Odyssey 7.48 · Book 7, lines 48–52
This is the house, go in unafraid
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Athena — οὗτος δή τοι, ξεῖνε πάτερ, δόμος, ὅν με κελεύεις πεφραδέμεν· δήεις δὲ διοτρεφέας βασιλῆας δαίτην δαινυμένους· σὺ δʼ ἔσω κίε, μηδέ τι θυμῷ τάρβει· θαρσαλέος γὰρ ἀνὴρ ἐν πᾶσιν ἀμείνων ἔργοισιν τελέθει, εἰ καί ποθεν ἄλλοθεν ἔλθοι.
This, I tell you, stranger father, is the house which you bid me point out; and you will find Zeus-nurtured kings feasting at a banquet. Go inside, and do not be afraid at all in your heart; for a bold man proves better in all deeds, even if he comes from some other land.
Word by word
The setting
At the threshold of Alcinous's palace, Athena, still the girl with the pitcher, gives Odysseus his final instructions before she leaves him to enter alone.
A note on this passage
Athena points to the palace and gives her last instructions before slipping from the scene. Inside he will find the Phaeacian nobles at their feast; he is to walk straight in and not lose his nerve. Her closing line is almost proverbial: the bold man comes off better in everything, even a stranger far from home.
It is counsel perfectly fitted to Odysseus, who will spend this whole book as a suppliant in a strange hall, staking everything on the impression he makes. 'Be bold' is not bravado but tact under pressure: the courage to enter uninvited, clasp a queen's knees, and trust the code of hospitality to hold. The goddess is coaching her man for the social ordeal about to begin.
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