αἱ δ᾽ ὅτε δὴ ποταμοῖο ῥόον περικαλλέ᾽ ἵκοντο,

ἔνθ᾽ ἦ τοι πλυνοὶ ἦσαν ἐπηετανοί, πολὺ δ᾽ ὕδωρ

καλὸν ὑπεκπρόρεεν μάλα περ ῥυπόωντα καθῆραι,

ἔνθ᾽ αἵ γ᾽ ἡμιόνους μὲν ὑπεκπροέλυσαν ἀπήνης.

καὶ τὰς μὲν σεῦαν ποταμὸν πάρα δινήεντα

τρώγειν ἄγρωστιν μελιηδέα· ταὶ δ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ἀπήνης90

εἵματα χερσὶν ἕλοντο καὶ ἐσφόρεον μέλαν ὕδωρ,

στεῖβον δ᾽ ἐν βόθροισι θοῶς ἔριδα προφέρουσαι.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πλῦνάν τε κάθηράν τε ῥύπα πάντα,

ἑξείης πέτασαν παρὰ θῖν᾽ ἁλός, ἧχι μάλιστα

λάιγγας ποτὶ χέρσον ἀποπλύνεσκε θάλασσα.95

αἱ δὲ λοεσσάμεναι καὶ χρισάμεναι λίπ᾽ ἐλαίῳ

δεῖπνον ἔπειθ᾽ εἵλοντο παρ᾽ ὄχθῃσιν ποταμοῖο,

εἵματα δ᾽ ἠελίοιο μένον τερσήμεναι αὐγῇ.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ σίτου τάρφθεν δμῳαί τε καὶ αὐτή,

σφαίρῃ ταὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔπαιζον, ἀπὸ κρήδεμνα βαλοῦσαι·100

τῇσι δὲ Ναυσικάα λευκώλενος ἤρχετο μολπῆς.

οἵη δ᾽ Ἄρτεμις εἶσι κατ᾽ οὔρεα ἰοχέαιρα,

ἢ κατὰ Τηΰγετον περιμήκετον ἢ Ἐρύμανθον,

τερπομένη κάπροισι καὶ ὠκείῃς ἐλάφοισι·

τῇ δέ θ᾽ ἅμα νύμφαι, κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο,105

ἀγρονόμοι παίζουσι, γέγηθε δέ τε φρένα Λητώ·

πασάων δ᾽ ὑπὲρ ἥ γε κάρη ἔχει ἠδὲ μέτωπα,

ῥεῖά τ᾽ ἀριγνώτη πέλεται, καλαὶ δέ τε πᾶσαι·

ὣς ἥ γ᾽ ἀμφιπόλοισι μετέπρεπε παρθένος ἀδμής.

ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ ἄρ᾽ ἔμελλε πάλιν οἶκόνδε νέεσθαι110

ζεύξασ᾽ ἡμιόνους πτύξασά τε εἵματα καλά,

ἔνθ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ ἐνόησε θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,

ὡς Ὀδυσεὺς ἔγροιτο, ἴδοι τ᾽ ἐυώπιδα κούρην,

ἥ οἱ Φαιήκων ἀνδρῶν πόλιν ἡγήσαιτο.

σφαῖραν ἔπειτ᾽ ἔρριψε μετ᾽ ἀμφίπολον βασίλεια·115

ἀμφιπόλου μὲν ἅμαρτε, βαθείῃ δ᾽ ἔμβαλε δίνῃ·

αἱ δ᾽ ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἄυσαν· ὁ δ᾽ ἔγρετο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,

ἑζόμενος δ᾽ ὥρμαινε κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν·

"ὤ μοι ἐγώ, τέων αὖτε βροτῶν ἐς γαῖαν ἱκάνω;

ἦ ῥ᾽ οἵ γ᾽ ὑβρισταί τε καὶ ἄγριοι οὐδὲ δίκαιοι,120

ἦε φιλόξεινοι καί σφιν νόος ἐστὶ θεουδής;

ὥς τέ με κουράων ἀμφήλυθε θῆλυς ἀϋτή:

νυμφάων, αἳ ἔχουσ᾽ ὀρέων αἰπεινὰ κάρηνα

καὶ πηγὰς ποταμῶν καὶ πίσεα ποιήεντα.

ἦ νύ που ἀνθρώπων εἰμὶ σχεδὸν αὐδηέντων;125

ἀλλ᾽ ἄγ᾽ ἐγὼν αὐτὸς πειρήσομαι ἠδὲ ἴδωμαι."

