Odyssey 6.214 · Book 6, lines 214–217
Clothes, oil, and a bath — then Odysseus speaks
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πὰρ δʼ ἄρα οἱ φᾶρός τε χιτῶνά τε εἵματʼ ἔθηκαν, δῶκαν δὲ χρυσέῃ ἐν ληκύθῳ ὑγρὸν ἔλαιον, ἤνωγον δʼ ἄρα μιν λοῦσθαι ποταμοῖο ῥοῇσιν. δή ῥα τότʼ ἀμφιπόλοισι μετηύδα δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς·
Beside him they set a cloak and a tunic for clothing; and they gave liquid olive oil in a golden flask, and bade him bathe in the river's streams. Then noble Odysseus spoke to the handmaids:
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The setting
The maids equip the castaway for a proper wash: fresh clothing, olive oil in a golden flask, and a place to bathe in the river. It is the guest-bath of hospitality, improvised on the shore.
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The bath of hospitality, assembled piece by piece: a mantle and tunic laid ready, oil for the skin in a golden flask, and the river for washing. The maids furnish everything a guest is owed and send him off to clean himself. It is a type-scene of welcome, performed for a naked, salt-crusted stranger on open sand.
The golden flask is a small, telling touch: even the picnic oil of the Phaeacians travels in gold, a first glimpse of the wealth of Alcinous's house. And notice the shape of the moment — before he will accept the full ritual, Odysseus opens his mouth. His first move as guest is to speak, and, as the next lines show, to take charge of his own exposure.
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