Odyssey 7.167 · Book 7, lines 167–171
Alcinous yields his dearest seat
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αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τό γʼ ἄκουσʼ ἱερὸν μένος Ἀλκινόοιο, χειρὸς ἑλὼν Ὀδυσῆα δαΐφρονα ποικιλομήτην ὦρσεν ἀπʼ ἐσχαρόφιν καὶ ἐπὶ θρόνου εἷσε φαεινοῦ, υἱὸν ἀναστήσας ἀγαπήνορα Λαοδάμαντα, ὅς οἱ πλησίον ἷζε, μάλιστα δέ μιν φιλέεσκεν.
But when the sacred might of Alcinous heard this, taking Odysseus by the hand, the skilled man of many wiles, he raised him from the hearth and seated him on a shining chair, making his son rise, manly Laodamas, who sat beside him, close by, and whom he loved most of all.
Word by word
The setting
Taking the old counsellor's advice, King Alcinous moves to welcome Odysseus in earnest.
A note on this passage
Alcinous acts at once. He takes Odysseus by the hand, raises him from the hearth, and sets him on a gleaming chair — and to make room he lifts up his own son Laodamas, the boy who sat nearest him and whom he loved best. The correction is complete and generous.
The small detail carries the courtesy. Of all the seats, the king gives the stranger the one beside himself, displacing the son he loves most. In the honour-economy of the hall place is everything, and Alcinous spends his dearest place on a man whose name he does not yet know. The 'sacred might of Alcinous' is measured here by what he is willing to yield.
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