ὣς εἰπὼν κατ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἕζετ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάρῃ ἐν κονίῃσιν

πὰρ πυρί· οἱ δ᾽ ἄρα πάντες ἀκὴν ἐγένοντο σιωπῇ.

ὀψὲ δὲ δὴ μετέειπε γέρων ἥρως Ἐχένηος,155

ὃς δὴ Φαιήκων ἀνδρῶν προγενέστερος ἦεν

καὶ μύθοισι κέκαστο, παλαιά τε πολλά τε εἰδώς·

ὅ σφιν ἐὺ φρονέων ἀγορήσατο καὶ μετέειπεν·

" ‘Ἀλκίνο᾽, οὐ μέν τοι τόδε κάλλιον, οὐδὲ ἔοικε,

ξεῖνον μὲν χαμαὶ ἧσθαι ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάρῃ ἐν κονίῃσιν,160

οἵδε δὲ σὸν μῦθον ποτιδέγμενοι ἰσχανόωνται.

ἄλλ᾽ ἄγε δὴ ξεῖνον μὲν ἐπὶ θρόνου ἀργυροήλου

εἷσον ἀναστήσας, σὺ δὲ κηρύκεσσι κέλευσον

οἶνον ἐπικρῆσαι, ἵνα καὶ Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ

σπείσομεν, ὅς θ᾽ ἱκέτῃσιν ἅμ᾽ αἰδοίοισιν ὀπηδεῖ·165

δόρπον δὲ ξείνῳ ταμίη δότω ἔνδον ἐόντων."

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τό γ᾽ ἄκουσ᾽ ἱερὸν μένος Ἀλκινόοιο,

χειρὸς ἑλὼν Ὀδυσῆα δαΐφρονα ποικιλομήτην

ὦρσεν ἀπ᾽ ἐσχαρόφιν καὶ ἐπὶ θρόνου εἷσε φαεινοῦ,

υἱὸν ἀναστήσας ἀγαπήνορα Λαοδάμαντα,170

ὅς οἱ πλησίον ἷζε, μάλιστα δέ μιν φιλέεσκεν.

χέρνιβα δ᾽ ἀμφίπολος προχόῳ ἐπέχευε φέρουσα

καλῇ χρυσείῃ ὑπὲρ ἀργυρέοιο λέβητος,

νίψασθαι· παρὰ δὲ ξεστὴν ἐτάνυσσε τράπεζαν.

σῖτον δ᾽ αἰδοίη ταμίη παρέθηκε φέρουσα,175

εἴδατα πόλλ᾽ ἐπιθεῖσα, χαριζομένη παρεόντων.

αὐτὰρ ὁ πῖνε καὶ ἦσθε πολύτλας δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς.

καὶ τότε κήρυκα προσέφη μένος Ἀλκινόοιο·

"Ποντόνοε, κρητῆρα κερασσάμενος μέθυ νεῖμον

πᾶσιν ἀνὰ μέγαρον, ἵνα καὶ Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ180

σπείσομεν, ὅς θ᾽ ἱκέτῃσιν ἅμ᾽ αἰδοίοισιν ὀπηδεῖ."

ὣς φάτο, Ποντόνοος δὲ μελίφρονα οἶνον ἐκίρνα,

νώμησεν δ᾽ ἄρα πᾶσιν ἐπαρξάμενος δεπάεσσιν.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ σπεῖσάν τ᾽ ἔπιόν θ᾽, ὅσον ἤθελε θυμός,

τοῖσιν δ᾽ Ἀλκίνοος ἀγορήσατο καὶ μετέειπε·185

"κέκλυτε, Φαιήκων ἡγήτορες ἠδὲ μέδοντες

ὄφρ᾽ εἴπω τά με θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι κελεύει.

νῦν μὲν δαισάμενοι κατακείετε οἴκαδ᾽ ἰόντες·

ἠῶθεν δὲ γέροντας ἐπὶ πλέονας καλέσαντες

ξεῖνον ἐνὶ μεγάροις ξεινίσσομεν ἠδὲ θεοῖσιν190

ῥέξομεν ἱερὰ καλά, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ περὶ πομπῆς

μνησόμεθ᾽, ὥς χ᾽ ὁ ξεῖνος ἄνευθε πόνου καὶ ἀνίης

πομπῇ ὑφ᾽ ἡμετέρῃ ἣν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἵκηται

χαίρων καρπαλίμως, εἰ καὶ μάλα τηλόθεν ἐστί,

μηδέ τι μεσσηγύς γε κακὸν καὶ πῆμα πάθῃσι,195

πρίν γε τὸν ἧς γαίης ἐπιβήμεναι· ἔνθα δ᾽ ἔπειτα

πείσεται, ἅσσα οἱ αἶσα κατὰ κλῶθές τε βαρεῖαι

γιγνομένῳ νήσαντο λίνῳ, ὅτε μιν τέκε μήτηρ.

