Odyssey 7.129 · Book 7, lines 129–132
Two springs, and the gifts of the gods
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ἐν δὲ δύω κρῆναι ἡ μέν τʼ ἀνὰ κῆπον ἅπαντα σκίδναται, ἡ δʼ ἑτέρωθεν ὑπʼ αὐλῆς οὐδὸν ἵησι πρὸς δόμον ὑψηλόν, ὅθεν ὑδρεύοντο πολῖται. τοῖʼ ἄρʼ ἐν Ἀλκινόοιο θεῶν ἔσαν ἀγλαὰ δῶρα.
And within, two springs: the one spreads throughout the whole garden, while the other, on the other side, flows beneath the courtyard threshold toward the high house, from where the townsfolk drew their water. Such, then, were the splendid gifts of the gods in Alcinous's house.
Word by word
The setting
The description of Alcinous's grounds closes with its water. Two springs feed the place, one watering the garden, one running out toward the house for the townspeople; the poet sums the whole marvel up as the gods' own gift.
A note on this passage
The description ends with water, the one thing a garden cannot fake. Two springs divide the work: one spreads through the beds, the other runs under the courtyard wall toward the house, where the townspeople come to draw. Then the poet names the whole marvel for what it is — the shining gift of the gods.
The undercurrent is that the second spring runs outward, past the palace gate, to ordinary citizens. Even in a fairy-tale kingdom the water is shared with the town; the wonder is not walled off. It is a small note of the good kingship that makes Alcinous a safe host — the same public-mindedness that will send Odysseus home.
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