Classic Adventure Books - Daily
12 - The Odyssey - Homer
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- Duration:
- 31m
- Broadcast on:
- 13 Aug 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
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Just head over to solgoodmedia.com and sign up to start your free trial today. No ads, no interruptions, just pure, immersive audio content. Don't miss out. Transform your listening experience with Solgood Media. Visit solgoodmedia.com and start your free trial now. We can't wait for you to join our audio community. Happy listening! Book 12. The Sirens, Silla, and Cherub Deese. The Cattle of the Sun. After we were clear of the river, Oceanus, and had got out into the open sea, we went on till we reached the Aegean Island, where there was dawn and sunrise, as in other places. We then drew our ship onto the sands, and got out of her onto the shore, where we went to sleep, and waited till day should break. Then, when the child of mourning, Rosie-fingered dawn appeared, I sent some men to Cersei's house to fetch the body of Elpenor. We cut firewood from a wood where the headland jutted out into the sea, and after we had wept over him, and lamented him, we performed his funeral rites. When his body and armor had been burned to ashes, we raised a cairn, set a stone over it, and at the top of the cairn, we fixed the ore that he had been used to row with. While we were doing all this, Cersei, who knew that we had got back from the house of Hades, dressed herself and came to us as fast as she could, and her maid-servants came with her, bringing us bread, meat, and wine. Then she stood in the midst of us, and said, "You have done a bold thing in going down alive to the house of Hades, and you will have died twice to other people's wants. Now then, stay here for the rest of the day, feast your fill, and go on with your voyage at daybreak tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I will tell you lissies about your course, and will explain everything to him, so as to prevent your suffering from misadventure, either by land or by sea. We agreed to do as she had said, and feasted through the live-long day to the going down of the sun. But when the sun had set, and it came on dark, the men laid themselves down to sleep by the stern cables of the ship. Then Cersei took me by the hand, and bade me be seated away from the others, while she reclined by my side, and asked me all about our adventures. "So far so good," said she, when I had ended my story, "and now pay attention to what I am about to tell you. Heaven itself, indeed, will recall it to your recollection. First, you will come to the sirens, who enchant all who come near them. If any one unwarily draws in too close, and hears the singing of the sirens, his wife and children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song. There is a great heap of dead men's bones lying all around, with the flesh still rotting off them. Therefore pass these sirens by, and stop your men's ears with wax that none of them may hear. But if you like, you can listen yourself, for you may get the men to bind you as you stand upright on a crosspiece halfway up the mast, and they must lash the rope's ends to the mast itself, that you may have the pleasure of listening. If you beg and pray the men to unloose you, then they must bind you faster. When your crew have taken you past these sirens, I cannot give you coherent directions as to which of two courses you were to take. I will lay the two alternatives before you, and you must consider them for yourself. On the one hand there are some overhanging rocks against which the deep blue waves of the amphitrite beat with terrific fury. The blessed gods call these rocks the wanderers. Here, not even a bird may pass. No, not even the timid doves that bring ambrosia to Father Jove, but the sheer rock always carries off one of them, and Father Jove has to send another to make up their number. No ship that ever yet came to these rocks has got away again, but the waves and whirlwinds of fire are freighted with wreckage and with the bodies of dead men. The only vessel that ever sailed and got through was the famous argo on her way home from the house of AITs, and she too would have gone against these great rocks. Only the Juno piloted her past them, for the love she bore to Jason. Of these two rocks, the one reaches heaven, and its peak is lost in a dark cloud. This never leaves it, so that the top is never clear, not even in summer and early autumn. No man, though he had twenty hands and twenty feet, could get a foothold on it and climb up, for it runs sheer up as smooth as though it had been polished. In the middle of it, there is a large cavern, looking west, and turned towards Arabis. You must take your ship this way, but the cave is so high up that not even the stoutest archer could send an arrow into it. Inside, the silla sits and yelps with