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... ake's Odysseus extremely attractive, so much so that Nausicaa comments that "I should like my future husband to be just such another as he is, if he would only stay here and not want to go away" (Scroll VI). It really does seem that the girl has been manipulated into falling in love with Odysseus. This sort of manipulation appears to be acceptable in the name of the general goal, getting Odysseus home.
An interesting question to consider throughout the text in light of events like this, however, is what is the moral limit for the gods on behalf of one of their heroes? How far will they go for their hero? It is a question to which we may not find a definite answer, but one that should be kept in mind nonetheless. After a little while, Odysseus goes into the city. Athena makes him invisible to all the Phaeacian's, who are proud and suspicious of strangers, and then changes herself into a little girl to guide him to the house of the revered King Alkinoos and his queen, Arete.
Odysseus surveys the wondrous beauty of the house, which affords the narrative time for a long description of the marvels of the Phaeacians land: fruits grow year-round, parts of the castle were built by the gods, and so on. Then, still invisible, Odysseus enters the castle, walks straight up to the queen, and gets on his knees before her. Athena then makes him visible, and while everyone is still surprised at his sudden appearance, he makes his plea that the Phaeacian's help him with a ship to get home (without revealing his identity). Alkinoos welcomes him as a guest, inviting him to dine with them and giving him a seat of honor. He says that the Phaeacian's will help him get home, of course. After a while, everyone leaves the dinner table; only Alkinoos, Arete, and Odysseus remain.
Odysseus has still not revealed his identity. Arete notices that he is wearing clothes that she recognizes (they are the clothes that Nausicaa gave Odysseus), so she asks him to tell his story. Odysseus tells his story, starting beginning with his shipwreck on Calypso's island. He does not mention the Trojan War or his part in it.
He also lies slightly to protect Nausicaa to avoid Alkinoos spite for not inviting him into the city immediately. After Odysseus has spoken, Alkinoos reiterates his pledge to see Odysseus home. Alkinoos even welcomes Odysseus to stay in Phaeacian, marry his beautiful daughter, and live as the King's honored son-in-law. Odysseus thanks Alkinoos for his help, and the three all retire to bed, where Odysseus sleeps soundly. (Scroll VII ends here. ) The following morning, Alkinoos calls an assembly and decrees that the Phaeacian's will help the stranger (Odysseus, who still has not revealed his name), and they start to prepare the ship. Meanwhile, Alkinoos takes Odysseus a banquet at which the blind bard, Demodokos, sings.
Demodokos sings about Odysseus and Achilles in the Trojan War, and Odysseus starts to cry. Alkinoos notices Odysseus respon's and calls for some athletic competition. After the young Phaeacian's compete, they invite Odysseus to join them. Odysseus defers; he feels too sorrowful to compete.
One of the Phaeacian's responds to Odysseus decision by insulting him, and he gets very angry. He chides the young man for foolishness, picks up a huge discus, and throws it far further than any of the Phaeacian's. He then lets them know that he excels at all athletic competitions, and will not be insulted. Alkinoos diffuses the situation by telling everyone to return to the banquet, where they watch the young Phaeacians dancers, the greatest in the world. Odysseus is delighted by them, and his mood improves. Alkinoos then offers him many gifts and gets the insolent young man who insulted Odysseus to apologize.
Finally, it is time for the Demodokos to play again. At Odysseus' request, he plays the story of the Trojan Horse, in which Odysseus had a great part. Odysseus starts to weep, and Alkinoos instructs Demodokos to stop. He then politely but firmly asks that Odysseus tell them who he is so that they may know why these stories make him sad. At the beginning of Scroll VII, Athena helps Odysseus by appearing to him as a little girl to guide him to the castle. This episode provides some clues as to how we should interpret divine intervention in the Odyssey.
One critical approach to much of the divine intervention in archaic Greek literature like the Iliad and the Odyssey is not to see it as Athena herself being helpful, but rather to look at divine intervention as an explanation for everything good that happens to the hero. Homer spends much time describing Phaeacian, focusing on its splendors and blessedness. The queen is beautiful and respected, and her name, Arete, is in fact the Greek word for "virtue. " Odysseus is offered by Alkinoos the opportunity to remain in this wonderful, plentiful land, marry a beautiful young princess, and live a life of honor and wealth. His refusal to even consider this offer is simply further confirmation of Odysseus' loyalty to Penelope and to Ithaca, and of his dogged determination to get home. The athletic games in this section also merit discussion.
Ancient and classical Greek society was extremely competitive, and so competition in these games was, beyond simply marking him as a good runner or discus-thrower, a way to measure a man's intrinsic worth. This competition is evident in all of the games, particularly once Odysseus gets involved. When the Phaeacian's invite him to play, they remind him that "there is no greater keys [glory] for a man all his life long as the showing himself good with his hands and feet" (Scroll VIII). Odysseus knows this well.
When he is insulted after deferring from playing the games, his extremely emotional and prideful reaction (declaring how skilled he is at all these games, and that none of them could beat him at any of them, except possibly running, because he is tired) is not unreasonable within the archaic Greek culture. It is, in fact, testimony to his greatness that he can say these things and back them up. By insulting his ability to compete, the young Phaeacians insults his manhood and his potential for greatness, which is not something a Greek hero is expected to abide passively. So, Odysseus throws the discus and sets the Phaeacian's straight. The last point of interest in this section is Demodokos, the blind bard.
There has been much scholarly speculation about this character on many accounts, not the least of which being the belief -- historically unsupported yet quite prevalent -- that Homer was blind. If the author of the Odyssey was blind, then Demodokos the blind bard may be a reflection of the author. Approaching the argument from another angle, the presence and importance of the blind bard -- for Demodokos' fine storytelling reveals Odysseus' true identity -- is also sometimes used as evidence to support the opinion that Homer was blind, drawing from the assumption that Demodokos represents Homer writing himself into the story. All of these arguments are inconclusive, since we are unsure of the identity of Homer in the first place, so speculation about him is bound to be fraught with disagreement. Regardless, it is important to note that Demodokos has had an important place in many scholarly debates, and that he provides clues about the Odyssey's author. Bibliography:
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