The Phaeacians are the people of the island of Scheria, ruled by King Alcinous and Queen Arete, who welcome Odysseus when he arrives naked and exhausted after the shipwreck and promise to take him home. They live far from other men, do not concern themselves with bows and quivers but with masts, oars, and ships, and Alcinous says they excel at racing, navigation, the lyre, dancing, clothing, and warm baths.
Odysseus's path to them is guided by Athena. Zeus had already decided, in Book V, that he would reach Scheria and that the Phaeacians would honor him as a god and send him home on a ship, with more gifts than he would have brought from Troy. Athena then sends Princess Nausicaa a dream that leads her to wash clothes in the river, near the place where the castaway sleeps. Nausicaa sees him, without fear, has him given food, a bath, and clothing, and advises him to ask the queen for help, since if Arete is favorable to him, there is hope that he will see his own again.
In the palace, Odysseus embraces the knees of Arete and sits in the ashes, until the old Echeneus reminds the king that this is not fitting. Alcinous seats him on a throne and promises an escort; in the games, the insult from Euryalus makes him prove his strength; the singer Demodocus draws tears from him, and the king, who notices them, finally demands his name. Their hospitality is that of people who receive without first asking for a name or a reason: the escort is given before anyone knows who he is.
The price of this generosity appears at the end. Poseidon, from whom the Phaeacians descend, is outraged that they escort everyone without harm, and Alcinous's father had already warned that one day the god would sink one of their ships on its return and cover the city with a great mountain. When the Phaeacians leave Odysseus sleeping in Ithaca, the warning comes true in part: Poseidon turns the ship to stone. Alcinous, on learning this, orders the escorts to stop.