a voice that you might take to be that of a young hound, but in truth she is a dreadful monster, and no one, not even a god, could face her without being terror struck. She is twelve misshapen feet, and six necks of the most prodigious length. And at the end of each neck, she is a frightful head, with three rows of teeth in each, all set very close together, so that they would crunch anyone to death in a moment, and she sits within her shady cell, thrusting out her heads and peering all around the rock, fishing for dolphins or dogfish, or any larger monster that she can catch of the thousands with which amphitrite teems. No ship ever yet got past her without losing some men, for she shoots out all her heads at once, and carries off a man in each mouth. You will find the other rock lie lower, but they are so close together that there is not more than a bowshot between them. A large fig tree in full leaf grows upon it, and under it lies the sucking world pool of cherubdis. Three times in a day does she vomit forth her waters, and three times she sucks them down again. See that you be not there when she is sucking, for if you are, Neptune himself could not save you. You must hug the sill aside, and drive ship by as fast as you can, for you had better lose six men than your whole crew. "Is there no way?" said I, "of escaping cherubdis, and at the same time keeping sill off when she is trying to harm my men." "You dear devil," replied the goddess, "you were always wanting to fight somebody or something. You will not let yourself be beaten even by the immortals. For Silla is not mortal. Moreover she is savage, extreme, rude, cruel, and invincible. There is no help for it. For if you doodle about her rock while you are putting on your armor, she may catch you with a second cast of her six heads, and snap up another half dozen of your men. So drive your ship past her at full speed, and roar out lustily to Kritaeus, who is Silla's dam, bad luck to her. She will then stop her from making a second raid upon you. You will now come to the Threnation Island, and here you will see many herds of cattle and flocks of sheep belonging to the Sun God, seven herds of cattle, and seven flocks of sheep, with fifty head in each flock. They do not breed, nor do they become fewer in number, and they are tended by the goddess's fethusa and lampiti, who are children of the Sun God Hyperion by Naira. Their mother, when she had borne them, and had done suckling them, sent them to the Threnation Island, which was a long way off, to live there and look after their father's flocks and herds. If you leave these flocks unharmed, and think of nothing but getting home, you may yet, after much hardship, reach Ithaca. But if you harm them, then I forewarn you of the destruction, both of your ship and of your comrades, and even though you may yourself escape, you will return late in bad plight after losing all your men. Here she ended, and dawn and throned in gold began to show in heaven, whereon she returned inland. I then went on board and told my men to lose the ship from her moorings, so they at once got into her, took their places, and began to smite the grey sea with their oars. Presently the great and cunning goddess Cersei befriended us with a fair wind, the blue dead aft, and stayed steadily with us, keeping our sails well-filled, so we did whatever wanted doing to the ship's gear, and let her go as wind and helmsman headed her. "Then, being much troubled in mind," I said to my men, "my friends, it is not right that one or two of us alone should know the prophecies that Cersei has made me. I will therefore tell you about them, so that whether we live or die, we may do so with our eyes open. First, she said we were to keep clear of the sirens, who sit and sing most beautifully in a field of flowers, but she said I might hear them myself, so long as no one else did. Therefore, take me and bind me to the cross-piece, halfway up the mast, bind me as I stand upright, with a bond so fast that I cannot possibly break away, and lash the ropes ends to the mast itself. If I beg and pray you to set me free, then bind me more tightly still. I had hardly finished telling everything to the men before we reached the island of the two sirens, for the wind had been very favorable. Then, all of a sudden, it fell dead calm. There was not a breath of wind nor a ripple upon the water, so the men furled the sails and stowed them. Then, taking to their oars, they whitened the water with the foam they raised in rowing. Meanwhile, I took a large wheel of wax and cut it up small with my sword. Then, I needed the wax in my strong hands till it became soft, which it soon did between the kneading and the rays of the sun-god's sun of Hyperion. Then, I stopped the ears of all my men, and they bound me hands and feet to the mast, as I stood upright on the cross-piece. But they went on rowing themselves. When we had got with an earshot