    Odysseus is welcomed by Alcinous. Alcinous plans a meeting on the following morning to decide what is to be done about the stranger.

    Odysseus abases himself, sitting on the ground beside the sooty hearth, a physical gesture that reflects the lowly persona he has assumed in his speech to the queen. We expect a response from Arete, but instead the poet turns our attention away, as Echeneos, the king’s oldest adviser, delivers a rebuke.

    read full essay

    It is not seemly, he says, for a guest to sit alone in the ashes. The men assembled in his halls wait for him to take the lead. The stranger must be given food, drink, and a proper chair.

    This is a telling diversion. By drawing our attention to Akinous’s apparent faux pas, the poet signals that something is amiss in the Phaeacian royal palace. The customs governing hospitality in the Odyssey are clear: a guest who arrives from outside the household must be invited in and given food and drink before being asked his business or even who he is. This is partly a practical matter. In the 9th and 8th centuries BCE, a traveler could not check into a motel at the end of the day. Finding a friendly welcome on the road could mean survival in that uncertain time. And since Zeus honors guests, a rude welcome is also likely to jeopardize a community’s relations with him, thus how a guest is treated is not just a matter of etiquette but a measure of the health of a community. When Athena appears disguised in Ithaka at the beginning of the poem, the dismal state of Odysseus’s household is clear, with suitors lurching around the palace, eating and drinking up king’s provisions, Telemachus unable to exert control, Penelope upstairs in her bedroom. The goddess’s arrival prompts the first sign of recovery in the ailing community. Telemachus, though still too unsure of himself to take command of the household, at least knows how to treat a guest:

    βῆ δ᾽ ἰθὺς προθύροιο, νεμεσσήθη δ᾽ ἐνὶ θυμῷ
    ξεῖνον δηθὰ θύρῃσιν ἐφεστάμεν: ἐγγύθι δὲ στὰς
    χεῖρ᾽ ἕλε δεξιτερὴν καὶ ἐδέξατο χάλκεον ἔγχος,
    καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα:
    "χαῖρε, ξεῖνε, παρ᾽ ἄμμι φιλήσεαι: αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
    δείπνου πασσάμενος μυθήσεαι ὅττεό σε χρή."

    He [Telemachus] went straight to the forecourt, troubled in his heart
    that a guest was left standing in the doorway. He stood
    next to her, took her right hand, and relieved her of the bronze spear.
    And addressing her he forth spoke winged words:
    “Hail, stranger, you will be entertained as a guest among us.
    Then, having tasted food, you can tell us what you need.”

    Odyssey 1.119–24

    This seemingly small gesture signals to us that things are beginning to turn around in Ithaka.

    Alkinous recovers quickly, raising the stranger from the ashes and providing food and drink. He then delivers a handsome speech, stepping into his expected role as male head of the household, promising to arrange for safe transport home for their guest the next day. Right order seems to be restored at this point, with the king firmly in charge, and his social gaff seems slight enough. So why did the poet create this detour from the trajectory that had aimed Odysseus straight at Arete? (See essay on Book 6.289–331) Once again, the answer is only obvious if we view the passage as part of a series of narrative patterns foreshadowing the disguised hero’s encounters at the royal palace in Ithaka. As early as the poem’s first scene, a lack of male authority causes a lapse in hospitality, as the louche suitors ignore Athena at the palace door. Telemachus eventually steps into the breech, but his lack of control over the rude interlopers is evident. His own subsequent adventures in Pylos and Sparta offer further examples of how a stranger’s arrival can reveal aspects of a community that might not be obvious at first, like the hearty but somewhat overbearing hospitality of Nestor or the fraught relationship between Menelaus and Helen. The latter couple’s troubles also appear as part of the poem’s evolving meditation on the relationship between outer appearance and inner substance, symbolized by the contrast of their palace’s dazzling exterior with an uncertain inner life.

