"Δήλῳ δή ποτε τοῖον Ἀπόλλωνος παρὰ βωμῷ

φοίνικος νέον ἔρνος ἀνερχόμενον ἐνόησα·

ἦλθον γὰρ καὶ κεῖσε, πολὺς δέ μοι ἕσπετο λαός,

τὴν ὁδὸν ᾗ δὴ μέλλεν ἐμοὶ κακὰ κήδε᾽ ἔσεσθαι.165

ὣς δ᾽ αὔτως καὶ κεῖνο ἰδὼν ἐτεθήπεα θυμῷ

δήν, ἐπεὶ οὔ πω τοῖον ἀνήλυθεν ἐκ δόρυ γαίης,

ὡς σέ, γύναι, ἄγαμαί τε τέθηπά τε, δείδια δ᾽ αἰνῶς

γούνων ἅψασθαι· χαλεπὸν δέ με πένθος ἱκάνει.

χθιζὸς ἐεικοστῷ φύγον ἤματι οἴνοπα πόντον·170

τόφρα δέ μ᾽ αἰεὶ κῦμ᾽ ἐφόρει κραιπναί τε θύελλαι

νήσου ἀπ᾽ Ὠγυγίης. νῦν δ᾽ ἐνθάδε κάββαλε δαίμων,

ὄφρ᾽ ἔτι που καὶ τῇδε πάθω κακόν· οὐ γὰρ ὀίω

παύσεσθ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι πολλὰ θεοὶ τελέουσι πάροιθεν.

ἀλλά, ἄνασσ᾽, ἐλέαιρε· σὲ γὰρ κακὰ πολλὰ μογήσας175

ἐς πρώτην ἱκόμην, τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων οὔ τινα οἶδα

ἀνθρώπων, οἳ τήνδε πόλιν καὶ γαῖαν ἔχουσιν.

ἄστυ δέ μοι δεῖξον, δὸς δὲ ῥάκος ἀμφιβαλέσθαι,

εἴ τί που εἴλυμα σπείρων ἔχες ἐνθάδ᾽ ἰοῦσα.

σοὶ δὲ θεοὶ τόσα δοῖεν ὅσα φρεσὶ σῇσι μενοινᾷς,180

ἄνδρα τε καὶ οἶκον, καὶ ὁμοφροσύνην ὀπάσειαν

ἐσθλήν· οὐ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ γε κρεῖσσον καὶ ἄρειον,

ἢ ὅθ᾽ ὁμοφρονέοντε νοήμασιν οἶκον ἔχητον

ἀνὴρ ἠδὲ γυνή· πόλλ᾽ ἄλγεα δυσμενέεσσι,

χάρματα δ᾽ εὐμενέτῃσι, μάλιστα δέ τ᾽ ἔκλυον αὐτοί."185

τὸν δ᾽ αὖ Ναυσικάα λευκώλενος ἀντίον ηὔδα·

"ξεῖν᾽, ἐπεὶ οὔτε κακῷ οὔτ᾽ ἄφρονι φωτὶ ἔοικας,

Ζεὺς δ᾽ αὐτὸς νέμει ὄλβον Ὀλύμπιος ἀνθρώποισιν,

ἐσθλοῖς ἠδὲ κακοῖσιν, ὅπως ἐθέλῃσιν, ἑκάστῳ·

καί που σοὶ τάδ᾽ ἔδωκε, σὲ δὲ χρὴ τετλάμεν ἔμπης.190

νῦν δ᾽, ἐπεὶ ἡμετέρην τε πόλιν καὶ γαῖαν ἱκάνεις,

οὔτ᾽ οὖν ἐσθῆτος δευήσεαι οὔτε τευ ἄλλου,

ὧν ἐπέοιχ᾽ ἱκέτην ταλαπείριον ἀντιάσαντα.

ἄστυ δέ τοι δείξω, ἐρέω δέ τοι οὔνομα λαῶν.

Φαίηκες μὲν τήνδε πόλιν καὶ γαῖαν ἔχουσιν,195

εἰμὶ δ᾽ ἐγὼ θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος Ἀλκινόοιο,

τοῦ δ᾽ ἐκ Φαιήκων ἔχεται κάρτος τε βίη τε."

