τὸν δ᾽ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

"Ἀλκίνοε κρεῖον, πάντων ἀριδείκετε λαῶν,

ἦ τοι μὲν τόδε καλὸν ἀκουέμεν ἐστὶν ἀοιδοῦ

τοιοῦδ᾽ οἷος ὅδ᾽ ἐστί, θεοῖς ἐναλίγκιος αὐδήν.

οὐ γὰρ ἐγώ γέ τί φημι τέλος χαριέστερον εἶναι5

ἢ ὅτ᾽ ἐυφροσύνη μὲν ἔχῃ κάτα δῆμον ἅπαντα,

δαιτυμόνες δ᾽ ἀνὰ δώματ᾽ ἀκουάζωνται ἀοιδοῦ

ἥμενοι ἑξείης, παρὰ δὲ πλήθωσι τράπεζαι

σίτου καὶ κρειῶν, μέθυ δ᾽ ἐκ κρητῆρος ἀφύσσων

οἰνοχόος φορέῃσι καὶ ἐγχείῃ δεπάεσσι·10

τοῦτό τί μοι κάλλιστον ἐνὶ φρεσὶν εἴδεται εἶναι.

σοὶ δ᾽ ἐμὰ κήδεα θυμὸς ἐπετράπετο στονόεντα

εἴρεσθ᾽, ὄφρ᾽ ἔτι μᾶλλον ὀδυρόμενος στεναχίζω·

τί πρῶτόν τοι ἔπειτα, τί δ᾽ ὑστάτιον καταλέξω;

κήδε᾽ ἐπεί μοι πολλὰ δόσαν θεοὶ Οὐρανίωνες.15

νῦν δ᾽ ὄνομα πρῶτον μυθήσομαι, ὄφρα καὶ ὑμεῖς

εἴδετ᾽, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἂν ἔπειτα φυγὼν ὕπο νηλεὲς ἦμαρ

ὑμῖν ξεῖνος ἔω καὶ ἀπόπροθι δώματα ναίων.

εἴμ᾽ Ὀδυσεὺς Λαερτιάδης, ὃς πᾶσι δόλοισιν

ἀνθρώποισι μέλω, καί μευ κλέος οὐρανὸν ἵκει.20

ναιετάω δ᾽ Ἰθάκην ἐυδείελον· ἐν δ᾽ ὄρος αὐτῇ

Νήριτον εἰνοσίφυλλον, ἀριπρεπές: ἀμφὶ δὲ νῆσοι

πολλαὶ ναιετάουσι μάλα σχεδὸν ἀλλήλῃσι,

Δουλίχιόν τε Σάμη τε καὶ ὑλήεσσα Ζάκυνθος.

αὐτὴ δὲ χθαμαλὴ πανυπερτάτη εἰν ἁλὶ κεῖται25

πρὸς ζόφον, αἱ δέ τ᾽ ἄνευθε πρὸς ἠῶ τ᾽ ἠέλιόν τε,

τρηχεῖ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθὴ κουροτρόφος· οὔ τοι ἐγώ γε

ἧς γαίης δύναμαι γλυκερώτερον ἄλλο ἰδέσθαι.

ἦ μέν μ᾽ αὐτόθ᾽ ἔρυκε Καλυψώ, δῖα θεάων,

ἐν σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι, λιλαιομένη πόσιν εἶναι·30

ὣς δ᾽ αὔτως Κίρκη κατερήτυεν ἐν μεγάροισιν

Αἰαίη δολόεσσα, λιλαιομένη πόσιν εἶναι·

ἀλλ᾽ ἐμὸν οὔ ποτε θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἔπειθον.

ὣς οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος οὐδὲ τοκήων

γίγνεται, εἴ περ καί τις ἀπόπροθι πίονα οἶκον35

γαίῃ ἐν ἀλλοδαπῇ ναίει ἀπάνευθε τοκήων.

εἰ δ᾽ ἄγε τοι καὶ νόστον ἐμὸν πολυκηδέ᾽ ἐνίσπω,

ὅν μοι Ζεὺς ἐφέηκεν ἀπὸ Τροίηθεν ἰόντι.

