The Odyssey 1732 Studios

Ancient Greek · The Homecoming

Ὀδυσσείας ν

Book 13. Odysseus Leaves Phaeacia; The Return to Ithaca

The Phaeacians set Odysseus down asleep on Ithaca. Athena meets him, plans the suitors' deaths with him, and turns him into an old beggar.

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    So he spoke, and they all fell silent and still,

    Metre

    ὣςso, thusὡς · adverbadverbial to ἔφαθ᾽
    ἔφαθhe spokeφημί · imperfect medio-passive indicative, 3rd singular verbmain verb

    φημί ἔφατο-type imperfect mid.; formulaic line-opener ὣς ἔφατ(ο) introduces a speaker's reply.

    οἱtheyὁ · nominative plural masculine pronounsubject of ἐγένοντο
    δand, butδέ · particlesentence particle
    ἄραthen, indeedἄρα · particlesentence particle
    πάντεςallπᾶς · nominative plural masculine adjectivemodifies οἱ
    ἀκὴνsilentlyἀκήν · adverbadverbial to ἐγένοντο

    ἀκήν is a frozen accusative adverb 'in silence', paired redundantly with dative σιωπῇ for emphasis.

    ἐγένοντοbecame, fellγίγνομαι · aorist middle indicative, 3rd plural verbmain verb
    σιωπῇin silenceσιωπή · dative singular feminine nounadverbial to ἐγένοντο
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    held fast by the spell of his tale throughout the shadowy halls.

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    Then Alcinous answered him and spoke:

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    "Odysseus, now that you have come to my bronze-floored house,

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    high-roofed, I think you will not be driven off course again

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    and made to wander home, however much you have suffered.

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    And to each of you men I give this charge and say it plainly,

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    all of you who in my halls drink the sparkling wine of elders

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    always at my expense, and listen to the bard:

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    the clothing for our guest lies already in the polished chest,

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    and the intricately wrought gold, and all the other

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    gifts that the counselors of the Phaeacians have brought here.

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    But come, let us give him a great tripod and a cauldron

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    man by man; and we ourselves, gathering it back among the people,

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    will recover the cost; for it is hard for one man to give freely without return."

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    So spoke Alcinous, and his words pleased them.

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    Then they went off to lie down, each to his own house,

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    but when early-born, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared,

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    they hurried to the ship and carried down the man-strengthening bronze.

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    And the sacred might of Alcinous stowed it all away well,

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    going himself through the ship beneath the benches, so that none of the crew

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    might be hindered as they rowed, when they pulled hard at the oars.

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    Then they went to the house of Alcinous and made ready the feast.

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    And for them the sacred might of Alcinous sacrificed an ox

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    to Zeus of the dark clouds, son of Cronus, who rules over all.

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    They burned the thigh-pieces and dined on the glorious feast,

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    taking their delight; and among them sang the divine bard,

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    Demodocus, honored by the people. But Odysseus

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    kept turning his head toward the blazing sun,

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    eager for it to set; for indeed he longed to be going home.

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    As when a man longs for his supper, for whom all day long

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    two wine-dark oxen have dragged the jointed plow through fallow land,

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    gladly for that man the light of the sun goes down,

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    calling him to his supper, and his knees fail him as he walks:

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    so welcome to Odysseus was the setting of the sun's light.

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    At once he spoke among the oar-loving Phaeacians,

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    and to Alcinous above all he made his speech plain, saying:

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    "Lord Alcinous, most renowned of all the people,

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    pour your libations and send me safely on my way, and farewell to you all;

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    for now all that my heart desired has been accomplished:

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    an escort home, and welcome gifts, which may the heavenly gods

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    make prosper for me. And may I find my blameless wife at home

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    on my return, safe and sound, with my loved ones unharmed.

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    And may you, remaining here, gladden the hearts of your wedded

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    wives and your children; and may the gods grant you excellence

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    of every kind, and may no evil come upon your people."

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    So he spoke, and they all approved and urged

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    that the stranger be sent on his way, since he had spoken fittingly.

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    And then the might of Alcinous spoke to the herald:

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    "Pontonous, mix the bowl and pass the wine round

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    to all through the hall, so that, praying to Zeus the father,

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    we may send the stranger to his own native land."