ἦ ῥα καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισιν ἐυπλοκάμοισι κέλευσε·

"στῆτέ μοι, ἀμφίπολοι· πόσε φεύγετε φῶτα ἰδοῦσαι;

ἦ μή πού τινα δυσμενέων φάσθ᾽ ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν;200

οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ οὗτος ἀνὴρ διερὸς βροτὸς οὐδὲ γένηται,

ὅς κεν Φαιήκων ἀνδρῶν ἐς γαῖαν ἵκηται

δηιοτῆτα φέρων· μάλα γὰρ φίλοι ἀθανάτοισιν.

οἰκέομεν δ᾽ ἀπάνευθε πολυκλύστῳ ἐνὶ πόντῳ,

ἔσχατοι, οὐδέ τις ἄμμι βροτῶν ἐπιμίσγεται ἄλλος.205

ἀλλ᾽ ὅδε τις δύστηνος ἀλώμενος ἐνθάδ᾽ ἱκάνει,

τὸν νῦν χρὴ κομέειν· πρὸς γὰρ Διός εἰσιν ἅπαντες

ξεῖνοί τε πτωχοί τε, δόσις δ᾽ ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε.

ἀλλὰ δότ᾽, ἀμφίπολοι, ξείνῳ βρῶσίν τε πόσιν τε,

λούσατέ τ᾽ ἐν ποταμῷ, ὅθ᾽ ἐπὶ σκέπας ἔστ᾽ ἀνέμοιο."210

    Odysseus continues his flattering speech and concludes by asking Nausicaa for clothing and food. Nausicaa responds by introducing herself and offering to help him. She calls her attendants to bathe him and give him food and drink.

    Rolling now, Odysseus kicks it up a notch, citing the quasi-religious awe σέβας (161) that has overtaken him as he gazes at Nausicaa, thus providing a smooth segue into his report of a visit to Delos—Artemis again—where he saw a “slender palm tree” (163) that the young princess resembles.

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    So far, he has offered flattery without any underlying sexual suggestiveness, but now he inches closer: he would like to grasp her by the knees…but her radiance forbids it! His worshipful tone then points him toward the position he has been aiming at from the beginning, as a pitiful suppliant in need of help, at the feet of a gracious queen (ἄνασσ᾽, 175). After a brief recap of his travails since leaving Calypso’s island, he finally gets down to business: Could she spare some old rags and show him the way to town? In return, he offers his good wishes:

    “σοὶ δὲ θεοὶ τόσα δοῖεν ὅσα φρεσὶ σῇσι μενοινᾷς,
    ἄνδρα τε καὶ οἶκον, καὶ ὁμοφροσύνην ὀπάσειαν
    ἐσθλήν· οὐ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ γε κρεῖσσον καὶ ἄρειον,
    ἢ ὅθ᾽ ὁμοφρονέοντε νοήμασιν οἶκον ἔχητον
    ἀνὴρ ἠδὲ γυνή· πόλλ᾽ ἄλγεα δυσμενέεσσι,
    χάρματα δ᾽ εὐμενέτῃσι, μάλιστα δέ τ᾽ ἔκλυον αὐτοί.”

    “May the gods grant whatever you wish for in your heart,
    a husband and a home and sweet agreement in all things;
    for nothing is stronger and better, than when
    a man and woman keep a home together,
    united in their thoughts, bringing much pain to their enemies
    and joy to well-wishers; and they are in excellent repute.”

    Odyssey 6.180–85

    These verses resonate on more than one level. In the immediate context, they mark a return by Odysseus to one of his (and Athena’s) principal messages to the young princess: Time for you to find a husband; the stirrings you are feeling are quite appropriate as a prelude to assuming your proper place in society. Meanwhile, of course, the rugged—and scantily clad—stranger is sending other messages, to which the princess will soon show herself to be receptive. But beyond the present situation, this homily speaks to a larger theme in the poem, the yearning for home that drives the hero. Because we have witnessed the existential choice that Odysseus makes to leave the blissful, timeless life that Calypso offers and keep struggling to reach Penelope—who he admits is only mortal and inferior in beauty to the goddess—his words here take on an outsized importance. The bond he envisions for Nausicaa will turn out to be precisely what he finally wins back in Ithaka, and the key to its strength will be the quality of “thinking alike” that he and Penelope show us there. The entire Nausicaa episode provides a paradigm for the submerged courtship we will see in Books 18–23 as husband and wife, each working in his or her own way, find their way back to the bliss that Odysseus foretells here.

