"Hearing this, I grew desperate and no longer had any desire to live or see the light of day. I said to the goddess: 'Who will show me the way to Hades? for no living mortal has ever gone there before.' She replied: 'Do not worry about a guide, Odysseus, for there will be no need of one. Launch thy boat, unfurl the sails, and quietly sit down. The north wind will waft thee to the shore of Hades. There flows the river Styx, black and terrible. It flows between the poplars and willows in the groves of Persephone, and meets the broad waters of Okeanos. Sail up its dark stream until thou dost reach the rock where its two branches meet and swirl and roar. There leave thy boat and dig a ditch in the ground, a foot deep and a foot wide, in which thou shalt pour honey, milk, wine, and water as an offering to the dead.
"'At the same time pray to the gods of Hades, and promise the shades of the dead that after thou hast arrived in Ithaca thou wilt sacrifice to them a whole heifer, the best of thy flock, and to Tiresias especially a black ram. Then take two sheep, a male and a female, kill them, and burn them as a sacrifice to the nations of the dead.
"'At once there will arrive the souls of the departed. They will come by thousands, anxious to drink of the blood, that they may have their minds again. But draw thy sword and hold them back until the spirit of Tiresias arrives. He will tell thee how to get back to thy native land.'
"As Circè said this the daylight appeared, and I woke my companions and told them to make ready to go with me. We started at once for our ship, and got everything in readiness to leave. I told them that before setting out for our own country we had, by the advice of Circè, to go down to Hades in order to consult the seer Tiresias about our journey. When they heard this they sat down, and wept, and began to tear the hair from their heads.
"Circè meantime came up by stealth, and put two sheep into the ship, and we sailed sadly away."
CHAPTER XX
THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS IN HADES
"With a heavy heart we sailed from Circè's island bound for the gloomy Hades. As the wind was favorable, we soon reached the place of which the goddess had told us. There we left the ship and did those things which Circè had counselled us to do. As soon as the dark blood of the sheep began to flow into the trench countless souls came flocking from Hades and begged to taste of the blood, that their mortal minds might be restored to them.