Book 7

So he prayed there, the much-enduring brilliant Odysseus,and the strength of the mules carried the girl toward the city.And she, when she came to her father's glorious house,halted in the doorway, and her brothers stood about herlike the deathless gods, and they loosed the mules from under the wagonand carried the clothing inside.She herself went to her chamber; and an old woman kindled fire for her,an Apeiran crone, her chamberlain Eurymedusa,whom ships once brought from Apeira;and they chose her out as a prize of honor for Alcinous, since over allthe Phaeacians he ruled, and the people heard him as a god;she had raised white-armed Nausicaa in the halls.She kindled her fire and made ready the supper within.And then Odysseus rose to go into the city; and Athenapoured a thick mist about him, with kindly thought for Odysseus,lest any of the great-hearted Phaeacians meeting himshould mock him with words and ask who he was.But when he was about to enter the lovely city,there the goddess met him, bright-eyed Athena,like a young maiden bearing a pitcher.She stood before him, and brilliant Odysseus questioned her:"My child, would you guide me to the house of the manAlcinous, who rules among these people?For I too have come here, a stranger much-tried,from a far land; and so I know no manof those who hold this city and this land."Then the goddess answered him, bright-eyed Athena:"Then, stranger and father, the house you bid me show,I will show you, since it stands near my blameless father's.But come, walk so in silence, and I will lead the way,and do not look at any man nor question him.For these men do not well endure strangers,nor do they welcome and love whoever comes from elsewhere.Trusting in their swift ships,they cross the great gulf, since the Earth-shaker gave it them;their ships are swift as a wing or a thought."So speaking, Pallas Athena led the wayswiftly; and he followed in the footsteps of the goddess.And the ship-famed Phaeacians did not mark himcoming through the city among them; for Athenaof the fair braids, the dread goddess, did not suffer it — she poureda wondrous mist over him, with kindly thought in her heart.And Odysseus marveled at the harbors and the trim ships,and the assembly places of the heroes themselves, and the long wallstowering, fitted with stakes, a wonder to behold.But when they came to the king's glorious house,the goddess began the speech to him, bright-eyed Athena:"Here, stranger and father, is the house you asked meto show you; and you will find the Zeus-nourished kingsfeasting at the feast. Go in, and in your heartfear nothing; for a bold man proves better in alldeeds, even if he comes from another land.First you will find the mistress in the halls;Arete is her name, and it is a true name, and from the same parentsshe comes who bore Alcinous the king.Nausithous first did Poseidon the Earth-shakerbeget, with Periboea, the best in beauty of women,the youngest daughter of great-hearted Eurymedon,who once was king over the overweening Giants.But he destroyed his reckless people, and himself perished;and with her Poseidon lay and begot a son,great-hearted Nausithous, who ruled among the Phaeacians;and Nausithous begot Rhexenor and Alcinous.Rhexenor, being childless, the silver-bowed Apollo struckas a bridegroom in his hall, leaving one only child,Arete; and Alcinous made her his wife,and honored her as no other woman on earth is honored,all the women who now keep house beneath their husbands.So is she honored, and is honored in heart above allby her dear children and by Alcinous himselfand by the people, who look on her as a godand greet her with words when she walks through the city.For she herself lacks nothing of good understanding;with her good mind she dissolves quarrels even among men.If she is kindly minded toward you in her heart,then there is hope that you will see your loved ones and reachyour high-roofed house and your own native land."So speaking, bright-eyed Athena departedover the barren sea, and left lovely Scheria,and came to Marathon and wide-streeted Athens,and entered the close-built house of Erechtheus. But Odysseuswent toward the famous house of Alcinous; and his heartpondered many things as he stood, before he reached the bronze threshold.For as the gleam of the sun was it, or of the moon,through the high-roofed house of great-hearted Alcinous.For bronze walls were fitted to it here and there,from the threshold to the inner room, and about it ran a cornice of blue;and golden doors closed the close-built house within;and silver doorposts stood on the bronze threshold,and a silver lintel above, and a golden handle.And on either side were dogs of gold and silver,which Hephaestus wrought with his cunning mindto guard the house of great-hearted Alcinous,deathless and ageless all their days.And within, seats were set along the wall here and there,from the threshold through to the inner room, and on them robes,fine and well-woven, were