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The Odyssey – Book 6

The Odyssey

A Princess and Her Laundry

Odysseus had suffered. In exhaustion from all his long ordeals, the hero slept.

Meanwhile, Athena went to the Phaeacians. This people used to live in Hyperia,

a land of dancing. But their mighty neighbors, the Cyclopes, kept looting them, and they could not hold out. Their king, Nausithous, brought them to Scheria, a distant place,

and built a wall around the town, and homes,

and temples to the gods, and plots of land.ย 10

He went to Hades. Then Alcinous,

who has god-given wisdom, came to power. Bright-eyed Athena traveled to his palace, to help Odysseusโ€™ journey home.

She went inside the decorated bedroom

where the young princess, Nausicaa, was sleeping, as lovely as a goddess. Slaves were sleeping outside her doorway, one on either side;

two charming girls with all the Gracesโ€™ gifts.

The shining doors were shut, but like the windย 20

the goddess reached the bed of Nausicaa, disguised as her best friend, a girl her age, the daughter of the famous sailor Dymas. Sharp-eyed Athena said,

โ€œOh, Nausicaa!

So lazy! But your mother should have taught you! Your clothes are lying there in dirty heaps,

though you will soon be married, and you need a pretty dress to wear, and clothes to give

to all your bridesmaids. That impresses people,

and makes the parents happy. When day comes,ย 30

we have to do the laundry. I will come

and help you, so the work will soon be done. Surely you will not long remain unmarried. The best young men here in your native land already want to court you. So at dawn

go ask your father for the cart with mules,

to carry dresses, scarves, and sheets. You should ride there, not walk; the washing pools are far from town.โ€

The goddess looked into her eyes, then went back to Olympus, which they sayย 40

is where the gods will have their home forever. The place is never shaken by the wind,

or wet with rain or blanketed by snow.

A cloudless sky is spread above the mountain, white radiance all round. The blessed gods live there in happiness forevermore.

Then Dawn came from her lovely throne, and woke the girl. She was amazed, remembering

her dream, and in a fine dress, went to tell

her parents, whom she found inside the hall.ย 50

Her mother sat beside the hearth and spun

sea-purpled yarn, her house girls all around her.

Her father was just heading out to council with his renowned advisors, since his people

had called him to a meeting. She stood near him and said,

โ€œDear Daddy, please would you set up the wagon with the big smooth wheels for me,

so I can take my fine clothes to the river

to wash them? They are dirty. And you too

should wear clean clothes for meeting your advisors,ย 60

dressed in your best to make important plans. Your five sons alsoโ€”two of whom are married, but three are strapping single menโ€”they always

want to wear nice fresh-laundered clothes when they are going dancing. This is on my mind.โ€

She said this since she felt too shy to talk of marriage to her father. But he knew,

and answered, โ€œChild, I would not grudge the mules or anything you want. Go on! The slaves

can fit the wagon with its cargo rack.โ€ย 70

He called the household slaves, and they obeyed.

They made the wagon ready and inspected

its wheels, led up the mules, and yoked them to it. The girl brought out the multicolored clothes,

and put them on the cart, while in a basket her mother packed nutritious food for herโ€” a varied meal, with olives, cheese, and wine, stored in a goatskin. Then the girl got in.

Her mother handed her a golden flask

of oil, to use when she had had her bath.ย 80

 

Then Nausicaa took up the whip and reins,

and cracked the whip. The mules were on their way, eager to go and rattling the harness,

bringing the clothes and girl and all her slaves. They reached the lovely river where the pools are always fullโ€”the water flows in streams and bubbles up from underneath, to wash

even the dirtiest of laundry. There

they freed the mules and drove them to the river

to graze on honeyed grass beside the stream.ย 90

The girls brought out the laundry from the cart, and brought it to the washing pools and trod it, competing with each other. When the dirt

was gone, they spread the clothes along the shore, where salt sea washes pebbles to the beach.

They bathed and rubbed themselves with olive oil. Then they sat on the riverbank and ate,

and waited for the sun to dry the clothes.

But when they finished eating, they took off

their head-scarves to play ball. The white-armed princessย 100

led them in playโ€”like Artemis the archer, running across the heights of Taygetus and Erymanthus; she is glad to run

with boars and fleet-foot deer. The rustic daughters of Zeus the Aegis King play round about her, while Leto is delighted in her heart,

seeing her daughter far above the rest, though all are beautiful. So Nausicaa

stood out above them all. But when the girl

was thinking she should head for home and yokeย 110

the mules, and pack the laundry up again, Athenaโ€™s eyes flashed bright. Odysseus must wake up, see the pretty girl, and have an escort to the town of the Phaeacians.