    Nausicaa and the other Phaeacian girls arrive at the shore to wash their laundry. The girls play ball together. Odysseus wakes and wonders where he is.

    From her first appearance in the poem, Nausicaa straddles the boundary between naïve innocence and awakening sexuality, a liminal position that Homer represents by various stylistic gestures that point in opposite directions.

    read full essay

    Her bedroom has the golden doors that often signal sexual potential, but the two maidens sleeping outside offer protection for her innocence. That shield fails to keep Athena out, however, and the goddess stirs the young princess’s curiosity about marriage, both as a social institution and, in a more submerged way, as the entrance into sexual maturity. She aims to be a “good girl,” who wants to help her father and brothers look presentable. But at Athena’s urging, she also hopes to make herself ready for marriage, a motive that her father immediately recognizes. She drives happily off for a washing party and picnic with her ἀμφίπολοι, her virginity protected on the way by her “lofty” wagon.

    At the river, all is innocence and purity: sparkling clear water, clothes and girls washed clean and dried in the sun. After lunch, the fun continues as the girls play a game of catch and Nausicaa leads them in a song, which reminds the poet of Artemis and her handmaidens:

    οἵη δ᾽ Ἄρτεμις εἶσι κατ᾽ οὔρεα ἰοχέαιρα,
    ἢ κατὰ Τηΰγετον περιμήκετον ἢ Ἐρύμανθον,
    τερπομένη κάπροισι καὶ ὠκείῃς ἐλάφοισι·
    τῇ δέ θ᾽ ἅμα νύμφαι, κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο,
    ἀγρονόμοι παίζουσι, γέγηθε δέ τε φρένα Λητώ·
    πασάων δ᾽ ὑπὲρ ἥ γε κάρη ἔχει ἠδὲ μέτωπα,
    ῥεῖά τ᾽ ἀριγνώτη πέλεται, καλαὶ δέ τε πᾶσαι·
    ὣς ἥ γ᾽ ἀμφιπόλοισι μετέπρεπε παρθένος ἀδμής.

    As Artemis the arrow-shooter goes through the mountains
    over lofty Taygetos or majestic Erymanthos
    delighting in the wild boars and swift deer,
    and with her, nymphs, daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus,
    range over the wilds, playing, and Leto is delighted,
    for the head and brows of Artemis rise above all the others,
    and she is easily distinguished, though all are beautiful.
    So the unwed virgin shown forth among the maidens.

    Odyssey 6.102–9

    The simile underscores Nausicaa’s virginal purity and also her godlike beauty. Beyond that, the regal bearing we associate with a goddess imbues the young princess with enhanced dignity. She is a young girl who likes to play catch, but she is also a member of Phaeacian royalty. The gravitas carried in the latter role will slowly emerge as she takes charge of the needy stranger.

    Virgil channels this latter quality in his reworking of Homer’s simile, describing Aeneas’ first glimpse of the Carthaginian queen Dido as she inspects new building projects:

    Quālis in Eurōtae rīpīs aut per iuga Cynthī
    exercet Dīāna chorōs, quam mīlle secūtae
    hinc atque hinc glomerantur Orēades; illa pharetram
    fert umerō gradiēnsque deās superēminet omnēs
    (Lātōnae tacitum pertemptant gaudia pectus):
    tālis erat Dīdō, tālem sē laeta ferēbat
    per mediōs īnstāns operī rēgnīsque futūrīs.

    As Diana, on the banks of Eurotas and the peaks of Cynthus,
    leads the chorus, and a thousand mountain nymphs
    follow her, joined together here and there; she carries
    a quiver on her shoulder and strides towering over all;
    and joy courses through the quiet heart of Leto.
    So Dido strode happily through the crowd,
    intent upon the work and her future realm.

    Aeneid 1.498–504

    Dido seems an unlikely match for a young girl in the grip of new emotions, but Virgil will show her eventually undone by love, used cynically by Juno and Venus, wandering distracted through Carthage. Dido is perhaps the Roman poet’s most striking creation. A tragic casualty of Roman destiny, she is regal and dignified but finally destroyed by the madness of her love for Aeneas. As he so often does, Virgil has pushed beyond the surface of Homer’s portrait, attuned to a part of Nausicaa that is muted at first but resonates later in Penelope’s struggle to resolve the competing forces within herself: the awakening desire to move out of her numbed withdrawal in response to the chaos in Ithaka and the flickering hope that Odysseus might still return. The Odyssey cannot accommodate Roman gravitas, but Penelope’s resourcefulness and determination show an inner strength that Virgil drew on in creating his heroine.

