Phaeacian craft at its strangest. The ships read a passenger’s mind, find the harbor without a steersman, cut through fog and current like they’re remembering the way. Odysseus boards in a daze, lies down on the deck, and sleeps the deepest sleep of his life. He wakes on Ithaca with the gifts scattered around him. [SPOILER: Poseidon does not forgive Phaeacia for the kindness. As the crew rows home in triumph he turns the ship to stone in sight of the harbor, a black silhouette set into the water forever, and the Phaeacians stop ferrying strangers. The cost of helping Odysseus, paid by people who barely knew him.]
The Magic Phaeacian Ship
A ship that needs no helmsman. Knows every harbor in the world. Carries the sleeping Odysseus home in one night and pays for it on the way back.