Liv Reads Homer: The Odyssey (A Modern Translation!) Books 23 & 24

Liv reads the final two books of Homer's Odyssey, translated by Ian Johnston. It's time for dramatic reunions (of the living and the dead!), more unnecessary lies, and wrapping things up in a tidy little bow. This modern translation is used with immense gratitude to translator Ian Johnston and Vancouver Island University https://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/homer/odysseytofc.html. AVAILABLE NOW! The Odyssey: a Modern Retelling. https://geni.us/TheOdysseyBook Submit your question for the next Q&A via email http://mythsbaby.com/questions or a voice note https://www.speakpipe.com/LTAMB. Get ad-free episodes and so, so much more, by subscribing to the Oracle Edition at patreon.com/mythsbaby http://patreon.com/mythsbaby. Enter ourpodcast guest https://www.mythsbaby.com/contact form if you'd like to be on the show as a conversation guest! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. I try to provide direct warnings when there is reference to anything with overtly traumatic themes but be aware that Greek mythology regularly features assault, death, and many other potentially triggering events. Attributions and licensing information for music used in the podcast can be found here:mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions http://mythsbaby.com/sources-attributions. Learn more about Liv's next group trips https://travelbugxlivalbert.my.canva.site/ to GREECE! Application deadline is November 30 (Subject to change due to demand). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Liv Albert?

  Hey nerds, really quick note from me. I want to tell you that we now have the applications open for the next set of listener group trips. This is us going back to the original, the trips that we have held in the past that have been so much fun, so successful, and pretty affordable in terms of wandering around Greece with a bunch of nerds. So check out the details and get your applications in at mythsbaby.com/grouptrip.

• 0:43Liv Albert?

  Hey, it's Hannah Berner from Giggly Squad and the holidays are around the corner, which means I'm officially entering my Hostess Hannah era with Arm & Hammer Hardball Cat Litter. You guys know I love cats and fostering, but when I'm hosting, I do not want my house smelling like cats. I want people focusing on my hosting skills. That's why I love Arm & Hammer Hardball Cat Litter. It delivers long-lasting odor control and forms compact clumps that make cleanup easy. So that's one less thing I need to worry about when people come over. Be guest-ready with Arm & Hammer Cat Litter. Find it now at Walmart or Amazon.

• 1:15Speaker 01

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• 2:11Liv Albert?

  Hello, welcome. This is Let's Talk About Myths, baby, and I am your host, that woman who's always yelling, Liv. And I am here today with the final reading episode of our latest translation of Homer's Odyssey. I'm so excited. We're getting through the last two books. But first, I have to address a very unfortunate announcement that we made on Tuesday's episode. You may have already heard, but very unfortunately, Michaela is no longer going to be working on the podcast. We've been doing this together for five years, so honestly, it's pretty

• 2:53Liv Albert?

  weird not to have her involved. But unfortunately, the last two years have just been, I mean, there's been no money, or half of the money that existed the year prior. And so it's just been quite an uphill battle. And fortunately, we didn't get anywhere, or at least not far enough to actually make it work financially. And so, you know, we're, I've had to unfortunately say goodbye to Michaela as a paid member of the podcast. She's going to be doing her own thing, which

• 3:35Liv Albert?

  we absolutely love. And hopefully, there will be space for some shared collaboration in the future. But you can check out Michaela's new show, I think it's Historia_pod on Instagram, or check literally Tuesday's episode because she linked it in there. I just, I want to say an enormous thank you to Michaela for the work that she has done. I really have been enjoying the Herodotus episodes, and I know you all have too. I'm sorry we couldn't make it work. Honestly, this year has been the most stressful in a very long time, or like, I want to say the past like, three years have been really bad. I've had a lot of really just, oh my gosh, things

• 4:20Liv Albert?

  that happened over that time. And then the money got cut in half, and we worked really hard and tried to build an additional financial structure outside of the advertising that has fallen so enormously in the past few years. And it just, it wasn't feasible. And so I'm just taking it back to this being a solo project. I mean, for money reasons, and frankly, in addition to the money, the stress of also trying to work with just somebody else, especially long distance, in order to try to make enough money while the money is just not coming in, like, unfortunately,

• 4:59Liv Albert?

  I think, you know, it's just the, the way that the world, things are not great. And in an attempt to just make sure that I don't lose this show entirely, or lose my whole mind, I had to make that decision. And so I just thank you so much to Michaela for the five years that she has worked on the show, and for the last year where she has been putting out episodes for you all. And just, yeah, big thank you. So send some love her way. I'll let you all know soon about any other changes that might happen. Honestly, I'm going to look at where I can pull back in the work, just so that I can also be writing the books that will actually pay the bills and hopefully

• 5:43Liv Albert?

  share with you all more books. So stay tuned in the future. But in the meantime, I'm not going anywhere, and you should make sure to check out Michaela's new show. Back to my main problematic man, Odysseus. So where we last left off, Odysseus had killed everyone and done really horrific things to the enslaved people. And a lot of other, just like ridiculously dark shit. But he was naked for most of it, so that's kind of entertaining. And that's something. And thankfully, the majority of the bloodshed is now in the past, and we have these two final books that kind of

• 6:26Liv Albert?

  wrap everything up in a very Deus ex machina-esque little bow. Just a heads up up at the top. I didn't get any new questions from you all between these last episodes, so I won't be answering any questions as I have been normally. But that kind of works because I want to make sure that these last two books get into one episode. So, I mean, thanks, I guess. But do feel free to send in more questions. I'm actually going to do a Q and A on Tuesday's episode. So if you have anything, real quick, send that in. And if it's not that quick, that's fine too, because I will be doing future Q and A episodes.

• 7:34Liv Albert?

  This is Homer's Odyssey, Book 23, translated by Ian Johnston and used with immense gratitude to the translator and Vancouver Island University. Love you, Nanaimo. I don't know, nothing clever this time. "Old Euraklaia climbed up to an upstairs room, laughing to herself, so she could tell her mistress that Odysseus, her dear husband, was in the house. Her old knees moved swiftly as her feet hurried on. She stood beside her lady's head and spoke to her. 'Wake up now, Penelope, my dear child, so you yourself can see with your own eyes what you've been wanting each and

• 8:16Liv Albert?

  every day. Odysseus has arrived. He may be late, but he's back in the house, and he's just killed those haughty suitors who upset this home, used up his goods and victimized his son.' Wise Penelope then answered her, 'Dear nurse, the gods have made you mad. They can do that. Turn even someone really sensible into a fool and bring a feeble mind to a path of fuller understanding. They've injured you. Your mind was sound before. Why mock me, when my heart is full of grief, telling this mad tale rousing me from sleep, a sweet sleep binding me, shrouding my eyes? I've not had a sleep like that since Odysseus went off to look at wicked Iliad, a place whose name no one should

• 9:01Liv Albert?

  ever speak. Come now, go back down to the women's hall. If another of the slaves that served this house had come to tell me this, woken me up when I was sleeping, I'd have sent her back at once to the women's quarters in disgrace. But I'll be good to you because you're old." The dear nurse Euroclaea answered her and said, "But I'm not making fun of you, dear child. It's true. Odysseus has returned. He's back, here in the house, exactly as I said. He's that stranger all the men dishonored in the hall. For some time Telemachus knew he was at home, but he was careful to hide his father's plans, until the time he could pay back those overbearing men for their brutality."

