Odyssey 10.169 · Book 10, lines 169–173
He carries it to the black ship and wakes the men
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βῆν δὲ καταλοφάδεια φέρων ἐπὶ νῆα μέλαιναν ἔγχει ἐρειδόμενος, ἐπεὶ οὔ πως ἦεν ἐπʼ ὤμου χειρὶ φέρειν ἑτέρῃ· μάλα γὰρ μέγα θηρίον ἦεν. κὰδʼ δʼ ἔβαλον προπάροιθε νεός, ἀνέγειρα δʼ ἑταίρους μειλιχίοις ἐπέεσσι παρασταδὸν ἄνδρα ἕκαστον·
I set off, carrying it on my neck to the black ship, leaning on my spear, since there was no way to carry it on one shoulder with the other hand; for it was a very great beast. I threw it down before the ship, and I roused my companions with honeyed words, standing beside each man:
Word by word
The setting
The Laestrygonians have destroyed all the other ships; only this crew survives, and they have been lying by the shore in despair. Odysseus comes back with the stag.
A note on this passage
Odysseus hauls the trussed stag home. He carries it slung across the back of his neck, propping himself on his spear because the beast is too big to balance on one shoulder and steady with a single free hand. Reaching the black ship, he throws it down and goes among the men, waking each one with gentle words.
The detail of the load — too heavy for the ordinary carry — lets the size of the gift register in the body, not just the eye. And the ‘honeyed words,’ meilichioi epeessi, matter: these are men who have just watched eleven ships and most of their friends destroyed. Their captain comes back not with orders but with something to eat and a soft voice.
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