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.
notes
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 (8.246–55). 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.
vocabulary
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