Return of Telemachus to Ithaca
Leaving Odyssey, turned into a beggar, the goddess Athena-Pallas headed to Sparta and quickly reached it. She went to the king's palace Menelaus straight to the rest where he slept Telemachus with Pisistrate. Pisistratus slept peacefully, but Telemachus' sleep was disturbed. And in a dream I thought about Father Telemachus, grieving for him. Athena came to the head of Odysseus' son and said to him:
- It's time for you, Telemachus, to return to your homeland, where you abandoned all your possessions. Violent suitors are plundering it, they will plunder everything if you don't come back. Think about how changeable women are. If your mother agrees to marry Eurymachus, then she will forget you and will only take care of the children from her second husband. Come home soon. But remember one thing: the grooms are preparing an ambush for you. To avoid it, sail past the island at night, and in the morning, at dawn, dock in a hidden place to the shores of Ithaca. The ship then went to the city, go to the swineherd yourself To Eumaeus, and a messenger was sent from him to inform Penelope about your arrival.
Having said that, Athena left.
Telemachus immediately woke Pisistratus and began to hurry him to go back to Pylos. But Pisistratus persuaded Telemachus to wait for morning. It was impossible to leave Menelaus at night without saying goodbye to him. Telemachus obeyed the advice of Pisistratus. Soon the goddess of dawn Eos took off into the sky. Morning came. King Menelaus came in to the young men. The son of Odysseus met Menelaus at the door and asked him to let him go home to Ithaca as soon as possible. Menelaus did not detain Telemachus, but only asked him to wait until he had prepared gifts, and in the meantime asked him to refresh himself with food before setting off.Menelaus went to order the slaves to prepare a meal soon. Then by calling Elena and her son Megapent, went with them to his treasury. There he chose gifts for Telemachus; the beautiful Elena also chose a gift - a luxurious garment woven by herself for the future bride of Telemachus.
Having refreshed themselves with food and having accepted gifts from Menelaus, the young heroes gathered to set off. Menelaus came out of the palace with a cup of wine, calling the gods, made a libation and asked the young men to convey his greetings to the elder Nestor . When Telemachus entered the chariot and took the reins in his hands, an eagle suddenly soared over the palace, carrying a goose in its claws. The servants of Menelaus ran screaming after the eagle. But he soared up and disappeared to the right of the palace. Everyone understood that this was a sign of the gods, and Telemachus asked Menelaus to explain the sign. The king of Sparta pondered. The beautiful Elena answered for him:- Listen to what I have to say to you! It was inspired by the Olympian gods. As the eagle stole the goose and tore it to pieces, so Odysseus, returning home, will kill the suitors. Maybe he has even returned and is already plotting the death of the suitors.
- Oh, beautiful Elena! Telemachus exclaimed, "if the great Zeus fulfills what you say, then when I return home, I will honor you as a goddess. With these words Telemachus struck the horses, and the horses quickly raced on their way to Pylos.
The young men spent the night on the way in Fera with the hero Diocles, and the next day arrived in Pylos. Telemachus begged Pisistratus not to visit Nestor at the palace; the son of Odysseus was afraid that the elder would detain him for another day. Pisistratus agreed and took his friend straight to the ship, although he knew that his father would be displeased with this. Pisistratus even began to hurry Telemachus to sail as soon as possible, so that Nestor himself would not come ashore upon learning of his return and would not detain him. Telemachus's companions hastily set up the mast and were about to set sail from the shore when the prophetic Theoklimenapproached the ship. He fled Argos, fearing revenge for the murder committed. Theoklimenos asked Telemachus to take him on a ship and take him to Ithaca; there the relatives of the murdered man would not pursue him. Telemachus agreed and took Theoklimenos on board the ship. The ship quickly sailed off and rushed, driven by a fair wind, into the open sea.
At this time Odysseus was still with Eumaeus. In the morning Odysseus wanted to go to the city to collect alms; he even thought of asking the suitors to take him into service. But Eumaeus persuaded him not to do this, telling Odysseus how violent and cruel the suitors were. Then Odysseus began to ask about his father Laertes and his wife Penelope. Eumaeus told him everything, not suspecting that he was telling it not to the wanderer, but to Odysseus himself. Finally, Odysseus asked Eumaeus to tell him about how Eumaeus himself got to Ithaca. Eumaeus readily agreed and told Odysseus that he himself came from the island of Syra and was the son of King Ctesias. One day Phoenician merchants arrived on the island. They persuaded his father's slave, also a Phoenician by birth, to kidnap him from his father, promising to return her to her homeland for this. The slave agreed, secretly took him out of the palace and took him to the ship of the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians sailed into the sea, heading for the shores of Phoenicia.
They sailed for six days. On the seventh day, the goddess struck with her arrow Artemis a traitorous slave. The Phoenicians, having attached themselves to Ithaca, sold the little Eumaeus to Laertes.Odysseus listened attentively to Eumaeus' story. It was already late at night when Eumaeus finished his story. Odysseus and Eumaeus went to bed, but their sleep was short-lived - the morning dawn soon broke out in the sky, and they had to leave their bed.
This morning I arrived at Ithaca and Telemachus. He landed in a sheltered place to the shore, as Athena commanded him, got off the ship, asked his friend Peraya sheltered Theoklimenes for a while and was about to go to Eumaeus. Suddenly a falcon with a dove in its claws appeared above them. Feoklimen took Telemachus by the hand and quietly said to him:
- This is a happy sign, Telemachus. There is no more powerful family in Ithaca than your family. You will rule over all of Ithaca forever. Telemachus rejoiced at this prediction. He sent his companions by ship to the city harbor, and himself, joyfully, went to the swineherd Eumaeus.