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    So he spoke, and Pontonous mixed the honey-hearted wine,

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    and served it out to all, going from man to man; and they to the gods

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    poured libations, to the blessed ones who hold the broad heaven,

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    there from their seats. Then noble Odysseus stood up

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    and placed in Arete's hand the two-handled cup,

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    and speaking he addressed her with winged words:

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    "Farewell, my queen, throughout all your days, until old age

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    comes upon you, and death, which befall all mortals.

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    But I am going home; and may you take joy in this house,

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    in your children and your people and in Alcinous the king."

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    So saying, noble Odysseus stepped over the threshold,

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    and with him the might of Alcinous sent a herald,

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    to guide him to the swift ship and the shore of the sea.

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    And Arete sent serving-women with him,

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    one carrying a well-washed cloak and a tunic,

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    and another she sent to carry the sturdy chest along;

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    and yet another carried bread and red wine.

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    But when they had gone down to the ship and the sea,

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    at once the noble escorts took these things into the hollow ship

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    and stowed them away, all the drink and the food;

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    and for Odysseus they spread out a rug and a linen sheet

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    on the deck of the hollow ship, so that he might sleep unbroken,

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    in the stern. And he himself climbed aboard and lay down

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    in silence; and they sat down each at his oarlock

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    in order, and loosed the cable from the bored stone.

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    Then, leaning back, they tossed up the brine with their blades,

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    and upon his eyelids fell a sweet sleep,

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    unbroken, most delicious, most like to death.

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    And she, as on a plain a team of four stallions,

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    all springing forward together under the blows of the lash,

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    rising high, swiftly accomplish their course,

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    so the ship's stern lifted, and behind her the wave,

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    great and dark-purple, seethed of the loud-roaring sea.

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    She ran on steady and sure; not even a hawk could

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    the falcon keep pace with her, swiftest of winged things.

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    So she, running swiftly, cut through the waves of the sea,

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    carrying a man whose mind was like the gods';

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    who before had suffered very many pains in his heart,

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    passing through the wars of men and the grievous waves;

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    but now at last he slept undisturbed, forgetful of all he had endured.

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    When the brightest star rose up, the one that above all

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    comes heralding the light of early-born Dawn,

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    then the seafaring ship drew near to the island.

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    There is a harbor of Phorcys, the old man of the sea,

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    in the land of Ithaca; two jutting headlands within it,

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    sheer cliffs, crouching toward the harbor,

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    which shelter from the ill-blowing winds the great wave

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    outside; but within, without a mooring-rope, they rest,

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    the well-benched ships, once they reach the harbor's measure.

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    And at the head of the harbor there is a long-leaved olive tree,

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    and close beside it a lovely, misty cave,

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    sacred to the nymphs who are called Naiads.

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    Within it are mixing-bowls and two-handled jars

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    of stone; and there too the bees store their honey.

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    And there are great looms of stone, where the nymphs

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    weave robes of sea-purple, a wonder to behold;

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    and there are ever-flowing waters. It has two doors:

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    the one toward the North Wind, by which mortals may go down,

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    and the others, toward the South Wind, are more divine; nor by that way

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    do men go in, but it is the road of the immortals.

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    There they rowed in, knowing the place from before; and the ship then

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    ran up onto the shore for as much as half her whole length,

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    driving hard, for the hands of such rowers urged her on.

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    Then, stepping out of the well-benched ship onto the land,

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    first they lifted Odysseus out of the hollow ship,

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    still in the linen sheet and the shining rug,

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    and they laid him down on the sand, overcome by sleep,

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    and they lifted out the treasures, which the noble Phaeacians

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    had given him as he went home, through great-hearted Athena.

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    These they set all together by the trunk of the olive tree,

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    off the road, lest some one of the men who travel it,

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    before Odysseus woke, might come upon them and do them harm;

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    then they themselves went back home again. But the Earth-Shaker

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    did not forget the threats with which against godlike Odysseus

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    he had first threatened, and he asked Zeus for his will:

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    "Father Zeus, no longer among the immortal gods

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    shall I be held in honor, when mortals give me no honor at all,

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    the Phaeacians, who are themselves of my own lineage.

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    For even now I thought that Odysseus, after suffering many evils,

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    would come home; his homecoming I never took from him

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    altogether, since you first promised it and nodded your assent.