Ἰλιόθεν με φέρων ἄνεμος Κικόνεσσι πέλασσεν,

Ἰσμάρῳ. ἔνθα δ᾽ ἐγὼ πόλιν ἔπραθον, ὤλεσα δ᾽ αὐτούς·40

ἐκ πόλιος δ᾽ ἀλόχους καὶ κτήματα πολλὰ λαβόντες

δασσάμεθ᾽, ὡς μή τίς μοι ἀτεμβόμενος κίοι ἴσης.

ἔνθ᾽ ἦ τοι μὲν ἐγὼ διερῷ ποδὶ φευγέμεν ἡμέας

ἠνώγεα, τοὶ δὲ μέγα νήπιοι οὐκ ἐπίθοντο.

ἔνθα δὲ πολλὸν μὲν μέθυ πίνετο, πολλὰ δὲ μῆλα45

ἔσφαζον παρὰ θῖνα καὶ εἰλίποδας ἕλικας βοῦς·

    At the request of king Alcinous, Odysseus declares his name and country.

    As Book 9 opens, we find Odysseus poised on the boundary between the fairytale kingdom of the Phaeacians and the grittier realities of Ithaka. We have seen the chaos in the royal palace at Ithaka and Telemachus’ visits to Pylos and Sparta. The hero himself has been released by the gods from Calypso’s island and survived the harassment of Poseidon, washing up on the shore of Scheria, naked and exhausted. Now he will tell the Phaeacians about his struggle to survive after leaving Troy.

    read full essay

    In the chronology of the story, the adventures he recounts have already happened, but we encounter them here for the first time in the poem. Thus, we see the monster Polyphemus against the background of Proteus, Circe in the shadow of Calypso. Likewise, the longer episodes in Books Nine through Twelve, the Cyclops, Circe, Hades, and—as a shorter coda—the Cattle of the Sun, repeat and enrich motifs and narrative patterns established in the first eight books of the poem. In each case, the poet draws on older mythic and/or folktale story patterns to explore the effects of Odysseus’s arrival in an exotic and threatening milieu. In particular, we see the playing out of a narrative pattern that begins with the Calypso episode: a male traveler’s penetration of a feminized milieu, leading to the release of Odysseus from potential oblivion. Since anonymity is akin to death in the heroic perspective, this release, signaled when Odysseus names himself or is named for the first time, is also a rebirth, one in a continuing series that culminates in Penelope’s recognition of her long-lost husband in Book 23. At the same time, we will see that along the way namelessness can be an advantage for the stranger in certain situations. This paradox is the key to understanding the poem’s layered representation of human experience, articulated through a complex interaction between anonymity and mortality.

    Because the adventures in Books 9–12 take us out of ordinary human experience into a fantastic world of fairytale creatures, they have an immediate appeal to our imagination. But the various models for social organization that Odysseus and his crew encounter in these intriguing, non-human venues also offer the opportunity for deeper reflection on the human societies in Ithaka and elsewhere. The heroic return story orchestrated by Athena, with its rigid hierarchies and laser-like focus on restoring Odysseus to his rightful place in the royal palace and the royal bed, plays out against the background of a much wider world, expansive in its understanding of how humans live together and cope with what the gods put in their path.

    One issue that will persist throughout Odysseus’s recounting of his adventures is the extent to which we trust him as a reliable narrator. At times, we can see that he may be shaping his narrative so as to burnish his own reputation as a heroic leader, citing the crew’s disastrous lack of self-control. In other situations, he is frank in admitting that it would have been better for him to make another choice. This distinction is mostly a matter of how Odysseus presents and interprets events after the fact. The poet offers little if any independent corroboration in his own voice for what actually happened in between Scheria and Ithaka, beyond what we hear from the hero himself. In the discussions that follow here, we will treat what Odysseus reports as reliable and assume that for the most part, his responses to the events are consistent with the poet’s own perspective on the material. In other words, Odysseus’s role as an embedded narrator within the larger story does not usually add another layer of complexity to our understanding of the poet’s representation of the world and with some exceptions, we will consider his voice to be interchangeable that of the poet’s.

