, they agreed to see him on the ship;
That's why I want to return to the black ship.
Tomorrow, with the dawn, I will go to the people of the brave kavkons
It is necessary that there people pay me an old, considerable
Duty. Telemachus, after he stays with you,
With your son in the chariot, send you, commanding the horses
Give them the most agile in running and the most excellent in strength.
So saying to them, the bright-eyed daughter of Zeus withdrew,
Flying like a swift eagle; the people were amazed; amazed
Seeing such a miracle with your own eyes, Nestor.
Taking Telemachus by the hand, he amiably said to him:
"Friend, you, of course, are not timid in heart and strong in strength,
If you, young, are so clearly accompanied by the gods.
Here from the immortals living in the abodes of the bright Olympus,
There was none other than Dieva, the glorious daughter of Tritogen,
So distinguished your father in the host of the Argives.
Be favorable, goddess, and to us and great glory
Give to me, and to my children, and to my well-behaved wife;
I'm your one-year-old heifer, forehead, in the field
Freely roaming, still unfamiliar with the yoke, as a sacrifice
Here I will bring her, adorning her horns with pure gold.
Thus he spoke, praying; and Pallas heard it.
Having finished, he went ahead of the sons and sons-in-law of the noble
To his house, richly decorated Nestor, the hero of the Herenia;
With Nestor to the royal richly decorated house and others
They also entered and sat down in order on armchairs and chairs.
The elder then filled the goblet to the brim for the assembled
Light wine, poured from an amphora after eleven years
The housekeeper, who removed the roof from that treasured amphora for the first time.
With them he made a libation of the great
Daughters of Zeus the aegis holder; when the others
All, having made a libation, enjoyed the wine enough,
Everyone returned to himself, thinking about the bed and sleep.
Wishing the guest peace, Nestor, the hero of the Gerenei,
Telemachus himself, the intelligent son of King Odysseus,
In the resoundingly spacious rest, the bed indicated a welt;
Peisistrat lay down beside him, spearman, leader of men,
The former of the brothers is alone unmarried in his father's dwelling.
Himself, in the interior of the royal house, peace is removed,
Lying down on the bed, softly remade by the queen, Nestor.
A young woman with purple fingers arose from the darkness Eos;
From the soft bed rose Nestor, the hero of the Gereneas,
Coming out of the bedroom, he sat down on hewn, smooth, wide
Stones, at the door of a high serving as a seat, white,
Shining brightly, as if anointed with oil, on them
Before, Neleus sat, like a god with many minds;
But long ago he was taken away by fate to the abode of Hades.
Now, on the stones of the Neleevs, Nestor sat down, sceptron-bearing
Pestun Achaean. To him the sons gathered, from the bedrooms
Released: Ekhefron, Perseus, Stration, and Aretos, and young
God like beauty Thrasymedes; finally the sixth to them,
The youngest of the brothers has come, the noble Peisistratus. And next
The beloved son of the Odysseus was invited to sit with Nestor.
Nestor, the hero of the Gereneas, addressed the audience here:
"Dear children, hasten to fulfill my command:
More than others, I wish to bow down to the mercy of Athena,
Apparently, who was with us at the great feast of God.
In the field, run one after the heifer, so that immediately from the field
The shepherd, who looks after the flocks, drove her out to us; the other
Should go to the black ship Telemakhs and call to us
All seafaring people, leaving only two there; finally
Let the third immediately be the goldsmith Laerkos
Called to decorate the heifer with pure gold horns.
All the rest, stay with me, commanding the slaves
Arrange a plentiful dinner in the house, arrange in order
Chairs, firewood to prepare and bright water to bring us."
So he said; everyone began to take care: from the field a heifer
Soon they drove; Telemach's people came from the ship,
With him they swam across the sea; the goldsmith also appeared,
Bring the projectile necessary for forging metals: an anvil,
Hammer, jewel-finish pincers, and more than usual
He did his work; the goddess Athena came
Accept the sacrifice. Here is the artist Nestor, the buffer of horses,
Gave pure gold; he bound the horns of the heifer with them,
Strive diligently so that the sacrificial gift is pleasing to the goddess.
Then they took the heifer by the horns of Stration and Ekhefron;
Wash their hands with water in a tub lined with flowers
Carried out of the house Aretos, in the other hand he is with barley
The box was holding; Thrasymedes, the mighty warrior, came up,
With a sharp ax in hand, strike the victim while preparing;
Perseus set up the cup. Here is Nestor, the bridle of the horses,
Washing his hands, he showered the heifer with barley and, leaving
Wool from her head to the fire, prayed to Athena;
Behind him and others praying a heifer with barley
They showered the same. Nestor's son, Thrasymedes the mighty,
Muscles tensed, hit, and, deeply stuck in the neck,
The ax crossed the veins; the heifer fell down; cried out
All daughters, and daughters-in-law of the king, and with them the queen,
Meek in heart, Klimenova is the eldest daughter of Eurydice.
The same heifer, clinging to the bosom of the path-bearing earth,
They raised it - the noble Pisistratus stabbed her at once.
After, when the black blood was exhausted and there was no
Life in the bones, having decomposed it into parts, separated
The thighs and on top of them (twice wrapped around, as it should, the bones
Fat) bloody meat covered with pieces; together
Nestor lit it at the stake and sprinkled it with sparkling wine;
They started, substituting the grips with five points.
Burning thighs and tasting the sweet womb, the rest
They cut everything into pieces and began to fry on skewers,
Sharp skewers quietly in the hands over the fire turning.
That sometimes Telemachus Polycaste, the youngest daughter
Nestor, was taken to the bath for washing; when
The virgin washed him and rubbed clean with oil,
Putting on a light tunic and putting on a rich mantle,
He came out of the bath, with a radiant face like a god;
He took a place near Nestor, the shepherd of many peoples.
The same, having roasted and removed the spinal meat from the skewers,
They sat down for a delicious dinner, and the servants carefully began
Run, pouring wine into golden vessels; when
Their hunger was satisfied with sweet drink and food,
Nestor, the hero of the Herenia, said to the noble sons:
"Children, harness the thick-maned horses to the chariot immediately
It is necessary that Telemachus be able to rush on the path at will.
That command of the king was soon fulfilled;
Two thick-maned horses were harnessed to the chariot; into her
The housekeeper put bread and wine in reserve, with various
Food, which is only suitable for kings, pets of Zeus.
Then the noble Telemachus became in the shining chariot;
Next to him is Nestor's son Pisistratus, the leader of the peoples,
Became; pulling the reins with a mighty hand, he struck
With a strong whip on the horses, and fast horses rushed
Field, and the resplendent Pylos soon disappeared behind them.
All day the horses raced, shaking the chariot drawbar.
In the meantime, the sun had set, and all the roads had darkened.
The travelers arrived at Thera, where the son of Ortiloch, Alpheus
Born bright, the noble Diocles had his own house;
After giving them lodging for the night, Diocles treated them cordially.
A young girl with purple fingers Eos came out of the darkness.
Travelers, once again standing in their shining chariot,
Quickly on it from the yard through the portico rushed sonorous,
Often chasing horses, and the horses galloped willingly.
Lush plains, abundant in wheat, having reached, they are there
They finished the path made by mighty horses quickly;
In the meantime, the sun had set, and all the roads had darkened.

