"ὤ μοι, ἐπεὶ δὴ γαῖαν ἀελπέα δῶκεν ἰδέσθαι

Ζεύς, καὶ δὴ τόδε λαῖτμα διατμήξας ἐπέρησα,

ἔκβασις οὔ πῃ φαίνεθ᾽ ἁλὸς πολιοῖο θύραζε·410

ἔκτοσθεν μὲν γὰρ πάγοι ὀξέες, ἀμφὶ δὲ κῦμα

βέβρυχεν ῥόθιον, λισσὴ δ᾽ ἀναδέδρομε πέτρη,

ἀγχιβαθὴς δὲ θάλασσα, καὶ οὔ πως ἔστι πόδεσσι

στήμεναι ἀμφοτέροισι καὶ ἐκφυγέειν κακότητα·

μή πώς μ᾽ ἐκβαίνοντα βάλῃ λίθακι ποτὶ πέτρῃ415

κῦμα μέγ᾽ ἁρπάξαν· μελέη δέ μοι ἔσσεται ὁρμή.

εἰ δέ κ᾽ ἔτι προτέρω παρανήξομαι, ἤν που ἐφεύρω

ἠιόνας τε παραπλῆγας λιμένας τε θαλάσσης,

δείδω μή μ᾽ ἐξαῦτις ἀναρπάξασα θύελλα

πόντον ἐπ᾽ ἰχθυόεντα φέρῃ βαρέα στενάχοντα,420

ἠέ τί μοι καὶ κῆτος ἐπισσεύῃ μέγα δαίμων

ἐξ ἁλός, οἷά τε πολλὰ τρέφει κλυτὸς Ἀμφιτρίτη·

οἶδα γάρ, ὥς μοι ὀδώδυσται κλυτὸς ἐννοσίγαιος."

ἧος ὁ ταῦθ᾽ ὥρμαινε κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν,

τόφρα δέ μιν μέγα κῦμα φέρε τρηχεῖαν ἐπ᾽ ἀκτήν.425

ἔνθα κ᾽ ἀπὸ ῥινοὺς δρύφθη, σὺν δ᾽ ὀστέ᾽ ἀράχθη,

εἰ μὴ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·

ἀμφοτέρῃσι δὲ χερσὶν ἐπεσσύμενος λάβε πέτρης,

τῆς ἔχετο στενάχων, ἧος μέγα κῦμα παρῆλθε.

καὶ τὸ μὲν ὣς ὑπάλυξε, παλιρρόθιον δέ μιν αὖτις430

πλῆξεν ἐπεσσύμενον, τηλοῦ δέ μιν ἔμβαλε πόντῳ.

ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε πουλύποδος θαλάμης ἐξελκομένοιο

πρὸς κοτυληδονόφιν πυκιναὶ λάιγγες ἔχονται,

ὣς τοῦ πρὸς πέτρῃσι θρασειάων ἀπὸ χειρῶν

ῥινοὶ ἀπέδρυφθεν· τὸν δὲ μέγα κῦμα κάλυψεν.435

ἔνθα κε δὴ δύστηνος ὑπὲρ μόρον ὤλετ᾽ Ὀδυσσεύς,

εἰ μὴ ἐπιφροσύνην δῶκε γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη.

κύματος ἐξαναδύς, τά τ᾽ ἐρεύγεται ἤπειρόνδε,

νῆχε παρέξ, ἐς γαῖαν ὁρώμενος, εἴ που ἐφεύροι

ἠιόνας τε παραπλῆγας λιμένας τε θαλάσσης.440

ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ ποταμοῖο κατὰ στόμα καλλιρόοιο

ἷξε νέων, τῇ δή οἱ ἐείσατο χῶρος ἄριστος,

λεῖος πετράων, καὶ ἐπὶ σκέπας ἦν ἀνέμοιο,

ἔγνω δὲ προρέοντα καὶ εὔξατο ὃν κατὰ θυμόν·

"κλῦθι, ἄναξ, ὅτις ἐσσί· πολύλλιστον δέ σ᾽ ἱκάνω,445

φεύγων ἐκ πόντοιο Ποσειδάωνος ἐνιπάς.

