§14.1αὐτὰρ ὁ ἐκ λιμένος προσέβη τρηχεῖαν ἀταρπὸν §14.2χῶρον ἀνʼ ὑλήεντα διʼ ἄκριας, ᾗ οἱ Ἀθήνη §14.3πέφραδε δῖον ὑφορβόν, ὅ οἱ βιότοιο μάλιστα §14.4κήδετο οἰκήων, οὓς κτήσατο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς.
But he went up from the harbor along a rough path, through the wooded country over the heights, where Athena had indicated to him the noble swineherd, who of all the servants whom noble Odysseus had acquired, cared most for his substance.
§14.5τὸν δʼ ἄρʼ ἐνὶ προδόμῳ εὗρʼ ἥμενον, ἔνθα οἱ αὐλὴ §14.6ὑψηλὴ δέδμητο, περισκέπτῳ ἐνὶ χώρῳ, §14.7καλή τε μεγάλη τε, περίδρομος· ἥν ῥα συβώτης §14.8αὐτὸς δείμαθʼ ὕεσσιν ἀποιχομένοιο ἄνακτος, §14.9νόσφιν δεσποίνης καὶ Λαέρταο γέροντος, §14.10ῥυτοῖσιν λάεσσι καὶ ἐθρίγκωσεν ἀχέρδῳ·
And he found him sitting in the forecourt, where his high court was built, in a place with a wide view, beautiful and great, with space all around; which the swineherd himself had built for the swine of his absent master, without the knowledge of his mistress or the old man Laertes, with stones dragged thither, and he hedged it with wild pear.
§14.11σταυροὺς δʼ ἐκτὸς ἔλασσε διαμπερὲς ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα, §14.12πυκνοὺς καὶ θαμέας, τὸ μέλαν δρυὸς ἀμφικεάσσας· §14.13ἔντοσθεν δʼ αὐλῆς συφεοὺς δυοκαίδεκα ποίει §14.14πλησίον ἀλλήλων, εὐνὰς συσίν· ἐν δὲ ἑκάστῳ §14.15πεντήκοντα σύες χαμαιευνάδες ἐρχατόωντο,
And he drove stakes outside all along, this way and that, thick and close, having split the dark oak down to the heartwood; and within the yard he made twelve sties near to one another, as beds for the swine; and in each fifty wallowing swine were penned, breeding females.
§14.16θήλειαι τοκάδες· τοὶ δʼ ἄρσενες ἐκτὸς ἴαυον, §14.17πολλὸν παυρότεροι· τοὺς γὰρ μινύθεσκον ἔδοντες §14.18ἀντίθεοι μνηστῆρες, ἐπεὶ προΐαλλε συβώτης §14.19αἰεὶ ζατρεφέων σιάλων τὸν ἄριστον ἁπάντων·
But the males slept outside, far fewer in number; for the godlike suitors diminished them by eating them, since the swineherd ever sent them the best of all the fat-fed hogs.
§14.20οἱ δὲ τριηκόσιοί τε καὶ ἑξήκοντα πέλοντο.
And they were three hundred and sixty in number.
§14.21πὰρ δὲ κύνες, θήρεσσιν ἐοικότες αἰὲν ἴαυον §14.22τέσσαρες, οὓς ἔθρεψε συβώτης, ὄρχαμος ἀνδρῶν.
And beside them always slept four dogs, like wild beasts, which the swineherd, leader of men, had reared.
§14.23αὐτὸς δʼ ἀμφὶ πόδεσσιν ἑοῖς ἀράρισκε πέδιλα, §14.24τάμνων δέρμα βόειον ἐϋχροές· οἱ δὲ δὴ ἄλλοι §14.25ᾤχοντʼ ἄλλυδις ἄλλος ἅμʼ ἀγρομένοισι σύεσσιν, §14.26οἱ τρεῖς· τὸν δὲ τέταρτον ἀποπροέηκε πόλινδε §14.27σῦν ἀγέμεν μνηστῆρσιν ὑπερφιάλοισιν ἀνάγκῃ, §14.28ὄφρʼ ἱερεύσαντες κρειῶν κορεσαίατο θυμόν.
He himself was fitting sandals to his feet, cutting a well-colored ox-hide; and the others had gone, one here, one there, with the herded swine, three of them; but the fourth he had sent to the city to drive a hog to the overbearing suitors of necessity, so that they might slaughter it and satisfy their soul with meat.
Suddenly the baying dogs saw Odysseus, and they ran at him with loud barking.
αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς §14.31ἕζετο κερδοσύνη, σκῆπτρον δέ οἱ ἔκπεσε χειρός.
But Odysseus sat down with cunning, and the staff fell from his hand.
§14.32ἔνθα κεν ᾧ πὰρ σταθμῷ ἀεικέλιον πάθεν ἄλγος· §14.33ἀλλὰ συβώτης ὦκα ποσὶ κραιπνοῖσι μετασπὼν §14.34ἔσσυτʼ ἀνὰ πρόθυρον, σκῦτος δέ οἱ ἔκπεσε χειρός.
There indeed, beside his own steading, he would have suffered unseemly pain, but the swineherd quickly, following with swift feet, rushed through the gateway, and the hide fell from his hand.
§14.35τοὺς μὲν ὁμοκλήσας σεῦεν κύνας ἄλλυδις ἄλλον §14.36πυκνῇσιν λιθάδεσσιν· ὁ δὲ προσέειπεν ἄνακτα· §14.37ὦ γέρον, ἦ ὀλίγου σε κύνες διεδηλήσαντο §14.38ἐξαπίνης, καί κέν μοι ἐλεγχείην κατέχευας.
