:
Nausicaa and Her Maidens Brought Him Food and Wine (date unknown)|276x276px In Book Six of the
Odyssey,
Odysseus is shipwrecked on the coast of the island of
Scheria (Phaeacia in some translations). Nausicaä and her handmaidens go to the seashore to wash clothes. Awakened by their games, Odysseus emerges from the forest completely naked, scaring the servants away, and begs Nausicaä for aid. Affected by the unfortunate hero, she gives Odysseus some clothes and takes him to the edge of the town. Keeping him secret, she goes ahead into town, telling him to go directly to Alcinous's house and make his case to Nausicaä's mother Queen Arete, the family's matriarch. Odysseus approaches Arete and wins her approval, and he is received as a guest by King Alcinous. During his stay, Odysseus recounts his adventures to Alcinous and his court, a
frame story for a substantial portion of the
Odyssey. Alcinous then generously provides Odysseus with the ships that finally bring him home to
Ithaca. Nausicaä is young and beautiful; Odysseus says she resembles the goddess
Artemis. She has several brothers. According to
Aristotle and
Dictys of Crete, she later married Odysseus's son
Telemachus, and had one or two sons,
Poliporthes or/and
Persepolis. Homer gives a literary account of a love which is never expressed (one of the earliest examples of
unrequited love in literature). Nausicaä is presented as a potential love interest for Odysseus: she tells her friend that she would like her husband to be like him, and her father tells Odysseus that he would let him marry her. The two do not have a romantic relationship, however, and she marries Telemachus in some versions. Nausicaä is also a mother figure for Odysseus; she ensures his return home, and says "Never forget me, for I gave you life". Odysseus never tells
Penelope about his encounter with Nausicaä, out of all the women he met on his long journey home. Some suggest this indicates a deeper feeling for the young woman. According to some versions, the father of one of Nausicaa's sons was Odysseus himself rather than his son Telemachus. == Gallery ==