of the land, and the ship was going at a good rate, the sirens saw that we were getting in shore, and began with their singing. "Come here," they sang, renowned Ulysses, honored to the Achaian name, and listened to our two voices. No one ever sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song. And he who listens will go on his way, not only charmed, but wiser, for we know all the ills that the gods laid upon the Argives and Trojans before Troy. And can tell you everything that is going to happen over the whole world." They sang these words most musically, and as I longed to hear them further, I made signs by frowning to my men that they should set me free. But they quickened their stroke, and your relocus and peremedis bound me with still stronger bonds till we had got out of the hearing of the sirens' voices. Then my men took the wax from their ears and unbound me. Immediately after we had got past the island, I saw a great wave from which spray was rising. And I heard a loud, roaring sound. The men were so frightened that they loosed hold of their oars, for the whole sea resounded with the rushing of the waters. But the ship stayed where it was, for the men had left off rowing. I went round, therefore, and exhorted the man by man not to lose heart. "My friends," said I, "this is not the first time that we have been in danger, and we are in nothing like so bad a case as when the cyclops shut us up in his cave. Nevertheless, my courage and wise counsel saved us then, and we shall live to look back on all this as well. Now, therefore, let us all do as I say, trust in jove and row on with might and mane. As for you, cockswain, these are your orders, attend to them. For the ship is in your hands, turn her head away from these steaming rapids and hug the rocks, or she will give you the slip and be over yonder before you know where you are, and you will be the death of us. So they did as I told them, but I said nothing about the awful monster Silla, for I knew the men would knock on rowing if I did, but would huddle together in the hold. In one thing only did I disobey Cersei's strict instructions I put on my armor. Then, seizing two strong spears, I took my stand on the ship's bows, for it was there that I expected first to see the monster of the rock, who was to do my men so much harm. But I could not make her out anywhere, though I strained my eyes with looking the gloomy rock all over and over. Then we entered the straights, in great fear of mind, for on the one hand was Silla, and on the other dread cherubdis kept sucking up the salt water. As she vomited it up, it was like the water in a cauldron when it is boiling over upon a great fire, and the spray reached the top of the rocks on either side. When she began to suck again, we could see the water all inside whirling round and round, and it made a deafening sound as it broke against the rocks. We could see the bottom of the whirlpool, all black with sand and mud, and the men were at their wits ends for fear. While we were taken up with this, and were expecting each moment to be our last, Silla pounced down suddenly upon us, and snatched up my six best men. I was looking at once after both ship and men, and in a moment I saw their hands and feet ever so high above me, struggling in the air as Silla was carrying them off. And I heard them call up my name in one last, despairing cry. As a fisherman, seated, spear in hand, upon some jetting rock, throws bait into the water to deceive the poor little fishes, and spears them with the ox's horn, with which his spear is shawed, throwing them gasping onto the land as he catches them one by one. Even so did Silla land these panting creatures on her rock, and munched them up at the mouth of her den, while they screamed and stretched out their hands to me in their mortal agony. This was the most sickening sight that I saw through all my voyages. When we had passed the wandering rocks with Silla and Terrible Charabdis, we reached the noble island of the Sun God, where were the goodly cattle and sheep belonging to the Sun Hyperion. While still at sea in my ship, I could bear the cattle lowing as they came home to the yards and the sheep bleeding. Then I remembered with the blind, Theban prophet, Terasius, had told me, and how carefully Aegean Cersei had warned me to shun the island of the blessed Sun God. "So being much troubled," I said to the men, "my men, I know you are hard-pressed, but listen while I tell you the prophecy that Terasius made me, and how carefully Aegean Cersei warned me to shun the island of the blessed Sun God. "For it was here," she said, "that our worst danger would lie. Had the ship, therefore, away from the island. The men were in despair at this, and you're a locus at once gave me an insolent answer. "You lissies," said he, "you are cruel. You are very strong yourself, and never get worn out. You seem to be made of iron. And now, though your men are