    Nausicaa responds with some proverbial wisdom of her own, the gist of which is, “Stranger, you seem smart enough, so you know that Zeus gives out prosperity as he wishes, and mortals must do what they can with what they get. That goes for you.” The tone here fits a royal princess, not the giddy teenager who has just now been playing with her maids. She continues in this grown-up persona, noting that as a suppliant who has come to her town, Odysseus is entitled to her help. She tells him where he is and then introduces herself:

    “εἰμὶ δ᾽ ἐγὼ θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος Ἀλκινόοιο,
    τοῦ δ᾽ ἐκ Φαιήκων ἔχεται κάρτος τε βίη τε.”

    “I am the daughter of greathearted Alkinous,
    whose power and strength come from the Phaeacians.”

    Odyssey 6.196–97

    The form of her announcement is striking and unusual. The verb εἰμὶ appears in the first person singular only in two other places in the poem, when Athena in her disguise as Mentes reassures Telemachus that she will be a worthy helpmeet for him as he heads out on his journey to find out about Odysseus (2.286), and when Odysseus reveals his identity to the Phaiacians (9.19). In neither of these cases does ἐγὼ appear. These are not the words of a timid girl but the proud assertion of a princess, who identifies herself not by her proper name but by her place the royal family.

    The air of command continues as she chides her handmaidens:

    “στῆτέ μοι, ἀμφίπολοι· πόσε φεύγετε φῶτα ἰδοῦσαι;
    ἦ μή πού τινα δυσμενέων φάσθ᾽ ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν;
    οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ οὗτος ἀνὴρ διερὸς βροτὸς οὐδὲ γένηται,
    ὅς κεν Φαιήκων ἀνδρῶν ἐς γαῖαν ἵκηται
    δηιοτῆτα φέρων· μάλα γὰρ φίλοι ἀθανάτοισιν.
    οἰκέομεν δ᾽ ἀπάνευθε πολυκλύστῳ ἐνὶ πόντῳ,
    ἔσχατοι, οὐδέ τις ἄμμι βροτῶν ἐπιμίσγεται ἄλλος.
    ἀλλ᾽ ὅδε τις δύστηνος ἀλώμενος ἐνθάδ᾽ ἱκάνει,
    τὸν νῦν χρὴ κομέειν· πρὸς γὰρ Διός εἰσιν ἅπαντες
    ξεῖνοί τε πτωχοί τε, δόσις δ᾽ ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε.
    ἀλλὰ δότ᾽, ἀμφίπολοι, ξείνῳ βρῶσίν τε πόσιν τε,
    λούσατέ τ᾽ ἐν ποταμῷ, ὅθ᾽ ἐπὶ σκέπας ἔστ᾽ ἀνέμοιο.”

    “Stand still, girls. Where are you going, just because you’ve seen
    a man? Surely you don’t think this is some enemy coming at us?
    There is no man alive nor could there ever be,
    who would come to the land of the Phaeacians
    bringing an attack. For we are very dear to the immortals.
    We live far from others on the much-eddying sea,
    at the very edge, and no other mortal mixes with us.
    But this wretched wanderer has arrived here,
    and we ought to care for him, for Zeus protects
    all strangers and wanderers, and the gift is small but precious.
    So give food and drink to the stranger, girls,
    And bathe him in the river, where there is shelter from the wind.”

    Odyssey 6.199–210

    Homer’s masterful characterization of Nausicaa continues. Her words, though addressed to the maidens, are full of signals for her guest. Unlike her flighty companions, she is not afraid of him. Rather, she assumes the role he has suggested for her, of the beneficent host. The charming but naive girl who was ashamed to admit to her father that she might be thinking about marriage is gone, replaced by someone more commanding. Whether this version poses a greater threat to Odysseus’s homecoming remains to be seen.

