Odyssey 10.333 · Book 10, lines 333–335
Sheathe your sword
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Circe — ἀλλʼ ἄγε δὴ κολεῷ μὲν ἄορ θέο, νῶι δʼ ἔπειτα εὐνῆς ἡμετέρης ἐπιβείομεν, ὄφρα μιγέντε εὐνῇ καὶ φιλότητι πεποίθομεν ἀλλήλοισιν.
But come now, put your sword in its sheath, and then let us two go up onto our bed, so that, mingled in bed and love, we may trust each other.
Word by word
The setting
Circe, seeing that Odysseus cannot be charmed and now holds a drawn sword, changes course. She invites him to put up his blade and come to her bed, so that the two may learn to trust one another.
A note on this passage
Circe turns from threat to invitation in a single breath. The sword goes back in its sheath, and the two are to go to bed — the offer of intimacy standing in for a truce she cannot enforce by magic.
The reasoning she gives is trust: sharing a bed will let them believe in one another. But Odysseus, who has just watched his men turned to swine, hears an invitation to lower his guard. The scene is poised between seduction and trap, and the poem lets both readings stand until he answers.
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