ἦμος δ᾽ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,
ὤρνυτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐξ εὐνῆς ἱερὸν μένος Ἀλκινόοιο,
ἂν δ᾽ ἄρα διογενὴς ὦρτο πτολίπορθος Ὀδυσσεύς.
τοῖσιν δ᾽ ἡγεμόνευ᾽ ἱερὸν μένος Ἀλκινόοιο
Φαιήκων ἀγορήνδ᾽, ἥ σφιν παρὰ νηυσὶ τέτυκτο.5
ἐλθόντες δὲ καθῖζον ἐπὶ ξεστοῖσι λίθοισι
πλησίον. ἡ δ᾽ ἀνὰ ἄστυ μετῴχετο Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη
εἰδομένη κήρυκι δαΐφρονος Ἀλκινόοιο,
νόστον Ὀδυσσῆι μεγαλήτορι μητιόωσα,
καί ῥα ἑκάστῳ φωτὶ παρισταμένη φάτο μῦθον·10
"δεῦτ᾽ ἄγε, Φαιήκων ἡγήτορες ἠδὲ μέδοντες,
εἰς ἀγορὴν ἰέναι, ὄφρα ξείνοιο πύθησθε,
ὃς νέον Ἀλκινόοιο δαΐφρονος ἵκετο δῶμα
πόντον ἐπιπλαγχθείς, δέμας ἀθανάτοισιν ὁμοῖος."15
ὣς εἰποῦσ᾽ ὤτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου.
καρπαλίμως δ᾽ ἔμπληντο βροτῶν ἀγοραί τε καὶ ἕδραι
ἀγρομένων· πολλοὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐθηήσαντο ἰδόντες
υἱὸν Λαέρταο δαΐφρονα· τῷ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ Ἀθήνη
θεσπεσίην κατέχευε χάριν κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ὤμοις
καί μιν μακρότερον καὶ πάσσονα θῆκεν ἰδέσθαι,20
ὥς κεν Φαιήκεσσι φίλος πάντεσσι γένοιτο
δεινός τ᾽ αἰδοῖός τε καὶ ἐκτελέσειεν ἀέθλους
πολλούς, τοὺς Φαίηκες ἐπειρήσαντ᾽ Ὀδυσῆος.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ἤγερθεν ὁμηγερέες τ᾽ ἐγένοντο,
τοῖσιν δ᾽ Ἀλκίνοος ἀγορήσατο καὶ μετέειπε·25
"κέκλυτε, Φαιήκων ἡγήτορες ἠδὲ μέδοντες,
ὄφρ᾽ εἴπω τά με θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι κελεύει.
ξεῖνος ὅδ᾽, οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅς τις, ἀλώμενος ἵκετ᾽ ἐμὸν δῶ,
ἠὲ πρὸς ἠοίων ἦ ἑσπερίων ἀνθρώπων·
πομπὴν δ᾽ ὀτρύνει, καὶ λίσσεται ἔμπεδον εἶναι.30
ἡμεῖς δ᾽, ὡς τὸ πάρος περ, ἐποτρυνώμεθα πομπήν.
οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδέ τις ἄλλος, ὅτις κ᾽ ἐμὰ δώμαθ᾽ ἵκηται,
ἐνθάδ᾽ ὀδυρόμενος δηρὸν μένει εἵνεκα πομπῆς.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε νῆα μέλαιναν ἐρύσσομεν εἰς ἅλα δῖαν
πρωτόπλοον, κούρω δὲ δύω καὶ πεντήκοντα35
κρινάσθων κατὰ δῆμον, ὅσοι πάρος εἰσὶν ἄριστοι.
δησάμενοι δ᾽ ἐὺ πάντες ἐπὶ κληῖσιν ἐρετμὰ
ἔκβητ᾽· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα θοὴν ἀλεγύνετε δαῖτα
ἡμέτερόνδ᾽ ἐλθόντες· ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐὺ πᾶσι παρέξω.
