Od. 8.548: Concealment and Truth in Alcinousʹs Confrontation of Odysseus

Abstract

At the end of Book 8 of the Odyssey, Alcinous decides to ask, in a definitive manner, the mysterious foreigner he has welcomed in his court about his identity. However, it’s not easy to make him disclose it: during his stay in the Land of the Phaeacians, he has craftily managed to remain anonymous. In this article, we examine the
strategic nature of the request of revelation made by the king of the Phaeacians in Od. 8.548 in order to prevent the foreigner from avoiding the question once again.