§2.36ἐγὼ δὲ προελθὼν ὀλίγον ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάσσης εὗρον τὸ σπήλαιον τοιοῦτον οἷον Ὅμηρος εἶπεν, καὶ αὐτὴν ταλασιουργοῦσαν.
And I, having gone forward a little from the sea, found the cave just such as Homer said, and she herself working wool.
ὡς δὲ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἔλαβεν καὶ ἐπελέξατο, πρῶτα μὲν ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐδάκρυεν, ἔπειτα δὲ παρεκάλει ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ ξένια καὶ εἱστία λαμπρῶς καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως ἐπυνθάνετο καὶ περὶ τῆς Πηνελόπης, ὁποία τε εἴη τὴν ὄψιν καὶ εἰ σωφρονοίη, καθάπερ Ὀδυσσεὺς πάλαι περὶ αὐτῆς ἐκόμπαζεν·
And when she received the letter and read it, first she wept for a long time, but then she invited us to hospitality and entertained us splendidly, and inquired about Odysseus and about Penelope, what she was like in appearance and whether she was chaste, just as Odysseus used to boast about her of old.
καὶ ἡμεῖς τοιαῦτα ἀπεκρινάμεθα, ἐξ ὧν εἰκάζομεν εὐφρανεῖσθαι αὐτήν.
And we answered such things as we supposed would please her.
τότε μὲν οὖν ἀπελθόντες ἐπὶ ναῦν πλησίον ἐπὶ τῆς ᾐόνος ἐκοιμήθημεν.
Then indeed, having departed to the ship, we slept near it on the shore.
§2.37ἕωθεν δὲ ἀνηγόμεθα σφοδρότερον κατιόντος τοῦ πνεύματος· καὶ δὴ χειμασθέντες ἡμέρας δύο τῇ τρίτῃ περιπίπτομεν τοῖς Κολοκυνθοπειραταῖς.
At daybreak we put to sea, the wind blowing down rather violently; and indeed, having been tossed by a storm for two days, on the third we fell in with the Pumpkin-pirates.
ἄνθρωποι δέ εἰσιν οὗτοι ἄγριοι ἐκ τῶν πλησίον νήσων λῃστεύοντες τοὺς παραπλέοντας.
These are savage men who plunder those sailing by, coming from the neighboring islands.
τὰ πλοῖα δὲ ἔχουσι μεγάλα κολοκύνθινα τὸ μῆκος πήχεων ἑξήκοντα· ἐπειδὰν γὰρ ξηράνωσι τὴν κολόκυνθαν, κοιλάναντες αὐτὴν καὶ ἐξελόντες τὴν ἐντεριώνην ἐμπλέουσιν, ἱστοῖς μὲν χρώμενοι καλαμίνοις, ἀντὶ δὲ τῆς ὀθόνης τῷ φύλλῳ τῆς κολοκύνθης.
They have large pumpkin boats, sixty cubits in length; for when they dry the pumpkin, having hollowed it out and taken out the pulp, they sail in it, using reeds for masts, and the leaf of the pumpkin instead of a sail.
προσβαλόντες οὖν ἡμῖν ἀπὸ δύο πληρωμάτων ἐμάχοντο καὶ πολλοὺς κατετραυμάτιζον βάλλοντες ἀντὶ λίθων τῷ σπέρματι τῶν κολοκυνθῶν.
Therefore, having attacked us with two crews, they fought and wounded many of us, throwing the seeds of the pumpkins instead of stones.
ἀγχωμάλως δὲ ἐπὶ πολὺ ναυμαχοῦντες περὶ μεσημβρίαν εἴδομεν κατόπιν τῶν Κολοκυνθοπειρατῶν προσπλέοντας τοὺς Καρυοναύτας.
When we had fought on equal terms for a long time, about midday we saw the Nut-sailors sailing up behind the Pumpkin-pirates.
πολέμιοι δὲ ἦσαν ἀλλήλοις, ὡς ἔδειξαν· ἐπεὶ γὰρ κἀκεῖνοι ᾔσθοντο αὐτοὺς ἐπιόντας, ἡμῶν μὲν ὠλιγώρησαν, τραπόμενοι δὲ ἐπʼ ἐκείνους ἐναυμάχουν.
They were enemies to one another, as they showed; for when those too perceived them approaching, they neglected us, and turning against them, they fought a sea battle.
§2.38ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐν τοσούτῳ ἐπάραντες τὴν ὀθόνην ἐφεύγομεν ἀπολιπόντες αὐτοὺς μαχομένους, καὶ δῆλοι ἦσαν κρατήσοντες οἱ Καρυοναῦται ἅτε καὶ πλείους — πέντε γὰρ εἶχον πληρώματα — καὶ ἀπὸ ἰσχυροτέρων νεῶν μαχόμενοι·
Meanwhile, we, having hoisted our sail, fled, leaving them fighting; and it was clear that the Nut-sailors would conquer, since they were more numerous—for they had five crews—and they fought from stronger ships.
τὰ γὰρ πλοῖα ἦν αὐτοῖς κελύφη καρύων ἡμίτομα, κεκενωμένα, μέγεθος δὲ ἑκάστου ἡμιτόμου εἰς μῆκος ὀργυιαὶ πεντεκαίδεκα.
For their ships were halved nutshells, hollowed out, and the size of each half in length was fifteen fathoms.
ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπεκρύψαμεν αὐτούς, ἰώμεθα τοὺς τραυματίας, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις ὡς ἐπίπαν ἦμεν, ἀεί τινας ἐπιβουλὰς προσδεχόμενοι· οὐ μάτην.
