NAUSICAA (daughter of Alcinous)

One morning, waking from a dream, she stopped her father to speak of it and was told to ask for a wagon and mules to travel to the washing cisterns, which lay some distance from the town.^6,4 After finding her mother spinning purple yarn by the fire, she retrieved linens from the storage room and loaded them onto the wagon.^6,7,8 Her mother gave her a golden vessel containing oil for anointing, along with a basket of food and a skin of wine, while her brothers later helped unload the mules and clothes.^8,3 She yoked the mules to the waggon, took her seat, and drove the team using a whip and reins, accompanied by her maids and a handmaiden in the cart.^7,8,2 Before departing, she called out to a figure she had noticed, instructing her maids to make the stranger sit in the shelter.^7,9

The stranger was Odysseus, whom Nausicaa admired as he passed by after being washed and anointed, while she stood near a roof-supporting post in the cloister observing the guests.¹⁰ Despite gossip that she went about with men without being married, Nausicaa spoke sensibly, advising the stranger to accept fate and offering to guide him to the town.^5,11 She brought Odysseus to her father Alcinous in the land of the Phaeacians, a people she stated were very dear to the gods.^12,11,13 As she prepared to depart, she told the stranger not to forget her once he reached his home safely, claiming he owed her a ransom for having saved his life.¹⁰

Known for her active spirit, she sang while her companions played with a ball, a game that the Corcyrean writer Agallis credited to her invention.^14,15 Her prayers to the gods were answered by divine presence, and she maintained a close bond with her bosom friend, the daughter of Dymas.^5,1 The codex records her lineage as continuing with Telemachus as her consort and children named Persepolis, Poliporthes, and Ptoliporthus. She remained a figure of high standing among her siblings Clytoneus, Halius, and Laodamas.