ALCINOUS (king of the Phaeacians)

Alcinous was married to Arete, the daughter of his brother, and together they raised their daughter Nausicaa and sons including Laodamas.^7,8,1,9,10 He honored Arete more than any other wife in the region, and they spent the night making plans concerning a maiden.^11,12,13 Hesiod considered Arete to be the sister of Alcinous, though other sources list her as his niece.^7,8,14 His palace contained a well-filled storehouse, a vineyard with grapes at different stages of processing, and gardens that were highly admired in remote antiquity.^15,16,17 Two streams ran through his grounds, one serving the garden and the other the house, while his ships could sail guests to any destination, even places further than Euboea.^18,15

When Odysseus arrived, Alcinous was the only person who noticed the stranger's distress and heard his sighs and sobs.^19,20 He rose immediately, took Odysseus by the hand, and raised him from the hearth, instructing him to occupy the seat of his son Laodamas.^21,19 Alcinous and Odysseus sat together on a polished stone seat at the assembly, and the king seated himself beside the guest during supper.^22,19,23 He vowed to arrange the stranger's escort the following day and had previously promised to help Odysseus return to his homeland.^{1,18,24,25,26} The king insisted on retaining the guest for one more day to prepare gifts, including a cloak and a shirt, and ordered wine and water to be mixed for a libation to Zeus.^{27,28,29,21,26}

Alcinous also welcomed the Argonauts with kind sacrifices and marched with the chiefs of the Phaeacians arrayed in war harness.^8,30 He desired to resolve the conflict between the groups without fighting and provided counsel to the heroes regarding their situation.^31,32,8 Alcinous had the authority to decree the fate of a Colchian maiden and agreed to send Medea back to her father if she was still a virgin.^33,7 He carried a golden staff used for delivering righteous judgments to the people and gave many gifts of friendship to the Minyae when they departed.³⁰ His sailors were described as magnificent oarsmen who excelled all others, and his people once transported Rhadamanthus to see Tityus and returned in a single day.¹⁸

Alcinous criticized his daughter for failing to immediately bring the stranger to his home.³⁴ He sacrificed a bull for dinner in honor of Jove and instructed his servant to mix wine for the assembled guests.^35,36,37 The lyre of Demodocus was kept at his house, and Athena disguised herself as one of his servants to aid Odysseus.^22,38 Alcinous held the ultimate authority to decide matters in word or deed, ensuring the guest's safe return and generous gift.^39,26 As the chief person among the Phaeacians, he remained a figure of sacred might and divine inspiration, ruling with a hand that was both gentle and firm.^40,4,26