Ulysses obeyed the directions and in due time proceeded to the city, on approaching which he met a young woman bearing a pitcher forth for water.  It was Minerva, who had assumed that form.  Ulysses accosted her and desired to be directed to the palace of Alcinous the king.  The maiden replied respectfully, offering to be his guide; for the palace, she informed him, stood near her father’s dwelling.  Under the guidance of the goddess, and by her power enveloped in a cloud which shielded him from observation, Ulysses passed among the busy crowd, and with wonder observed their harbor, their ships, their forum (the resort of heroes), and their battlements, till they came to the palace, where the goddess, having first given him some information of the country, king, and people he was about to meet, left him.  Ulysses, before entering the courtyard of the palace, stood and surveyed the scene.  Its splendor astonished him.  Brazen walls stretched from the entrance to the interior house, of which the doors were gold, the doorposts silver, the lintels silver ornamented with gold.  On either side were figures of mastiffs wrought in gold and silver, standing in rows as if to guard the approach.  Along the walls were seats spread through all their length with mantles of finest texture, the work of Phaeacian maidens.  On these seats the princes sat and feasted, while golden statues of graceful youths held in their hands lighted torches which shed radiance over the scene.  Full fifty female menials served in household offices, some employed to grind the corn, others to wind off the purple wool or ply the loom.  For the Phaeacian women as far exceeded all other women in household arts as the mariners of that country did the rest of mankind in the management of ships.  Without the court a spacious garden lay, four acres in extent.  In it grew many a lofty tree, pomegranate, pear, apple, fig, and olive.  Neither winter’s cold nor summer’s drought arrested their growth, but they flourished in constant succession, some budding while others were maturing.  The vineyard was equally prolific.  In one quarter you might see the vines, some in blossom, some loaded with ripe grapes, and in another observe the vintagers treading the wine press.  On the garden’s borders flowers of all hues bloomed all the year round, arranged with neatest art.  In the midst two fountains poured forth their waters, one flowing by artificial channels over all the garden, the other conducted through the courtyard of the palace, whence every citizen might draw his supplies.

Ulysses stood gazing in admiration, unobserved himself, for the cloud which Minerva spread around him still shielded him.  At length, having sufficiently observed the scene, he advanced with rapid step into the hall where the chiefs and senators were assembled, pouring libation to Mercury, whose worship followed the evening meal.  Just then Minerva dissolved the cloud and disclosed him to the assembled chiefs.  Advancing to the place where the queen sat, he knelt at her feet and implored her favor and assistance to enable him to return to his native country.  Then withdrawing, he seated himself in the manner of suppliants, at the hearth side.