The Odyssey: Book 06 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFFGHIJDGKALMNOP QRSATUVWXYZA2ZODUJB2 DWC2D2GD2NE2PF2G2PF2 EH2DE2FI2J2F2K2F2LAO FL2VGGAM2ZOLF2N2MO2F 2AWEF2P2Q2R2S2OAGWSW DT2OU2FV2LLW2AX2OOY2 Z2W2OA3LDOFGAAOB3AF2 AGSOF2I2WSY2DGE2V2F2 C3F2EODOOE2WGSSOAT2F 2D2ODF2D3ZI2C3E3WWF2 OFF2FF3OOG3F2DK2AF2H 3I3C3F2ODH3I3J3Y2DAF DAK3OWL3LOWDFG3F2OOF 2E2AAM3E2AN3AOAOOPOM POO3FDE2GOWGOAG3VGP3 F2Q3R3OAV2F2F2F2GI2D FU2GOG3OE2S3F2OAAWT3 E3ALI2OZOVF2S3| So here Ulysses slept overcome by sleep and toil but Minerva | A |
| went off to the country and city of the Phaecians a people who used | B |
| to live in the fair town of Hypereia near the lawless Cyclopes Now | C |
| the Cyclopes were stronger than they and plundered them so their king | D |
| Nausithous moved them thence and settled them in Scheria far from all | E |
| other people He surrounded the city with a wall built houses and | F |
| temples and divided the lands among his people but he was dead and | F |
| gone to the house of Hades and King Alcinous whose counsels were | G |
| inspired of heaven was now reigning To his house then did | H |
| Minerva hie in furtherance of the return of Ulysses | I |
| She went straight to the beautifully decorated bedroom in which | J |
| there slept a girl who was as lovely as a goddess Nausicaa | D |
| daughter to King Alcinous Two maid servants were sleeping near her | G |
| both very pretty one on either side of the doorway which was | K |
| closed with well made folding doors Minerva took the form of the | A |
| famous sea captain Dymas's daughter who was a bosom friend of | L |
| Nausicaa and just her own age then coming up to the girl's bedside | M |
| like a breath of wind she hovered over her head and said | N |
| Nausicaa what can your mother have been about to have such a lazy | O |
| daughter Here are your clothes all lying in disorder yet you are | P |
| going to be married almost immediately and should not only be well | Q |
| dressed yourself but should find good clothes for those who attend | R |
| you This is the way to get yourself a good name and to make your | S |
| father and mother proud of you Suppose then that we make tomorrow a | A |
| washing day and start at daybreak I will come and help you so that | T |
| you may have everything ready as soon as possible for all the best | U |
| young men among your own people are courting you and you are not | V |
| going to remain a maid much longer Ask your father therefore to | W |
| have a waggon and mules ready for us at daybreak to take the rugs | X |
| robes and girdles and you can ride too which will be much | Y |
| pleasanter for you than walking for the washing cisterns are some way | Z |
| from the town | A2 |
| When she had said this Minerva went away to Olympus which they | Z |
| say is the everlasting home of the gods Here no wind beats roughly | O |
| and neither rain nor snow can fall but it abides in everlasting | D |
| sunshine and in a great peacefulness of light wherein the blessed | U |
| gods are illumined for ever and ever This was the place to which | J |
| the goddess went when she had given instructions to the girl | B2 |
| By and by morning came and woke Nausicaa who began wondering | D |
| about her dream she therefore went to the other end of the house to | W |
| tell her father and mother all about it and found them in their own | C2 |
| room Her mother was sitting by the fireside spinning her purple | D2 |
| yarn with her maids around her and she happened to catch her father | G |
| just as he was going out to attend a meeting of the town council | D2 |
| which the Phaeacian aldermen had convened She stopped him and said | N |
| Papa dear could you manage to let me have a good big waggon I | E2 |
| want to take all our dirty clothes to the river and wash them You are | P |
| the chief man here so it is only right that you should have a clean | F2 |
| shirt when you attend meetings of the council Moreover you have five | G2 |
| sons at home two of them married while the other three are | P |
| good looking bachelors you know they always like to have clean | F2 |
| linen when they go to a dance and I have been thinking about all | E |
| this | H2 |
| She did not say a word about her own wedding for she did not like | D |
| to but her father knew and said You shall have the mules my | E2 |
| love and whatever else you have a mind for Be off with you and | F |
| the men shall get you a good strong waggon with a body to it that will | I2 |
| hold all your clothes | J2 |
| On this he gave his orders to the servants who got the waggon | F2 |
| out harnessed the mules and put them to while the girl brought | K2 |
| the clothes down from the linen room and placed them on the waggon | F2 |
| Her mother prepared her a basket of provisions with all sorts of | L |
| good things and a goat skin full of wine the girl now got into the | A |
| waggon and her mother gave her also a golden cruse of oil that she | O |