    The game of catch winds down and Nausicaa begins to think about heading home, but Athena has other plans. This whole expedition, we are now reminded, was her initiative, and she now moves toward her ultimate goal: Nausicaa must meet Odysseus and lead him to the palace. The princess’s last toss goes astray, the maids shout, the hero wakes up and ponders:

    "ἦ ῥ᾽ οἵ γ᾽ ὑβρισταί τε καὶ ἄγριοι οὐδὲ δίκαιοι,
    ἦε φιλόξεινοι καί σφιν νόος ἐστὶ θεουδής;
    ὥς τέ με κουράων ἀμφήλυθε θῆλυς ἀϋτή:
    νυμφάων, αἳ ἔχουσ᾽ ὀρέων αἰπεινὰ κάρηνα
    καὶ πηγὰς ποταμῶν καὶ πίσεα ποιήεντα.
    ἦ νύ που ἀνθρώπων εἰμὶ σχεδὸν αὐδηέντων;
    ἀλλ᾽ ἄγ᾽ ἐγὼν αὐτὸς πειρήσομαι ἠδὲ ἴδωμαι."

    "Oh no! What sort of people are these, whose land I’ve reached?
    Are they arrogant, fierce, and lacking in justice?
    Or kind to strangers, with intelligence like the gods’?
    That’s the voice of girls wafting around me,
    or nymphs, who haunt the steep summits of the mountains
    and springs of rivers and grassy meadows.
    Am I near people who speak my language?
    Come now, I’ll try to see for myself."

    Odyssey 6.119–26

    We know the voices come from girls, but the poet’s simile has added a mythical penumbra, as Nausicaa and her playmates cavort against a numinous backdrop. In his quandary, Odysseus ranges around the boundaries of human and divine, always a source of energy in the poem. The phrase ἀμφήλυθε θῆλυς ἀυτή (122) recalls the alluring music of Calypso, mysterious sounds that surround the hero and blur the clean edges of consciousness, having the power to distract him from his mission. (See Book 5.43–91 essay) Male bards like Phemius and Demodokus offer stories of the Trojan War, full of paradigms for masculine heroism. This other kind of singing, which Odysseus has heard coming from Circe’s house and the island of the Sirens, is always dangerous. Nausicaa will indeed be a threat to Odysseus. But as we are about to learn, he could also be dangerous to her.

     

    Further Reading

    Austin, N. 1975. Archery at the Dark of the Moon, 193–194; 202–203. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Gross, N. 1976. “Nausicaa: A Feminine Threat.” Classical World 69: 311–317.

    Mackie, H. 1997. “Song and Storytelling: An Odyssean Perspective.” Transactions of the American Philological Association 127: 77–95.

    Nagler, M. 1977. “Dread Goddess Endowed With Speech.” Archaeological News 6: 77–85.

    Van Nortwick, T. 1992. Somewhere I Have Never Travelled: The Second Self and the Hero’s Journey in Ancient Epic, 100–19. New York: Oxford University Press1.

    ———. 2008. The Unknown Odysseus: Alternate Worlds in Homer’s Odyssey, 27–28. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Wohl, V. 1993. “Standing by the Stathmos: The Creation of Sexual Ideology in the Odyssey." Arethusa 26: 19–46.

     

    87  ὑπεκπρόρεεν: 3rd sing. impf. act. indic. > ὑπεκπρορέω (ὑπ-εκ-προ-ρέω).

    87  ῥυπόωντα: “dirty things” (i.e., dirty laundry), neut. acc. pl. pres. act. ptc. > ῥυπόω.

    87  καθῆραι: aor. act. infin. > καθαίρω. Infinitive of purpose.

    88  ἀπήνης: “from the cart,” genitive of separation.

    89  σεῦαν: “chased,” “drove,” unaugmented 3rd pl. aor. act. indic. > σεύω. The subject is the ἀμφίπολοι from line 84.

    90  τρώγειν: infinitive of purpose.

    90  ταὶ: still the ἀμφίπολοι.

    91  ἐσφόρεον: 3rd pl. impf. act. indic. > εἰσφέρω (alternative form).