• 9:41Liv Albert?

  Euroclaea spoke, and Penelope rejoiced. She jumped out of bed, hugged the old woman, tears falling from her eyelids, and spoke to Euroclaea. Her words had wings. "Come now, dear nurse, tell the truth. If he's truly here, back home as you maintained, then how could he turn his hands against those shameless suitors? He was alone, and in this house those men were always in a group." Her dear nurse Euroclaea then answered her, "I didn't hear or see about it. I only heard the groans of men being killed. We sat in our well-built women's quarters in a corner, terrified. Close-fitting doors kept us in there until, Telemachus, your son, called me from the room. His father had sent him there to ask me to appear.

• 10:25Liv Albert?

  I found Odysseus standing with the bodies, dead men on the hard earth all around him, heaped up together, a heartwarming sight. And he was there, covered with blood and gore, just like a lion. Now all those bodies have been piled up beside the courtyard gates, and he's purging his fair home with sulfur. He's kindled a great fire. He sent me out to summon you. Now, come along with me, so you two can be happy in your hearts. You've been through so much misfortune, and now what you've been looking forward to so long has finally happened. He's come himself to his own hearth while still alive. He's found you and your son inside these halls

• 11:06Liv Albert?

  and taken revenge on all the suitors in his home, whose actions have inflicted so much harm." Wise Penelope then answered Euroclaea, "Dear nurse, don't laugh at them and boast too much. You know how his appearance in the hall would please everyone, especially me and the dear son born to the two of us. But this story can't be true, not the way you've told it. One of the immortal gods has killed the noble suitors out of rage at their heart-rending pride and shameless deeds. They did not honor any man on earth, bad or good, when he came into their group. They've met disaster through their foolishness. But in some place far away, Odysseus has given up his journey to Achaea, and he himself is lost."

• 11:52Liv Albert?

  Dear nurse Euroclaea then answered her, "My child, what words have slipped the barrier of your teeth when you declared your husband won't get home? He's in the house, at his own hearth. Your heart just has no trust. But come on, I will tell you something else. It's clear proof. That scar from a white-tusked boar that he got years ago? Well, I saw it. I washed it clean. I was going to tell you, but his hand gripped me by the throat. His heart had other plans and would not let me speak. But come with me. I'll stake my life on it. If I deceived you, then you can kill me and choose a painful death."

• 12:29Liv Albert?

  Wise Penelope then answered her, "Dear nurse, you find it hard to grasp the plans of the eternal gods, even though you're truly shrewd. But let's go to my son, so I can see the suitors, now they're all dead, and the man who killed them." Penelope spoke and went down from the upper room, her heart preoccupied with many things. Should she keep her distance and ask her dear husband questions, or should she come up to him, hold his head and hands and kiss them? Crossing the stone threshold, she went in and sat down by the fire opposite Odysseus, beside the further wall. He was just sitting there by a tall pillar, looking at the ground, waiting to find out if his noble wife would speak to him when she saw

• 13:11Liv Albert?

  him with her own eyes. But she sat down and stayed silent a long time, wonder in her heart. Sometimes her eyes looked straight at him, full in the face, but at other times she failed to recognize him. He had such shabby clothing covering his limbs. Telemachus spoke up, addressing a rebuke directly at her. "Mother, you're a cruel woman with an unfeeling heart. Why turn aside from my father in this way? Why not sit over there, close to him, ask him questions? No other woman's heart would be so hard to make her this distant from a husband who's come home to her in his native land in the twentieth year, after surviving so many harsh ordeals. That heart of yours is always harder than a stone."

• 13:56Liv Albert?

  Wise Penelope then answered him, "My child, inside my chest, my heart is quite amazed. I cannot speak or ask questions or look him in the eye. If indeed it's true he is Odysseus and is home again, surely the two of us have more certain ways to know each other. We have signs only to understand, and other people will not recognize." As she spoke, Lord Odysseus, who had borne so much, smiled and immediately spoke to Telemachus. His words had wings. "Telemachus, let your mother test me in these halls. She will soon possess more certain knowledge. Right now I'm filthy with disgusting clothing on my body. That's why she rejects me and will not say that I am Odysseus. But we need to think how this matter can best resolve itself.

• 14:42Liv Albert?

  Anyone who murders just one person in the district, even when the dead man does not have many to avenge his death, goes into exile, leaving his relatives and his native land. But we have slaughtered the city's main defense, the best by far of the young men in Ithaca. I think you should consider what that act could mean." Shrewd Telemachus then answered him and said, "Surely you must look into this yourself, dear father, for among all men, they say, your planning is the best. Of mortal men, no one can rival you. And as for us, we're keen to follow you, and I don't think we'll lack the bravery to match our strength."

• 15:18Liv Albert?

  Resourceful Odysseus said this in reply, "All right, I'll say what seems to me the best. First of all, take a bath. Put tunics on. Next, tell the female servants in the hall to change their clothing. After that, we'll let the holy minstrel with his clear-toned lyre lead us in playful dancing, so anyone who hears us from outside, someone walking along the road, or those who live close by, will say it is a wedding. In that way, the wide rumor of the suitor's murder will not spread too soon down in the city, before we go out to our forest lands. Then later on, we'll think of our next move, whatever the Olympian god suggests." They listened eagerly to what Odysseus said and were persuaded. So, to start with,

• 16:02Liv Albert?

  they all bathed, put on tunics, and women dressed in finer clothes. Then the godlike singer picked up his hollow lyre and encouraged their desire for beautiful songs and noble dancing. The whole great house resounded to the sounds of men enjoying celebration with women wearing lovely gowns. So any man who listened in as he walked past outside the house might offer a remark like this: "It seems that someone has married the queen with all those suitors. A heartless woman, she lacked the courage to keep her wedded husband's home intact and persevere till he arrived back home." Someone might have said these words, in his ignorance of what was going on. Meanwhile,

• 16:44Liv Albert?

  Eurynemy, the housekeeper, gave brave Odysseus a bath, rubbed him with rich oil, and put a tunic on him with a gorgeous cloak. Athena poured beauty on him. Her abundance made him taller and more robust to look at. Then on his head she transformed his hair, so it flowed in curls, like fresh hyacinths in bloom. Just as a man sets a layer of gold on silver, a skillful artisan whom Pallas, Athena, and Hefestus have taught all sorts of crafts, so he produces splendid work. That's how Athena poured grace onto his head and shoulders, as he came out of his bath, looking like the immortal gods. He settled back in the chair where he'd been sitting, opposite his wife, and said to her,

• 17:30Liv Albert?

