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Book 5
So then,
royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, man of exploits,
still eager to leave at once and hurry back
to your own home, your beloved native land?
Good luck to you, even so. Farewell!
But if you only knew, down deep, what pains
are fated to fill your cup before you reach that shore,
you’d stay right here, preside in our house with me
and be immortal. Much as you long to see your wife,
the one you pine for all your days . . .
In Book 5, Calypso begs Odysseus to stay with her forever and be immortal, rather than face the suffering that awaits him as a mortal on his quest to return home. Read more about this quote in Famous Quotes Explained.
Nevertheless I long—I pine, all my days—
to travel home and see the dawn of my return.
And if a god will wreck me yet again on the wine-dark sea,
I can bear that too, with a spirit tempered to endure.
Much have I suffered, labored long and hard by now
in the waves and wars. Add this to the total—
bring the trial on!
In Book 5, Odysseus confirms his desire to return to Ithaca, in spite of the danger Calypso warns him about. Having suffered many trials already, he is not put off by the promise of what’s to come. Read more about this quote in Quotes by Theme: Homecoming and Quotes by Character: Odysseus.
Book 6
Here I am at your mercy, princess—
are you a goddess or a mortal? If one of the gods
who rule the skies up there, you’re Artemis to the life,
the daughter of mighty Zeus—I see her now—just look
at your build, your bearing, your lithe flowing grace . . .
But if you’re one of the mortals living here on earth,
three times blest are your father, your queenly mother,
three times over your brothers too. How often their hearts
must warm with joy to see you striding into the dances—
such a bloom of beauty. True, but he is the one
more blest than all other men alive, that man
who sways you with gifts and leads you home, his bride!
In Book 6, Odysseus has washed ashore and is discovered by the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa, who alone remains behind when her handmaids flee at the sight of him. Odysseus, desperate, flatters her by comparing her to the goddess Artemis in an effort to gain her assistance.
The gods of Olympus can’t be all against this man
who’s come to mingle among our noble people . . .
Give the stranger food and drink, my girls.
In Book 6, Odysseus has washed ashore and is discovered by the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa, who alone remains behind when her handmaids flee at the sight of him. Odysseus, desperate, flatters her by comparing her to the goddess Artemis in an effort to gain her assistance.