laid, the work of women.There the leaders of the Phaeacians satdrinking and eating; for they had always plenty.And golden youths on well-built pedestalsstood holding in their hands blazing torches,lighting the night through the hall for the feasters.And fifty slave women in the house —some grind the apple-hued grain at the mills,and others weave at the looms and twirl the spindles,seated, like the leaves of a tall poplar;and from the close-woven linen cloth drips liquid oil.As the Phaeacians are skilled above all menin driving a swift ship on the sea, so the womenare skilled at the loom; for Athena gave them beyond othersto know lovely works and good minds.And outside the courtyard, near the doors, is a great orchardof four acres; and a hedge runs round it on both sides.There tall trees grow luxuriant,pear trees and pomegranates and apple trees with shining fruit,and sweet figs and flourishing olives.Their fruit never perishes nor failsin winter or in summer, but lasts the year; and everthe West Wind blowing brings some to bud and ripens others.Pear upon pear grows old, apple upon apple,and cluster upon cluster of grapes, and fig upon fig.And there a richly fruiting vineyard is rooted,one part of it a sun-parched drying-floor in a smooth placeis drying in the sun, and others they are gathering,and others they tread; and in front are unripe grapesshedding their blossom, and others are darkening.And there are ordered garden beds along the farthest row,of every kind, shining the year through;and in it are two springs; one spreads through all the garden,and the other gushes from the other side, beneath the courtyard's threshold,toward the high house, whence the townsmen drew water.Such, then, in Alcinous' house were the shining gifts of the gods.There the much-enduring brilliant Odysseus stood and gazed.But when he had gazed at all in his heart,he stepped swiftly over the threshold into the house,and found the leaders and counselors of the Phaeacianspouring libations from cups to the keen-sighted Argeiphontes,to whom they poured last, whenever they thought of bed.And the much-enduring brilliant Odysseus went through the hallholding the thick mist that Athena had poured about him,until he came to Arete and King Alcinous.And about Arete's knees Odysseus cast his arms,and then the wondrous mist poured away from him again.And they fell silent, seeing the man through the hall;they marveled as they looked. And Odysseus made his prayer:"Arete, daughter of godlike Rhexenor,to your husband and your knees I come, after much toil,and to these feasters; may the gods grant them to livein blessing, and may each leave to his childrenhis possessions in the halls and the honor the people gave him;but for me, speed my convoy to reach my homelandswiftly, since I have long suffered sorrows far from my loved ones."So speaking, he sat down on the hearth in the ashesbeside the fire; and all of them fell hushed in silence.And at last the old hero Echeneus spoke among them,who was the eldest of the Phaeacian menand excelled in speech, knowing many ancient things;he, with kindly thought, addressed them and said:"Alcinous, this is not the better way, nor is it fitting,that the stranger sit on the ground at the hearth in the ashes,while these men hold back, awaiting your word.Come, raise the stranger and seat him on a silver-studded chair,and command the heraldsto mix the wine, so that we may pour a libation to Zeus who delights in thunder,who attends reverent suppliants;and let the housekeeper give the stranger supper from what is in the house."But when the sacred strength of Alcinous heard this,he took Odysseus by the hand, the clever-minded, full of devices,raised him from the hearth and seated him on a shining chair,rousing his son, the blameless Laodamas,who sat beside him, and he loved him most.And a handmaid came and poured water for washing from a pitcherover a silver basin, from a fair golden jug,to wash himself; and beside him she drew up a polished table.And the honored housekeeper brought and set out bread,laying on many dishes, giving freely of what was there.And the much-enduring brilliant Odysseus drank and ate.And then the strength of Alcinous spoke to a herald:"Pontonous, mix the bowl and pour the wineto all throughout the hall, so that we may pour a libation to Zeus who delights in thunder,who attends reverent suppliants."So he spoke, and Pontonous mixed the honey-hearted wine,and made the first offering, and served it to all in cups.But when they had poured libations and drunk as much as their heart wished,Alcinous addressed them and said:"Hear me, leaders and counselors of the Phaeacians,that I may say what my heart in my breast commands me.Now, having feasted, go home and lie down;and at dawn, summoning the elders, more of them,we will entertain the stranger in the halls and offerfair sacred things to the gods, and then we will take thoughtfor his convoy, so that the stranger, without