κούροισιν μὲν ταῦτ᾽ ἐπιτέλλομαι· αὐτὰρ οἱ ἄλλοι40
σκηπτοῦχοι βασιλῆες ἐμὰ πρὸς δώματα καλὰ
ἔρχεσθ᾽, ὄφρα ξεῖνον ἐνὶ μεγάροισι φιλέωμεν,
μηδέ τις ἀρνείσθω. καλέσασθε δὲ θεῖον ἀοιδὸν
Δημόδοκον· τῷ γάρ ῥα θεὸς πέρι δῶκεν ἀοιδὴν
τέρπειν, ὅππῃ θυμὸς ἐποτρύνῃσιν ἀείδειν."45
notes
In the morning, Alcinous calls an assembly of the Phaeacians to announce his decision about sending Odysseus home. He also orders a feast.
Odysseus begins his stay on Scheria buried naked under a pile of leaves. By the end of the day, he’s tucked in bed in the royal palace, already the leading candidate to be Nausicaa’s husband.
read full essay
Yet despite his meteoric rise in status, he remains nameless by his own choice, having ducked the queen’s direct question (7.237). Throughout Books 6 and 7, the poet has been laying the groundwork for the rest of Odysseus’s journey home, using traditional language and repeated narrative structures to foreshadow the climactic events to follow in Ithaka. The hero has passed the first tests, on the beach and in the palace. But further trials await.
The next stage in the hero’s progress begins with a threefold rising, of the sun, the king, and the stranger (see essay on Book 7.1–36):
ἦμος δ᾽ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,
ὤρνυτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐξ εὐνῆς ἱερὸν μένος Ἀλκινόοιο,
ἂν δ᾽ ἄρα διογενὴς ὦρτο πτολίπορθος Ὀδυσσεύς.
When rosy-fingered, early-born Dawn appeared,
Alkinous, the hallowed king, rose from his bed,
and Odysseus, Zeus-born sacker of cities arose.
Odyssey 8.1–3
Momentum builds as Alkinous immediately calls the Phaeacians to assembly and Athena gives the occasion her own imprimatur by acting in disguise as the king’s herald, urging the locals on with her enticing description of the stranger’s godlike appearance. The seats in the agora rapidly fill as the citizens gaze in wonder at Odysseus. This excitement is all part of Athena’s plan to bring the hero home and she leaves nothing to chance, making him bigger and taller so he will be loved, admired, and respected by the Phaeacians, and finish strong in the athletic games to come.
Athena has already buffed up Odysseus once, when he meets Nausicaa on the beach:
τὸν μὲν Ἀθηναίη θῆκεν Διὸς ἐκγεγαυῖα
μείζονά τ᾽ εἰσιδέειν καὶ πάσσονα, κὰδ δὲ κάρητος
οὔλας ἧκε κόμας, ὑακινθίνῳ ἄνθει ὁμοίας.
ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε τις χρυσὸν περιχεύεται ἀργύρῳ ἀνὴρ
ἴδρις, ὃν Ἥφαιστος δέδαεν καὶ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη
τέχνην παντοίην, χαρίεντα δὲ ἔργα τελείει,
ὣς ἄρα τῷ κατέχευε χάριν κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ὤμοις.
Athena, born from Zeus, made him look
taller and broader, and on his head she set
hair curling like the blooms of hyacinth.
As when some skilled man, whom Hephaestus and Athena
taught every technique, pours gold over silver,
and brings to perfection his graceful art,
so she poured grace over his head and shoulders.
Odyssey 6.229–35
The goddess intervenes again in Book 23 (156–62), prompting the same simile from the poet, when Odysseus has cleaned off the blood from his slaughter of the suitors and must convince Penelope that he is indeed her long-lost husband. In both cases, Athena apparently feels that Odysseus needs a little extra leverage with the woman he is trying to win over. Her intervention here signals that the hero faces another test and must look especially impressive (see essay on Book 6.211–238).
Odysseus has slipped by the first round of questions from Arete about his identity. Now the king returns to the issue almost casually in his speech to the assembled Phaeacians:
ξεῖνος ὅδ᾽, οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅς τις, ἀλώμενος ἵκετ᾽ ἐμὸν δῶ,
ἠὲ πρὸς ἠοίων ἦ ἑσπερίων ἀνθρώπων·
πομπὴν δ᾽ ὀτρύνει, καὶ λίσσεται ἔμπεδον εἶναι.