The princess threw the ball towards a slave girl, who missed the catch. It fell down in an eddy; the girls all started screaming, very loudly.

Odysseus woke up, and thought things over.

โ€œWhat is this country I have come to now?

Are all the people wild and violent,ย 120

or good, hospitable, and god-fearing?

I heard the sound of female voices. Is it nymphs, who frequent the craggy mountaintops, and river streams and meadows lush with grass? Or could this noise I hear be human voices?

I have to try to find out who they are.โ€

Odysseus jumped up from out the bushes.

Grasping a leafy branch he broke it off to cover up his manly private parts.

Just as a mountain lion trusts its strength,ย 130

and beaten by the rain and wind, its eyes burn bright as it attacks the cows or sheep, or wild deer, and hunger drives it on

to try the sturdy pens of sheepโ€”so need impelled Odysseus to come upon

the girls with pretty hair, though he was naked. All caked with salt, he looked a dreadful sight. They ran along the shore quite terrified,

some here, some there. But Nausicaa stayed still. Athena made her legs stop tremblingย 140

and gave her courage in her heart. She stood there. He wondered, should he touch her knees, or keep some distance and use charming words, to beg

the pretty girl to show him to the town,

and give him clothes. At last he thought it best to keep some distance and use words to beg her. The girl might be alarmed at being touched.

His words were calculated flattery.

โ€œMy lady, please! Are you divine or human?

If you are some great goddess from the sky,ย 150

you look like Zeusโ€™ daughter Artemisโ€” you are as tall and beautiful as she.

But if you live on earth and are a human, your mother and your father must be lucky, your brothers alsoโ€”lucky three times over. Their hearts must be delighted, seeing you,

their flourishing new sprout, the dancersโ€™ leader. And that man will be luckiest by far,

who takes you home with dowry, as his bride.

I have seen no one like you. Never, no one.ย 160

My eyes are dazzled when I look at you.

I traveled once to Delos, on my way

to war and suffering; my troops marched with me. Beside Apolloโ€™s altar sprang a sapling,

a fresh young palm. I gazed at it and marveled. I never saw so magical a tree.

My lady, you transfix me that same way.

I am in awe of you, afraid to touch

your knees. But I am desperate. I came from

Ogygia, and for twenty days storm windsย 170

and waves were driving me, adrift until yesterday some god washed me up right here, perhaps to meet more suffering. I think

my troubles will not end until the gods have done their all. My lady, pity me.

Battered and wrecked, I come to you, you firstโ€” and I know no one else in this whole country.

Show me the town, give me some rags to wear, if you brought any clothes when you came here.

So may the gods grant all your heartโ€™s desires,ย 180

a home and husband, somebody like-minded. For nothing could be better than when two live in one house, their minds in harmony, husband and wife. Their enemies are jealous,

their friends delighted, and they have great honor.โ€

Then white-armed Nausicaa replied, โ€œWell, stranger, you seem a brave and clever man; you know

that Zeus apportions happiness to people, to good and bad, each one as he decides.

Your troubles come from him, and you must bear them.ย 190

But since you have arrived here in our land, you will not lack for clothes or anything

a person needs in times of desperation.

I will show you the town. The people here are called Phaeacians, and I am the daughter of the great King Alcinous, on whom

depends the strength and power of our people.โ€

And then she called her slaves with braided hair. โ€œWait, girls! Why are you running from this man? Do you believe he is an enemy?ย 200

No living person ever born would come to our Phaeacia with a hostile mind, since we are much beloved by the gods.

Our island is remote, washed round by sea; we have no human contact. But this man

is lost, poor thing. We must look after him. All foreigners and beggars come from Zeus, and any act of kindness is a blessing.

So give the stranger food and drink, and wash him down in the river, sheltered from the wind.โ€ย 210

 

They stopped, and egged each other on to take Odysseus to shelter, as the princess,

the daughter of Alcinous, had told them. They gave him clothes, a tunic and a cloak, the olive oil in the golden flask,

and led him down to wash beside the river. Odysseus politely said,

โ€œNow, girls, wait at a distance here, so I can wash

my grimy back, and rub myself with oilโ€”

it has been quite a while since I have done it.ย 220

Please let me wash in private. I am shy of being naked with youโ€”pretty girls with lovely hair.โ€

So they withdrew, and told their mistress. Then he used the river water

to scrub the brine off from his back and shoulders, and wash the crusty sea salt from his hair.