| and her women might anoint themselves Then she took the whip and | F |
| reins and lashed the mules on whereon they set off and their hoofs | L2 |
| clattered on the road They pulled without flagging and carried not | V |
| only Nausicaa and her wash of clothes but the maids also who were | G |
| with her | G |
| When they reached the water side they went to the | A |
| washing cisterns through which there ran at all times enough pure | M2 |
| water to wash any quantity of linen no matter how dirty Here they | Z |
| unharnessed the mules and turned them out to feed on the sweet juicy | O |
| herbage that grew by the water side They took the clothes out of | L |
| the waggon put them in the water and vied with one another in | F2 |
| treading them in the pits to get the dirt out After they had washed | N2 |
| them and got them quite clean they laid them out by the sea side | M |
| where the waves had raised a high beach of shingle and set about | O2 |
| washing themselves and anointing themselves with olive oil Then | F2 |
| they got their dinner by the side of the stream and waited for the | A |
| sun to finish drying the clothes When they had done dinner they threw | W |
| off the veils that covered their heads and began to play at ball | E |
| while Nausicaa sang for them As the huntress Diana goes forth upon | F2 |
| the mountains of Taygetus or Erymanthus to hunt wild boars or deer | P2 |
| and the wood nymphs daughters of Aegis bearing Jove take their sport | Q2 |
| along with her then is Leto proud at seeing her daughter stand a full | R2 |
| head taller than the others and eclipse the loveliest amid a whole | S2 |
| bevy of beauties even so did the girl outshine her handmaids | O |
| When it was time for them to start home and they were folding the | A |
| clothes and putting them into the waggon Minerva began to consider | G |
| how Ulysses should wake up and see the handsome girl who was to | W |
| conduct him to the city of the Phaeacians The girl therefore | S |
| threw a ball at one of the maids which missed her and fell into | W |
| deep water On this they all shouted and the noise they made woke | D |
| Ulysses who sat up in his bed of leaves and began to wonder what it | T2 |
| might all be | O |
| Alas said he to himself what kind of people have I come | U2 |
| amongst Are they cruel savage and uncivilized or hospitable and | F |
| humane I seem to hear the voices of young women and they sound | V2 |
| like those of the nymphs that haunt mountain tops or springs of | L |
| rivers and meadows of green grass At any rate I am among a race of | L |
| men and women Let me try if I cannot manage to get a look at them | W2 |
| As he said this he crept from under his bush and broke off a | A |
| bough covered with thick leaves to hide his nakedness He looked | X2 |
| like some lion of the wilderness that stalks about exulting in his | O |
| strength and defying both wind and rain his eyes glare as he prowls | O |
| in quest of oxen sheep or deer for he is famished and will dare | Y2 |
| break even into a well fenced homestead trying to get at the sheep | Z2 |
| even such did Ulysses seem to the young women as he drew near to them | W2 |
| all naked as he was for he was in great want On seeing one so | O |
| unkempt and so begrimed with salt water the others scampered off | A3 |
| along the spits that jutted out into the sea but the daughter of | L |
| Alcinous stood firm for Minerva put courage into her heart and took | D |
| away all fear from her She stood right in front of Ulysses and he | O |
| doubted whether he should go up to her throw himself at her feet and | F |
| embrace her knees as a suppliant or stay where he was and entreat her | G |
| to give him some clothes and show him the way to the town In the | A |
| end he deemed it best to entreat her from a distance in case the | A |
| girl should take offence at his coming near enough to clasp her knees | O |
| so he addressed her in honeyed and persuasive language | B3 |
| O queen he said I implore your aid but tell me are you a | A |
| goddess or are you a mortal woman If you are a goddess and dwell in | F2 |
| heaven I can only conjecture that you are Jove's daughter Diana | A |
| for your face and figure resemble none but hers if on the other | G |
| hand you are a mortal and live on earth thrice happy are your | S |
| father and mother thrice happy too are your brothers and sisters | O |
| how proud and delighted they must feel when they see so fair a scion | F2 |
| as yourself going out to a dance most happy however of all will | I2 |
| he be whose wedding gifts have been the richest and who takes you | W |
| to his own home I never yet saw any one so beautiful neither man nor | S |
| woman and am lost in admiration as I behold you I can only compare | Y2 |
| you to a young palm tree which I saw when I was at Delos growing | D |
| near the altar of Apollo for I was there too with much people after | G |
| me when I was on that journey which has been the source of all my | E2 |