This stranger here—I don’t know who he is—has come wandering to my home,
from people either in the east or the west;
he urges us to carry him on a journey, begging for a firm answer.
Odyssey 8.28–30
We might think that the king would be reluctant to offer conveyance to someone who will not say who he is, but then again, we might also suppose that a father would shy away from giving away his daughter to an anonymous visitor (7.309–16; see essay on Book 7.240–347). In any event, none of this seems to matter to Alkinous. In the next breath, he again guarantees that the Phaeacians will return Odysseus to his home and begins to recruit the crew. We should note that at this point, Odysseus has achieved his (and Athena’s) goal, to get a ride home from the Phaeacians. From the point of view of the plot, then, the poet should be ready to move on to the next part of his story, Odysseus’s account of his adventures before reaching Calypso’s island. But there will be much more to come before the hero leaves Scheria, all of it part of the careful layering of repeated narrative structures that build toward the hero’s trials in Ithaka.
Alkinous now invites the assembled worthies to feasting and merrymaking in the royal palace, including songs from the blind bard, Demodocus (whose condition contributed to the belief in antiquity that Homer himself was sightless; see Homeric Hymn to Apollo 169–73). That the singer is to be performing at dinner signals to us that the scope of the story may be expanding into a wider arena than the isolated society of the Phaeacians. Demodocus will sing three songs, each in its own way pointing well beyond the hero’s immediate circumstances to a wider world where he will be tested yet again.
Further Reading
Heubeck, A. and Hoekstra, A. (ed.) 1989. A Commentary on Homer’s Odyssey, vol. II, Books IX–XVI, 341–346. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Whitman, C. 1958. Homer and the Heroic Tradition, 289. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
2 ἱερὸν μένος Ἀλκινόοιο: “the divine might of Alcinous” = “divine and mighty Alcinous,” periphrasis (Smyth 3041).
3 ἂν … ὦρτο: “rose,” tmesis, 3rd sing. aor. mid. indic. > ἀνόρνυμι.
4 τοῖσιν δ᾽ ἡγεμόνευ(ε): ἡγεμονεύω takes a dative object. The plural is somewhat puzzling, since Alcinous is only leading Odysseus. Perhaps “led the way for them.”
5 σφιν: dative of agent with τέτυκτο.
5 τέτυκτο: plupf. pass. > τεύχω.
7 μετῴχετο: 3rd sing. impf. mid./pass. indic. > μετοίχομαι.
8 εἰδομένη: fem. nom. sing. pres. mid. ptc. > εἴδομαι. With a dative (LSJ εἴδομαι 3).
9 νόστον: Object of the participle μητιόωσα (LSJ μητιάω 2).
9 Ὀδυσσῆι: dative of interest.
10 ἑκάστῳ φωτὶ: dat. Object of παρισταμένη > παρίστημι.
10 φάτο: unaugmented impf.
11 ἄγε: note that ἄγε is treated as an indeclinable adverb, and can precede both singular and plural subjects (LSJ ἄγε).
12 ἰέναι: infin. used as imperat.
12 ὄφρα … πύθησθε: purpose clause.
12 πύθησθε: 2nd pl. aor. mid./pass. subj. > πυνθάνομαι. The verb takes a genitive object (LSJ πυνθάνομαι 3).
13 νέον: “recently,” adverbial neuter (LSJ νέος III).
14 δέμας: accusative of respect.
16 ἔμπληντο: 3rd pl. aor. pass. indic. > ἐμπίμπλημι. In the passive, the verb means “to be full of,” and takes a genitive (Cunliffe ἐμπίμπλημι and Smyth 1369).
17 ἀγρομένων: masc. gen. pl. aor. mid. ptc. > ἀγείρω. Modifies βροτῶν.
17 ἐθηήσαντο: 3rd pl. aor. mid./pass. indic. > θεάομαι (or θηέομαι Cunliffe and Autenrieth).
18 τῷ: “on him,” dative with κατέχευε.
19 κατέχευε: “poured down (acc.) on (dat.)” > καταχέω, with a dative and accusative.
19 κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ὤμοις: datives with κατέχευε, in apposition to τῷ. Smyth calls this the “construction of the whole and part in poetry” (Smyth 985).