αἰδοῖος μέν τ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν

ἀνδρῶν ὅς τις ἵκηται ἀλώμενος, ὡς καὶ ἐγὼ νῦν

σόν τε ῥόον σά τε γούναθ᾽ ἱκάνω πολλὰ μογήσας.

ἀλλ᾽ ἐλέαιρε, ἄναξ· ἱκέτης δέ τοι εὔχομαι εἶναι."450

    Odysseus struggles against the dashing waves to reach the shore of Phaeacia.

    Book 5 opens with Odysseus marooned on the island of Calypso. By the time he finally crawls under the bushes on another island, he seems to have escaped the clutches of his affectionate captor. But the last word in the book might give us pause.

    read full essay

    ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε τις δαλὸν σποδιῇ ἐνέκρυψε μελαίνῃ
    ἀγροῦ ἐπ᾽ ἐσχατιῆς, ᾧ μὴ πάρα γείτονες ἄλλοι,
    σπέρμα πυρὸς σώζων, ἵνα μή ποθεν ἄλλοθεν αὔοι,
    ὣς Ὀδυσεὺς φύλλοισι καλύψατο· τῷ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ Ἀθήνη
    ὕπνον ἐπ᾽ ὄμμασι χεῦ᾽, ἵνα μιν παύσειε τάχιστα
    δυσπονέος καμάτοιο φίλα βλέφαρ᾽ ἀμφικαλύψας.

    As when someone buries a burning log in a black ash heap
    on the edge of a field, who has no neighbors nearby,
    preserving the spark of a flame, with no other place to get a light,
    so Odysseus covered himself up with leaves. And Athena
    poured sleep over his eyes, so as quickly to relieve him,
    by covering over his eyelids, of his painful toil.

    Odyssey 5.488–93

    Once again, the hero is “covered up,” this time by Athena. Is the hero free at last, or has he only moved from one kind of captivity to another? The nymph on Ogygia will not be the only agent of nothingness in the poem, it seems. The hero’s time (or perhaps, timelessness) with her is, as we will see, one of many descents into anonymity—sometimes voluntary, sometimes not—from which he must assert himself and make his way back to his heroic identity. As he struggles to reach Ithaka, the cycle will recur many times, building to the triumphant moment when Penelope acknowledges him as her husband (23.205–30). The Odyssey opens by asking, “Where is Odysseus?” But the more persistent question is, “Who is Odysseus?”

    When Odysseus finally sights land after eighteen days at sea, Homer describes his joy with a striking simile:

    ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἀσπάσιος βίοτος παίδεσσι φανήῃ
    πατρός, ὃς ἐν νούσῳ κεῖται κρατέρ᾽ ἄλγεα πάσχων,
    δηρὸν τηκόμενος, στυγερὸς δέ οἱ ἔχραε δαίμων,
    ἀσπάσιον δ᾽ ἄρα τόν γε θεοὶ κακότητος ἔλυσαν,
    ὣς Ὀδυσῆ' ἀσπαστὸν ἐείσατο γαῖα καὶ ὕλη,

    As when life, so welcome to his children, returns to a father,
    after he has lain sick, suffering pain, wasting long away,
    and the hateful death spirit has attacked him,
    but then the gods bring welcome release to him from the evil,
    so the land and woods were welcome to Odysseus.

    Odyssey 5.394–98

    By portraying Odysseus as a child, the simile suggests a surprising parallel, the reverse of what we might expect, since he is a father struggling to get back to his children. But in another sense, the model fits: he is still, in the poem’s chronology as opposed to the story’s, early in his struggle to become himself again after seven years away from the world where his identity is established. When he crawls on shore, he is beginning again, like a child, naked and alone:

                     ἁλὶ γὰρ δέδμητο φίλον κῆρ.
    ᾤδεε δὲ χρόα πάντα, θάλασσα δὲ κήκιε πολλὴ
    ἂν στόμα τε ῥῖνάς θ᾽· ὁ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἄπνευστος καὶ ἄναυδος
    κεῖτ᾽ ὀλιγηπελέων, κάματος δέ μιν αἰνὸς ἵκανεν.
    ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δή ῥ᾽ ἄμπνυτο καὶ ἐς φρένα θυμὸς ἀγέρθη,
    καὶ τότε δὴ κρήδεμνον ἀπὸ ἕο λῦσε θεοῖο.

