Odyssey 10.56 · Book 10, lines 56–58
Ashore again, a hurried meal
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ἔνθα δʼ ἐπʼ ἠπείρου βῆμεν καὶ ἀφυσσάμεθʼ ὕδωρ, αἶψα δὲ δεῖπνον ἕλοντο θοῇς παρὰ νηυσὶν ἑταῖροι. αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ σίτοιό τʼ ἐπασσάμεθʼ ἠδὲ ποτῆτος.
There we stepped ashore and drew water, and quickly my comrades took a meal beside the swift ships. But when we had tasted food and drink,
Word by word
The setting
Driven back to Aeolia by the loosed winds, Odysseus and his crew come ashore again on the island of the wind-king.
A note on this passage
Back on Aeolus's shore, the men go through the ordinary motions of landfall, fetching water and eating a hurried meal by the beached ships. The formula of the shipboard meal returns, steady and familiar.
The calm routine sits against the shame of why they are here. The type-scene that usually marks a safe arrival now marks a humiliating return, the crew eating in the shadow of the gift they wasted the day before.
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Odyssey 10.56 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/odyssey/10.56/