He shouted at the dogs and drove them away, one this way, one that, with thick stones; and he spoke to his master: “Old man, truly the dogs would have torn you to pieces of a sudden, and you would have poured shame upon me.
§14.39καὶ δέ μοι ἄλλα θεοὶ δόσαν ἄλγεά τε στοναχάς τε· §14.40ἀντιθέου γὰρ ἄνακτος ὀδυρόμενος καὶ ἀχεύων §14.41ἧμαι, ἄλλοισιν δὲ σύας σιάλους ἀτιτάλλω §14.42ἔδμεναι· αὐτὰρ κεῖνος ἐελδόμενός που ἐδωδῆς §14.43πλάζετʼ ἐπʼ ἀλλοθρόων ἀνδρῶν δῆμόν τε πόλιν τε, §14.44εἴ που ἔτι ζώει καὶ ὁρᾷ φάος ἠελίοιο.
And the gods have given me other pains and groanings too; for mourning and grieving for my godlike master I sit here, while I rear fat hogs for others to eat; while he, perhaps craving food, wanders in the land and city of men of strange speech, if indeed he still lives and sees the light of the sun.
§14.45ἀλλʼ ἕπεο, κλισίηνδʼ ἴομεν, γέρον, ὄφρα καὶ αὐτός, §14.46σίτου καὶ οἴνοιο κορεσσάμενος κατὰ θυμόν, §14.47εἴπῃς ὁππόθεν ἐσσὶ καὶ ὁππόσα κήδεʼ ἀνέτλης. §14.48ὣς εἰπὼν κλισίηνδʼ ἡγήσατο δῖος ὑφορβός, §14.49εἷσεν δʼ εἰσαγαγών, ῥῶπας δʼ ὑπέχευε δασείας, §14.50ἐστόρεσεν δʼ ἐπὶ δέρμα ἰονθάδος ἀγρίου αἰγός, §14.51αὐτοῦ ἐνεύναιον, μέγα καὶ δασύ.
But come, let us go to the hut, old man, so that you too, when you have satisfied your heart with food and wine, may tell whence you are and what sorrows you have endured.” So saying, the noble swineherd led the way to the hut, and brought him in and made him sit, and strewed thick brushwood beneath, and spread over it the skin of a shaggy wild goat, his own bed, large and thick.
χαῖρε δʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς §14.52ὅττι μιν ὣς ὑπέδεκτο, ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἔκ τʼ ὀνόμαζεν· §14.53Ζεύς τοι δοίη, ξεῖνε, καὶ ἀθάνατοι θεοὶ ἄλλοι §14.54ὅττι μάλιστʼ ἐθέλεις, ὅτι με πρόφρων ὑπέδεξο. §14.55τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφης, Εὔμαιε συβῶτα· §14.56ξεῖνʼ, οὔ μοι θέμις ἔστʼ, οὐδʼ εἰ κακίων σέθεν ἔλθοι, §14.57ξεῖνον ἀτιμῆσαι· πρὸς γὰρ Διός εἰσιν ἅπαντες §14.58ξεῖνοί τε πτωχοί τε· δόσις δʼ ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε §14.59γίγνεται ἡμετέρη· ἡ γὰρ δμώων δίκη ἐστὶν §14.60αἰεὶ δειδιότων, ὅτʼ ἐπικρατέωσιν ἄνακτες §14.61οἱ νέοι.
And Odysseus rejoiced that he welcomed him thus, and spoke a word and addressed him: “May Zeus, stranger, and the other immortal gods grant you whatever you most desire, because you have welcomed me so kindly.” Then in answer you spoke to him, swineherd Eumaeus: “Stranger, it is not right for me, not even if one more wretched than you should come, to dishonor a stranger; for from Zeus are all strangers and beggars; and a gift from us, though little, is welcome; for this is the way of servants, always in fear when young masters rule over them.
ἦ γὰρ τοῦ γε θεοὶ κατὰ νόστον ἔδησαν, §14.62ὅς κεν ἔμʼ ἐνδυκέως ἐφίλει καὶ κτῆσιν ὄπασσεν, §14.64οἶκόν τε κλῆρόν τε πολυμνήστην τε γυναῖκα, §14.63οἷά τε ᾧ οἰκῆϊ ἄναξ εὔθυμος ἔδωκεν, §14.65ὅς οἱ πολλὰ κάμῃσι, θεὸς δʼ ἐπὶ ἔργον ἀέξῃ, §14.66ὡς καὶ ἐμοὶ τόδε ἔργον ἀέξεται, ᾧ ἐπιμίμνω.
For indeed the gods have barred the return of him who would have cared for me kindly and given me possessions, a house, and a plot of land, and a wife wooed of many, such things as a kind master gives to his servant who has labored much for him, and whose work the god makes to prosper, even as this work of mine prospers, whereat I abide.
§14.67τῷ κέ με πόλλʼ ὤνησεν ἄναξ, εἰ αὐτόθʼ ἐγήρα· §14.68ἀλλʼ ὄλεθʼ—ὡς ὤφελλʼ Ἑλένης ἀπὸ φῦλον ὀλέσθαι §14.69πρόχνυ, ἐπεὶ πολλῶν ἀνδρῶν ὑπὸ γούνατʼ ἔλυσε·
Thereby would my master have profited me much, had he grown old here; but he has perished—as I wish the whole race of Helen had perished utterly, since she loosened the knees of many men!”