toil or grief,by our convoy may reach his native landrejoicing and swiftly, even if it lies very far away,and suffer no evil or harm on the way,before he sets foot on his own land; and there thereafterhe shall suffer whatever fate and the heavy Spinnersspun for him with their thread when his mother bore him.But if one of the immortals has come down from heaven,then the gods are planning something else in this.For always before now the gods have shown themselves plainlyto us, whenever we make glorious hecatombs,and they feast beside us, sitting where we sit.And if some solitary traveler meets them, going alone,they do not hide themselves at all, since we are near of kin to them,even as the Cyclopes are, and the wild tribes of Giants.Answering him, the crafty Odysseus said:"Alcinous, let some other thing trouble your mind; for I at leastam not like the deathless gods who hold the wide heaven,not in body nor in stature, but like mortal men.Whatever men you know to bear the most misery,to them in their griefs I could compare myself.And I could tell of even more evils still,all that I have suffered by the will of the gods.But let me eat, grieved though I am;for nothing is more shameless than the hateful belly,which forces a man to remember it by necessity,though he be utterly worn out and have grief in his heart,as I too have grief in my heart, and it everbids me eat and drink, and makes me forget allthat I have suffered, and commands me to be filled.But do you bestir yourselves at the appearing of dawn,so that you may set wretched me on my native land,though I have suffered much; and let my life leave me when I have seenmy possessions, my slaves, and my great high-roofed house."So he spoke, and all of them praised him and urgedthat the stranger be escorted, since he had spoken fitly.But when they had poured libations and drunk as much as their heart wished,they went each to his own house to lie down;and the brilliant Odysseus was left in the hall,and beside him Arete and godlike Alcinoussat; and the handmaids cleared away the gear of the feast.And white-armed Arete began the speech among them;for she knew the cloak and tunic, seeing the clothingfair, which she herself had made with her women handmaids;and she spoke, and winged words flew from her:"Stranger, I myself will first ask you this:who among men are you, and from where? Who gave you these clothes?Do you not say you came here wandering over the sea?"Answering her, the crafty Odysseus said:"Hard it is, O queen, to tell in ordermy sorrows, since the gods of heaven gave me many;but this I will tell you, which you ask me and inquire.There is an island, Ogygia, lying far out in the sea;there the daughter of Atlas, the guileful Calypso,of the fair braids, a dread goddess, dwells; and no oneconsorts with her, neither of gods nor of mortal men.But a god led wretched me to her hearth,alone, since Zeus smote my swift ship with a bright lightning boltand shattered it in the midst of the wine-dark sea.There all my noble companions perished,but I, taking the keel of the curved ship in my arms,was borne along nine days; and on the tenth dark nightthe gods brought me to the island Ogygia, where Calypsoof the fair braids, a dread goddess, dwells, who took me inand kindly loved and fed me, and said she would make medeathless and ageless all my days;but she never persuaded the heart in my breast.There I stayed seven years, steadfast, and everwet with tears the immortal clothes Calypso gave me;but when the eighth year came round upon me,then she urged me and commanded me to set out,at the message of Zeus, or her own mind turned.She sent me off on a well-bound raft, and gave me much,food and sweet wine, and clothed me in deathless garments,and sent a wind, harmless and gentle.Seventeen days I sailed, traversing the sea,and on the eighteenth the shadowy mountains appearedof your land, and my dear heart rejoiced,wretched as I was; for I was still to meet with misery,much of it, which Poseidon the Earth-shaker stirred up against me,who, hurling winds upon me, bound up my course,and roused the unspeakable sea, and no wavesuffered me to be borne on the raft, groaning thickly.Then a storm scattered the raft; but Iswam and cut through this gulf, until wind and watercarrying me brought me near your land.And there the wave would have overpowered me as I came out on shore,hurling me against great rocks and a joyless place;but I gave back and swam again, until I cameto a river, where the place seemed best to me,smooth of rocks, and there was shelter from the wind.I fell out, gathering my spirit, and immortal night came on.And I, apart from the heaven-fed river,stepped out and lay down in the bushes, and heaped leavesover me; and a god poured endless sleep upon me.There among the leaves, grieved at heart,I slept all night, and on into dawn and the middle of the day.The sun set, and sweet sleep released me.And I marked your daughter's handmaids on the