    At the end of Book 8, Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians, notices the stranger’s weeping during stories about Troy by the bard Demodocus and shuts down the performance. The host-guest relationship is an important measure of civilized behavior in the poem and has been on display since the poem’s opening scenes, where the suitors show themselves to be terrible guests and Telemachus does his best to receive the disguised Athena. After Nausicaa’s primly proper treatment of the briny stranger on the beach at Scheria, Alcinous gets off to a shaky start as host, slow to attend to Odysseus as he sits huddled in the ashes by the royal hearth, exuberantly offering his daughter to a total stranger. The young men of the island also overstep, aggressively pressing the stranger to participate in competitive games. The king recovers, with some guidance from the queen, and after the social niceties have been observed on both sides, he returns to his questions: Where did the stranger come from? How did he arrive?

    Book 9 opens with Odysseus’s response. He begins by polishing his own credentials as a good guest, waxing eloquent about the joys of a good meal accompanied by a godlike singer, lest his host think that his weeping indicated a criticism of the hospitality. Weeping often precedes recognition in the Odyssey, so we are primed for the next moment, when Odysseus reveals his name:

    εἴμ᾽ Ὀδυσεὺς Λαερτιάδης, ὃς πᾶσι δόλοισιν 
    ἀνθρώποισι μέλω, καί μευ κλέος οὐρανὸν ἵκει. 

    I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, known to all 
    for my tricks, and my fame reaches the heavens.

    Odyssey 9.19–20

    The cycle that began with Odysseus struggling ashore on Scheria is now complete. The nameless stranger has worked his way into the good opinion of the locals, charming the princess, humbly abasing himself before the royal couple. With some reluctance, he has allowed the Phaeacians to see his latent strength when throwing the discus, but without appearing to be a threat of any kind. Still just some beat-up sailor—albeit one with some impressive muscles—looking for help. When he is confident that he has won the trust of the royal family, he takes the final step and reveals his identity. He is reborn as Odysseus and soon, he hopes, he will be released from the isolated island of the Phaeacians, on his way back to begin the entire cycle over again on Ithaka.

    The division of each of the Homeric epics into twenty-four books apparently came some centuries after the first versions of the poems were composed. The reasons for the divisions we now have between books do not seem to reflect any consistent pattern. Sometimes the setting and rising of the sun provides a natural break, but in other cases, two books span a single scene. The break between Books 8 and 9 falls into the latter category. Though we cannot know at this point what the original poet’s intentions were, the present arrangement does have the effect of beginning Odysseus’s stories at a high point, adding to his authority as narrator. In Books 9–12, Odysseus makes his case for why he deserves a ride home from his hosts, even though, as we have heard from Alcinous in Book 8, the mission will involve risk for the Phaeacian sailors. He begins from a position of strength, bolstered by his kleos (fame, renown, glory).

    Now comes a description of his homeland, surrounded by other islands:

    αὐτὴ δὲ χθαμαλὴ πανυπερτάτη εἰν ἁλὶ κεῖται 
    πρὸς ζόφον, αἱ δέ τ᾽ ἄνευθε πρὸς ἠῶ τ᾽ ἠέλιόν τε, 
    τρηχεῖ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθὴ κουροτρόφος;

    Ithaka herself lies low in the sea and furthest away, 
    facing the dark, while the other islands look to the eastern sun, 
    a rugged place, but good for nurturing young men.

    Odyssey 9.25–27

    Ithaka mirrors its king: keeping a low profile, often wreathed in darkness, tough but also able to nourish and protect. Where people live in the Odyssey and how they interact with their surroundings usually tells us something about their character. The easy opulence of Sparta fits with the outward complacency of the king and queen. Ogygia reflects Calypso’s magical control over nature, the vegetation lush but somehow responding to the nymph’s eerie singing. The Phaeacians, with their over-refined culture of warm baths and dancing, averse to conflict except in the safe confines of the athletic field, represent a mediated relationship to the natural world, softer than the rugged proving-ground of Ithaka. Books Nine through Twelve will continue to offer diverse models for how to live, all resonating in one way or another with Ithaka.

    Perhaps to solidify his persona as a man driven by a single-minded desire for home and family, Odysseus now touches briefly on his encounters with Calypso and Circe. Each “wanted [him] for her husband” (9.29–32) holding him against his will. This description fits Calypso, as we have seen, but not the Circe we will meet in Book 10 and the differences will be important to the ongoing characterization of Penelope. For now, it serves Odysseus’s purposes to portray these two seductresses as interchangeable, bent on keeping the hero from his mission.

