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bury their city under a huge mountain.’
‘My good friend,’ answered Jove, ‘I should recommend
you at the very moment when the people from the city are
watching the ship on her way, to turn it into a rock near the
land and looking like a ship. This will astonish everybody,
and you can then bury their city under the mountain.’
When earth-encircling Neptune heard this he went to
Scheria where the Phaeacians live, and stayed there till the
ship, which was making rapid way, had got close in. Then he
went up to it, turned it into stone, and drove it down with
the flat of his hand so as to root it in the ground. After this
he went away.
The Phaeacians then began talking among themselves,
and one would turn towards his neighbour, saying, ‘Bless
my heart, who is it that can have rooted the ship in the sea
just as she was getting into port? We could see the whole of
her only a moment ago.’
This was how they talked, but they knew nothing about
it; and Alcinous said, ‘I remember now the old prophecy of
my father. He said that Neptune would be angry with us for
taking every one so safely over the sea, and would one day
wreck a Phaeacian ship as it was returning from an escort,
and bury our city under a high mountain. This was what my
old father used to say, and now it is all coming true. {117}
Now therefore let us all do as I say; in the first place we must
leave off giving people escorts when they come here, and in
the next let us sacrifice twelve picked bulls to Neptune that
he may have mercy upon us, and not bury our city under
the high mountain.’ When the people heard this they were

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