| troubles Never yet did such a young plant shoot out of the ground | V2 |
| as that was and I admired and wondered at it exactly as I now | F2 |
| admire and wonder at yourself I dare not clasp your knees but I am | C3 |
| in great distress yesterday made the twentieth day that I had been | F2 |
| tossing about upon the sea The winds and waves have taken me all | E |
| the way from the Ogygian island and now fate has flung me upon this | O |
| coast that I may endure still further suffering for I do not think | D |
| that I have yet come to the end of it but rather that heaven has | O |
| still much evil in store for me | O |
| And now O queen have pity upon me for you are the first person I | E2 |
| have met and I know no one else in this country Show me the way to | W |
| your town and let me have anything that you may have brought hither | G |
| to wrap your clothes in May heaven grant you in all things your | S |
| heart's desire husband house and a happy peaceful home for | S |
| there is nothing better in this world than that man and wife should be | O |
| of one mind in a house It discomfits their enemies makes the | A |
| hearts of their friends glad and they themselves know more about it | T2 |
| than any one | F2 |
| To this Nausicaa answered Stranger you appear to be a sensible | D2 |
| well disposed person There is no accounting for luck Jove gives | O |
| prosperity to rich and poor just as he chooses so you must take | D |
| what he has seen fit to send you and make the best of it Now | F2 |
| however that you have come to this our country you shall not want | D3 |
| for clothes nor for anything else that a foreigner in distress may | Z |
| reasonably look for I will show you the way to the town and will | I2 |
| tell you the name of our people we are called Phaeacians and I am | C3 |
| daughter to Alcinous in whom the whole power of the state is vested | E3 |
| Then she called her maids and said Stay where you are you | W |
| girls Can you not see a man without running away from him Do you | W |
| take him for a robber or a murderer Neither he nor any one else can | F2 |
| come here to do us Phaeacians any harm for we are dear to the gods | O |
| and live apart on a land's end that juts into the sounding sea and | F |
| have nothing to do with any other people This is only some poor man | F2 |
| who has lost his way and we must be kind to him for strangers and | F |
| foreigners in distress are under Jove's protection and will take what | F3 |
| they can get and be thankful so girls give the poor fellow | O |
| something to eat and drink and wash him in the stream at some place | O |
| that is sheltered from the wind | G3 |
| On this the maids left off running away and began calling one | F2 |
| another back They made Ulysses sit down in the shelter as Nausicaa | D |
| had told them and brought him a shirt and cloak They also brought | K2 |
| him the little golden cruse of oil and told him to go wash in the | A |
| stream But Ulysses said Young women please to stand a little on | F2 |
| one side that I may wash the brine from my shoulders and anoint myself | H3 |
| with oil for it is long enough since my skin has had a drop of oil | I3 |
| upon it I cannot wash as long as you all keep standing there I am | C3 |
| ashamed to strip before a number of good looking young women | F2 |
| Then they stood on one side and went to tell the girl while Ulysses | O |
| washed himself in the stream and scrubbed the brine from his back | D |
| and from his broad shoulders When he had thoroughly washed himself | H3 |
| and had got the brine out of his hair he anointed himself with oil | I3 |
| and put on the clothes which the girl had given him Minerva then made | J3 |
| him look taller and stronger than before she also made the hair | Y2 |
| grow thick on the top of his head and flow down in curls like | D |
| hyacinth blossoms she glorified him about the head and shoulders as a | A |
| skilful workman who has studied art of all kinds under Vulcan and | F |
| Minerva enriches a piece of silver plate by gilding it and his work | D |
| is full of beauty Then he went and sat down a little way off upon the | A |
| beach looking quite young and handsome and the girl gazed on him | K3 |
| with admiration then she said to her maids | O |
| Hush my dears for I want to say something I believe the gods who | W |
| live in heaven have sent this man to the Phaeacians When I first | L3 |
| saw him I thought him plain but now his appearance is like that of | L |
| the gods who dwell in heaven I should like my future husband to be | O |
| just such another as he is if he would only stay here and not want to | W |
| go away However give him something to eat and drink | D |
| They did as they were told and set food before Ulysses who ate and | F |
| drank ravenously for it was long since he had had food of any kind | G3 |
| Meanwhile Nausicaa bethought her of another matter She got the linen | F2 |
| folded and placed in the waggon she then yoked the mules and as she | O |