The connection between great religious personalities, primarily reformers and prophets, and traditional mythological schemes should be studied. The messianic and millenarian movements of the peoples of the former colonies constitute, one might say, an unlimited field for research. To some extent it is possible to restore the influence that Zarathustra had on Iranian mythology, and the Buddha - on the traditional mythology of India. As far as Judaism is concerned, the significant "demythization" carried out by the prophets has been known for a long time.

The size of this small book does not allow us to discuss these issues with the attention they deserve. We consider it necessary to dwell on Greek mythology; not so much on herself, but on some points that connect her with Christianity.

It is difficult to talk about Greek mythology without inner trepidation. For it was in Greece that myth inspired and directed epic poetry, tragedy and comedy, and the plastic arts; on the other hand, it was in Greek culture that the myth was subjected to a lengthy and in-depth analysis, from which it came out radically “demythified”. The rise of Ionian rationalism coincided with an increasingly corrosive critique of "classical" mythology, which found expression in the writings of Homer and Hesiod. If in all European languages ​​the word "myth" means "fiction", it is only because the Greeks proclaimed it twenty-five centuries ago.

Whether we like it or not, all attempts to interpret Greek myth, at least within a culture of the Western type, are more or less conditioned by the critique of the Greek rationalists. As we shall see, this criticism has seldom been directed against what might be called "mythological thinking" or against the forms of behavior it defines. Criticism primarily related to the act of the gods, as they were told by Homer and Hesiod. How would Xenophanes react to a Polynesian cosmogonic myth or an abstract Vedic myth such as the Rig Veda? But how do you know? It is important to emphasize that the targets of the attacks of the rationalists were the eccentric behavior and whims of the gods, their unjust actions, as well as their "immorality". And the main criticisms were made on the basis of the increasingly lofty idea of ​​God: the true God cannot be immoral, unjust, jealous, vengeful, ignorant, etc. Similar criticism was undertaken and strengthened later by Christian apologists. The thesis that the divine myth presented by the poets cannot be true prevailed first among the Greek intellectual elite and later, after the victory of Christianity, throughout the Greco-Roman world.

