WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.960 [Sounds of the sea] 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:23.820 Episode 10: A Beggar in his Own Palace 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:32.070 [Sounds of the sea] 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:38.770 And the swineherd threw his arms around Telemachus’ neck and he kissed his forehead, 00:00:38.770 --> 00:00:41.760 and the left eye, and the right eye, and the lips, 00:00:41.760 --> 00:00:44.100 and the left hand and the right hand. 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:47.090 Like a father honouring his son, 00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:51.340 the swineherd honoured his prince. 00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:55.200 And Odysseus, sitting on the stool by the fire, 00:00:55.200 --> 00:01:02.600 looked up and he saw his son Telemachus for the first time in nineteen years. 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:04.420 And he said nothing. 00:01:04.420 --> 00:01:08.120 But he got up to his feet and he offered the stool. 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:08.970 And Telemachus said, 00:01:08.970 --> 00:01:10.040 “No, no, old man, 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:11.400 you are a guest here. 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:13.380 To me this is more of a second home. 00:01:13.380 --> 00:01:15.140 Sit down, sit down!” 00:01:15.140 --> 00:01:22.700 And the old beggar sat down again and Telemachus walked across and he squatted in front of the fire and he warmed the palms of his hands. 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:26.510 And Eumaeus prepared breakfast for the three of them. 00:01:26.510 --> 00:01:30.280 And they sat down and they ate and they talked, 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:33.840 and Telemachus told them about his journey to Sparta, 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:38.360 about his encounter with red-haired Menelaus and beautiful Helen. 00:01:38.360 --> 00:01:41.320 And when at last the meal was finished, 00:01:41.320 --> 00:01:43.610 Telemachus turned to the swineherd. 00:01:43.610 --> 00:01:44.840 He said, “Eumaeus, 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:53.410 my mother Penelope will have heard of these plans to murder me on my return and her heart will be wrung with worry for me. 00:01:53.410 --> 00:01:55.320 Please, I beg you, 00:01:55.320 --> 00:01:58.610 go and tell her that I am safely home.” 00:01:58.610 --> 00:02:02.040 And the swineherd nodded and he strapped on his sandals. 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:06.080 And he got up to his feet and he made his way across the floor of the hut, 00:02:06.080 --> 00:02:08.470 and he pushed open the door. 00:02:08.470 --> 00:02:14.080 And as he pushed open the door Odysseus saw, standing outside, 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:16.380 owl-eyed Athene, 00:02:16.380 --> 00:02:21.690 her grey eyes blazing with light and she was beckoning to him. 00:02:21.690 --> 00:02:28.450 And as soon as the swineherd was gone the old beggar got up to his feet and he nodded to Telemachus. 00:02:28.450 --> 00:02:31.130 And he hobbled across the floor and through the door, 00:02:31.130 --> 00:02:33.910 and he closed the door behind himself. 00:02:33.910 --> 00:02:35.430 And Athene said, “Odysseus, 00:02:35.430 --> 00:02:37.050 listen, listen! 00:02:37.050 --> 00:02:41.970 The time has come for you to reveal yourself to your son.” 00:02:41.970 --> 00:02:46.320 And she reached across and she touched his shoulder with her hand. 00:02:46.320 --> 00:02:50.580 And straightaway the light came back into the eyes, 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:52.850 the auburn curls returned, 00:02:52.850 --> 00:02:55.230 the broad shoulders, the thick arms, 00:02:55.230 --> 00:02:57.810 the beautiful cloak over the shoulders. 00:02:57.810 --> 00:03:01.570 And Odysseus turned and he pushed open the door. 00:03:01.570 --> 00:03:03.960 And Telemachus got up to his feet. 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:05.510 He said, “Who are you? 00:03:05.510 --> 00:03:07.730 You’re not the man you were! 00:03:07.730 --> 00:03:12.580 Are you one of the mighty gods who rules over the broad skies?” 00:03:12.580 --> 00:03:15.130 And Odysseus said, “Telemachus, 00:03:15.130 --> 00:03:17.200 I am no god. 00:03:17.200 --> 00:03:19.050 Look into my face and tell me. 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:22.430 Do you not see something of yourself?” 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:26.800 And Telemachus came across and he looked into the stranger’s eyes. 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:28.140 And suddenly he said, 00:03:28.140 --> 00:03:29.160 “It’s you! 00:03:29.160 --> 00:03:30.490 It’s you! 00:03:30.490 --> 00:03:32.120 You are home at last! 