Book VIII

1When Dawn appeared, the early-born, with fingers of rose,

the sacred strength of Alcinous rose up from his bed,

and up rose Zeus-born Odysseus, sacker of cities.¹

And the sacred strength of Alcinous led the way

5to the Phaeacians' gathering-place, built there beside the ships.

They came and sat down on the polished stones

side by side. And Pallas Athena went up and down the city

in the likeness of a herald of wise Alcinous,

devising the homecoming of great-hearted Odysseus,

10and standing beside each man she spoke her word:

"This way, come — leaders and counselors of the Phaeacians —

to the gathering-place, to learn about the stranger

who has come new to the house of wise Alcinous

after wandering the sea — a man like the immortals in body."

15So speaking she stirred the strength and spirit of each,

and quickly the gathering-place and the seats were filled

with men assembling; and many marveled at the sight

of Laertes' battle-wise son. For Athena

poured a wondrous grace over his head and shoulders

20and made him taller to look at, and broader,

so that he might be dear to all the Phaeacians,

and dreaded, and revered, and might accomplish the many

trials in which the Phaeacians would test Odysseus.

And when they were assembled, all in one gathering,

25Alcinous addressed them all, and said:

"Hear me, leaders and counselors of the Phaeacians,

while I say what the heart in my breast commands.

This stranger — I do not know who he is — has come wandering to my house,

whether from the men of the east or of the west;

30he presses for a sending, and pleads that it be made sure.

Let us then, as always before, speed his sending on.

For no man, no — no one who ever comes to my house

waits here long, grieving for his escort.

Come: let us haul a black ship down to the bright salt water,

35one on her first voyage, and let fifty-two young men²

be chosen through the town, as many as have proven best.

Lash your oars well to the benches, every one,

then come ashore; and afterward come to my house

and see to a feast at speed: I will provide well for all.

40To the young men these are my orders. And you others,

sceptered kings, come to my beautiful house,

so we may welcome the stranger in the halls —

let no man refuse. And call the godlike singer,

Demodocus: for to him the god has given song³

45beyond all others, to delight men however his heart is stirred to sing."

So speaking he led the way, and the sceptered kings

followed with him; and a herald went for the godlike singer.

And the fifty-two young men, chosen out,

went, as he commanded, to the beach of the barren sea.

50And when they had come down to the ship and the sea,

they hauled the black ship down to deep water,

and set the mast and the sails in the black ship,

and fitted the oars into their leather slings,

all in due order, and spread the white sails open.

55They moored her well out in the water, and then

went their way to the great house of wise Alcinous.

And the porticoes and courts and halls were filled

with men assembling: there were many, young and old.

For them Alcinous slaughtered twelve sheep,

60eight white-tusked hogs, and two shambling oxen;

these they flayed and dressed, and made the lovely feast ready.

And the herald came near, leading the trusted singer,

whom the Muse loved beyond other men, and gave him good and evil both:⁴

she took away his eyes, and gave him sweet song.

65For him Pontonous set a silver-studded chair

in the middle of the feasters, leaning it on a tall pillar,

and hung the clear-voiced lyre on its peg

just above his head, and showed him how to reach it

with his hands; and set by him a basket and a beautiful table,

70and a cup of wine beside, to drink when his heart should bid him.

And their hands went out to the good things spread before them.

But when they had put away desire for food and drink,

the Muse stirred the singer to sing the famous deeds of men,

from that song whose fame had then already reached wide heaven:

75the quarrel of Odysseus and Achilles, Peleus' son —⁵

how once they clashed at the gods' rich feast

with terrible words, and the lord of men Agamemnon

rejoiced in his heart that the best of the Achaeans were quarreling.

For so Phoebus Apollo had told him in prophecy

80at holy Pytho, when he crossed the stone threshold

to consult the god: then the beginning of woe was rolling down

on Trojans and Danaans alike, through the counsels of great Zeus.

This the famous singer sang. But Odysseus⁶

took his great purple cloak in his heavy hands

85and drew it down over his head, and hid his handsome face:

he was ashamed to let the tears run under his brows before the Phaeacians.

