Odyssey 10.270 · Book 10, line 270
So he spoke; and I answered
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ὣς ἔφατʼ, αὐτὰρ ἐγώ μιν ἀμειβόμενος προσέειπον·
So he spoke; but I, answering, addressed him:
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The setting
Eurylochus's plea is finished. This single closing line turns the floor back to Odysseus, whose reply comes next.
A note on this passage
A single formulaic line closes the plea and hands the scene back to Odysseus: ‘So he spoke; but I, answering, addressed him.’ It is pure connective tissue, the hinge between one speech and the next.
Yet the formula quietly reasserts who is telling this story. We are inside Odysseus's own narration to the Phaeacians, and the ‘I’ that answers is the same voice that has shaped every scene. The line marks the moment the captain overrides his frightened lieutenant — the refusal heard, and about to be set aside.
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