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    But these men, carrying him asleep in a swift ship over the sea,

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    set him down in Ithaca, and gave him countless gifts,

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    bronze and gold in plenty and woven clothing,

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    much, such as Odysseus would never have won out of Troy,

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    even had he come home unharmed with his allotted share of the spoil."

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    Then Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered him and said:

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    "Now look, mighty Earth-Shaker, what a thing you have said!

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    The gods do not dishonor you in any way; it would be hard indeed

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    to assail the eldest and the best with dishonor.

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    But as for men, if any one, yielding to his own strength and force,

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    gives you no honor, vengeance is yours, always, in the end.

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    Do as you wish and as is dear to your heart."

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    Then Poseidon the Earth-Shaker answered him:

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    "At once I would do it, lord of dark clouds, as you say;

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    but I always stand in awe of your will and shun it.

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    Now I wish the Phaeacians' beautiful ship,

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    as it returns from its escort, on the misty sea

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    to wreck, so that at last they may hold back and cease escorting

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    men, and to hide their city under a great mountain."

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    Then Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered him and said:

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    "My friend, as it seems best to my own heart,

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    at the moment when all the people are watching her driving in

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    from the city, turn her to stone near the land,

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    like a swift ship, so that all may marvel,

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    the people, and hide their city under a great mountain."

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    But when Poseidon the Earth-Shaker heard this,

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    he set out to go to Scheria, where the Phaeacians are born.

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    There he waited; and the seafaring ship came very near,

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    swiftly driven on; and the Earth-Shaker came close to her,

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    who turned her to stone and rooted her fast below

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    with a blow of his flat hand; then he went away.

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    And they spoke winged words to one another,

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    the Phaeacians of the long oars, men famed for their ships.

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    And one would speak, looking at his neighbor beside him:

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    "Oh no — who has bound the swift ship fast in the sea

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    as she was driving home? Just now the whole of her was in sight."

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    So one would speak; but they did not know how it had come about.

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    Then Alkinoos addressed them and spoke among them:

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    "Oh no, surely now the ancient prophecies overtake me

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    of my father, who used to say Poseidon would be angry

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    with us, because we are escorts who bring all men home unharmed.

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    He said that one day a beautiful ship of the Phaeacian men,

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    as it returned from its escort, on the misty sea

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    the god would wreck, and hide a great mountain over our city.

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    So the old man used to say; and now all this is being fulfilled.

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    But come, as I shall say, let us all be persuaded:

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    cease escorting mortals, whenever anyone comes

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    to our city; and to Poseidon let us sacrifice bulls,

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    twelve chosen ones, in hope that he may pity us,

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    and not hide a towering mountain over our city."

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    So he spoke, and they were afraid, and made the bulls ready.

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    So these were praying to lord Poseidon,

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    the leaders and counselors of the Phaeacian people,

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    standing round the altar. But noble Odysseus woke,

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    sleeping in his fatherland, and he did not know it,

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    having been long away; for a god had poured a mist about him,

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    Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, so that she might make him

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    unrecognizable and explain each thing to him,

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    that his wife and townsmen and friends might not know him first,

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    before the suitors should pay for all their transgression.

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    And so all things appeared strange to the lord,

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    the long unbroken paths, the welcoming harbors,

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    the sheer rocks, and the trees in their flourishing.

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    He sprang up and stood and looked at his fatherland;

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    then he groaned, and struck both his thighs

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    with the flat of his hands, and lamenting he spoke a word:

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    "Oh, wretched me — to what land of mortals have I come this time?

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    Are they violent and savage and not just,

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    or hospitable, and is their mind god-fearing?

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    Where shall I carry all this treasure? And where shall I myself

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    wander? Would that I had stayed there among the Phaeacians,

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    right there; and I might have gone to some other king of the mighty ones,

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    who would have befriended me and sent me on my homeward way.

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    But now I do not know where to put it, nor will I leave it

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    here, lest it somehow become spoil for others.

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    Oh no — so they were not wholly wise, nor just,

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    the leaders and counselors of the Phaeacians,

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    who carried me off to another land, though they said they would

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    bring me to clear-skied Ithaca — and they did not do it.

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    May Zeus the protector of suppliants requite them — he who watches over

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    other men too, and punishes whoever does wrong.

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    But come now, let me count the treasure and look it over,

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    in case they have gone off carrying something of mine in their hollow ship."

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    So saying, he counted the beautiful tripods and the cauldrons,

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    and the gold, and the fine woven garments.

