Book V · Episode 5 of 5
Landing on Phaeacia
Odysseus reaches river, sleeps among olives
Scenes
- Battered Against the Rocks — Wave dashes Odysseus, Athena guides him
- Athena’s prompting saves him from the rocks
- He clings to the rock with both his hands
- The backwash strips skin from his palms
- Athena guides him to a calm river mouth
- He prays there to its unknown god for mercy
- Exhausted on the Riverbank — The river calms, Odysseus collapses ashore
- Brine pours from his mouth and nose
- He unbinds Ino’s veil and casts it away
- The goddess receives the veil in her hands
- Crawling among reeds, he kisses the earth
- He dreads wild beasts on the wooded hill
- Rest Beneath the Olives — Odysseus rests, Athena grants sleep
- Two olive trees, wild and fruitful, entwine
- Their branches block wind, sun, and rain
- He heaps a bed of leaves with his own hands
- He banks himself like embers kept under ashes
- Athena pours sleep over his eyes at last