Odyssey 8.424 · Book 8, lines 424–429
The chest, the bath, and the song
Read the full text in our reader
Alcinous — δεῦρο, γύναι, φέρε χηλὸν ἀριπρεπέʼ, ἥ τις ἀρίστη· ἐν δʼ αὐτὴ θὲς φᾶρος ἐυπλυνὲς ἠδὲ χιτῶνα. ἀμφὶ δέ οἱ πυρὶ χαλκὸν ἰήνατε, θέρμετε δʼ ὕδωρ, ὄφρα λοεσσάμενός τε ἰδών τʼ ἐὺ κείμενα πάντα δῶρα, τά οἱ Φαίηκες ἀμύμονες ἐνθάδʼ ἔνεικαν, δαιτί τε τέρπηται καὶ ἀοιδῆς ὕμνον ἀκούων.
Come here, wife, bring the splendid chest, whichever is best, and place in it a cloak, freshly-washed, and a tunic. Over the fire heat the bronze for him, and warm water, so that, bathed and having seen all the gifts well laid out, which the noble Phaeacians brought hither for him, he may delight in the feast and hear the strain of song.
Word by word
The setting
The Phaeacians have agreed to convoy the stranger home. Their king now sets in motion the parting gifts and a farewell bath.
A note on this passage
Alcinous dictates the send-off in order: fetch the best chest, pack a cloak and tunic, heat bronze and water so the stranger can bathe, look over his gifts, and then enjoy the feast and the singing. It is hospitality run as a checklist of fixed gestures.
Notice the sequence of pleasures. The bath and the gifts come first, then the feast, and last of all the song. In the Phaeacian world the bard's strain (ὕμνος) is the crown of the entertainment, the thing that turns a good meal into a memorable occasion — which is exactly why the poem keeps returning to Demodocus.
Read the full commentary — and tap any word for its dictionary entry — in the interlinear reader.
Open Odyssey 8.424 in the full reader
Always open passages in the reader
From the Great Library
You are reading a page of the Odyssey — the whole book is free in our interlinear reader.
The Great Library Project presses the classics in their original languages, glossed word by word — free to read, always. Browse the whole library.
Also on our shelves:
Odyssey 8.424 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/odyssey/8.424/