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    Of these he found nothing missing; but he wept for his fatherland,

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    creeping along the shore of the loud-roaring sea,

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    lamenting bitterly. And Athena came near to him,

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    in form like a young man, a herdsman of sheep,

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    delicate as the sons of lords are,

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    wearing a well-made cloak doubled over her shoulders;

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    she had sandals on her shining feet, and a javelin in her hands.

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    Odysseus was glad when he saw her and came to meet her,

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    and speaking he addressed to her winged words:

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    "Friend, since you are the first I meet in this place,

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    greetings, and may you not meet me with any ill intent,

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    but save these things and save me too; for to you I

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    pray as to a god, and I come to your dear knees.

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    And tell me this truly, so that I may know it well:

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    what land, what people, what men are born here?

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    Is this some sunny island, or is it a headland

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    of the rich-soiled mainland, sloping down to the sea?"

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    Then the goddess gray-eyed Athena answered him:

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    "You are a fool, stranger, or you have come from far away,

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    if indeed you ask about this land. It is not at all

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    so nameless as that; very many know it,

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    both those who dwell toward the dawn and the sun,

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    and those behind, toward the murky dark.

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    It is rugged, indeed, and not fit for driving horses,

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    yet not too poor, though it is not made broad either.

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    For in it grain grows beyond telling, and in it wine

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    comes; always there is rain on it, and flourishing dew;

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    it is good for grazing goats and grazing cattle; there is timber

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    of every kind, and watering places that never fail.

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    So, stranger, the name of Ithaca has reached even to Troy,

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    which they say is far off from the land of Achaea."

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    So she spoke, and much-enduring noble Odysseus rejoiced,

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    glad in his fatherland, as it was told to him by

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    Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis;

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    and speaking he addressed to her winged words —

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    yet he did not speak the truth, but checked the word again,

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    always plying in his breast a mind full of cunning gain:

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    "I heard of Ithaca even in broad Crete,

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    far off across the sea; and now I have come myself

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    with these goods; and leaving as much again for my children

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    I flee, since I killed the dear son of Idomeneus,

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    Orsilochus, swift of foot, who in broad Crete

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    outran in speed of foot all men who live by bread,

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    because he wished to rob me of all that plunder

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    from Troy, for which I suffered pains in my heart,

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    passing through the wars of men and the grievous waves,

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    because I would not serve his father as a follower,

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    in the land of the Trojans, but led other comrades of my own.

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    Him I struck with my bronze-tipped spear as he came in

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    from the field, lying in ambush near the road with a comrade;

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    very dark night held the sky, and none of men

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    noticed us, and I escaped notice in taking his life.

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    But after I had killed him with the sharp bronze,

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    at once I went to a ship and begged the noble Phoenicians,

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    and gave them spoil to their hearts' content;

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    I asked them to take me on board and set me down at Pylos

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    or in noble Elis, where the Epeans hold sway.

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    But the force of the wind drove them away from there,

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    much against their will; they did not mean to cheat me.

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    Driven off course from there we came here by night.

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    With effort we rowed into the harbor, and none of us

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    had a thought of supper, though we badly needed to take it,

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    but just as we were we all stepped ashore and lay down.

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    There sweet sleep came over me in my weariness,

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    and they, taking my goods out of the hollow ship,

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    set them down where I myself lay upon the sand.

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    Then they went aboard and sailed to well-settled Sidonia,

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    and departed; but I was left behind, grieving in my heart."

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    So he spoke, and the goddess gray-eyed Athena smiled,

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    and stroked him with her hand; and she took the form of a woman

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    beautiful and tall and skilled in glorious handiwork;

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    and speaking she addressed to him winged words:

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    "Cunning he would have to be, and a thief, who could get past you

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    in all manner of tricks, even if a god should match against you.

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    Reckless one, weaver of schemes, insatiable in guile, not even

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    in your own land were you going to leave off your deceits

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    and thievish tales, which are dear to you from the depths of your heart.

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    But come, let us speak no more of this, for we both know

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    cunning ways, since you are far the best of all mortals

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    in counsel and in speech, while I among all the gods

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    am famed for wit and for cunning. And yet you did not recognize

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    Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, who always

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    stands by your side in all your toils and guards you,

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    and who made you dear to all the Phaeacians.