    So arresting is the portrait of Nausicaa that we may miss the poet’s sleight of hand in modulating her passage from pre- to post-adolescence in such a brief stretch of narrative. His economical use of traditional materials in the first scene, the shining doors, the divine visitation, establishes the young princess’s position on the boundary between childhood and maturity as the Greeks understood these stages in a girl’s life. The dream and her reaction to it reveal submerged feelings that Athena stirs and Odysseus plays on. Nausicaa’s shyness with her father about her interest in marriage shows us the young, inexperienced part of her still dominant, but then her response to the stranger propels her into quite a different persona, of the regal princess, fully in possession of her feelings and ready to take charge of a potentially frightening situation.

    The poet draws on the symbolic power of traditional material in his description of the washing party. The similes, of Artemis at the dance and Odysseus as hungry lion, the ambivalence of casting off the veils and Nausicaa’s solitary approach to the stranger, all send conflicting signals about the intentions on both sides of the encounter. The question of who is a threat to whom hangs in the air. The poet of Odyssey is a master of this kind of multilayered characterization, driven by a deft modulation between the surface of the story and the pull of underlying traditional symbols. We have seen it already in the figure of Calypso and it will surface again in Circe, coming to a crescendo in Penelope.

     

    Further Reading

    Thalmann, W. 1992. The Odyssey: An Epic of Return. New York: Twayne Publishers, 54–56.

    Van Nortwick, T. 2008. The Unknown Odysseus: Alternate Worlds in Homer’s Odyssey. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 112–114.

    ———. 2008. Imagining Men: Ideals of Masculinity in Ancient Greek Culture. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 68–72.

     

    162  Δήλῳ: dative of place where.

    162  τοῖον: “such a thing.”

    163  φοίνικος νέον ἔρνος: in apposition to τοῖον. φοῖνιξ, here, the date-palm, a kind of tree.

    163  ἀνερχόμενον: “growing,” modifying the neuter accusative ἔρνος (LSJ ἀνέρχομαι I.2).

    165  τὴν ὁδὸν: “during that journey,” accusative of extent.

    165  μέλλεν: unaugmented impf.

    167  τοῖον … δόρυ: “such a tree.”

    167  ἐκ: with γαίης.

    168  δείδια: 1st sing. pf. act. indic. > δείδω, with imperfect force.

    169  γούνων: partitive genitive with ἅψασθαι (Smyth 1345).

    170  ἐεικοστῷ … ἤματι: dative of time when.

    171  τόφρα … αἰεὶ: “all during that time” (Stanford).

    171  ἐφόρει: the verb is singular, but has both the singular κῦμα and the plural θύελλαι as subjects.

    172  κάββαλε: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > καταβάλλω. An example of apocope (Smyth 75D).

    173  ὄφρ᾽ … πάθω: purpose clause.

    173  που: “I suppose.”

    173  τῇδε: “here.”

    173  ὀίω: introducing indirect discourse with accusative (κακόν or κακά implied) and infinitive (παύσεσθ[αι]: fut. mid. infin.).

    174  πάροιθεν: "before that," i.e., before the ἀνάπαυσις comes (Merry and Riddell).

    175  σὲ … / ἐς πρώτην: “to you first” ( = ἐς σὲ πρώτην).

    178  ἀμφιβαλέσθαι: infinitive of purpose.

    179  εἴλυμα σπείρων: “wrapping of clothes,” perhaps a piece of cloth used to bundle up the laundry for transport.

    180  τόσα … ὅσα: “as much as.”

    180  δοῖεν: optative of wish (Smyth 1814). 3rd pl. aor. act. opt. > δίδωμι.

    180  φρεσὶ σῇσι: dative of place where.

    181  ὀπάσειαν: “may they grant,” 3rd pl. aor. act. opt. > ὀπάζω (LSJ ὀπάζω II). Optative of wish.