shore,playing, and she herself was among them, like the goddesses;I supplicated her; and she did not miss the good thought,such as you would not expect a younger one, meeting a man,to have; for the young are always reckless.She gave me food in plenty and gleaming wine,and bathed me in the river and gave me these clothes.This I have told you truthfully, grieved though I am."Then Alcinous answered him and said:"Stranger, my daughter truly did not think of what was fittingin this, that she did not bring you with her women handmaidsinto our house, since you first supplicated her."Answering him, the crafty Odysseus said:"Hero, do not blame the blameless girl for that;she did bid me follow with her handmaids,but I did not wish it, from fear and from shame,lest your own heart be angered at the sight;for the tribes of men on earth are quick to resentment."Then Alcinous answered him and said:"Stranger, the dear heart in my breast is not suchas to be angry for nothing; better is all that is fitting.O father Zeus and Athena and Apollo,if only you were such as you are, and thought as I do,to have my daughter and be called my son-in-law,remaining here; I would give you a house and possessions,if you were willing to stay; but no one will hold you back unwilling,not of the Phaeacians; may that never be dear to father Zeus.And I will mark out this convoy for you, so that you may know well,for tomorrow; then you, overcome by sleep,shall lie down, and they shall row over the calm, until you cometo your homeland and house, and wherever is dear to you,even if it lies much farther off than Euboea,which they say is the farthest away, those of our peoplewho saw it, when they brought golden-haired Rhadamanthysto look upon Tityus, the son of Earth.And they went there and accomplished it without toilon that same day, and came home again.And you yourself will know in your mind how the bestmy ships are, and my young men at tossing the salt sea with the oar."So he spoke, and the much-enduring brilliant Odysseus rejoiced,and praying aloud he spoke, and named the word:"Father Zeus, may he bring all that he has said to fulfillment —Alcinous! Then his fame over the grain-giving earthwould be unquenchable, and I would reach my homeland."So these two spoke such things to one another;and white-armed Arete commanded the handmaidsto set a bed beneath the portico and throw on fair blanketsof purple, and spread rugs over them,and put on woolen cloaks to cover him over.And they went from the hall, torches in their hands.But when they had hastened and made the close-spread bed,they stood beside Odysseus and urged him with words:"Rise and come to bed, stranger; your bed is made."So they spoke, and to him it seemed welcome to lie down.So there the much-enduring brilliant Odysseus slepton the pierced bed beneath the echoing portico;and Alcinous lay in the inmost chamber of the high house,and beside him his wife, the queen, made ready the bed and bedding.

So Odysseus, who had suffered so much, prayed there,and the mules pulled the girl toward the city.When she reached her father's famous house,she stopped in the doorway, and her brothers crowded around herlooking like gods; they unhitched the mules from the wagonand carried the clothes inside.She went to her room, and an old woman lit a fire for her,an old slave from Apeira, her maid Eurymedusa,whom ships had once brought from Apeira.They had picked her out as a gift for Alcinous, because he ruledall the Phaeacians, and the people obeyed him like a god.She was the one who raised white-armed Nausicaa in the house.She lit the fire and got supper ready inside.Then Odysseus got up to go into the city, and Athenapoured a thick mist around him, wishing him well,so that no proud Phaeacian who met himwould mock him with questions about who he was.But when he was about to enter the lovely city,the goddess met him there, bright-eyed Athena,looking like a young girl carrying a water jug.She stood in front of him, and great Odysseus asked her:"My child, could you show me the house of the manAlcinous, who is king over these people?I've come here as a stranger who's been through a lot,from a far country, and I know nobodyof the people who live in this town and land."The goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:"Then I'll show you the house you're asking me for,stranger — it stands close to my own good father's.But come along quietly, and I'll lead the way,and don't stare at anyone or ask questions.These people don't really put up with strangers,and they don't welcome and befriend anyone who comes from elsewhere.They trust their fast shipsto cross the huge open sea, because the sea god gave them that gift.Their ships are as quick as a bird's wing, as quick as a thought."With that, Pallas Athena led the wayquickly, and he followed in the goddess's footsteps.The famous sailors of Phaeacia never noticed himwalking through the town among them, because Athenawith her lovely braids, that