  "Strange lady, to you who live on Mount Olympus have given more than to any other wives an unfeeling heart. No other woman would harden herself and keep her distance if her husband, in the twentieth year, came back to her in his own native land, after going through so much misfortune. So come now, nurse, spread out a bed for me, so I can lie down by myself. The heart inside her breast must be made of iron." Wise Penelope then answered him, "Strange man, I am not making too much of myself of ignoring you, nor is it the case that you've offended me in any way. I understand the sort of man you were when you left Ithaca

• 18:10Liv Albert?

  in your long-ord ship. So come, Euroclaea, set up for him outside the well-built bedroom, that strong bed he made himself. Put that sturdy bedstead out there for him, and throw some bedding on, fleeces and cloaks and shining coverlets." Penelope said these words to test her husband. But Odysseus, upset at his true-hearted wife, replied and said, "Woman, those words you uttered are very painful. Who's shifted my bed to somewhere else? That would be difficult, even for someone truly skilled, unless a god came down in person, for he could, if he so wished, set it elsewhere with ease. But among men, there is no one living,

• 18:50Liv Albert?

  no matter how much energy he has, who would find it easy to lift that bed. For built into the well-constructed bedstead is a great symbol which I made myself with no one else." A long-leaved olive bush was growing in the yard. It was in bloom and flourishing. It looked like a pillar. "I built my bedroom around this olive bush till I had finished it with well-set stones. I put a fine roof on it and added closely fitted jointed doors. After that, I cut back the foliage, removing the branches from the long-leaved olive bush. I trimmed the trunk off upward from the root, cutting it skillfully and true with bronze, so it followed a straight line. Once I'd made the bedpost with an auger, I bored out the entire piece.

• 19:35Liv Albert?

  That was how I started. Then I carved out my bed, till I was done. In it, I set an inlay, made of gold, silver, and ivory, and across it I stretched a bright purple thong of oxhide. And that's the symbol I described for you. Lady, I don't know if that bed of mine is still in place, or if some other man has cut that olive tree down at its base and set the bed up in a different spot."

• 19:59Liv Albert?

  Odysseus spoke, and, sitting there, Penelope felt a weakness in her knees and her heart grew soft. For she recognized that it was true, that symbol Odysseus had described to her. Eyes full of tears, she ran across to him, threw her arms around his neck, kissed his head and said, "Don't be angry, Odysseus, not with me. In every other matter, you've been the cleverest of men. The gods have brought us sorrows, they were not willing that we too should stay beside each other to enjoy our youth and reach together the threshold of old age. Now's not the time to rage at me, resenting what I've done, because I did not welcome you this way when I first saw you.

• 20:41Liv Albert?

  But in my dear breast, my heart was always fearful, just in case some other man would come here and trick me with his stories. For there are many men who dream up wicked schemes. Argive Helen, a child of Zeus, would never have had sex with a man who came from somewhere foreign if she had known Achaia's warrior sons would bring her back to her dear native land. And some god drove her to that shameful act. Not till that time did she start harboring within her heart that disastrous folly which filled our lives with misery as well. But now you've described that clear symbol, our bed, which no one else has ever seen other than the two of us, you and me and a single servant girl, Actoras, a gift my father gave when I came here.

• 21:27Liv Albert?

  For both of us, she kept watch at the doors of our securest room. You've won my heart, though it's truly been stubborn."

• 21:36Liv Albert?

  Penelope spoke and stirred in him an even more intense desire to weep. As he held his loyal and loving wife, he shed tears. Just as swimmers are overjoyed to catch a glimpse of land, sailors whose sturdy ship Poseidon has demolished out at sea as winds and surging waves were driving it, and a few men have escaped the gray sea by swimming to the shore, their bodies thickly caked with brine, and they are glad to clamor up on land, evading a disaster. That's how Penelope rejoiced to see her husband. She simply could not stop her white arms holding him around his neck. And then, rose-fingered early dawn would have appeared with both of them still weeping

• 22:20Liv Albert?

  there, if goddess Athena with the glittering eyes had not come up with something else. For she prolonged the lengthy night as it came to an end, keeping dawn and her golden throne delayed at ocean's stream. She would not let the goddess harness her swift horses, who let her carry light to men, Lampros and Phaeton, the colts who bring on dawn.

• 22:43Liv Albert?

  Resourceful Odysseus then said to his wife, "Lady, we've not yet come to the end of all our trials. Countless tasks must still be carried out in days to come, plenty of hard work I have to finish. That's what the spirit of Tyresius prophesied to me when I descended to the home of Hades to ask questions concerning our return, my companions and myself. But come, wife, let's go to bed so we can lie down and enjoy sweet sleep." Wise Penelope then answered, "You'll have a bed whenever your heart desires, for the gods have seen to it that you've returned back here to your own well-built home and native land. But since you have thought of it and some god has said it in your heart, come and tell

• 23:28Liv Albert?

  me of this trial, for I think I'll hear of it in future, so to learn of it right now won't make things any worse." Resourceful Odysseus then answered her and said, "Strange lady, why urge me so eagerly to tell you? All right, I'll say it and I'll hide nothing. But what I tell you will not please your heart. I myself get no enjoyment from it. Tyresius ordered me to journey out to many human cities, carrying in my hands a well-made oar, till I reached a people who know nothing of the sea, who don't put salt on any food they eat and have no knowledge of ships painted red or well-made oars that serve those ships as wings.

• 24:09Liv Albert?

  He told me a sure sign I won't conceal when someone else runs into me and says, 'I've got a shuffle used for winnowing on my shoulders.' He told me to set it in the ground there, make a rich sacrifice to Lord Poseidon with a ram, a bull, and a boar that breeds with sows. And then leave, go back home and make sacred offerings to immortal gods who hold wide heaven, all of them in order. My death, he said, will come from the sea, a gentle passing, when I am bowed down with a ripe old age, with my people prospering around me." He foretold that this is what would happen. Wise Penelope then said to him, "If it's true that gods are bringing you a more serene old age, there's hope you'll

• 24:54Liv Albert?

  find relief from these ordeals." While they kept talking to each other in this way, Eurimy and the old nurse prepared the bed with soft coverlets by light from flaming torches. Once they had hurriedly arranged the sturdy bed, Euriclia returned to her own room to rest, and the bedroom servant Eurimy led them on their way to bed with a torch gripped in her hand. Once she brought them there, Eurimy went away. Odysseus and Penelope approached with joy the place where their bed still stood from earlier days.

• 25:28Liv Albert?

  Telemachus, Philetius, and Eumaeus rested their dancing feet and made the women stop. Then they lay down in the shadowy hall to sleep.

• 25:50Liv Albert?

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• 26:34Liv Albert?

  Like, they have really great things that you can wear with so many other things. Just the options are endless. And as the weather gets colder, like all the sweaters in my closet, Quince has everything you need to round out your wardrobe, from warm, responsibly sourced down jackets and cozy cashmere scarves and gloves, to beautiful 14-karat gold jewelry that adds the perfect finishing touch. And of course, everything at Quince is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen, so you're paying for quality, not brand markup. And if we haven't learned anything in the last 10 years, isn't it just getting rid of the middlemen, you know? Making things more affordable.

