INTRODUCTION.

Book 13 opens at the end of the long evening spent by the guests in the palace of Alcinous, where they have been listening to Odysseus's account of his dangers and his wanderings. The next day, the ship that is to take him home is loaded with costly presents, and in the evening the crew sets sail. A single night is enough for the "ghost-ship" original: "spectre-bark" of the Phaeacians to complete the long voyage to Ithaca, and at daybreak Odysseus is landed, fast asleep, at the harbor of Phorcys. This easy rescue of Odysseus from the perils of the sea is a deep offense to Poseidon, who turns the adventurous ship into stone as she nears the shore of Scheria. He sets her like a rock in the middle of the water as a warning to those who would disregard his authority original: "prerogative".

Odysseus wakes, but the whole place looks strange to him until Athena, his longtime protector, appears in the form of a shepherd and shows him the familiar landmarks of his home. As is his habit original: "wont", he answers her questions dishonestly until she reveals herself to him and promises him her help in his planned vengeance on the Suitors. But he must not risk entering his own palace where he might be recognized; he must be changed for a time into the form of a beggar and must find shelter in the hut of his loyal swineherd, Eumaeus. Meanwhile, Telemachus shall be brought from Sparta to join him there.

The beggar (Book 14) is kindly welcomed by Eumaeus, to whom he tells a long story about himself—half truth and half falsehood. He hints that the long-absent master may perhaps not be very far away after all, claiming that he has heard news of him from the Thesprotians.

Meanwhile (Book 15), Athena has gone to Sparta to urge Telemachus to return. He starts immediately original: "forthwith" and joins his impatient crew, whom he had left at Pylos. The ambush original: "ambuscade" set by the Suitors fails; on the third morning, Telemachus lands safely in the harbor of Ithaca and seeks out the hut of Eumaeus. The prophet from Argos original: "Argive prophet" Theoclymenus, who had met him and asked for protection as he embarked at Pylos, is placed in the care of Peiraeus, a trusted friend. In Book 16, Telemachus sends original: "despatches" Eumaeus to tell Penelope of his return; and thus, left alone with