Odyssey 6.298 · Book 6, lines 298–300
Ask for the house of Alcinous
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καὶ τότε Φαιήκων ἴμεν ἐς πόλιν ἠδʼ ἐρέεσθαι δώματα πατρὸς ἐμοῦ μεγαλήτορος Ἀλκινόοιο. ῥεῖα δʼ ἀρίγνωτʼ ἐστί, καὶ ἂν πάϊς ἡγήσαιτο
then go into the Phaeacians' city and ask for the house of my father, great-hearted Alcinous. It is easily known — and even a child could lead you.
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The setting
Nausicaa finishes her directions. Once Odysseus judges she has reached home, he is to enter the city, ask for her father's house, and trust that anyone can point the way — even a child.
A note on this passage
The instructions close on a note of ease. Enter the town, ask for great-hearted Alcinous's house — it is unmistakable, a child could take you there. After all the careful maneuvering, the last step is simple, and Nausicaa says so plainly.
The detail flatters her father and his standing at once. In a small kingdom the king's house is the one everyone knows; that a child could guide a stranger to it measures Alcinous's place in the town more than any adjective could. And 'great-hearted' — μεγαλήτωρ, a formula for a hero — quietly readies the reader for the man whose hospitality will decide whether Odysseus, at last, gets his escort home.
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