Odyssey 8.496 · Book 8, lines 496–498
Then I will tell the world you are god-taught
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αἴ κεν δή μοι ταῦτα κατὰ μοῖραν καταλέξῃς, αὐτίκʼ ἐγὼ πᾶσιν μυθήσομαι ἀνθρώποισιν, ὡς ἄρα τοι πρόφρων θεὸς ὤπασε θέσπιν ἀοιδήν.
If you recount these things to me in due measure, then at once I will tell all men that a gracious god graciously granted you the gift of divine song.
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The setting
Odysseus closes his request with a promise. If Demodocus sings the horse rightly, Odysseus will proclaim to everyone that a god truly gave him the gift of song.
A note on this passage
Odysseus offers an exchange in the honor economy: sing this well, and I will broadcast your fame — I will tell everyone a god gave you your art. Praise for a good performance, promised as public reputation, the currency a bard lives on.
The word théspis, 'god-given,' carries the real weight. In Homer a great song is not composed but received; the singer is a conduit the Muse speaks through. Odysseus, about to be undone by this song, grants in advance that its truth is divine — which is exactly why it will overpower him. He cannot dismiss what breaks him as mere invention; he has already called it the speech of a god.
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