    The portrait of Alkinous and his family draws on all this previous material. Odysseus’s wonderment at the king’s opulent and magical palace recalls, as we have said, Telemachus before the Spartan royal buildings, perhaps raising doubts about the apparent harmony of the Phaeacian royal family. The king’s gardens, with their Golden Age qualities, look back to the description of Menelaus’s predicted fate in Elysium, an unearned divine gift that he owes to his wife, not to the kind of prowess that Odysseus will need to reach home again. The accumulated weight of this thematic material suggests a lack of rigor in Phaeacian society, further confirmed by its preference for dancing and warm baths over warfare or even strenuous athletics (8.24655). Viewed as part of this evolving cluster of themes, Alkinous’ seemingly minor lapse assumes a greater weight. His failure as host calls into question both his own masculine authority and the health of his society, which also seems to lack the requisite assertiveness. And his shortcomings surface precisely at the time when the primacy of his wife is on display.

    Now look ahead to what happens when Odysseus, disguised as an anonymous stranger, finally penetrates his own royal palace. He finds there a community undermined by the lack of masculine authority, a once proud household crippled by an inner moral rot. To restore right order and allow the kingdom to flourish once again, he must drive out the sources of disharmony and—back to Arete—he must win over the queen. Homer’s interweaving of narrative patterns, each carrying the accumulated meanings that attach to them through repetition, can be dizzying. But only by tracing the implications of Homer’s mastery of his traditional style can we reach the full richness of the Odyssey’s story.

     

    Further Reading

    Edwards, M. 1975. “Type Scenes and Homeric Hospitality.” Transactions of the American Philological Association 105: 51–72.

    Fenik, B. 1974. Studies in the Odyssey, 61–64. Hermes Einzelschriften 30. Wiesbaden: F. Steiner.

    Reese, S. 1993. The Stranger’s Welcome: Oral Theory and the Aesthetics of the Homeric Hospitality Scene, 101­–121. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

     

    153  κατ᾽ … ἕζετ(ο): "sat down," tmesis, 3rd sing. aor. mid./pass. indic. > καθίζω.

    154  ἀκὴν ἐγένοντο σιωπῇ: “fell silent,” a line-ending formula that appears sixteen times in Homer.

    157  κέκαστο: “excelled in,” with dative. Unaugmented 3rd sing. pluperf. mid./pass. indic. > καίνυμαι, with imperfect sense.

    158  σφιν ἐὺ φρονέων: For φρονέω + adv. + dat., see Autenrieth φρονέω.

    159  κάλλιον: “better,” with the comparison implied (Smyth 1082). The implication seems to be that letting their guest sit in the ashes by the fire is not a better way of welcoming him than offering him a seat on a throne (line 162).

    160  ξεῖνον … ἧσθαι: “for a stranger to sit …,” accusative and infinitive construction after ἔοικε (LSJ ἔοικα III.2).

    161  οἵδε: “these people here,” i.e., the Phaeacians gathered in the feast hall.

    161  ποτιδέγμενοι: “awaiting,” nom. masc. pl. aor. mid./pass. ptc. > προσδέχομαι (ποτι- = προσ-).

    163  εἷσον ἀναστήσας: “stand him up and sit him down” (lit., “having raised him up, sit him down”).

    163 εἷσον: 2nd sing. aor. act. imperat. > ἵζω.

    163  κέλευσον: “give orders to …,” with dative (κηρύκεσσι) and infinitive (ἐπικρῆσαι) (LSJ κελεύω 5).

    164  ἐπικρῆσαι: aor. act. infin. > ἐπικεράννυμι.

    164  ἵνα καὶ Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ / σπείσομεν: purpose clause, with a short-vowel aorist subjunctive, σπείσομεν (Smyth 457D). The dative is the dative of the god to whom the libation is made (see line 137).

    165  θ᾽: Homeric τε, untranslatable (Smyth 2970).

    166  δότω: 3rd sing. aor. imperat. > δίδωμι.

    166  ἔνδον ἐόντων: “from the things (supplies) inside,” genitive of source (Smyth 1410) with δόρπον.

    167  ἄκουσ(ε): unaugmented 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > ἀκούω.

    167  ἱερὸν μένος Ἀλκινόοιο: “the divine might of Alcinous” = “divine and mighty Alcinous,” periphrasis (Smyth 3041).