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:33.180 When did you get here? 00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:34.410 How long have you been here? 00:03:34.410 --> 00:03:36.270 How did you get home?” 00:03:36.270 --> 00:03:37.450 And Odysseus said, 00:03:37.450 --> 00:03:40.320 “Telemachus, my son!” 00:03:40.320 --> 00:03:54.300 And he took his son in his arms and they sat down together in front of the fire and all that day Odysseus told his son about his adventures on the fields of Troy, 00:03:54.300 --> 00:03:58.670 his great journey across the broad face of the world. 00:03:58.670 --> 00:04:04.300 And then as the afternoon began to darken to evening he said, 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:08.870 “And now my story draws to its end. 00:04:08.870 --> 00:04:17.490 Though whether it is a comedy or a tragedy lies still in the lap of the mighty gods and goddesses. 00:04:17.490 --> 00:04:21.980 Telemachus, tell nobody that I am home, 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:24.740 not even your own mother. 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:32.200 Tomorrow, I will go to my feasting hall myself and see what truth there is in these stories that I have been told. 00:04:32.200 --> 00:04:33.720 And you, my son, 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:35.690 you must go there also. 00:04:35.690 --> 00:04:38.380 You can be sure the cowards, the suitors, 00:04:38.380 --> 00:04:42.420 will not dare to harm you in broad daylight!” 00:04:42.420 --> 00:04:50.650 And Telemachus nodded and at that moment they heard the sound of the swineherd returning home and Athene, invisible, 00:04:50.650 --> 00:04:51.920 reached into the hut. 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:53.780 She touched Odysseus’ shoulder, 00:04:53.780 --> 00:04:57.290 and there he was an old beggar, dressed in rags. 00:04:57.290 --> 00:05:00.110 And the door opened and in came the swineherd. 00:05:00.110 --> 00:05:06.180 And he prepared supper for the three of them and they sat and they ate and they talked. 00:05:06.180 --> 00:05:12.000 And then they wrapped themselves in their cloaks and they lay on the floor in the firelight, 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:14.440 and they slept. 00:05:14.440 --> 00:05:24.560 And the next morning it was Telemachus who was the first to make the journey across the island and up the hill to the feasting hall. 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:27.490 And already the suitors were gathered – 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:33.460 eating, feasting, drinking, talking, laughing, singing. 00:05:33.460 --> 00:05:35.720 Telemachus came to the door. 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:38.390 He stepped on the threshold stone, he lifted the latch, 00:05:38.390 --> 00:05:40.820 he pushed the door open. 00:05:40.820 --> 00:05:43.730 And the suitors fell silent. 00:05:43.730 --> 00:05:45.610 They stared at him. 00:05:45.610 --> 00:05:46.620 And Telemachus said, 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:47.940 “Yes, it’s me. 00:05:47.940 --> 00:05:50.770 Perhaps it was my corpse you were hoping to see, 00:05:50.770 --> 00:05:52.450 carried through these doors, 00:05:52.450 --> 00:05:54.820 laid out on one of the tables. 00:05:54.820 --> 00:05:57.590 Or maybe my ghost, my shade, 00:05:57.590 --> 00:06:00.220 walking through the closed doors. 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:01.810 But no, it’s me – 00:06:01.810 --> 00:06:06.250 skin, flesh, bone and beating heart.” 00:06:06.250 --> 00:06:07.280 And he made his way, 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:12.900 threading between the tables and up the stairs to his mother’s bedchamber. 00:06:12.900 --> 00:06:22.460 And when Penelope saw Telemachus she ran across and she threw her arms around his neck and she soaked his shoulder with her tears. 00:06:22.460 --> 00:06:27.170 And Telemachus told her about his journey to Sparta. 00:06:27.170 --> 00:06:31.440 He told her how he had met red-haired Menelaus and beautiful Helen. 00:06:31.440 --> 00:06:45.810 He told her how Menelaus had told him that Odysseus was being held captive by a nymph called Calypso on an island far, far, far, far across the blue waves of the sea. 00:06:45.810 --> 00:06:48.190 And Penelope shook her head. 00:06:48.190 --> 00:06:48.900 And she said, 00:06:48.900 --> 00:06:50.720 “If he was going to return, 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:52.930 if he was destined to return, 00:06:52.930 --> 00:06:56.270 I feel sure he would have returned by now. 00:06:56.270 --> 00:07:00.810 And now the time has come for me to choose a new husband. 00:07:00.810 --> 00:07:03.070 But which one to choose? 00:07:03.070 --> 00:07:05.620 And how to choose him?” 