Odyssey 8.34 · Book 8, lines 34–36
Launch a ship, choose fifty-two
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ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῆα μέλαιναν ἐρύσσομεν εἰς ἅλα δῖαν πρωτόπλοον, κούρω δὲ δύω καὶ πεντήκοντα κρινάσθων κατὰ δῆμον, ὅσοι πάρος εἰσὶν ἄριστοι.
But come, let us drag a black ship to the bright sea, one sailing for the first time; and let fifty-two young men be chosen throughout the district, all who are the best before.
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The setting
Still in his speech to the assembly, Alcinous gives the order to make ready the convoy: drag a fresh black ship down to the sea and pick a crew of fifty-two of the best young men.
A note on this passage
The command is concrete and technical: a maiden ship hauled to the salt water, a crew of fifty-two young men chosen from the district, the best there are. This is the arming-scene of a sea people — not spears and shields but a hull and rowers.
The undercurrent is how effortless Homer makes the marvel sound. A Phaeacian voyage is elsewhere pure magic — ships that need no steersman and know men's minds — yet here it is ordered like any launch, by count and rank. The wonder is folded inside a muster-roll; the poem lets the fabulous pass for procedure.
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