exhausted with toil and want of sleep, you will not let them land and cook themselves a good supper upon this island, but bid them put out to sea and go faring fruitlessly on through the watches of the flying night. "It is by night that the winds blow hardest and do so much damage. How can we escape should one of those sudden squalls spring up from southwest or west, which so often wreck a vessel, when our lords, the gods, are unpropicious? "Now, therefore, let us obey the behests of night, and prepare our supper here, hard by the ship. Tomorrow morning we will go on board again, and put out to sea." Thus spoke your locus, and the men approved his words. "I saw that heaven meant a submissive, and said, 'You forced me to yield, for you are many against one; but at any rate, each one of you must take his solemn oath, that if you meet with a herd of cattle, or a large flock of sheep, he will not be so mad as to kill a single head of either; but we'll be satisfied with the food that Cersei has given us." They all swore as I bade them, and when they had completed their oath, we made the ship fast in a harbor that was near a stream of fresh water, and the men went ashore and cooked their suppers. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, they began talking about their poor comrades, whom Scylla had snatched up and eaten, this sent them weeping, and they went on crying till they fell off into a sound sleep. In the third watch of the night, when the stars had shifted their places, Joe raised a great gale of wind that flew a hurricane, so that land and sea were covered with thick clouds, and nights sprang forth out of the heavens. When the child of mourning, Rosie fingered dawn appeared, we brought the ship to land, and drew her into a cave, wherein the sea nymphs hold their courts and dances; and I called the men together in council. "My friends," said I, "we have meat and drink in the ship; let us mind, therefore, and not touch the cattle, or we shall suffer for it. "For these cattle and sheep belonged to the mighty son, who sees and gives ear to everything; and again they promised that they would obey. "For a whole month the wind blew steadily from the south, and there was no other wind but only south and east. "As long as corn and wine held out, the men did not touch the cattle when they were hungry. "When, however, they had eaten all there was in the ship, they were forced to go further afield, with hook and line, catching birds, and taking whatever they could lay their hands on, for they were starving. "One day, therefore, I went up inland, that I might pray heaven to show me some means of getting away. "When I had gone far enough to be clear of all my men, and had found a place that was well sheltered from the wind, "I washed my hands, and prayed to all the gods in Olympus, till by and by they sent me off into a sweet sleep. "Meanwhile, your locusts had been giving evil counsel to the men. "Listen to me," said he, my poor comrades. "All deaths are bad enough, but there is none so bad as famine. "Why should not we drive in the best of these cows, and offer them in sacrifice to the immortal gods, "if we ever get back to Ethica, we can build a fine temple to the sun god, and enrich it with every kind of ornament. "If, however, he is determined to sink our ship out of revenge for these home and cattle. "And the other gods are of the same mind. "I, for one, would rather drink salt water, once for all, and have done with it, than be starved to death by inches in such a desert island as this is. "Thus spoke your locusts, and the men approved his words. "Now the cattle, so fair and goodly, were feeding not far from the ship. "The men, therefore, drove in the best of them, and they all stood round them, saying their prayers, "and using young oak shoots instead of barleymeal, for there was no barley left. "When they had done praying, they killed the cows and dressed their carcasses. "They cut out the thigh bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, and set some pieces of raw meat on top of them. "They had no wine with which to make drink offerings over the sacrifice while it was cooking. "So they kept pouring on a little water from time to time. "While the inward meats were being grilled, then, when the thigh bones were burned, and they had tasted the inward meats, "they cut the rest up small, and put the pieces upon the spits. "By this time, my deep sleep had left me, and I turned back to the ship and to the seashore. "As I drew near, I began to smell hot, roast meat, so I groaned out a prayer to the immortal gods. "Father Jove, I exclaimed, and all you other gods who live an everlasting bliss, "you have done me a cruel mischief by the sleep into which you have sent me. "See what fine work these men of mine have been making in my absence?" Meanwhile, Lampede went straight off to the sun, and told him we had been killing his cows, "whereon he flew into a great