# The Iliad, Book 2: The Dream, the Testing of the Army, and the Catalogue of Ships

Ἰλιάς · Homer · The Wrath

Zeus sends Agamemnon a false dream. He tests the army and it runs for the ships, and Odysseus turns it back. Then the catalogue of ships.

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/2. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/2.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/iliad/<line id>.m4a.

**1** ἄλλοι μέν ῥα θεοί τε καὶ ἀνέρες ἱπποκορυσταὶ  
Now all the other gods, and the warriors who fight from chariots,
> Chariot-fighters: ἱπποκορυσταί joins ἵππος "horse" with a root meaning "to arm, to helm"; it names men who go to war mounted on chariots, one of Homer's many concrete, gear-naming epithets for fighting men rather than a vague honorific.

**2** εὗδον παννύχιοι, Δία δʼ οὐκ ἔχε νήδυμος ὕπνος,  
slept the whole night through; but sweet sleep did not hold Zeus,

**3** ἀλλʼ ὅ γε μερμήριζε κατὰ φρένα ὡς Ἀχιλῆα  
but he pondered in his heart how he might

**4** τιμήσῃ, ὀλέσῃ δὲ πολέας ἐπὶ νηυσὶν Ἀχαιῶν.  
honor Achilles, and destroy many Achaeans beside their ships.
> Purpose subjunctive: τιμήσῃ and ὀλέσῃ are aorist subjunctives governed by ὡς, "how he might honor... and destroy...": Zeus is not stating a fact but weighing a plan, the grammar of deliberation rather than of accomplished action.

**5** ἥδε δέ οἱ κατὰ θυμὸν ἀρίστη φαίνετο βουλή,  
And this plan seemed to his heart the best,

**6** πέμψαι ἐπʼ Ἀτρεΐδῃ Ἀγαμέμνονι οὖλον ὄνειρον·  
to send a baneful Dream to Agamemnon, son of Atreus;

**7** καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
and speaking to it, he addressed it with winged words:
> Winged words: ἔπεα πτερόεντα, literally "feathered words," is one of Homer's most frequent speech-introduction formulas, picturing words as swift things that fly from speaker to hearer. It recurs constantly through the poem and is held to this fixed rendering wherever it appears.

**8** βάσκʼ ἴθι οὖλε ὄνειρε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν·  
Go now, baneful Dream, to the swift ships of the Achaeans;

**9** ἐλθὼν ἐς κλισίην Ἀγαμέμνονος Ἀτρεΐδαο  
go to the hut of Agamemnon, son of Atreus,

**10** πάντα μάλʼ ἀτρεκέως ἀγορευέμεν ὡς ἐπιτέλλω·  
and tell him plainly everything, exactly as I charge you:

**11** θωρῆξαί ἑ κέλευε κάρη κομόωντας Ἀχαιοὺς  
bid him arm the long-haired Achaeans
> Long-haired Achaeans: κάρη κομόωντας, "wearing their hair long on the head," is a standing epithet for the Achaeans distinct from ἐϋκνήμιδες "well-greaved" and χαλκοχιτώνων "bronze-clad" — Homer keeps several genuine gear- and body-naming epithets for the same people, each held to its own wording.

**12** πανσυδίῃ· νῦν γάρ κεν ἕλοι πόλιν εὐρυάγυιαν  
with all speed; for now he might take the wide-wayed city
> Wide-wayed city: εὐρυάγυιαν, "having wide streets," is a standing epithet for a great city, applied here to Troy; it recurs whenever Homer names the city as a prize or a goal.

**13** Τρώων· οὐ γὰρ ἔτʼ ἀμφὶς Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχοντες  
of the Trojans, for the immortals who hold the halls of Olympus

**14** ἀθάνατοι φράζονται· ἐπέγναμψεν γὰρ ἅπαντας  
no longer take counsel apart; for Hera has bent them all

**15** Ἥρη λισσομένη, Τρώεσσι δὲ κήδεʼ ἐφῆπται.  
by her entreaty, and troubles hang over the Trojans.

**16** ὣς φάτο, βῆ δʼ ἄρʼ ὄνειρος ἐπεὶ τὸν μῦθον ἄκουσε·  
So he spoke, and the Dream went its way when it had heard the word;

**17** καρπαλίμως δʼ ἵκανε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν,  
and swiftly came to the swift ships of the Achaeans,

**18** βῆ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπʼ Ἀτρεΐδην Ἀγαμέμνονα· τὸν δὲ κίχανεν  
and went to Agamemnon, son of Atreus; and it found him

**19** εὕδοντʼ ἐν κλισίῃ, περὶ δʼ ἀμβρόσιος κέχυθʼ ὕπνος.  
sleeping in his hut, with immortal sleep poured about him.
> Immortal sleep: ἀμβρόσιος, "immortal, ambrosial," is the same root that names the gods' own food; applied to sleep it marks a slumber deep and unbroken enough to belong properly to the gods, which is why the Dream can approach Agamemnon unnoticed.

**20** στῆ δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς Νηληΐῳ υἷι ἐοικώς  
It stood above his head, in the likeness of Neleus' son,

**21** Νέστορι, τόν ῥα μάλιστα γερόντων τῖʼ Ἀγαμέμνων·  
Nestor, whom Agamemnon honored above all the elders;

**22** τῷ μιν ἐεισάμενος προσεφώνεε θεῖος ὄνειρος·  
in his likeness the divine Dream spoke to him and said:

**23** εὕδεις Ἀτρέος υἱὲ δαΐφρονος ἱπποδάμοιο·  
You sleep, son of wise Atreus, tamer of horses.

**24** οὐ χρὴ παννύχιον εὕδειν βουληφόρον ἄνδρα  
It is not fitting for a counsel-bearing man to sleep all night,

**25** ᾧ λαοί τʼ ἐπιτετράφαται καὶ τόσσα μέμηλε·  
to whom the people are entrusted, and so many cares belong;

**26** νῦν δʼ ἐμέθεν ξύνες ὦκα· Διὸς δέ τοι ἄγγελός εἰμι,  
now hear me quickly, for I am a messenger of Zeus to you,

**27** ὃς σεῦ ἄνευθεν ἐὼν μέγα κήδεται ἠδʼ ἐλεαίρει.  
who, though far off, cares greatly for you and pities you.

**28** θωρῆξαί σε κέλευσε κάρη κομόωντας Ἀχαιοὺς  
He bids you arm the long-haired Achaeans

**29** πανσυδίῃ· νῦν γάρ κεν ἕλοις πόλιν εὐρυάγυιαν  
with all speed; for now you might take the wide-wayed city

**30** Τρώων· οὐ γὰρ ἔτʼ ἀμφὶς Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχοντες  
of the Trojans, for the immortals who hold the halls of Olympus

**31** ἀθάνατοι φράζονται· ἐπέγναμψεν γὰρ ἅπαντας  
no longer take counsel apart; for Hera has bent them all

**32** Ἥρη λισσομένη, Τρώεσσι δὲ κήδεʼ ἐφῆπται  
by her entreaty, and troubles hang over the Trojans

**33** ἐκ Διός· ἀλλὰ σὺ σῇσιν ἔχε φρεσί, μηδέ σε λήθη  
from Zeus. But keep this in your mind, and let forgetfulness not

**34** αἱρείτω εὖτʼ ἄν σε μελίφρων ὕπνος ἀνήῃ.  
seize you, once honey-sweet sleep releases you.
> Third-person prohibitive imperative: αἱρείτω is a present imperative, third person singular, not a subjunctive: the Dream frames "let forgetfulness not seize you" as a standing command laid on forgetfulness itself, a Homeric alternative to the more familiar μή + subjunctive prohibition.

**35** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἀπεβήσετο, τὸν δὲ λίπʼ αὐτοῦ  
So speaking, it departed, and left him there

**36** τὰ φρονέοντʼ ἀνὰ θυμὸν ἅ ῥʼ οὐ τελέεσθαι ἔμελλον·  
pondering in his heart things that were not to be fulfilled;

**37** φῆ γὰρ ὅ γʼ αἱρήσειν Πριάμου πόλιν ἤματι κείνῳ  
for he thought that he would take Priam's city that very day,

**38** νήπιος, οὐδὲ τὰ ᾔδη ἅ ῥα Ζεὺς μήδετο ἔργα·  
fool, and did not know what deeds Zeus was devising;

**39** θήσειν γὰρ ἔτʼ ἔμελλεν ἐπʼ ἄλγεά τε στοναχάς τε  
for Zeus meant still to lay pains and groans

**40** Τρωσί τε καὶ Δαναοῖσι διὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας.  
upon Trojans and Danaans alike, through mighty battles.

**41** ἔγρετο δʼ ἐξ ὕπνου, θείη δέ μιν ἀμφέχυτʼ ὀμφή·  
He awoke from sleep, and the divine voice was poured about him;

**42** ἕζετο δʼ ὀρθωθείς, μαλακὸν δʼ ἔνδυνε χιτῶνα  
he sat up, and put on his soft tunic,

**43** καλὸν νηγάτεον, περὶ δὲ μέγα βάλλετο φᾶρος·  
fair and newly made, and cast about him his great cloak;

**44** ποσσὶ δʼ ὑπὸ λιπαροῖσιν ἐδήσατο καλὰ πέδιλα,  
beneath his glistening feet he bound fair sandals,

**45** ἀμφὶ δʼ ἄρʼ ὤμοισιν βάλετο ξίφος ἀργυρόηλον·  
and about his shoulders he slung his silver-studded sword;

**46** εἵλετο δὲ σκῆπτρον πατρώϊον ἄφθιτον αἰεὶ  
and he took up the ancestral scepter, imperishable forever,

**47** σὺν τῷ ἔβη κατὰ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων·  
and with it went down among the ships of the bronze-clad Achaeans.

**48** ἠὼς μέν ῥα θεὰ προσεβήσετο μακρὸν Ὄλυμπον  
Now the goddess Dawn went up to tall Olympus,

**49** Ζηνὶ φόως ἐρέουσα καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισιν·  
to tell Zeus of the light, and the other immortals;

**50** αὐτὰρ ὃ κηρύκεσσι λιγυφθόγγοισι κέλευσε  
and he bade the clear-voiced heralds

**51** κηρύσσειν ἀγορὴν δὲ κάρη κομόωντας Ἀχαιούς·  
summon to assembly the long-haired Achaeans;

**52** οἳ μὲν ἐκήρυσσον, τοὶ δʼ ἠγείροντο μάλʼ ὦκα·  
these made proclamation, and the others gathered very quickly.

**53** βουλὴν δὲ πρῶτον μεγαθύμων ἷζε γερόντων  
But first he sat the council of great-hearted elders

**54** Νεστορέῃ παρὰ νηῒ Πυλοιγενέος βασιλῆος·  
beside the ship of Nestor, the Pylos-born king;

**55** τοὺς ὅ γε συγκαλέσας πυκινὴν ἀρτύνετο βουλήν·  
calling them together, he devised his close-woven counsel:

**56** κλῦτε φίλοι· θεῖός μοι ἐνύπνιον ἦλθεν ὄνειρος  
Hear me, friends. A divine Dream came to me in sleep

**57** ἀμβροσίην διὰ νύκτα· μάλιστα δὲ Νέστορι δίῳ  
through the immortal night; and most of all to godlike Nestor

**58** εἶδός τε μέγεθός τε φυήν τʼ ἄγχιστα ἐῴκει·  
in form and stature and build it was most nearly like;
> Pluperfect with imperfect sense: ἐῴκει is technically a pluperfect of ἔοικα, but functions as a simple past tense, "it resembled" — ἔοικα belongs to a small class of Greek perfects whose pluperfect forms carry ordinary past-tense meaning rather than "had resembled."

**59** στῆ δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς καί με πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν·  
it stood above my head, and spoke this word to me:

**60** εὕδεις Ἀτρέος υἱὲ δαΐφρονος ἱπποδάμοιο·  
You sleep, son of wise Atreus, tamer of horses.

**61** οὐ χρὴ παννύχιον εὕδειν βουληφόρον ἄνδρα,  
It is not fitting for a counsel-bearing man to sleep all night,

**62** ᾧ λαοί τʼ ἐπιτετράφαται καὶ τόσσα μέμηλε·  
to whom the people are entrusted, and so many cares belong;

**63** νῦν δʼ ἐμέθεν ξύνες ὦκα· Διὸς δέ τοι ἄγγελός εἰμι,  
now hear me quickly, for I am a messenger of Zeus to you,

**64** ὃς σεῦ ἄνευθεν ἐὼν μέγα κήδεται ἠδʼ ἐλεαίρει·  
who, though far off, cares greatly for you and pities you.

**65** θωρῆξαί σε κέλευσε κάρη κομόωντας Ἀχαιοὺς  
He bids you arm the long-haired Achaeans

**66** πανσυδίῃ· νῦν γάρ κεν ἕλοις πόλιν εὐρυάγυιαν  
with all speed; for now you might take the wide-wayed city

**67** Τρώων· οὐ γὰρ ἔτʼ ἀμφὶς Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχοντες  
of the Trojans, for the immortals who hold the halls of Olympus

**68** ἀθάνατοι φράζονται· ἐπέγναμψεν γὰρ ἅπαντας  
no longer take counsel apart; for Hera has bent them all

**69** Ἥρη λισσομένη, Τρώεσσι δὲ κήδεʼ ἐφῆπται  
by her entreaty, and troubles hang over the Trojans

**70** ἐκ Διός· ἀλλὰ σὺ σῇσιν ἔχε φρεσίν· ὣς ὃ μὲν εἰπὼν  
from Zeus. But keep this in your mind. So speaking,

**71** ᾤχετʼ ἀποπτάμενος, ἐμὲ δὲ γλυκὺς ὕπνος ἀνῆκεν.  
it went, flying away, and sweet sleep released me.

**72** ἀλλʼ ἄγετʼ αἴ κέν πως θωρήξομεν υἷας Ἀχαιῶν·  
But come, let us see if we can arm the sons of the Achaeans;

**73** πρῶτα δʼ ἐγὼν ἔπεσιν πειρήσομαι, ἣ θέμις ἐστί,  
first I myself will test them with words, as is right,

**74** καὶ φεύγειν σὺν νηυσὶ πολυκλήϊσι κελεύσω·  
and I will bid them flee with their many-benched ships;

**75** ὑμεῖς δʼ ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος ἐρητύειν ἐπέεσσιν.  
but do you, from this side and that, hold them back with words.

**76** ἤτοι ὅ γʼ ὣς εἰπὼν κατʼ ἄρʼ ἕζετο, τοῖσι δʼ ἀνέστη  
So he spoke, and sat down; and among them rose up

**77** Νέστωρ, ὅς ῥα Πύλοιο ἄναξ ἦν ἠμαθόεντος,  
Nestor, who was lord of sandy Pylos,

**78** ὅ σφιν ἐὺ φρονέων ἀγορήσατο καὶ μετέειπεν·  
he, with good will toward them, addressed them and spoke:

**79** ὦ φίλοι Ἀργείων ἡγήτορες ἠδὲ μέδοντες  
Friends, leaders and rulers of the Argives,

**80** εἰ μέν τις τὸν ὄνειρον Ἀχαιῶν ἄλλος ἔνισπε  
if some other of the Achaeans had told us this dream,

**81** ψεῦδός κεν φαῖμεν καὶ νοσφιζοίμεθα μᾶλλον·  
we would call it a lie, and turn away from it the more;
> Potential optative: φαῖμεν and νοσφιζοίμεθα are optatives with κεν, the regular Greek construction for a potential or hypothetical claim, "we would say... we would turn away..." — Nestor is weighing what the elders would think under a different circumstance, not stating what they now do.

**82** νῦν δʼ ἴδεν ὃς μέγʼ ἄριστος Ἀχαιῶν εὔχεται εἶναι·  
but now he saw it who claims to be far the best of the Achaeans;

**83** ἀλλʼ ἄγετʼ αἴ κέν πως θωρήξομεν υἷας Ἀχαιῶν.  
But come, let us see if we can arm the sons of the Achaeans.

**84** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας βουλῆς ἐξῆρχε νέεσθαι,  
So speaking, he led the way in rising from the council,

**85** οἳ δʼ ἐπανέστησαν πείθοντό τε ποιμένι λαῶν  
and they rose up and obeyed the shepherd of the people,

**86** σκηπτοῦχοι βασιλῆες· ἐπεσσεύοντο δὲ λαοί.  
the scepter-bearing kings; and the people hastened after.

**87** ἠΰτε ἔθνεα εἶσι μελισσάων ἁδινάων  
As swarms of thronging bees go forth

**88** πέτρης ἐκ γλαφυρῆς αἰεὶ νέον ἐρχομενάων,  
from a hollow rock, ever coming forth anew,

**89** βοτρυδὸν δὲ πέτονται ἐπʼ ἄνθεσιν εἰαρινοῖσιν·  
and fly in clusters over the flowers of spring,

**90** αἳ μέν τʼ ἔνθα ἅλις πεποτήαται, αἳ δέ τε ἔνθα·  
some flying thick this way, and others that way;

**91** ὣς τῶν ἔθνεα πολλὰ νεῶν ἄπο καὶ κλισιάων  
so the many tribes of them, from the ships and the huts,

**92** ἠϊόνος προπάροιθε βαθείης ἐστιχόωντο  
marched forth before the deep shore

**93** ἰλαδὸν εἰς ἀγορήν· μετὰ δέ σφισιν ὄσσα δεδήει  
in companies to the assembly; and among them Rumor blazed,

**94** ὀτρύνουσʼ ἰέναι Διὸς ἄγγελος· οἳ δʼ ἀγέροντο.  
urging them to go, the messenger of Zeus; and they gathered.

**95** τετρήχει δʼ ἀγορή, ὑπὸ δὲ στεναχίζετο γαῖα  
The assembly-ground was in turmoil, and the earth groaned beneath them

**96** λαῶν ἱζόντων, ὅμαδος δʼ ἦν· ἐννέα δέ σφεας  
as the people took their seats, and there was uproar; and nine

**97** κήρυκες βοόωντες ἐρήτυον, εἴ ποτʼ ἀϋτῆς  
heralds, shouting, tried to restrain them, if perhaps from their clamor

**98** σχοίατʼ, ἀκούσειαν δὲ διοτρεφέων βασιλήων.  
they would cease, and listen to the Zeus-nurtured kings.
> Zeus-nurtured kings: διοτρεφής, "fostered by Zeus," is a standing epithet for kings and chieftains, framing royal authority as a gift and responsibility Zeus himself has given; it recurs throughout the poem wherever Homer names the leaders as a class.

**99** σπουδῇ δʼ ἕζετο λαός, ἐρήτυθεν δὲ καθʼ ἕδρας  
With effort the people sat down, and were restrained in their seats,

**100** παυσάμενοι κλαγγῆς· ἀνὰ δὲ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων  
having ceased their clamor; and up rose the lord Agamemnon,

**101** ἔστη σκῆπτρον ἔχων τὸ μὲν Ἥφαιστος κάμε τεύχων.  
and stood, holding the scepter that Hephaestus toiled to fashion.

**102** Ἥφαιστος μὲν δῶκε Διὶ Κρονίωνι ἄνακτι,  
Hephaestus gave it to Zeus, son of Cronos, the lord,

**103** αὐτὰρ ἄρα Ζεὺς δῶκε διακτόρῳ ἀργεϊφόντῃ·  
and Zeus in turn gave it to the guide, the slayer of Argus;
> Hermes, unnamed: Hermes is not named here at all — he is identified only by two standing epithets, "the guide" and "the slayer of Argus" (from the myth of his killing the hundred-eyed watchman Argus). Homer's audience would have supplied the name instantly from the epithets alone.