powerful goddess, wouldn't let them — she poureda magic mist over him, because she wished him well.Odysseus was amazed at the harbors and the balanced ships,at the meeting places of the heroes themselves, and the longhigh walls studded with sharp stakes — a wonder to look at.When they reached the king's famous house,the goddess spoke to him first, bright-eyed Athena:"Stranger, this is the house you asked meto show you. You'll find the kings raised by Zeusat their feast. Go inside, and in your heartdon't be afraid — a bold man always does betterin everything, even if he comes from some other land.First you'll meet the lady of the house.Her name is Arete, and it fits her, because she comes from the same parentsas Alcinous the king.The sea god Poseidon first fatheredNausithous with Periboea, the most beautiful of women,the youngest daughter of great-hearted Eurymedon,who was once king over the arrogant Giants.But he destroyed his reckless people, and died himself.Poseidon slept with her and had a son,great-hearted Nausithous, who ruled the Phaeacians.Nausithous had two sons, Rhexenor and Alcinous.Apollo with the silver bow struck Rhexenor downas a bridegroom in his own hall, and he left only one child,Arete. Alcinous married her,and honored her more than any other woman on earth,more than any woman who now keeps a house under her husband.That's how much she is honored, from the heart,by her own children, by Alcinous himself,and by the people, who look at her like a godand greet her when she walks through the town.She's no fool either — she has good sense.When she wants to, she can settle quarrels between men.If she feels friendly toward you in her heart,then there's hope you'll see your family and get hometo your high-roofed house and your own homeland."With that, bright-eyed Athena leftover the barren sea, leaving lovely Scheria behind.She came to Marathon and wide-streeted Athens,and went into the solid house of Erechtheus. Meanwhile Odysseuswalked toward Alcinous' famous house, and his heartturned over many things as he stood there, before he reached the bronze threshold.The house of great-hearted Alcinous gleamedthrough its high roof like the light of the sun or the moon.Bronze walls ran along it on every side,from the doorway to the back room, with a band of blue enamel around the top.Golden doors shut off the solid house inside.Silver doorposts stood on the bronze threshold,with a silver lintel above them and a gold handle.On each side were dogs of gold and silver,made by Hephaestus with his clever skillto guard the house of great-hearted Alcinous.They never die and never age, forever.Inside, seats were set along the wall on both sides,all the way from the doorway to the back room, and on themfine, tightly woven cloths were spread out, made by women.There the leaders of the Phaeacians satdrinking and eating, since they always had plenty.Golden statues of young men stood on well-built pedestals,holding blazing torches in their handsto light up the hall at night for the diners.Fifty slave women worked in the house:some ground the golden grain at the mills,others wove at the looms and spun the thread,sitting still, like leaves on a tall poplar.Oil trickles wet from the close-woven linen cloth.The Phaeacians are the best men in the worldat driving a fast ship over the sea, and the womenare just as skilled at weaving; Athena gave them that,beyond everyone — skill in beautiful work and good minds.Outside the courtyard, near the doors, is a big orchardof four acres, with a hedge running around it on both sides.Tall trees grow there, thick with life:pear trees, pomegranates, apple trees heavy with shining fruit,sweet fig trees, and blooming olive trees.Their fruit never rots or runs out,not in winter or summer — it lasts all year. And the west windblowing always makes some buds grow and ripens others.Pear grows old on pear, apple on apple,grape cluster on grape cluster, fig on fig.A rich vineyard is rooted there too.One part of it is a flat drying-floor,drying in the sun; others are being picked,others being trampled; and in front are young sour grapesjust dropping their blossom, while still others are turning dark.Neat garden beds grow along the far end,all kinds of plants, green and shining all year.Two springs run there: one waters the whole garden,the other flows out on the other side, under the courtyard wall,toward the tall house, where the townspeople drew their water.Those were the shining gifts of the gods in Alcinous' house.Odysseus, who had suffered so much, stood and stared.When he had looked at everything he wanted in his heart,he quickly stepped over the threshold into the house.He found the leaders and rulers of the Phaeacianspouring out wine from cups to sharp-eyed Hermes,to whom they always poured last, when they thought of going to bed.Odysseus, who had suffered so much, walked through the hallwearing the thick mist Athena had poured around him,until he reached