A King’s Promise and the Longed-For Departure (Homer’s The Odyssey, Book 13 – Part 1)

After the long night of storytelling, silence falls—and with it, the promise of an ending. At last, Odysseus stands on the threshold between wandering and return.

 

In this opening passage of The Odyssey, Book 13, King Alcinous vows that Odysseus will reach home at last, no matter what he has suffered before. The Phaeacians gather rich gifts, feast in his honor, and prepare the ship that will bear him onward, while Odysseus watches the sun with aching impatience, yearning only for his wife and home.

 

This moment matters because it marks the turning of the tale—from endurance and exile toward arrival, reckoning, and the final shape of Odysseus’s fate.

 

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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.