**104** Ἑρμείας δὲ ἄναξ δῶκεν Πέλοπι πληξίππῳ,  
and lord Hermes gave it to Pelops, driver of horses,

**105** αὐτὰρ ὃ αὖτε Πέλοψ δῶκʼ Ἀτρέϊ ποιμένι λαῶν,  
and Pelops in turn gave it to Atreus, shepherd of the people,

**106** Ἀτρεὺς δὲ θνῄσκων ἔλιπεν πολύαρνι Θυέστῃ,  
and Atreus, dying, left it to Thyestes, rich in flocks,

**107** αὐτὰρ ὃ αὖτε Θυέστʼ Ἀγαμέμνονι λεῖπε φορῆναι,  
and Thyestes in turn left it to Agamemnon to carry,

**108** πολλῇσιν νήσοισι καὶ Ἄργεϊ παντὶ ἀνάσσειν.  
that he might rule over many islands and all of Argos.

**109** τῷ ὅ γʼ ἐρεισάμενος ἔπεʼ Ἀργείοισι μετηύδα·  
Leaning on it, he spoke words to the Argives:

**110** ὦ φίλοι ἥρωες Δαναοὶ θεράποντες Ἄρηος  
"Friends, hero Danaans, henchmen of Ares,

**111** Ζεύς με μέγα Κρονίδης ἄτῃ ἐνέδησε βαρείῃ,  
Zeus, son of Cronos, has bound me fast in heavy ruin —
> ate: ruinous blindness: ἄτη names a god-sent delusion or blindness that leads a man to ruin, distinct from ordinary bad luck — Agamemnon is claiming Zeus himself clouded his judgment. The same word governs the great confession Agamemnon makes later in the poem over his quarrel with Achilles.

**112** σχέτλιος, ὃς πρὶν μέν μοι ὑπέσχετο καὶ κατένευσεν  
cruel god, who before promised me and bowed his head in assent

**113** Ἴλιον ἐκπέρσαντʼ εὐτείχεον ἀπονέεσθαι,  
that I should sack well-walled Ilion and return home,

**114** νῦν δὲ κακὴν ἀπάτην βουλεύσατο, καί με κελεύει  
but now he has devised a cruel deceit, and bids me

**115** δυσκλέα Ἄργος ἱκέσθαι, ἐπεὶ πολὺν ὤλεσα λαόν.  
go back to Argos in dishonor, since I have lost so many men.

**116** οὕτω που Διὶ μέλλει ὑπερμενέϊ φίλον εἶναι,  
So, it seems, it must be dear to Zeus, exceeding in might,

**117** ὃς δὴ πολλάων πολίων κατέλυσε κάρηνα  
who has already thrown down the crowning heights of many cities

**118** ἠδʼ ἔτι καὶ λύσει· τοῦ γὰρ κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον.  
and will yet throw down more; for his power is greatest of all.

**119** αἰσχρὸν γὰρ τόδε γʼ ἐστὶ καὶ ἐσσομένοισι πυθέσθαι  
For this is a shameful thing, for men yet to come to hear of,

**120** μὰψ οὕτω τοιόνδε τοσόνδε τε λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν  
that so great and so goodly a host of Achaeans

**121** ἄπρηκτον πόλεμον πολεμίζειν ἠδὲ μάχεσθαι  
should wage war to no purpose and fight in vain

**122** ἀνδράσι παυροτέροισι, τέλος δʼ οὔ πώ τι πέφανται·  
against fewer men, with no end yet in sight.

**123** εἴ περ γάρ κʼ ἐθέλοιμεν Ἀχαιοί τε Τρῶές τε  
For if we were willing, both Achaeans and Trojans,

**124** ὅρκια πιστὰ ταμόντες ἀριθμηθήμεναι ἄμφω,  
to cut faithful oaths, and both sides be numbered,

**125** Τρῶας μὲν λέξασθαι ἐφέστιοι ὅσσοι ἔασιν,  
the Trojans counted, all who dwell within the city,

**126** ἡμεῖς δʼ ἐς δεκάδας διακοσμηθεῖμεν Ἀχαιοί,  
and we Achaeans arrayed ourselves in groups of ten,

**127** Τρώων δʼ ἄνδρα ἕκαστοι ἑλοίμεθα οἰνοχοεύειν,  
and each group of us took a man of Troy to pour our wine,

**128** πολλαί κεν δεκάδες δευοίατο οἰνοχόοιο.  
many of our tens would lack a wine-pourer.

**129** τόσσον ἐγώ φημι πλέας ἔμμεναι υἷας Ἀχαιῶν  
By so much, I say, do the sons of the Achaeans outnumber

**130** Τρώων, οἳ ναίουσι κατὰ πτόλιν· ἀλλʼ ἐπίκουροι  
the Trojans who dwell within the city; but allies

**131** πολλέων ἐκ πολίων ἐγχέσπαλοι ἄνδρες ἔασιν,  
from many cities, spearmen, are there too,

**132** οἵ με μέγα πλάζουσι καὶ οὐκ εἰῶσʼ ἐθέλοντα  
who drive me far off course, and do not allow me, for all my will,

**133** Ἰλίου ἐκπέρσαι εὖ ναιόμενον πτολίεθρον.  
to sack the well-peopled citadel of Ilion.

**134** ἐννέα δὴ βεβάασι Διὸς μεγάλου ἐνιαυτοί,  
Now nine years of great Zeus have already gone by,

**135** καὶ δὴ δοῦρα σέσηπε νεῶν καὶ σπάρτα λέλυνται·  
and the timbers of our ships have rotted, and the ropes are frayed apart;

**136** αἳ δέ που ἡμέτεραί τʼ ἄλοχοι καὶ νήπια τέκνα  
and somewhere our wives and our infant children

**137** εἵατʼ ἐνὶ μεγάροις ποτιδέγμεναι· ἄμμι δὲ ἔργον  
sit in our halls, waiting; but for us the work

**138** αὔτως ἀκράαντον οὗ εἵνεκα δεῦρʼ ἱκόμεσθα.  
for which we came here remains just as unfinished.

**139** ἀλλʼ ἄγεθʼ ὡς ἂν ἐγὼ εἴπω πειθώμεθα πάντες·  
Come, then, let all of us obey as I shall say:

**140** φεύγωμεν σὺν νηυσὶ φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν·  
let us flee with our ships to our own dear native land;

**141** οὐ γὰρ ἔτι Τροίην αἱρήσομεν εὐρυάγυιαν.  
for we shall never now take wide-wayed Troy."

**142** ὣς φάτο, τοῖσι δὲ θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ὄρινε  
So he spoke, and stirred the heart in the breasts of all

**143** πᾶσι μετὰ πληθὺν ὅσοι οὐ βουλῆς ἐπάκουσαν·  
the throng who had not heard the counsel.

**144** κινήθη δʼ ἀγορὴ φὴ κύματα μακρὰ θαλάσσης  
The assembly stirred, like the long waves of the sea
> A double simile: Homer stacks two similes back to back for the panicked rush: first the assembly's stir compared to sea-swell driven by wind (lines 144–146), then the rush itself compared to wind bending a field of grain (lines 147–148) — a favored Homeric device, matching motion to motion across two registers of the same image, water and wheat.

**145** πόντου Ἰκαρίοιο, τὰ μέν τʼ Εὖρός τε Νότος τε  
off the Icarian deep, which the East Wind and the South Wind

**146** ὤρορʼ ἐπαΐξας πατρὸς Διὸς ἐκ νεφελάων.  
rouse up, rushing down from the clouds of father Zeus.

**147** ὡς δʼ ὅτε κινήσῃ Ζέφυρος βαθὺ λήϊον ἐλθὼν  
Or as when the West Wind comes and stirs a deep field of grain,

**148** λάβρος ἐπαιγίζων, ἐπί τʼ ἠμύει ἀσταχύεσσιν,  
blowing furious, and the standing ears bow down beneath it,

**149** ὣς τῶν πᾶσʼ ἀγορὴ κινήθη· τοὶ δʼ ἀλαλητῷ  
so was all their assembly stirred; and they, with a shout,

**150** νῆας ἔπʼ ἐσσεύοντο, ποδῶν δʼ ὑπένερθε κονίη  
rushed toward the ships, and beneath their feet the dust

**151** ἵστατʼ ἀειρομένη· τοὶ δʼ ἀλλήλοισι κέλευον  
rose up in a cloud; and they called out to one another

**152** ἅπτεσθαι νηῶν ἠδʼ ἑλκέμεν εἰς ἅλα δῖαν,  
to lay hold of the ships and drag them down into the bright sea,

**153** οὐρούς τʼ ἐξεκάθαιρον· ἀϋτὴ δʼ οὐρανὸν ἷκεν  
and cleared out the launching-channels; and their cry reached heaven,

**154** οἴκαδε ἱεμένων· ὑπὸ δʼ ᾕρεον ἕρματα νηῶν.  
as they longed for home; and they tore away the props beneath the ships.

**155** ἔνθά κεν Ἀργείοισιν ὑπέρμορα νόστος ἐτύχθη  
Then the Argives would have won a homecoming beyond fate's decree,
> "Beyond what is fated": ὑπέρμορα, "beyond μόρος (fate/portion)," marks this near-departure as a violation of the poem's larger design — Troy is fated to fall, so a rout home now would break the plan Zeus set in motion in Book 1. Only divine intervention keeps events on their appointed course.

**156** εἰ μὴ Ἀθηναίην Ἥρη πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν·  
had not Hera spoken a word to Athena:

**157** ὢ πόποι αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς τέκος Ἀτρυτώνη,  
"Ah, shame, child of Zeus who bears the aegis, unwearied one,
> "Unwearied one": Ἀτρυτώνη, "the untiring/unwearied," is a standing byname of Athena, distinct from bright-eyed γλαυκῶπις — a second fixed epithet for the same goddess, each held to its own wording.

**158** οὕτω δὴ οἶκον δὲ φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν  
shall the Argives truly flee home this way, to their own dear native land,

**159** Ἀργεῖοι φεύξονται ἐπʼ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης,  
over the broad back of the sea,

**160** κὰδ δέ κεν εὐχωλὴν Πριάμῳ καὶ Τρωσὶ λίποιεν  
and leave to Priam and the Trojans a boast to glory in —

**161** Ἀργείην Ἑλένην, ἧς εἵνεκα πολλοὶ Ἀχαιῶν  
Argive Helen, for whose sake so many Achaeans

**162** ἐν Τροίῃ ἀπόλοντο φίλης ἀπὸ πατρίδος αἴης·  
have perished at Troy, far from their own dear fatherland?

**163** ἀλλʼ ἴθι νῦν κατὰ λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων·  
But go now among the host of the bronze-clad Achaeans;

**164** σοῖς ἀγανοῖς ἐπέεσσιν ἐρήτυε φῶτα ἕκαστον,  
with your gentle words restrain every man,

**165** μηδὲ ἔα νῆας ἅλα δʼ ἑλκέμεν ἀμφιελίσσας.  
and do not let them drag their curved ships down into the sea."

**166** ὣς ἔφατʼ, οὐδʼ ἀπίθησε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,  
So she spoke, and the goddess, bright-eyed Athena, did not disobey,

**167** βῆ δὲ κατʼ Οὐλύμποιο καρήνων ἀΐξασα·  
but went darting down from the peaks of Olympus,

**168** καρπαλίμως δʼ ἵκανε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν.  
and swiftly came to the swift ships of the Achaeans.

**169** εὗρεν ἔπειτʼ Ὀδυσῆα Διὶ μῆτιν ἀτάλαντον  
There she found Odysseus, equal to Zeus in counsel,
> "Equal to Zeus in counsel": This is a distinct standing formula from πολύμητις "of many wiles" — it measures Odysseus's cunning directly against the king of the gods rather than describing his character in itself, the highest compliment Homer pays a mortal mind.

**170** ἑσταότʼ· οὐδʼ ὅ γε νηὸς ἐϋσσέλμοιο μελαίνης  
standing still; he had not so much as laid a hand

**171** ἅπτετʼ, ἐπεί μιν ἄχος κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἵκανεν·  
on his black well-benched ship, for grief had come upon his heart and spirit.

**172** ἀγχοῦ δʼ ἱσταμένη προσέφη γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·  
Standing close beside him, bright-eyed Athena spoke:

**173** διογενὲς Λαερτιάδη πολυμήχανʼ Ὀδυσσεῦ,  
"Odysseus, son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, of many devices,
> "Of many devices" vs. "of many wiles": πολυμήχανος, "resourceful in devices/contrivances," is a different Greek root from πολύμητις "of many wiles" (Book 1), though both are standing epithets for Odysseus's cleverness — we hold each to its own English wording rather than collapsing them into one.

**174** οὕτω δὴ οἶκον δὲ φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν  
shall you all truly flee home this way, to your own dear native land,

**175** φεύξεσθʼ ἐν νήεσσι πολυκλήϊσι πεσόντες,  
falling upon your many-benched ships,

**176** κὰδ δέ κεν εὐχωλὴν Πριάμῳ καὶ Τρωσὶ λίποιτε  
and leave to Priam and the Trojans a boast to glory in —

**177** Ἀργείην Ἑλένην, ἧς εἵνεκα πολλοὶ Ἀχαιῶν  
Argive Helen, for whose sake so many Achaeans

**178** ἐν Τροίῃ ἀπόλοντο φίλης ἀπὸ πατρίδος αἴης;  
have perished at Troy, far from their own dear fatherland?

**179** ἀλλʼ ἴθι νῦν κατὰ λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν, μηδʼ ἔτʼ ἐρώει,  
But go now among the host of the Achaeans, hold back no longer;

**180** σοῖς δʼ ἀγανοῖς ἐπέεσσιν ἐρήτυε φῶτα ἕκαστον,  
with your gentle words restrain every man,

**181** μηδὲ ἔα νῆας ἅλα δʼ ἑλκέμεν ἀμφιελίσσας.  
and do not let them drag their curved ships down into the sea."

**182** ὣς φάθʼ, ὃ δὲ ξυνέηκε θεᾶς ὄπα φωνησάσης,  
So she spoke, and he understood the voice of the goddess speaking,

**183** βῆ δὲ θέειν, ἀπὸ δὲ χλαῖναν βάλε· τὴν δὲ κόμισσε  
and set off running, and threw off his cloak; and it was taken up

**184** κῆρυξ Εὐρυβάτης Ἰθακήσιος ὅς οἱ ὀπήδει·  
by the herald Eurybates of Ithaca, who attended him.

**185** αὐτὸς δʼ Ἀτρεΐδεω Ἀγαμέμνονος ἀντίος ἐλθὼν  
And he himself, going to meet Agamemnon, son of Atreus,

**186** δέξατό οἱ σκῆπτρον πατρώϊον ἄφθιτον αἰεί·  
took from him the ancestral scepter, imperishable forever,
> "Imperishable forever": ἄφθιτος, "undecaying," is a word Homer usually reserves for the gods' own possessions and glory — applying it to this scepter, forged by Hephaestus and passed down the royal line, folds the object into the same order of permanence as divine things.

**187** σὺν τῷ ἔβη κατὰ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων.  
and with it went down among the ships of the bronze-clad Achaeans.

**188** ὅν τινα μὲν βασιλῆα καὶ ἔξοχον ἄνδρα κιχείη  
Whatever king or man of note he came upon,

**189** τὸν δʼ ἀγανοῖς ἐπέεσσιν ἐρητύσασκε παραστάς·  
standing beside him, he would restrain with gentle words:
> Iterative aorist in -σκε: The suffix -σκε on an aorist or imperfect stem marks habitual, repeated action — "he would restrain [each one in turn]," not a single act. The same form recurs at lines 199 (ἐλάσασκεν, ὁμοκλήσασκε), marking Odysseus's whole progress through the army as a repeated routine, man after man.

**190** δαιμόνιʼ οὔ σε ἔοικε κακὸν ὣς δειδίσσεσθαι,  
"Good sir, it is not fitting for you to be frightened, as though you were a coward;

**191** ἀλλʼ αὐτός τε κάθησο καὶ ἄλλους ἵδρυε λαούς·  
but sit down yourself, and make the rest of the people sit,

**192** οὐ γάρ πω σάφα οἶσθʼ οἷος νόος Ἀτρεΐωνος·  
for you do not yet clearly know the mind of the son of Atreus;

**193** νῦν μὲν πειρᾶται, τάχα δʼ ἴψεται υἷας Ἀχαιῶν.  
now he tests us, but soon he will bear hard upon the sons of the Achaeans.

**194** ἐν βουλῇ δʼ οὐ πάντες ἀκούσαμεν οἷον ἔειπε.  
Not all of us heard what he said in council.

**195** μή τι χολωσάμενος ῥέξῃ κακὸν υἷας Ἀχαιῶν·  
Let him not, in his anger, do harm to the sons of the Achaeans;

**196** θυμὸς δὲ μέγας ἐστὶ διοτρεφέων βασιλήων,  
great is the spirit of Zeus-nurtured kings,

**197** τιμὴ δʼ ἐκ Διός ἐστι, φιλεῖ δέ ἑ μητίετα Ζεύς.  
and their honor is from Zeus, and Zeus the counselor loves them."

**198** ὃν δʼ αὖ δήμου τʼ ἄνδρα ἴδοι βοόωντά τʼ ἐφεύροι,  
But whatever man of the people he saw, and found shouting,

**199** τὸν σκήπτρῳ ἐλάσασκεν ὁμοκλήσασκέ τε μύθῳ·  
him he would strike with the scepter, and rebuke with words:

**200** δαιμόνιʼ ἀτρέμας ἧσο καὶ ἄλλων μῦθον ἄκουε,  
"Sit still, good sir, and listen to the words of others,

**201** οἳ σέο φέρτεροί εἰσι, σὺ δʼ ἀπτόλεμος καὶ ἄναλκις  
who are better men than you; you are unwarlike and without strength,

**202** οὔτέ ποτʼ ἐν πολέμῳ ἐναρίθμιος οὔτʼ ἐνὶ βουλῇ·  
counted for nothing either in war or in counsel.

**203** οὐ μέν πως πάντες βασιλεύσομεν ἐνθάδʼ Ἀχαιοί·  
We Achaeans cannot all be kings here;

**204** οὐκ ἀγαθὸν πολυκοιρανίη· εἷς κοίρανος ἔστω,  
the rule of many is not a good thing; let there be one ruler,

**205** εἷς βασιλεύς, ᾧ δῶκε Κρόνου πάϊς ἀγκυλομήτεω  
one king, to whom the son of crooked-scheming Cronos has given
> "Crooked-scheming" Cronos: ἀγκυλομήτης, "of crooked/twisting counsel," is Cronos's standing epithet, recalling the myth of his own scheming overthrow of his father Uranus — even in a line about the divine grant of kingship, the epithet carries a memory of treachery in the family.

**206** σκῆπτρόν τʼ ἠδὲ θέμιστας, ἵνά σφισι βουλεύῃσι.  
the scepter and the ordinances, that he may take counsel for them."

**207** ὣς ὅ γε κοιρανέων δίεπε στρατόν· οἳ δʼ ἀγορὴν δὲ  
So, ruling, he ranged the army; and they, back to the assembly,

**208** αὖτις ἐπεσσεύοντο νεῶν ἄπο καὶ κλισιάων  
rushed once more, away from the ships and huts,

**209** ἠχῇ, ὡς ὅτε κῦμα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης  
with a roar, as when a wave of the loud-roaring sea
> The sea's own name for its noise: πολύφλοισβος, "much-roaring/loud-dashing," is a fixed sea-epithet built from onomatopoeia; the closing simile answers the wave-simile that opened the rout (line 144), framing the whole panic-and-recall sequence between two images of the same sea.

**210** αἰγιαλῷ μεγάλῳ βρέμεται, σμαραγεῖ δέ τε πόντος.  
thunders on the great beach, and the deep sea crashes.

**211** ἄλλοι μέν ῥʼ ἕζοντο, ἐρήτυθεν δὲ καθʼ ἕδρας·  
Now the rest sat down, and were held back, each in his seat;

**212** Θερσίτης δʼ ἔτι μοῦνος ἀμετροεπὴς ἐκολῴα,  
but Thersites alone kept railing on, still unmeasured in speech,
> Pluperfect functioning as past: ᾔδη is technically the pluperfect of οἶδα, "to know," but like ἐῴκει (already noted in Book 2, chunk 0) it carries plain past-tense force, "he knew" — another member of the small class of Greek perfect-system verbs whose pluperfect reads as a simple past.

