Odysseus Speaks to Nausicaa

Odysseus is shipwrecked yet again, crawls ashore and spends the night in the woods. Next morning he sees some young girls who appear to be having a picnic close by and comes out of the bushes to ask for help, clad in nothing but his beard and carrying a tree branch in an attempt to preserve some decency. Most of the girls run away, naturally, but Nausicaa, the king’s daughter, holds her ground. The situation is awkward, to say the least. Odysseus speaks:

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γουνοῦμαί σε, ἄνασσα: θεός νύ τις, ἦ βροτός ἐσσι;
εἰ μέν τις θεός ἐσσι, τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσιν,
Ἀρτέμιδί σε ἐγώ γε, Διὸς κούρῃ μεγάλοιο,
εἶδός τε μέγεθός τε φυήν τ᾽ ἄγχιστα ἐίσκω:
εἰ δέ τίς ἐσσι βροτῶν, τοὶ ἐπὶ χθονὶ ναιετάουσιν,
τρὶς μάκαρες μὲν σοί γε πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ,
τρὶς μάκαρες δὲ κασίγνητοι: μάλα πού σφισι θυμὸς
αἰὲν ἐυφροσύνῃσιν ἰαίνεται εἵνεκα σεῖο,
λευσσόντων τοιόνδε θάλος χορὸν εἰσοιχνεῦσαν.
κεῖνος δ᾽ αὖ περὶ κῆρι μακάρτατος ἔξοχον ἄλλων,
ὅς κέ σ᾽ ἐέδνοισι βρίσας οἶκόνδ᾽ ἀγάγηται.
οὐ γάρ πω τοιοῦτον ἴδον βροτὸν ὀφθαλμοῖσιν,
οὔτ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ οὔτε γυναῖκα: σέβας μ᾽ ἔχει εἰσορόωντα.

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This passage is fairly easy. If you’d like to discuss it or ask a question, please leave a comment.

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I have not been able to find any modern pictures of this scene that I like, so I’ll go with this Attic amphora from the 5th century BC:

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Odyssea VI, 149-161