Arete and King Alcinous.He threw his arms around Arete's knees,and then the magic mist poured off him again.The people went silent, seeing a man in the hall.They stared in amazement, and Odysseus prayed:"Arete, daughter of godlike Rhexenor,I come to your husband, to your knees, after much hardship,and to these diners. May the gods give them prosperityas long as they live, and may each one leave to his childrenhis property in the house and the honor the people gave him.But for me — hurry my escort home,quickly, since I've suffered for so long, far from my loved ones."Having said this, he sat down on the hearth in the ashesby the fire, and everyone fell totally silent.At last an old hero, Echeneus, spoke up.He was the oldest man among the Phaeaciansand the best speaker, and he knew many old stories.He meant well and said to them:"Alcinous, this isn't right or proper,for the stranger to sit on the ground in the asheswhile these men wait and hold back, waiting for you to speak.Come on — lift the stranger up and seat him on a silver-studded chair,and tell the heraldsto mix wine, so we can pour a drink to Zeus who loves thunder,who watches over respectful beggars.And let the housekeeper give the stranger dinner from what we have."When noble Alcinous heard this,he took crafty Odysseus by the hand,lifted him from the hearth and sat him in a bright chair,waking up his son, the blameless Laodamas,who sat closest to him and was his favorite.A maid brought a pitcher and poured water for washinginto a silver basin, from a beautiful gold jug,so he could wash, and she pulled a polished table up beside him.The honored housekeeper brought bread and set it out,piling on lots of food, giving him what they had.Odysseus, who had suffered so much, ate and drank.Then noble Alcinous spoke to a herald:"Pontonous, mix a bowl and pour the winefor everyone in the hall, so we can pour a drink to Zeus who loves thunder,who watches over respectful beggars."He spoke, and Pontonous mixed the sweet honey wineand served it out to everyone in cups, after the first offering.When they had poured their drinks and had as much as they wanted,Alcinous spoke to them and said:"Listen, leaders and rulers of the Phaeacians,and I'll say what my heart tells me.Now that we've eaten, go home and go to bed.At dawn, call more of the elders together,and we'll host the stranger in the halls and offerfine sacrifices to the gods, and then we'll thinkabout getting him home, so that the stranger, with no trouble or grief,with our escort, can reach his own homeland,happy and quickly, even if it's very far away,and so he suffers no harm or trouble on the waybefore he sets foot on his own land. After thathe'll suffer whatever fate and the heavy Fatesspun for him with their thread the day his mother bore him.But if one of the gods has come down from heaven,then the gods have something else planned.Because up to now the gods have always shown themselves clearlyto us, whenever we make fine sacrifices,and they sit and feast with us, right where we sit.And if some traveler meets one walking alone,they don't hide themselves, because we're close to the gods —not like the Cyclopes and the wild tribes of Giants.Crafty Odysseus answered him:"Alcinous, don't worry your mind about that — I'm notlike the immortal gods who hold the wide sky,not in body or in build. I'm just a mortal man.Whoever you know among men who suffers the most misery —I could be compared to them in pain.I could tell you even worse things,all that I've suffered by the will of the gods.But let me eat, sad as I am.Nothing is more shameless than a hungry belly.It forces a man to think about it, whether he wants to or not,even when he's worn out and grieving in his heart.That's how I am: I have grief in my heart, but my bellykeeps telling me to eat and drink, and it makes me forgeteverything I've been through, and tells me to fill up.You should get ready when dawn appears,so you can put me, poor wretch, back on my homeland,even though I've suffered so much. I'd gladly die once I've seenmy property, my servants, and my big high-roofed house."He spoke, and all of them agreed and told himthey'd send the stranger home, since he'd spoken fairly.When they had poured their drinks and had as much as they wanted,each one went off to his own house to sleep.But Odysseus stayed behind in the hall,with Arete beside him and godlike Alcinous.The maids cleared away the remains of the feast.White-armed Arete was the first to speak to them.She had recognized the cloak and tunic,the beautiful clothes she had made herself with her women.She spoke to him, and her words flew:"Stranger, I'll ask you this first myself:who are you, and where are you from? Who gave you those clothes?Aren't you the one who got here wandering over the sea?"Crafty Odysseus answered her:"It's hard, my queen, to tell the whole storyof my troubles, because the gods of heaven gave me many.But this I'll tell you, since you're