    168  χειρὸς: “by the hand,” partitive genitive (Smyth 1346).

    168  ἑλὼν: masc. nom. sing. aor. ptc. > αἱρέω.

    169  εἷσε: “made him sit,” causal. 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > ἵζω.

    170  υἱὸν ἀναστήσας: i.e., Alcinous makes his son, Laodamas, give up his seat for Odysseus.

    171 φιλέεσκεν: iterative impf.

    172  προχόῳ … / καλῇ χρυσείῃ: “in a beautiful golden pitcher,” dative of place where rather than the dative object of ἐπέχευε, since the water from the pitcher (πρόχοος) is poured over the basin (ὑπὲρ ἀργυρέοιο λέβητος).

    174  νίψασθαι: infinitive of purpose.

    174  παρὰ: “beside him.”

    176  χαριζομένη παρεόντων: “giving freely of her provisions” (Autenrieth χαρίζω). This formulaic line appears six times in the Odyssey.

    178  μένος Ἀλκινόοιο: periphrasis (see line 167).

    179  κερασσάμενος: nom. masc. sing. aor. mid. ptc. > κεράννυμι. Its direct object is μέθυ (κρητῆρα is the object of νεῖμον).

    179  νεῖμον: 2nd sing. aor. act. imperat. > νέμω

    180  ἵνα … / … ὀπηδεῖ: see lines 164–65.

    183 ἐπαρξάμενος: “starting out by pouring wine into” + dat. (LSJ ἐπάρχω II).

    184  ὅσον ἤθελε θυμός: like the English phrase “to their hearts’ content.”

    187  στήθεσσι: the noun is always plural in Homer (LSJ στῆθος II).

    188  κατακείετε οἴκαδ᾽ ἰόντες: “go home and go to bed.”

    188  κατακείετε: 2nd pl. aor. imperat. > κατάκειμαι.

    189  ἐπὶ … καλέσαντες: "having summoned," tmesis, nom. masc. pl. aor. act. ptc. > ἐπικαλέω.

    190  ξεινίσσομεν: either simply a future indicative (“we will receive”) or a short-vowel hortatory aorist subjunctive (“let us receive”).

    192  ὥς χ᾽ … / … ἵκηται: purpose clause, ὥς κε + subj. (Smyth 2201a). χ᾽ = κε.

    193  πομπῇ ὑφ᾽ ἡμετέρῃ: ὑπό + dat. expressing means (LSJ ὑπό B.II).

    195  μεσσηγύς: “along the way.”

    195  πάθῃσι: 3rd sing. aor. act. subj. > πάσχω. A second subjunctive in the purpose clause introduced in line 192.

    196  πρίν γε τὸν … ἐπιβήμεναι: “before he sets foot on …” τὸν is the accusative subject of the aorist infinitive ἐπιβήμεναι (Smyth 2453). The verb ἐπιβαίνω takes a genitive.

    196  ἧς: “his,” gen. possessive adj.

    196  ἔνθα δ᾽ ἔπειτα: “and thereupon,” “and after that” (LSJ ἔνθα I.2).

    197  πείσεται: 3rd sing. fut. indic. > πάσχω.

    197  ἅσσα: “whatever” = ἅτινα.

    197  κατὰ: probably to be taken adverbially with νήσαντο (“spun from above”) rather than as tmesis.

    198  γιγνομένῳ: dat. with οἱ (“for him at his birth”). Dative of interest.

    198  λίνῳ: instrumental dat.

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    ἕζομαι – – – – –: to sit down

    ἐσχάρα –ας ἡ: the hearth, fire-place

    κονία –ας ἡ: dust, a cloud of dust; (plur.) ashes

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    ἀκήν: soft, silent

    σιωπή –ῆς ἡ: silence

    ὀψέ: late; too late; at last 155

    μετεῖπον (aor. of μεταφωνέω): to speak among

    γέρων –οντος ὁ : old man

    ἥρως ἥρωος ὁ: hero, warrior

    Ἐχένηος –ου ὁ: Echeneus, an aged Phaeacian

    Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian

    προγενέστερος -η -ον: older

    μῦθος –ου ὁ: spoken thing, speech, plan, story

    καίνυμαι – κέκασμαι: to surpass, excel

    σφεῖς: they

    ἀγοράομαι ἀγορήσομαι ἀγορησάμην: to meet or speak in assembly

    μετεῖπον (aor. of μεταφωνέω): to speak among

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

    τοι: let me tell you, surely

    χαμαί: on the earth, on the ground 160

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

    ἐσχάρα –ας ἡ: the hearth, fire-place

    κονία –ας ἡ: dust, a cloud of dust; (plur.) ashes

    μῦθος –ου ὁ: spoken thing, speech, plan, story

    προσδέχομαι προσδέξομαι προσέδεξαμην ––– προσέδεγμαι προσεδέχθην: to expect, await, wait