    Odysseus launches his tale with the Cicones, the first civilization he and his crew reach after leaving Troy. The emphasis here is not so much on the unique qualities of the new place as with the ongoing problem of the crew’s lack of self-control. The operation begins straightforwardly, the Greeks killing the men and enslaving the women, gathering plunder for the long voyage. Once the larders are full, Odysseus wants a quick exit to avoid further hostilities, but the crew cannot restrain themselves, eating the locals’ cattle and drinking their wine, with the result that six crew members from each ship die. The message is clear: the casualties are not the fault of the leader, but his weak-willed sailors. This pattern will surface again at the end of the adventures, but we will see that in other places the responsibility for losses in the crew is not always theirs.

     

    Further Reading

    Edwards, M.W. 2002. Sound, Sense, and Rhythm: Listening to Greek and Latin Poetry, 45–51. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Heubeck, A. and A. Hoekstra. 1989. A Commentary on Homer’s Odyssey, vol. II, Books IX–XVI, 3–11. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Morrison, J. 2003. A Companion to Homer’s Odyssey, 8–10; 89–90. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

    Pedrick, V. 1988. “The Hospitality of Noble Women in the Odyssey. Helios 15: 85–104.

    Reece, S. 1993. The Stranger’s Welcome: Oral Theory and the Aesthetics of the Homeric Hospitality Scene. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Thalmann, W. 1992. The Odyssey: An Epic of Return, 61–66. New York: Twayne Publishers.

    Tracy, S. 1990. The Story of the Odyssey, 51–59. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Van Nortwick, T. 2008. The Unknown Odysseus: Alternate Worlds in Homer’s Odyssey,      49–50. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.​​​​​​

    τὸν: “him,” King Alcinous (Monro 256).

    3  : “indeed,” frequently used with τοι to confirm or emphasize an assertion (LSJ I.1).

    3  τόδε καλὸν ἀκουέμεν ἐστὶν: the subject is τόδε (“this”), the predicate is καλόν (“a beautiful thing,” neut.) and the infinitive ἀκουέμεν = ἀκούειν tells what “this” is (an “epexegetical” or explanatory infin.).

    3  ἀοιδοῦ: genitive of what is heard, after ἀκουέμεν (Monro 151.d).

    4  αὐδήν: accusative of respect or specifying accusative (Goodell 537; Monro 137).

    5  οὐ γὰρ ἐγώ γέ τί φημι: οὐ belongs to the dependent clause: “I say that there is no,” rather than “I don’t say.”

    6  ὅτ᾽: “whenever” = ὅτε. In Attic Greek, this would be ὅταν. It introduces a series of verbs in the subjunctive (Goodell 627).

    6  ἔχῃ κάτα: “an inverted tmesis (separation of the preposition and verb in a compound verb) for κατέχῃ” (Montgomery). See Smyth 1544–45.

    7  ἀοιδοῦ: genitive of what is heard, after ἀκουάζωνται (Monro 151.d).

    8  ἑξείης: “in a row” = ἑξῆς.

    8  παρὰ: adverbial.

    10  φορέῃσι: = φορῇ, aor. subj. 3rd sing. > φέρω.

    11  τοῦτό τι: these words should be taken together, τι giving indefiniteness to τοῦτο, “this sort of thing” (Montgomery).

    12  σοὶ: dative of possession with θυμὸς.

    13  εἴρεσθ᾽: = εἴρεσθαι. In Homer the final diphthong -αι can be elided.

    14  τοι: the personal pron., an older form of σοι.

    15  δόσαν: = ἔδοσαν. The temporal augment is often omitted in Homer.

    17  εἴδετ᾽: = Att. εἰδῆτε, Ep. subj. > οἶδα. ὄφρα takes the subjunctive (Montgomery). Many subjunctives in Homer have a short stem vowel (Monro 80). 

    φυγὼν ὕπο: inverted tmesis (see note on 9.6).

    17–18  ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἂν … ἔω: “(so that) I might be.” The particle ἄν belongs with the subjunctive ἔω (Att. ὦ). ἄν often appears with the subjunctive in purpose clauses (Goodell 636.a, Monro 363.1). Here it may make the second clause less definite and immediate (Montgomery).

    18  ναίων: concessive participle with καί: “even though I dwell.”

    19–20  ὃς πᾶσι δόλοισιν ἀνθρώποισι μέλω: either (a) “I am of interest to all people for my schemes” (πᾶσι ἀνθρώποισι) or (b) “I am of interest to people for all my schemes” (πᾶσι δόλοισιν).

