Odyssey 7.162 · Book 7, lines 162–166
Raise him, seat him, pour to Zeus
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ἄλλʼ ἄγε δὴ ξεῖνον μὲν ἐπὶ θρόνου ἀργυροήλου εἷσον ἀναστήσας, σὺ δὲ κηρύκεσσι κέλευσον οἶνον ἐπικρῆσαι, ἵνα καὶ Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ σπείσομεν, ὅς θʼ ἱκέτῃσιν ἅμʼ αἰδοίοισιν ὀπηδεῖ· δόρπον δὲ ξείνῳ ταμίη δότω ἔνδον ἐόντων.
But come now, raise the stranger up and seat him on a silver-studded chair, and you, bid the heralds to mix wine, so that to Zeus also, who delights in thunder, we may pour a libation — he who attends reverend suppliants; and let the housekeeper give the stranger his supper from the stores within.
Word by word
The setting
Echeneus continues, telling Alcinous exactly how to right the discourtesy and receive the stranger properly.
A note on this passage
The old man turns advice into a sequence of orders: lift the stranger up, seat him on a silver-studded chair, have the heralds mix wine for a libation to Zeus, and let the housekeeper bring him supper. Each step undoes the wrong of the guest in the ashes and restores the proper shape of welcome.
The libation names the reason. Zeus 'who delights in thunder' is also the god who walks beside reverend suppliants; to honour the stranger is to honour Zeus, and to fail him is to risk the god. Hospitality here is not mere kindness but piety — the guest is under divine escort, and the household pours wine to the power standing behind him.
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Odyssey 7.162 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/odyssey/7.162/