Odyssey 6.195 · Book 6, lines 195–197
Daughter of Alcinous
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Φαίηκες μὲν τήνδε πόλιν καὶ γαῖαν ἔχουσιν, εἰμὶ δʼ ἐγὼ θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος Ἀλκινόοιο, τοῦ δʼ ἐκ Φαιήκων ἔχεται κάρτος τε βίη τε.
The Phaeacians hold this city and land, and I am the daughter of great-hearted Alcinous, on whom depend the strength and might of the Phaeacians.
Word by word
The setting
Nausicaa has promised the stranger clothing and guidance. Now she tells him where he has landed and who she is — the daughter of the Phaeacian king.
A note on this passage
In three lines Nausicaa places herself: the land belongs to the Phaeacians, she is the daughter of great-hearted Alcinous, and the kingdom's strength rests on him. It is the plainest of self-introductions, a princess naming her house.
But it is also a map for the stranger. She has just told him precisely whose goodwill he must win — the king on whom everything here depends. The whole next movement of the poem follows from this: the walk to the palace, the plea to Queen Arete, the escort that finally carries Odysseus home. A girl's introduction is quietly the hinge of his return.
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