This is the kind of thing that gets you well spoken of
among men, and pleases your father and lady mother!
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So let's go and do the washing tomorrow at daybreak:
I'll come with you as helper, let you make yourself ready
as soon as may be: you won't be unmarried much longer!
Already suitors are courting you, the noblest Phaiakians
in these parts--and you share their lineage! So come now,
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urge your far-famed father, first thing this morning,
to have mules and a wagon ready, to carry for you
the sashes and robes and bright coverlets. And for yourself
it's much better to travel this way than to go by foot:
the washing troughs are a long way distant from the city."
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That said, the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, departed
for Olympos, where, they say, the gods have their abode
forever immovable, never shaken by gales nor wet
with rain, nor does snow ever visit them; the sky
stretches dazzling and cloudless, the upper air gleams white.
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The blessed gods find enjoyment here all their days,
and here the grey-eyed one went, after speaking with the girl.
Now Dawn on her fine throne arrived, and woke up the latter,
the finely robed Nausikaa. She at once, amazed by her dream,
went off through the house to report it to her parents,
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her own dear father and mother. She found them in:
her mother sitting there at the hearth with her handmaids,
spinning sea-purple yarn on a distaff; her father she caught
on the point of leaving to join the distinguished elders
in council, summoned there by the lords of Phaiakia.
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She went up to her dear father, and addressed him thus:
"Dear Papa, won't you please have a wagon made ready for me--
the high one, with good wheels, so I can take the fine
clothes that are lying here soiled to the river for washing?
For you too it's proper, when you're with the chief men
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debating in council, to be wearing fresh-laundered clothes,
and you've five sons living with you, here in your halls,
two married, but three lively bachelors, who always
insist on having fresh-laundered clothes to put on
for going to the dance: all this now needs my attention."
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So she spoke, too embarrassed to mention lusty marriage
to her father; but he understood all, and responded, saying:
"I begrudge you neither the mules, child, nor anything else,
so off you go: the servants will ready the wagon for you--
the high one, with good wheels, and fitted bodywork."
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With that he called to the servants, and they obeyed him.
They made ready the good-wheeled mule wagon outside,
and brought the mules, and yoked and harnessed them,
while the girl fetched out the bright garments from indoors,
and stowed them away in the polished cart, and her mother
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added a box full of satisfying things to eat--
appetizers galore, and poured out a measure of wine
in a goatskin bottle. Nausikaa boarded the wagon,
and her mother gave her a golden flask full of soft oil, with which
she and her handmaids could massage themselves.1 She now
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took hold of the whip and the brightly polished reins,
and whipped up the mules to start them. They clattered off
at a smart trot, not pausing, with girl and laundry aboard--
not alone, for her handmaids all came along with her.
When they reached the sweet flow of the river, at the site
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of the regular wash troughs--always enough clean water
from springs there or outflow to clean the dirtiest garments--
then they unhitched the mules, set them free from the wagon,
and shooed them off along the bank of the eddying river
to graze on honey-sweet clover, while they themselves
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took armfuls of clothes from the wagon to the dark water
and trod them out in the basins, fast-moving, competitive.
Then after they'd washed them and got them clean again
they spread them in rows on the shoreline, where the surf
beating upon the strand had most clearly scoured the pebbles.
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Then they bathed, and rubbed themselves down with oil,
and ate their lunch beside the banks of the river
while waiting until the clothes dried off in the bright sunlight.
When the handmaids and Nausikaa had eaten their fill
they then threw off their veils and turned to playing ball,
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and white-armed Nausikaa was their leader as they sang.
Just as the archer Artemis roams across mountain ranges--
lofty Taygetos, say, or Erymanthos--exulting
in her pursuit of wild boar or of the swift-footed deer,
and country nymphs, daughters of Zeus the aegis bearer,
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join the sport with her, and Leto rejoices at the sight
of Artemis, head and brow higher than all the others,
and easily recognized, though each one is beautiful:
so amid all her handmaids shone out this unwed maiden.
But when she was on the point of starting back homeward,
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with the mules yoked up and the fine clothes folded, then
the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, had another idea:
that Odysseus should wake, and see the sweet-faced girl,
and that she should escort him to the Phaiakians' city.
So when the princess next tossed the ball to a handmaid
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she missed the handmaid, and sent it into a deep eddy.
They all cried out at length, and noble Odysseus awoke,
and sat up, wondering in his mind and heart: "Ah me,
among what sort of mortals have I now made landfall?
Are they wild and outrageous, men with no sense of justice,
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or hospitable to strangers, a god-fearing people? An outcry
of women--young girls--just echoed round about me:
the nymphs, it could be, who haunt the sheer mountain peaks
and the rivers' springs and the grassy meadows! Or am I
somewhere near talking humans? Well, come on now,
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let me take a look for myself, see what I can discover."
That said, godlike Odysseus came out from under the bushes.
Strong-handed, he broke off a leafy branch from the dense
maquis to cover his body, hide the male parts. He came forth
like some mountain-bred lion, confident in his strength,
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who, beaten by wind and rain, still advances, both his eyes
ablaze, as in among cattle or sheep he hastens, or in
pursuit of wild deer: his ravenous belly drives him
to go after the flocks even inside the close-walled farmstead.
So Odysseus was set to mingle,2 though naked, among these
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fair-tressed young girls: such need had come upon him.
A terrifying sight they found him, all crusted with dried brine,
and they scattered in panic around the jutting sand-spits.
Alkinoos' daughter alone stood firm, for Athene had put
courage into her heart, and purged the fear from her limbs.
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She st
ood still, holding her ground. Odysseus debated--should he
clasp the knees of this good-looking girl when making his plea,
or should he stay put, just cajole her with honey-sweet phrases
so she'd give him clothes, show him the way into town?
