To this Penelope replied,
"Eurymakhos, heaven robbed me of all my beauty
[aretê] whether of face or figure when the
Argives set sail for Troy and my dear husband with them. If he were
to return and look after my affairs, I should both be more respected
[kleos] and show a better presence to the world. As it
is, I am oppressed with care, and with the afflictions which a
daimôn has seen fit to heap upon me. My husband foresaw
it all, and when he was leaving home he took my right wrist in his
hand - ‘Wife, ‘he said, ‘we shall not all of us come
safe home from Troy, for the Trojans fight well both with bow and
spear. They are excellent also at fighting from chariots, and nothing
decides [krînô] the issue of a fight
sooner than this. I know not, therefore, whether heaven will send me
back to you, or whether I may not fall over there at Troy. In the
meantime do you look after things here. Take care of my father and
mother as at present, and even more so during my absence, but when
you see our son growing a beard, then marry whom you will, and leave
this your present home. This is what he said and now it is all coming
true. A night will come when I shall have to yield myself to a
marriage which I detest, for Zeus has taken from me all hope of
happiness [olbos]. This further grief
[akhos], moreover, cuts me to the very heart. You
suitors are not wooing me after the custom
[dikê] of my country. When men are courting a
woman who they think will be a good wife to them and who is of noble
birth, and when they are each trying to win her for himself, they
usually bring oxen and sheep to feast the friends of the lady, and
they make her magnificent presents, instead of eating up other
people's property without paying for it."
This was what she said, and
Odysseus was glad when he heard her trying to get presents out of the
suitors, and flattering them with fair words which he knew she did
not mean in her noos.
Then Antinoos said, "Queen
Penelope, daughter of Ikarios, take as many presents as you please
from any one who will give them to you; it is not well to refuse a
present; but we will not go about our business nor stir from where we
are, till you have married the best man among us whoever he may
be."
The others applauded what
Antinoos had said, and each one sent his servant to bring his
present. Antinoos’ man returned with a large and lovely dress
most exquisitely embroidered. It had twelve beautifully made brooch
pins of pure gold with which to fasten it. Eurymakhos immediately
brought her a magnificent chain of gold and amber beads that gleamed
like sunlight. Eurydamas’ two men returned with some earrings
fashioned into three brilliant pendants which glistened most
beautifully [kharis]; while king Peisandros son of
Polyktor gave her a necklace of the rarest workmanship, and every one
else brought her a beautiful present of some kind.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.