• 27:16Liv Albert?

  So find the fall pieces you'll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was me. Let's talk about myths, baby. It's the best way to support the show.

• 27:42Speaker 02

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• 28:14Speaker 03

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• 29:02Liv Albert?

  When Odysseus and Penelope had enjoyed making love together, they entertained themselves telling stories in mutual conversation. The lovely lady talked of all she had to bear in her own house, dealing with that destructive group, the suitors, who because of her, kept butchering so many cattle and fat sheep and draining jars of so much wine. Odysseus, born from Zeus, told her all the troubles he had brought on men, all the grief he had endured, all on his own. Penelope was happy listening, and sleep did not swoop down and close her eyes until his story had been told. He began by telling her how he first destroyed the Cicones, and then came to the fertile

• 29:45Liv Albert?

  land of lotus-eating men, and what the cyclops did, how he compelled the beast to pay a penalty for the brave companions he had killed and eaten; then how he came to Aeolus, who welcomed him with hospitality and sent him on his way. But that was not the destined time he was to reach his dear native soil. Instead, stormy winds once more caught up with him, drove him across the fish-filled seas, for all his weary groans. He told how he came to Telepelos, where the Lystragonians live, huge men who destroyed his ships and all his comrades, and how Odysseus and his crew were the only ones to escape in his black ship.

• 30:27Liv Albert?

  He went on to talk of Circe's devious magical skill, and how, in his ship with many oars, he had then gone down to the shadowy house of Hades, to consult the spirit of Tyresius of Thebes, and seen all his companions, and his mother, who bore him and raised him as a child, and how he listened to the sirens' voices in their never-ending song, and then reached the wandering rocks, dread Corybdis and Skilla, whom no man had ever yet escaped without being harmed; how his companions slaughtered the oxen of sun-god Helios; how his ship was shattered by a flaming lightning bolt thrown down from high thundering Zeus;

• 31:10Liv Albert?

  how his fine comrades died altogether, while he alone escaped from fate; how he reached the nymph Calypso on her island Ogagia; how she kept him in her hollow cave, longing for him to be her husband, nurturing him and telling him she would make him an immortal, who through all his days would not get any older, but she could not convince the heart within his chest, how, after suffering a great deal, he had come to the Phaeacians, who had greatly honored him as if he were a god, and sent him in his ship to his dear native land, after offering gifts of bronze and gold and rich supplies of clothing. He stopped his story at that point, when sweet sleep which eases tension in men's limbs

• 31:55Liv Albert?

  came over him, and calmed the anxious worries he had in his heart. Then Athena, goddess with the glittering eyes, came up with something else. When she thought Odysseus and his wife had satisfied their hearts with pleasure and with sleep, she stirred up dawn, enthroned in gold, to move from ocean's stream and bring her light to men. Odysseus rose from his soft bed and told his wife, "Lady, the two of us by now have had enough of trouble. You were here lamenting my hazardous return, while, in my case, Zeus and the other gods kept me tied up far from my native land in great distress, for all my eagerness to get back home.

• 32:37Liv Albert?

  Now that we are here in the bed we love, you should tend to our wealth inside the house. As for the flocks those haughty suitors stole, I'll seize many beasts as plunder on my own, and Achaeans will give more, they'll fill up each and every pen. Now I'm going out to check my forest lands, and there I'll see my noble father, who on my behalf has suffered so much worry. So, dear wife, since I know how intelligent you are, I'm asking you to follow my advice. Once sunrise comes, the story will be out about the suitors slaughtered in our home. So you should go now to your upstairs room with your female attendants and stay there. Do not visit or question anyone."

• 33:18Liv Albert?

  Once he said this, he put his splendid armor on around his shoulders, and summoned Telemachus, Philetius, and Eumaeus, and told them all to get weapons in their hands, ready for a fight. They did not disobey, but dressed themselves in bronze, opened the doors, and went outside, with Odysseus in the lead. By now, light was shining on the ground, but Athena kept their group hidden by the night, and quickly escorted them outside the city. This is Book Twenty-Four. Meanwhile, divine Hermes of Cailene summoned up the spirits of the suitors. In his hands he held the beautiful gold staff he uses to enchant the eyes of anyone he

• 34:02Liv Albert?

  wishes, or to wake some other man from sleep. With it he roused and led these spirits, who kept squeaking as they followed him, just as inside the corners of a monstrous cave bats flit around and cry when one of them falls down out of the cluster on the rock face where they cling to one another. That is how these spirits shrieked as they moved on together. Hermes, the deliverer, conducted them along the murky passageway. They went past the streams of ocean, past Lucas, past the gates of the sun, and past the land of dreams, and very soon came to the field of Asphodel, where spirits live, the shades of those whose work is done.

• 34:47Liv Albert?

  Here they met the shade of Peleus's son Achilles, and of Patroclus too, of brave Antilochus and of Ajax, who had the finest form and shape of all Danians, after the son of Peleus, who had no equal. These dead shades were gathered there in a group around Achilles. Then to them came the spirit of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, full of sorrow. Around him were assembled shades of all those who had died with him, and met their fate in Agisthus's home. The shade of dead Achilles was the first to speak to him. "Son of Atreus, we thought of you as one well-loved by Zeus, who hurls the thunderbolt,

• 35:30Liv Albert?

  for all your days, more so than every other human warrior, because on Trojan soil you were the king of many fighting men, where we Achaeans went through so much distress. And now it seems destructive fate was destined to reach you as well, and far too soon, the mortal doom that no man born escapes. O, how I wish you'd met your fatal end in Trojan lands, still in full possession of those honors you were master of! Then all Achaeans would have made a tomb for you; for your son you would have won great fame in future days. But as it is, your fate was to be caught in a death more pitiful than any." The shade of Atreus's son then answered him.

• 36:13Liv Albert?

  "Noble Achilles, great son of Peleus, killed in the land of Troy, far from Argos, other men fell around you, the finest sons of Trojans and Achaeans, in the fight above your corpse. You lay in swirling dust, a great man in your full magnificence, with your skill in horsemanship forgotten. As for us, all day long we battled on; we never would have pulled back from the fight if Zeus had not brought on a storm to end it. We took you from the battle to the ships, laid you on a bire, and wiped down your skin, washing your corpse with water and warm oil. The Danians stood and wept around you, shedding many tears, and cut off their hair.

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  Your mother heard about your death and came with her immortal nymphs up from the sea. A wondrous cry rose above the water, all Achaeans there were seized with trembling. The men would have jumped up and run away to the hollow ships if one man, well-versed in ancient wisdom, had not held them back. I mean Nestor, whose earlier advice had seemed the best, using his wise judgment, he addressed them all and said, 'Hold on, Argives, you young Achaean men, don't rush away! This is his mother coming from the sea with her immortal sea nymphs to look on the face of her dead son.'" Nestor said these words, and the flight of all those warriors ceased.

