Odyssey 23. 85-150
總算成埃落定，完成報仇大業，但是，糗大了，Penelope根本認不出眼前這位老兄是不是自己的丈夫Odysseus。Penelope心中忐忑不安，打量Odysseus，但不知開怎麼開口：
ὣς φαμένη κατέβαιν᾽ ὑπερώϊα: πολλὰ δέ οἱ κῆρ
ὥρμαιν᾽, ἢ ἀπάνευθε φίλον πόσιν ἐξερεείνοι,
ἦ παρστᾶσα κύσειε κάρη καὶ χεῖρε
λαβοῦσα.
ἡ δ᾽ ἐπεὶ εἰσῆλθεν καὶ ὑπέρβη λάϊνον οὐδόν,
ἕζετ᾽ ἔπειτ᾽ Ὀδυσῆος ἐναντίη, ἐν πυρὸς αὐγῇ,
τοίχου τοῦ ἑτέρου: ὁ δ᾽ ἄρα
πρὸς κίονα μακρὴν
ἧστο κάτω ὁρόων, ποτιδέγμενος εἴ τί μιν εἴποι
ἰφθίμη παράκοιτις, ἐπεὶ ἴδεν ὀφθαλμοῖσιν.
ἡ δ᾽ ἄνεω δὴν ἧστο, τάφος δέ οἱ ἦτορ ἵκανεν:
ὄψει δ᾽ ἄλλοτε μέν μιν ἐνωπαδίως ἐσίδεσκεν,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἀγνώσασκε κακὰ χροῒ εἵματ᾽ ἔχοντα.
(Odyssey 23. 85-95)
Κήρ: the goddess
of death
κῆρ: heart
Penelope spoke, then went
down from the upper room,
her heart turning over
many things—Should she
keep her distance and
question her dear husband,
or should she come up to
him, hold his head and hands,
and kiss them? Crossing
the stone threshold, she went in
and sat down in the
firelight opposite Odysseus,
beside the further wall.
He was sitting there
by a tall pillar, looking
at the ground, waiting
to learn if his noble wife
would speak to him
when her own eyes caught
sight of him. She sat there
a long time in silence.
Amazement came in her heart—
sometimes her eyes gazed
at him full in the face,
but other times she failed
to recognize him,
he had such shabby
clothing covering his body.
眼前這位真的是闊別二十年的丈夫？歷經戰爭與海上歷練， Odysseus還是同一個人嗎？變多少？不變的又是甚麼？在兩人四眼交會的這刻，回憶與失憶都一起湧上，如何去掉所有的假裝，如何展現真的自我？如何相認？
Telemachus心急，責備母親的殘酷無情，居然不馬上和父親相認，但Telemachus不懂，Odysseus卻了解…
此刻，Odysseus也想到後續的問題：
καὶ γάρ τίς θ᾽ ἕνα φῶτα
κατακτείνας ἐνὶ δήμῳ,
ᾧ μὴ πολλοὶ ἔωσιν ἀοσσητῆρες
ὀπίσσω,
φεύγει πηούς τε προλιπὼν
καὶ πατρίδα γαῖαν:
ἡμεῖς δ᾽ ἕρμα πόληος ἀπέκταμεν,
οἳ μέγ᾽ ἄριστοι
κούρων εἰν Ἰθάκῃ: τὰ δέ σε
φράζεσθαι ἄνωγα.
(Odyssey 23.118-122)
Anyone who murders just
one person
in the district, even when
the dead man
does not leave many to
avenge him later,
goes into exile, leaving
his relatives
and his native land. But
we have slaughtered
the city’s main defence,
the best by far
of the young men in
Ithaca. I think
you should consider what
that means.
現在Odysseus知道自己殺的可是Ithaca當地的菁英分子，他得付出殺人的代價，必須遠離家鄉。他先想個緩兵之計，假裝家裡辦喜事，盡量壓住這群人已死的消息，然後自己逃到深山裡，看神明的啟示，再做下一步打算。