    92  στεῖβον: the clothes were placed in a trough and stamped on to loosen the dirt. This is still the traditional way to wash laundry in some societies (see this YouTube video of women washing clothes with their feet in the Jaunsar Bawar region of India).

    92  ἔριδα προφέρουσαι: “displaying rivalry,” “contending with each other.”

    93  πλῦνάν τε κάθηράν: unaugmented 3rd pl. aor. act. indics.

    94  πέτασαν: unaugmented 3rd pl. aor. act. indic. > πετάννυμι. The object of the verb is ῥύπα in line 93.

    95  ἀποπλύνεσκε: “washed up,” unaugmented 3rd sing. iterative impf. act. indic. > ἀποπλύνω.

    96  λοεσσάμεναι: fem. nom. pl. pres. mid. ptc. > λούω.

    96  λίπ᾽ ἐλαίῳ: “with rich oil,” “richly with oil,” a formulaic phrase that appears more than a dozen times in Homer.

    97  ἔπειθ᾽: = ἐπειτα.

    97  εἵλοντο: 3rd pl. aor. mid. indic. > αἱρέω (LSJ αἱρέω B). The object of the verb is δεῖπνον.

    98  μένον: unaugmented 3rd pl. impf. act. indic. > μένω.

    98  τερσήμεναι: aor. pass. indic. > τέρσομαι. Infinitive of purpose.

    99  τάρφθεν: 3rd pl. aor. pass. indic. > τέρπω. The verb takes a genitive object.

    99  αὐτή: i.e., Nausicaa.

    100  ἀπὸ … βαλοῦσαι: "casting off," "throwing aside," fem. nom. pl. pres. act. ptc., tmesis > ἀποβάλλω.

    102  οἵη: “as …,” introducing a simile.

    102  εἶσι: 3rd sing. pres. act. indic. > εἶμι.

    104  ὠκείῃς: fem. dat. pl. > ὠκύς.

    106  φρένα: accusative of respect.

    107  πασάων δ᾽ ὑπὲρ: = ὑπὲρ πασῶν.

    107  : i.e., Artemis.

    <109  ἥ … παρθένος ἀδμής: i.e., Nausicaa.

    112  ἔνθ(α): “then.”

    112  ἄλλ(α) ἐνόησε: “had another plan.”

    113  ὡς …: “namely, that …,” introducing indirect discourse (outlining Athena’s plan) with optatives (ἔγροιτο, ἴδοι, ἡγήσαιτο) in secondary sequence.

    113  ἔγροιτο: 3rd sing. aor. mid. opt. > ἐγείρω.

    114  οἱ: “him,” dative object of ἡγήσαιτο ( > ἡγέομαι).

    114  πόλιν: accusative of goal of motion, or “terminal accusative” (Smyth 1588).

    116  ἅμαρτε: “missed,” with genitive, 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > ἁμαρτάνω.

    116  βαθείῃ … δίνῃ: dative governed by the prepositional prefix ἐμ- (ἐν-) in the compound verb ἔμβαλε.

    117  αἱ: i.e., the attendants.

    117  ἐπὶ: “whereupon,” “at which,”or simply “then,” adverbial.

    117  μακρὸν: “aloud,” adverbial.

    118  ἑζόμενος: “sitting up.”

    119  τέων: interrogative adj., gen. pl. > τί.

    121  σφιν: dative of possession.

    122  ἀμφήλυθε: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > ἀμφέρχομαι.

    122  ἀϋτή: “cry,” “shouting.”

    123  νυμφάων: in apposition to κουράων.

    123  ἔχουσ(ι): “inhabit” (LSJ ἔχω A.3).

    126  πειρήσομαι: 1st sing. aor. mid. short-vowel hortatory subj. (Smyth 1797b.)

    ῥόος –ου ὁ: a stream, flow, current 85

    περικαλλής –ές: very beautiful

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

    τοι: let me tell you, surely

    πλυνός –οῦ ὁ: washing trough, a place to do laundry

    ἐπηετανός –όν: always full; all year round

    ὑπεκπρορέω ὑπεκπρορεύσομαι ὑπεκπροέρρευσα: to flow forth under

    ῥυπάω – – – – –: to be foul, filthy, dirty

    καθαίρω καθαρῶ ἐκάθηρα κεκάθαρμαι ἐκαθάρθην: to make clean

    ἠμίονος –ου ὁ: mule

    ὑπεκπρολύω ὑπεκπρολύσω ὑπεκπροέλυσα: to loose from under

    ἀπήνη –ης ἡ: a four-wheeled wagon

    σεύω σεύσω ἔσσευα – ἔσσυμαι ἐσσύθην/ἐσύθην: to shake, push, hurl; to drive back, chase, hunt; (mid. pass.) to hurl oneself, leap, rush, be eager