Whenever the godlike singer paused in his singing,

he would wipe the tears away, and take the cloak from his head,

and lifting the two-handled cup would pour to the gods;

90but whenever he began again, and the best of the Phaeacians

urged him to sing, because they took joy in the tale,

Odysseus would cover his head again, and mourn.

From all the others he hid the tears he shed;

Alcinous alone remarked him and noticed,

95sitting beside him, and heard his heavy groaning.

At once he spoke among the oar-loving Phaeacians:

"Hear me, leaders and counselors of the Phaeacians.

By now we have had our hearts' fill of the shared feast,

and of the lyre, which is the companion of the rich feast.

100Now let us go out and try our hands at contests,

all of them — so that the stranger may tell his own people,

when he has come home, how far we surpass others

at boxing and wrestling and jumping and speed of foot."

So speaking he led the way, and they went with him.

105And the herald hung the clear-voiced lyre on its peg,

took Demodocus by the hand, and led him out of the hall,

guiding him along the same road the others

had gone, the best of the Phaeacians, to wonder at the games.

They went their way to the gathering-place, and a huge crowd followed,

110thousands; and many fine young men stood up.

Up rose Acroneus and Ocyalus and Elatreus,⁷

Nauteus and Prymneus and Anchialus and Eretmeus,

Ponteus and Proreus, Thoon and Anabesineus,

and Amphialus, son of Polyneus, Tecton's son;

115and up rose Euryalus, the equal of man-destroying Ares,

Naubolus' son, who was best in beauty and body

of all the Phaeacians after blameless Laodamas.

And up stood the three sons of blameless Alcinous:

Laodamas, and Halius, and godlike Clytoneus.

120First they made trial of one another in the footrace.

The course was stretched for them from the turning-post, and all together

they flew off quickly, raising the dust of the plain;

and far the best at running was blameless Clytoneus:

by as much as the width of a mule-team's furrow in fallow ground,⁸

125by that much he outran the rest to the crowd, and left them behind.

Then they made trial of grinding wrestling,

and there Euryalus outdid all the best;

at the jump Amphialus was first of them all;

with the discus far the best of all was Elatreus,

130and at boxing Laodamas, Alcinous' good son.

And when they had all taken their hearts' pleasure in the contests,

Laodamas, Alcinous' son, spoke among them:

"Come, friends, let us ask the stranger whether he knows

any contest, and has learned it. In build, at least, he is no mean man —

135the thighs and calves of him, the two arms above,

the massive neck, the great strength; nor does he lack

the prime of youth — only he is broken by many evils.

For I say there is nothing worse than the sea

to shatter a man, however strong he be."

140Then Euryalus answered him in turn, and said:

"Laodamas, you have spoken this word in due measure.

Now go yourself and challenge him, and speak your speech."

And when the good son of Alcinous heard it,

he went and stood in the middle, and addressed Odysseus:

145"Come you too, father stranger: try your hand at the contests,

if you have learned any — and it is like you to know contests:

for there is no greater fame for a man, while he lives,⁹

than what he achieves with his own feet and hands.

Come, make a trial; scatter the cares from your heart.

150Your road will not be long delayed now: already

the ship is hauled down, and the companions are ready."

Then Odysseus of the many designs answered him:

"Laodamas, why do you all urge this on me, mocking?

Cares are closer to my heart than contests.

155I have suffered much before now, much have I labored,

and now I sit in your gathering hungry for homecoming,

pleading with the king and with all the people."

Then Euryalus answered him — and jeered to his face:

"No, stranger: I do not take you for a man of contests,¹⁰

160such as are held in plenty among mankind —

rather for one who plies to and fro in a many-benched ship,

a master of sailors who are traders,

with a memory for cargo, an eye on his freight

and his grasping profits. You are no athlete."

165Then, glaring from under his brows, Odysseus of the many designs replied:¹¹

"Stranger, you have not spoken well. You are like a man blinded by folly.

So true it is that the gods do not give their graces to all men¹²

alike — not build, and brains, and speaking-skill together.