**213** ὃς ἔπεα φρεσὶν ᾗσιν ἄκοσμά τε πολλά τε ᾔδη  
who knew in his heart many disorderly words,

**214** μάψ, ἀτὰρ οὐ κατὰ κόσμον, ἐριζέμεναι βασιλεῦσιν,  
spoken rashly, and out of due order, to wrangle with kings —

**215** ἀλλʼ ὅ τι οἱ εἴσαιτο γελοίϊον Ἀργείοισιν  
whatever might seem to him a thing to laugh at among the Argives,

**216** ἔμμεναι· αἴσχιστος δὲ ἀνὴρ ὑπὸ Ἴλιον ἦλθε·  
that he would say; and he was the ugliest man who had come to Ilion:

**217** φολκὸς ἔην, χωλὸς δʼ ἕτερον πόδα· τὼ δέ οἱ ὤμω  
He was bow-legged, and lame in one foot; and his shoulders

**218** κυρτὼ ἐπὶ στῆθος συνοχωκότε· αὐτὰρ ὕπερθε  
were hunched, curving in together over his chest; and above,

**219** φοξὸς ἔην κεφαλήν, ψεδνὴ δʼ ἐπενήνοθε λάχνη.  
his head ran up to a point, and thin stubble grew upon it.

**220** ἔχθιστος δʼ Ἀχιλῆϊ μάλιστʼ ἦν ἠδʼ Ὀδυσῆϊ·  
He was hated most of all by Achilles and by Odysseus,

**221** τὼ γὰρ νεικείεσκε· τότʼ αὖτʼ Ἀγαμέμνονι δίῳ  
for those two he was ever wont to revile; but now, at godlike Agamemnon,

**222** ὀξέα κεκλήγων λέγʼ ὀνείδεα· τῷ δʼ ἄρʼ Ἀχαιοὶ  
shrieking shrilly, he hurled reproaches; and at him the Achaeans

**223** ἐκπάγλως κοτέοντο νεμέσσηθέν τʼ ἐνὶ θυμῷ.  
were violently angered, and indignant at heart.

**224** αὐτὰρ ὃ μακρὰ βοῶν Ἀγαμέμνονα νείκεε μύθῳ·  
But he, bawling loudly, reviled Agamemnon with these words:

**225** Ἀτρεΐδη τέο δʼ αὖτʼ ἐπιμέμφεαι ἠδὲ χατίζεις;  
"Son of Atreus, what do you complain of now, and what do you lack?

**226** πλεῖαί τοι χαλκοῦ κλισίαι, πολλαὶ δὲ γυναῖκες  
Your huts are full of bronze, and many women

**227** εἰσὶν ἐνὶ κλισίῃς ἐξαίρετοι, ἅς τοι Ἀχαιοὶ  
are in your huts, choice ones, whom we Achaeans

**228** πρωτίστῳ δίδομεν εὖτʼ ἂν πτολίεθρον ἕλωμεν.  
give to you first of all, whenever we take a city.

**229** ἦ ἔτι καὶ χρυσοῦ ἐπιδεύεαι, ὅν κέ τις οἴσει  
Or is it still gold you want, that some man of the horse-taming Trojans

**230** Τρώων ἱπποδάμων ἐξ Ἰλίου υἷος ἄποινα,  
will bring you out of Ilion, as ransom for his son,

**231** ὅν κεν ἐγὼ δήσας ἀγάγω ἢ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν,  
whom I, having bound him, might lead away, or some other Achaean,

**232** ἠὲ γυναῖκα νέην, ἵνα μίσγεαι ἐν φιλότητι,  
or a young woman, to lie with in love,

**233** ἥν τʼ αὐτὸς ἀπονόσφι κατίσχεαι; οὐ μὲν ἔοικεν  
and keep apart for yourself alone? It is not fitting

**234** ἀρχὸν ἐόντα κακῶν ἐπιβασκέμεν υἷας Ἀχαιῶν.  
for one who is our leader to lead the sons of the Achaeans into evils.

**235** ὦ πέπονες κάκʼ ἐλέγχεʼ Ἀχαιΐδες οὐκέτʼ Ἀχαιοὶ  
You weaklings, base disgraces, Achaean women, no longer Achaean men,

**236** οἴκαδέ περ σὺν νηυσὶ νεώμεθα, τόνδε δʼ ἐῶμεν  
let us sail for home with our ships, and leave this man here

**237** αὐτοῦ ἐνὶ Τροίῃ γέρα πεσσέμεν, ὄφρα ἴδηται  
in Troy to digest his prizes, that he may see

**238** ἤ ῥά τί οἱ χἠμεῖς προσαμύνομεν ἦε καὶ οὐκί·  
whether we too are of some help to him, or not —

**239** ὃς καὶ νῦν Ἀχιλῆα ἕο μέγʼ ἀμείνονα φῶτα  
he who, even now, against Achilles — a man far better than himself —

**240** ἠτίμησεν· ἑλὼν γὰρ ἔχει γέρας αὐτὸς ἀπούρας.  
has dishonored him; for he has seized his prize and keeps it, having taken it for himself.

**241** ἀλλὰ μάλʼ οὐκ Ἀχιλῆϊ χόλος φρεσίν, ἀλλὰ μεθήμων·  
But there is no anger at all in Achilles' heart; he is slack;

**242** ἦ γὰρ ἂν Ἀτρεΐδη νῦν ὕστατα λωβήσαιο·  
Otherwise, son of Atreus, this would be the last outrage you commit."

**243** ὣς φάτο νεικείων Ἀγαμέμνονα ποιμένα λαῶν,  
So he spoke, reviling Agamemnon, shepherd of the people,

**244** Θερσίτης· τῷ δʼ ὦκα παρίστατο δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,  
Thersites; and swiftly godlike Odysseus came up beside him,

**245** καί μιν ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν χαλεπῷ ἠνίπαπε μύθῳ·  
and glaring at him from under his brows, rebuked him with harsh words:
> A variant of the hupodra formula: This is the same ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν, "glaring from under his brows," that marks the poem's fixed formula for an angry retort (locked in Book 1 as "Then, glaring at him from under his brows, [name] spoke"), but here paired with a different verb, ἠνίπαπε, "rebuked" rather than "spoke" — the glare-formula is held to its core wording even where the surrounding verb changes.

**246** Θερσῖτʼ ἀκριτόμυθε, λιγύς περ ἐὼν ἀγορητής,  
"Thersites, reckless babbler, clear-voiced speaker though you are,

**247** ἴσχεο, μηδʼ ἔθελʼ οἶος ἐριζέμεναι βασιλεῦσιν·  
hold your peace, and do not wish, alone, to wrangle with kings;

**248** οὐ γὰρ ἐγὼ σέο φημὶ χερειότερον βροτὸν ἄλλον  
for I say there is no baser mortal than you

**249** ἔμμεναι, ὅσσοι ἅμʼ Ἀτρεΐδῃς ὑπὸ Ἴλιον ἦλθον.  
among all who came beneath Ilion with the sons of Atreus.

**250** τὼ οὐκ ἂν βασιλῆας ἀνὰ στόμʼ ἔχων ἀγορεύοις,  
So you should not have kings on your lips as you speak,

**251** καί σφιν ὀνείδεά τε προφέροις, νόστόν τε φυλάσσοις.  
casting reproaches at them, and keeping watch for our homecoming.

**252** οὐδέ τί πω σάφα ἴδμεν ὅπως ἔσται τάδε ἔργα,  
We do not yet clearly know how these things will turn out,

**253** ἢ εὖ ἦε κακῶς νοστήσομεν υἷες Ἀχαιῶν.  
whether we sons of the Achaeans shall return well or ill.

**254** τὼ νῦν Ἀτρεΐδῃ Ἀγαμέμνονι ποιμένι λαῶν  
Yet now, against Atreus' son Agamemnon, shepherd of the people,

**255** ἧσαι ὀνειδίζων, ὅτι οἱ μάλα πολλὰ διδοῦσιν  
you sit reviling him, because the hero Danaans give him

**256** ἥρωες Δαναοί· σὺ δὲ κερτομέων ἀγορεύεις.  
so very much; but you speak only to mock.

**257** ἀλλʼ ἔκ τοι ἐρέω, τὸ δὲ καὶ τετελεσμένον ἔσται·  
But I will tell you plainly, and this shall indeed be fulfilled:

**258** εἴ κʼ ἔτι σʼ ἀφραίνοντα κιχήσομαι ὥς νύ περ ὧδε,  
if I find you playing the fool again, as you do now,

**259** μηκέτʼ ἔπειτʼ Ὀδυσῆϊ κάρη ὤμοισιν ἐπείη,  
then let the head of Odysseus no longer sit upon his shoulders,
> Optative in a self-curse: ἐπείη and εἴην are optatives of wish, "let it no longer be... let me no longer be called" — Odysseus stakes his own head and his own fatherhood of Telemachus on the threat that follows, a Homeric self-curse construction rather than a plain future statement.

**260** μηδʼ ἔτι Τηλεμάχοιο πατὴρ κεκλημένος εἴην,  
nor let me still be called the father of Telemachus,

**261** εἰ μὴ ἐγώ σε λαβὼν ἀπὸ μὲν φίλα εἵματα δύσω,  
if I do not take you and strip from you your own garments,

**262** χλαῖνάν τʼ ἠδὲ χιτῶνα, τά τʼ αἰδῶ ἀμφικαλύπτει,  
your cloak and your tunic, which cover your nakedness,

**263** αὐτὸν δὲ κλαίοντα θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας ἀφήσω  
and send you weeping to the swift ships,

**264** πεπλήγων ἀγορῆθεν ἀεικέσσι πληγῇσιν.  
beating you from the assembly with shameful blows.

**265** ὣς ἄρʼ ἔφη, σκήπτρῳ δὲ μετάφρενον ἠδὲ καὶ ὤμω  
So he spoke, and with the scepter struck his back and shoulders;

**266** πλῆξεν· ὃ δʼ ἰδνώθη, θαλερὸν δέ οἱ ἔκπεσε δάκρυ·  
he doubled over, and a swelling tear fell from him;

**267** σμῶδιξ δʼ αἱματόεσσα μεταφρένου ἐξυπανέστη  
and a bloody welt rose up on his back

**268** σκήπτρου ὕπο χρυσέου· ὃ δʼ ἄρʼ ἕζετο τάρβησέν τε,  
beneath the golden scepter; and he sat down, and was afraid,

**269** ἀλγήσας δʼ ἀχρεῖον ἰδὼν ἀπομόρξατο δάκρυ.  
and in pain, looking about helplessly, wiped away his tears.

**270** οἳ δὲ καὶ ἀχνύμενοί περ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ ἡδὺ γέλασσαν·  
But the rest, grieved though they were, laughed sweetly over him;

**271** ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκεν ἰδὼν ἐς πλησίον ἄλλον·  
and thus one would say, looking at his neighbor:

**272** ὢ πόποι ἦ δὴ μυρίʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐσθλὰ ἔοργε  
"Ah, truly Odysseus has done countless good things,

**273** βουλάς τʼ ἐξάρχων ἀγαθὰς πόλεμόν τε κορύσσων·  
leading good counsels and marshaling war;

**274** νῦν δὲ τόδε μέγʼ ἄριστον ἐν Ἀργείοισιν ἔρεξεν,  
but now he has done this, the greatest deed among the Argives,

**275** ὃς τὸν λωβητῆρα ἐπεσβόλον ἔσχʼ ἀγοράων.  
in stopping this abusive reviler from our assemblies.

**276** οὔ θήν μιν πάλιν αὖτις ἀνήσει θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ  
Surely his proud spirit will not urge him again

**277** νεικείειν βασιλῆας ὀνειδείοις ἐπέεσσιν.  
to revile kings with words of reproach."

**278** ὣς φάσαν ἣ πληθύς· ἀνὰ δʼ ὃ πτολίπορθος Ὀδυσσεὺς  
So said the throng; and up rose Odysseus, sacker of cities,
> "Sacker of cities": πτολίπορθος, "city-sacking," is a new standing epithet for Odysseus in this poem (Achilles also carries it elsewhere) — a martial byname distinct from the counsel-praising epithets "of many wiles" and "of many devices" already established for him; locked here for consistent use later in the Iliad.

**279** ἔστη σκῆπτρον ἔχων· παρὰ δὲ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη  
and stood, holding the scepter; and beside him bright-eyed Athena,

**280** εἰδομένη κήρυκι σιωπᾶν λαὸν ἀνώγει,  
in the likeness of a herald, bade the people be silent,

**281** ὡς ἅμα θʼ οἳ πρῶτοί τε καὶ ὕστατοι υἷες Ἀχαιῶν  
so that at once both the foremost and the last of the sons of the Achaeans

**282** μῦθον ἀκούσειαν καὶ ἐπιφρασσαίατο βουλήν·  
might hear his speech, and take note of his counsel.
> Optative purpose clause: ἀκούσειαν and ἐπιφρασσαίατο are optatives following ὡς in a purpose clause after a past-tense main verb ("bade") — Greek regularly shifts a purpose clause's mood from subjunctive to optative in this kind of secondary sequence; compare the subjunctive purpose clause δαῶμεν at line 299, where the main verb is instead an imperative in present time.

**283** ὅ σφιν ἐὺ φρονέων ἀγορήσατο καὶ μετέειπεν·  
He, with good will toward them, addressed them and spoke:

**284** Ἀτρεΐδη νῦν δή σε ἄναξ ἐθέλουσιν Ἀχαιοὶ  
"Son of Atreus, now indeed the Achaeans wish, O king, to make you

**285** πᾶσιν ἐλέγχιστον θέμεναι μερόπεσσι βροτοῖσιν,  
the most despised among all mortal men who speak,

**286** οὐδέ τοι ἐκτελέουσιν ὑπόσχεσιν ἥν περ ὑπέσταν  
and they will not fulfill for you the promise which they made

**287** ἐνθάδʼ ἔτι στείχοντες ἀπʼ Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο  
when they set out, still on their way here from horse-pasturing Argos,

**288** Ἴλιον ἐκπέρσαντʼ εὐτείχεον ἀπονέεσθαι.  
that once they had sacked well-walled Ilion, they would return home.

**289** ὥς τε γὰρ ἢ παῖδες νεαροὶ χῆραί τε γυναῖκες  
For like young children, or widowed women,

**290** ἀλλήλοισιν ὀδύρονται οἶκον δὲ νέεσθαι.  
they wail to one another to go home.

**291** ἦ μὴν καὶ πόνος ἐστὶν ἀνιηθέντα νέεσθαι·  
And truly it is hardship, to be worn out and go home;
> ponos: toil: πόνος, "toil, hardship, labor," is one of Homer's recurring value-terms for the grinding cost of war, set here directly against the longing for homecoming — the same word runs through the poem wherever endurance under suffering is being weighed against its price.

**292** καὶ γάρ τίς θʼ ἕνα μῆνα μένων ἀπὸ ἧς ἀλόχοιο  
for even a man who stays but a single month away from his wife

**293** ἀσχαλάᾳ σὺν νηῒ πολυζύγῳ, ὅν περ ἄελλαι  
chafes, aboard his many-benched ship, when the storm-winds

**294** χειμέριαι εἰλέωσιν ὀρινομένη τε θάλασσα·  
pen him in, and the sea is stirred to trouble;

**295** ἡμῖν δʼ εἴνατός ἐστι περιτροπέων ἐνιαυτὸς  
but for us this is now the ninth revolving year

**296** ἐνθάδε μιμνόντεσσι· τὼ οὐ νεμεσίζομʼ Ἀχαιοὺς  
that we have remained here; so I do not blame the Achaeans

**297** ἀσχαλάαν παρὰ νηυσὶ κορωνίσιν· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔμπης  
for chafing beside the curved ships; yet still, all the same,

**298** αἰσχρόν τοι δηρόν τε μένειν κενεόν τε νέεσθαι.  
it is shameful to stay so long, and to go home empty-handed.

**299** τλῆτε φίλοι, καὶ μείνατʼ ἐπὶ χρόνον ὄφρα δαῶμεν  
Endure it, friends, and stay a while longer, that we may learn
> Subjunctive purpose clause: δαῶμεν is an aorist subjunctive in a purpose clause following an imperative in present time ("stay... that we may learn") — the regular primary-sequence mood, held here against the optative purpose clause ἀκούσειαν at line 282, which follows a past-tense main verb.

**300** ἢ ἐτεὸν Κάλχας μαντεύεται ἦε καὶ οὐκί.  
whether Calchas prophesies truly, or not.

**301** εὖ γὰρ δὴ τόδε ἴδμεν ἐνὶ φρεσίν, ἐστὲ δὲ πάντες  
For this we know well in our hearts, and you are all

**302** μάρτυροι, οὓς μὴ κῆρες ἔβαν θανάτοιο φέρουσαι·  
witnesses, all whom the fates of death have not carried off:

**303** χθιζά τε καὶ πρωΐζʼ ὅτʼ ἐς Αὐλίδα νῆες Ἀχαιῶν  
yesterday, or the day before, when the ships of the Achaeans

**304** ἠγερέθοντο κακὰ Πριάμῳ καὶ Τρωσὶ φέρουσαι,  
gathered at Aulis, bringing evils to Priam and the Trojans,

**305** ἡμεῖς δʼ ἀμφὶ περὶ κρήνην ἱεροὺς κατὰ βωμοὺς  
we, around a spring, at the sacred altars,

**306** ἕρδομεν ἀθανάτοισι τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας  
were offering to the immortals full hecatombs,

**307** καλῇ ὑπὸ πλατανίστῳ ὅθεν ῥέεν ἀγλαὸν ὕδωρ·  
beneath a fair plane-tree, from which flowed bright water;

**308** ἔνθʼ ἐφάνη μέγα σῆμα· δράκων ἐπὶ νῶτα δαφοινὸς  
and there a great sign appeared: a serpent, blood-red on its back,

**309** σμερδαλέος, τόν ῥʼ αὐτὸς Ὀλύμπιος ἧκε φόως δέ,  
a terror, which the Olympian himself had sent up into the light,

**310** βωμοῦ ὑπαΐξας πρός ῥα πλατάνιστον ὄρουσεν.  
darted out from beneath the altar and rushed to the plane-tree.

**311** ἔνθα δʼ ἔσαν στρουθοῖο νεοσσοί, νήπια τέκνα,  
There were the nestlings of a sparrow, tender young,

**312** ὄζῳ ἐπʼ ἀκροτάτῳ πετάλοις ὑποπεπτηῶτες  
crouched beneath the leaves, on the topmost branch,

**313** ὀκτώ, ἀτὰρ μήτηρ ἐνάτη ἦν ἣ τέκε τέκνα·  
eight of them, and the mother that bore them made a ninth.

**314** ἔνθʼ ὅ γε τοὺς ἐλεεινὰ κατήσθιε τετριγῶτας·  
There the serpent devoured them, piteously cheeping;

**315** μήτηρ δʼ ἀμφεποτᾶτο ὀδυρομένη φίλα τέκνα·  
and the mother fluttered about, mourning her dear children;

**316** τὴν δʼ ἐλελιξάμενος πτέρυγος λάβεν ἀμφιαχυῖαν.  
but coiling round, he seized her by the wing, as she screamed about him.

**317** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ κατὰ τέκνα φάγε στρουθοῖο καὶ αὐτήν,  
But when he had devoured the sparrow's children, and her too,

**318** τὸν μὲν ἀρίζηλον θῆκεν θεὸς ὅς περ ἔφηνε·  
the god who had shown him made him a thing to marvel at:

**319** λᾶαν γάρ μιν ἔθηκε Κρόνου πάϊς ἀγκυλομήτεω·  
for the son of crooked-scheming Cronos turned him to stone;

**320** ἡμεῖς δʼ ἑσταότες θαυμάζομεν οἷον ἐτύχθη.  
and we stood there marveling at what had come to pass.

**321** ὡς οὖν δεινὰ πέλωρα θεῶν εἰσῆλθʼ ἑκατόμβας,  
So then, when this terrible portent of the gods had come upon our hecatombs,

**322** Κάλχας δʼ αὐτίκʼ ἔπειτα θεοπροπέων ἀγόρευε·  
Calchas at once spoke out, prophesying, and said:
> "Declaring the god's word": θεοπροπέων, "prophesying, declaring divine oracles," is a distinct word from the standing epithet μάντις, "seer" — it names the act of interpretation itself rather than describing the seer's standing, and marks the moment Calchas moves from witness to authoritative interpreter of what has just happened.

**323** τίπτʼ ἄνεῳ ἐγένεσθε κάρη κομόωντες Ἀχαιοί;  
'Why have you fallen silent, long-haired Achaeans?

**324** ἡμῖν μὲν τόδʼ ἔφηνε τέρας μέγα μητίετα Ζεὺς  
This great portent Zeus the counselor has shown to us,

**325** ὄψιμον ὀψιτέλεστον, ὅου κλέος οὔ ποτʼ ὀλεῖται.  
late, and late to be fulfilled, but its fame shall never perish.
> kleos: fame that will never die: κλέος, "fame, glory," is the Iliad's other great governing term alongside μῆνις, "wrath" — the immortality a mortal act or event can win through being sung about. Calchas promises the omen itself undying κλέος, the same currency the poem's heroes fight and die to earn.