But when he was all clean and richly oiled, dressed in the clothes the young unmarried girl had given him, Athena made him look

bigger and sturdier, and made his hairย 230

grow curling tendrils like a hyacinth. As when Athena and Hephaestus teach a knowledgeable craftsman every art,

and he pours gold on silver, making objects more beautifulโ€”just so Athena poured attractiveness across his head and shoulders. Then he went off and sat beside the sea;

his handsomeness was dazzling. The girl

was shocked. She told her slaves with tidy hair,

 

โ€œNow listen to me, girls! The gods who liveย 240

on Mount Olympus must have wished this man to come in contact with my godlike people.

Before, he looked so poor and unrefined; now he is like a god that lives in heaven. I hope I get a man like this as husband,

a man that lives here and would like to stay.

But, girls, now give the stranger food and drink!โ€

She gave her orders and the girls obeyedโ€” they gave Odysseus some food and drink.

He wolfed the food and drank. He was half starved;ย 250

it had been ages since he tasted food.

Then white-armed Nausicaa had formed a plan. Folding the clothes, she packed them in the wagon, and yoked the mules, and then she climbed inside. She gave Odysseus some clear instructions.

โ€œStranger, get ready; you must go to town, and I will have you meet the best of all our people. You seem smart; do as I say.

While we are passing through the fields and farmlands, you have to follow quickly with the girlsย 260

behind the mules, and let me lead the way. Then we will reach the lofty city wall, which has a scenic port on either side,

and one slim gate, where curved ships are drawn up along the road: a special spot for each.

The meeting place surrounds Poseidonโ€™s shrine, fitted with heavy stones set deep in earth.

And there the workers make the shipsโ€™ equipmentโ€” cables and sailsโ€”and there they plane the oars.

Phaeacians do not care for archery;ย 270

their passion is for sails and oars and ships,

on which they love to cross the dark-gray ocean.

The people in the town are proud; I worry

that they may speak against me. Someone rude may say, โ€˜Who is that big strong man with her? Where did she find that stranger? Will he be her husband? She has got him from a ship,

a foreigner, since no one lives near here, or else a god, the answer to her prayers,

descended from the sky to hold her tight.ย 280

Better if she has found herself a man

from elsewhere, since she scorns the people here, although she has so many noble suitors.โ€™

So they will shame me. I myself would blame a girl who got too intimate with men

before her marriage, and who went against her loving parentsโ€™ rules. But listen, stranger,

I will explain the quickest way to gain

my fatherโ€™s help to make your way back home.

Beside the road there is a grove of poplars;ย 290

it has a fountain, and a meadow round it. It is Athenaโ€™s place, where Father has

โ€Œhis orchard and estate, as far from town as human voice can carry. Sit down there and wait until I reach my fatherโ€™s house

in town. But when you think I have arrived, walk on and ask directions for the palace

of King Alcinous, my mighty father. It will be very easy finding it;

a tiny child could guide you there. It isย 300

unlike the other houses in Phaeacia.

Go through the courtyard, in the house and on straight to the Great Hall. You will find my mother sitting beside the hearth by firelight,

and spinning her amazing purple wool.

She leans against a pillar, slaves behind her. My father has a throne right next to hers; he sits and sips his wine, just like a god.

But pass him by, embrace my motherโ€™s knees

to supplicate. If you do this, you quicklyย 310

will reach your home, however far it is, in happiness. If she is good to you,

and looks upon you kindly in her heart, you can be sure of getting to your house, back to your family and native land.โ€

With that, she used her shining whip to urge the mules to go. They left the river streams, and trotted well and clipped their hooves along.

She drove an easy pace to let her slaves

and great Odysseus keep up on foot.ย 320

The sun was setting when they reached the grove, the famous sanctuary of Athena.

Odysseus sat in it, and at once

he prayed to mighty Zeusโ€™ daughter.

โ€œHear me, daughter of Zeus! Unvanquished Queen! If ever, when that earth-shaker god was wrecking me,

you helped meโ€”may they pity me and give me kind welcome in Phaeacia.โ€ And Athena

heard him but did not yet appear to him, respecting her own brother in his furyย 330

against Odysseus till he reached home.

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