Translated by Robert Fagles
Found at: http://www.stt.org/document.doc?id=1112

This online edition was prepared by Tom Studzinski

Lines 466-516

In this passage of the Odyssey, Odysseus has just overcome the seductive powers of the island goddess Circe, who initially turned many of his crew into pigs. After spending time on the island, Circe tells Odysseus how he can get another step closer to home: he has to take his crew to the underworld to ask the prophet Tiresias for advice. Tiresias will eventually give him exact instruction on where to go and what to do with his wife’s suitors. The trip to the underworld has been made by very few, if any mortals, and the thought of the journey fills Odysseus with dread. Circe lays out his instructions thoroughly, even providing geographical markers that will lead him to the entrance to the underworld. It is interesting to note that the underworld in this poem is not an ethereal realm but a geographic location that one can simply find and enter. Another noteworthy aspect of this passage is the formulaic depiction of how Odysseus has to make his sacrifice to the souls of the underworld. The ghosts of the underworld feed off the sacrifices made by mortals, so to appease Tiresias Odysseus has to follow an elaborate ritual of animal sacrifice and material offerings in order to speak to the prophet.


Passage:
So she said and crushed the heart inside me.
I knelt in her bed and wept. I’d no desire
to go on living and see the rising light of day.
But once I’d had my fill of tears and writhing there,
at last I found the words to venture, ‘Circe, Circe,
who can pilot us on that journey? Who has ever
reached the House of Death in a black ship?’
The lustrous goddess answered, never pausing,
‘Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, born for exploits,
let no lack of a pilot at the helm concern you, no,
just step your mast and spread your white sail wide—
sit back and the North Wind will speed you on your way.
But once your vessel has cut across the Ocean River
you will raise a desolate coast and Persephone’s Grove,
her tall black poplars, willows whose fruit dies young.
Beach your vessel hard by the Ocean’s churning shore
and make your own way down to the moldering House of Death.
And there into Acheron, the Flood of Grief, two rivers flow,
the torrent River of Fire, the wailing River of Tears
that branches off from Styx, the Stream of Hate,
and a stark crag looms
where the two rivers thunder down and meet.
Once there, go forward, hero. Do as I say now.
Dig a trench of about a forearm’s depth and length
and around it pour libations out to all the dead—
first with milk and honey, and then with mellow wine,
then water third and last, and sprinkle glistening barley
over it all, and vow again and again to all the dead,
to the drifting, listless spirits of their ghosts,
that once you return to Ithaca you will slaughter
a barren heifer in your halls, the best you have,
and load a pyre with treasures—and to Tiresias,
alone, apart, you will offer a sleek black ram,
the pride of all your herds. And once your prayers
have invoked the nations of the dead in their dim glory,
slaughter a ram and black ewe, turning both their heads
toward Erebus, but turn your head away, looking toward
the Ocean River. Suddenly then the countless shades
of the dead and gone will surge around you there.
But order your men at once to flay the sheep
that lie before you, killed by your ruthless blade,
and burn them both, and then say prayers to the gods,
to the almighty god of death and dread Persephone.
But you—draw your sharp sword from beside your hip,
sit down on alert there, and never let the ghosts
of the shambling, shiftless dead come near that blood
till you have questioned Tiresias yourself. Soon, soon
the great seer will appear before you, captain of armies:
he will tell you the way to go, the stages of your voyage,
how you can cross the swarming sea and reach home at last.

Works Cited
"Tiresias." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2015. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 17 Feb. 2015

“World of the Dead.” Timeless Myths. 1999. Timeless Myths Online.
17 Feb. 2015

“River Styx.” Tribunes and Triumphs. 2014. Siteseen Ltd.
17 Feb. 2015 http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-gods/river-styx.htm

“Tales of Circe.” Medea’s Lair. 1999 – 2012. Medea’s Lair Online.
17 Feb. 2015

Carlos Parada. Greek Mythology Link. 1997. Web.
17 Feb 2015

Aaron J. Atsma. The Teoi Project. Aaron Atsma. 2000. Web. 17 Feb 2015.

Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway. "Greek Gods and Religious Practices". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2000. Web. 17 Feb 2015

Homer. "The Odyssey." Trans. Robert Fagles. Web. 17 Feb 2015.