**326** ὡς οὗτος κατὰ τέκνα φάγε στρουθοῖο καὶ αὐτὴν  
As this serpent devoured the sparrow's children, and her too,

**327** ὀκτώ, ἀτὰρ μήτηρ ἐνάτη ἦν ἣ τέκε τέκνα,  
eight of them, and the mother that bore them made a ninth,

**328** ὣς ἡμεῖς τοσσαῦτʼ ἔτεα πτολεμίξομεν αὖθι,  
so shall we war here for just as many years,

**329** τῷ δεκάτῳ δὲ πόλιν αἱρήσομεν εὐρυάγυιαν.  
and in the tenth we shall take the wide-wayed city.'

**330** κεῖνος τὼς ἀγόρευε· τὰ δὴ νῦν πάντα τελεῖται.  
So he spoke; and now all this is being fulfilled.

**331** ἀλλʼ ἄγε μίμνετε πάντες ἐϋκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοὶ  
But come, remain, all you well-greaved Achaeans,

**332** αὐτοῦ εἰς ὅ κεν ἄστυ μέγα Πριάμοιο ἕλωμεν.  
here, until we take Priam's great city."
> Indefinite temporal clause with the subjunctive: εἰς ὅ κεν with the aorist subjunctive ἕλωμεν, "until we take," is the regular Greek construction for an anticipated but not yet realized future event — Odysseus's closing command is grammatically open-ended, waiting on an outcome rather than naming a fixed date.

**333** ὣς ἔφατʼ, Ἀργεῖοι δὲ μέγʼ ἴαχον, ἀμφὶ δὲ νῆες  
So he spoke, and the Argives shouted greatly, and around them the ships

**334** σμερδαλέον κονάβησαν ἀϋσάντων ὑπʼ Ἀχαιῶν,  
rang terribly at the roar of the Achaeans,

**335** μῦθον ἐπαινήσαντες Ὀδυσσῆος θείοιο·  
praising the words of godlike Odysseus.

**336** τοῖσι δὲ καὶ μετέειπε Γερήνιος ἱππότα Νέστωρ·  
Then among them spoke also Nestor, the Gerenian horseman:
> Nestor, the Gerenian horseman: Γερήνιος ties Nestor to Gerenia, a place in his own kingdom of Pylos, while ἱππότα, "horseman, charioteer," honors him as a driver of horses — a standing epithet-and-name unit distinct from any other title Homer gives him, held to this exact wording wherever it recurs.

**337** ὦ πόποι ἦ δὴ παισὶν ἐοικότες ἀγοράασθε  
"Ah, shame — truly you hold assembly like children,

**338** νηπιάχοις οἷς οὔ τι μέλει πολεμήϊα ἔργα.  
like infants, to whom the works of war are of no concern at all.

**339** πῇ δὴ συνθεσίαι τε καὶ ὅρκια βήσεται ἥμιν;  
Where, then, will our covenants and our oaths come to?

**340** ἐν πυρὶ δὴ βουλαί τε γενοίατο μήδεά τʼ ἀνδρῶν  
Into the fire, then, let our counsels go, and the plans of men,
> Optative of bitter wish: γενοίατο is an aorist optative, the mood Greek uses for a wish rather than a statement of fact: Nestor is not reporting that the army's counsels and oaths have burned, he is voicing an angry, ironic wish that they might as well, given how the assembly has behaved.

**341** σπονδαί τʼ ἄκρητοι καὶ δεξιαί, ᾗς ἐπέπιθμεν·  
and the unmixed libations, and the right hands we trusted in;

**342** αὔτως γὰρ ἐπέεσσʼ ἐριδαίνομεν, οὐδέ τι μῆχος  
for in vain do we wrangle with words, and no device

**343** εὑρέμεναι δυνάμεσθα, πολὺν χρόνον ἐνθάδʼ ἐόντες.  
can we find, though we have been here so long a time.

**344** Ἀτρεΐδη σὺ δʼ ἔθʼ ὡς πρὶν ἔχων ἀστεμφέα βουλὴν  
Son of Atreus, do you, as before, holding fast your unshaken purpose,

**345** ἄρχευʼ Ἀργείοισι κατὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας,  
still lead the Argives amid the mighty battles,

**346** τούσδε δʼ ἔα φθινύθειν ἕνα καὶ δύο, τοί κεν Ἀχαιῶν  
and let these men waste away, one or two, who among the Achaeans

**347** νόσφιν βουλεύωσʼ· ἄνυσις δʼ οὐκ ἔσσεται αὐτῶν·  
take counsel apart; no accomplishment will come of it —

**348** πρὶν Ἄργος δʼ ἰέναι πρὶν καὶ Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο  
before they go back to Argos, before they even learn

**349** γνώμεναι εἴ τε ψεῦδος ὑπόσχεσις εἴ τε καὶ οὐκί.  
whether the promise of Zeus who bears the aegis is a lie or not.

**350** φημὶ γὰρ οὖν κατανεῦσαι ὑπερμενέα Κρονίωνα  
For I say the exceedingly mighty son of Cronos gave his nod of assent
> The "exceedingly mighty" son of Cronos: ὑπερμενής, "exceeding in might," is an intensified compound Homer reaches for at moments when Zeus's power is invoked as a guarantee — here backing up the omen's authority. Held to this same wording where the phrase recurs later in the chunk.

**351** ἤματι τῷ ὅτε νηυσὶν ἐν ὠκυπόροισιν ἔβαινον  
on the day when the Argives went aboard their swift-faring ships,

**352** Ἀργεῖοι Τρώεσσι φόνον καὶ κῆρα φέροντες  
bringing death and doom upon the Trojans,

**353** ἀστράπτων ἐπιδέξιʼ ἐναίσιμα σήματα φαίνων.  
flashing his lightning on the right, showing forth signs of good omen.

**354** τὼ μή τις πρὶν ἐπειγέσθω οἶκον δὲ νέεσθαι  
So let no man hasten to make his way home

**355** πρίν τινα πὰρ Τρώων ἀλόχῳ κατακοιμηθῆναι,  
before he has lain beside the wife of some Trojan,

**356** τίσασθαι δʼ Ἑλένης ὁρμήματά τε στοναχάς τε.  
and paid the price for Helen's strivings and her groans.
> Whose strivings, whose groans?: The genitive Ἑλένης governs both nouns, but Greek leaves open whether these are Helen's own restless flight and her own laments, or the Achaeans' toil and grief suffered on her account — a genuine ambiguity Homer does not resolve, kept open here rather than silently decided.

**357** εἰ δέ τις ἐκπάγλως ἐθέλει οἶκον δὲ νέεσθαι  
But if any man is desperately eager to return home,

**358** ἁπτέσθω ἧς νηὸς ἐϋσσέλμοιο μελαίνης,  
let him lay hold of his own well-benched black ship,

**359** ὄφρα πρόσθʼ ἄλλων θάνατον καὶ πότμον ἐπίσπῃ.  
so that before the others he may meet death and his fate.

**360** ἀλλὰ ἄναξ αὐτός τʼ εὖ μήδεο πείθεό τʼ ἄλλῳ·  
But, my king, take good counsel yourself, and hear another's also;

**361** οὔ τοι ἀπόβλητον ἔπος ἔσσεται ὅττί κεν εἴπω·  
the word I am about to speak will not be one to cast aside:

**362** κρῖνʼ ἄνδρας κατὰ φῦλα κατὰ φρήτρας Ἀγάμεμνον,  
marshal your men by tribes, by clans, Agamemnon,

**363** ὡς φρήτρη φρήτρηφιν ἀρήγῃ, φῦλα δὲ φύλοις.  
so that clan may bring aid to clan, and tribe to tribe.

**364** εἰ δέ κεν ὣς ἕρξῃς καί τοι πείθωνται Ἀχαιοί,  
If you do this, and the Achaeans obey you,

**365** γνώσῃ ἔπειθʼ ὅς θʼ ἡγεμόνων κακὸς ὅς τέ νυ λαῶν  
then you will know which of the leaders is a coward, and which of the people,

**366** ἠδʼ ὅς κʼ ἐσθλὸς ἔῃσι· κατὰ σφέας γὰρ μαχέονται.  
and which is brave; for they will fight each among his own kind.

**367** γνώσεαι δʼ εἰ καὶ θεσπεσίῃ πόλιν οὐκ ἀλαπάξεις,  
And you will know too whether it is by the will of heaven that you fail to sack the city,

**368** ἦ ἀνδρῶν κακότητι καὶ ἀφραδίῃ πολέμοιο.  
or through the cowardice of your men and their lack of skill in war.

**369** τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων·  
Then the lord Agamemnon answered him and said:

**370** ἦ μὰν αὖτʼ ἀγορῇ νικᾷς γέρον υἷας Ἀχαιῶν.  
"Truly again, old man, you surpass the sons of the Achaeans in the assembly.

**371** αἲ γὰρ Ζεῦ τε πάτερ καὶ Ἀθηναίη καὶ Ἄπολλον  
Would that, father Zeus, and Athena, and Apollo,

**372** τοιοῦτοι δέκα μοι συμφράδμονες εἶεν Ἀχαιῶν·  
ten such counselors of the Achaeans were mine —
> Optative of wish: "ten like Nestor": εἶεν is the present optative of εἰμί, "were they mine," the standard mood for an unrealizable wish. The line became famous in its own right: Agamemnon names ten counselors like Nestor as the measure of what would guarantee Troy's fall, the poem's own tribute to Nestor's stature among the Achaeans.

**373** τώ κε τάχʼ ἠμύσειε πόλις Πριάμοιο ἄνακτος  
then the city of lord Priam would soon bow down,

**374** χερσὶν ὑφʼ ἡμετέρῃσιν ἁλοῦσά τε περθομένη τε.  
taken and sacked beneath our hands.

**375** ἀλλά μοι αἰγίοχος Κρονίδης Ζεὺς ἄλγεʼ ἔδωκεν,  
But Zeus, son of Cronos, who bears the aegis, has given me pains,

**376** ὅς με μετʼ ἀπρήκτους ἔριδας καὶ νείκεα βάλλει.  
who casts me into fruitless quarrels and strife.

**377** καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼν Ἀχιλεύς τε μαχεσσάμεθʼ εἵνεκα κούρης  
For I myself and Achilles fought over a girl

**378** ἀντιβίοις ἐπέεσσιν, ἐγὼ δʼ ἦρχον χαλεπαίνων·  
with hostile words, and it was I who began the anger;

**379** εἰ δέ ποτʼ ἔς γε μίαν βουλεύσομεν, οὐκέτʼ ἔπειτα  
but if ever we take counsel together as one, then no longer

**380** Τρωσὶν ἀνάβλησις κακοῦ ἔσσεται οὐδʼ ἠβαιόν.  
will there be, for the Trojans, any postponement of ruin, not even a little.

**381** νῦν δʼ ἔρχεσθʼ ἐπὶ δεῖπνον ἵνα ξυνάγωμεν Ἄρηα.  
But now go to your meal, so that we may join in battle.
> "Bring Ares together": Literally "that we may bring Ares together," a Homeric idiom in which the war-god's name stands for battle itself — much as English might say "join the fray."

**382** εὖ μέν τις δόρυ θηξάσθω, εὖ δʼ ἀσπίδα θέσθω,  
Let each man well whet his spear, and well set his shield in order,

**383** εὖ δέ τις ἵπποισιν δεῖπνον δότω ὠκυπόδεσσιν,  
and let each man well give fodder to his swift-footed horses,

**384** εὖ δέ τις ἅρματος ἀμφὶς ἰδὼν πολέμοιο μεδέσθω,  
and let each man look well to his chariot on every side, and turn his mind toward war,

**385** ὥς κε πανημέριοι στυγερῷ κρινώμεθʼ Ἄρηϊ.  
so that all day long we may be tried in hateful war.

**386** οὐ γὰρ παυσωλή γε μετέσσεται οὐδʼ ἠβαιὸν  
For there will be no respite, not even a little,

**387** εἰ μὴ νὺξ ἐλθοῦσα διακρινέει μένος ἀνδρῶν.  
until night comes and parts the fury of men.

**388** ἱδρώσει μέν τευ τελαμὼν ἀμφὶ στήθεσφιν  
The strap about the chest of many a man will grow wet with sweat,

**389** ἀσπίδος ἀμφιβρότης, περὶ δʼ ἔγχεϊ χεῖρα καμεῖται·  
the strap of the man-covering shield, and his hand will grow weary about the spear;

**390** ἱδρώσει δέ τευ ἵππος ἐΰξοον ἅρμα τιταίνων.  
and many a man's horse will sweat as it strains the well-polished chariot.

**391** ὃν δέ κʼ ἐγὼν ἀπάνευθε μάχης ἐθέλοντα νοήσω  
But whomever I see willing to hold back from the battle,

**392** μιμνάζειν παρὰ νηυσὶ κορωνίσιν, οὔ οἱ ἔπειτα  
lingering beside the curved ships, for him there will be

**393** ἄρκιον ἐσσεῖται φυγέειν κύνας ἠδʼ οἰωνούς.  
no help then in escaping the dogs and the birds."

**394** ὣς ἔφατʼ, Ἀργεῖοι δὲ μέγʼ ἴαχον ὡς ὅτε κῦμα  
So he spoke, and the Argives shouted greatly, as when a wave

**395** ἀκτῇ ἐφʼ ὑψηλῇ, ὅτε κινήσῃ Νότος ἐλθών,  
on a high shore, when the South Wind comes and stirs it up,

**396** προβλῆτι σκοπέλῳ· τὸν δʼ οὔ ποτε κύματα λείπει  
breaks upon a jutting crag; and the waves never leave it,

**397** παντοίων ἀνέμων, ὅτʼ ἂν ἔνθʼ ἢ ἔνθα γένωνται.  
driven on by every wind, wherever they may rise, this way or that.

**398** ἀνστάντες δʼ ὀρέοντο κεδασθέντες κατὰ νῆας,  
They rose up and scattered, hurrying toward the ships,

**399** κάπνισσάν τε κατὰ κλισίας, καὶ δεῖπνον ἕλοντο.  
and lit fires among the huts, and took their meal.

**400** ἄλλος δʼ ἄλλῳ ἔρεζε θεῶν αἰειγενετάων  
And one man made offering to one god, another to another, of the gods who live forever,

**401** εὐχόμενος θάνατόν τε φυγεῖν καὶ μῶλον Ἄρηος.  
praying to escape death and the toil of Ares.

**402** αὐτὰρ ὃ βοῦν ἱέρευσε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων  
But Agamemnon, lord of men, slew an ox,

**403** πίονα πενταέτηρον ὑπερμενέϊ Κρονίωνι,  
a fat five-year-old, to the exceedingly mighty son of Cronos,

**404** κίκλησκεν δὲ γέροντας ἀριστῆας Παναχαιῶν,  
and summoned the elders, the chief men of all the Achaeans,

**405** Νέστορα μὲν πρώτιστα καὶ Ἰδομενῆα ἄνακτα,  
first of all Nestor, and lord Idomeneus,

**406** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτʼ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ Τυδέος υἱόν,  
and after them the two Ajaxes, and the son of Tydeus,

**407** ἕκτον δʼ αὖτʼ Ὀδυσῆα Διὶ μῆτιν ἀτάλαντον.  
and sixth, Odysseus, equal to Zeus in counsel.

**408** αὐτόματος δέ οἱ ἦλθε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Μενέλαος·  
And Menelaus, good at the war-cry, came to him unbidden,

**409** ᾔδεε γὰρ κατὰ θυμὸν ἀδελφεὸν ὡς ἐπονεῖτο.  
for in his heart he knew how his brother was toiling.

**410** βοῦν δὲ περιστήσαντο καὶ οὐλοχύτας ἀνέλοντο·  
They stood around the ox, and took up the barley-grains;

**411** τοῖσιν δʼ εὐχόμενος μετέφη κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων·  
and praying among them, the lord Agamemnon spoke:

**412** Ζεῦ κύδιστε μέγιστε κελαινεφὲς αἰθέρι ναίων  
"Zeus, most glorious, most great, lord of the dark clouds, dwelling in the heavens,
> Lord of the dark clouds: κελαινεφής, "dark-clouded," is a standing epithet for Zeus distinct from νεφεληγερέτα "cloud-gatherer" — both mark his rule over the sky and storm, but each is held to its own separate English wording rather than collapsed into one.

**413** μὴ πρὶν ἐπʼ ἠέλιον δῦναι καὶ ἐπὶ κνέφας ἐλθεῖν  
let not the sun go down, and darkness come,

**414** πρίν με κατὰ πρηνὲς βαλέειν Πριάμοιο μέλαθρον  
before I have cast down headlong the smoke-blackened hall of Priam,

**415** αἰθαλόεν, πρῆσαι δὲ πυρὸς δηΐοιο θύρετρα,  
and burned its doorway with consuming fire,

**416** Ἑκτόρεον δὲ χιτῶνα περὶ στήθεσσι δαΐξαι  
and torn Hector's tunic about his chest,

**417** χαλκῷ ῥωγαλέον· πολέες δʼ ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν ἑταῖροι  
rent by the bronze; and around him many companions,

**418** πρηνέες ἐν κονίῃσιν ὀδὰξ λαζοίατο γαῖαν.  
lying face down in the dust, bite the earth with their teeth."

**419** ὣς ἔφατʼ, οὐδʼ ἄρα πώ οἱ ἐπεκραίαινε Κρονίων,  
So he spoke; but the son of Cronos did not yet grant him this,

**420** ἀλλʼ ὅ γε δέκτο μὲν ἱρά, πόνον δʼ ἀμέγαρτον ὄφελλεν.  
but accepted the sacrifice, and increased their unenviable toil.

**421** αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥʼ εὔξαντο καὶ οὐλοχύτας προβάλοντο,  
And when they had prayed, and cast forward the barley grains,

**422** αὐέρυσαν μὲν πρῶτα καὶ ἔσφαξαν καὶ ἔδειραν,  
first they drew back the victim's head, and cut its throat, and flayed it,

**423** μηρούς τʼ ἐξέταμον κατά τε κνίσῃ ἐκάλυψαν  
and cut out the thigh-pieces and covered them with fat,

**424** δίπτυχα ποιήσαντες, ἐπʼ αὐτῶν δʼ ὠμοθέτησαν.  
making a double fold, and laid raw flesh upon them.

**425** καὶ τὰ μὲν ἂρ σχίζῃσιν ἀφύλλοισιν κατέκαιον,  
These they burned on billets of wood stripped of their leaves,

**426** σπλάγχνα δʼ ἄρʼ ἀμπείραντες ὑπείρεχον Ἡφαίστοιο.  
and spitting the entrails, held them over the flame of Hephaestus.
> Hephaestus for fire itself: Homer uses the god's own name as a stand-in for his element, fire, much as English might say "put to the torch" — a common Homeric metonymy rather than a claim that the god is present in person.

**427** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ κατὰ μῆρε κάη καὶ σπλάγχνα πάσαντο,  
But when the thigh-pieces were burned, and they had tasted the inner parts,

**428** μίστυλλόν τʼ ἄρα τἆλλα καὶ ἀμφʼ ὀβελοῖσιν ἔπειραν,  
they cut up the rest and pierced it on spits,

**429** ὤπτησάν τε περιφραδέως, ἐρύσαντό τε πάντα.  
and roasted it with care, and drew all of it off.

**430** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ παύσαντο πόνου τετύκοντό τε δαῖτα  
And when they had ceased from their labor and made ready the feast,

**431** δαίνυντʼ, οὐδέ τι θυμὸς ἐδεύετο δαιτὸς ἐΐσης.  
they feasted, and no heart lacked its share of the fair-shared feast.

**432** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,  
But when they had put from them the desire for drink and food,
> A formula repeated verbatim: This exact line closed the feast after Chryses' sacrifice in Book 1 (line 469) and recurs here word for word after Agamemnon's own sacrifice. It is a standing Homeric formula for the end of a meal; we hold it to the same wording every time it recurs.

**433** τοῖς ἄρα μύθων ἦρχε Γερήνιος ἱππότα Νέστωρ·  
then Nestor, the Gerenian horseman, began to speak among them:

**434** Ἀτρεΐδη κύδιστε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγάμεμνον,  
"Son of Atreus, most glorious, Agamemnon, lord of men,

**435** μηκέτι νῦν δήθʼ αὖθι λεγώμεθα, μηδʼ ἔτι δηρὸν  
let us no longer linger here in talk, nor delay any further
> Hortatory subjunctive: Both verbs are first-person plural subjunctives used hortatively — "let us not" — Nestor is not describing what the army is doing but urging what it should stop doing at once.

