Telegonus.

Penelope. A famous Græcian princess, wife of Ulysses. She married at about the same time that Helen wedded King Menelaus, and returned home to Ithaca with her husband against the wishes of her father Icarius of Sparta. During the long absence of Ulysses she was besieged by suitors for her hand, who established themselves in the palace. She became practically their prisoner, and was compelled to dissimulate and put them off by various excuses. She managed to keep her importunate guests in some sort of good humour by giving out that she would make a choice among them as soon as she had completed a piece of tapestry on which she was engaged. Each night she undid the stitches she had worked in the daytime. On the return of Ulysses she was, of course, freed from the suitors by her husband. According to some ancient writers, after the death of Ulysses she married Telegonus, Ulysses’ son by the Goddess Circe. Her name Penelope sprung from some river-birds who were called “Penelopes.”

Telemachus. The son of Ulysses and Penelope. When his father left for the Trojan war Telemachus was but an infant, but at the close of the campaign he went to seek him and to obtain what information he could about his father’s absence. When Ulysses returned home in disguise Athene brought son and parent together, and the two concerted means to rid the palace of the suitors. After the death of Ulysses, Telemachus is said to have gone to the island of Circe and married the enchantress, formerly his father’s mistress. A son called Latinus sprung from this union.

Athene (Minerva). The Goddess of Wisdom was born from Zeus’ brain without a mother. She sprang from his head in full armour. She was the most powerful of the goddesses and the friend of mankind. She was the patroness of Ulysses, and it was believed she first invented ships. Her chastity was inviolable. Her worship was universal.

Zeus (Jupiter). Chief of all the gods. His attitude towards Ulysses was friendly owing to the persuasion of his daughter Athene.

Poseidon (Neptune) was the Sea God and next in power to Zeus. He was the father of the giant Polyphemus whom Ulysses blinded, and is the consistent enemy of Ulysses throughout the whole Odyssey. Neptune was the brother of Zeus.

Hermes (Mercury) was the messenger of the gods and a son of Zeus. He was especially the patron of travellers and well disposed to Ulysses.

Tiresias was in life a celebrated soothsayer and philosopher of Thebes. His wisdom was universal. Having inadvertently seen the Goddess Athene bathing in the fountain of Hippocrene, he was blinded. Ulysses visited his spirit in Hades, in order to obtain his advice as to the journey homewards to Ithaca.

Circe. An enchantress celebrated for her knowledge of the magic properties of herbs. She was of extreme personal beauty. In girlhood she married the prince of Colchis, whom she murdered to obtain his kingdom. She was thereon banished to the fairy island of Ææa. When Ulysses visited her shores she changed his companions into swine, but Ulysses was protected by the magic virtues of a herb called moly. Ulysses spent a year in the arms of Circe, and she gave birth to a son called Telegonus.

Calypso. One of the daughters of Atlas, was known as the “bright-haired Goddess of Silence,” and was queen of the lost island of Ogygia. Ulysses spent seven years with her, and she bore him two sons. By order of Zeus, Hermes was sent to the island ordering Ulysses to leave his voluptuous sloth, and Calypso, who was inconsolable at his loss, was forced to allow him to depart. The legend runs that the goddess offered him the gift of immortality if he would remain with her.

Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was a terrible female monster who devoured six of Ulysses’ crew, though the hero himself escaped her. Below the waist she was composed of creatures like dogs who never ceased barking. She was supported by twelve feet and had six different heads. The monster dwelt in a cave under the sea on one side of a narrow strait off the coast of Sicily. On the other side of the strait was the great whirlpool Charybdis. It was invested with a personality by Homer, and Charybdis was said to be a giantess who sucked down ships as they passed.

The Sirens. Monsters with sweet alluring voices who inhabited a small island near Sicily. They had bodies like great birds, according to some writers, with the heads of beautiful women. Whosoever heard their magic song must go to them and remain with them for ever. Ulysses escaped the enchantment by causing himself to be bound to the ship’s mast.

Polyphemus. The son of Poseidon. He was the giant king of the Cyclopes who were workers in the forge of Vulcan and made armour for the gods. Ulysses and his companions blinded him in order to escape from the cavern where he had imprisoned them.

Antinous. A native gentleman of Ithaca, one of Penelope’s most persistent suitors. When Ulysses came home disguised as a beggar Antinous struck him. He was the first to fall by Ulysses’ bow.

Euryclea. The nurse of Ulysses in his infancy, and one of the first to recognise him on his return from his wanderings. She was in her youth the lovely daughter of Ops of Ithaca.

Eumæus. The herdsman and steward of Ulysses who knew his master on his return after an absence of twenty years. He was the king’s right-hand man in the plot against, and fight with, the suitors of Penelope.

THE ADVENTURES OF ULYSSES

THE FIRST EPISODE

How They blinded the Son of Poseidon

A warm mild wind, laden with sweet scents, blew over the sailors from the island, which now lay far astern.

In the weary west the charmed sunset still lingered over Lotus Land.

A rosy flush lay on the snow-capped mountains which were yet spectral in the last lights of the day, but looking out over the bows the sky was dark purple changing into black, and where it met the sea there was a white gleam of foam.

The companions of Ulysses sat idle from the oars, for the wind filled the belly of the sail and there was no need for rowing. A curious silence brooded over them all. No one spoke to his fellow. The faces of all were sad, and in the eyes of some the fire of an unutterable regret burnt steadily.

The heads of all were turned towards the island, which was fast disappearing from their view. Some of the men shaded their eyes with their hands in one last long look of farewell.

As the curtain of the dark fell upon the sea, the warm offshore wind died away. A colder breeze, full of the sea-smell itself, came down over the port bow; it moaned through the cordage, and little waves began to hiss under the cutwater.

Every now and again the wind freshened rapidly. The mournful whistling became a sudden snarling of trumpets. The ship and crew seemed to have passed over the limits of a tableau. Not only was it a