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:13.210 And Telemachus swallowed the urge to tell his mother the joyful news. 00:07:13.210 --> 00:07:19.210 Meanwhile, Odysseus, in the shape of an old beggar was crossing the island. 00:07:19.210 --> 00:07:20.910 He came to the hill. 00:07:20.910 --> 00:07:27.690 He began to follow the path towards his hall and everything was exactly as he remembered it, 00:07:27.690 --> 00:07:33.430 except for the sound of drunken laughter coming through the closed doors. 00:07:33.430 --> 00:07:38.240 And as he climbed the hill he passed a dung heap. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:42.740 And lying on the dung heap there was an ancient dog. 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:44.760 And when the old dog saw the beggar, 00:07:44.760 --> 00:07:51.570 it lifted his head and it sniffed at the air and its old leathery tail began to wag. 00:07:51.570 --> 00:07:58.650 And it lifted itself onto its thin legs and hobbled across and it licked the old beggar’s hand. 00:07:58.650 --> 00:08:05.340 And Odysseus looked down and he recognised his old dog, Argos, 00:08:05.340 --> 00:08:10.330 who he had trained as a puppy all those long years before. 00:08:10.330 --> 00:08:14.680 But in the moment of the old dog’s happiness, 00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:16.690 death struck. 00:08:16.690 --> 00:08:21.180 And it fell lifeless onto the grass at his feet. 00:08:21.180 --> 00:08:30.920 And Odysseus reached down and he lifted the dog tenderly in his hands and he carried it across and laid it on the soft grass. 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:34.010 And as he looked at the dead dog, 00:08:34.010 --> 00:08:41.390 he remembered the welcome he had imagined for himself all those years before. 00:08:41.390 --> 00:08:45.580 And then he climbed the hill and he stepped onto the threshold stone, 00:08:45.580 --> 00:08:49.920 and he lifted the latch and he pushed open the door of his hall. 00:08:49.920 --> 00:08:53.930 And his ears were met with the sounds of drunken laughter, 00:08:53.930 --> 00:09:00.190 and his nose with the smell of sweat and smoke and spilt wine and roasting meat. 00:09:00.190 --> 00:09:05.810 And in the shape of a beggar he went from table to table begging for food. 00:09:05.810 --> 00:09:07.980 And not one of the suitors, 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:15.210 not one of the feasters took any notice of the old beggar until he came to a table at the back of the hall. 00:09:15.210 --> 00:09:18.690 And there was a suitor whose name was Antinous. 00:09:18.690 --> 00:09:20.540 And when he saw the old beggar he said, 00:09:20.540 --> 00:09:28.370 “Go and take your filthy, flea-bitten, moth-eaten carcass elsewhere before we throw you to the dogs!” 00:09:28.370 --> 00:09:33.120 And at that moment Telemachus was coming down the stairs from his mother’s bedchamber. 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:34.760 And he said, “Antinous, 00:09:34.760 --> 00:09:37.440 not only do you eat us out of house and home, 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:43.450 you also break the sacred laws of hospitality in my father’s feasting hall. 00:09:43.450 --> 00:09:47.560 Old man, come, sit down.” 00:09:47.560 --> 00:09:57.200 And Telemachus showed the old beggar where he could sit and he fetched meat and bread and wine and he broke the bread with his own hands and gave it to the beggar. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:01.310 And gratefully, Odysseus ate and drank. 00:10:01.310 --> 00:10:06.660 And then he got up to his feet and he went back to the table where Antinous was sitting. 00:10:06.660 --> 00:10:08.540 And he stretched out his hands, 00:10:08.540 --> 00:10:09.110 and he said, 00:10:09.110 --> 00:10:17.720 “Perhaps now you will reconsider or do you begrudge an old beggar the crumbs from another man’s table?” 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:20.280 And Antinous looked at him and he said, 00:10:20.280 --> 00:10:21.620 “I’ll give you something. 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:24.570 I’ll give you something and no mistake!” 00:10:24.570 --> 00:10:29.360 And he picked up a stool and he drew back his hand and with all the strength of his arm, 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:31.520 he hurled the stool at the old beggar, 00:10:31.520 --> 00:10:33.790 struck him on the shoulder. 00:10:33.790 --> 00:10:37.820 But the old beggar didn’t falter or fall to the ground. 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:44.010 He stood firm and the stool clattered onto the floor at his feet. 00:10:44.010 --> 00:10:48.800 And then the old beggar turned and he walked across the feasting hall. 00:10:48.800 --> 00:10:52.540 He sat down among the shadows by the door, 00:10:52.540 --> 00:10:59.730 and he brooded in silence. 00:10:59.730 --> 00:11:43.470 [Closing music]