**436** ἀμβαλλώμεθα ἔργον ὃ δὴ θεὸς ἐγγυαλίζει.  
the work which a god now puts into our hands.

**437** ἀλλʼ ἄγε κήρυκες μὲν Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων  
But come, let the heralds of the bronze-clad Achaeans

**438** λαὸν κηρύσσοντες ἀγειρόντων κατὰ νῆας,  
gather the host by proclamation among the ships,

**439** ἡμεῖς δʼ ἀθρόοι ὧδε κατὰ στρατὸν εὐρὺν Ἀχαιῶν  
and let us ourselves, in a body, throughout the wide camp of the Achaeans

**440** ἴομεν ὄφρα κε θᾶσσον ἐγείρομεν ὀξὺν Ἄρηα.  
go, that we may the sooner rouse sharp Ares."

**441** ὣς ἔφατʼ, οὐδʼ ἀπίθησεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων.  
So he spoke, and Agamemnon, lord of men, did not disobey.

**442** αὐτίκα κηρύκεσσι λιγυφθόγγοισι κέλευσε  
At once he commanded the clear-voiced heralds

**443** κηρύσσειν πόλεμον δὲ κάρη κομόωντας Ἀχαιούς·  
to summon to war the long-haired Achaeans;

**444** οἳ μὲν ἐκήρυσσον, τοὶ δʼ ἠγείροντο μάλʼ ὦκα.  
these made proclamation, and the others gathered very quickly.

**445** οἳ δʼ ἀμφʼ Ἀτρεΐωνα διοτρεφέες βασιλῆες  
And the Zeus-nurtured kings about the son of Atreus

**446** θῦνον κρίνοντες, μετὰ δὲ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη  
hastened, marshaling the men; and among them bright-eyed Athena

**447** αἰγίδʼ ἔχουσʼ ἐρίτιμον ἀγήρων ἀθανάτην τε,  
went, holding the aegis, precious, unaging, and immortal,

**448** τῆς ἑκατὸν θύσανοι παγχρύσεοι ἠερέθονται,  
from which a hundred tassels, all of gold, floated,

**449** πάντες ἐϋπλεκέες, ἑκατόμβοιος δὲ ἕκαστος·  
all finely woven, each worth a hundred oxen;

**450** σὺν τῇ παιφάσσουσα διέσσυτο λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν  
with this she darted, flashing, through the host of the Achaeans,

**451** ὀτρύνουσʼ ἰέναι· ἐν δὲ σθένος ὦρσεν ἑκάστῳ  
urging them onward; and she roused strength in each man's

**452** καρδίῃ ἄλληκτον πολεμίζειν ἠδὲ μάχεσθαι.  
heart, to war and to fight without ceasing.

**453** τοῖσι δʼ ἄφαρ πόλεμος γλυκίων γένετʼ ἠὲ νέεσθαι  
At once war became sweeter to them than to return

**454** ἐν νηυσὶ γλαφυρῇσι φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν.  
in the hollow ships to their own dear native land.

**455** ἠΰτε πῦρ ἀΐδηλον ἐπιφλέγει ἄσπετον ὕλην  
As when consuming fire sets ablaze a vast forest

**456** οὔρεος ἐν κορυφῇς, ἕκαθεν δέ τε φαίνεται αὐγή,  
upon a mountain's peaks, and its glow is seen from afar,

**457** ὣς τῶν ἐρχομένων ἀπὸ χαλκοῦ θεσπεσίοιο  
so, as they marched, from their marvelous bronze

**458** αἴγλη παμφανόωσα διʼ αἰθέρος οὐρανὸν ἷκε.  
a bright, all-shining gleam went up through the air to the sky.

**459** τῶν δʼ ὥς τʼ ὀρνίθων πετεηνῶν ἔθνεα πολλὰ  
And as the many tribes of winged birds,

**460** χηνῶν ἢ γεράνων ἢ κύκνων δουλιχοδείρων  
geese, or cranes, or long-necked swans,

**461** Ἀσίω ἐν λειμῶνι Καϋστρίου ἀμφὶ ῥέεθρα  
in the Asian meadow, about the streams of the Cayster,

**462** ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα ποτῶνται ἀγαλλόμενα πτερύγεσσι  
fly this way and that, glorying in their wings,

**463** κλαγγηδὸν προκαθιζόντων, σμαραγεῖ δέ τε λειμών,  
and settle down with clamor, and the meadow rings with it,

**464** ὣς τῶν ἔθνεα πολλὰ νεῶν ἄπο καὶ κλισιάων  
so the many tribes of them, from the ships and the huts,

**465** ἐς πεδίον προχέοντο Σκαμάνδριον· αὐτὰρ ὑπὸ χθὼν  
poured out onto the Scamandrian plain; and beneath them the earth

**466** σμερδαλέον κονάβιζε ποδῶν αὐτῶν τε καὶ ἵππων.  
rang terribly under the feet of the men themselves and of the horses.

**467** ἔσταν δʼ ἐν λειμῶνι Σκαμανδρίῳ ἀνθεμόεντι  
And they stood in the flowering Scamandrian meadow,

**468** μυρίοι, ὅσσά τε φύλλα καὶ ἄνθεα γίγνεται ὥρῃ.  
countless as the leaves and flowers that come in their season.

**469** ἠΰτε μυιάων ἁδινάων ἔθνεα πολλὰ  
As the many crowded tribes of flies

**470** αἵ τε κατὰ σταθμὸν ποιμνήϊον ἠλάσκουσιν  
swarm about a shepherd's steading

**471** ὥρῃ ἐν εἰαρινῇ ὅτε τε γλάγος ἄγγεα δεύει,  
in the season of spring, when milk drenches the pails,

**472** τόσσοι ἐπὶ Τρώεσσι κάρη κομόωντες Ἀχαιοὶ  
so many, against the Trojans, the long-haired Achaeans

**473** ἐν πεδίῳ ἵσταντο διαρραῖσαι μεμαῶτες.  
stood arrayed upon the plain, eager to break them utterly.

**474** τοὺς δʼ ὥς τʼ αἰπόλια πλατέʼ αἰγῶν αἰπόλοι ἄνδρες  
And as goatherds easily divide

**475** ῥεῖα διακρίνωσιν ἐπεί κε νομῷ μιγέωσιν,  
the wide-spread flocks of goats, when they have mingled at pasture,

**476** ὣς τοὺς ἡγεμόνες διεκόσμεον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα  
so the leaders marshaled these men, this way and that,

**477** ὑσμίνην δʼ ἰέναι, μετὰ δὲ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων  
to go into battle; and among them the lord Agamemnon,

**478** ὄμματα καὶ κεφαλὴν ἴκελος Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ,  
in eyes and head like Zeus who delights in thunder,

**479** Ἄρεϊ δὲ ζώνην, στέρνον δὲ Ποσειδάωνι.  
in waist like Ares, and in chest like Poseidon.

**480** ἠΰτε βοῦς ἀγέληφι μέγʼ ἔξοχος ἔπλετο πάντων  
As a bull in the herd stands out far above all others,
> The bull among the cattle: The bull-in-the-herd image is a common Homeric figure for a king's pre-eminence among his own people — physical bulk and visible standing at the head of the group, not martial ferocity, is the point of comparison here.

**481** ταῦρος· ὃ γάρ τε βόεσσι μεταπρέπει ἀγρομένῃσι·  
a bull — for he is pre-eminent among the gathered cattle —

**482** τοῖον ἄρʼ Ἀτρεΐδην θῆκε Ζεὺς ἤματι κείνῳ  
such did Zeus make the son of Atreus on that day,

**483** ἐκπρεπέʼ ἐν πολλοῖσι καὶ ἔξοχον ἡρώεσσιν.  
pre-eminent among the many, and outstanding among heroes.

**484** ἔσπετε νῦν μοι Μοῦσαι Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχουσαι·  
Tell me now, Muses, who hold your homes on Olympus —

**485** ὑμεῖς γὰρ θεαί ἐστε πάρεστέ τε ἴστέ τε πάντα,  
for you are goddesses, and are present, and know all things,

**486** ἡμεῖς δὲ κλέος οἶον ἀκούομεν οὐδέ τι ἴδμεν·  
while we hear only report, and know nothing ourselves —
> κλέος as bare "report": κλέος is the same word rendered "fame" or "glory" elsewhere in the poem (its usual heroic sense), but its root meaning is simply "that which is heard." Here the poet uses it in that plainer, older sense — mortals possess only hearsay, secondhand report, where the Muses have direct knowledge.

**487** οἵ τινες ἡγεμόνες Δαναῶν καὶ κοίρανοι ἦσαν·  
who were the leaders of the Danaans, and their commanders;

**488** πληθὺν δʼ οὐκ ἂν ἐγὼ μυθήσομαι οὐδʼ ὀνομήνω,  
but the mass of the host I could not tell, nor name them,

**489** οὐδʼ εἴ μοι δέκα μὲν γλῶσσαι, δέκα δὲ στόματʼ εἶεν,  
not if I had ten tongues and ten mouths,
> A contrary-to-fact wish, resolved by the apodosis: The optatives εἶεν ("were") and ἐνείη ("were in me") set up an unreal condition — even if the poet had ten tongues, ten mouths, an unbreakable voice, a heart of bronze — and the sentence only resolves three lines later (492) with another optative, μνησαίαθʼ, "unless the Muses should call to mind": the whole construction insists that no human faculty, however multiplied, suffices without the goddesses' aid.

**490** φωνὴ δʼ ἄρρηκτος, χάλκεον δέ μοι ἦτορ ἐνείη,  
and a voice unbreakable, and a heart of bronze within me,

**491** εἰ μὴ Ὀλυμπιάδες Μοῦσαι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο  
unless the Olympian Muses, daughters of Zeus who bears the aegis,

**492** θυγατέρες μνησαίαθʼ ὅσοι ὑπὸ Ἴλιον ἦλθον·  
should call to mind how many came beneath Ilion;

**493** ἀρχοὺς αὖ νηῶν ἐρέω νῆάς τε προπάσας.  
the leaders of the ships, then, I will tell, and all the ships entire.

**494** Βοιωτῶν μὲν Πηνέλεως καὶ Λήϊτος ἦρχον  
Of the Boeotians, Peneleos and Leitus were leaders,

**495** Ἀρκεσίλαός τε Προθοήνωρ τε Κλονίος τε,  
and Arcesilaus and Prothoenor and Clonius,

**496** οἵ θʼ Ὑρίην ἐνέμοντο καὶ Αὐλίδα πετρήεσσαν  
who dwelt in Hyria and rocky Aulis
> The relative-pronoun catalogue chain: The Catalogue strings its place-names together with a repeating relative pronoun (οἵ, "who," "these who") rather than a fresh main verb for each town — a paratactic chain that lets the list run on for line after line without breaking its syntactic thread.

**497** Σχοῖνόν τε Σκῶλόν τε πολύκνημόν τʼ Ἐτεωνόν,  
and Schoenus and Scolus and craggy Eteonus,

**498** Θέσπειαν Γραῖάν τε καὶ εὐρύχορον Μυκαλησσόν,  
Thespeia and Graea and spacious Mycalessus,

**499** οἵ τʼ ἀμφʼ Ἅρμʼ ἐνέμοντο καὶ Εἰλέσιον καὶ Ἐρυθράς,  
and those who dwelt about Harma and Eilesion and Erythrae,

**500** οἵ τʼ Ἐλεῶνʼ εἶχον ἠδʼ Ὕλην καὶ Πετεῶνα,  
and held Eleon and Hyle and Peteon,

**501** Ὠκαλέην Μεδεῶνά τʼ ἐϋκτίμενον πτολίεθρον,  
Ocalea and Medeon, the well-built citadel,
> "The well-built citadel": A standing formula for a fortified town, applied here to Medeon and again below to Hypothebae and Athens; πτολίεθρον is an epic-only noun for a walled city, held to this same wording wherever it recurs in the Catalogue.

**502** Κώπας Εὔτρησίν τε πολυτρήρωνά τε Θίσβην,  
Copae and Eutresis and Thisbe, haunt of doves,

**503** οἵ τε Κορώνειαν καὶ ποιήενθʼ Ἁλίαρτον,  
and those who held Coronea and grassy Haliartus,

**504** οἵ τε Πλάταιαν ἔχον ἠδʼ οἳ Γλισᾶντʼ ἐνέμοντο,  
and held Plataea, and those who dwelt in Glisas,

**505** οἵ θʼ Ὑποθήβας εἶχον ἐϋκτίμενον πτολίεθρον,  
and held Hypothebae, the well-built citadel,

**506** Ὀγχηστόν θʼ ἱερὸν Ποσιδήϊον ἀγλαὸν ἄλσος,  
and holy Onchestus, the shining grove of Poseidon,

**507** οἵ τε πολυστάφυλον Ἄρνην ἔχον, οἵ τε Μίδειαν  
and held Arne rich in vines, and Midea,

**508** Νῖσάν τε ζαθέην Ἀνθηδόνα τʼ ἐσχατόωσαν·  
and sacred Nisa and Anthedon on the farthest border;

**509** τῶν μὲν πεντήκοντα νέες κίον, ἐν δὲ ἑκάστῃ  
of these came fifty ships, and in each one

**510** κοῦροι Βοιωτῶν ἑκατὸν καὶ εἴκοσι βαῖνον.  
went young men of the Boeotians, a hundred and twenty.

**511** οἳ δʼ Ἀσπληδόνα ναῖον ἰδʼ Ὀρχομενὸν Μινύειον,  
And they who dwelt in Aspledon and Orchomenus of the Minyans,

**512** τῶν ἦρχʼ Ἀσκάλαφος καὶ Ἰάλμενος υἷες Ἄρηος  
of these Ascalaphus and Ialmenus were leaders, sons of Ares,

**513** οὓς τέκεν Ἀστυόχη δόμῳ Ἄκτορος Ἀζεΐδαο,  
whom Astyoche bore in the house of Actor, son of Azeus,

**514** παρθένος αἰδοίη ὑπερώϊον εἰσαναβᾶσα  
a modest maiden, having gone up to the upper chamber

**515** Ἄρηϊ κρατερῷ· ὃ δέ οἱ παρελέξατο λάθρῃ·  
to lie with mighty Ares; and he lay beside her in secret;
> Aorist middle: "he lay beside her": παρελέξατο is aorist middle of παραλέγομαι, "to lie down beside"; the middle voice marks Ares as acting for his own purpose and pleasure, and λάθρῃ, "secretly," underscores that the union was hidden even from Astyoche's own household.

**516** τοῖς δὲ τριήκοντα γλαφυραὶ νέες ἐστιχόωντο.  
with them thirty hollow ships stood ranged in line.

**517** αὐτὰρ Φωκήων Σχεδίος καὶ Ἐπίστροφος ἦρχον  
But of the Phocians, Schedius and Epistrophus were leaders,

**518** υἷες Ἰφίτου μεγαθύμου Ναυβολίδαο,  
sons of great-hearted Iphitus, son of Naubolus,

**519** οἳ Κυπάρισσον ἔχον Πυθῶνά τε πετρήεσσαν  
who held Cyparissus and rocky Pytho

**520** Κρῖσάν τε ζαθέην καὶ Δαυλίδα καὶ Πανοπῆα,  
and sacred Crisa and Daulis and Panopeus,

**521** οἵ τʼ Ἀνεμώρειαν καὶ Ὑάμπολιν ἀμφενέμοντο,  
and dwelt about Anemoreia and Hyampolis,

**522** οἵ τʼ ἄρα πὰρ ποταμὸν Κηφισὸν δῖον ἔναιον,  
and those who dwelt beside the bright river Cephisus,

**523** οἵ τε Λίλαιαν ἔχον πηγῇς ἔπι Κηφισοῖο·  
and held Lilaea at the springs of Cephisus;

**524** τοῖς δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with them followed forty black ships.
> "Black ships": μέλαιναι νῆες, "black ships," is a standing Homeric epithet for the fleet, describing hulls darkened with pitch; held to this exact wording throughout the poem.
> The ship-count formula: "With him/them followed [number] black ships" is the Catalogue's recurring closing formula, varying only the number and the pronoun for a singular or plural leader; an oral poet could adapt it instantly to any contingent, and the English is held to this same fixed template wherever the identical Greek recurs.

**525** οἳ μὲν Φωκήων στίχας ἵστασαν ἀμφιέποντες,  
These marshaled the ranks of the Phocians, drawing them up,

**526** Βοιωτῶν δʼ ἔμπλην ἐπʼ ἀριστερὰ θωρήσσοντο.  
and armed for battle close beside the Boeotians, on the left.

**527** Λοκρῶν δʼ ἡγεμόνευεν Ὀϊλῆος ταχὺς Αἴας  
Of the Locrians, swift Ajax, son of Oileus, was leader,

**528** μείων, οὔ τι τόσος γε ὅσος Τελαμώνιος Αἴας  
the lesser, not so great at all as Ajax, son of Telamon,

**529** ἀλλὰ πολὺ μείων· ὀλίγος μὲν ἔην λινοθώρηξ,  
but far smaller; small he was, in a corselet of linen,

**530** ἐγχείῃ δʼ ἐκέκαστο Πανέλληνας καὶ Ἀχαιούς·  
but with the spear he surpassed all the Hellenes and Achaeans;

**531** οἳ Κῦνόν τʼ ἐνέμοντʼ Ὀπόεντά τε Καλλίαρόν τε  
these dwelt in Cynus and Opoeis and Calliarus

**532** Βῆσσάν τε Σκάρφην τε καὶ Αὐγειὰς ἐρατεινὰς  
and Bessa and Scarphe and lovely Augeiae

**533** Τάρφην τε Θρόνιον τε Βοαγρίου ἀμφὶ ῥέεθρα·  
and Tarphe and Thronium, about the streams of Boagrius;

**534** τῷ δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο  
with him followed forty black ships

**535** Λοκρῶν, οἳ ναίουσι πέρην ἱερῆς Εὐβοίης.  
of the Locrians who dwell across from holy Euboea.

**536** οἳ δʼ Εὔβοιαν ἔχον μένεα πνείοντες Ἄβαντες  
And they who held Euboea, the Abantes breathing fury,

**537** Χαλκίδα τʼ Εἰρέτριάν τε πολυστάφυλόν θʼ Ἱστίαιαν  
Chalcis and Eretria and Histiaea rich in vines,

**538** Κήρινθόν τʼ ἔφαλον Δίου τʼ αἰπὺ πτολίεθρον,  
and Cerinthus by the sea and Dium's steep citadel,

**539** οἵ τε Κάρυστον ἔχον ἠδʼ οἳ Στύρα ναιετάασκον,  
and those who held Carystus and those who dwelt in Styra,

**540** τῶν αὖθʼ ἡγεμόνευʼ Ἐλεφήνωρ ὄζος Ἄρηος  
of these again Elephenor was leader, scion of Ares,

**541** Χαλκωδοντιάδης μεγαθύμων ἀρχὸς Ἀβάντων.  
son of Chalcodon, chief of the great-hearted Abantes.
> Patronymic formation: Χαλκωδοντιάδης, "son of Chalcodon," is formed with the standard epic patronymic suffix -ιάδης, the same pattern that produces Πηλεΐδης, "son of Peleus," for Achilles; Catalogue entries lean on this suffix heavily to identify a leader by his father in a single word.

