Book VIII of twenty-four · From Calypso to Phaeacia

Festivals in Honor of Odysseus

Odysseus competes, weeps, wins gifts

Alcinoüs’s court feasts Odysseus and stages games; taunted by Euryalus, he wins the quoit throw and the two reconcile. Demodocus’s songs of the Trojan quarrel and of the wooden horse move Odysseus to tears, while his lighter tale of Ares and Aphrodite trapped by Hephaestus only amuses the court. Laden with gifts, he is at last asked by Alcinoüs to reveal his name.

Argument, 1871 A general council of the Phaeacians, in which it is determined to send Odysseus home to Ithaca —A solemn feast —Lay of the Trojan War, sung by Demodocus, the minstrel —Public games —Odysseus conquers in throwing the discus —The amour of Ares and Aphrodite sung by Demodocus —His song of the Trojan horse and the fall of Troy.

Episodes of Book VIII

1. Assembly and Feast — Chiefs feast Odysseus, song moves him
   • Assembly Convened
   • Feast and First Song
   • Games Proposed
2. Insult and Ordeal — Euryalus taunts Odysseus, who hurls quoit
   • Laodamas’s Challenge
   • Euryalus’s Taunt
   • The Quoit Throw
3. Songs and Reconciliation — Demodocus sings Hephaestus’s trap on lovers
   • Alcinoüs Calls for Dance
   • Hephaestus’s Snare
   • Gods Gather to Laugh
   • Apollo, Hermes, Poseidon
   • Ares and Aphrodite Freed
4. Gifts and Farewell — Phaeacians gift Odysseus, Nausicaä’s plea
   • Dance of the Ball
   • Euryalus’s Amends
   • Gifts Packed for the Voyage
   • Nausicaä’s Farewell
5. The Wooden Horse — Odysseus weeps again at song of Troy
   • Odysseus Honors the Bard
   • Odysseus’s Request
   • The Fall of Troy Sung
   • Alcinoüs’s Question