One man is slighter to look at, but the god

170crowns his shape with words, and men gaze at him

delighted, while he speaks on without a stumble,

with honeyed modesty, and shines among the gathered people,

and when he walks the town they look on him as on a god.

Another again is like the immortals in beauty,

175but no grace is set like a crown upon his words.

So with you: your looks are striking — not a god

could better them — but your mind is an empty thing.

You have stirred the heart in my breast

by speaking out of all measure. I am no novice at contests,

180whatever you may say. I count myself among the first,

as long as I could trust my youth and these my hands.

Now I am held in misery and pain: I have endured much,

cutting through wars of men and the grinding waves.

But even so, for all my many evils, I will try your contests:

185your word has bitten to the heart, and your speech has stung me to it."

He spoke, and cloak and all he sprang up, and seized a discus¹³

bigger than the rest, and thick — heavier by no small measure

than the ones the Phaeacians threw among themselves.

He spun and let it fly from his massive hand,

190and the stone hummed; and down to the ground they cowered —

the Phaeacians of the long oars, men famed for ships —

under the rush of the stone. Past all their marks it flew,

running light off his hand. And Athena set the mark,

in the likeness of a man, and spoke a word, and named him:

195"Even a blind man, stranger, could pick out your token,

groping — for it is not mixed in with the crowd of them

but far in front. Take heart, at least for this contest:

no Phaeacian will reach this, let alone throw beyond it."

So he spoke; and much-enduring noble Odysseus was glad,

200rejoicing to find one true friend in the field.

And then with a lighter heart he spoke among the Phaeacians:

"Now match that, young men — and soon after, I think,

I will send another as far, or farther still.

As for the rest of you — whoever's heart and spirit bid him,

205come out and be tried, since you have angered me so:

at boxing, wrestling, running — I refuse nothing —

any Phaeacian at all, except Laodamas himself.¹⁴

He is my host: who would fight the man who loves him?

Witless, worth nothing — that is the man

210who challenges his own host to a bout of games

in a strange country: he cuts himself off at the knees.

But of the rest I refuse no one, scorn no one:

I want to know you, and be tried face to face.

I am not bad at anything — of all the contests men keep.

215I know well how to handle the polished bow:¹⁵

first of a company I would strike my man with an arrow

in the enemy crowd, though comrades in plenty

stood close beside me shooting at the men.

Philoctetes alone outdid me with the bow

220in the Trojans' country, whenever we Achaeans shot;

but of all others I say I am far the best,

all mortals now alive who eat their bread on earth.

With the men of the past I will not seek to rival —

not Heracles, not Eurytus of Oechalia,

225who rivaled the very immortals with the bow.

That is why great Eurytus died so soon — old age

never found him in his halls: Apollo in his anger

killed him, for daring to challenge him at the bow.

And I hurl a spear as far as another man shoots an arrow.

230Only at running I fear one of you might pass me —¹⁶

one of the Phaeacians: I was broken past all decency

among the many waves, with no steady keep aboard ship;

and so the joints of my limbs are loosened."

So he spoke, and they were all hushed in silence.

235Alcinous alone made him this answer:

"Stranger, nothing you say among us is said ungraciously:

you are willing to show the prowess that attends you,

in anger that this man stood up beside you in the field

and taunted you — as no mortal would slight your prowess

240who knew in his heart how to speak things fitly.

But mark my word now, so that you may tell it

to another hero, when in your own halls

you feast beside your wife and your children

and remember our prowess: what works Zeus grants

245to us as well, unbroken from our fathers' days.

For we are not flawless boxers, nor wrestlers:¹⁷

but we run swift-footed, and we are best with ships,

and always dear to us is the feast, the lyre, the dances,

changes of clothing, hot baths, and beds.

250Come then, dancers of the Phaeacians, all your best,

and play — so the stranger may tell his own people,

when he has come home, how far we surpass others

in seamanship and running and dance and song.

And let someone go quickly and fetch Demodocus

255the clear-voiced lyre, which lies somewhere in our halls."

So spoke godlike Alcinous; and a herald rose

to bring the hollow lyre from the king's house.

And chosen stewards stood up, nine in all,

public men, who at the gatherings set each thing in order:

260they smoothed a dancing-floor and widened a fine ring.

