Odyssey 7.317 · Book 7, lines 317–322
The escort is fixed for tomorrow
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πομπὴν δʼ ἐς τόδʼ ἐγὼ τεκμαίρομαι, ὄφρʼ ἐὺ εἰδῇς, αὔριον ἔς· τῆμος δὲ σὺ μὲν δεδμημένος ὕπνῳ λέξεαι, οἱ δʼ ἐλόωσι γαλήνην, ὄφρʼ ἂν ἵκηαι πατρίδα σὴν καὶ δῶμα, καὶ εἴ πού τοι φίλον ἐστίν, εἴ περ καὶ μάλα πολλὸν ἑκαστέρω ἔστʼ Εὐβοίης, τήν περ τηλοτάτω φάσʼ ἔμμεναι, οἵ μιν ἴδοντο
And your convoy I appoint for this, that you may know well — for tomorrow; and then you, overcome by sleep, will lie down, while they row the calm sea, until you reach your homeland and your house, and wherever is dear to you, even if much farther than Euboea it is, which they say is farthest of all, those who saw it —
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The setting
Alcinous turns from the wish to the promise: safe convoy home. He describes the effortless voyage of his ships, claiming they could reach even Euboea, the farthest land his people know.
A note on this passage
The king pledges the practical thing Odysseus needs: passage, set for tomorrow. The stranger will sleep while the crew rows the calm, until he reaches his own land and house — however far it lies, even farther than Euboea, which the Phaeacians reckon the most distant place of all.
The boast is the marvel of Phaeacian seafaring. Their ships need no struggle; the passenger sleeps through the whole crossing. It is the gentlest imaginable answer to everything Odysseus has suffered on the water — a sea made safe, a voyage turned into rest. The poem lets the promise glow before we remember that this very kindness is what will one day anger Poseidon.
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