20 θῆκεν: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > τίθημι. When it means “make,” the verb takes two accusatives, an object and a predicate (Smyth 1613).
20 ἰδέσθαι: “to look at,” epexegetical infin. (Smyth 2002).
21 ὥς κεν … γένοιτο/ … καὶ ἐκτελέσειεν: purpose clause with optative in secondary sequence. For the Homeric use of ὥς κεν in a purpose clause, see Smyth 2201a.
22 ἀέθλους / πολλούς: anticipating the athletic contests which take place later in Book 8. The adjective πολλούς is curious, since Odysseus himself only takes part in one of the competitions, the discus (8.186-192), but Stanford assures us “the inconsistency is trifling.”
23 τοὺς … Ὀδυσῆος: “(the trials) which the Phaeacians made of Odysseus.” The antecedent ἀέθλους acts as a kind of cognitive accusative with the verb ἐπειρήσαντο (LSJ πειράω B.II.1)
23 ἐπειρήσαντ(ο): 3rd pl. aor. mid./pass. indic. >πειράω, with genitive (“to make trial of” someone).
24 ἤγερθεν: 3rd pl. aor. pass. indic. > ἀγείρω.
27 ὄφρ᾽ εἴπω: purpose clause.
27 ἐνὶ στήθεσσι: “in my breast,” the plural is usual in Homer (LSJ στῆθος A.II).
28 ὅς τις: “who he is.” Understand the verb “to be.”
28 δῶ: Homeric form for δῶμα (LSJ δῶ).
29 ἠοίων ἦ ἑσπερίων: “from the eastern or western …,” i.e., the direction of the sunrise (dawn) or the sunset (evening).
30 ὀτρύνει: “he presses his claim for” (Cunliffe ὀτρύνω 3).
30 ἔμπεδον εἶναι: “that it be guaranteed.”
31 ἐποτρυνώμεθα: hortatory subj.
32 οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδέ τις ἄλλος: “for no other man,” the first οὐδὲ indicates that the entire statement is negative, the second applies specifically to τις ἄλλος ( = οὐδείς). The repetition of οὐδὲ makes the entire statement more emphatic (Smyth 2761a and 2762), but does not constitute a double negative creating positive.
32 ὅτις κ᾽ … ἵκηται: general conditional relative clause (Smyth 2567).
33 εἵνεκα πομπῆς: “for his departure,” explaining ὀδυρόμενος.
35 κούρω: dual. Although there are actually fifty-two young men, making the dual inappropriate, the noun is attracted to the dual form of δύω.
36 κρινάσθων: “let them choose,” 3rd pl. aor. mid. imperat. > κρίνω. The subject is implied, the object is κούρω. Not “let the boys be chosen,” since the form is middle rather than passive.
37 δησάμενοι: “fastening, “when you have fastened …,” masc. nom. pl. aor. mid. ptc. > δέω.
38 ἔκβητ(ε): “get out (of the boat),” 2nd pl. aor. act. imperat. > ἐκβαίνω.
39 ἡμέτερόνδ(ε): “to my house” (Cunliffe ἡμέτερόνδε).
39 παρέξω: “I will provide,” fut. act. indic. > παρέχω (LSJ παρέχω I).
40 ἐπιτέλλομαι: “I enjoin (acc.) upon (dat.),” “I demand (acc.) from (dat.).” For this construction, see Cunliffe ἐπιτέλλω 2e.
42 ἔρχεσθ(ε): 2nd pl. imperat.
42 ὄφρα … φιλέωμεν: purpose clause.
43 μηδέ τις ἀρνείσθω: “and let no one refuse.”
43 ἀρνείσθω: 3rd sing. pres. mid./pass. imperat. > ἀρνέομαι.
44 πέρι: “above all,” adverbial (LSJ περί E.II)
44 δῶκεν ἀοιδὴν / τέρπειν: either “granted (the ability) to give pleasure in song,” with ἀοιδὴν as an accusative of respect (Steadman), or “granted song in order to delight,” with ἀοιδὴν as the direct object of δῶκεν and τέρπειν as an infinitive of purpose after a verb meaning “to give” (Smyth 2009).
45 ὅππῃ: “in whatever way,” introduces a present general conditional relative clause with subjunctive, ἄν / κε omitted (Smyth 2567b).