And the herald came near, bearing the clear-voiced lyre

for Demodocus; and he stepped to the middle, and around him stood

boys in their first youth, skilled in the dance,

and they beat the shining floor with their feet. And Odysseus

265gazed at the flickerings of their feet, and marveled in his heart.¹⁸

And the singer, striking the lyre, struck up a beautiful song¹⁹

of the love of Ares and Aphrodite of the lovely crown:

how first they lay together in the house of Hephaestus,

in secret; and Ares gave her many gifts, and shamed the marriage-bed

270of the lord Hephaestus. But to him came a messenger —

Helios, the Sun, who had seen the two of them lying in love.

And when Hephaestus heard the heart-stinging tale,

he went his way to his forge, brooding evils deep in his heart,

and set the great anvil on the block, and hammered out bonds

275that could not break or slip, to hold them fast where they stood.

And when he had made his snare, in his fury against Ares,

he went his way to the chamber where his own bed stood,

and around the bedposts he poured the bonds in a circle everywhere,

and many hung down from above, from the roof-beam,

280fine as spider-webs, which no one could so much as see —²⁰

not even the blessed gods: for they were made past all cunning.

And when he had poured his whole snare around the bed,

he made as if to go to Lemnos, that strong-founded city,

which is dearest to him by far of all lands.

285And Ares of the golden reins kept no blind watch:

he saw Hephaestus, famed for craft, going off,

and went his way to the house of famous Hephaestus,

hungry for the love of Cytherea of the lovely crown.

She was newly come from her father, the mighty son of Cronos,

290and had just sat down; and he came inside the house

and clamped a hand on hers, and spoke a word, and named her:

"Come, love — to bed, and take our joy together lying close:

Hephaestus is no longer at home; by now, I think,

he is off to Lemnos, among the wild-tongued Sintians."

295So he spoke; and welcome it seemed to her to lie with him.

So the two went to the bed and lay down; and around them poured

the artful bonds of Hephaestus of the many designs,

and they could not move a limb, could not lift themselves —

and then they knew it: there was no escaping now.

300And near them came the famous god of the two strong arms,

turned back on his road before ever reaching Lemnos:

Helios had kept the watch for him, and told him the tale.

He went his way to his house, his heart heavy within him,

and stood in the gateway, and savage anger gripped him,

305and he cried out terribly, and called to all the gods:

"Father Zeus, and you other blessed gods who are forever:

come here — see something for laughter, deeds past bearing —²¹

how Aphrodite, Zeus' daughter, forever

dishonors me for being lame, and loves that destroyer Ares

310because he is handsome and straight of limb, while I

was born crippled. And whose fault is that? No one's

but my two parents' — I wish they had never bred me!

Look, see where the two of them sleep in love,

climbed into my own bed. And I watch, and it eats my heart.

315Yet I do not think they will want to lie so one minute longer,

however much in love: soon enough the two of them will lose

their taste for sleeping. But the snare and the bond will hold them

until her father pays me back the bride-gifts, every one,²²

all I handed over for his bitch-eyed girl —

320because his daughter is beautiful, and cannot hold her heart."

So he spoke, and the gods gathered to the bronze-floored house:

Poseidon came, who holds the earth; and the runner

Hermes came; and the lord who works from far, Apollo.

But the goddesses stayed at home, for shame, every one of them.²³

325So they stood in the gateway, the gods, the givers of good things,

and unquenchable laughter rose among the blessed gods

as they gazed on the craft of Hephaestus of the many designs.

And thus one would say, with a glance at his neighbor:

"Bad deeds do not prosper. The slow one catches the swift —²⁴

330look, Hephaestus now, slow as he is, has taken Ares,

the swiftest of the gods who hold Olympus:

lame, and by craft. Now the adulterer's fine is owing."

So they spoke such things to one another.

But the lord Apollo, son of Zeus, said to Hermes:

335"Hermes, son of Zeus, guide, giver of good things:

would you be willing, pressed hard in strong bonds,

to sleep in that bed beside golden Aphrodite?"

