Odyssey 10.519 · Book 10, lines 519–521
Milk, wine, water, and barley
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πρῶτα μελικρήτῳ, μετέπειτα δὲ ἡδέι οἴνῳ, τὸ τρίτον αὖθʼ ὕδατι· ἐπὶ δʼ ἄλφιτα λευκὰ παλύνειν. πολλὰ δὲ γουνοῦσθαι νεκύων ἀμενηνὰ κάρηνα,
first with honey-and-milk, then afterward with sweet wine, and a third time with water; and over it sprinkle white barley-meal. And earnestly implore the strengthless heads of the dead.
Word by word
The setting
Circe specifies the libation to the dead in its exact sequence, and the prayer that must follow it.
A note on this passage
The libation is laid out in order: first honey-and-milk, then sweet wine, a third pouring of water, and white barley scattered over the top. Only then does Odysseus pray, imploring the powerless heads of the dead.
The phrase to hold is ἀμενηνὰ κάρηνα, ‘strengthless heads.’ Homer's dead are not tormented or blessed; they are drained — shades emptied of menos, of force. The whole rite exists to lend them, for a moment, enough strength to speak. The sweet things poured into the pit are for creatures who have almost no life left to receive them.
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