But when we had lost sight of them, we cured our wounded, and for the rest we remained generally in arms, always expecting some designs against us—not in vain.
§2.39οὔπω γοῦν ἐδεδύκει ὁ ἥλιος, καὶ ἀπό τινος ἐρήμου νήσου προσήλαυνον ἡμῖν ὅσον εἴκοσι ἄνδρες ἐπὶ δελφίνων μεγάλων ὀχούμενοι, λῃσταὶ καὶ οὗτοι·
At any rate, the sun had not yet set, when from a certain desert island about twenty men came riding toward us on huge dolphins, these too being pirates.
καὶ οἱ δελφῖνες αὐτοὺς ἔφερον ἀσφαλῶς, καὶ ἀναπηδῶντες ἐχρεμέτιζον ὥσπερ ἵπποι.
And the dolphins carried them safely, and leaping up, they neighed like horses.
ἐπεὶ δὲ πλησίον ἦσαν, διαστάντες οἱ μὲν ἔνθεν, οἱ δὲ ἔνθεν ἔβαλλον ἡμᾶς σηπίαις ξηραῖς καὶ ὀφθαλμοῖς καρκίνων.
And when they were near, dispersing, some on this side and some on that, they threw at us dried cuttlefish and crabs' eyes.
τοξευόντων δὲ καὶ ἡμῶν καὶ ἀκοντιζόντων οὐκέτι ὑπέμενον, ἀλλὰ τρωθέντες οἱ πολλοὶ αὐτῶν πρὸς τὴν νῆσον κατέφυγον.
But when we also shot arrows and threw javelins, they no longer stood their ground, but most of them, being wounded, fled back to the island.
§2.40περὶ δὲ τὸ μεσονύκτιον γαλήνης οὔσης ἐλάθομεν προσοκείλαντες ἀλκυόνος καλιᾷ παμμεγέθει· σταδίων γοῦν ἦν αὕτη ἑξήκοντα τὸ περίμετρον.
And about midnight, it being calm, we ran aground unawares upon an immense halcyon's nest; at any rate, it was sixty stades in circumference.
ἐπέπλεεν δὲ ἡ ἀλκυὼν τὰ ᾠὰ θάλπουσα οὐ πολὺ μείων τῆς καλιᾶς.
And the halcyon was floating on it, warming her eggs, herself not much smaller than the nest.
καὶ δὴ ἀναπταμένη μικροῦ μὲν κατέδυσε τὴν ναῦν τῷ ἀνέμῳ τῶν πτερῶν.
And indeed, having flown up, she nearly sank the ship with the wind of her wings.
ᾤχετο δʼ οὖν φεύγουσα γοεράν τινα φωνὴν προϊεμένη.
At any rate, she went off fleeing, uttering a certain mournful cry.
ἐπιβάντες δὲ ἡμεῖς ἡμέρας ἤδη ὑποφαινούσης ἐθεώμεθα τὴν καλιὰν σχεδίᾳ μεγάλῃ προσεοικυῖαν ἐκ δένδρων μεγάλων συμπεφορημένην· ἐπῆν δὲ καὶ ᾠὰ πεντακόσια, ἕκαστον αὐτῶν Χίου πίθου περιπληθέστερον.
And when we got upon it, day now beginning to break, we observed the nest, which resembled a great raft, being piled up with large trees; and on it were five hundred eggs, each of them more than filling a Chian jar.
ἤδη μέντοι καὶ οἱ νεοττοὶ ἔνδοθεν ἐφαίνοντο καὶ ἔκρωζον.
Moreover, already the chicks inside were visible and croaking.
πελέκεσιν γοῦν διακόψαντες ἓν τῶν ᾠῶν νεοττὸν ἄπτερον ἐξεκολάψαμεν εἴκοσι γυπῶν ἁδρότερον.
At any rate, having cut open one of the eggs with axes, we hatched a featherless chick, fatter than twenty vultures.
§2.41ἐπεὶ δὲ πλέοντες ἀπείχομεν τῆς καλιᾶς ὅσον σταδίους διακοσίους, τέρατα ἡμῖν μεγάλα καὶ θαυμαστὰ ἐπεσήμανεν· ὅ τε γὰρ ἐν τῇ πρύμνῃ χηνίσκος ἄφνω ἐπτερύξατο καὶ ἀνεβόησεν, καὶ ὁ κυβερνήτης ὁ Σκίνθαρος φαλακρὸς ἤδη ὢν ἀνεκόμησεν, καὶ τὸ πάντων δὴ παραδοξότατον, ὁ γὰρ ἱστὸς τῆς νεὼς ἐξεβλάστησεν καὶ κλάδους ἀνέφυσεν καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ ἄκρῳ ἐκαρποφόρησεν, ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἦν σῦκα καὶ σταφυλὴ μέλαινα, οὔπω πέπειρος.
But when, sailing on, we were about two hundred stades distant from the nest, great and wonderful portents were shown to us; for the goose-head ornament on the stern suddenly flapped its wings and cried out, and the helmsman Scintharus, who was already bald, grew hair again, and what was indeed the most extraordinary of all, the mast of the ship sprouted and put forth branches and bore fruit at its top, and the fruit was figs and a dark grape, not yet ripe.
ταῦτα ἰδόντες ὡς εἰκὸς ἐταράχθημεν καὶ ηὐχόμεθα τοῖς θεοῖς διὰ τὸ ἀλλόκοτον τοῦ φαντάσματος.
Seeing these things, we were naturally troubled and prayed to the gods on account of the strangeness of the portent.