    ἰσχανάω – – – – –: to hold back, check

    ἄγε: come! come on! well!

    θρόνος –ου ὁ: arm-chair

    ἀργυρόηλος –ον: silver-studded

    ἵζω εἵσομαι εἷσα/ἵζησα ἵζηκα: to take a seat, sit down; cause to take a seat

    ἀνίστημι ἀνστήσω ἀνέστησα (or ἀνέστην) ἀνέστηκα ἀνέσταμαι ἀνεστάθην: make stand, set up; stand up

    κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald

    οἶνος –ου ὁ: wine

    ἐπικεράννυμι ἐπικεράσω ἐπεκέρασα: to mix in addition

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    τερπικέραυνος –ον: delighting in thunder

    σπένδω σπείσω ἔσπεισα ἔσπεισμαι: to pour a libation; (mid.) to make a treaty; to make peace (by pouring a libation with the other party) 165

    ἱκέτης –ου ὁ: suppliant

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

    ὀπαδέω – – – – –: to follow, accompany, attend

    δόρπον –ου τό: the evening meal

    ταμίη –ης ἡ: a housekeeper

    ἔνδον: within, inside, at home

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    μένος –ους τό: might

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

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

    δαίφρων –ον: fiery-hearted, warlike

    ποικιλομήτης –ου: full of various wiles, wily-minded

    ὄρνυμι ὄρσω ὦρσα ὄρωρα ὀρώρεμαι –––: to stir up, move; (mid.) to rise, get up

    ἐσχάρα –ας ἡ: the hearth, fire-place

    θρόνος –ου ὁ: arm-chair

    ἵζω εἵσομαι εἷσα/ἵζησα ἵζηκα: to take a seat, sit down; cause to take a seat

    φαεινός –ή –όν: bright, brilliant, radiant

    ἀνίστημι ἀνστήσω ἀνέστησα (or ἀνέστην) ἀνέστηκα ἀνέσταμαι ἀνεστάθην: make stand, set up; stand up 170

    ἀγαπήνωρ –ορος: loving manliness, manly

    Λαοδάμας –αντος ὁ: Laodamas, son of Antēnor, slain by Ajax, or, a Phaeacian, son of Alcinous

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

    πλησίος –α –ον: near

    ἵζω εἵσομαι εἷσα/ἵζησα ἵζηκα: to take a seat, sit down; cause to take a seat

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

    φιλέω φιλήσω ἐφίλησα πεφίλημαι ἐφιλήθην: to love, hold dear; to entertain as a guest

    χέρνιψ –ιβος ἡ: water for washing the hands

    ἀμφίπολος –ου ἡ: female attendant, handmaid

    πρόχοος –ου ὁ/ἡ: a pitcher

    ἐπιχέω ἐπιχέω ἐπέχεα ἐπικέχυκα ἐπικέχυμαι ἐπεχύθην: to pour water over; to heap up

    χρύσεος –η –ον: golden, gold-inlaid

    ἀργύρεος –α or –έη –ον: silver, of silver

    λέβης –ητος ὁ: a kettle

    νίζω νίψω ἔνιψα ––– νένιμμαι ἐνίφθην: to wash the hands

    ξεστός –ή –όν: smoothed, polished, wrought

    τανύω τανύσω ἐτάνυσα – τετάνυσμαι ἐτανύσθην: to stretch, extend, lie (in a geographical sense); to set up; to strain

    τράπεζα –ης ἡ: table; dinner

    σῖτος –ου ὁ: grain; bread 175

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

    ταμίη –ης ἡ: a housekeeper

    παρατίθημι παραθήσω παρέθηκα παρατέθηκα ––– παρετέθην: to place beside, provide, set before