    20  μευ:  = μου, personal pron.

    21  ἐν δ᾽ ὄρος αὐτῇ: “in it, there is a mountain.” ἐν = ἔνεστι.

    23  ἀλλήλῃσι: “to one another,” with σχεδὸν (= ἀλλήλαις in Att. Greek).

    27  τρηχεῖ᾽: = τραχεῖα in Attic Greek.

    28  ἧς γαίης: “one’s own land.” ἧς here is a possessive adjective (  > ἑός), not the relative pronoun.

    29  αὐτόθ᾽: “there” = αὐτόθι, with ἐν σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι.

    30  λιλαιομένη πόσιν εἶναι: supply με, as the subject of εἶναι, from line 29.

    31  ὣς δ᾽ αὔτως: = ὡσαύτως δέ, “in the same way,” “similarly.”

    33  ἔπειθον: both Calypso and Circe are the subjects.

    34  ἧς πατρίδος: see note on line 28.

    35  εἴ περ καί: “even if…”

    37  εἰ δ’ ἄγε: "well then," "ok," an abrupt transition.

    τοι ... ἐνίσπω: "I will tell you," hortatory subj. (Goodell 472).

    39  πέλασσεν: = Att. ἐπέλασε. The verb πελάζω takes a dative.

    40   Ἰσμάρῳ: in apposition to Κικόνεσσι. Ismarus in ancient Thrace was the city of the Cicones. αὐτούς: the Cicones.

    42  μοι: "for my part," "as far as was in my power," dative of interest.

    42  ἀτεμβόμενος κίοι ἴσης: "so that no one went away deprived of his fair share."

    42 ἀτέμβω: + gen., “deprive of.” 

    42 ἴσης: understand μοίρας (i.e., “fair share”). 

    42 κίοι: ( > κίω, “to go”) optative in a purpose clause introduced by ὡς ( = ἵνα)

    42 μή τίς: “so that no one…” (Goodell 636.b, Monro 306).

    43  ἦ τοι: see note on line 3.

    43  φευγέμεν ἡμέας: = φεύγειν ἡμᾶς in Att. Gk.

    44  ἠνώγεα: “I commanded,”  1st sing. plupf. act. indic. > ἄνωγα (Monro 68.2); used as an imperfect. In Homer the perfect tense is used as a present, the pluperfect as an imperfect (Monro 26).

    44  τοὶ: “they,” definite article ( = οἱ) used as a demonstrative (Monro 256).

    45 πίνετο: "was drunk," unaugmented impf. pass.

    46  ἕλικας: “with twisted horns” (used to describe cattle).

    Please note: these lists exclude the 500 headwords in the DCC Ancient Greek Core Vocabulary 

    ἀπαμείβομαι ἀπαμείψομαι ἀπημειψάμην ἀπημείφθην: to reply, answer

    πρόσφημι πρόσφησω προσέφησα: to speak to, address

    πολύμητις –ιος: very wise, very cunning

    Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey

    Λαερτιάδης –ου ὁ: son of Laertes (Odysseus)

    Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon

    κρείων fem. -ουσα: commanding, kingly; (as subst.) ruler

    ἀριδείκετος –ον: notable, illustrious, famous

    τοι: let me tell you, surely

    ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard

    οἷος –α –ον: such as, of what sort, like, (exclam.) what a!, how! ; οἷός τε (+infin.) fit or able to; οἷόν τε (+infin.) it is possible to

    ἐναλίγκιος [–η] –ον: like, resembling

    αὐδή –ῆς ἡ: the human voice, speech

    χαρίεις –ίεσσα –ίεν: graceful, charming, beautiful 5

    εὐφροσύνη –ης ἡ: cheerfulness, joy, happiness

    δαιτυμών –όνος ὁ: fellow-diner, guest

    δῶμα –ατος τό: house

    ἀκουάζομαι/ἀκούω ἀκούσομαι ἤκουσα ἀκήκοα ἤκουσμαι ἠκούσθην: to listen to (+ gen.)

    ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard

    ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit

    ἑξῆς: one after another, in order, in a row

    πλήθω πλήσω ἐπλησα πέπληθα: to be or become full

    τράπεζα –ης ἡ: table; dinner

    σῖτος –ου ὁ: grain; bread

    κρέας κρέως and κρέατος, gen. pl. Κρειῶν, τό: meat, piece of meat

    μέθυ –υος τό: wine, mead

    κρητήρ –ῆρος ὁ: large vessel for mixing water and wine

    ἀφύσσω ἀφύξω ἤφυσα: to draw (liquid from a vessel)

    οἰνοχόος –ου ὁ: a wine-pourer, cupbearer

    φορέω φορέσω/φορήσω ἐφόρεσα/ἐφόρησα πεφόρηκα πεφόρημαι ἐφορήθην: bear or carry habitually or repeatedly

    ἐγχέω ἐγχῶ ἐνέχεα ἐγκέχυκα ἐγκέχυμαι ἐνεχύθην: to pour in

    δέπας –αος τό: drinking cup, beaker10

    φρήν φρενός ἡ: heart, mind, soul

    εἴδομαι εἴσομαι εἰσάμην: to be visible, appear; to seem; to know, understand

    κῆδος –ους τό: care, thought (for others); anxiety, worry, pain, grief

    ἐπιτρέπω ἐπιτρέψω ἐπέτρεψα ἐπιτέτροφα ἐπιτέτραμμαι ἐπετράφθην (or ἐπετράπην): turn to, transfer, leave to

    στονόεις –εσσα –εν: doleful, mournful, baleful

    εἴρω ἐρῶ εἶπον εἴρηκα εἴρημαι ἐρρήθην: to speak, tell; to command

    ὄφρα: while; until; so that

    ὀδύρομαι ὀδυροῦμαι ὠδυράμην ––– ––– κατωδύρθην/ὠδύρθην: grieve

    στεναχίζω – – – – –: to sigh, groan, wail

    ὑστάτιος –η –ον: last

    καταλέγω καταλέξω κατέλεξα κατείλοχα κατείλεγμαι κατελέχθην: to recount, tell at length and in order

    κῆδος –ους τό: care for

    Οὐρανίωνες –ων οἱ: the heavenly ones, the gods above 15

    μυθέομαι μυθήσομαι μεμύθημαι ἐμυθήθην: speak or talk of, describe, explain, relate

    ὄφρα: while; until; so that

    νηλής –ές: pitiless, ruthless

    ἦμαρ –ατος τό: day

    ἀπόπροθι: far away

    δῶμα –ατος τό: house

    ναίω – – – – –: dwell, inhabit, be situated

    Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey

    Λαερτιάδης –ου ὁ: son of Laertes (Odysseus)

    δόλος –ου ὁ: scheme, plot, deception, trickery

    μέλω μέλησω ἐμέλησα μεμέληκα ––– –––: be an object of care or interest

    κλέος –ους τό: glory

    ἵκω ἱξῶ ἷξον/ἷξα ἷγμαι: to come to 20

    ναιετάω νάσσομαι ἐνασσάμην ––– νένασμαι ἐνάσθην: to dwell

    Ἰθάκη –ης ἡ: Ithaca, the home of Ulysses, an island on the West coast of Greece

    εὐδείελος –ον: quite visible, distinct, far-seen

    Νήριτον –ου τό: Mt. Neritum, in Ithaca

    εἰνοσίφυλλος –ον: shaking its leaves

    ἀριπρεπής –ές: clearly visible, shining; notable

    ναιετάω νάσσομαι ἐνασσάμην ––– νένασμαι ἐνάσθην: to dwell

    σχεδόν: near; almost

    Δουλίχιον –ου τό: Dulichium, an island in the Ionian Sea, S. E. of Ithaca

    Σάμη –ης ἡ: island of Same, near Ithaca

    ὑλήεις –εσσα –εν: woody, wooded

    Ζάκυνθος –ου ὁ: Zacynthus, an island in the realm of Odysseus, south of Same

    χθαμαλός –ή –όν: near the ground, low, flat

    πανυπέρτατος –η –ον: highest of all

    ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.) sea (f.) 25

    ζόφος –ου ὁ: darkness; zone of darkness, west

    ἄνευθε: apart, far off; without (+ gen.)

