ABSTRACT
A mid-fifth-century vase brings the paramount role of touch in the footbath scene upfront by depicting Odysseus with his leg in the centre of the visual field and Euryclea as she feels his skin from a kneeling position. Touch triggers Euryclea's realization of her master's identity instantly and unreflectively. Euryclea keeps holding Odysseus' leg while she recalls the boar hunt in which he was wounded. Euryclea's immediate recognition by touch fits her intimate bonding with Odysseus: bonding in a literal sense, through touch. The visceral nature of Euryclea's relationship with Odysseus brings her closer to the dog Argus than to the other members of the household. Petronius' scene stars two former lovers: Encolpius in the role of Odysseus and Lichas of Euryclea. Encolpius and his love-boy Giton have disguised themselves as branded slaves to avoid capture by Lichas, on whose boat they have ended up unwittingly.