rage," and said to the immortals, "Father Jove and all you other gods who live an everlasting bliss. "I must have vengeance on the crew of Ulysses' ship. "They have had the insolence to kill my cows, which were the one thing I loved to look upon, "whether I was going up heaven or down again. "If they do not square accounts with me about my cows, I will go down to Hades and shine there among the dead." "Son," said Jove, "go on shining upon us gods and upon mankind over the fruitful earth. "I will shiver their ship into little pieces with a bolt of white lightning "as soon as they get out to sea. "I was told all this by Calypso, who said she had heard it from the mouth of Mercury. "As soon as I got down to my ship and to the seashore, I rebuked each one of the men separately, "and we could see no way out of it, for the cows were dead already. "And indeed the gods began at once to show signs and wonders among us, "for the hides of the cattle crawled about, and the joints upon the spits began to low like cows, "and the meat, whether cooked or raw, kept on making a noise, just as cows do. "For six days my men kept driving in the best cows and feasting upon them. "But when Jove, the son of Saturn, had added a seventh day, the fury of the gale abated. "We therefore went on board, raised our mast, spread sail, and put out to sea. "As soon as we were well away from the island, and could see nothing but sky and sea, "the son of Saturn raised a black cloud over our ship, and the sea grew dark beneath it. "We did not get on much further, for in another moment we were caught by a terrific squaw "from the west that snapped the four stays of the mast, so that it fell aft, "while all the ship's gear tumbled about at the bottom of the vessel. "The mast fell upon the head of the helmsman in the ship's stern, so that the bones of his head were crushed to pieces, "and he fell overboard as though he were diving, with no more life, left in him. "Then Jove let fly with his thunderbolts, and the ship went round and round, "and was filled with fire and brimstone as the lightning struck it. "The men all fell into the sea; they were carried about in the water round the ship, "looking like so many seagulls, but the god presently deprived them of all chance of getting home again. "I stuck to the ship till the sea knocked her sides from her keel, which drifted about by itself, "and struck the mast out of her in the direction of the keel; but there was a backstay of stout oxthong, "still hanging about it; and with this I lashed the mast and keeled together, "and getting a stride of them was carried wherever the winds chose to take me. "The gale from the west had now spent its force, and the wind got into the south again, "which frightened me lest I should be taken back to the terrible whirlpool of cherubdis. "This indeed was what actually happened, for I was born along by the waves all night, "and by sunrise had reached the rock of Silla and the whirlpool. "She was then sucking down the salt seawater, but I was carried aloft toward the fig tree, "which I caught hold of and clung onto like a bat. "I could not plant my feet anywhere so as to stand securely, "for the roots were a long way off, and the boughs that overshadowed the whole pool "were too high, too vast, and too far apart for me to reach them. "So I hung patiently on, waiting till the pool should discharge my mast and raft again, "and a very long while it seemed. "A jury man is not more glad to get home to supper after having been long detained in court "by troublesome cases than I was to see my raft beginning to work its way out of the whirlpool again. "At last I let go with my hands and feet, and fell heavily into the sea, "hard by my raft onto which I then got, and began to row with my hands. "As for Silla, the father of gods and men, would not let her get further sight of me; "otherwise I should have certainly been lost. "Hence, I was carried along for nine days till on the tenth night "the gods stranded me on the Ogagian island, "where dwells the great and powerful goddess, Calypso. "She took me in and was kind to me, but I need say no more about this, "for I told you and your noble wife all about it yesterday, "and I hate saying the same thing over and over again." End of book 12. Hey there, it's Solomon from Sall Good Media. A lot of our listeners have asked how to get ad-free access to our podcasts. You asked and we answered. We're offering an exclusive one-month free trial to our ad-free streaming platform, packed with over 500 audiobooks, meditation sounds, and engaging podcasts. No strings attached, just pure listening pleasure. Sign up today at Sall Good Media dot com and dive into a world of stories and sounds that inspire and relax. Don't miss out on this limited time offer. It's your gateway to unlimited audio enjoyment. That's Sall Good Media dot com. S-O-L-G-O-O-D-M-E-D-I-A dot com. Check it out, we hope to see you over there.