                    But his very heart was sick from the sea.
    His skin was all swollen, and sea water gushed
    from his mouth and nose; speechless and out of breath,
    he lay faint, and a bitter weariness swept over him.
    But when he revived and his life came back to him,
    then he let go of the nymph’s veil.

    Odyssey 5.454–59

    Weak and barely breathing, the hero has escaped the annihilating force of the sea. Then he starts to breathe and gather life into himself again. In describing this recovery, Homer uses language that appears elsewhere associated with someone losing consciousness after a severe shock, followed by a symbolic rebirth (Il. 22.475; Od. 24.349). Under the twin bushes, Odysseus begins the process of coming back to life.

    Because the series of cyclical movements from anonymity to identity that inform the Odyssey’s narrative structure begins on Ogygia, and because Odysseus appears there first, the episode is important for our understanding of the poem’s central character and for its overall meaning. The richness and subtlety of Homer’s description of the exchanges between Hermes, Calypso, and Odysseus focuses our attention on the hero’s choice; the decision he makes in response to the nymph’s offer of ageless immortality defines the terms of his existence as he sets forth into the story and toward Ithaka. For the Greek hero, to be unsung is to be as good as dead. Odysseus’s stay with Calypso, pleasant as it might have been in some respects, represents a symbolic death for the hero, the equivalent of the dismal end that Telemachus imagines for his father when Athena comes to rouse him in Book 1:

    “ξεῖνε φίλ᾽, ἦ καὶ μοι νεμεσήσεαι ὅττι κεν εἴπω;
    τούτοισιν μὲν ταῦτα μέλει, κίθαρις καὶ ἀοιδή,
    ῥεῖ᾽, ἐπεὶ ἀλλότριον βίοτον νήποινον ἔδουσιν,
    ἀνέρος, οὗ δή που λεύκ᾽ ὀστέα πύθεται ὄμβρῳ
    κείμεν᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἠπείρου, ἢ εἰν ἁλὶ κῦμα κυλίνδει.
    εἰ κεῖνόν γ᾽ Ἰθάκηνδε ἰδοίατο νοστήσαντα,
    πάντες κ᾽ ἀρησαίατ᾽ ἐλαφρότεροι πόδας εἶναι
    ἢ ἀφνειότεροι χρυσοῖό τε ἐσθῆτός τε.
    νῦν δ᾽ ὁ μὲν ὣς ἀπόλωλε κακὸν μόρον, οὐδέ τις ἡμῖν
    θαλπωρή, εἴ πέρ τις ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων
    φῇσιν ἐλεύσεσθαι: τοῦ δ᾽ ὤλετο νόστιμον ἦμαρ.”

    “Dear friend, would you be resentful if I speak my mind?
    Dancing and singing are what these men care about,
    an easy life, since they eat up another man’s substance,
    whose bleached bones lie out on the beach,
    festering in the rain or rolling in the wash of the breakers.
    If these men were to see that man coming back to Ithaka,
    they would all pray to be faster on their feet
    instead of richer in gold and fine clothing.
    But now, since an evil fate has fallen upon him, for us
    there will be no comfort, even if some mortal says
    he will return. His homecoming day has perished.”

    Odyssey 1.158–68

    This dark fate is exactly what Odysseus himself fears when Poseidon’s storm destroys his boat (306–12), disappearing alone with no one to preserve the memory of his kleos. But as we have seen, physical death is only one of the ways that Odysseus can be erased. When he leaves Calypso’s island, he chooses to define his identity through struggle, against all the numbing forces of oblivion, physical and psychic, that threaten to erase him. Athena’s final gesture is ambiguous, nurturing, and maternal, yet perhaps carrying too the lingering potential for submersion he fights against. In his final image, Homer gives us a reassuring sign: like a glowing ember, his hero is ready to burst forth into the light again.