**542** τῷ δʼ ἅμʼ Ἄβαντες ἕποντο θοοὶ ὄπιθεν κομόωντες  
With him followed the swift Abantes, long-haired behind,

**543** αἰχμηταὶ μεμαῶτες ὀρεκτῇσιν μελίῃσι  
spearmen eager, with outstretched ash-wood spears

**544** θώρηκας ῥήξειν δηΐων ἀμφὶ στήθεσσι·  
to shatter the corselets about the breasts of the foe;

**545** τῷ δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with him followed forty black ships.

**546** οἳ δʼ ἄρʼ Ἀθήνας εἶχον ἐϋκτίμενον πτολίεθρον  
And they who held Athens, the well-built citadel,

**547** δῆμον Ἐρεχθῆος μεγαλήτορος, ὅν ποτʼ Ἀθήνη  
the people of great-hearted Erechtheus, whom once Athena

**548** θρέψε Διὸς θυγάτηρ, τέκε δὲ ζείδωρος ἄρουρα,  
reared, the daughter of Zeus, though the grain-giving earth had borne him,

**549** κὰδ δʼ ἐν Ἀθήνῃς εἷσεν ἑῷ ἐν πίονι νηῷ·  
and she set him down in Athens, in her own rich temple;

**550** ἔνθα δέ μιν ταύροισι καὶ ἀρνειοῖς ἱλάονται  
there they seek to win his favor with bulls and rams,

**551** κοῦροι Ἀθηναίων περιτελλομένων ἐνιαυτῶν·  
the young men of the Athenians, as the years wheel round;

**552** τῶν αὖθʼ ἡγεμόνευʼ υἱὸς Πετεῶο Μενεσθεύς.  
of these again Menestheus, son of Peteos, was leader.

**553** τῷ δʼ οὔ πώ τις ὁμοῖος ἐπιχθόνιος γένετʼ ἀνὴρ  
No man born upon the earth had ever yet been his equal

**554** κοσμῆσαι ἵππους τε καὶ ἀνέρας ἀσπιδιώτας·  
at marshaling horses and shield-bearing men;

**555** Νέστωρ οἶος ἔριζεν· ὃ γὰρ προγενέστερος ἦεν·  
Nestor alone rivaled him, for he was born the earlier;

**556** τῷ δʼ ἅμα πεντήκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with him followed fifty black ships.

**557** Αἴας δʼ ἐκ Σαλαμῖνος ἄγεν δυοκαίδεκα νῆας,  
And Ajax, son of Telamon, led twelve ships out of Salamis,

**558** στῆσε δʼ ἄγων ἵνʼ Ἀθηναίων ἵσταντο φάλαγγες.  
and brought them, and stationed them where the ranks of the Athenians stood.

**559** οἳ δʼ Ἄργός τʼ εἶχον Τίρυνθά τε τειχιόεσσαν  
And they who held Argos and walled Tiryns,

**560** Ἑρμιόνην Ἀσίνην τε, βαθὺν κατὰ κόλπον ἐχούσας,  
Hermione and Asine, that hold the deep gulf,

**561** Τροιζῆνʼ Ἠϊόνας τε καὶ ἀμπελόεντʼ Ἐπίδαυρον,  
Troezen and Eiones and Epidaurus rich in vines,

**562** οἵ τʼ ἔχον Αἴγιναν Μάσητά τε κοῦροι Ἀχαιῶν,  
and the young men of the Achaeans who held Aegina and Mases,

**563** τῶν αὖθʼ ἡγεμόνευε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης  
of these again Diomedes, good at the war-cry, was leader,

**564** καὶ Σθένελος, Καπανῆος ἀγακλειτοῦ φίλος υἱός·  
and Sthenelus, dear son of famed Capaneus;

**565** τοῖσι δʼ ἅμʼ Εὐρύαλος τρίτατος κίεν ἰσόθεος φὼς  
and with them Euryalus went, a third, a man like a god,
> "A man like a god": ἰσόθεος, "equal to a god," is a compound epithet epic poetry reserves for a select handful of heroes; applying it to Euryalus, a relatively minor figure in the poem, signals his stature within this contingent even though he plays little further part in the narrative.

**566** Μηκιστέος υἱὸς Ταλαϊονίδαο ἄνακτος·  
son of lord Mecisteus, son of Talaus;

**567** συμπάντων δʼ ἡγεῖτο βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·  
but over all of them led Diomedes, good at the war-cry;

**568** τοῖσι δʼ ἅμʼ ὀγδώκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with them followed eighty black ships.

**569** οἳ δὲ Μυκήνας εἶχον ἐϋκτίμενον πτολίεθρον  
And they who held Mycenae, the well-built citadel,

**570** ἀφνειόν τε Κόρινθον ἐϋκτιμένας τε Κλεωνάς,  
and rich Corinth, and well-built Cleonae,

**571** Ὀρνειάς τʼ ἐνέμοντο Ἀραιθυρέην τʼ ἐρατεινὴν  
and dwelt in Orneae and lovely Araethyrea

**572** καὶ Σικυῶνʼ, ὅθʼ ἄρʼ Ἄδρηστος πρῶτʼ ἐμβασίλευεν,  
and Sicyon, where Adrastus first was king,

**573** οἵ θʼ Ὑπερησίην τε καὶ αἰπεινὴν Γονόεσσαν  
and they who held Hyperesia and steep Gonoessa

**574** Πελλήνην τʼ εἶχον ἠδʼ Αἴγιον ἀμφενέμοντο  
and held Pellene, and dwelt about Aegium,

**575** Αἰγιαλόν τʼ ἀνὰ πάντα καὶ ἀμφʼ Ἑλίκην εὐρεῖαν,  
and along all Aegialus, and about wide Helice,

**576** τῶν ἑκατὸν νηῶν ἦρχε κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων  
of these a hundred ships were led by the lord Agamemnon,

**577** Ἀτρεΐδης· ἅμα τῷ γε πολὺ πλεῖστοι καὶ ἄριστοι  
son of Atreus; with him followed by far the most and best

**578** λαοὶ ἕποντʼ· ἐν δʼ αὐτὸς ἐδύσετο νώροπα χαλκὸν  
of the host; and among them he himself put on the gleaming bronze,

**579** κυδιόων, πᾶσιν δὲ μετέπρεπεν ἡρώεσσιν  
exulting, and stood out among all the heroes,

**580** οὕνεκʼ ἄριστος ἔην πολὺ δὲ πλείστους ἄγε λαούς.  
because he was the best, and led by far the most men.

**581** οἳ δʼ εἶχον κοίλην Λακεδαίμονα κητώεσσαν,  
And they who held hollow Lacedaemon, cleft with ravines,

**582** Φᾶρίν τε Σπάρτην τε πολυτρήρωνά τε Μέσσην,  
and Pharis and Sparta and Messe, haunt of doves,

**583** Βρυσειάς τʼ ἐνέμοντο καὶ Αὐγειὰς ἐρατεινάς,  
and dwelt in Bryseae and lovely Augeiae,
> A second Augeiae: This Augeiae, in Lacedaemon, is a different town from the Augeiae already named among the Locrians (2.532) — the Catalogue reuses common Greek place-names freely, the way medieval England had more than one Newport; context alone distinguishes them.

**584** οἵ τʼ ἄρʼ Ἀμύκλας εἶχον Ἕλος τʼ ἔφαλον πτολίεθρον,  
and they who held Amyclae and Helos, the citadel by the sea,

**585** οἵ τε Λάαν εἶχον ἠδʼ Οἴτυλον ἀμφενέμοντο,  
and they who held Laas, and dwelt about Oetylus,

**586** τῶν οἱ ἀδελφεὸς ἦρχε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Μενέλαος  
of these their leader was his brother, Menelaus, good at the war-cry,

**587** ἑξήκοντα νεῶν· ἀπάτερθε δὲ θωρήσσοντο·  
with sixty ships; and they armed apart from the rest;

**588** ἐν δʼ αὐτὸς κίεν ᾗσι προθυμίῃσι πεποιθὼς  
and among them he himself went, trusting in his own eagerness,

**589** ὀτρύνων πόλεμον δέ· μάλιστα δὲ ἵετο θυμῷ  
urging them on to war; and above all his heart longed

**590** τίσασθαι Ἑλένης ὁρμήματά τε στοναχάς τε.  
to avenge Helen's struggles and her groaning.

**591** οἳ δὲ Πύλον τʼ ἐνέμοντο καὶ Ἀρήνην ἐρατεινὴν  
And they who dwelt in Pylos and lovely Arene

**592** καὶ Θρύον Ἀλφειοῖο πόρον καὶ ἐΰκτιτον Αἰπὺ  
and Thryum, the ford of the Alpheus, and well-built Aipy,

**593** καὶ Κυπαρισσήεντα καὶ Ἀμφιγένειαν ἔναιον  
and dwelt in Cyparisseis and Amphigeneia,

**594** καὶ Πτελεὸν καὶ Ἕλος καὶ Δώριον, ἔνθά τε Μοῦσαι  
and Pteleum and Helos and Dorion, where the Muses
> A second Helos: This Helos, among the Pylian towns of Nestor's realm, is a different place from the Laconian Helos, the seaside citadel already named in Menelaus's contingent (2.584) — another of the Catalogue's repeated place-names, distinguished only by context.

**595** ἀντόμεναι Θάμυριν τὸν Θρήϊκα παῦσαν ἀοιδῆς  
met Thamyris the Thracian and made him cease from singing,

**596** Οἰχαλίηθεν ἰόντα παρʼ Εὐρύτου Οἰχαλιῆος·  
as he came from Oechalia, from Eurytus of Oechalia;

**597** στεῦτο γὰρ εὐχόμενος νικησέμεν εἴ περ ἂν αὐταὶ  
for he boasted that he would win, even if the Muses themselves,

**598** Μοῦσαι ἀείδοιεν κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο·  
daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus, should sing against him;

**599** αἳ δὲ χολωσάμεναι πηρὸν θέσαν, αὐτὰρ ἀοιδὴν  
but they, in their anger, made him maimed, and his singing,

**600** θεσπεσίην ἀφέλοντο καὶ ἐκλέλαθον κιθαριστύν·  
his god-given singing, they took from him, and made him forget the lyre.

**601** τῶν αὖθʼ ἡγεμόνευε Γερήνιος ἱππότα Νέστωρ·  
Of these Nestor, the Gerenian horseman, was leader;

**602** τῷ δʼ ἐνενήκοντα γλαφυραὶ νέες ἐστιχόωντο.  
with him ninety hollow ships stood ranged in line.
> "Hollow ships" formula: γλαφυραὶ νέες, "hollow ships," is a variant fleet-epithet alongside μέλαιναι νῆες "black ships"; it recurred already at line 516 for the Orchomenus contingent ("thirty hollow ships stood ranged in line") and is held here to the same wording.

**603** οἳ δʼ ἔχον Ἀρκαδίην ὑπὸ Κυλλήνης ὄρος αἰπὺ  
And they who held Arcadia, beneath steep Mount Cyllene,

**604** Αἰπύτιον παρὰ τύμβον ἵνʼ ἀνέρες ἀγχιμαχηταί,  
beside the tomb of Aepytus, where men fight hand to hand,

**605** οἳ Φενεόν τʼ ἐνέμοντο καὶ Ὀρχομενὸν πολύμηλον  
and they who dwelt in Pheneos and Orchomenus rich in flocks,
> A second Orchomenus: This Arcadian Orchomenus, rich in flocks, is a different town from Boeotian Orchomenus of the Minyans named earlier in the Catalogue (2.511) — one of several place-names Homer's Greece repeats across regions.

**606** Ῥίπην τε Στρατίην τε καὶ ἠνεμόεσσαν Ἐνίσπην  
and Rhipe and Stratie and windy Enispe,

**607** καὶ Τεγέην εἶχον καὶ Μαντινέην ἐρατεινὴν  
and held Tegea and lovely Mantinea,

**608** Στύμφηλόν τʼ εἶχον καὶ Παρρασίην ἐνέμοντο,  
and held Stymphalus and dwelt in Parrhasia,

**609** τῶν ἦρχʼ Ἀγκαίοιο πάϊς κρείων Ἀγαπήνωρ  
of these the lord Agapenor, son of Ancaeus, was leader,

**610** ἑξήκοντα νεῶν· πολέες δʼ ἐν νηῒ ἑκάστῃ  
with sixty ships; and in each ship many

**611** Ἀρκάδες ἄνδρες ἔβαινον ἐπιστάμενοι πολεμίζειν.  
Arcadian men embarked, skilled in warfare.

**612** αὐτὸς γάρ σφιν δῶκεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων  
for Agamemnon, lord of men, himself had given them

**613** νῆας ἐϋσσέλμους περάαν ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον  
the well-benched ships to cross the wine-dark sea,

**614** Ἀτρεΐδης, ἐπεὶ οὔ σφι θαλάσσια ἔργα μεμήλει.  
the son of Atreus, since seafaring works were no concern of theirs.

**615** οἳ δʼ ἄρα Βουπράσιόν τε καὶ Ἤλιδα δῖαν ἔναιον  
And they who dwelt in Buprasium and godlike Elis,

**616** ὅσσον ἐφʼ Ὑρμίνη καὶ Μύρσινος ἐσχατόωσα  
as much as Hyrmine and Myrsinus at the border

**617** πέτρη τʼ Ὠλενίη καὶ Ἀλήσιον ἐντὸς ἐέργει,  
and the Olenian Rock and Alesium enclose within,

**618** τῶν αὖ τέσσαρες ἀρχοὶ ἔσαν, δέκα δʼ ἀνδρὶ ἑκάστῳ  
of these there were four leaders, and to each man ten

**619** νῆες ἕποντο θοαί, πολέες δʼ ἔμβαινον Ἐπειοί.  
swift ships followed, and many Epeians embarked in them.
> A contingent with four co-equal leaders: The Epeian contingent has no single commander; the Catalogue instead distributes its forty ships evenly, ten to each of four named leaders (Amphimachus, Thalpius, Diores, Polyxenus) — a rarer arrangement than the usual single chieftain.

**620** τῶν μὲν ἄρʼ Ἀμφίμαχος καὶ Θάλπιος ἡγησάσθην  
Of these Amphimachus and Thalpius led one part,

**621** υἷες ὃ μὲν Κτεάτου, ὃ δʼ ἄρʼ Εὐρύτου, Ἀκτορίωνε·  
sons, the one of Cteatus, the other of Eurytus, sons of Actor;

**622** τῶν δʼ Ἀμαρυγκεΐδης ἦρχε κρατερὸς Διώρης·  
of another part mighty Diores, son of Amarynceus, was leader;

**623** τῶν δὲ τετάρτων ἦρχε Πολύξεινος θεοειδὴς  
and of the fourth part godlike Polyxenus was leader,

**624** υἱὸς Ἀγασθένεος Αὐγηϊάδαο ἄνακτος.  
son of the lord Agasthenes, son of Augeas.

**625** οἳ δʼ ἐκ Δουλιχίοιο Ἐχινάων θʼ ἱεράων  
And they from Dulichium and the sacred Echinean

**626** νήσων, αἳ ναίουσι πέρην ἁλὸς Ἤλιδος ἄντα,  
islands, which lie across the sea, facing Elis,

**627** τῶν αὖθʼ ἡγεμόνευε Μέγης ἀτάλαντος Ἄρηϊ  
of these Meges, the equal of Ares, was leader,

**628** Φυλεΐδης, ὃν τίκτε Διῒ φίλος ἱππότα Φυλεύς,  
son of Phyleus, whom Phyleus, dear to Zeus, the horseman, begot,

**629** ὅς ποτε Δουλίχιον δʼ ἀπενάσσατο πατρὶ χολωθείς·  
who once had removed to Dulichium, angered at his father;

**630** τῷ δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with him followed forty black ships.

**631** αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἦγε Κεφαλλῆνας μεγαθύμους,  
But Odysseus led the great-hearted Cephallenians,

**632** οἵ ῥʼ Ἰθάκην εἶχον καὶ Νήριτον εἰνοσίφυλλον  
who held Ithaca and Neritum with its trembling leaves,

**633** καὶ Κροκύλειʼ ἐνέμοντο καὶ Αἰγίλιπα τρηχεῖαν,  
and dwelt in Crocylea and rugged Aegilips,

**634** οἵ τε Ζάκυνθον ἔχον ἠδʼ οἳ Σάμον ἀμφενέμοντο,  
and they who held Zacynthus, and they who dwelt about Samos,
> Same, not Samos: This "Samos" is the small island near Ithaca that later Greek usage called Same (in the region of modern Cephalonia), not the larger Aegean island of the same name off Ionia — a recurring puzzle for readers of the Catalogue, since Homer's geography and later Greek naming do not map one to one.

**635** οἵ τʼ ἤπειρον ἔχον ἠδʼ ἀντιπέραιʼ ἐνέμοντο·  
and they who held the mainland and dwelt on the shore across;

**636** τῶν μὲν Ὀδυσσεὺς ἦρχε Διὶ μῆτιν ἀτάλαντος·  
of these Odysseus was leader, the equal of Zeus in counsel;

**637** τῷ δʼ ἅμα νῆες ἕποντο δυώδεκα μιλτοπάρῃοι.  
with him followed twelve ships, red-cheeked.
> "Red-cheeked" ships: μιλτοπάρῃοι, "vermilion-cheeked," describes ships with their bows painted red at the waterline — a second fleet-epithet distinct from the more common μέλαιναι νῆες "black ships," naming a different part of the hull's coloring.

**638** Αἰτωλῶν δʼ ἡγεῖτο Θόας Ἀνδραίμονος υἱός,  
And of the Aetolians Thoas, son of Andraemon, was leader,

**639** οἳ Πλευρῶνʼ ἐνέμοντο καὶ Ὤλενον ἠδὲ Πυλήνην  
who dwelt in Pleuron and Olenus and Pylene

**640** Χαλκίδα τʼ ἀγχίαλον Καλυδῶνά τε πετρήεσσαν·  
and Chalcis by the sea and rocky Calydon;
> A second Chalcis: This Chalcis, in Aetolia by the sea, is a different town from the great Chalcis of Euboea named earlier in the Catalogue (2.537) — again the same place-name recurring in two regions.

**641** οὐ γὰρ ἔτʼ Οἰνῆος μεγαλήτορος υἱέες ἦσαν,  
for the sons of great-hearted Oeneus no longer lived,

**642** οὐδʼ ἄρʼ ἔτʼ αὐτὸς ἔην, θάνε δὲ ξανθὸς Μελέαγρος·  
nor was he himself still living, and fair-haired Meleager was dead;

**643** τῷ δʼ ἐπὶ πάντʼ ἐτέταλτο ἀνασσέμεν Αἰτωλοῖσι·  
so upon Thoas was laid the whole charge to rule the Aetolians;

**644** τῷ δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with him followed forty black ships.

**645** Κρητῶν δʼ Ἰδομενεὺς δουρὶ κλυτὸς ἡγεμόνευεν,  
Of the Cretans Idomeneus, famed with the spear, was leader,
> "Famed with the spear": δουρὶ κλυτὸς, "famed with the spear," is a new standing epithet for Idomeneus, repeated at lines 650 and 657; held to this exact wording wherever it recurs for him.

**646** οἳ Κνωσόν τʼ εἶχον Γόρτυνά τε τειχιόεσσαν,  
who held Knossos and well-walled Gortyn,

**647** Λύκτον Μίλητόν τε καὶ ἀργινόεντα Λύκαστον  
Lyctus and Miletus and chalky-white Lycastus

**648** Φαιστόν τε Ῥύτιόν τε, πόλεις εὖ ναιετοώσας,  
and Phaestus and Rhytium, well-peopled cities,

**649** ἄλλοι θʼ οἳ Κρήτην ἑκατόμπολιν ἀμφενέμοντο.  
and others who dwelt about Crete of the hundred cities.

**650** τῶν μὲν ἄρʼ Ἰδομενεὺς δουρὶ κλυτὸς ἡγεμόνευε  
Of these Idomeneus, famed with the spear, was leader,

**651** Μηριόνης τʼ ἀτάλαντος Ἐνυαλίῳ ἀνδρειφόντῃ·  
and Meriones, a match for man-slaying Enyalius;

**652** τοῖσι δʼ ἅμʼ ὀγδώκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with them followed eighty black ships.

**653** Τληπόλεμος δʼ Ἡρακλεΐδης ἠΰς τε μέγας τε  
And Tlepolemus, son of Heracles, noble and tall,

**654** ἐκ Ῥόδου ἐννέα νῆας ἄγεν Ῥοδίων ἀγερώχων,  
led nine ships from Rhodes, of the proud Rhodians,

**655** οἳ Ῥόδον ἀμφενέμοντο διὰ τρίχα κοσμηθέντες  
who dwelt about Rhodes, ordered in three divisions,

**656** Λίνδον Ἰηλυσόν τε καὶ ἀργινόεντα Κάμειρον.  
Lindos and Ialysus and chalky-white Cameirus.

**657** τῶν μὲν Τληπόλεμος δουρὶ κλυτὸς ἡγεμόνευεν,  
Of these Tlepolemus, famed with the spear, was leader,

**658** ὃν τέκεν Ἀστυόχεια βίῃ Ἡρακληείῃ,  
whom Astyocheia bore to the might of Heracles,

**659** τὴν ἄγετʼ ἐξ Ἐφύρης ποταμοῦ ἄπο Σελλήεντος  
whom he had carried off from Ephyra, from the river Selleis,

**660** πέρσας ἄστεα πολλὰ διοτρεφέων αἰζηῶν.  
after sacking many cities of Zeus-nurtured young men.

**661** Τληπόλεμος δʼ ἐπεὶ οὖν τράφʼ ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ εὐπήκτῳ,  
But when Tlepolemus had grown up in the well-built hall,

**662** αὐτίκα πατρὸς ἑοῖο φίλον μήτρωα κατέκτα  
at once he killed his own father's dear maternal uncle,
> "Maternal uncle," precisely: μήτρωα, "mother's brother," specifically names a maternal uncle, not any uncle; Licymnius (line 663) was the half-brother of Alcmene, Heracles' mother, and so the maternal uncle of Heracles himself, whose "dear" great-uncle Tlepolemus struck down.