    δινήεις –εσσα –εν: whirling, eddying

    τρώγω τρώξομαι ἔτρωξα (or ἔτραγον) τέτρωγμαι: to gnaw, nibble, munch 90

    ἄγρωστις –ιδος ἡ: a grass that mules fed on

    μελιηδής –ές: honey-sweet

    ἀπήνη –ης ἡ: a four-wheeled wagon

    εἷμα –ατος τό: clothing

    εἰσφέρω εἰσοίσω εἰσήνεγκα εἰσενήνοχα εἰσενήνεγμαι εἰσηνέχθην: to bring in, to propose (a question, a law), to pay tax (εἰσφορά)

    μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure

    στείβω στείψω ἔστειψα/ἔστιβον: to tread on, tread under foot

    βόθρος –ου ὁ: hole or pit dug in the ground

    θοός –ή –όν: swift

    ἔρις –ιδος ἡ: strife, rivalry

    προφέρω προοίσω προήνεγκα/προήνεγκον προενήνοχα προενήνεγμαι προηνέχθην: to bring before

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    πλύνω πλυνῶ ἔπλυνα πέπλυκα πέπλυμαι ἐπλύθην/ἐπλύνθην: to wash, clean

    καθαίρω καθαρῶ ἐκάθηρα κεκάθαρμαι ἐκαθάρθην: to make pure

    ῥύπα –ων τά: dirt

    ἑξῆς: one after another, in order, in a row

    πεταννύω/πετάννυμι πετῶ ἐπέτασα πεπέτακα πέπταμαι ἐπετάσθην: to spread out

    θίς θινός ὁ: shore, beach

    ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)

    ἧχι: where

    λᾶϊγξ –ιγγος ἡ: small stone, pebble 95

    χέρσος –ου ἡ: dry land, land

    ἀποπλύνω ἀποπλυνῶ ἀπέπλυνα ἀποπέπλυκα ἀποπέπλυμαι ἀπεπλύθην/ἀπεπλύνθην: to wash away

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

    χρίω χρίσω ἔχρισα κέχρικα κέχριμαι ἐχρίσθην: to rub, anoint

    λίπα: richly, plentifully, generously

    ἔλαιον –ου τό: olive-oil

    δεῖπνον –ου τό: meal, supper

    ὄχθη –ης ἡ: riverbank

    εἷμα –ατος τό: clothing

    τέρσομαι τερσήσομαι ἐτέρσην: to be or become dry

    αὐγή –ῆς ἡ: the light of the sun, sunlight

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    σῖτος –ου ὁ: grain; bread

    τέρπω τέρψω ἔτερψα ––– ––– ἐτάρφθην/ἐτέρφθην: to delight; (mid./pass.) to have one's full of

    δμῳή –ής ἡ: an enslaved person, especially taken in war

    σφαῖρα –ας ἡ: a ball, playing-ball 100

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    παίζω παίξω ἔπαισα (or ἔπαιξα) πέπαικα (or πέπαιχα) πέπαισμαι ἐπαίχθην: to play like a child, to sport, play

    κρήδεμνον –ου τό: a veil

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

    λευκώλενος –ον: white-armed

    ἄρχω ἅρξω ἦρξα ἦρχα ἦργμαι ἦρχθην: begin, rule (+gen.)

    μολπή –ῆς ἡ: the song and dance, a chant

    Ἄρτεμις –ῐδος ἡ: Artemis

    ἰοχέαιρα –ας ἡ: arrow-pourer, shooter of arrows

    Τηΰγετον –ου τό: Taygetus, a mountain range in Laconia, extending to Cape Taenarum

    περιμήκετος –ον: very tall

    Ἐρύμανθος –ου ὁ: Erymanthus, a mountain in Arcadia

    τέρπω τέρψω ἔτερψα ––– ––– ἐτάρφθην/ἐτέρφθην: to delight; (mid./pass.) to have one's full of

    κάπρος –ου ὁ: the boar, wild boar

    ὠκύς ὠκεῖα ὠκύ: quick, swift, fast

    ἔλαφος –ου ὁ/ἡ: a deer

    νύμφη –ης ἡ: a young wife, bride; nymph, a divinity of waters or woods 105

    κόρη (or κούρη) –ης ἡ: girl, maiden; daughter

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    αἰγίοχος –ον: aegis-holding