     

    Further Reading

    Foley, H. 1978. “Reverse Similes and Sex Roles in the Odyssey.” Arethusa 11: 6–26.

     

    408  ἰδέσθαι: infinitive of purpose with δῶκεν (Smyth 2009).

    409  λαῖτμα: the object of both διατμήξας and ἐπέρησα.

    409  διατμήξας: “having cleaved” (i.e., traversed) > διατμήγω.

    410  θύραζε: “out of,” with preceding genitive.

    411  ἀμφὶ: “(all) around,” adverbial.

    412  βέβρυχεν: 3rd sing. pf. act. indic. > βρυχάομαι, with present force (“intensive perfect,” Smyth 1947).

    412  ἀναδέδρομε: “shoots up,” 3rd sing. pf. act. indic. > ἀνατρέχω, with present force.

    413  οὔ πως ἔστι: “it is not in any way possible.” Note accentuation of ἔστι.

    414  στήμεναι: “to stand,” aor. act. infin. > ἵστημι.

    415  μή … βάλῃ: “may (the wave) not hurl …,” prohibitive subj. The subject of βάλῃ is κῦμα.

    416  ἁρπάξαν: neut. nom. aor. act. ptc., modifying κῦμα. Its object, and the object of the finite verb βάλῃ, is με in line 415.

    417  εἰ δέ κ᾽ … παρανήξομαι: the protasis of a future more vivid conditional (εἰ κε = ἐάν). παρανήξομαι could be taken as a short-vowel subjunctive, or a rare instance of the future indicative in the protasis of a future more vivid conditional (Smyth 2327c).

    417  ἤν … ἐφεύρω: a second protasis (ἤν = ἐάν), added to the first protasis without a conjunction. 

    417  ἐφεύρω: 1st sing. aor. act. subj. > ἐφευρίσκω.

    419  δείδω μή … / … φέρῃ: clause of fearing (Smyth 2221).

    420  βαρέα: adverbial.

    420  στενάχοντα: masc. acc., modifying με in line 419.

    421  κῆτος: neut. acc., modified by τί (= τι) and μέγα.

    421  ἐπισσεύῃ: “sets (acc.) against (dat.).” 3rd sing. pres. act. subj., in a clause of fearing.

    422  οἷά τε: “the sort that …,” understand κήτεα, the plural of κήτος, as the antecedent (compare 12.97).

    424  ἧος … / τόφρα: “while …,” in place of the more common correlative pair ὄφρα … τόφρα.

    426  κ᾽ ἀπὸ ῥινοὺς δρύφθη: “he would have been stripped of his skin,” apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact conditional. 

    426  ῥινοὺς: accusative of respect.

    426  ἀπὸ … δρύφθη: tmesis, 3rd sing. aor. pass. indic. > ἀποδρύπτω. 

    426  σὺν … ἀράχθη: "was smashed to pieces," tmesis, 3rd sing. aor. pass. indic. > συναράσσω.

    426  ὀστέ(α): either the neuter plural subject of the singular verb συναράχθη, or accusative of respect like ῥινοὺς.

    427  ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε: “put (an idea) into his mind” (LSJ τίθημι A.II.6).

    429  τῆς ἔχετο: “he clung to it.”

    429  ἔχω: mid., with partitive genitive.

    430  τὸ: i.e, the wave (κῦμα).

    431  ἐπεσσύμενον: neut. nom. sing., modifying the subject κῦμα.

    431  πόντῳ: dative of place where.

    432  ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε: introducing a simile.

    432  πουλύποδος θαλάμης ἐξελκομένοιο: “of an octopus dragged from its lair.” The genitives πουλύποδος … ἐξελκομένοιο are possessive, modifying κοτυληδονόφιν. The genitive θαλάμης is a genitive of separation, governed by the ἐξ- in ἐξελκομένοιο.

    433  πρὸς … ἔχονται: “cling to,” tmesis > προσέχω, with dative (LSJ προσέχω I.6).

