The Odyssey Nestor Quotes

At once she prayed intensely to Poseidon:
"Hear me, Sea-lord, you who embrace the earth –
don’t deny our wishes, bring our prayers to pass!
First, then, to Nestor and all his sons grant glory.
Then to all these Pylians, for their splendid rites
grant a reward that warms their gracious hearts.
And last, Poseidon, grant Telemachus and myself
safe passage home, the mission accomplished
that sped us here in our rapid black ship."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 61-69. Prompted by Nestor’s son Pisistratus, Athena prays to Poseidon to honor Nestor and his sons. It is ironic that Athena prays to Poseidon. For she is working against the god who is punishing Odysseus, by giving advice to Odysseus’ son Telemachus.

"Nine years we wove a web of disaster for those Trojans,
pressing them hard with every tactic known to man,
and only after we slaved did Zeus award us victory.
And no one there could hope to rival Odysseus,
not for sheer cunning –
at every twist of strategy he excelled us all."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 131-136. Using a metaphor, Nestor compares the siege of Troy by the Greeks to a spider weaving a web. He attributes the Greeks’ eventual and hard-won victory to the will of Zeus, but also to the cunning of Odysseus.

"it meant no joy to Agamemnon, not at all.
He meant to detain us there and offer victims,
anything to appease Athena’s dreadful wrath –
poor fool, he never dreamed Athena would not comply.
The minds of the everlasting gods don’t change so quickly."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 159-163. Nestor is speaking of how Athena created a feud between the brothers Menelaus and Agamemnon after the fall of Troy. Menelaus wanted to return home immediately, but Agamemnon wanted to stay and sacrifice to Athena. Nestor calls Menelaus a "fool," saying that it is not easy to change the fate that the gods decide for you.

"Ah how fine it is, when a man is brought down,
to leave a son behind! Orestes took revenge,
he killed that cunning, murderous Aegisthus,
who’d killed his famous father."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 222-225. Nestor relates to Telemachus the story of Agamemnon, murdered by his wife and her lover Aegisthus after his homecoming from the Trojan War. Agamemnon’s son subsequently took his revenge by killing Aegisthus. Nestor’s story is a warning to the young prince of the importance of protecting his home and family.

"If only
the bright-eyed goddess chose to love you just
as she lavished care on brave Odysseus, years ago
in the land of Troy where we Achaeans struggled!
I’ve never seen the immortals show so much affection
as Pallas openly showed him, standing by your father –
if only she’d favor you, tend you with all her heart,
many a suitor then would lose all thought of marriage,
blotted out forever."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 247-255. Nestor’s words to Telemachus, wishing that Athena loved and helped him as much as she did Odysseus, are ironic. For the reader is aware that the goddess cares very much for Telemachus and his father and is dedicated to helping them both.

"Never, your majesty,"
Telemachus countered gravely, "that will never
come to pass, I know. What you say dumbfounds me,
staggers imagination! Hope, hope as I will,
that day will never dawn…
not even if the gods should will it so."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 255-260. This is Telemachus’ response to Nestor, who says that if only Athena favored Telemachus as she did his father Odysseus. This is an example of dramatic irony since the reader knows that Telemachus is being guided by Athena, disguised as Mentor, in his search for his father. It also shows Telemachus’ modesty and lack of pride.

"So you,
dear boy, take care. Don’t rove from home too long,
too far, leaving your own holdings unprotected –
crowds in your palace so brazen
they’ll carve up all your wealth, devour it all,
and then your journey here will come to nothing."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 352-357. Nestor advises Telemachus, who has left Ithaca in search of his father, not to stay away from home too long, leaving his property unprotected. He is urging Telemachus to get back to Ithaca before all his family wealth is devoured by the suitors.

"Zeus forbid – and the other deathless gods as well –
that you resort to your ship and put my house behind
like a rank pauper’s without a stitch of clothing,
no piles of rugs, no blankets in his place
for host and guests to slumber soft in comfort.
Why, I’ve plenty of fine rugs and blankets here.
No, by god, the true son of my good friend Odysseus
won’t bed down on a ship’s deck, not while I’m alive
or my sons are left at home to host our guests,
whoever comes to our palace, newfound friends."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 389-398. When Athena tells Nestor that she and Telemachus must be on their way, the king insists that they stay with him for the night. Like the good host, Nestor won’t hear tell of them sleeping on a ship but offers them warm and comfortable beds in his palace in Pylos. The king is a strong believer in showing generous hospitality to visiting guests, in keeping with ancient Greek tradition.

With that the bright-eyed goddess winged away
in an eagle’s form and flight.
Amazement fell on all the Achaeans there.
The old king, astonished by what he’d seen,
grasped Telemachus’ hand and cried out to the prince,
"Dear boy – never fear you’ll be a coward or defenseless,
not if at your young age the gods will guard you so.
Of all who dwell on Olympus, this was none but she,
Zeus’s daughter, the glorious one, his third born,
who prized your gallant father among the Argives."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 3, lines 415-424. Athena, disguised as Mentor, reveals herself when she turns into an eagle and flies away. Amazed at what he has seen, King Nestor tells Telemachus that this was none other than Athena who will protect him just as she prized his father Odysseus. So the young son of Odysseus gets the official stamp of approval from the gods.

"With that man’s overbearing spirit – I know it,
know it all too well – he’ll never let you go,
he’ll come down here and summon you himself.
He won’t return without you, believe me –
in any case he’ll fly into a rage."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 15, lines 234-238. When Telemachus insists that Pisistratus drop him at his ship, because he doesn’t have the time to visit Nestor again, Pisistratus says that his father will fly into a rage. He urges Telemachus to set sail fast for Ithaca, adding that when his dominating father learns of Telemachus’ arrival in Pylos he will be demand that he stay.

"We sailed to Pylos, to Nestor, the great king,
and he received me there in his lofty palace,
treated me well and warmly, yes, as a father treats
a long-lost son just home from voyaging, years abroad:
such care he showered on me, he and his noble sons."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 17, lines 117-121. Telemachus tells his mother Penelope of how warmly and hospitably King Nestor treated him when he visited his palace at Pylos. He compares it, in an epic simile, to a father taking care of a long-long son just arrived home from years of voyaging abroad.
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