    εἶδαρ –ατος τό: food

    ἐπιτίθημι ἐπιθήσω ἐπέθηκα ἐπιτέθηκα ––– ἐπετέθην: to lay/put upon, set up, apply oneself

    χαρίζομαι χαρίσομαι ἐχαρισάμην κεχάρισμαι ––– ἐχαρίσθην: to do a kindness, favor, gratify, give freely

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    ἔσθω φαγήσω/ἔδομαι ἔφαγον ἐδήδοκα ἐδήδεμαι/ἐδήδεσμαι ἠδέσθην: to eat

    πολύτλας –αντος: having borne much, much-enduring

    δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining

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

    κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald

    πρόσφημι πρόσφησω προσέφησα: to speak to, address

    μένος –ους τό: might

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

    Ποντόνοος –ου ὁ: Pontonous, a herald of Alcinous

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

    κεραννύω/κεράννυμι κερῶ ἐκέρασα κεκέρακα κέκραμαι ἐκεράσθην/ἐκράθην: to mix, mingle

    μέθυ –υος τό: wine, mead

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

    μέγαρον –ου τό: a large room, hall, feast-hall 180

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    τερπικέραυνος –ον: delighting in thunder

    σπένδω σπείσω ἔσπεισα ἔσπεισμαι: to pour a libation; (mid.) to make a treaty; to make peace (by pouring a libation with the other party)

    ἱκέτης –ου ὁ: suppliant

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

    ὀπαδέω – – – – –: to follow, accompany, attend

    Ποντόνοος –ου ὁ: Pontonous, a herald of Alcinous

    μελίφρων –ον: sweet to the mind, delicious

    οἶνος –ου ὁ: wine

    κιρνάω – – – – –: to mix

    νωμάω νωμήσω νώμησα νενώμηκα νενώμημαι ἐνωμήθην: to handle, wield (for weapons and tools); to distribute

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    ἐπάρχω ἐπάρξω ἐπῆρξα ἐπῆρχα ἐπῆργμαι ἐπήρχθην: to start, begin

    δέπας –αος τό: drinking cup, beaker

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    σπένδω σπείσω ἔσπεισα ἔσπεισμαι: to pour a libation; (mid.) to make a treaty; to make peace (by pouring a libation with the other party)

    Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon 185

    ἀγοράομαι ἀγορήσομαι ἀγορησάμην: to meet to speak in assembly

    μετεῖπον (aor. of μεταφωνέω): to speak among

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

    Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian

    ἡγήτωρ –ορος ὁ: a leader, commander, chief

    ἠδέ: and

    μέδων –οντος ὁ: a guardian, lord

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

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

    μέν: on the one hand, on the other hand

    δαίνυμι δαίσω ἔδαισα: (act.) to give a banquet,distribute (food); (mid.) to share a meal; to feast (on), eat (+ acc.)

    κατάκειμαι κατακείσομαι: to lie down, lie outstretched

    οἴκαδε: homeward

    ἠῶθεν: in the morning

    γέρων –οντος ὁ: old man

    μέγαρον –ου τό: a large room, hall, feast-hall 190

    ξενίζω ξενιῶ ἐξένισα ἐξενίσθην: to receive a guest; to surprise, to make strange

    ἠδέ: and

    ῥέζω ῥέξω ἔρρεξα – – ἐρρέχθην: to do, accomplish; to offer (sacrifice)

    ἰερόν –οῦ τό: temple

    πομπή –ῆς ἡ: escort, guidance; arrangement for one's departure

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

    ἀνία –ας ἡ: grief, sorrow, distress, trouble

    πομπή –ῆς ἡ: escort, guidance; arrangement for one's departure

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

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

    καρπάλιμος –ον: swift

    τηλόθεν: from afar, from a foreign land

    μεσηγύ: in the middle, between 195

    πῆμα –ατος τό: suffering, misery, calamity, woe, bane; cause of suffering

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    ἐπιβαίνω ἐπιβήσομαι ἐπέβην ἐπιβέβηκα ––– –––: to go on, enter, step up, mount, board (a ship) + gen.

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

    αἶσα –ης ἡ: destiny; norm, rule; portion, share

    Κλῶθες –ων αἱ: the spinners (goddesses who spin one's fate)

    νέω νεύσομαι ἔνευσα νένευκα: to swim; to spin

    λίνον –ου τό: anything made of flax; cord, line, net, sail-cloth

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

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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/vii-153-198