    433  κοτυληδονόφιν: dat. pl.

    434  τοῦ: “his,” modifying χειρῶν.

    434  πρὸς: “against,” with dative.

    436  κε … ὤλετ(ο): apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact conditional.

    436  ὑπὲρ μόρον: “contrary to fate” (LSJ ὑπέρ B.II.2).

    438  τά τ᾽: rel. pron., with κύματος as its antecedent. The Epic τε is untranslatable.

    439  ὁρώμενος: middle with same sense as active (LSJ ὁράω II.4).

    439  εἴ που ἐφεύροι: “(looking to see) if he might find …,” indirect question, introduced by ὁρώμενος. Compare line 417.

    440  a repetition of line 418.

    442  ἐείσατο χῶρος ἄριστος: is the subject of the verb, and ἄριστος is a predicate nominative adjective.

    442  ἐείσατο: 3rd sing. aor. mid. indic. > εἴδομαι.

    443  λεῖος πετράων: “free from rocks” (LSJ λεῖος 2.b).

    443  ἐπὶ σκέπας: “sheltered from” (lit., “in the shelter”), with genitive.

    444  προρέοντα: understand as modifying ποταμόν.

    445  ἱκάνω: “I approach,” “I come to,” frequently of approaching a god in prayer.

    446  φεύγων ἐκ πόντοιο … ἐνιπάς: ἐνιπάς is the object of φεύγων, and ἐκ πόντοιο modifies φεύγων adverbially.

    447  ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν: dative of interest.

    448  ἀνδρῶν ὅς τις ἵκηται: “whoever of men approaches,” “whatever man approaches,” partitive genitive, followed by a general relative clause (subj. without ἄν / κεν). The relative clause forms the subject of the verb ἐστί, with αἰδοῖος as predicate nominative.

    450  ἱκέτης δέ τοι εὔχομαι εἶναι: indirect discourse, with ἱκέτης as a predicate agreeing with the subject of the verb εὔχομαι (which here simply means “I declare”).

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    ἀελπής –ές: unhoped for, unexpected

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    λαῖτμα –ατος τό: the depths of the sea

    διατμήγω διατμήξω διέτμηξα/διέτμαγον – – διετμάγην: to cut in twain; to transverse

    περάω περάσω (or περῶ) ἐπέρασα πεπέρακα ––– –––: to cross, go across; to penetrate

    ἔκβασις –εως ἡ: a way out, egress

    πη πῃ: somehow, to some place

    ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)

    πολιός –ή –όν: white

    θύραζε: out to the door, out of the door; out of 

    ἔκτοσθε: outside

    πάγος –ου ὁ: crag, rocky hill

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    βρυχάομαι βρυχήσομαι ἐβρυχησάμην βέβρυχα ––– ἐβρυχήθην: to roar, bellow410

    ῥόθιος [–α] –ον: rushing, roaring, dashing

    λισσός –ή –όν: smooth

    ἀνατρέχω ἀναδραμοῦμαι ἀνέδραμον ἀναδεδράμηκα: to rise up; to run back

    πέτρη –ης ἡ: rock, cliffs, shelf of rock

    ἀγχιβαθής –ές: deep near shore

    ἐκφεύγω ἐκφεύξομαι ἔκφυγον ἐκφεύγα ––– –––: flee out, escape

    κακότης –ητος ἡ: badness

    ἐκβαίνω ἐκβήσομαι ἐκέβην ἐκβέβηκα ––– –––: to disembark415

    λίθαξ –ακος: stony

    πέτρη –ης ἡ: rock, cliffs, shelf of rock

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    ἁρπάζω ἁρπάσομαι ἥρπασα ἥρπακα ἥρπασμαι ἡρπάσθην: snatch away, steal

