Odyssey 5.22 · Book 5, lines 22–27
Zeus grants it, and delegates
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Zeus — τέκνον ἐμόν, ποῖόν σε ἔπος φύγεν ἕρκος ὀδόντων. οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτον μὲν ἐβούλευσας νόον αὐτή, ὡς ἦ τοι κείνους Ὀδυσεὺς ἀποτίσεται ἐλθών; Τηλέμαχον δὲ σὺ πέμψον ἐπισταμένως, δύνασαι γάρ, ὥς κε μάλʼ ἀσκηθὴς ἣν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἵκηται, μνηστῆρες δʼ ἐν νηὶ· παλιμπετὲς ἀπονέωνται.
My child, what a word has escaped you, the barrier of your teeth. Did you not yourself devise this plan, that Odysseus should come and take revenge on those men? But send Telemachus skilfully, for you can, so that all unscathed he may reach his native land, and the suitors may sail back, foiled, in their ship.
Word by word
The setting
Zeus's reply. He teases Athena — the whole rescue was her own idea — and ratifies it: Odysseus will come home and punish the suitors. Then he assigns her the matching task of getting Telemachus safely past the ambush.
A note on this passage
Zeus answers with fond exasperation. This plan was hers all along, he reminds her, and he confirms it outright: Odysseus will return and make the suitors pay. Then he divides the labor — the homecoming is settled, and Athena herself is to see Telemachus home safely past the trap laid for him.
What is striking is how little Zeus does in person. He never orders Odysseus freed in this speech; he will hand that to Hermes, and he hands the son's rescue to Athena. Divine will on Olympus is delegated, distributed, run like an administration — the king of the gods governs by assignment. 'The barrier of your teeth' (ἕρκος ὀδόντων) is a stock phrase for the lips, and the easy formula matches the easy authority: Zeus decides by parceling the work out.
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