• 37:35Liv Albert?

  The daughters of the old man of the sea stood round you in a piteous lament, as they put immortal clothing on you. And muses, nine in all, sang out a dirge, their lovely voices answering each other. You'd not have seen a single Argive there who was not weeping, his heart deeply moved by the muses' clear-toned song. We mourned you, for seventeen days and nights together, both mortal humans and immortal gods. On the eighteenth, we gave you to the fire. Around you we killed many well-fed sheep and bent-horned cattle; you were cremated in clothing of the gods with sweet honey and much oil. Many Achaean warriors moved round the funeral pyre in armor, as you lay there in the flames,

• 38:20Liv Albert?

  foot-soldiers and charioteers making a huge noise. Then, Achilles, once Hefestus's fire was finished with you, we set your white bones in an unmixed wine and oil. Your mother gave a two-handled jar of gold; she claimed it was a gift from Dionysus, something made by glorious Hefestus. In this jar illustrious Achilles, lie your bones, mixed with the bones of dead Patroclus, son of Manetius. Apart from these lie Antilochus's bones; you valued him above all the rest of your companions, except Patroclus. Then, over these bones, we, the sacred host of Argive spearmen, raised a huge and noble

• 39:05Liv Albert?

  burial mound on a promontory, projecting out into the wide hellespont, so that men, those now alive and those in future days, can view it from a long way out at sea. Your mother asked the gods for worthy prizes, and set them out among the best Achaeans for a competition. In former days you attended many funeral games for warriors, when, once a king had died, the younger men prepare for competition and steel themselves to win. But if you'd seen that spectacle, you would have truly marveled; the goddess, silver-footed Thetis, gave magnificent prizes in your honor. The gods had that much special love for you.

• 39:47Liv Albert?

  So even in death your name did not die; your glorious fame, Achilles, will endure among all men forever. As for me, I finished off the war, but what pleasure does that give me now? When I got back home, Zeus organized a dreadful fate for me, thanks to Agisthus and my accursed wife."

• 40:10Liv Albert?

  As they talked this way to one another, Hermes, killer of Argus, came close to them, escorting the shades of those dead suitors Odysseus had killed. When they observed this, the two, in their amazement, went straight up to them. The shade of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, recognized a well-loved son of Melanes, glorious Amphimidon, a guest friend of his from Ithaca, his home. The shade of Agamemnon spoke to him first and said, "Amphimidon, what has happened to you, all excellent young men of the same age, to come down here beneath the gloomy earth? If one had to choose, the city's finest men would could not wish for any group but these.

• 40:52Liv Albert?

  Did Poseidon overwhelm you and your ships by rousing savage winds and giant waves, or did hostile forces on the mainland kill you off while you were taking cattle or rich flocks of sheep, or were they fighting to protect their city and their women? Answer what I'm asking, for I can claim I am your guest friend. Do you not recall the time I made a visit to your home with Menelaus to urge Odysseus to voyage with us in our well-benched ships to Ileone? It took us a whole month to cross that open sea, and it was hard to win Odysseus, saccharic cities, over to our side." Amphimidon's shade then answered him and said, "Noble son of Atreus, Agamemnon, Zeus-fostered

• 41:36Liv Albert?

  king of men, I do remember all these things you say, and I'll describe for you every detail, the truth of how we died, an evil fate, and how it came about. Since Odysseus had been away from home for many years, we wooed his wife. She was not unwilling to think about a marriage she detested, but she would not go through with it. Instead, she organized our deaths, our murky fate. In her heart, she also devised a trick. She had a huge loom set up in her rooms, then on it wove a delicate wide cloth. When she began, she told us this: "Young men, my suitors, since Lord Odysseus is dead, you're keen for me to marry.

• 42:18Liv Albert?

  You must wait until I'm finished with this robe, so I don't waste this woven yarn in useless work. It's a burial shroud for Lord Laertes, for when the lethal fate of his sad death will seize him, so no Akian woman in the district will get angry with me, because a man who won such rich estates should have to lie in death without a shroud." That's what she said, and our proud hearts agreed. So by day, she'd weave at that great loom. At night, she'd have torches placed beside her and unravel it. She tricked Akians for three years with this scheme. They believed her. But as the seasons changed and months rolled on and many days passed by, the fourth year came.

• 43:01Liv Albert?

  Then one of her women, who knew the plan, informed us, and we came in and caught her undoing the lovely yarn. So after that, we made her finish it against her will. Once she'd woven it and washed the fabric, she displayed the robe. It shone like the sun, or like the moon. Then a malignant god brought Odysseus back home from overseas to pastures bordering where the swineherd had his house, and Odysseus's dear son went to that house as well, once he returned in his black ship back from Sandy Pelos. The two hatched a plan against the suitors to bring them to a nasty end, then left for the well-known city. Telemachus went there before his father.

• 43:45Liv Albert?

  Odysseus got there later. The swineherd led his master, who wore shabby clothing on his body, just like an ancient, worn-out vagabond. So none of us could recognize the man when he suddenly showed up, not even older men. We pelted him with insults, hurled things at him, but for a little while, his firm heart kept enduring what we threw and how we taunted him in his own home. But when Aegis bearing Zeus aroused him, with Telemachus's help, he took away his fine weapons, put them in a storeroom, and locked the bolt. Then, with his great cunning, he told his wife to place before the suitors his bow and iron axes, a contest for those of us who bore an evil fate, the prelude to our death. No suitor there could bend that great bow enough to string it.

• 44:30Liv Albert?

  We simply did not have sufficient strength. When the bow was handed to Odysseus, we called out to say we should not give that bow to him, no matter what he said. Telemachus alone kept urging him and told him he could try. Once Odysseus, who had injured so much, picked up the bow, he strung it with ease and shot an arrow through the iron axes. He went and stood inside the doorway with a fearful glare and kept shooting volleys of swift arrows. He hit Antinous and went on shooting, aiming at other men across the room, letting lethal arrows fly. Men collapsed, falling thick and fast. Then we realized some god was helping them, when all at once, they charged out in a frenzy,

• 45:14Liv Albert?

  threw the house, butchering men everywhere. The screaming was horrific. As heads were smashed apart, the whole floor swam with blood. "That's how we died, Lord Agamemnon, and now our bodies lie in Odysseus's yard, still untended. Our families back home don't know we're dead, the ones who'd washed the black blood from our wounds, then lay our bodies out and weep for us, the necessary rites for those who have died." The shade of Atreus's son then answered him, "Oh, happy Odysseus, Laertes's son, an enterprising man, who won himself a wife whose virtue was beyond reproach.

• 45:58Liv Albert?