45 ἐποτρύνῃσιν: 3rd sing. pres. act. subj. > ἐποτρύνω.
vocabulary
ἦμος: when, while
ἠριγένεια –ας ἡ: early-born, child of morn
ῥοδοδάκτυλος –ον: rosy-fingered
ἠώς ἠοῦς ἡ: dawn; Dawn
ὄρνυμι ὄρσω ὦρσα ὄρωρα ὀρώρεμαι –––: to stir up, move; (mid.) to rise, get up
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
εὐνή εὐνῆς ἡ: pallet, bed, den; (pl.) stones (to anchor a ship), anchors
ἰερόν –οῦ τό: temple
μένος –ους τό: might
Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
διογενής –ές: sprung from Zeus (epithet of Odysseus)
ὄρνυμι ὄρσω ὦρσα ὄρωρα ὀρώρεμαι –––: to stir up, move; (mid.) to rise, get up
πτολίπορθος –ον: destroyer of cities
Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey
ἡγεμονεύω ἡγεμονεύσω ἡγεμόνευσα: to lead, guide, conduct
μένος –ους τό: might
Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon
Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian 5
ἀγορήνδε: to the Assembly
σφεῖς: they
τεύχω τεύξω ἔτευξα τέτευχα τέτυγμαι ἐτύχθην: to make, build, prepare, fasten; to bring about
καθίζω (Ion. κατίζω) καθιῶ (Ion. κατίσω) καθῖσα/ἐκάθισα (or κατῖσα) κεκάθικα: to sit down; to set, place
ξεστός –ή –όν: smoothed, polished, wrought
πλησίος –α –ον: near
ἄστυ ἄστεως τό: town
μετοίχομαι μετοιχήσομαι μετῴχημαι: to have gone after, to have gone in quest of
Παλλάς –άδος ἡ: Pallas
Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena
εἴδομαι εἴσομαι εἰσάμην: to be visible, appear; to seem; to know, understand
κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald
δαίφρων –ον: fiery-hearted, warlike
Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon
νόστος –ου ὁ: return (home)
Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey
μεγαλήτωρ –ορος: great - hearted, proud
μητιάω μητιήσω ἐμητίησα: to meditate, deliberate, debate
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus 10
φώς φωτός ὁ: man
παρίστημι παρήσω παρέστησα (or παρέστην) παρέστηκα παρέσταμαι παρεστάθην: to stand by or near
μῦθος –ου ὁ: spoken thing, speech, plan, story
δεῦτε: hither! come on! come here!
ἄγε: come! come on! well!
Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian
ἡγήτωρ –ορος ὁ: a leader, commander, chief
ἠδέ: and
μέδων –οντος ὁ: a guardian, lord
ἀγορή –ῆς ἡ: market place, assembly
ὄφρα: while; until; so that; ὄφρα … τόφρα, while … for so long
Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon
δαίφρων –ον: fiery-hearted, battle
ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea
ἐπιπλάζομαι ἐπιπλάγξομαι ἐπεπλάγχθην: to wander about over
δέμας –ατος τό: the (physical frame, form of the) body
ἀθάνατος –ον: immortal, deathless; (plur.) the gods
ὀτρύνω ὀτρυνῶ ὤτρυνα ––– ––– –––: to urge on 15
μένος –ους τό: might
καρπάλιμος –ον: swift
ἐμπίμπλημι ἐμπλήσω ἐνέπλησα ἐμπέπληκα ἐμπέπλησμαι ἐωεπλήθην: to fill; (mid.) to get one's fill of
βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal
ἀγορή –ῆς ἡ: market place, assembly
ἕδρα –ας ἡ: a sitting-place
ἀγείρω ἀγερῶ ἤγειρα ἀγήγερμαι ἠγέρθην: gather, collect
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
θεάομαι θεάσομαι ἐθεσάμην ––– τεθέαμαι ἐθεσαμήθην: to look on, behold, view (with wonder)
Λαέρτης or Λάρτιος –ου ὁ: Laertes, son of Arcīsius, and father of Odysseus, king in Ithaca
δαίφρων –ον: fiery-hearted, warlike
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus 20
Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena
θεσπέσιος [–α] –ον: divine; prodigious, extraordinary, supernatural; deafening
