Read the following two excerpts, one from book v, the other from book vi of the odyssey, and then answer the question below.

"hear me, o king, whoever you may be, and save me from the anger of the sea-god neptune, for i approach you prayerfully. anyone who has lost his way has at all times a claim even upon the gods, wherefore in my distress, i draw near to your stream, and cling to the knees of your riverhood. have mercy upon me, o king, for i declare myself you're suppliant."

butler, book v

on seeing one so unkempt and so begrimed with salt water, the others scampered off along the spits that jutted out into the sea, but the daughter of alcinous stood firm, for minerva put courage into her heart and took away all fear from her. she stood right in front of ulysses, and he doubted whether he should go up to her, throw himself at her feet, and embrace her knees as a suppliant, or stay where he was and entreat her to give him some clothes and show him the way to the town. in the end, he deemed it best to entreat her from a distance in case the girl should take offense at his coming near enough to clasp her

butler, book vi

these two passages have some rather odd references to “knees.” after reading them closely, in no less than seventy-five words, explain to what the references to “clinging” or “clasping” the knees must refer to, using textual references to justify your ideas.