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    Now again I have come here, to weave a plan with you

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    and to hide the goods which the noble Phaeacians

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    gave you on your way home through my counsel and design,

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    and to tell you all the troubles you are fated to bear

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    in your well-built house; and you must endure, even under compulsion,

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    and tell it to no one, neither man nor woman,

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    of all, that you have come back from your wandering, but in silence

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    suffer many pains, and bear the violence of men."

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    Then Odysseus of many wiles answered her:

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    "It is hard, goddess, for a mortal who meets you to know you,

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    even one who knows much; for you make yourself like anything.

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    But this I know well, that you were kind to me before,

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    while we sons of the Achaeans were fighting at Troy.

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    But after we sacked the steep city of Priam,

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    and went aboard our ships, and a god scattered the Achaeans,

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    from then on I never saw you, daughter of Zeus, nor noticed

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    you boarding my ship to ward off any pain from me.

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    But always carrying a torn heart within my breast

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    I wandered, until the gods set me free from misery;

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    not until, in the rich land of the Phaeacian men,

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    you heartened me with words and yourself led me to the city.

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    Now I beseech you by your father — for I do not think

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    I have come to sunny Ithaca, but to some other

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    land I have wandered; and I think you are mocking me,

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    saying these things, to beguile my mind —

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    tell me truly whether I have really come to my dear fatherland."

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    Then the goddess gray-eyed Athena answered him:

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    "Always such a thought as that is in your breast;

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    and so I cannot abandon you in your misfortune,

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    because you are civil and quick of mind and prudent.

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    For any other man, come home after his wanderings,

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    would rush to his halls to see his children and his wife;

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    but you have no wish yet to learn or to inquire,

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    before you have first tested your wife, who even so

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    sits there in your halls, and her wretched

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    nights and days waste away as she sheds her tears.

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    But I never doubted this, and in my heart

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    I knew you would come home, having lost all your companions;

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    yet I was unwilling to do battle with Poseidon,

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    my father's brother, who set rancor in his heart against you,

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    enraged that you blinded his dear son.

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    But come, I will show you the lay of Ithaca, so you may believe.

  345. 345

    This is the harbor of Phorcys, the old man of the sea,

  346. 346

    and here at the harbor's head is the long-leaved olive tree;

  347. 347

    and close beside it the lovely, shadowy cave,

  348. 348

    sacred to the nymphs who are called the Naiads;

  349. 349

    this is the vaulted cavern where you many times

  350. 350

    used to offer the nymphs perfect hecatombs;

  351. 351

    and this is Mount Neriton, mantled in forest.

  352. 352

    So speaking, the goddess scattered the mist, and the land appeared;

  353. 353

    and then much-enduring noble Odysseus rejoiced,

  354. 354

    glad in his own land, and he kissed the grain-giving earth.

  355. 355

    At once he prayed to the nymphs, lifting up his hands:

  356. 356

    "Naiad nymphs, daughters of Zeus, never did I

  357. 357

    think to see you again; now with gentle prayers

  358. 358

    I greet you; and we will give gifts too, as in time past,

  359. 359

    if the daughter of Zeus, the driver of spoil, graciously allows

  360. 360

    me myself to live, and lets my dear son grow to manhood."

  361. 361

    Then the goddess, gray-eyed Athena, said to him in turn:

  362. 362

    "Take heart, and do not let these things trouble your mind.

  363. 363

    But let us set your goods at once, now, in a corner

  364. 364

    of the marvelous cave, so they may stay there safe for you;

  365. 365

    and let us plan for ourselves how all may turn out best."

  366. 366

    So speaking, the goddess entered the shadowy cave,

  367. 367

    searching out hiding-places through the cavern; meanwhile Odysseus

  368. 368

    carried everything closer in—the gold and the stubborn bronze

  369. 369

    and the well-made garments that the Phaeacians had given him.

  370. 370

    These he stowed well away, and Pallas Athena set a stone

  371. 371

    against the doorway, daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis.

  372. 372

    Then the two of them sat down by the trunk of the sacred olive

  373. 373

    and plotted death for the overweening suitors.

  374. 374

    The goddess, gray-eyed Athena, was first to speak among them:

  375. 375

    "Zeus-born son of Laertes, resourceful Odysseus,

  376. 376

    consider how you will lay hands on the shameless suitors,

  377. 377

    who for three years now have been lording it in your hall,

  378. 378

    wooing your godlike wife and giving bride-gifts;

  379. 379

    but she, forever grieving in her heart for your homecoming,

  380. 380

    gives all of them hope and makes promises to each man,

  381. 381

    sending out messages, while her mind intends other things."

