δμωαί, τὰς μέν τ’ ἔργα διδάξαμεν ἐργάζεσθαι,
εἴριά τε ξαίνειν κὰι δουλοσύνην ἀνέχεσθαι.[[23]]
It is she, too, who fills the important office of ταμίη.[[24]] Indeed, she is treated as a member of the family, is the friend and confidante of the mistress who shows her great deference.[[25]]
The nurse of the grown daughter is seen in Eurymedusa who had been a captive, the prize of King Alcinous.[[26]]
Penelope’s nurse, Eurynome, has much the same office as Eurycleia.[[27]] Like her, she is a trusted slave devoted to her mistress.
In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the duties which the goddess takes upon herself when she assumes the form of a nurse are identical with those performed by Eurycleia in the Odyssey:
καί κεν παῖδα νεογνὸν ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσιν ἔχουσα
καλὰ τιθηνοίμην, καὶ δώματα τηρήσαιμι,
καί κε λέχος στορέσαιμι μυχῷ θαλάμων εὐπήκτων
δεσπόσυνον, καί κ’ ἔργα διδασκήσαιμι γυναῖκας.[[28]]