  How fine the heart in such a faultless wife! Penelope kept Odysseus in her heart, her husband, true to the man she married. The story of her excellence will not die. Immortal gods will make a pleasing song for men on earth about Penelope. Tindareus's child was not like her. She planned to carry out an evil act and slaughter the husband she had married. Men's songs about her will be filled with hate. She gives all women evil reputations, even those whose acts incur no shame." So these two talked to one another, as they stood in the house of Hades, deep underneath the earth.

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• 48:46Liv Albert?

  Once Odysseus and his men had left the city, they soon reached his father's fertile, well-managed farm, which Laertes had once won by his own efforts. After much hard labor, his house was there, with sheds surrounding it on every side, where his servants, bonded slaves, who worked to carry out his wishes, ate and sat and slept. An ancient Sicilian woman lived inside his house, looking after the old man, caring for him at the farm, far from the city. Odysseus then spoke to his servants and his son. "You men should now go in the well-built home and quickly kill the finest pig they have, so we can eat. I'll sound out my father to find out if he recognizes me, sees who I am, once he's

• 49:31Liv Albert?

  laid eyes on me, or if he doesn't know me anymore, since I've been away so long." Odysseus spoke, then handed his battle weapons to his servants. They quickly went inside the house. Then Odysseus, walking out to test his father, made his way down to the fruitful vineyard, and then continued on to the extensive orchard, where he failed to find Doleus or any children of his father's slaves. They had gone away to gather large rocks for the wall around the vineyard, with the old man in the lead. In the well-tended vineyard, he found his father. He was digging around a plant, all by himself, dressed in a disgusting, shabby, patched-up

• 50:12Liv Albert?

  tunic with laced-up shin pads on his legs, stitched from oxhide to protect himself from scratches, and on his hands, he wore gloves, for in that ground, many thistles grew.

• 50:24Liv Albert?

  On his head he had a goat skin cap; in these clothes he was dealing with his grief. When Lord Odysseus, who had endured so much, saw him worn down with age and bearing such a load of sorrow in his heart, he stood beneath a tall pear tree and shed a tear, debating in his mind and heart whether he should embrace and kiss his father and describe for him in detail how he got back to his native land, or start by asking questions to test Laertes on every point. As he thought about his options and the best decision seemed to be to test him first, using words which might provoke him.

• 51:06Liv Albert?

  With this in mind, Lord Odysseus walked directly to his father, who was rooting around a plant with his head down. His splendid son stood there beside him and spoke out: "Old man, from the way you tend this orchard, you've no lack of skill; no, your care is good; there's nothing here, no plant, fig tree, or vine, or olive, pear, or plot, in all this field that needs attention. I'll tell you something else; don't let this make you angry in your heart; you yourself are not being well looked after. You're very old, but covered in muck and badly dressed in those disgusting clothes. Your master cannot be denying you care because you're lazy; that just can't be true. At first glance, you don't seem to be a slave,

• 51:50Liv Albert?

  not when one sees your stature and your shape. You're like a king, the kind of man who bathes and eats and goes to sleep in a soft bed, as old men should. So come now, tell me this, and speak out candidly. Whose slave are you? Whose orchard are you tending? And tell me the truth about this, so I understand: is this place we've reached truly Ithaca, as some man I've just met on my way here informed me?" His mind was not too clever, for he could not give me any details or listen to my words when I asked him whether a friend of mine is still alive or is now in Hades already dead. "I'll explain it to you; listen to me, and hear me out. In my dear native land, I once welcomed a man who had arrived at my own home;

• 52:33Liv Albert?

  no other mortal man from far away has visited my house as a more pleasing guest. He said he came from Ithaca; he told me his father was Laertes, son of Arcisius. I took him to the house, entertained him with lavish hospitality, and gave him a kind of reception with many things I had inside my home, providing him appropriate friendship gifts. I gave him seven talents of finely crafted gold, a silver mixing bowl etched with flowers, twelve cloaks with single folds, twelve coverlets, as many splendid cloaks, and, besides these, as many tunics, and four women slaves, skilled in fine handicrafts and beautiful, the very ones he wished to choose himself."

• 53:17Liv Albert?

  Then his father shed a tear, answered him, and said: "Stranger, yes, indeed, you've reached the country you asked about, but it's been taken over by arrogant reckless men. Those presents, the countless gifts you freely gave, are useless. If you'd come across him still living here in Ithaca, he'd have sent you on your way after paying you back with splendid gifts and hospitality; that is the right of him who offers kindness first. But come, tell me this, and make sure you speak the truth. How long ago did you welcome this man, this unlucky guest, my son, if indeed such an ill-fated man ever was alive? Somewhere far from his native land and friends, the fish have fed on him down in the sea,

• 54:02Liv Albert?

  or savage beasts and birds have eaten him somewhere on land. His mother and father, those who gave him life, could not lay him out for burial or lament his passing. The wife he courted with so many gifts, faithful Penelope, could not shed tears over his corpse or close his eyes in death, as is appropriate, though that's a right we owe the dead. And tell me this as well, speaking the truth, so I can understand: among men, who are you? Where are you from? What is your city? Who are your parents? Where did you and your godlike companions anchor the swift ship that carried you here? Or did you come on someone else's ship as passenger, men who let you disembark and then set off again?" Resourceful Odysseus then answered him:

• 54:48Liv Albert?

  "All right, I'll tell you everything, quite truthfully. I come from Alibaths, where I have a lovely home; I'm the son of Ephesus, Lord Polypimon's son. My name is Aperitus; but then some god made me go off course from Sicania, so I've come here against my will. My ship is anchored over there, close to the fields, far from the city. As for Odysseus, this is the fifth year since he went away and left my country, that unlucky man; there were auspicious omens from some birds flying on the right when he departed. So when I sent him off, I was happy, and so was he. The hearts in both of us hoped we would meet again as host and guest and exchange fine gifts with one another."

• 55:30Liv Albert?

  As Odysseus said these words, a black cloud of grief swallowed up Laertes. With both hands he scooped up some grimy dust and dumped it over his gray hair, moaning all the time. He stirred Odysseus's heart. As Odysseus gazed at his dear father, he could feel sharp pain shooting up his nostrils. He jumped over, embraced Laertes, kissed him, and then said: "Father, I'm here, the very man you asked about; I've returned here in the twentieth year, back to my native land." "Stop your grieving, these tearful sighs; I'll tell you everything, although we have to move with all due speed.

• 56:11Liv Albert?

  I've killed the suitors in our home, avenged their evil and heart-rending insolence." Laertes then answered him and said: "If that's true, if you are indeed my son Odysseus and have come back, show me some evidence, something clear, so I can be quite certain." Resourceful Odysseus replied to him and said: "First, let your eyes inspect this scar. A boar inflicted that on me with its white tusk when I visited Parnassus, sent there by you and by my honorable mother to her cherished father Autilochus, so I could get the gifts he'd promised me when he'd agreed to give when he was here. Come, I'll tell you the trees you gave me once in this well-cultivated vineyard; back then I was a child, following behind you, and I asked about each one.

• 56:56Liv Albert?

