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Nausicaa (/nɔːˈsɪkɪə/;[1][2]Ancient Greek:Ναυσικάα,romanized: Nausikáa[nau̯sikáaː], orΝαυσικᾶ,Nausikâ,[nau̯sikâː]), also spelledNausicaä orNausikaa, is a character inHomer'sOdyssey. She is the daughter of KingAlcinous andQueen Arete ofPhaeacia. Her name means "burner of ships" (ναῦς 'ship';κάω 'to burn').[3]
In Book Six of theOdyssey,Odysseus is shipwrecked on the coast of the island ofScheria (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.[4]
During his stay, Odysseus recounts his adventures to Alcinous and his court, aframe story for a substantial portion of theOdyssey. Alcinous then generously provides Odysseus with the ships that finally bring him home toIthaca.
Nausicaä is young and beautiful; Odysseus says she resembles the goddessArtemis. She has several brothers. According toAristotle andDictys of Crete, she later married Odysseus's sonTelemachus, and had one or two sons,Poliporthes or/andPersepolis.
Homer gives a literary account of a love which is never expressed (one of the earliest examples ofunrequited 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 tellsPenelope 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.[5]
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