Then the guide, the slayer of Argus, answered him:

"If only that could be, lord Apollo of the far arrows!²⁵

340Let three times as many bonds hold me, past all number,

and you gods look on — yes, and all the goddesses too:

I would still sleep beside golden Aphrodite."

So he spoke, and laughter rose among the deathless gods.

But Poseidon did not laugh; he kept pleading²⁶

345with Hephaestus, the famous worker, to set Ares free,

and lifting his voice he spoke winged words to him:

"Release him. I promise you, before the deathless gods,

he shall pay all that is fair, as you demand."

Then the famous god of the two strong arms answered him:

350"Do not ask this of me, Poseidon who hold the earth.

Worthless the pledges you take for worthless men.

How could I hold you bound before the deathless gods

if Ares slips both debt and bond and goes his way?"

Then Poseidon the earth-shaker answered him:

355"Hephaestus, if Ares does slip his debt

and vanishes, I will pay you the fine myself."

Then the famous god of the two strong arms replied:

"It cannot be, and it would not be right, that I refuse your word."

So speaking, the strength of Hephaestus undid the bond.

360And the two of them, loosed from the bond, strong as it was,

sprang up at once: he was gone to Thrace,

and she came to Cyprus, laughter-loving Aphrodite —

to Paphos, where her precinct is, and her altar fragrant with smoke.

There the Graces bathed her and rubbed her with oil,²⁷

365the immortal oil that blooms on the gods who are forever,

and dressed her in lovely clothing, a wonder to see.

This the famous singer sang; and Odysseus

took delight in his heart as he listened, and so did the others,²⁸

the Phaeacians of the long oars, men famed for ships.

370Then Alcinous told Halius and Laodamas

to dance alone, since no one could rival them.

And when they had taken in their hands the beautiful ball,

purple, which wise Polybus had made them,

one would bend far back and hurl it up toward the shadowy clouds,

375and the other, leaping high off the ground, would catch it

lightly, with ease, before his feet came back to earth.

And when they had tried their skill at the ball thrown straight up,

then the two of them danced on the nourishing earth,

passing it swiftly back and forth; and the other young men

380beat time, standing around the ring, and a great din went up.

And then noble Odysseus addressed Alcinous:

"Lord Alcinous, most renowned among all peoples,²⁹

you promised your dancers were the best,

and here it stands accomplished. Awe takes me, looking at it."

385So he spoke; and the sacred strength of Alcinous was glad,

and at once he spoke among the oar-loving Phaeacians:

"Hear me, leaders and counselors of the Phaeacians.

This stranger seems to me a man of clear-headed sense.

Come, let us give him a guest-gift, as is fitting.

390Twelve glorious kings hold sway through this land³⁰

as leaders, and I myself am the thirteenth:

let each of you bring a fresh-washed mantle and a tunic

and a talent of precious gold;

and let us bring it all together at once, so that the stranger

395may take it in his hands and go to supper glad at heart.

And let Euryalus make it up to him, man to man, with words

and with a gift: for his word was not spoken in due measure."

So he spoke, and they all approved it and urged it on,

and each sent off a herald to bring his gifts.

400And Euryalus answered him in turn, and said:

"Lord Alcinous, most renowned among all peoples,

I will make it up to the stranger, as you command.

I will give him this sword, all bronze, with a hilt

of silver on it, and a scabbard of fresh-sawn ivory

405turned round it: it will be worth much to him."

So saying he set the silver-studded sword in his hands,

and lifting his voice he spoke winged words to him:

"Hail, father stranger. If some word was blurted out³¹

too harsh, may the storm-winds snatch it up and carry it away.

410And may the gods grant you to see your wife, and to come

to your fatherland: for long, far from your own people, you have suffered pains."

Then Odysseus of the many designs answered him:

"And to you, friend: hail, and warmly. May the gods give you fortune,

and may you never feel the lack, hereafter, of this sword

415you have given me — you who made it up to me with words."

He spoke, and slung the silver-studded sword about his shoulders.

And the sun went down, and the famous gifts lay there before him.

The lordly heralds carried them to the house of Alcinous,

and the sons of blameless Alcinous received them

420and set the beautiful gifts before their honored mother.

