Ulysses was one of the Greek heroes who fought at the siege of ancient Troy. After the strife was over, and he had departed from the ruined city, he sailed for his native land. But trouble awaited him on the sea. Storm followed storm; his little vessel was tossed for days by angry waves, and at length was wrecked on a strange coast.
Ulysses, in pitiable plight, was found on the shore by the daughter of the king of the country. She led him to her father"s palace, where he was hospitably received by the kind-hearted old king, and a feast was made in his honour.
After the feast, the king said unto the chiefs, who had been gathered together in the banquet-hall: "Now that we all have feasted and our hearts have been soothed with music and song, let us go forth to the field of games. " And all arose and took themselves thither.
The young men ran races, they wrestled, they boxed, and they threw quoits, and they leaped over bars. All these things they who took part in the sports did well.
At length, Euryalus, the king"s eldest son, said to Ulysses, who had remained silent and at rest: " Will you not try your skill in some game, so as to forget for the time your sorrows? "Ulysses answered : "Why do you ask me to do that? I ponder over my troubles rather than take delight in these joyful sports. I will sit quiet among you and think of my far-off home, and hope that I, a much- suffering man, may behold it once again. " Then Euryalus replied : "In truth, stranger, you have not the look of a wrestler or a boxer. One would rather judge you to besome trader who sails the sea for gain. "
"Nay, " answered Ulysses, "that was ill said. True it is that the gods do not give the same gifts to all men. They give beauty to one and persuasive speech to another. You are fair of form- no god could make you fairer,- but your words are idle. I have some skill in these games. Yea, I was foremost in them in the old days; but much have I suffered by battle and shipwreck since then. Yet will I make trial of my strength even now and here, for your words have angered me. "Saying thus, he stepped forth, not laying aside his mantle, and, taking up a quoit heavier than any thrown by the youths, he made it hurtle through the air. When the disk of metal fell to the earth, behold! it lay far beyond all other quoits that had been cast that day.
Now were all present amazed; and Ulysses said: "Match me this throw, young men, if you can. Then will I cast another quoit farther yet. Nay, if any one of you be so minded, let him strive with me in wrestling or in boxing, for I will contest with any one present, save Laodamus only, for he is my friend. I can bend the bow, and I can hurl a spear as far as other men can shoot an arrow. But, as for the race, it may be that some onecan outrun me, for I have suffered much both on sea and land. "Then all were silent, till the king stood up, and said : "O stranger, you have spoken well. " And he gave orders that the minstrels should sing again.
After the songs and the dancing and the ball-playing, the king commanded that the chiefs should give presents to Ulysses; whereupon all the chiefs gave the hero rich presents; and the eldest of the chiefs, speaking for all, said: "May the gods grant unto you to see again your wife and friends, and your native land ! "Ulysses made answer: "The gods grant that you be happy ! " After these greetings, the old king"s chief minstrel sang,in moving strains, about the siege of Troy; and he told that, among the Greek heroes, there was one called Ulysses. And, as he sang, Ulysses wept, for the song awoke within him thoughts fraught with sadness.
Then the king spoke, and said: " Let the minstrel cease from his singing; for, ever since he began, our stranger guest hath wept. Let us make merry and rejoice. "Turning to the sorrowful man, the old king spake thus : "Hide not from us, O stranger, aught that I shall ask you. Tell us by what name you are called at home. Make known to us in what lands you have wandered, and what wondrous sights you have seen; and reveal to us why you wept as you heard the tale of the wars that raged before the walls of wind-swept Troy. Had you, perchance, a friend among the warriors who perished bravely there? "Then replied the stranger: "O king, I am Ulysses! The island of Ithaca is my home. Rugged is that island, but it is the mother of brave men. Verily, there is nothing more dear to a man than his own country. "After this speech, he told the king tales of what he had seen, and done, and been. Wonderful, indeed, were the tales.
When he had finished, there was silence for a time, and then the king rose, and said: " Ulysses, you shall no longer be detained. I command that my chiefs hoist the sails of their swiftest-keeled bark. Thereon you shall be borne to your distant home. "He was obeyed, and Ulysses, with great store of presents, was conveyed in a vessel that herself knew the way. She did not linger, but quickly crossed the sea; and the hero once more trod with joy the soil of his own beloved Ithaca.
