While Odysseus sleeps in the thicket, Athena goes to the city of the Phaeacians. These people once lived near the savage Cyclopes but moved away under their former king to Scheria, where they built a city with walls, temples, and shipyards. Their present king is Alcinous. Athena slips into the bedroom of his daughter, the young princess Nausicaa, disguised as the daughter of a famous sea captain, Dymas, one of Nausicaa's friends. In a dream she scolds the princess for leaving her fine clothes dirty when her wedding day may be near, since many young Phaeacian nobles are courting her. She suggests that Nausicaa ask her father for a wagon and go wash the clothes at the river in the morning.
At dawn Nausicaa asks her father for a mule wagon to carry the laundry. Too modest to mention marriage, she speaks of her father's and brothers' clothing, but Alcinous understands and gladly agrees. Her mother packs food and wine and gives her olive oil for bathing after the work. The princess drives the wagon herself, with her handmaids following, to the clear pools near the river mouth. They tread the clothes in the washing troughs, spread them on the beach to dry, bathe, eat, and then play a game of catch with a ball, Nausicaa leading the song and dance, as tall and lovely as Artemis among her nymphs.
When it is time to go home, Athena arranges for Odysseus to wake. Nausicaa throws the ball to one of her maids, but it misses and lands in a deep eddy of the river. The girls shriek, and Odysseus wakes, wondering what kind of people live in this land — savages, or people who respect strangers and the gods? He breaks off a leafy branch to cover his nakedness and steps out of the bushes like a mountain lion driven by hunger. Filthy and caked with brine, he is a terrible sight, and the maids scatter in fear. Only Nausicaa stands her ground, because Athena puts courage into her heart.
Odysseus faces a delicate choice: should he clasp her knees, the usual gesture of a suppliant, or keep his distance and speak gently? He wisely decides to keep his distance so as not to frighten her. His speech is a masterpiece of tact and flattery. He asks whether she is a goddess, perhaps Artemis, or a mortal, in which case her parents and brothers must be blessed, and happiest of all will be the man who marries her. He compares her to a young palm tree he once saw beside Apollo's altar on Delos. Then he briefly tells of his twenty days at sea and asks for a rag to wear and directions to the city, wishing her a husband, a home, and a marriage of true harmony of mind.
Nausicaa responds graciously. She tells him the name of her people, says that strangers and beggars come from Zeus, and calls her maids back to give him food, olive oil, and clothing. Odysseus bathes in the river alone, washing off the salt, and Athena makes him taller and stronger and gives his hair curls like hyacinth blossoms. Nausicaa, astonished, confides to her maids that she wishes such a man could be her husband. She then gives him careful instructions. Because people gossip, he should not enter the city with her; instead, he should wait in the grove of Athena outside the walls, then go to the palace alone. There he should pass by her father and throw himself at the knees of her mother, Queen Arete, because if the queen favors him, he will surely get home. Odysseus waits in the sacred grove and prays to Athena to make the Phaeacians welcome him.