As he thus reflected, he decided that it would be better
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to stay put, just cajole her with honey-sweet phrases--
the girl might take offense if he grabbed her knees!
So he made an impromptu speech, both honey-sweet and crafty:
"By your knees I entreat you, lady--some goddess are you,
or mortal? If a goddess, one of those who hold broad heaven,
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then to Artemis, great Zeus' daughter, I find you most
nearly akin in beauty and height and carriage; but if
you're mortal, one of those who dwell here on earth, then thrice
blessed indeed are your father and the lady your mother,
thrice blessed your brothers! Greatly warmed with pleasure
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must their hearts always be on your account, as they see
so fine an offshoot taking her place among the dancers!
But blessed at heart, far above all others, is he
who'll dower you with bride-gifts and lead you to his home!
Never before have my eyes seen a mortal such as you are,
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either man or woman: I'm awed at the sight of you!
On Delos once, beside Apollo's altar, I saw
something like you: a young palm-shoot springing up--
I put in there, along with a crowd of followers,
on the same journey fated to bring me such misfortune--
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and likewise at that sight I was long in awe,
since never before had such a tree sprung from earth!
Just so, lady, I'm awed and amazed by you, and greatly
fear now to touch your knees. Much hardship has assailed me:
for twenty days--until yesterday, when I got clear
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of the wine-dark sea--the waves and storm winds bore me
away from the isle of Ogygia. Now some god's landed me here,
I guess, to suffer more trouble, for I don't suppose
it'll stop now: the gods have plenty in store for me still.
So, lady, show me compassion: after all my suffering
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you're the first person I've met--not a single other one
do I know of all those who possess this city and this country.
Just show me the way into town, give me some rag to wear--
maybe you had a wrapper for the clothes you brought here?--
and may the gods grant you all that your heart desires,
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husband, home, and like-mindedness--a precious gift,
for there's nothing greater or better, ever, than when two
like-minded people are keeping house together,
a man and his wife: much frustration for their ill-wishers,
much joy for their friends, but they two know it the best."
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Then white-armed Nausikaa made him this answer: "Stranger,
you seem neither malicious nor witless: but it's Zeus,
the Olympian in person, who bestows good fortune on men,
the good and the bad, to each as he wills; I suppose
he chose this lot for you, and you just have to bear it.
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But now, since it's our land and city that you've come to,
you'll not go short of clothing nor of anything else
that befits a long-suffering suppliant on arrival.
I'll show you the way into town, name the inhabitants:
it's the Phaiakians who possess this land and city,
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and I am the daughter of great-hearted Alkinoos,
in whom the Phaiakians' power and might are vested."
That said, she snapped out orders to her fair-tressed handmaids:
"Come back here, girls! Scuttling off when you see a man?
Do you really suppose he's some kind of enemy?
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There's no mortal alive, nor could there ever be one,
with hostile intent, so dear are we to the immortals!
Remote is our dwelling, far off in the surging deep;
none further distant, other mortals don't mix with us.
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No, this is some ill-starred drifter who's ended up here,
and we must now take care of, since from Zeus are all
strangers and beggars: any gift, though small, is welcome.
So come, girls, provide this stranger with food and drink,
and wash him off in the river, well sheltered from the wind."
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So she spoke. They stopped, and encouraged one another,
and brought Odysseus to shelter, just as Nausikaa,
daughter of great-hearted Alkinoos, had told them to do,
and put beside him a mantle and tunic to wear, and gave him
the golden flask containing soft liquid olive oil,
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and offered to wash him off in the flow of the river.
Then godlike Odysseus addressed the handmaids, saying:
"Handmaids, stand further off, leave me on my own
to scrub off the brine from my shoulders, rub myself over
with oil--indeed it's a long time since oil came near my skin.
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I'm not going to bathe in your presence: I feel embarrassed
to be naked among all you fair-tressed young ladies."
So he spoke. They went back, told Nausikaa what he'd said.
Now godlike Odysseus scrubbed off with river water
the brine encrusting his back and his broad shoulders,
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and wiped the unharvested sea's scurf from his head;
then when he'd washed all over, and rubbed himself with oil,
and had put on the clothes that the unwed girl provided,
then Athene, offspring of Zeus, made him in appearance
taller and stronger, made the hair spring from his head
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in rich curls, like the flower of the hyacinth. As when a man
overlays silver with gold, a skillful artisan who's been
taught every craft by Hephaistos and Pallas Athene,
and thus turns out the most elegant handiwork,
such was the grace she shed upon his head and shoulders.
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Then he took himself off, sat down on the seashore
agleam with beauty and grace: the girl stared, awestruck,
and addressed her fair-tressed handmaids, saying: "Listen,
my white-armed handmaids: let me tell you something!
Not without the gods' will--all the gods who hold Olympos--
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has this man come here to mingle with the godlike Phaiakians!
Before, he seemed to me to be mean and shabby,
whereas now he resembles the gods who possess broad heaven!
If only a man such as this could be chosen as my husband--
could be domiciled here--might even want to stay here!
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But come, girls, provide the stranger with food and drink."
So she spoke, and they readily heard and obeyed her,
and set before Odysseus both food and drink. So now
the much-enduring godlike Odysseus both ate and drank,
ravenously, since he'd gone a long time without food.
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Now white-armed Nausikaa had one more thought. She folded
the clothes, and stowed them in the beautiful wagon,
and yoked the hard-hoofed mules, and climbed aboard herself.
Then she called out to Odysseus, ad
dressed him directly:
"Get up now, stranger, and I'll guide you to town, direct you
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to my wise father's house, where, I promise you, you'll make
the acquaintance of all the best of the Phaiakians.