Odyssey 10.368 · Book 10, lines 368–370
Golden jug, silver basin
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χέρνιβα δʼ ἀμφίπολος προχόῳ ἐπέχευε φέρουσα καλῇ χρυσείῃ, ὑπὲρ ἀργυρέοιο λέβητος, νίψασθαι· παρὰ δὲ ξεστὴν ἐτάνυσσε τράπεζαν.
A handmaid brought washing-water and poured it from a beautiful golden jug, over a silver basin, for washing; and beside me she drew up a polished table.
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The setting
The welcome continues: before the food, water is brought for the hands and a table set. Odysseus, narrating, lingers on the richness of Circe's household.
A note on this passage
A handmaid pours water from a golden jug over a silver basin so Odysseus can wash his hands, and a polished table is drawn up beside him. The service is the standard prelude to a meal, each vessel named for its richness.
The gold and silver keep insisting on the wealth and grace of the house. Homer builds the scene of comfort with real weight so that the refusal about to come will land against it. The finer the welcome, the sharper Odysseus's inability to take part.
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