The Odyssey

1) "Thus Telemachus. And Pallas Athena Touched the suitors' minds with hysteria. They couldn't stop laughing, and as they laughed It seemed to them that their jaws were not theirs, And the meat that they ate was dabbled with blood. Tears filled their eyes, and their hearts raced. Then the seer Theoclymenus spoke among them: 'Wretches, what wicked thing is this that you suffer? You are shrouded in night from top to toe, Lamentation flares, your cheeks melt with tears, And the walls of the house are spattered with blood. The porch and the court are crowded with ghosts Streaming down to the undergloom. The sun is gone From heaven, and an evil mist spreads over the land.'"

2) "Odysseus picked up The arrow from the table and laid it upon The bridge of the bow, and, still in his chair, Drew the bowstring and the notched arrow back. He took aim and let fly, and the bronze-tipped arrow Passed clean through the holes of all twelve axeheads From first to last. And he said to Telemachus: 'Well, Telemachus, the guest in your hall Has not disgraced you. I did not miss my target, Nor did I take all day in stringing the bow. I still have my strength, and I'm not as the suitors Make me out to be in their taunts and jeers. But now it is time to cook these men's supper, While it is still light outside, and after that, We'll need some entertainment-music and song- The finishing touches for a perfect banquet.'

He spoke, and lowered his eyebrows. Telemachus, The true son of godlike Odysseus, slung on His sharp sword, seized his spear, and gleaming in bronze Took his place by his father's side."