And the sacred strength of Alcinous led the way,

and they came and sat down on the high seats.

And then the strength of Alcinous said to Arete:

"Bring here a glorious chest, wife — the best one —

425and set in it yourself a fresh-washed mantle and a tunic.

And heat the bronze cauldron over the fire, and warm water,

so that once he has bathed, and seen well laid together all

the gifts the blameless Phaeacians have brought him here,

he may take joy in the feast, and in hearing the singer's strain.

430And I will give him this beautiful cup of mine,

golden, so that remembering me all his days

he may pour in his hall to Zeus and the other gods."

So he spoke, and Arete told her slave-women

to set a great three-legged cauldron on the fire with all speed.

435They set the bath-cauldron on the blazing fire

and poured water in, and fed the wood beneath till it flamed:

the fire wrapped round the belly of the cauldron, and the water warmed.

Meanwhile Arete brought out from her chamber a beautiful chest

for the stranger, and laid the fine gifts in it,

440the clothing and the gold the Phaeacians had given,

and in with them she laid a mantle and a beautiful tunic,

and lifting her voice she spoke winged words to him:

"See to the lid yourself now, and tie the knot on it quickly,³²

for fear someone rob you on the voyage, when later on

445you sleep your sweet sleep as the black ship carries you."

And when much-enduring noble Odysseus heard it,

at once he fitted the lid, and quickly tied upon it

the intricate knot that the lady Circe once taught him.³³

And straightway the housekeeper called him to his bath,

450to step in the tub; and his heart was glad at the sight

of the hot water: for he had known no such tending³⁴

since he left the house of fair-haired Calypso —

though while he was there, he was tended like a god without fail.

And when the slave-women had bathed him and rubbed him with oil,

455and thrown a beautiful cloak around him, and a tunic,

he stepped from the bath and went to join the men at their wine.

And Nausicaa, with her beauty from the gods,³⁵

stood by the pillar of the close-built roof,

and marveled at Odysseus as her eyes took him in,

460and lifting her voice she spoke winged words to him:

"Farewell, stranger. And sometime, in your own fatherland,

remember me — for to me first you owe the price of your life."

Then Odysseus of the many designs answered her:

"Nausicaa, daughter of great-hearted Alcinous:

465only may Zeus grant it so — the loud-thundering lord of Hera —

that I go home and look upon my day of homecoming:

then even there I would pray to you as to a god,

always, all my days. For you saved my life, girl."³⁶

He spoke, and went to his seat beside King Alcinous.

470And already they were serving portions and mixing the wine,

and the herald came near, leading the trusted singer,

Demodocus, honored among the people, and seated him

in the middle of the feasters, leaning him on a tall pillar.

And then Odysseus of the many designs called the herald —

475cutting off a slice of the chine, with more left over,

of the white-tusked hog, rich fat along it either side:

"Herald — here, take this cut of meat to Demodocus,

so he may eat; and I will pay my respects to him, for all my grief.

For among all men upon the earth, singers³⁷

480have their share of honor and reverence, because the Muse

has taught them her paths, and loves the tribe of singers."

So he spoke, and the herald carried it and set it in the hands

of the hero Demodocus; and he received it, and his heart was glad.

And their hands went out to the good things spread before them.

485But when they had put away desire for food and drink,

then Odysseus of the many designs said to Demodocus:

"Demodocus, I praise you beyond all mortal men.

Either the Muse taught you, Zeus' daughter, or Apollo:

for all in due order you sing the fate of the Achaeans —

490all they did and suffered, all the Achaeans' labors —

as if you had been there yourself, or heard it from one who was.³⁸

But come now, change your path: sing the making of the horse

of wood, which Epeius built, and Athena with him —

the snare that noble Odysseus brought up into the citadel,

495filled with the men who sacked Ilium.

If you tell me this tale too in its due measure,

then I will proclaim at once to all mankind³⁹

how the god of his grace has given you divine song."

