Odyssey 8.394 · Book 8, lines 394–397
Gather the gifts; let Euryalus atone
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αἶψα δὲ πάντα φέρωμεν ἀολλέα, ὄφρʼ ἐνὶ χερσὶν ξεῖνος ἔχων ἐπὶ δόρπον ἴῃ χαίρων ἐνὶ θυμῷ. Εὐρύαλος δέ ἑ αὐτὸν ἀρεσσάσθω ἐπέεσσι καὶ δώρῳ, ἐπεὶ οὔ τι ἔπος κατὰ μοῖραν ἔειπεν.
And quickly let us bring all of them together, so that in his hands the stranger, holding them, may go to supper rejoicing in his heart. And let Euryalus make amends to him himself with words and with a gift, since he spoke a word not at all according to due measure.
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The setting
Still speaking, Alcinous urges the nobles to heap up the gifts at once so the stranger can dine content. Then he turns to Euryalus, who had taunted the guest, and orders him to make it right.
A note on this passage
The king wants speed and warmth: the gifts gathered in a heap, the guest going to his supper glad at heart. It is the small, exact courtesy the Odyssey keeps insisting on — the stranger fed, honored, and sent on rejoicing.
Then Alcinous names the flaw in the evening. Euryalus had mocked the guest, and the king does not let it pass; he orders amends, made with words and with a gift. The standard is kata moiran, according to what is due — and the word Euryalus spoke was not. Here an insult to a guest is a public fault, so the repair must be public too.
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