**663** ἤδη γηράσκοντα Λικύμνιον ὄζον Ἄρηος·  
Licymnius, scion of Ares, who was already growing old;

**664** αἶψα δὲ νῆας ἔπηξε, πολὺν δʼ ὅ γε λαὸν ἀγείρας  
and at once he built ships, and gathering a great host,

**665** βῆ φεύγων ἐπὶ πόντον· ἀπείλησαν γάρ οἱ ἄλλοι  
went fleeing over the sea; for the others threatened him,

**666** υἱέες υἱωνοί τε βίης Ἡρακληείης.  
the sons and grandsons of the might of Heracles.

**667** αὐτὰρ ὅ γʼ ἐς Ῥόδον ἷξεν ἀλώμενος ἄλγεα πάσχων·  
But he came wandering to Rhodes, suffering hardships;

**668** τριχθὰ δὲ ᾤκηθεν καταφυλαδόν, ἠδὲ φίληθεν  
and they settled there in three divisions by tribe, and were loved

**669** ἐκ Διός, ὅς τε θεοῖσι καὶ ἀνθρώποισιν ἀνάσσει,  
by Zeus, who rules over gods and men,

**670** καί σφιν θεσπέσιον πλοῦτον κατέχευε Κρονίων.  
and the son of Cronos poured down upon them wondrous wealth.

**671** Νιρεὺς αὖ Σύμηθεν ἄγε τρεῖς νῆας ἐΐσας  
Nireus in turn led three well-matched ships from Symi,

**672** Νιρεὺς Ἀγλαΐης υἱὸς Χαρόποιό τʼ ἄνακτος  
Nireus, son of Aglaia and lord Charopus,

**673** Νιρεύς, ὃς κάλλιστος ἀνὴρ ὑπὸ Ἴλιον ἦλθε  
Nireus, who was the most beautiful man who had come to Ilion
> Echoing Thersites: The half-line "[superlative] man who had come to Ilion" deliberately echoes line 216's description of Thersites as the ugliest man who had come to Ilion — the same formula frames the poem's ugliest and most beautiful men, so the English holds the earlier chunk's exact wording, "had come to Ilion," for both.

**674** τῶν ἄλλων Δαναῶν μετʼ ἀμύμονα Πηλεΐωνα·  
of all the other Danaans, after the blameless son of Peleus;

**675** ἀλλʼ ἀλαπαδνὸς ἔην, παῦρος δέ οἱ εἵπετο λαός.  
but he was weak, and few men followed him.

**676** οἳ δʼ ἄρα Νίσυρόν τʼ εἶχον Κράπαθόν τε Κάσον τε  
And they who held Nisyros and Carpathus and Casus

**677** καὶ Κῶν Εὐρυπύλοιο πόλιν νήσους τε Καλύδνας,  
and Cos, city of Eurypylus, and the islands of Calydnae,

**678** τῶν αὖ Φείδιππός τε καὶ Ἄντιφος ἡγησάσθην  
of these again Pheidippus and Antiphus were leaders,

**679** Θεσσαλοῦ υἷε δύω Ἡρακλεΐδαο ἄνακτος·  
two sons of lord Thessalus, son of Heracles;

**680** τοῖς δὲ τριήκοντα γλαφυραὶ νέες ἐστιχόωντο.  
with them thirty hollow ships stood ranged in line.

**681** νῦν αὖ τοὺς ὅσσοι τὸ Πελασγικὸν Ἄργος ἔναιον,  
Now again those who dwelt in Pelasgian Argos,

**682** οἵ τʼ Ἄλον οἵ τʼ Ἀλόπην οἵ τε Τρηχῖνα νέμοντο,  
and those who held Alos and Alope and Trachis,

**683** οἵ τʼ εἶχον Φθίην ἠδʼ Ἑλλάδα καλλιγύναικα,  
and those who held Phthia and Hellas of fair women,

**684** Μυρμιδόνες δὲ καλεῦντο καὶ Ἕλληνες καὶ Ἀχαιοί,  
and were called Myrmidons and Hellenes and Achaeans,

**685** τῶν αὖ πεντήκοντα νεῶν ἦν ἀρχὸς Ἀχιλλεύς.  
of these in turn Achilles was commander of fifty ships.

**686** ἀλλʼ οἵ γʼ οὐ πολέμοιο δυσηχέος ἐμνώοντο·  
But these gave no thought to the dread-echoing war;

**687** οὐ γὰρ ἔην ὅς τίς σφιν ἐπὶ στίχας ἡγήσαιτο·  
for there was no one to lead them into the ranks;

**688** κεῖτο γὰρ ἐν νήεσσι ποδάρκης δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς  
for swift-footed godlike Achilles lay among the ships,

**689** κούρης χωόμενος Βρισηΐδος ἠϋκόμοιο,  
angered over the lovely-haired girl Briseis,
> "Lovely-haired": ἠΰκομος, "lovely-haired," is a distinct epithet from καλλιπάρῃος, "fair-cheeked," already locked for Briseis and Chryseis in Book 1 — Homer draws on more than one standing phrase for the same woman.

**690** τὴν ἐκ Λυρνησσοῦ ἐξείλετο πολλὰ μογήσας  
whom he had taken from Lyrnessus after much toil,

**691** Λυρνησσὸν διαπορθήσας καὶ τείχεα Θήβης,  
when he had sacked Lyrnessus and the walls of Thebe,

**692** κὰδ δὲ Μύνητʼ ἔβαλεν καὶ Ἐπίστροφον ἐγχεσιμώρους,  
and struck down Mynes and Epistrophus, both furious with the spear,

**693** υἱέας Εὐηνοῖο Σεληπιάδαο ἄνακτος·  
sons of lord Evenus, son of Selepus;

**694** τῆς ὅ γε κεῖτʼ ἀχέων, τάχα δʼ ἀνστήσεσθαι ἔμελλεν.  
for her he lay grieving, but before long he was to rise up.

**695** οἳ δʼ εἶχον Φυλάκην καὶ Πύρασον ἀνθεμόεντα  
And they who held Phylace and flowery Pyrasus,

**696** Δήμητρος τέμενος, Ἴτωνά τε μητέρα μήλων,  
the sanctuary of Demeter, and Iton, mother of flocks,

**697** ἀγχίαλόν τʼ Ἀντρῶνα ἰδὲ Πτελεὸν λεχεποίην,  
and Antron by the sea and grassy Pteleos,

**698** τῶν αὖ Πρωτεσίλαος ἀρήϊος ἡγεμόνευε  
of these warlike Protesilaus was leader

**699** ζωὸς ἐών· τότε δʼ ἤδη ἔχεν κάτα γαῖα μέλαινα.  
while he yet lived; but now the black earth held him fast.
> "The black earth": "The black earth held him fast" is a Homeric euphemism for death and burial; it reuses the same color-word μέλαινα that describes the fleet's "black ships" elsewhere in the Catalogue, but names a different thing entirely.

**700** τοῦ δὲ καὶ ἀμφιδρυφὴς ἄλοχος Φυλάκῃ ἐλέλειπτο  
His wife too, her cheeks torn in grief, was left behind in Phylace,

**701** καὶ δόμος ἡμιτελής· τὸν δʼ ἔκτανε Δάρδανος ἀνὴρ  
and his house half-finished; a man of Dardania killed him
> "A man of Dardania," not a name: Δάρδανος ἀνὴρ is an ethnic designation, "a man of the Dardanians" (a Trojan-allied people), not the personal name Dardanus; Protesilaus's killer is left anonymous, identified only by his people.

**702** νηὸς ἀποθρῴσκοντα πολὺ πρώτιστον Ἀχαιῶν.  
as he leaped from his ship, by far the first of the Achaeans.

**703** οὐδὲ μὲν οὐδʼ οἳ ἄναρχοι ἔσαν, πόθεόν γε μὲν ἀρχόν·  
Nor were they at all leaderless, yet they longed for their leader;

**704** ἀλλά σφεας κόσμησε Ποδάρκης ὄζος Ἄρηος  
but Podarces, scion of Ares, marshaled them,

**705** Ἰφίκλου υἱὸς πολυμήλου Φυλακίδαο  
son of Iphiclus, rich in flocks, son of Phylacus,

**706** αὐτοκασίγνητος μεγαθύμου Πρωτεσιλάου  
own brother to great-hearted Protesilaus,

**707** ὁπλότερος γενεῇ· ὁ δʼ ἅμα πρότερος καὶ ἀρείων  
younger in birth; but the other was both elder and braver,
> Comparative adjectives: πρότερος, "earlier/elder," and ἀρείων, "better/braver," are both comparative forms; Homer measures Podarces against his dead brother twice over, first by birth-order and then by valor, before the lines insist yet again that Protesilaus was the better man — the repetition underscores what was lost.

**708** ἥρως Πρωτεσίλαος ἀρήϊος· οὐδέ τι λαοὶ  
the warlike hero Protesilaus; yet the men did not

**709** δεύονθʼ ἡγεμόνος, πόθεόν γε μὲν ἐσθλὸν ἐόντα·  
lack a leader, though they longed for the noble man they had lost;

**710** τῷ δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with him followed forty black ships.

**711** οἳ δὲ Φερὰς ἐνέμοντο παραὶ Βοιβηΐδα λίμνην  
And they who dwelt in Pherae, beside Lake Boebeis,

**712** Βοίβην καὶ Γλαφύρας καὶ ἐϋκτιμένην Ἰαωλκόν,  
in Boebe and Glaphyrae and well-built Iolcus,

**713** τῶν ἦρχʼ Ἀδμήτοιο φίλος πάϊς ἕνδεκα νηῶν  
of these the dear son of Admetus was leader, of eleven ships,

**714** Εὔμηλος, τὸν ὑπʼ Ἀδμήτῳ τέκε δῖα γυναικῶν  
Eumelus, whom, to Admetus, the shining one among women bore —
> "The shining one among women": δῖα γυναικῶν pairs the same δῖος root already locked elsewhere as "godlike" (e.g. δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς) with γυναικῶν, "of women" — a standing honorific for a woman of high birth, describing radiance/distinction rather than moral character. Held to "the shining one among women" rather than an evaluative word like "noblest," to keep it in the same rendering-family as the poem's other δῖος-derived epithets.

**715** Ἄλκηστις Πελίαο θυγατρῶν εἶδος ἀρίστη.  
Alcestis, of the daughters of Pelias the fairest in form.

**716** οἳ δʼ ἄρα Μηθώνην καὶ Θαυμακίην ἐνέμοντο  
And they who dwelt in Methone and Thaumacia

**717** καὶ Μελίβοιαν ἔχον καὶ Ὀλιζῶνα τρηχεῖαν,  
and held Meliboea and rugged Olizon,

**718** τῶν δὲ Φιλοκτήτης ἦρχεν τόξων ἐῢ εἰδὼς  
of these Philoctetes was leader, well skilled with the bow,

**719** ἑπτὰ νεῶν· ἐρέται δʼ ἐν ἑκάστῃ πεντήκοντα  
of seven ships; and in each one fifty oarsmen

**720** ἐμβέβασαν τόξων εὖ εἰδότες ἶφι μάχεσθαι.  
had embarked, men well skilled with the bow to fight with might.

**721** ἀλλʼ ὃ μὲν ἐν νήσῳ κεῖτο κρατέρʼ ἄλγεα πάσχων  
But he lay on an island, suffering harsh agonies,

**722** Λήμνῳ ἐν ἠγαθέῃ, ὅθι μιν λίπον υἷες Ἀχαιῶν  
on sacred Lemnos, where the sons of the Achaeans had left him,

**723** ἕλκεϊ μοχθίζοντα κακῷ ὀλοόφρονος ὕδρου·  
tormented by the evil wound of a deadly water-snake;

**724** ἔνθʼ ὅ γε κεῖτʼ ἀχέων· τάχα δὲ μνήσεσθαι ἔμελλον  
there he lay grieving; and soon the Argives were destined

**725** Ἀργεῖοι παρὰ νηυσὶ Φιλοκτήταο ἄνακτος.  
beside their ships to remember lord Philoctetes.

**726** οὐδὲ μὲν οὐδʼ οἳ ἄναρχοι ἔσαν, πόθεόν γε μὲν ἀρχόν·  
Nor were they at all leaderless, yet they longed for their leader;

**727** ἀλλὰ Μέδων κόσμησεν Ὀϊλῆος νόθος υἱός,  
but Medon marshaled them, the bastard son of Oileus,

**728** τόν ῥʼ ἔτεκεν Ῥήνη ὑπʼ Ὀϊλῆϊ πτολιπόρθῳ.  
whom Rhene bore to Oileus, sacker of cities.
> "Sacker of cities," applied to Oileus: πτολιπόρθος, "sacker of cities," was already locked in this Catalogue as a standing epithet for Odysseus (line 278); here it is applied instead to Oileus, Ajax the lesser's father. The word is a generic honorific for martial success, not an exclusive formula bound to one hero, so both uses stand without conflict.

**729** οἳ δʼ εἶχον Τρίκκην καὶ Ἰθώμην κλωμακόεσσαν,  
And they who held Tricca and rugged Ithome,

**730** οἵ τʼ ἔχον Οἰχαλίην πόλιν Εὐρύτου Οἰχαλιῆος,  
and those who held Oechalia, the city of Eurytus of Oechalia,

**731** τῶν αὖθʼ ἡγείσθην Ἀσκληπιοῦ δύο παῖδε  
of these again the two sons of Asclepius were leaders,

**732** ἰητῆρʼ ἀγαθὼ Ποδαλείριος ἠδὲ Μαχάων·  
good healers both, Podalirius and Machaon;

**733** τοῖς δὲ τριήκοντα γλαφυραὶ νέες ἐστιχόωντο.  
with them thirty hollow ships stood ranged in line.

**734** οἳ δʼ ἔχον Ὀρμένιον, οἵ τε κρήνην Ὑπέρειαν,  
And they who held Ormenium, and the spring Hyperia,

**735** οἵ τʼ ἔχον Ἀστέριον Τιτάνοιό τε λευκὰ κάρηνα,  
and those who held Asterium and the white crests of Titanus,

**736** τῶν ἦρχʼ Εὐρύπυλος Εὐαίμονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·  
of these Eurypylus, the splendid son of Euaemon, was leader;

**737** τῷ δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with him followed forty black ships.

**738** οἳ δʼ Ἄργισσαν ἔχον καὶ Γυρτώνην ἐνέμοντο,  
And they who held Argissa and dwelt in Gyrtone,

**739** Ὄρθην Ἠλώνην τε πόλιν τʼ Ὀλοοσσόνα λευκήν,  
Orthe and Elone and the white city of Oloosson,

**740** τῶν αὖθʼ ἡγεμόνευε μενεπτόλεμος Πολυποίτης  
of these again steadfast-in-battle Polypoetes was commander,
> "Steadfast in battle": μενεπτόλεμος, from μένω "to stand firm" and πτόλεμος "war," names a hero who holds his ground under attack rather than one who charges; a new standing epithet, held to this exact wording here for Polypoetes and again below for the Perrhaebians (line 749).

**741** υἱὸς Πειριθόοιο τὸν ἀθάνατος τέκετο Ζεύς·  
son of Pirithous, whom immortal Zeus begot;

**742** τόν ῥʼ ὑπὸ Πειριθόῳ τέκετο κλυτὸς Ἱπποδάμεια  
him renowned Hippodameia bore to Pirithous

**743** ἤματι τῷ ὅτε Φῆρας ἐτίσατο λαχνήεντας,  
on the day he took vengeance on the shaggy Centaurs,

**744** τοὺς δʼ ἐκ Πηλίου ὦσε καὶ Αἰθίκεσσι πέλασσεν·  
and drove them from Pelion and forced them upon the Aethices;

**745** οὐκ οἶος, ἅμα τῷ γε Λεοντεὺς ὄζος Ἄρηος  
not alone; with him was Leonteus, scion of Ares,

**746** υἱὸς ὑπερθύμοιο Κορώνου Καινεΐδαο·  
son of great-hearted Coronus, son of Caeneus;

**747** τοῖς δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with them followed forty black ships.

**748** Γουνεὺς δʼ ἐκ Κύφου ἦγε δύω καὶ εἴκοσι νῆας·  
And Guneus led twenty-two ships out of Cyphus;

**749** τῷ δʼ Ἐνιῆνες ἕποντο μενεπτόλεμοί τε Περαιβοὶ  
with him followed the Enienes and the steadfast-in-battle Perrhaebians,

**750** οἳ περὶ Δωδώνην δυσχείμερον οἰκίʼ ἔθεντο,  
who made their homes about wintry Dodona,

**751** οἵ τʼ ἀμφʼ ἱμερτὸν Τιταρησσὸν ἔργα νέμοντο  
and those who worked their fields about the lovely Titaresius,

**752** ὅς ῥʼ ἐς Πηνειὸν προΐει καλλίρροον ὕδωρ,  
which sends its fair-flowing water into the Peneus,

**753** οὐδʼ ὅ γε Πηνειῷ συμμίσγεται ἀργυροδίνῃ,  
yet it does not mingle with the silver eddies of the Peneus,

**754** ἀλλά τέ μιν καθύπερθεν ἐπιρρέει ἠΰτʼ ἔλαιον·  
but flows above it like oil;

**755** ὅρκου γὰρ δεινοῦ Στυγὸς ὕδατός ἐστιν ἀπορρώξ.  
for it is a branch of the terrible water of the Styx, the oath.

**756** Μαγνήτων δʼ ἦρχε Πρόθοος Τενθρηδόνος υἱός,  
And of the Magnesians Prothous, son of Tenthredon, was leader,

**757** οἳ περὶ Πηνειὸν καὶ Πήλιον εἰνοσίφυλλον  
who dwelt about the Peneus and leaf-shaking Pelion;

**758** ναίεσκον· τῶν μὲν Πρόθοος θοὸς ἡγεμόνευε,  
of these swift Prothous was commander,

**759** τῷ δʼ ἅμα τεσσαράκοντα μέλαιναι νῆες ἕποντο.  
with him followed forty black ships.

**760** οὗτοι ἄρʼ ἡγεμόνες Δαναῶν καὶ κοίρανοι ἦσαν·  
These, then, were the leaders and commanders of the Danaans;

**761** τίς τὰρ τῶν ὄχʼ ἄριστος ἔην σύ μοι ἔννεπε Μοῦσα  
who among them was far the best, tell me now, Muse,

**762** αὐτῶν ἠδʼ ἵππων, οἳ ἅμʼ Ἀτρεΐδῃσιν ἕποντο.  
of the men themselves and of the horses that followed with the sons of Atreus.

**763** ἵπποι μὲν μέγʼ ἄρισται ἔσαν Φηρητιάδαο,  
Far the best horses were those of the son of Pheres,
> "Son of Pheres" — not the Centaurs: Φηρητιάδης, "son of Pheres," names Eumelus by his grandfather Pheres, Admetus's father (Homeric patronymics often skip a generation this way); it is unrelated to Φῆρες, "Centaurs," the word used just above at line 743 — two different Greek words that happen to look alike once transliterated into English.