  It was here we walked by these very trees. You named them and described them to me; you offered me as a gift thirteen pear trees, ten apple trees, and forty fig trees. And in addition, you said you'd give me fifty rows of vines bearing all sorts of different types of grapes when Zeus's seasons load their stems with fruit." As Odysseus spoke, his father's fond heart and knees gave way. He clearly recognized the evidence Odysseus had presented; he threw both arms around the son he loved and struggled hard to breathe. Lord Odysseus, who had endured so much, held him. After he revived and the spirit was restored inside his chest,

• 57:42Liv Albert?

  Laertes spoke again and said: "Father Zeus, it appears you gods are still on high Olympus; if it's true, those suitors have paid the price of their proud arrogance. But now my heart contains a dreadful fear; all the men of Ithaca will rush here against us, and they'll send out messengers to every town in Cavillania."

• 58:03Liv Albert?

  Resourceful Odysseus then answered him and said: "Take courage, and do not allow these things to weigh down your heart. Let's go to the house, the one close by the orchard, where I sent Telemachus, together with the swine herd and the keeper of the goats, telling them to prepare a meal as quickly as they could."

• 58:19Liv Albert?

  After they talked like this, they went to the fine house; once they reached his father's well-furnished home, they found Telemachus with the goat keeper and swine herd carving large cuts of meat and mixing gleaming wine.

• 58:33Liv Albert?

  Inside the home, the Sicilian servant-woman gave great-hearted Laertes a bath, then rubbed him with rich oil and threw a lovely cloak around him. Athena then approached them and fleshed out the limbs on that shepherd of his people. The goddess made him taller than before and sturdier to the eye. When he left the bath, his dear son was astonished; as he looked at him, he seemed like the immortals. Odysseus spoke to him; his words had wings: "Father, surely one of the gods who live forever has made you look more handsome than before, both your form and stature."

• 59:13Liv Albert?

  Wise Laertes then answered him and said, "By father Zeus, Athena, and Apollo, I wish I were just like I was when I took Nereucus on the mainland coast, that well-built fortress, when I was the Cephalenian king. With strength like that, I could have stood with you yesterday, my armor on my shoulders, and driven off the suitors in our home. I'd have made many of their knees go slack inside the hall; your heart would have been pleased." In this way, the two men conversed with one another. Meanwhile, the other servants had finished working, and dinner was prepared. They sat down, one by one, on stools and chairs. As they were reaching for the food, old Doleus

• 59:55Liv Albert?

  appeared. He had his sons with him, exhausted from their work. The old Sicilian woman, their mother, had gone out and told them to return. She fed them and took good care of old man Laertes, now that his age had laid its grip on him. These men saw Odysseus there, and their hearts took note of him. They stood in the house astonished. Then Odysseus talked to them, all with reassuring words, and said, "Old man, sit down here, have something to eat. Forget being so amazed. For some time now, we've been keen to turn our hands to dinner, but we kept expecting you'd be coming, so we've been waiting in the house." Odysseus spoke. Doleus went straight up to him, both arms outstretched, grabbed Odysseus'

• 1:00:36Liv Albert?

  hand, and kissed it on the wrist. Then he spoke to him. His words had wings. "My friend, you're back with us, who longed for your return but never thought to see it. Gods themselves must have been leading you. Joyful greetings. May gods grant you success. Be frank with me, and tell me, so I fully understand. Does Wise Penelope know for certain you have come back, or should we send someone to let her know?" Resourceful Odysseus answered him and said, "Old man, she already knows. Why should you be so concerned about her?" Odysseus said these words, and Doleus sat down on his polished stool. Then the sons of Doleus also came up around glorious Odysseus, clasping both his hands with joyful words

• 1:01:19Liv Albert?

  of welcome. Then they sat down, in a row, beside their father. So these men spent the time finishing their dinner inside the hut. Meanwhile, rumor the messenger sped swiftly through the entire city, spreading news of the suitors' appalling deaths, their destiny. People heard about it all at once, and came in from all directions, gathering with mournful sighs before Odysseus's home. Each one brought his dead outside the house and buried them, and all the men from other cities they sent home, carrying them aboard swift ships to be taken back by sailors. Then, with sorrowful hearts, they all went in person to meet in

• 1:02:02Liv Albert?

  an assembly, and, once they met there, together in a group, Eupithys rose to speak. Constant grief weighed down his heart for his own son, Antinous, the first man killed by lord Odysseus. As he wept for him, he spoke to the assembly. "My friends, this man has planned and carried out dreadful acts against Achaeans. He took many courteous men when he embarked, then lost his hollow ships with all men dead. Now he's returned and killed some of the best men by far among the Cephalenians. So come, before he can hurry off to Pylos or Holy Ellis, where Epians rule, let's get started. If not, in future days, we'll be eternally disgraced, since men yet to be born will learn

• 1:02:45Liv Albert?

  about our shame if we don't act to take our revenge on those killers of our sons and brothers. As far as I'm concerned, the life we'd live would not be sweet. Rather die now and live among the dead. So we should act, in case those men have a head start on us and get across the sea." As Eupithys said this, he wept, and all Achaeans were seized with pity. Then Medon, and the god-like sinner just released from sleep, approached them from Odysseus's house, and stood up in their midst. The crowd there was amazed. Then Medon, a shrewd man, spoke out, "Men of Ithaca, listen. Odysseus did not plan these acts without the gods' consent. I myself observed an immortal god who stood beside him, looking in every detail just

• 1:03:30Liv Albert?

  like Mentor. The deathless god appeared before Odysseus at that time to spur him on to action, and, at another time, charged through the hall, panicking the suitors. They collapsed in droves." As Medon spoke, pale fear gripped each of them. And then, old Halitherses, son of Mastor, rose to speak. He was the only man who could see past and future. Bearing in the mind their common good, he spoke out, saying these words. "You men of Ithaca, listen to me. Hear what I have to say. What's happened now, my friends, has come about because you've all been acting stupidly. You refused to follow my instructions,

• 1:04:12Liv Albert?

  or Mentor, that shepherd of his people, and make your sons cease their reckless conduct, their monstrous acts of wanton foolishness, squandering a worthy man's possessions, dishonoring his wife, claiming the man never would come back. So now, let that be, and follow what I say and how you act. We should not move out, in case some men here run into trouble they've brought on themselves." He ended. Some men stayed together in their seats, but others, more than half, jumped up with noisy shouts. Their hearts had not responded to what he just said, for many had been persuaded by Eupithys, and quickly hurried away to get their weapons. After they put gleaming bronze around their bodies, they gathered in a large group on

• 1:04:55Liv Albert?

  the spacious grounds before the city. Eupithys was the leader in this foolishness. He believed he could avenge the killing of his son, but he would not return, for he was marching out to meet a lethal fate. Then Athena spoke to Zeus, son of Cronos, saying, "Father of us all, and son of Cronos, highest of those who rule, answer me when I ask this. What are you concealing in that mind of yours? Will you now foster further savage war and fearful battle, or bring both sides together here as friends?"

• 1:05:30Liv Albert?