    182  οὐ: “nothing is …,” understand the verb ἐστί.

    182  τοῦ: “than this,” genitive of comparison.

    183  ἢ ὅθ᾽: “than when …,” introducing a general temporal clause with subjunctive, ἄν/κεν omitted (Smyth 2409).

    183  ὁμοφρονέοντε: masc. nom. dual pres. act. ptc. > ὁμοφρονέω.

    183  νοήμασιν: “in purpose,” or “in understanding.”

    183  ἔχητον: 3rd dual pres. act. subj. > ἔχω; subjunctive in the general temporal clause.

    185  μάλιστα δέ τ᾽ ἔκλυον αὐτοί: “they themselves know it [i.e., the χάρμα] best.” The verb ἔκλυον is a gnomic aorist (Smyth 1931), and only here seems to mean “know” or “perceive” rather than “hear.” Others take the verb to mean "to have a reputation, be judged or considered." Wilson translates "And they have great honor." The τε is generalizing.

    189  ὅπως ἐθέλῃσιν: “as he wishes,” ὅπως + subj. (ἄν/κεν omitted) in an indefinite clause (LSJ ὅπως A.I.2). 

    189  ἐθέλῃσιν: 3rd sing. pres. act. subj.

    190  που: “I suppose.”

    190  τετλάμεν: pf. act. infin. > τλάω, with present force.

    192  δευήσεαι: = Att. δευήση̣, 2nd sing. fut. mid. indic. > δεύω (δέω), with genitive (“be in need of”).

    193  ὧν ἐπέοιχ᾽ ἱκέτην: “which it is fitting for a suppliant (not to be in need of),” i.e, ὧν ἐπέοιχ᾽ ἱκέτην [μὴ δεύεσθαι]. ἐπέοικε takes an accusative and infinitive (Cunliffe ἐπέοικε 3b).

    193  ἀντιάσαντα: aor. act. ptc. acc. sing. masc. The antecedent is ἱκέτην, and the implied object is τινα: "when he meets (someone)" such as Nausicaa herself.

    197  τοῦ δ᾽ ἐκ … ἔχεται: “on whom depends” (LSJ ἔχω C.I.4). ἐκ modifies τοῦ.

    198  ἀμφιπόλοισιν ἐυπλοκάμοισι: dat. with κέλευσε.

    200  ἦ μή πού … φάσθ(ε): “Surely you can’t possibly think (that he) …” ἦ is “asseverative” (Smyth 2864), μή introduces a question expecting a “no” (Smyth 2651), and φάσθ(ε) induces indirect discourse with an accusative (μιν implied) and infinitive. On the meaning of φημί, see LSJ φημί II.b.

    200  τινα: predicate after the verb “to be” (ἔμμεναι: pres. act. infin.), agreeing with the unexpressed subject of the infinitive (“he”).

    201  οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ οὗτος ἀνὴρ διερὸς βροτὸς: “that agile man does not exist …” (Stanford), “there is no mortal man alive …” The meaning of διερὸς is either “alive” or “agile, nimble,” although in post-Homeric Greek it means “wet” (LSJ διερός).

    201  γένηται: “anticipatory subjunctive,” used in Homer like a future indicative (Smyth 1810).

    202  ὅς κεν … ἵκηται: present general conditional relative clause (Smyth 2567).

    203  φίλοι: understand ἐσμέν (“we are”).

    205  ἄμμι: “with us,” 1st pl. dat. personal pron. = ἡμῖν.

    206  ὅδε τις: “this man, whoever he is.”

    207  πρὸς: “under the protection of …,” with genitive (LSJ πρός A.III).

    208  δόσις δ᾽ ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε: “a gift, though small (to us), is welcome (to the recipient)” (Merry and Stanford, following the Scholiast).

    210  ἐπὶ σκέπας … ἀνέμοιο: “sheltered from the wind."