    μέλεος –α –ον: idle, useless

    ὁρμή –ῆς ἡ: a violent movement onwards, an assault, attack, onset; effort

    προτέρω: further, forwards

    παρανήχομαι παρανήξομαι παρενηξάμην: to swim along

    ἐφευρίσκω ἐφευρήσω ἔφηυρον ἐφηύρηκα ἐφηύρημαι ἐφηυρέθην: to light upon, discover

    ἠϊών –όνος ἡ: shore, beach

    παραπλήξ –ῆγος: stricken sideways

    λιμήν –ένος ὁ: harbor

    δείδω δείσομαι ἔδεισα δέδοικα (or δίδια) ––– –––: to fear

    ἐξαῦτις: over again, once more, anew

    ἀναρπάζω ἀναρπάξομαι/ἀναρπάξω/ἀναρπάσομαι/ἀναρπάσω ἀνήρπαξα/ἀνήρπασα ἀνήρπακα ἀνήρπαγμαι/ἀνήρπασμαι ἀνηρπάσθην/ἀνηρπάχθην: to snatch up

    θύελλα –ης ἡ: storm, eruption

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea420

    ἰχθυόεις –εσσα –εν: full of fish, fishy

    στενάχω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to sigh, groan, wail

    κῆτος –ους τό: any sea-monster

    ἐπισεύω ἐπισεύσω ἐπέσσυα: to put in motion against, set upon

    ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)

    οἷος –α –ον: (such a kind) as; for οἷός τε see οἷος III.2

    κλuτός –ή –όν: illustrious, glorious

    Ἀμφιτρίτη –ης ἡ: Amphitrite, goddess of the sea, personifying the element

    ὀδύσσομαι ὀδύσομαι ὀδυσάμην: to be wroth against, to hate

    κλuτός –ή –όν: illustrious, glorious

    ἐννοσίγαιος –ου ὁ: earth-shaker (epithet of Poseidon)

    ὁρμαίνω ὁρμανῶ ὥρμηνα: to turn over

    φρήν φρενός ἡ: diaphragm; heart, mind, wits

    τόφρα: at that very moment, so long; tόφρα … ὄφρα, as long as … until425

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    τρηχύς –εῖα –ύ: rough

    ἀκτή –ῆς ἡ: headland, foreland, promontory

    ῥινός –οῦ ἡ: the skin

    δρύπτω δρύψω ἔδρυψα – – ἐδρύφθην: to tear, strip

    ὀστέον –ου τό: a bone

    ἀράσσω ἀράξω ἤραξα ––– ––– ἠράχθην: to knock, beat, strike; to hammer together

    φρήν φρενός ἡ: diaphragm; heart, mind, wits

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    γλαυκῶπις –ιδος: gleaming - eyed

    Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena

    ἐπισεύω ἐπισεύσω ἐπέσσυα: to put in motion against, set upon

    πέτρη –ης ἡ: rock, cliffs, shelf of rock

    στενάχω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to sigh, groan, wail

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    παρέρχομαι παρεῖμι παρῆλθον παρελήλυθα ––– –––: to go by, beside, outstrip, pass over

    ὑπαλύσκω ὑπαλύξω ὑπάλυξα: to avoid, shun, flee from, escape430

    παλιρρόθιος –α –ον: back-rushing, refluent

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    αὖθις: again, in turn

    πλήττω πλήξω ἔπληξα πέπληγα πέπληγμαι ἐπλήγην (–επλάγην): strike, smite

    ἐπισεύω ἐπισεύσω ἐπέσσυα: to put in motion against, set upon

    τηλοῦ: afar, far off

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    ἐμβάλλω ἐμβαλῶ ἐνέβαλον ἐμβέβληκα ἐμβέβλημαι ἐνεβλήθην: to throw (into or onto); to cause to enter, embark, put

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea

    πολύπους –ποδος: octopus

    θαλάμη –ης ἡ: a lurking-place, den, hole, cave

    ἐξελκύω/ἐξέλκω ἐξελκύσω/ἐξέλξω ἐξείλκυσα/ἐξεῖλξα ἐξείλκυκα ἐξείλκυσμαι ἐξειλκύσθην/ἐξείλχθην : to draw

    κοτυληδών –όνος ἡ: (plur.) suckers (on the tentacles of an octopus)

