People · Character in Homer’s Odyssey
Phaeacians
Seafarers at the world's edge
Sheltered, generous, untroubled; one kindness costs them their ship.
A god-favoured people living far from other men, with ships that need no steersman and find their own way. They row the sleeping Odysseus to Ithaca, and lose the ship to Poseidon on the way back.
Bonds
- Poseidon persecutes Phaeacians — turns their ship to stone
- Phaeacians dwell in Scheria — far off, and favoured by gods
Appears in
- Book VI Odysseus Discovered by Nausicaä
- Book VII Reception of Odysseus by Alcinoüs
- Book VIII Festivals in Honor of Odysseus
- Book XIII Arrival of Odysseus at Ithaca
Scenes
- Athena’s Dream Visit — Book VI. Athena urges Nausicaä to wash robes
- Odysseus’ Supplication — Book VI. Odysseus begs Nausicaä, who calms maids
- Instructions for the City — Book VI. Nausicaä tells him to clasp mother’s knees
- Athena Meets Odysseus — Book VII. Disguised, Athena shrouds Odysseus in mist
- Unseen Through the City — Book VII. Misted Odysseus passes harbor unnoticed
- Palace and Garden — Book VII. Odysseus marvels at bronze hall, orchard
- Welcomed to the Hearth — Book VII. Echeneus urges Alcinoüs to seat stranger
- Alcinoüs’ Promise — Book VII. Alcinoüs vows council, wonders if a god
- Assembly Convened — Book VIII. Herald Athena summons chiefs
- Feast and First Song — Book VIII. Demodocus sings the quarrel, Odysseus weeps
- Games Proposed — Book VIII. Alcinoüs proposes games for youths
- Laodamas’s Challenge — Book VIII. Laodamas invites Odysseus to play
- Euryalus’s Taunt — Book VIII. Euryalus mocks Odysseus as a trader
- The Quoit Throw — Book VIII. Enraged Odysseus out-throws all rivals
- Alcinoüs Calls for Dance — Book VIII. Alcinoüs praises dance, calls dancers
- Dance of the Ball — Book VIII. Laodamas, Halius dance, delight Odysseus
- Euryalus’s Amends — Book VIII. Euryalus gives Odysseus a sword, reconciles
- Gifts Packed for the Voyage — Book VIII. Gifts packed, Nausicaä watches Odysseus
- Alcinoüs’s Question — Book VIII. Alcinoüs halts song, demands his name
- Phaeacian Counsel — Book XI. Alcinoüs grants gifts, extra night
- Departure from Scheria — Book XIII. Odysseus bids Arete farewell, sleeps
- Poseidon’s Complaint — Book XIII. Poseidon complains, turns ship to stone
- Phaeacians’ Prophecy Fulfilled — Book XIII. Alcinoüs recalls prophecy, orders sacrifice
- Athena Unveiled — Book XIII. Athena reveals herself, praises his cunning
Phaeacians is named in 44 of the poem’s scenes; these are the twenty-four that carry the most of the name.