Alcinous in The Odyssey: The King Who Was Odysseus’ Savior
Alcinous in the Odyssey is the king of Phaeacians, of his island kingdom Scheria. A large part of the narrative retells Odysseus’s wanderings with the king to receive his stories. When Odysseus was found washed ashore at the beach, he was treated hospitably as a guest in his palace. In exchange, he provided him a safe passage back to Ithaca once Odysseus had finally recovered.
Who is Alcinous in The Odyssey?
Although Alcinous was generous with his hospitable treatment of Odysseus, Nausicaa, the daughter of Alcinous, first encountered him on the island. Nausicaa had a dream of Athena, disguised as a beautiful lady, asking her to wash her clothes along the shoreline. When she woke the day after, Nausicaa heeded Athena’s words and headed off for the shore, where she met Odysseus.
Throughout Odysseus’s travels full of stormy seas and challenges, finally, he was given a reprieve, a short rest during his stay in the kingdom of Scheria. He was finally given a chance to take a breather, to recollect his wits, to remember his objectives, and to steel himself for the final ordeal at hand towards Ithaca. It is quite literally the calm before the storm.
Alcinous’s role is more than just the charitable host for the hero to rest. He is also the guiding hand to which Odysseus can look up. For the king, Alcinous in the Odyssey isn’t just a king in name, but the son of a revered hero of Scheria.
Alcinous in Greek Mythology
King Alcinous in the Odyssey is the son of Nausithous, known as the Lionheart, and the grandson of the Sea God Poseidon. Nausithous shepherded his people away from the clutches of the Cyclops and settled them in Scheria. He had built houses and walls, temples for the gods, and plowed the lands, but most importantly, he protected the Phaeacians.
He had two sons, Rhexenor and Alcinous; however, god Apollo shot the elder brother down, leaving Alcinous to wed Arete, who the people of their kingdom refer to as their god. Arete lacked good sense and judgment, and Alcinous loved her more than any man who honored his wife. Nausicaa, and even Athena, disguised as a little girl to Odysseus, mentioned that he only needed to earn Arete’s favor if he wanted to return to his homeland. Alcinous and the rest of Scheria would follow.
Being mindful of the generosity the gods once bestowed upon their land, Alcinous was quick to tend to the hungry Odysseus, who entered their banquet hall and flung himself on Arete’s feet. He was given food and drink and was assured adequately that he would be immediately given a passage home. He listened to the strange tale of the shipwrecked man and even went so far as to introduce this stranger to his people. He treated Odysseus not just as a guest but as a brother and fellowman, who are both loyal and responsible for the kingdoms they govern.
Nausicaa
The precious daughter of Alcinous and Arete, Nausicaa is intelligent and kind but brave and clear-minded; the traits passed along to her from her parents. That is why the goddess Athena favors her as well as chooses her to be the one to guide Odysseus to Alcinous’s palace. The image of a young girl with a compassionate heart would placate the toil and hardship wrought upon him for the last few days.
The goddess Athena appeared before Nausicaa in a dream, encouraging her to go to the shoreline and wash her clothes with her handmaidens. When she awoke the dawn after, Nausicaa eagerly followed her wishes, and with her handmaidens and their cloth, they reached the shoreline using a carriage lent by her father.
The women’s noisy chatter woke Odysseus from his slumber, who appeared before the startled women naked. He then begged for her help, which she quickly obliged by having her handmaidens clothe the man. He politely requested that he bathe himself, as he was already too embarrassed to be surrounded by young girls.
Another reason why Athena thinks of Nausicaa so fondly is that, while innocent and slightly naive of the world, she can be brave and wise on her own and knows her place in Phaeacian society. She is an unmarried girl and, knowing the city would whisper nasty rumors of her going back with an unknown man, asked Odysseus to follow their caravan from a safe distance. The hero agrees with this, and Athena, having blessed this exchange, even went the extra mile to help Odysseus travel under the cover of thick fog to hide his appearance from the local Phaeacian people.
When he has finished explaining his circumstances to the king and queen, Odysseus meets Nausicaa for the final time and thanks her for her aid. Nausicaa accepts his thanks and even makes him promise never to forget how she saved his life, which Odysseus gratefully acknowledges.
Nausicaa’s role in the Odyssey could have been the first instance of unrequited love in literature. That, or it could be a faint, motherly affection present in Arete that Nausicaa had acquired firsthand. Although it was never fully explored nor hinted at, besides Nausicas’s flustered first impressions of the naked Odysseus running out of the forest, the two were never meant to be together, for Nausicaa herself will have a fiance. At the same time, Odysseus needed to head home for Penelope. In fact, Nausicaa’s role in the Homerian classic may allude to his longing for Penelope and that Odysseus must hurry back for her.
Alcinous, Arete, and the Phaeacians’ Role in The Odyssey
After a chaotic time at sea, Athena pleaded with the gods’ conscience to give Odysseus a break from the turmoil, lest he’d become mad and lose his way to Ithaca. Zeus, the supreme god, agreed and sent Odysseus’s raft to the Phaeacians’ island, where all the gods know, especially Zeus and Athena, who favors them, he will be treated well.
Meeting the beautiful Nausicaa and ultimately given direction, Odysseus was finally given his first taste of peace. To protect his waning mental fortitude, he was in dire need of civilization and essential human contact, knowing that there would be even more significant problems once traveling back to his homeland.
Without his knowledge, however, the island kingdom of the Phaeacians was prosperous in enabling him of his needs, to the point of resuming back to his prior self and even stronger than before. In terms of Scheria’s geographical location, the Phaeacians are master sailors and are more than capable of equipping the hero in his final journey.
And so, with Alcinous’s unselfish requests to make his stay more comfortable, together with Arete’s commanding but gentle presence calming his mind, and the people and the culture of this kingdom reminding him of his duties as king, Odysseus was more than ready for the next set of challenges coming his way.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve talked about the island kingdom of Scheria, favored by the gods, Alcinous, the kind king of the Phaeacians and his noble birth, the graceful queen Arete and her equally as beautiful daughter Nausicaa, let us go over the critical points of this article.
Alcinous in the Odyssey is the king of Phaeacians, of his island kingdom Scheria, and the godson of the Greek God Poseidon.- Alcinous role in the Odysses is more than just the charitable host for the hero to rest. He is also the guiding hand to which Odysseus can look up.
- Having woken up from a dream by Athena, Nausicaa headed off to the shoreline where she encountered the shipwrecked Odysseus.
- She then pointed him in the direction of the city, to the palace of Alcinous, where he could seek shelter.
- Blessed with a noble heritage, King Alcinous of the Phaeacians humbly treated Odysseus and offered him food and drink.
- Odysseus recounted his story so far to the King and Queen of the island kingdom.
- He was then treated as an honored guest in the palace, and King Alcinous promised him a guaranteed passage to Ithaca.
- Odysseus’s relationship with Nausicaa may be considered as one of the very first instances of unrequited love in canonical literature.
- With their superior hospitality, Odysseus finally emerged from the island a new and better man.
In conclusion, Alcinous’s role is to be the gods’ guiding hand and ensure that Odysseus continues his journey well prepared for the coming storm. He and Odysseus are alike in some ways, despite Odysseus claiming he is nowhere near the offspring of a hero nor a god.
His family’s long history of war and bloodshed has taught the Phaecian king to be humble despite the riches gifted to them by the gods. The two see to the needs of their kingdoms and are both wise and humble in their ways.
Alcinous’s role could also be seen as an emergency lifeline for the hero, should Odysseus lose his mind while he was out at sea. He was to treat Alcinous as a wake-up call that this was how he was supposed to be, and thankfully, he did not need such things to continue on the final journey to Ithaca.
