Odyssey 7.136 · Book 7, lines 136–138
The Phaeacian lords pour to Hermes
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εὗρε δὲ Φαιήκων ἡγήτορας ἠδὲ μέδοντας σπένδοντας δεπάεσσιν ἐυσκόπῳ ἀργεϊφόντῃ, ᾧ πυμάτῳ σπένδεσκον, ὅτε μνησαίατο κοίτου.
And he found the Phaeacian leaders and rulers pouring libation from cups to the keen-sighted Argus-slayer, to whom, last, they would pour, when they were minded of rest.
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The setting
Inside, Odysseus finds the Phaeacian nobility at the close of their feast. They are pouring the last libation of the evening to Hermes — invoked here by his old title, the Argus-slayer — the god remembered before sleep.
A note on this passage
Inside, the feast is ending. The Phaeacian leaders are pouring the last libation of the night, and the god they pour to is Hermes — here under his old title, the keen-sighted Argus-slayer — the god men remember when they turn their minds to sleep.
The timing is not idle. Hermes is the escort of travelers and the guide of souls, the god of the road and the threshold; to pour to him at the very moment a hidden stranger crosses the door is one of the poem's quiet ironies. The Phaeacians honor the god of safe passage without knowing that safe passage has just walked in among them.
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Odyssey 7.136 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/odyssey/7.136/