καταχέω καταχῶ κατέχεα/κατέχυσα κατακέχυκα κατακέχυμαι κατεχύθην: to pour down upon, pour over
ὦμος ὤμου ὁ: shoulder
μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself 20
πάσσων –ον: thicker, stouter
Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian
αἰδοῖος –α –ον: having a claim to compassion or reverence
ἐκτελέω ἐκτελῶ ἐξετέλεσα ἐκτετέλεκα ἐκτετέλεσμαι ἐξετελέσθην: to bring quite to an end, to accomplish, achieve
ἆθλος –ου ὁ: contest, test of strength, task
Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian
Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
ἀγείρω ἀγερῶ ἤγειρα ἀγήγερμαι ἠγέρθην: gather, collect
ὁμηγερής –ές: assembled
Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon 25
ἀγοράομαι ἀγορήσομαι ἀγορησάμην: to meet or 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
ἀλάομαι ἀλήσομαι ἀλάλημαι ἠλήθην: to wander, stray
ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
ἠοῖος –α –ον: morning; eastern
ἑσπέριος [–α] –ον: evening, (arriving) towards evening; western
πομπή –ῆς ἡ: escort, guidance; arrangement for one's departure 30
ὀτρύνω ὀτρυνῶ ὤτρυνα ––– ––– –––: to urge on
λίσσομαι ––– ἐλλισάμην/ἐλιτόμην ––– ––– –––: to pray, beg; to beseech with prayer
ἔμπεδος –ον: firm-set, steadfast, constant, unchanged; (in neuter as adverb) firmly, steadily
πάρος: before, formerly
ἐποτρύνω ἐποτρυνῶ ἐπώτρυνα: to urge one, exhort; (mid.) hasten on with
πομπή –ῆς ἡ: escort, guidance; arrangement for one's departure
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach
ἐνθάδε: to here, to there
ὀδύρομαι ὀδυροῦμαι ὠδυράμην ––– ––– κατωδύρθην/ὠδύρθην: grieve
δηρός –ά –όν: long, too long
πομπή –ῆς ἡ: escort, guidance; arrangement for one's departure
ἄγε: come! come on! well!
μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure
εἰρύω/ἐρύω ἐρύσω/ἐρύω εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα –– –– εἰρύσθην: to pull, draw, drag; to guard, protect
ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)
δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining
πρωτόπλοος –ον: going to sea for the first time 35
κόρος –ου ὁ: one's fill, satiety, surfeit
πεντήκοντα: fifty
πάρος: before, formerly
κληΐς κληῖδος ἡ: bolt; (pl.) oarlocks
ἐρετμόν –οῦ τό: oar
ἐκβαίνω ἐκβήσομαι ἐκέβην ἐκβέβηκα ––– –––: to disembark
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
θοός –ή –όν: swift
ἀλεγύνω – – – – –: to furnish, prepare; to partake of
δαίς δαιτός ἡ: feast, banquet, meal
κοῦρος –ου ὁ: [Ep. and Ion.] boy 40
ἐπιτέλλω ἐπέτειλα: to enjoin, lay command or order upon, charge, impose
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
σκηπτοῦχος –ον: bearing a staff
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
ὄφρα: while; until; so that; ὄφρα … τόφρα, while … for so long
μέγαρον –ου τό: a large room, hall, feast-hall
φιλέω φιλήσω ἐφίλησα πεφίλημαι ἐφιλήθην: to love, hold dear; to entertain as a guest
ἀρνέομαι ἀρνήσομαι ἠρνησάμην ἤρνημαι ἠρνήθην: to deny, disown, refuse
ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard
Δημόδοκος –ου ὁ: Demodocus, the blind bard of the Phaeacians
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
ἀοιδή –ῆς ἡ: song, a singing
τέρπω τέρψω ἔτερψα ––– ––– ἐτάρφθην/ἐτέρφθην: to delight; (mid./pass.) to have one's full of 45
ὅπη: by which way
ἐποτρύνω ἐποτρυνῶ ἐπώτρυνα: to incite, urge on; to provoke; (mid.) to speed up, make hurry
ᾄσομαι ᾖσα ᾖσμαι ᾔσθην: sing