    ἠώς ἠοῦς ἡ: dawn

    τρηχύς –εῖα –ύ: rough

    κουροτρόφος –ον: good nurse or rearer of men

    τοι: let me tell you, surely

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    γαίη –ης ἡ: earth (= γαῖα)

    γλυκερός -ή -όν: sweet, pleasant (= γλυκύς)

    αὐτόθι: on the spot, right there

    ἐρύκω ἐρύξω ἔρυξα/ἤρυξα/ἐρύκακον/ἠρύκακον: to keep in, hold back, keep in check, curb, restrain

    Καλυψώ –οῦς ἡ: Calypso, a goddess, daughter of Atlas

    δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    σπέος –ους τό: a cave, cavern, grotto

    γλαφυρός –ά –όν: hollow, deep

    λιλαίομαι – – – – –: to yearn, desire

    πόσις –ιος/–εως ὁ: husband, spouse, mate 30

    αὔτως: in the same way, just as it is; merely; in vain

    Κίρκη –ης ἡ: Circe, the enchantress, daughter of Helius, sister of Aeētes, dwelling in the isle of Aeaea

    κατερητύω κατερητύσω κατερήτυσα: to hold back

    μέγαρον –ου τό: a large room, hall, feast-hall

    Αἰαίη: (adj.) Aeaean, sister of Aeetes (of Circe); (subst.) Aeaea, the island of Circe

    δολόεις –εσσα –εν: subtle, wily

    λιλαίομαι – – – – –: to yearn, desire

    πόσις –ιος/–εως ὁ: husband, spouse, mate

    στῆθος –ους τό: breast, chest; (pl.) heart, spirit

    γλυκύς γλυκεῖα γλυκύ: sweet, pleasant

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    τοκεύς –έως ὁ: parent

    ἀπόπροθι: far away

    πίων –ονος ὁ/ἡ: fat, plump; rich, opulent 35

    γαίη –ης ἡ: earth (= γαῖα)

    ἀλλοδαπός –ή –όν: from another country, foreign

    ναίω – – – – –: dwell, inhabit, be situated

    ἀπάνευθε: far, remote; far from, separately from (+ gen.)

    τοκεύς –έως ὁ: parent

    ἄγε: come! come on! well!

    νόστος –ου ὁ: return (home)

    πολυκηδής –ές: very grievous, painful

    ἐνέπω ἐνισπήσω/ἐνίψω ἔνισπον ––– ––– –––: to tell, tell of, relate, describe

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    ἐφίημι ἐφήσω ἐφῆκα ἐφεῖκα ἐφεῖμαι ἐφείθην: to send

    Τροίηθεν: from Troy

    Ἰλιόθεν: from Troy

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

    Κίκονες –ων οἱ: Ciconians

    πελάζω πελάσω ἐπέλασα ––– ––– ἐπελάσθην: to bring near; to approach, come near

    Ἴσμαρος –ου ὁ: Ismarus, a city of the Ciconians

    πέρθω πέρσω ἔπραθον ––– ––– –––: to devastate, put to fire and sword, sack

    ὄλλυμι ὀλῶ ὤλεσα (or ὠλόμην) ὀλώλεκα (or ὄλωλα) ––– –––: to demolish, kill; (mid.) to die, perish, be killed 40

    ἄλοχος –ου ἡ: wife

    κτῆμα –ατος τό: possession

    δατέομαι δάσομαι ἐδασάμην δέδασμαι: to divide among themselves

    ἀτέμβω – – – – –: to deprive of

    κίω – – – – –: go, go away

    τοι: let me tell you, surely

    διερός –ά –όν: rapid, agile, lively

    ἄνωγα (pf. as pres.), ἠνώγεα (plupf. as impf.): to command, invite, exhort

    νήπιος –α –ον: infant, child; silly, ignorant, without foresight

    μέθυ –υος τό: wine, mead

    μῆλον –ου τό: sheep or goat 45

    σφάζω σφάξω ἔσφαξα ἔσφακα ἔσφαγμαι ἐσφάχθην: to kill, slaughter

    θίς θινός ὁ: shore, beach

    εἰλίπους –ποδος: with a tottering gait (of bovines)

    ἕλιξ –ικος: with curving horns; twisted, curving

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    Suggested Citation

    Thomas Van Nortwick and Rob Hardy, Homer: Odyssey 5–12. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2024. ISBN: 978-1-947822-17-7 https://dcc.dickinson.edu/homer-odyssey/ix-1-46