
The king's son rises to speak
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αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ πάντες ἐτέρφθησαν φρένʼ ἀέθλοις, τοῖς ἄρα Λαοδάμας μετέφη πάϊς Ἀλκινόοιο·
But when all had delighted their hearts with the games, then Laodamas, son of Alcinous, spoke among them:
The events have finished. The young Phaeacian nobles have enjoyed their sport, and one of them rises to turn the group's attention to the stranger.
The contests end; the young men have had their fill of sport. Into that lull Laodamas, son of Alcinous, stands to speak. It is the standard hinge from action to speech, marked by the formulaic ‘but when...’ opening.
That he is named again as ‘son of Alcinous’ matters. The king's son speaks with the king's authority behind him, and what he is about to propose — drawing the guest into the games — carries the weight of the whole host's household. In Homer a speech is rarely just words; whose son says it is half the meaning.
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Odyssey 8.131 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/odyssey/8.131/