    πυκ(ι)νός –ή –όν: thick, bushy, dense; prudent, wise, smart, shrewd

    λᾶϊγξ –ιγγος ἡ: small stone, pebble

    πέτρη –ης ἡ: rock, cliffs, shelf of rock

    θρασύς –εῖα –ύ: bold, rash

    ῥινός –οῦ ἡ: the skin435

    ἀποδρύπτω ἀποδρύψω ἀπέδρυψα/ἀπέδρυφον – – ἀπεδρύφθην: to tear off the skin, lacerate

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    καλύπτω καλύψω ἐκάλυψα κεκάλυμμαι ἐκαλύφθην: to cover, enclose

    δύστηνος –ον: wretched, unhappy, unfortunate, disastrous

    μόρος –ου ὁ: fate, destiny, death

    ὄλλυμι ὀλῶ ὤλεσα (or ὠλόμην) ὀλώλεκα (or ὄλωλα) ––– –––: to demolish, kill; to lose, suffer the loss of (+ acc.); (mid.) to die, perish, be killed

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

    ἐπιφροσύνη –ης ἡ: thoughtfulness

    γλαυκῶπις –ιδος: gleaming - eyed

    Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    ἐξαναδύομαι ἐξαναδύσομαι ἐξανέδυν – ἐξαναδέδυμαι ἐξανεδύθην: to rise out of, emerge from

    ἐρεύγομαι ἐρεύξομαι ἠρευξάμην: belch out, disgorge

    ἤπειρόνδε: to the mainland

    νήχω νήξομαι ἐνηξάμην: to swim

    παρέξ or παρέκ: beyond, past; outside, before; out and away; beside, alongside

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    ἐφευρίσκω ἐφευρήσω ἔφηυρον ἐφηύρηκα ἐφηύρημαι ἐφηυρέθην: to light upon, discover

    ἠϊών –όνος ἡ: shore, beach440

    παραπλήξ –ῆγος: stricken sideways

    λιμήν –ένος ὁ: harbor

    καλλίρροος –ον: beautiful-flowing

    ἵκω ἱξῶ ἷξον/ἷξα ἷγμαι: to come to

    νέω νεύσομαι ἔνευσα νένευκα: to swim; to spin

    τῃ (dat. fem. of ὁ): here, there

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

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

    χῶρος –ου ὁ: place, a piece of ground

    λεῖος –α –ον: smooth; (of places or terrain) flat, even

    πέτρη –ης ἡ: rock, cliffs, shelf of rock

    σκέπας –ους τό: a covering, shelter

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

    προρέω προρεύσομαι προέρευσα: to flow forward

    εὔχομαι εὔξομαι ηὐξάμην ηὖγμαι: to pray; to make a vow, promise; to declare, affirm; to glory in, boast of (for good reason)

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    κλύω ––– κέκλυκα ––– ––– –––: to hear, listen to; to have a reputation, be judged or considered445

    ἄναξ –ακτος ὁ: ruler, lord

    πολύλλιστος –ον: sought with many prayers

    ἱκάνω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to come to, arrive at, reach

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea

    Ποσειδῶν (or Ποσειδάων) –ῶνος ὁ: Poseidon

    ἐνιπή –ῆς ἡ: a rebuke, reproof

    αἰδοῖος –α –ον: having a claim to compassion or reverence

    ἀθάνατος –ον: immortal, deathless; (plur.) the gods

    ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach

    ἀλάομαι ἀλήσομαι ἀλάλημαι ἠλήθην: to wander, stray

    ῥόος –ου ὁ: a stream, flow, current

    γόνυ γόνατος (or γουνός) τό: knee

    ἱκάνω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to come to, arrive at, reach

    μογέω μογήσω ἐμόγησα: to toil, suffer

    ἐλεαίρω ἐλεαρῶ ἐλέηρα: to take pity on450

    ἄναξ –ακτος ὁ: ruler, lord

    ἱκέτης –ου ὁ: suppliant

    εὔχομαι εὔξομαι ηὐξάμην ηὖγμαι: to pray; to make a vow, promise; to declare, affirm; to glory in, boast of (for good reason)

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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/v-408-450