| took her seat she called Ulysses | O |
| Stranger said she rise and let us be going back to the town | F2 |
| I will introduce you at the house of my excellent father where I | E2 |
| can tell you that you will meet all the best people among the | A |
| Phaecians But be sure and do as I bid you for you seem to be a | A |
| sensible person As long as we are going past the fields and farm | M3 |
| lands follow briskly behind the waggon along with the maids and I | E2 |
| will lead the way myself Presently however we shall come to the | A |
| town where you will find a high wall running all round it and a good | N3 |
| harbour on either side with a narrow entrance into the city and the | A |
| ships will be drawn up by the road side for every one has a place | O |
| where his own ship can lie You will see the market place with a | A |
| temple of Neptune in the middle of it and paved with large stones | O |
| bedded in the earth Here people deal in ship's gear of all kinds | O |
| such as cables and sails and here too are the places where oars are | P |
| made for the Phaeacians are not a nation of archers they know | O |
| nothing about bows and arrows but are a sea faring folk and pride | M |
| themselves on their masts oars and ships with which they travel far | P |
| over the sea | O |
| I am afraid of the gossip and scandal that may be set on foot | O3 |
| against me later on for the people here are very ill natured and | F |
| some low fellow if he met us might say 'Who is this fine looking | D |
| stranger that is going about with Nausicaa Where did she End him I | E2 |
| suppose she is going to marry him Perhaps he is a vagabond sailor | G |
| whom she has taken from some foreign vessel for we have no | O |
| neighbours or some god has at last come down from heaven in answer to | W |
| her prayers and she is going to live with him all the rest of her | G |
| life It would be a good thing if she would take herself of I for sh | O |
| and find a husband somewhere else for she will not look at one of the | A |
| many excellent young Phaeacians who are in with her ' This is the kind | G3 |
| of disparaging remark that would be made about me and I could not | V |
| complain for I should myself be scandalized at seeing any other | G |
| girl do the like and go about with men in spite of everybody while | P3 |
| her father and mother were still alive and without having been | F2 |
| married in the face of all the world | Q3 |
| If therefore you want my father to give you an escort and to help | R3 |
| you home do as I bid you you will see a beautiful grove of poplars | O |
| by the road side dedicated to Minerva it has a well in it and a | A |
| meadow all round it Here my father has a field of rich garden ground | V2 |
| about as far from the town as a man' voice will carry Sit down | F2 |
| there and wait for a while till the rest of us can get into the town | F2 |
| and reach my father's house Then when you think we must have done | F2 |
| this come into the town and ask the way to the house of my father | G |
| Alcinous You will have no difficulty in finding it any child will | I2 |
| point it out to you for no one else in the whole town has anything | D |
| like such a fine house as he has When you have got past the gates and | F |
| through the outer court go right across the inner court till you come | U2 |
| to my mother You will find her sitting by the fire and spinning her | G |
| purple wool by firelight It is a fine sight to see her as she leans | O |
| back against one of the bearing posts with her maids all ranged behind | G3 |
| her Close to her seat stands that of my father on which he sits | O |
| and topes like an immortal god Never mind him but go up to my | E2 |
| mother and lay your hands upon her knees if you would get home | S3 |
| quickly If you can gain her over you may hope to see your own | F2 |
| country again no matter how distant it may be | O |
| So saying she lashed the mules with her whip and they left the | A |
| river The mules drew well and their hoofs went up and down upon the | A |
| road She was careful not to go too fast for Ulysses and the maids who | W |
| were following on foot along with the waggon so she plied her whip | T3 |
| with judgement As the sun was going down they came to the sacred | E3 |
| grove of Minerva and there Ulysses sat down and prayed to the | A |
| mighty daughter of Jove | L |
| Hear me he cried daughter of Aegis bearing Jove unweariable | I2 |
| hear me now for you gave no heed to my prayers when Neptune was | O |
| wrecking me Now therefore have pity upon me and grant that I may | Z |
| find friends and be hospitably received by the Phaecians | O |
| Thus did he pray and Minerva heard his prayer but she would not | V |
| show herself to him openly for she was afraid of her uncle Neptune | F2 |
| who was still furious in his endeavors to prevent Ulysses from getting home | S3 |
Homer
(1)
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