Odyssey 6.301 · Book 6, lines 301–303
No house like Alcinous's
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νήπιος· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι ἐοικότα τοῖσι τέτυκται δώματα Φαιήκων, οἷος δόμος Ἀλκινόοιο ἥρωος. ἀλλʼ ὁπότʼ ἄν σε δόμοι κεκύθωσι καὶ αὐλή,
an infant one. For the houses of the Phaeacians are not built at all like those, such is the house of the hero Alcinous. But when the halls and court enclose you,
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The setting
Nausicaa is finishing her directions to Odysseus. She has told him to wait in Athena's grove until she reaches town, then follow alone; a child could guide him, she has said — the palace is unmistakable. Here she caps that thought and tells him what to do once inside.
A note on this passage
Nausicaa keeps giving practical directions. The palace of Alcinous stands out from every other Phaeacian house, so even a small child could point the way; a stranger cannot miss it. Then she turns to the next step: once the building takes him in, he is to move fast and find the right person.
The pride is quiet but real. She describes her father's house by contrast — not like the others — the way a girl who has never doubted her own standing describes home. The grandeur she takes for granted is exactly what makes it easy to find, and the ease is the point: she is smoothing every obstacle out of the suppliant's path before he has asked for anything.
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