Athena reassures him

4“Why, most unhappy of the sons of men,
Are you still sleepless? This is your abode,
And here you have your consort and a son
Whom any man might covet for his own.”

5Odysseus, the sagacious, answered thus:
“Truly, O goddess, all that you have said
Is rightly spoken. This perplexes me —
How to lay hands upon these shameless men,
When I am only one, and they a throng
That fill the palace. Yet another thought,
And mightier still —if, by your aid and Zeus’,
I slay the suitors, how shall I myself
Be safe thereafter? Think, I pray, of this.”

6And thus in turn the blue-eyed Athena said:
“O faint of spirit! in an humbler friend
Than I am, in a friend of mortal birth
And less farseeing, one might put his trust;
But I am born a goddess, and protect
Your life in every danger. Let me say,
And plainly say, if fifty armed bands
Of men should gather round us, eager all
To take your life, you might drive away,
Unharmed by them, their herds and pampered flocks.
But give yourself to sleep. To wake and watch
All night is most unwholesome. You shall find
A happy issue from your troubles yet.”

7She spoke, and, shedding slumber on his lids,
Upward the glorious goddess took her way
Back to Olympus, when she saw that sleep
Had seized him, making him forget all care
And slackening every limb. His faithful wife
Was still awake, and sat upright and wept
On her soft couch, and after many tears
The glorious lady prayed to Artemis thus: —