However, it should be remembered that Homer was neither a theologian nor a mythographer. He did not pretend to present in a systematic and exhaustive way the whole integrity of Greek religion and mythology. If, as Plato says, Homer educated all of Greece, then he intended his poems for an audience that was still quite narrow - for members of the military and feudal aristocracy. His literary genius possessed an unrivaled charm, and his writings were highly conducive to the unification and formation of Greek culture. But, since he did not write a treatise on mythology, it was not his task to enumerate all the mythological topics that were current in the Greek world. He also had no intention of turning to the religious and mythological concepts of other countries, which were of little interest to his audience, predominantly patriarchal and military. About the so-called nocturnal, tonic and funerary motifs in Greek religion and mythology, we know almost nothing from Homer.

The importance of religious ideas of sexuality and fertility, death and the afterlife is revealed to us by later authors or archaeological finds. It was this Homeric concept of gods and myths about them that was established throughout the world and, through the efforts of the great artists of the classical era, was finally fixed in the timeless universe of archetypes they created. It is superfluous to mention here the greatness and nobility of Homer and his role in the formation of Western European consciousness. It is enough to reread the work of Walter Otto "Gods of Greece" to plunge into this magnificent world of "perfect forms".

Of course, the genius of Homer and classical art gave an incomparable brilliance to this divine world, but this does not mean that everything they neglected was obscure, gloomy, base and mediocre. For example, there was Dionysus, without whom it is impossible to understand Greece and whom Homer only casually mentioned by an allusion to an incident from his childhood. But the mythological fragments, saved by historians and scholars, introduce us to the spiritual world, not without greatness. These myths, not Homeric and not "classical" in the general sense of the word, are rather folk. Having not experienced the destructive influence of rationalistic criticism, they remained on the periphery of high culture for many centuries. It is possible that the remnants of this folk mythology, modified and Christianized, still exist in the Greek and other Mediterranean beliefs of our day. We will return to this issue later.

From the book The book of the leader in aphorisms author

HOMER Homer is the legendary epic poet of Ancient Greece. There is time for everything: its hour for conversation, its hour for peace. One should be spoken about, and the other should be silent. Nice finished work. I am for you, you are

From the book Daily Life of the Greek Gods author Siss Julia

Part one. Homer the Anthropologist

From the book Experiences in the aesthetics of classical eras. [Articles and Essays] author Kile Petr

Homer "Iliad" The tribes of the Greek-Achaeans appeared on the Balkan Peninsula in the II millennium BC. With the conquest of the island of Crete, where an advanced civilization with a refined culture flourished, the Achaeans acquired what the Greeks will always be distinguished for - curiosity and

From the book 1000 wise thoughts for every day author Kolesnik Andrey Alexandrovich

Homer (VIII century BC) poet, author of the epic cycles "Iliad" and "Odyssey" ... There is time for everything: one hour for conversation, one hour for peace. ... A fool knows only what has happened. ... God finds the culprit. ... Hundreds of warriors cost one skilled healer. ... Decorates a woman

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Chapter 3 Insomnia… Homer… “The Voice of Heavenly Truth Against Earthly Truth…” M. Tsvetaeva Portrait of Homer Homer lived nine centuries BC. e., and we do not know what the world looked like then and the place that today is called Ancient, or ancient, Greece. All smells

From the book Laws of Success author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

Homer Homer is the legendary epic poet of Ancient Greece. There is time for everything: its hour for conversation, its hour for peace. One should be spoken about, and the other should be silent. Nice finished work. I am for you, you are

1. The myth of Homer.
2. The sinister grandeur of the Iliad.
3. Images of the Odyssey.
4. Glory to Achilles, Odysseus and Homer.

The myth of Homer himself is probably no less a myth than the myths of his poems. Already in the ancient period, Homer was a semi-legendary figure, akin to demigod heroes. Seven Greek cities argued for the right to be called the birthplace of the great aed, but this dispute was not finally resolved, as the lines of an unknown ancient poet say:

Seven cities, arguing, are called the homeland of Homer:
Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Pylos, Argos, Ithaca, Athens.

The traditional image of Homer is a blind old man, whose singing is echoed by the melodious ringing of strings, but no one knows what the living Homer was like. Probably, if he was physically blind, his spiritual eye saw much more than is possible for a mortal. As the blind soothsayer Tiresias, mentioned in the Odyssey, he could see the fate of people.

