Odyssey 3.475 · Book 3, lines 475–476
Nestor: yoke the horses
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Nestor — παῖδες ἐμοί, ἄγε Τηλεμάχῳ καλλίτριχας ἵππους ζεύξαθʼ ὑφʼ ἅρματʼ ἄγοντες, ἵνα πρήσσῃσιν ὁδοῖο.
My sons, come, yoke the fair-maned horses for Telemachus under the chariot, leading them, so that he may accomplish his journey.
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The setting
Nestor gives the order that launches the next leg of Telemachus's search: his sons are to harness a chariot-team for the journey overland to Menelaus at Sparta.
A note on this passage
Nestor's order is brief and entirely practical: his sons are to bring up the fair-maned horses and harness them under the chariot so the young man can get on the road. After a book of long reminiscence, the old man is suddenly all business, moving his guest along.
The undercurrent is the machinery of hospitality. A Homeric host does not merely feed and lodge a guest; he equips his departure — here a chariot and team, later the gifts and the escorting son. The verb πρήσσω, ‘accomplish, get through,’ treats the journey as a task to be completed, and Nestor's provision of transport is the host's share of accomplishing it. Sending the guest well on his way is the closing duty of xenia.
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