irl, Penelope, and was happy as a man might
be. So when the heralds came he pretended to be insane, and hitching a
yoke of oxen to a plough he drove them along the sands of the sea-shore.
He sang and shouted, and ploughed up the sand, and scattered salt as if
he were sowing it, and cried out that he would soon have a beautiful
crop of salt waves. The heralds watched him for a moment, and then
returning to the princes told them that there was no use delivering the
summons to Ulysses, for he had lost his wits. Then Palamedes, who, after
Ulysses, was accounted shrewdest of the Greeks, went, and standing there
on the beach, watched the plough. And he took Ulysses's baby son and
threw him in front of the team to see if the father was indeed mad.
Ulysses turned the plough aside to avoid the child; and then the princes
knew it was all a pretence, and he had to go with them. But he never
forgave Palamedes, and long after brought about his death.

He was in many ways the ablest of the Greeks. Next to Achilles, Ajax was
accounted the strongest; but Ulysses threw him in wrestling. Oilemenus
was regarded as the swiftest of men, but Ulysses in a race outran him.
When Achilles was slain Ulysses alone held back all the Trojans, while
his comrades bore the body to their ships. Many other great exploits he
performed, and his counsels were of much value to the Greeks through all
the long siege. A great pile of spoils was heaped up to be given to the
man who had been of most use to the assailants, and the Trojan prisoners
themselves being called on to decide, gave it to Ulysses. At the last,
when Achilles was dead, and the Greeks were all worn out and despairing,
it was his fertile brain which originated the snare into which the
Trojans fell.

Now, with the other Greeks, Ulysses set out to return to his home. Yet
first he stopped with his Ithacans to attack the Trojan city of Ciconia.
The assault was unexpected and successful. Great treasure fell into the
hands of the conquerors; but, in spite of their leader's entreaties,
they persisted in stopping in the captured city for a night's carouse.
The dispersed Ciconians rallied, gathered together their allies, and
attacking the revellers, defeated them with great slaughter, so that
less than half of them escaped in their ships. Yet this was only the
first of the many mishaps which befell the ill-starred Ulysses. So
persistently did misfortune pursue him that the superstitious Greeks
declared