  Cloud-gatherer Zeus then answered her, and said, "My child, why are you asking this of me? Why these questions? Were you not the one who put this plan in motion by yourself, so Odysseus could take out his revenge against these suitors after he got back? Do as you wish, but I'll lay out for you what I think is right. Since lord Odysseus has now paid the suitors back, let them swear a binding oath that he'll remain their king for life, and let us make them all forget the way their brothers and their sons were killed, and just love each other as they did before, and let there be wealth and peace in plenty." His words roused Athena, who was already keen. She left, swooping down from lofty Mount Olympus. Meanwhile, after his men had satisfied their hearts with a meal as sweet

• 1:06:13Liv Albert?

  as honey, lord Odysseus, who had borne so much, was the first of them to speak. "Someone should go outside and look around, to see if they are getting close to us." Once he said this, a son of Doleus got up, as Odysseus had ordered, walked to the doorway, and saw a crowd of armed men moving to the hut. He called out to Odysseus, his swift words had wings, "They're here, and closing in. Let's get weapons. We'd better hurry." At these words, they leapt up and put on their armor. Odysseus and his men were four, the sons of Doleus six, and, with them, Doleus and Laertes, though they had gray hair, were dressed in armor too, forced to be warriors. Once they put glittering bronze around their

• 1:06:54Liv Albert?

  bodies, they opened up the doors and went outside. Odysseus led them out. But then, Athena, Zeus's daughter with the shape and voice of Mentor, came up to them. When Odysseus, who had endured so much, saw her, he was glad, and spoke swift words to Telemachus, his dear son. "Telemachus, now you've reached the field of battle, where the finest men are put to the test. Soon enough, you'll learn not to disgrace your father's family, for we have always been preeminent for strength and courage everywhere on earth." Shrewd Telemachus then answered him and said, "Dear father, if that's what you want, you'll see that I, with my heart as it is right now, will not shame us, for I'll do what you say." When he said this, Laertes felt great joy, and said,

• 1:07:37Liv Albert?

  "You dear gods, what a day this is for me! I'm truly happy when my son and grandson compete for excellence with one another." Then Athena, with the glittering eyes, came up, stood by Laertes, and said, "Child of Archesius, by far the dearest of those I cherish, pray to the young girl with the flashing eyes, and to father Zeus. Then, without delay, brandish that long spear of yours and hurl it."

• 1:08:03Liv Albert?

  Pallas Athena spoke, and then breathed into him enormous power. Laertes said a prayer to great Zeus's daughter, and quickly, lifting up his long-shadowed spear, he threw it. It hit home, piercing the cheek piece on Eupithys's helmet, which did not stop the spear; its point continued on. Eupithys collapsed, falling with a thud. His armor crashed around him. Odysseus and his splendid son charged at the fighters in the front, attacking them with swords and two-edged spears. They would have killed them all, cut them down, so not one of them returned, had not Athena, born from Aegis-bearing Zeus, cried out. Her voice made men on both sides pause.

• 1:08:46Liv Albert?

  "Men of Ithaca, you must stop this disastrous war right here, so you can quickly go your separate ways without spilling any blood."

• 1:08:56Liv Albert?

  Athena spoke, and pale fear gripped the men. They were so terrified that they let go of their weapons, which all fell to the ground, at the sound of her ear-splitting voice. They turned around, back towards the city, eager to save their lives. Then, much enduring, lord Odysseus gave out a blood-curdling shout, gathered himself, and swooped down like an eagle from on high. But at that moment, Zeus, son of Cronos, shot a fiery thunderbolt. It struck between the feet of the bright-eyed daughter of almighty father Zeus, and then Athena, goddess with the glittering eyes, said to Odysseus,

• 1:09:36Liv Albert?

  "Resourceful Odysseus, Laertes's son and child of Zeus, hold back. Stop the fighting, this all-embracing war, in case thundering Zeus, who sees far and wide, grows angry with you."

• 1:09:51Liv Albert?

  When he heard Athena's words, Odysseus obeyed, joy in his heart. And then Pallas Athena, daughter of Aegis-bearing Zeus, in shape and form, appearing just like Mentor, had both parties swear a solemn treaty, designed to last forever.

• 1:10:23Liv Albert?

  Oh nerds. Ah, that's a good ending. That one was really fun to read, actually. This is when I'm really fascinated by Johnston's translation because it really, it's clear that it's quite like everything the Greeks said. So it's, it's so wordy and like a little excessive and in a really good and interesting way, particularly reading it out loud. Um, it's, also the ending is the ending. Like it doesn't, it's, it feels so tacked on. And I'm sure there are so many theories about this that I just don't know well enough, but I've always been fascinated by the ending because it's very much like it got caught up with the story. And then it was like, oh shit, like, how do we finish

• 1:11:06Liv Albert?

  this? Because by all otherwise existing rules, both mythical and otherwise, like Odysseus should not be able to continue ruling Ithaca because of all of the murder. So how do we make that work? Oh, let's just have the gods go and say like, no, don't stop. And then shoot lightning bolts and then it's over. It's just delightful, frankly. I think it conveys so much about the ancient world and just how these things functioned and what the purpose was. And also probably like things about, you know, the nature of the sources and, and whatever final version became the one that we read now and whether things were added or removed or all of that, right? Like there's just, it lets you wonder

• 1:11:50Liv Albert?

  about so much. Honestly, my voice is already going. Um, I feel it. So I'm going to wrap this up, but I am so keen to have any of your questions, especially now with this final bit. So please send them in. Um, and I will either get to them on the next Q and A, which will probably be Tuesday, or just the next time I do a Q and A. Uh, and get ready because I will start the reading of the Iliad soon, which is so fun. So I would love any introductory questions you might have. Oh gosh, maybe I should figure out the Judgment of Paris again. I don't remember what myth sources that comes from because it's definitely not the Iliad, but maybe I'll do a little intro again. We'll see.

• 1:12:33Liv Albert?

  If you're curious about anything that like precedes the Iliad and you want me to do an episode on that, let me know. It's been a long time. So maybe that would be fun. I'm going to poke around. Thank you all. As always, let's talk about myths, baby. It's written and produced by me, Liv Albert. We are so grateful for all of the time and effort that Michaela Penguish, the Hermes to my Olympians have put into this show. And I'm very sorry to see her go, but it means a new place where you all can learn more about history and hear her lovely voice. So make sure you check out Michaela's new pod again, either in the episode's description of the last episode, or frankly, it's pretty easy to find on Instagram right now, HistoriaPod. The podcast is part of the Memory Collective

• 1:13:17Liv Albert?

  Podcast Network, which I am hoping to expand more and more. And, uh, it's just such fun, such fun. Um, just, you know, life, life's hard. Everything's terrible. Um, but at least we have the ancient world to drown our sorrows in, right? Anyway, here's to the orange man's imminent and hopefully very any second now demise. There's a bottle of champagne in my fridge for the moment it happens. Love you all. I am Liv and I love this shit.

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