    ἀγρονόμος –ον: haunting the country

    παίζω παίξω ἔπαισα (or ἔπαιξα) πέπαικα (or πέπαιχα) πέπαισμαι ἐπαίχθην: to play like a child, to sport, play

    γηθέω γηθήσω ἐγήθησα γέγηθα ––– –––: to rejoice, be glad

    φρήν φρενός ἡ: diaphragm; heart, mind, wits

    Λητώ –οῦς ἡ: Leto (Latona), mother of Apollo and Artemis

    κάρα –ατος τό: the head

    ἠδέ: and

    μέτωπον –ου τό: forehead

    ῥεῖα: easily, lightly

    ἀρίγνωτος [–η] –ον: easily recognizable

    πέλω ––– ἔπλον ––– ––– –––: to be (the aor. has pres. signif.)

    ἀμφίπολος –ου ἡ: female attendant, handmaid

    μεταπρέπω μεταπρέψω μετέπρεψα: to be the best among, be conspicuous among

    παρθένος –ου ἡ: a maid, maiden, virgin, girl

    ἀδμής –ῆτος: unwedded

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus 110

    οἰκόνδε: home, homeward, into the house, to the women's apartment

    νέομαι ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to return (often in present with future sense), go home, go

    ζεύγνυμι ζεύξω ἔζευξα ἔζευγμαι ἐζεύχθην/ἐζύγην: to yoke, put to

    ἠμίονος –ου ὁ: mule

    πτύσσω πτύξω ἔπτυξα – ἔπτυγμαι ἐπτύχθην: to fold

    εἷμα –ατος τό: clothing

    αὖτε: in turn, moreover, still, again, on the other hand

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

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    γλαυκῶπις –ιδος: gleaming - eyed

    Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena

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

    ἐγείρω ἐγερῶ ἤγειρα ἐγρήγορα ––– ἠγέρθην: rouse, stir up

    εὐῶπις –ιδος ἡ: lovely fair-faced

    κόρη (or κούρη) –ης ἡ: girl, maiden; daughter

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

    Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian

    σφαῖρα –ας ἡ: a ball, playing-ball 115

    ῥίπτω ῥίζψω ἔρριψα ἔρριμμαι ἐρρίφθην: to throw, cast, hurl

    ἀμφίπολος –ου ἡ: female attendant, handmaid

    βασίλεια –ας ἡ: queen, princess

    βαθύς βαθεῖα βαθύ: deep, high; dense

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

    δίνη –ης ἡ: a whirlpool, eddy

    αὔω ἀΰσω ἤϋσα ἤϋκα ––– –––: to shout; to burn, light a fire, get a light

    ἐγείρω ἐγερῶ ἤγειρα ἐγρήγορα ––– ἠγέρθην: rouse, stir up

    δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining

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

    ἕζομαι – – – – –: to sit down

    ὁρμαίνω ὁρμανῶ ὥρμηνα: to turn over

    φρήν φρενός ἡ: diaphragm; heart, mind, wits

    αὖτε: in turn, moreover, still, again, on the other hand

    βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

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

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    ὑβριστής –οῦ ὁ: a violent, overbearing person, a wanton, insolent man 120

    ἄγριος –α –ον: savage; wild; fierce

    φιλόξενος –ον: loving strangers, hospitable

    σφεῖς: they

    νόος νόου ὁ: mind, perception

    θεουδής –ές: god-fearing, pious, religious

    κόρη (or κούρη) –ης ἡ: girl, maiden; daughter

    ἀμφέρχομαι ἀμφελεύσομαι ἀμφῆλθον ἀμφιλήλυθα: to come round one, surround

    θῆλυς θήλεια θῆλυ: female, feminine; soft

    ἀϋτή –ῆς ἡ: to cry

    νύμφη –ης ἡ: a young wife, bride; nymph, a divinity of waters or woods

    αἰπεινός –ή –όν: high, lofty

    κάρηνον –ου τό: head; peak, summit

    πηγή –ῆς ἡ: spring, fountain; source

    πῖσος –ους τό: meadows

    ποιήεις –εσσα –εν: grassy, rich in grass

    σχεδόν: near; almost 125

    αὐδήεις –εσσα –εν: speaking with human voice

    ἄγε: come! come on! well!

    ἠδέ: and

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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-85-126