Odyssey 4.155 · Book 4, lines 155–160
Peisistratus confirms the son
Read the full text in our reader
τὸν δʼ αὖ Νεστορίδης Πεισίστρατος ἀντίον ηὔδα·
Peisistratus — Ἀτρεΐδη Μενέλαε διοτρεφές, ὄρχαμε λαῶν, κείνου μέν τοι ὅδʼ υἱὸς ἐτήτυμον, ὡς ἀγορεύεις· ἀλλὰ σαόφρων ἐστί, νεμεσσᾶται δʼ ἐνὶ θυμῷ ὧδʼ ἐλθὼν τὸ πρῶτον ἐπεσβολίας ἀναφαίνειν ἄντα σέθεν, τοῦ νῶι θεοῦ ὣς τερπόμεθʼ αὐδῇ.
And to him in turn Nestor's son Peisistratus spoke in reply: Son of Atreus, Menelaus, cherished by Zeus, leader of hosts, truly this is that man's son, as you say; but he is modest, and feels shame in his heart to come here thus for the first time and fling out rash words in the face of you, in whose voice we two delight as in a god's.
Word by word
The setting
Nestor's son Peisistratus has travelled with Telemachus as his escort. Seeing the boy weep, he answers Menelaus for him — confirming, at last, that the guest is indeed Odysseus's son, and excusing his silence as modesty before so honored a host.
A note on this passage
Peisistratus does the work Telemachus cannot. He confirms the identity Menelaus had only guessed — 'truly this is that man's son' — and, in the same breath, explains the tears as good manners: the boy is σαόφρων, sound-minded, and ashamed to speak up unbidden before his elder. The confirmation and the excuse come together.
The undercurrent is the courtesy code of xenia. To 'fling out words' (ἐπεσβολίας) in a host's face is exactly what the suitors do back in Ithaca; Telemachus's restraint marks him as the suitors' opposite. And the closing flattery — 'in your voice we delight as in a god's' — is not empty: it hands Menelaus the authority to speak, which is precisely what they have come to Sparta to receive.
Read the full commentary — and tap any word for its dictionary entry — in the interlinear reader.
Open Odyssey 4.155 in the full reader
Always open passages in the reader
From the Great Library
You are reading a page of the Odyssey — the whole book is free in our interlinear reader.
The Great Library Project presses the classics in their original languages, glossed word by word — free to read, always. Browse the whole library.
Also on our shelves:
Odyssey 4.155 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/odyssey/4.155/