So he spoke; and the singer, stirred by the god, began, and made the song appear,⁴⁰

500taking it up where the Argives had boarded their well-benched ships

and were sailing away, after casting fire on their camp,

while those others, around famous Odysseus, already

sat in the Trojans' gathering-place, hidden inside the horse:

for the Trojans themselves had dragged it up into the citadel.

505So it stood there, and they talked on and on, undecided,

sitting around it; and three ways the counsel pleased them:

to split the hollow timber with the pitiless bronze,

or drag it to the height and hurl it down the rocks,

or leave it standing, a great offering to appease the gods —

510and that was the way it was to end at last:

for it was their portion to perish when the city took within it

the great horse of wood, where all the best of the Argives

sat carrying death and doom to the Trojans.

And he sang how the sons of the Achaeans sacked the city,

515pouring from the horse, leaving their hollow ambush;

he sang how they ravaged the steep city, each man his own way,

and how Odysseus went, like Ares himself, to the house

of Deiphobus, with godlike Menelaus beside him;

and there, he sang, he dared the grimmest fight of all —

520and conquered, in the end, through great-hearted Athena.

This the famous singer sang. And Odysseus

melted: the tears from under his eyelids wet his cheeks.

As a woman weeps, fallen on the body of her dear husband⁴¹

who has gone down before his city and his people,

525warding the pitiless day from his town and his children:

she sees him dying, gasping his last,

and pours herself around him with a high thin cry; and behind her

the spearmen, beating her back and shoulders with their spears,

lead her away into slavery, to labor and misery,

530and her cheeks are wasted with a grief most pitiful:

so pitiful were the tears Odysseus let fall from under his brows.

From all the others he hid the tears he shed;

Alcinous alone remarked him and noticed,

sitting beside him, and heard his heavy groaning.

535At once he spoke among the oar-loving Phaeacians:

"Hear me, leaders and counselors of the Phaeacians —

and let Demodocus still his clear-voiced lyre now:

for what he sings does not give joy to all alike.

Since the hour we supped, and the godlike singer rose,

540since then the stranger has never ceased

his grieving lament. Great sorrow, surely, has fenced his heart around.

Come, let the singer hold, so that we may all take pleasure

alike, hosts and guest together: far better so.

For all this has been made ready for our honored guest —

545his sending, and the friendly gifts we give him in our love.

As dear as a brother is the stranger and the suppliant⁴²

to any man whose wits have even a little reach.

So do not hide now, behind shrewd calculations,

whatever I ask you. To speak out is the fairer way.

550Tell the name they call you there by, your mother and your father⁴³

and the others, in the town and dwelling round about.

For no one among mankind is altogether nameless,

base man or noble, once he has come into the world:

parents lay a name on every child they bear.

555And tell me your land, your people, and your city,

so that our ships may carry you there, plotting the course by thought:⁴⁴

for the Phaeacians have no steersmen,

no steering-oars at all, such as other ships carry:

the ships themselves know the thoughts and minds of men,

560and know the cities and rich fields of every

people, and swiftest of all things cross the gulf of the salt sea

wrapped in mist and cloud; and never do they fear

harm or wreck on any crossing.

Yet this I once heard my father Nausithous⁴⁵

565say: he would tell us that Poseidon looked on us with anger

because we are safe escorts of all men without distinction;

and he said that one day, as a well-made ship of the Phaeacian men

came home over the misted sea from such a sending,

the god would smash it, and pile a great mountain round our city.

570So the old man said. And these things the god may accomplish,

or may leave unaccomplished, as pleases his own heart.

But come, tell me this, and tell it to me truly:

where have you wandered? To what countries of men

have you come — the peoples, the cities well-lived-in —

575both the harsh among them, the savage and unjust,⁴⁶

and the kind to strangers, whose hearts fear the gods?

And tell why you weep, and mourn within your heart,

when you hear the fate of the Argive Danaans and of Ilium.

That fate the gods made; they spun that destruction for men,⁴⁷

580so that there might be a song for those still to come.

Did some kinsman of yours die before Ilium —

a good man, a wife's father, a daughter's husband? — those who stand

closest after our own blood and stock;

or perhaps a companion, a man dear to your heart,

585a good man? For no less than a brother⁴⁸

is a companion who is clear-headed and true."