  382. 382

    Then resourceful Odysseus answered her and said:

  383. 383

    "Oh no—surely I was about to perish in my halls

  384. 384

    by the evil doom of Agamemnon, son of Atreus,

  385. 385

    if you, goddess, had not told me each thing rightly.

  386. 386

    But come, weave a plan, so I may pay them back;

  387. 387

    and stand beside me yourself, putting bold courage in me,

  388. 388

    as on the day we loosed the shining diadem of Troy.

  389. 389

    If you would stand by me thus eager, gray-eyed one,

  390. 390

    I would fight even against three hundred men,

  391. 391

    with you, lady goddess, when you helped me with all your heart."

  392. 392

    Then the goddess, gray-eyed Athena, answered him:

  393. 393

    "Be sure I will be at your side, and you will not escape my notice,

  394. 394

    when we set to work on this; and I think that some

  395. 395

    will spatter the boundless floor with blood and brains.

  396. 396

    of the suitors who are devouring your livelihood

  397. 397

    But come, I will make you unrecognizable to all mortals:

  398. 398

    I will shrivel the fine skin on your supple limbs,

  399. 399

    destroy the blond hair from your head, and around you a rag

  400. 400

    I will throw, such that a man would loathe to see you wearing it,

  401. 401

    and I will dim your eyes, that were so beautiful before,

  402. 402

    so that you will appear unseemly to all the suitors,

  403. 403

    and to your wife and the son you left behind in your halls.

  404. 404

    But you yourself must first go to the swineherd,

  405. 405

    who keeps watch over your pigs and is loyal to you,

  406. 406

    and loves your son and prudent Penelope.

  407. 407

    You will find him sitting among the swine; and they feed

  408. 408

    by the Rock of the Raven and the spring of Arethusa,

  409. 409

    eating the acorns they relish and drinking the dark water,

  410. 410

    things that nourish the rich fat upon the swine.

  411. 411

    Stay there, and sitting by him ask about everything,

  412. 412

    while I go to Sparta, the land of lovely women,

  413. 413

    to summon Telemachus, your dear son, Odysseus;

  414. 414

    for he went to spacious Lacedaemon, to Menelaus,

  415. 415

    seeking news of you, whether you are still alive."

  416. 416

    Then resourceful Odysseus answered her and said:

  417. 417

    "Why then did you not tell him, you who know all things in your mind?

  418. 418

    Was it so that he too might wander and suffer pains

  419. 419

    over the barren sea, while others devour his living?"

  420. 420

    Then the goddess, gray-eyed Athena, answered him:

  421. 421

    "Do not let him weigh too heavily on your heart.

  422. 422

    I myself escorted him, so that he might win good renown

  423. 423

    by going there; he has no trouble, but at his ease

  424. 424

    he sits in the house of Atreus's son, with plenty at hand.

  425. 425

    True, young men lie in wait for him with a black ship,

  426. 426

    eager to kill him before he reaches his native land;

  427. 427

    but I do not think it will happen—sooner the earth will cover some

  428. 428

    of the suitors who are devouring your livelihood."

  429. 429

    So speaking, Athena touched him with her wand.

  430. 430

    She shriveled the fine skin on his supple limbs,

  431. 431

    destroyed the blond hair from his head, and over all his limbs

  432. 432

    she put the skin of an old man,

  433. 433

    and dimmed his eyes, that were so beautiful before;

  434. 434

    she threw about him another garment, a sorry rag, and a tunic,

  435. 435

    torn and filthy, begrimed with foul smoke;

  436. 436

    and around him she cast the great hide of a swift deer,

  437. 437

    worn bare; and she gave him a staff and an unsightly bag,

  438. 438

    full of holes, with a twisted cord for a strap.

  439. 439

    When the two had made their plans thus, they parted. She then

  440. 440

    went to holy Lacedaemon, after the son of Odysseus.

The particulars

The text
Ὀδύσσεια, Homer. The Homecoming.
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Public-domain Greek (Homer, ancient; text via the Perseus Digital Library). English translation © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC.
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Two whoopie pies and a pine. An inside joke.