    Δήλος -ου ἡ: Delos

    τοῖος –α –ον: quality, such, such-like

    Ἀπόλλων –ωνος ὁ: Apollo

    βωμός –οῦ ὁ: altar; pedestal

    φοῖνιξ –ικος ὁ: palm-tree; purple (dye)

    ἔρνος –ους τό: a young sprout, shoot, scion

    ἀνέρχομαι ἀνελεύσομαι/ἄνειμι ἀνῆλθον ἀνελήλυθα: to go up

    νοέω νοοῦμαι ––– ––– ––– –––: perceive, observe, think

    ἐκεῖσε: thither, to that place

    ᾗ: which way, whither, why (interrog. part.) 165

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

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

    τέθηπα (perf. with no pres. in use): to be astonished, astounded, amazed

    δήν: long, for a long while

    πω: [+neg.] (adv.) never yet, in no way, not at all

    τοῖος –α –ον: quality, such, such-like

    ἀνέρχομαι ἀνελεύσομαι/ἄνειμι ἀνῆλθον ἀνελήλυθα: to go up, rise

    δόρυ δόρατος τό: spear; timber, beam (of a ship); trunk (of a tree)

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    ἄγαμαι ἀγασθήσομαι ἠγασάμην ἠγάσθην: to wonder, be astonished; to be jealous 

    τέθηπα (perf. with no pres. in use): to be astonished, astounded, amazed

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

    αἰνός –ή –όν: awful, dread, grim

    γόνυ γόνατος (or γουνός) τό: knee

    ἅπτω ἅψω ἧψα ––– ἧμμαι ἥφθην: to fasten; to kindle; (mid.) to touch (+ gen.)

    πένθος –ους τό: grief, sadness, sorrow

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

    χθιζός –ή –όν: yesterday 170

    ἦμαρ –ατος τό: day

    οἶνοψ –οπος: wine-colored, wine-dark

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea

    τόφρα: at that very moment; (for) so long; tόφρα … ὄφρα, as long as … until

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    φορέω φορέσω/φορήσω ἐφόρεσα/ἐφόρησα πεφόρηκα πεφόρημαι ἐφορήθην: to bear, carry

    κραιπνός –ή –όν: rapid, rushing

    θύελλα –ης ἡ: storm

    Ὠγυγία –ας ἡ: Ogygia, a mythical island in the Mediterranean, the abode of Calypso

    ἐνθάδε: to here, to there

    καταβάλλω καταβαλῶ κατέβαλον καταβέβληκα καταβέβλημαι κατεβλήθην: to throw (down); overthrow

    ὄφρα: while; until; so that; ὄφρα … τόφρα, while … for so long

    τῇδε: here; thus

    τελέω τελῶ or τελέσω ἐτέλεσα τετέλεκα τετέλεσμαι ἐτελέσθην: to finish, complete, carry out

    πάροιθε: in front of, before; first, preceding

    ἄνασσα –ης ἡ: a queen, lady, mistress 175

    ἐλεαίρω ἐλεαρῶ ἐλέηρα: to take pity on

    μογέω μογήσω ἐμόγησα: to toil, suffer

    ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come (to), reach (+ ACC.)

    εἴδω/ὀράω ὄψομαι εἶδον ἑόρακα ἑώρακα/ὄπωπα ἑόραμαι/ἑώραμαι/ὦμμαι ὤφθην: to see

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    ἄστυ ἄστεως τό: town

    ῥάκος –ους τό: a ragged garment, a rag

    ἀμφιβάλλω ἀμφιβαλῶ ἀμφέβαλον ἀμφιβέβληκα ἀμφιβέβλημαι ἀμφεβλήθην: to throw

    εἴλυμα –ατος τό: a wrapper

    σπεῖρον –ου τό: a piece of cloth; the sail

    ἐνθάδε: to here, to there

    τόσος –η –ον: so great, so vast

    φρήν φρενός ἡ: diaphragm; heart, mind, wits

    μενοινάω ––– μενοίνησα ––– ––– –––: to desire eagerly, to be bent on 180

    ὁμοφροσύνη –ης ἡ: unity of mind and feeling, concord, harmony

    ὀπάζω ὀπάσσω ὤπασα: to send, make (accusative) come along as a companion, to take (accusative) with one; to grant, give