**764** τὰς Εὔμηλος ἔλαυνε ποδώκεας ὄρνιθας ὣς  
which Eumelus drove, swift as birds,

**765** ὄτριχας οἰέτεας σταφύλῇ ἐπὶ νῶτον ἐΐσας·  
the same in coat, the same in age, matched to a plumb-line across their backs;

**766** τὰς ἐν Πηρείῃ θρέψʼ ἀργυρότοξος Ἀπόλλων  
these, in Pereia, the god of the silver bow, Apollo, had reared,

**767** ἄμφω θηλείας, φόβον Ἄρηος φορεούσας.  
both mares, carrying the terror of Ares.

**768** ἀνδρῶν αὖ μέγʼ ἄριστος ἔην Τελαμώνιος Αἴας  
Of men, again, far the best was Ajax, son of Telamon,

**769** ὄφρʼ Ἀχιλεὺς μήνιεν· ὃ γὰρ πολὺ φέρτατος ἦεν,  
while Achilles nursed his wrath; for he was far the mightiest,

**770** ἵπποι θʼ οἳ φορέεσκον ἀμύμονα Πηλεΐωνα.  
as were the horses that carried the blameless son of Peleus.

**771** ἀλλʼ ὃ μὲν ἐν νήεσσι κορωνίσι ποντοπόροισι  
But he lay among the curved, sea-crossing ships,

**772** κεῖτʼ ἀπομηνίσας Ἀγαμέμνονι ποιμένι λαῶν  
nursing his wrath against Agamemnon, shepherd of the people,
> μῆνις returns: ἀπομηνίσας is built on the same root as μῆνις, the "wrath" named in the poem's very first word; here, deep into Book 2, the narrator quietly reminds the audience that the whole Catalogue and muster is unfolding in the shadow of that unresolved rage, since the man judged mightiest of all is holding himself apart from it.

**773** Ἀτρεΐδῃ· λαοὶ δὲ παρὰ ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης  
the son of Atreus; and the people, along the breaking surf of the sea,

**774** δίσκοισιν τέρποντο καὶ αἰγανέῃσιν ἱέντες  
took their pleasure with discus and hurled javelins

**775** τόξοισίν θʼ· ἵπποι δὲ παρʼ ἅρμασιν οἷσιν ἕκαστος  
and with bows; and the horses, each beside his own chariot,

**776** λωτὸν ἐρεπτόμενοι ἐλεόθρεπτόν τε σέλινον  
cropping lotus and marsh-nourished celery,

**777** ἕστασαν· ἅρματα δʼ εὖ πεπυκασμένα κεῖτο ἀνάκτων  
stood idle; and the chariots of their lords lay well covered

**778** ἐν κλισίῃς· οἳ δʼ ἀρχὸν ἀρηΐφιλον ποθέοντες  
in the huts; and the men, longing for their war-loving leader,

**779** φοίτων ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα κατὰ στρατὸν οὐδὲ μάχοντο.  
wandered here and there through the camp, and did not fight.

**780** οἳ δʼ ἄρʼ ἴσαν ὡς εἴ τε πυρὶ χθὼν πᾶσα νέμοιτο·  
But they marched on, as if the whole earth were being consumed by fire;
> Fire returns, on a larger scale: This echoes the fire-on-a-mountain simile that opened the muster (line 455, "as when consuming fire sets ablaze a vast forest"), but the verb here, νέμοιτο, is the same word Homer elsewhere uses for cattle "grazing" a pasture — the fire is imagined devouring the whole earth the way flocks graze a field, tying this image back to the herding similes (goats, cattle) that ran through the same earlier passage.

**781** γαῖα δʼ ὑπεστενάχιζε Διὶ ὣς τερπικεραύνῳ  
and the earth groaned beneath them, as it does for Zeus who delights in thunder

**782** χωομένῳ ὅτε τʼ ἀμφὶ Τυφωέϊ γαῖαν ἱμάσσῃ  
when he is angry, and lashes the earth about Typhoeus,

**783** εἰν Ἀρίμοις, ὅθι φασὶ Τυφωέος ἔμμεναι εὐνάς·  
among the Arimi, where they say Typhoeus has his lair;

**784** ὣς ἄρα τῶν ὑπὸ ποσσὶ μέγα στεναχίζετο γαῖα  
so beneath their feet the earth groaned greatly

**785** ἐρχομένων· μάλα δʼ ὦκα διέπρησσον πεδίοιο.  
as they went; and very swiftly they crossed the plain.

**786** Τρωσὶν δʼ ἄγγελος ἦλθε ποδήνεμος ὠκέα Ἶρις  
To the Trojans came a messenger, wind-footed swift Iris,

**787** πὰρ Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο σὺν ἀγγελίῃ ἀλεγεινῇ·  
from Zeus who bears the aegis, with grievous tidings;

**788** οἳ δʼ ἀγορὰς ἀγόρευον ἐπὶ Πριάμοιο θύρῃσι  
and they were holding assembly at the doors of Priam,

**789** πάντες ὁμηγερέες ἠμὲν νέοι ἠδὲ γέροντες·  
all gathered together, both the young men and the old.

**790** ἀγχοῦ δʼ ἱσταμένη προσέφη πόδας ὠκέα Ἶρις·  
Standing close by, swift-footed Iris spoke to them;

**791** εἴσατο δὲ φθογγὴν υἷϊ Πριάμοιο Πολίτῃ,  
she made herself like in voice to Polites, son of Priam,

**792** ὃς Τρώων σκοπὸς ἷζε ποδωκείῃσι πεποιθὼς  
who sat as a lookout for the Trojans, trusting in his swiftness of foot,

**793** τύμβῳ ἐπʼ ἀκροτάτῳ Αἰσυήταο γέροντος,  
upon the topmost mound of old Aesyetes,

**794** δέγμενος ὁππότε ναῦφιν ἀφορμηθεῖεν Ἀχαιοί·  
watching for whenever the Achaeans should sally forth from the ships;

**795** τῷ μιν ἐεισαμένη προσέφη πόδας ὠκέα Ἶρις·  
in his likeness, swift-footed Iris spoke to him:

**796** ὦ γέρον αἰεί τοι μῦθοι φίλοι ἄκριτοί εἰσιν,  
"Old man, endless idle talk is ever dear to you,

**797** ὥς ποτʼ ἐπʼ εἰρήνης· πόλεμος δʼ ἀλίαστος ὄρωρεν.  
as once in time of peace; but war unyielding has arisen.

**798** ἤδη μὲν μάλα πολλὰ μάχας εἰσήλυθον ἀνδρῶν,  
Already I have entered many battles of men,

**799** ἀλλʼ οὔ πω τοιόνδε τοσόνδέ τε λαὸν ὄπωπα·  
but never yet have I seen a host so great and of such a kind;

**800** λίην γὰρ φύλλοισιν ἐοικότες ἢ ψαμάθοισιν  
for very like leaves or grains of sand

**801** ἔρχονται πεδίοιο μαχησόμενοι προτὶ ἄστυ.  
they come across the plain to fight against the city.

**802** Ἕκτορ σοὶ δὲ μάλιστʼ ἐπιτέλλομαι, ὧδε δὲ ῥέξαι·  
Hector, to you above all I give this charge; do thus:

**803** πολλοὶ γὰρ κατὰ ἄστυ μέγα Πριάμου ἐπίκουροι,  
for many allies are through the great city of Priam,

**804** ἄλλη δʼ ἄλλων γλῶσσα πολυσπερέων ἀνθρώπων·  
and the tongue of these far-scattered men differs, one from another;

**805** τοῖσιν ἕκαστος ἀνὴρ σημαινέτω οἷσί περ ἄρχει,  
let each man give the word of command to those over whom he rules,

**806** τῶν δʼ ἐξηγείσθω κοσμησάμενος πολιήτας.  
and let him lead them out, having marshaled his own countrymen."

**807** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, Ἕκτωρ δʼ οὔ τι θεᾶς ἔπος ἠγνοίησεν,  
So she spoke, and Hector did not fail to know the goddess's word,

**808** αἶψα δʼ ἔλυσʼ ἀγορήν· ἐπὶ τεύχεα δʼ ἐσσεύοντο·  
but at once broke up the assembly; and they rushed to arms;

**809** πᾶσαι δʼ ὠΐγνυντο πύλαι, ἐκ δʼ ἔσσυτο λαὸς  
and all the gates were thrown open, and the host poured out,

**810** πεζοί θʼ ἱππῆές τε· πολὺς δʼ ὀρυμαγδὸς ὀρώρει.  
footmen and horsemen; and a great din arose.

**811** ἔστι δέ τις προπάροιθε πόλιος αἰπεῖα κολώνη  
There is a steep mound before the city,

**812** ἐν πεδίῳ ἀπάνευθε περίδρομος ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα,  
apart in the plain, with a way round it on this side and that,

**813** τὴν ἤτοι ἄνδρες Βατίειαν κικλήσκουσιν,  
which men call Batieia,

**814** ἀθάνατοι δέ τε σῆμα πολυσκάρθμοιο Μυρίνης·  
but the immortals call it the tomb of much-bounding Myrina;

**815** ἔνθα τότε Τρῶές τε διέκριθεν ἠδʼ ἐπίκουροι.  
there then the Trojans and their allies drew apart by companies.

**816** Τρωσὶ μὲν ἡγεμόνευε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ  
Of the Trojans great Hector of the flashing helm was leader,

**817** Πριαμίδης· ἅμα τῷ γε πολὺ πλεῖστοι καὶ ἄριστοι  
son of Priam; with him by far the most numerous and best

**818** λαοὶ θωρήσσοντο μεμαότες ἐγχείῃσι.  
men armed themselves, eager with their spears.

**819** Δαρδανίων αὖτʼ ἦρχεν ἐῢς πάϊς Ἀγχίσαο  
Of the Dardanians again the noble son of Anchises was leader,

**820** Αἰνείας, τὸν ὑπʼ Ἀγχίσῃ τέκε δῖʼ Ἀφροδίτη  
Aeneas, whom divine Aphrodite bore to Anchises,

**821** Ἴδης ἐν κνημοῖσι θεὰ βροτῷ εὐνηθεῖσα,  
on the slopes of Ida, a goddess lying with a mortal,

**822** οὐκ οἶος, ἅμα τῷ γε δύω Ἀντήνορος υἷε  
not alone; with him were the two sons of Antenor,

**823** Ἀρχέλοχός τʼ Ἀκάμας τε μάχης εὖ εἰδότε πάσης.  
Archelochus and Acamas, well versed in every kind of battle.

**824** οἳ δὲ Ζέλειαν ἔναιον ὑπαὶ πόδα νείατον Ἴδης  
And they who dwelt in Zeleia beneath the lowest foot of Ida,

**825** ἀφνειοὶ πίνοντες ὕδωρ μέλαν Αἰσήποιο  
wealthy men, drinking the dark water of the Aesepus,

**826** Τρῶες, τῶν αὖτʼ ἦρχε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱὸς  
Trojans; of these the glorious son of Lycaon was leader,

**827** Πάνδαρος, ᾧ καὶ τόξον Ἀπόλλων αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν.  
Pandarus, to whom Apollo himself gave the bow.

**828** οἳ δʼ Ἀδρήστειάν τʼ εἶχον καὶ δῆμον Ἀπαισοῦ  
And they who held Adrasteia and the district of Apaesus,

**829** καὶ Πιτύειαν ἔχον καὶ Τηρείης ὄρος αἰπύ,  
and held Pityeia and the steep mountain of Tereia,

**830** τῶν ἦρχʼ Ἄδρηστός τε καὶ Ἄμφιος λινοθώρηξ  
of these Adrastus and Amphius of the linen corselet were leaders,

**831** υἷε δύω Μέροπος Περκωσίου, ὃς περὶ πάντων  
two sons of Merops of Percote, who beyond all men

**832** ᾔδεε μαντοσύνας, οὐδὲ οὓς παῖδας ἔασκε  
knew the arts of prophecy, and would not let his own sons

**833** στείχειν ἐς πόλεμον φθισήνορα· τὼ δέ οἱ οὔ τι  
go into man-destroying war; but the two of them would not

**834** πειθέσθην· κῆρες γὰρ ἄγον μέλανος θανάτοιο.  
obey him, for the fates of black death led them on.

**835** οἳ δʼ ἄρα Περκώτην καὶ Πράκτιον ἀμφενέμοντο  
And they who dwelt about Percote and Practius,

**836** καὶ Σηστὸν καὶ Ἄβυδον ἔχον καὶ δῖαν Ἀρίσβην,  
and held Sestus and Abydos and divine Arisbe,

**837** τῶν αὖθʼ Ὑρτακίδης ἦρχʼ Ἄσιος ὄρχαμος ἀνδρῶν,  
of these again the son of Hyrtacus was leader, Asius, marshal of men,

**838** Ἄσιος Ὑρτακίδης ὃν Ἀρίσβηθεν φέρον ἵπποι  
Asius, son of Hyrtacus, whom from Arisbe his horses bore,

**839** αἴθωνες μεγάλοι ποταμοῦ ἄπο Σελλήεντος.  
fiery and great, from the river Selleis.

**840** Ἱππόθοος δʼ ἄγε φῦλα Πελασγῶν ἐγχεσιμώρων  
Hippothous led the tribes of the spear-fighting Pelasgians,

**841** τῶν οἳ Λάρισαν ἐριβώλακα ναιετάασκον·  
those who dwelt in deep-soiled Larisa;

**842** τῶν ἦρχʼ Ἱππόθοός τε Πύλαιός τʼ ὄζος Ἄρηος,  
of these Hippothous and Pylaeus, scion of Ares, were leaders,

**843** υἷε δύω Λήθοιο Πελασγοῦ Τευταμίδαο.  
two sons of Lethus the Pelasgian, son of Teutamus.

**844** αὐτὰρ Θρήϊκας ἦγʼ Ἀκάμας καὶ Πείροος ἥρως  
And the Thracians Acamas led, and the hero Peirous,

**845** ὅσσους Ἑλλήσποντος ἀγάρροος ἐντὸς ἐέργει.  
as many as the strong-flowing Hellespont encloses within.

**846** Εὔφημος δʼ ἀρχὸς Κικόνων ἦν αἰχμητάων  
Euphemus was leader of the spear-fighting Cicones,

**847** υἱὸς Τροιζήνοιο διοτρεφέος Κεάδαο.  
son of Troezenus, son of Zeus-nurtured Ceas.

**848** αὐτὰρ Πυραίχμης ἄγε Παίονας ἀγκυλοτόξους  
And Pyraechmes led the Paeonians of the curved bow,

**849** τηλόθεν ἐξ Ἀμυδῶνος ἀπʼ Ἀξιοῦ εὐρὺ ῥέοντος,  
from far off, from Amydon, from the wide-flowing Axius,

**850** Ἀξιοῦ οὗ κάλλιστον ὕδωρ ἐπικίδναται αἶαν.  
the Axius, whose water, fairest of all, spreads over the earth.

**851** Παφλαγόνων δʼ ἡγεῖτο Πυλαιμένεος λάσιον κῆρ  
Of the Paphlagonians shaggy-hearted Pylaemenes was leader,

**852** ἐξ Ἐνετῶν, ὅθεν ἡμιόνων γένος ἀγροτεράων,  
from the Eneti, whence comes the breed of wild mules,

**853** οἵ ῥα Κύτωρον ἔχον καὶ Σήσαμον ἀμφενέμοντο  
those who held Cytorus and dwelt about Sesamus

**854** ἀμφί τε Παρθένιον ποταμὸν κλυτὰ δώματʼ ἔναιον  
and lived in famous houses about the river Parthenius,

**855** Κρῶμνάν τʼ Αἰγιαλόν τε καὶ ὑψηλοὺς Ἐρυθίνους.  
and held Cromna and Aegialus and the lofty Erythini.
> A second Aegialus: This Aegialus is a coastal district of Paphlagonia, a different place from the Aegialus in the Argive/Achaean region named earlier in the Catalogue of Ships — two distinct places sharing one name, which means simply "shore" or "coastland."

**856** αὐτὰρ Ἁλιζώνων Ὀδίος καὶ Ἐπίστροφος ἦρχον  
And of the Halizones Odius and Epistrophus were leaders,

**857** τηλόθεν ἐξ Ἀλύβης, ὅθεν ἀργύρου ἐστὶ γενέθλη.  
from far off, from Alybe, whence is the birthplace of silver.

**858** Μυσῶν δὲ Χρόμις ἦρχε καὶ Ἔννομος οἰωνιστής·  
Of the Mysians Chromis was leader, and Ennomus the augur;

**859** ἀλλʼ οὐκ οἰωνοῖσιν ἐρύσατο κῆρα μέλαιναν,  
but not by his auguries did he ward off black doom,

**860** ἀλλʼ ἐδάμη ὑπὸ χερσὶ ποδώκεος Αἰακίδαο  
but he was slain by the hands of the swift-footed son of Aeacus,
> "Son of Aeacus": a kenning for Achilles: Αἰακίδης, "son of Aeacus," names Achilles by his grandfather rather than his father Peleus (Πηλεΐδης, Achilles' more common patronymic); paired here with "swift-footed," it is unmistakably Achilles, foreshadowed slaying Trojan allies in the river long before he appears in the poem himself.

**861** ἐν ποταμῷ, ὅθι περ Τρῶας κεράϊζε καὶ ἄλλους.  
in the river, where he was cutting down other Trojans too.

**862** Φόρκυς αὖ Φρύγας ἦγε καὶ Ἀσκάνιος θεοειδὴς  
And Phorcys led the Phrygians, and godlike Ascanius,

**863** τῆλʼ ἐξ Ἀσκανίης· μέμασαν δʼ ὑσμῖνι μάχεσθαι.  
from far off, from Ascania; and they were eager to fight in the melee.

**864** Μῄοσιν αὖ Μέσθλης τε καὶ Ἄντιφος ἡγησάσθην  
And of the Maeonians Mesthles and Antiphus were leaders,

**865** υἷε Ταλαιμένεος τὼ Γυγαίη τέκε λίμνη,  
two sons of Talaemenes, whom the Gygaean lake bore,

**866** οἳ καὶ Μῄονας ἦγον ὑπὸ Τμώλῳ γεγαῶτας.  
who also led the Maeonians born beneath Tmolus.

**867** Νάστης αὖ Καρῶν ἡγήσατο βαρβαροφώνων,  
And Nastes led the Carians of barbarous speech,
> "Of barbarous speech": βαρβαρόφωνος, built on the same root that later gives Greek its word for "barbarian," here means simply "speaking a foreign tongue," not yet the later, freighted sense of savage or uncivilized; it names the Carians as non-Greek speakers, fitting Iris's point earlier in this passage about Troy's allies speaking many different languages.

**868** οἳ Μίλητον ἔχον Φθιρῶν τʼ ὄρος ἀκριτόφυλλον  
who held Miletus and the thick-leaved mountain of Phthires,
> Carian Miletus, not the Cretan town: This Miletus is the great Ionian-coast city in Caria, a different place from the Cretan town of the same name already named earlier in the Catalogue of Ships — two distinct places sharing one name.

**869** Μαιάνδρου τε ῥοὰς Μυκάλης τʼ αἰπεινὰ κάρηνα·  
and the streams of the Maeander and the steep heights of Mycale;

**870** τῶν μὲν ἄρʼ Ἀμφίμαχος καὶ Νάστης ἡγησάσθην,  
of these Amphimachus and Nastes were leaders,

**871** Νάστης Ἀμφίμαχός τε Νομίονος ἀγλαὰ τέκνα,  
Nastes and Amphimachus, glorious children of Nomion,

**872** ὃς καὶ χρυσὸν ἔχων πόλεμον δʼ ἴεν ἠΰτε κούρη  
who, wearing gold, went into war like a girl,

**873** νήπιος, οὐδέ τί οἱ τό γʼ ἐπήρκεσε λυγρὸν ὄλεθρον,  
the fool — nor did that ward off grim destruction from him,

**874** ἀλλʼ ἐδάμη ὑπὸ χερσὶ ποδώκεος Αἰακίδαο  
but he was slain by the hands of the swift-footed son of Aeacus,

**875** ἐν ποταμῷ, χρυσὸν δʼ Ἀχιλεὺς ἐκόμισσε δαΐφρων.  
in the river, and battle-wise Achilles carried off the gold.

**876** Σαρπηδὼν δʼ ἦρχεν Λυκίων καὶ Γλαῦκος ἀμύμων  
And Sarpedon led the Lycians, and blameless Glaucus,

**877** τηλόθεν ἐκ Λυκίης, Ξάνθου ἄπο δινήεντος.  
from far off, from Lycia, from the eddying Xanthus.

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Source text: public domain (Homer, ancient; Greek per the Murray text via the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 3.0). English translation: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC — original line-aligned draft, pending editorial review. Word-by-word morphology and syntax derived from the Perseus Ancient Greek Dependency Treebank (CC BY-SA 3.0); English glosses and notes © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC.