The Name Revealed, the Journey Begins (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book IX – Part 1)

A feast gives way to truth, and the long-hidden name is finally spoken. What follows is not a boast, but the opening of a reckoning.   In this passage from The Odyssey, Book IX, Odysseus answers King Alcinous at last. He reflects on the beauty of communal joy and song, then declares his name—Odysseus, son of Laertes—and speaks of his home in rugged Ithaca, dearer to him than any comfort offered by goddesses. Having revealed who he is and where he belongs, he prepares to recount the sufferings Zeus laid upon him after Troy.   This moment marks the true beginning of Odysseus’ tale, where identity, longing, and memory give way to the story of wandering itself.   ⸻   New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com   Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm   Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod   Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw   Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.   Passage BOOK IX.   Odysseus relates, first, what befell him amongst the Cicones at Ismarus; secondly, amongst the Lotophagi; thirdly, how he was used by the Cyclops Polyphemus.   And Odysseus of many counsels answered him saying: “King Alcinous, most notable of all the people, verily it is a good thing to list to a minstrel such as this one, like to the gods in voice. Nay, as for me, I say that there is no more gracious or perfect delight than when a whole people makes merry, and the men sit orderly at feast in the halls and listen to the singer, and the tables by them are laden with bread and flesh, and a wine-bearer drawing the wine serves it round and pours it into the cups. This seems to me well-nigh the fairest thing in the world. But now thy heart was inclined to ask of my grievous troubles, that I may mourn for more exceeding sorrow. What then shall I tell of first, what last, for the gods of heaven have given me woes in plenty? Now, first, will I tell my name, that ye too may know it, and that I, when I have escaped the pitiless day, may yet be your host, though my home is in a far country. I am ODYSSEUS, SON OF LAERTES, who am in men’s minds for all manner of wiles, and my fame reaches unto heaven. And I dwell in clear-seen Ithaca, wherein is a mountain Neriton, with trembling forest leaves, standing manifest to view, and many islands lie around, very near one to the other, Dulichium and Same, and wooded Zacynthus. Now Ithaca lies low, furthest up the sea-line toward the darkness, but those others face the dawning and the sun: a rugged isle, but a good nurse of noble youths; and for myself I can see nought beside sweeter than a man’s own country. Verily Calypso, the fair goddess, would fain have kept me with her in her hollow caves, longing to have me for her lord; and likewise too, guileful Circe of Aia, would have stayed me in her halls, longing to have me for her lord. But never did they prevail upon my heart within my breast. So surely is there nought sweeter than a man’s own country and his parents, even though he dwell far off in a rich home, in a strange land, away from them that begat him. But come, let me tell thee too of the troubles of my journeying, which Zeus laid on me as I came from Troy.