Odyssey 10.516 · Book 10, lines 516–518
Dig the trench
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ἔνθα δʼ ἔπειθʼ, ἥρως, χριμφθεὶς πέλας, ὥς σε κελεύω, βόθρον ὀρύξαι, ὅσον τε πυγούσιον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα, ἀμφʼ αὐτῷ δὲ χοὴν χεῖσθαι πᾶσιν νεκύεσσιν,
There then, hero, drawing close, as I bid you, dig a trench, about a cubit this way and that, and around it pour a libation to all the dead.
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The setting
Still Circe's instructions. Having named the place, she turns to the rite itself — the pit and the first offering poured for all the dead.
A note on this passage
The directions turn practical and exact. Standing close by the meeting of the rivers, Odysseus is to dig a pit a forearm's length on each side and pour around it an offering meant for all the dead at once.
The precision is the point. This is ritual, and ritual is measured — a cubit each way, a libation poured in fixed order. Homer treats contact with the dead as a technique with rules, not a mood. Get the steps right and the dead will answer; the awe is held inside the exactness of the recipe.
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