Some scholars doubt whether Homer existed? Maybe the authors of the Iliad and the Odyssey were different people? Perhaps these poems are the product of oral folk art? Finally, there is another version that appeared relatively recently: Homer existed, but he was a woman, not a man, as was commonly believed. However, does it really matter what Homer was like during his lifetime? He himself has long become a part of the great myth, therefore his image cannot and should not be ordinary, banal, unambiguous. And what do faint-hearted doubts about the very fact of Homer's existence mean when the Iliad and the Odyssey are real, and, oddly enough, are still modern? Didn't people doubt the existence of Christ, although he lived much later than Homer? But this is probably the peculiarity of a truly great personality - when it passes into eternity, the light that comes into the world through this person does not disappear, but in its dazzling radiance it is sometimes difficult to discern the earthly features of the divine chosen one ...

The myths preserved by Homer for posterity, after many centuries, still continue to excite the minds of people:

I closed the Iliad and sat by the window,
On the lips fluttered the last word,
Something shone brightly - a lantern or the moon,
And the sentinel's shadow moved slowly.

These are lines from N. S. Gumilyov's poem "Modernity", in which the images of the Homeric poem unexpectedly find embodiment in reality at the beginning of the 20th century. Heroes like those of Homer are the ones who pave new paths, they strive forward. But it often happens that the essence of these people is hidden in the depths of their souls, and they themselves are forced to be content with a very modest position in life, doing useful but boring work.

Our contemporaries continue to be interested in the mythological plot of the Iliad. The film "Troy" is an attempt to bring the heroes of the Trojan War closer to us, to make them more understandable and real. The sudden love of the wife of a formidable warrior for a charming guest, the hostility of two allies, ready to turn into an open clash, the sadness of a mother about the unfortunate fate of her son, the grief of a father who lost the noblest and most courageous of his heirs... These are the eternal motives of human existence. And even the theme of fate, which dominates everything and everything - is it not close to many people who proudly call themselves "civilized"?

No less tenacious is the myth of the Odyssey. The title of this poem has long been a household name for a long journey full of trials. The image of Odysseus, Ulysses, along with the images of Achilles, Hector, Ajax and other Homeric heroes attracted the attention of both ancient authors and authors of subsequent eras. Odysseus, of course, is more multifaceted than his colleagues in the Trojan War. He fights not only with conventional weapons, but also with cunning. “You are only useful with bodily strength, but I am useful with the mind,” Ulysses says to Ajax in the poem “Metamorphoses” by the Roman poet Ovid, defending his right to the armor of the deceased Achilles. But the same ambiguity in the image of Odysseus becomes the reason that Dante in the Divine Comedy places this hero and his friend Diomedes in hell, because they captured Troy by deceit, inventing the Trojan horse. However, no matter how one regards the personality of Odysseus, the theme of his return to Ithaca, his love for his homeland and his family, of course, significantly elevates this hero above his human weaknesses and sins. But the image of Odysseus captures the imagination and the fact that it is the image of a wanderer, bravely fighting the elements. O. E. Mandelstam in the poem “A stream of golden honey ...” brings the image of King Ithaca closer to the images of the Argonauts, who set off on a journey in order to gain a great treasure:

Golden Fleece, where are you, Golden Fleece?
The heavy waves of the sea roared all the way,
And, having left the ship, which worked the canvas in the seas,
Odysseus returned, full of space and time.

Mandelstam did not ignore Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, whose image is no less majestic than her wife. As Odysseus differs from other heroes in his ingenuity, so Penelope surpasses the wives of other heroes in her fidelity and wisdom. So, Odysseus invented the Trojan horse to capture Troy, while Penelope began to weave a wedding veil that will never be finished, if only not to get married and remain faithful to her missing husband:

Do you remember, in a Greek house: beloved by all the wife, -
Not Elena - different - how long did she embroider?

The English writer G. Haggard in his novel The Dream of the World made an attempt to show the further fate of the king of Ithaca. Some details of the plot coincide with myths that were not included in Homer's epic. For example, the death of Odysseus at the hands of Telegon, his own son from the goddess Circe. However, in general, the plot of "Dreams of the World" looks too fantastic, it is alien to the strict regularity of the Homeric narrative. But the fact remains that the image of one of the heroes of Homer inspires the imagination of writers many centuries later. And one more thing - although in Haggard's novel Odysseus seems to die, the motive of his future return immediately sounds ...

The glory of Odysseus lies not so much in his exploits and not even in cunning, but in his return. After all, the whole Odyssey is a story about the return of the hero to Ithaca. In the Iliad, Homer glorifies Achilles, and the glory of this hero is different:

If I stay here, in front of the Trojan city to fight, -
There is no return to me, but my glory will not perish.
If I return to the house, to my dear native land,
My glory will perish, but my life will be long-lived...

The glory of Achilles is strongly associated with Troy, the glory of Odysseus with the road from Troy to Ithaca, and the glory of Homer is not associated with any specific place on earth:

... Let's say: the great sky is your fatherland, and not mortal
You were born a mother, but Calliope herself.
(A. Sidonsky "The Motherland of Homer")

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