Odyssey 7.189 · Book 7, lines 189–194
The plan: feast, sacrifice, and convoy home
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ἠῶθεν δὲ γέροντας ἐπὶ πλέονας καλέσαντες ξεῖνον ἐνὶ μεγάροις ξεινίσσομεν ἠδὲ θεοῖσιν ῥέξομεν ἱερὰ καλά, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ περὶ πομπῆς μνησόμεθʼ, ὥς χʼ ὁ ξεῖνος ἄνευθε πόνου καὶ ἀνίης πομπῇ ὑφʼ ἡμετέρῃ ἣν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἵκηται χαίρων καρπαλίμως, εἰ καὶ μάλα τηλόθεν ἐστί,
And at dawn, having summoned more of the elders, we shall feast the stranger in the halls and offer fair sacrifice to the gods; and then also we shall take thought for his convoy, so that the stranger, without toil or grief, may reach his native land under our escort, rejoicing and swift, even if it lies very far away,
Word by word
The setting
Continuing his address, Alcinous lays out the morning's plan for the stranger he has taken in: a fuller gathering of elders, a feast in the palace, sacrifice to the gods, and above all the arrangement of an escort to carry the guest home.
A note on this passage
The plan is the machinery of Phaeacian hospitality set out step by step: summon more elders at dawn, feast the guest, sacrifice to the gods, and then take thought for his convoy — the famous Phaeacian escort that carries any stranger home. The goal is stated in full, that he reach his own land, glad and swift, however far it lies.
The undercurrent is that Phaeacia grants what Odysseus has wanted for ten years, and grants it as routine. What cost him everything — a way home — these people arrange between a feast and a sacrifice. The ease is the point: this is the last, gentle harbour before Ithaca, a world where homecoming is simply what a host provides.
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