asking.There's an island called Ogygia, far out in the sea.Atlas's daughter lives there, tricky Calypso,a beautiful woman with a powerful goddess's power, and nobodysleeps with her — no god and no mortal man.But some god led me, poor wretch, to her hearth,all alone, after Zeus struck my fast ship with a bright lightning boltand smashed it in the middle of the wine-dark sea.All my good crewmen died there,and I grabbed the keel of the curved ship in my armsand was carried for nine days. On the tenth black nightthe gods brought me to the island of Ogygia, where Calypsoof the lovely braids, a powerful goddess, lives. She took me in,cared for me kindly, and fed me, and said she'd make meimmortal and never aging, forever.But she never convinced my heart.I stayed there seven whole years, and I alwayssoaked the immortal clothes Calypso gave me with tears.But when the eighth year came around,she told me to leave — she urged me on,because Zeus had sent word, or maybe she changed her mind.She sent me off on a well-made raft and gave me lots of things:food and sweet wine, and dressed me in immortal clothes,and sent a wind, gentle and harmless.I sailed seventeen days across the sea,and on the eighteenth the shadowy mountains appeared —your land — and my heart was glad,poor wretch that I was, because I still had misery ahead,a lot of it, which Poseidon the sea god stirred up against me.He hurled winds at me and blocked my path,and whipped up a huge sea, and the waveswouldn't let my raft float. I groaned in agony.Then a storm smashed the raft apart, and Iswam and cut through the ocean, until wind and waterpushed me up close to your land.There the surf would have finished me as I came ashore,slamming me against big rocks in a joyless place.But I pulled back and swam again, until I reacheda river — that looked like the best spot to me,smooth, with no rocks, and shelter from the wind.I fell down, got my breath back, and immortal night came on.I got out of the river and away from the water,and lay down in the bushes, and heaped leavesover me, and a god poured endless sleep on me.I slept there in the leaves, sick at heart,all night, through dawn, and into the middle of the day.The sun went down, and sweet sleep let me go.I noticed your daughter's maids on the beach,playing, and she was there among them, looking like a goddess.I begged her for help, and she showed good sense —the kind of sense you wouldn't expect from a young personmeeting a stranger, since the young are usually careless.She gave me plenty of food and sparkling wine,and bathed me in the river and gave me these clothes.I've told you the truth, sad as it makes me."Then Alcinous answered him:"Stranger, my daughter didn't do the right thingwhen she didn't bring you home with her maids —since you asked her first for help."Crafty Odysseus answered him:"Hero, don't blame the innocent girl for that.She did tell me to follow along with her maids,but I didn't want to — I was afraid and ashamed,in case you got angry when you saw me.We humans on earth get jealous easily."Then Alcinous answered him:"Stranger, my heart isn't the kindto get angry over nothing. I'd rather do what's proper.I wish — father Zeus, Athena, Apollo —that you were just as you are, and thought like me.I'd have you marry my daughter and be called my son-in-law,staying right here. I'd give you a house and property,if you wanted to stay. But nobody will hold you back against your will —none of the Phaeacians. I hope father Zeus never allows that.And I'll arrange your escort, so you know for sure,for tomorrow. Then you'll lie asleep, overcome,and they'll row over the calm sea until you reachyour homeland and house, or wherever you want to be,even if it's much farther than Euboea,which they say is the farthest place away — our peoplesaw it, when they brought golden-haired Rhadamanthysto visit Tityus, the son of Earth.They went there and made the trip with no effortin a single day, and got home again.You'll find out for yourself how goodmy ships are, and my young men at rowing the salt sea."He spoke, and Odysseus, who had suffered so much, was glad,and he prayed out loud:"Father Zeus, may he bring to fulfillment everything he said —Alcinous! Then his fame across the grain-giving earthwould never die, and I would reach my homeland."So the two of them talked like this to each other.White-armed Arete told the maidsto set up a bed under the covered porch, and throw on beautifulpurple blankets, spread rugs on top,and put woolen cloaks over them for him to sleep under.The maids went out of the hall carrying torches.When they had hurried and made the solid bed,they stood next to Odysseus and told him:"Get up, stranger, come to bed — your bed is ready."They spoke, and lying down seemed welcome to him.So Odysseus, who had suffered so much, slept therein the carved bed under the echoing porch.Alcinous slept in a back room of the tall house,and his wife the queen lay beside him in the marriage bed.