Chapter I: Front Matter

_Life Stories for Young People_

ULYSSES OF ITHACA

_Translated from the German of
Karl Friedrich Becker_

BY
GEORGE P. UPTON
_Author of “Musical Memories,” “Standard Operas,” etc.
Translator of “Memories,” “Immensee,” etc._

WITH FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS

CHICAGO
A. C. McCLURG & CO.
1912

Copyright
A. C. McClurg & Co.
1912
Published September, 1912

THE · PLIMPTON · PRESS
[W · D · O]
NORWOOD · MASS · U · S · A

Translator’s Preface

Many years ago Karl Friedrich Becker wrote a series of romances of the ancient world for German boys and girls, of which “Ulysses” and “Achilles” in the present series of “Life Stories for Young People” form an important part. They became great favorites in their day and still preserve their interest, so that in a sense they may be called classics. The masterly manner in which the author has presented the old gods and heroes from the human point of view and the atmosphere of the old days of mythology, as well as the thrill of the adventurous narrative and the deep human interest of the story, should commend them also to American boys and girls. None of the ancient stories is more entrancing than that of Ulysses and the vicissitudes he had to endure in his effort to return to Ithaca after the Trojan war, and of the patience, sweetness, and faithfulness of Penelope, as she waited year after year for the return of her lord, while her life was made wretched by the unwelcome and often brutal solicitations of her numerous suitors, as well as of her final happiness when Ulysses returned and wreaked deserved vengeance upon her persecutors. Incidentally also the reader will enjoy the charming descriptions of his adventures with Calypso and the beautiful Nausicaa, his escape from the monstrous Cyclops, the fascinating Circe, and his thrilling experiences in passing Scylla and Charybdis. It is a story replete with interest, delightfully told.

G. P. U.

Chicago, _July, 1912_

Contents

Chapter Page
I Penelope waiting for Ulysses—The Suitors—Telemachus,
encouraged by Athene, sets sail 11
II Telemachus visits Nestor and Menelaus—The Suitors prepare an
Ambush 21
III Calypso allows Ulysses to go home—Poseidon sends a
storm—Ulysses is wrecked upon the Island of Scheria 37
IV Nausicaa 43
V Ulysses visits the King of the Phæacians 49
VI Ulysses among the Phæacians 55
VII Ulysses tells his Story—The Lotus-Eaters, Polyphemus, Circe,
Scylla, and Charybdis—The Visit to Hades 64
VIII Ulysses is taken sleeping to Ithaca by the Phæacians—Athene
Counsels him—He comes to Eumæus 96
IX Telemachus leaves Sparta and lands in Ithaca 108
X Arrival of Telemachus—Ulysses reveals himself to his Son 113
XI Ulysses and the Goatherd—The Dog Argos—Ulysses in the Hall
among the Suitors 117
XII Ulysses and Irus, the Beggar 124
XIII Ulysses and Penelope 130
XIV Penelope arranges the Decisive Contest 136
XV Ulysses’ Revenge 147
XVI Ulysses reveals himself to Penelope 152
XVII Ulysses goes to Laertes—His Father’s Conflict with the
Friends of the slain Suitors—Great Sacrifice and
Festival in Ithaca 158

Illustrations

Mercury Descending to Earth _Frontispiece_
The Blinding of Polyphemus 72
Invocation of the Shades in Hades 86
Ulysses Reveals himself to Penelope 156

Ulysses of Ithaca