    ἐσθλός –ή –όν: good

    ἀρείων –ον: better, stouter, stronger, braver, more excellent

    ὁμοφρονέω ὁμοφρονήσω ὡμοφρόνησα: to be of the same mind, have the same thoughts

    νόημα –ατος τό: thought, idea, notion; mind; purpose, design, intention; device

    ἠδέ: and

    ἄλγος –ους τό: pain

    δυσμενής –ές: full of ill-will, hostile

    χάρμα –ατος τό: (a source of) joy, delight 185

    εὐμενέτης –ου ὁ: well-wisher

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

    Ναυσικάα –ας ἡ: Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess, daughter of Alcinous and Arēte

    λευκώλενος –ον: white-armed

    ἀντίος –α or –ιη –ον: set against, opposite, facing (+ gen.); in reply

    αὐδάω (ηὔδων) αὐδήσω ηὔδησα ηὔδηκα ηὔδημαι ηὔδάθην: speak

    ἄφρων –ον: without sense

    φώς φωτός ὁ: man

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    νέμω νεμῶ ἔνειμα νενέμηκα νενέμημαι ἐνεμήθην: to distribute, assign, give out; to pasture or tend flocks; (mid.) to possess, enjoy, inhabit, feed upon, manage

    ὄλβος –ου ὁ: happiness, fortune, prosperity

    Ὀλύμπιος –ον: Olympian, of Olympus, dwelling on Olympus

    ἐσθλός –ή –όν: good

    ἠδέ: and

    τλάω τλήσομαι ἔτλην τέτληκα –––– ––––: to tolerate, endure, resist; to dare; to have the courage (+ infin.); (part.) τετληώς 190

    ἔμπης: alike; nevertheless, in any case

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

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

    ἐσθής –ῆτος ἡ: dress, clothing

    δεύομαι δευήσομαι δεύησα: to want, lack, be without (+ gen.)

    ἐπέοικε: to be like, to suit, to be fitting (+ infin.)

    ἱκέτης –ου ὁ: suppliant

    ταλαπείριος –ον: subject to many trials, much-suffering

    ἀντιάζω ἀντιάσω ἠντίασα: to meet face to face

    ἄστυ ἄστεως τό: town

    ἐρῶ εἴρηκα ἐρρήθην: to say, tell, speak

    Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian 195

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    μεγαλήτωρ –ορος: great - hearted, proud

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

    Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian

    κάρτος –εος τό: strength, vigor, courage

    βίη –ης dat. βίηφι ἡ: violence, force

    ἠμί – – – – –: I say

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    ἀμφίπολος –ου ἡ: female attendant, handmaid

    ἐϋπλόκαμος –ον: fair-haired

    ἀμφίπολος –ου ἡ: female attendant, handmaid

    πόσε: whither?

    φώς φωτός ὁ: man

    δυσμενής –ές: full of ill-will, hostile 200

    διερός –ά –όν: rapid, agile, lively, alive

    βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal

    Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

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

    δηιοτής –ῆτος ἡ: battle-strife, battle, death

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

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

    πολύκλυστος –ον: much-surging

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea

    ἔσχατος –η –ον: extreme, most remote 205

    βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal

    ἐπιμειγνύω/ἐπιμείγνυμι/ἐπιμίσγω ἐπιμείξω ἐπέμειξα ἐπιμέμειχα ἐπιμέμειγμαι ἐπεμείχθην: to mingle with

    δύστηνος –ον: wretched, unhappy, unfortunate, disastrous

    ἀλάομαι ἀλήσομαι ἀλάλημαι ἠλήθην: to wander, stray

    ἐνθάδε: to here, to there

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

    κομέω κομήσω ἐκόμησα: to take care of, attend to, tend

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    πτωχός [–ή] –όν: beggar

    δόσις –εως ἡ: gift; gift-giving

    ἀμφίπολος –ου ἡ: female attendant, handmaid

    βρῶσις –εως ἡ: food

    πόσις –ιος/–εως ἡ: drink

    λούω λούσομαι ἔλουσα λέλουμαι: to wash; (mid.) to wash myself, bathe 210

    ὅθι: where

    σκέπας –ους τό: a covering, shelter

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

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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/vi-162-210