# The Iliad, Book 6: Glaucus and Diomedes, Hector and Andromache

Ἰλιάς · Homer · The Wrath

Glaucus and Diomedes trade armor on the field. In Troy, Hector finds his wife Andromache and their son at the wall and says goodbye.

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/6. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/6.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/iliad/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Τρώων δʼ οἰώθη καὶ Ἀχαιῶν φύλοπις αἰνή·  
The grim battle-din of Trojans and Achaeans was left alone;
> The grim battle-din: φύλοπις is a Homeric word for the clash and din of battle, while αἰνή makes it dreadful or grim. The line opens Book 6 by leaving gods and divine aid behind for a stretch of wholly human fighting.

**2** πολλὰ δʼ ἄρʼ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθʼ ἴθυσε μάχη πεδίοιο  
and over the plain the fighting drove now here, now there,

**3** ἀλλήλων ἰθυνομένων χαλκήρεα δοῦρα  
as they aimed their bronze-shod spears at one another

**4** μεσσηγὺς Σιμόεντος ἰδὲ Ξάνθοιο ῥοάων.  
between the streams of Simois and Xanthus.

**5** Αἴας δὲ πρῶτος Τελαμώνιος ἕρκος Ἀχαιῶν  
First Telamonian Ajax, bulwark of the Achaeans,

**6** Τρώων ῥῆξε φάλαγγα, φόως δʼ ἑτάροισιν ἔθηκεν,  
broke the Trojan line and made light for his comrades

**7** ἄνδρα βαλὼν ὃς ἄριστος ἐνὶ Θρῄκεσσι τέτυκτο  
by striking a man who proved the best among the Thracians,

**8** υἱὸν Ἐϋσσώρου Ἀκάμαντʼ ἠΰν τε μέγαν τε.  
Acamas, son of Eussorus, both noble and tall.

**9** τόν ῥʼ ἔβαλε πρῶτος κόρυθος φάλον ἱπποδασείης,  
him he struck first on the ridge of his horsehair helmet,

**10** ἐν δὲ μετώπῳ πῆξε, πέρησε δʼ ἄρʼ ὀστέον εἴσω  
and fixed the point in his forehead, and the bronze spearhead

**11** αἰχμὴ χαλκείη· τὸν δὲ σκότος ὄσσε κάλυψεν.  
drove through the bone within; and darkness covered his eyes.
> Darkness covers the eyes: Homer closes many deaths with this fixed formula: darkness covers the warrior's eyes. The wording is held unchanged from its earlier appearances so that the repeated Greek remains audible in English.

**12** Ἄξυλον δʼ ἄρʼ ἔπεφνε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης  
Then Diomedes, good at the war-cry, killed Axylus,

**13** Τευθρανίδην, ὃς ἔναιεν ἐϋκτιμένῃ ἐν Ἀρίσβῃ  
son of Teuthranus, who lived in well-built Arisbe,

**14** ἀφνειὸς βιότοιο, φίλος δʼ ἦν ἀνθρώποισι.  
rich in livelihood and dear to men.

**15** πάντας γὰρ φιλέεσκεν ὁδῷ ἔπι οἰκία ναίων.  
For he welcomed everyone, his house standing beside the road.
> An action done again and again: The ending -εσκ- makes φιλέεσκεν iterative: Axylus did not welcome someone once, but habitually received all who passed his roadside house. The repeated action explains his reputation for hospitality.

**16** ἀλλά οἱ οὔ τις τῶν γε τότʼ ἤρκεσε λυγρὸν ὄλεθρον  
Yet not one of them then stood between him and bitter death

**17** πρόσθεν ὑπαντιάσας, ἀλλʼ ἄμφω θυμὸν ἀπηύρα  
to meet his killer face to face; he robbed both men of life,

**18** αὐτὸν καὶ θεράποντα Καλήσιον, ὅς ῥα τόθʼ ἵππων  
Axylus himself and his attendant Calesius, who then

**19** ἔσκεν ὑφηνίοχος· τὼ δʼ ἄμφω γαῖαν ἐδύτην.  
served as his charioteer; and both sank beneath the earth.
> Two men marked by the dual: The article τώ, the numeral ἄμφω, and the verb ἐδύτην are all dual forms. Greek grammar binds master and attendant into one pair as they go beneath the earth together.

**20** Δρῆσον δʼ Εὐρύαλος καὶ Ὀφέλτιον ἐξενάριξε·  
Euryalus slew Dresus and Opheltius;

**21** βῆ δὲ μετʼ Αἴσηπον καὶ Πήδασον, οὕς ποτε νύμφη  
then went after Aesepus and Pedasus, whom once the nymph

**22** νηῒς Ἀβαρβαρέη τέκʼ ἀμύμονι Βουκολίωνι.  
Abarbarea, a naiad, bore to blameless Bucolion.
> A naiad nymph: νηΐς identifies Abarbarea as a nymph of fresh water, what later Greek calls a naiad. Homer gives no river here; her name and kind are enough to mark the twins' divine maternal line.

**23** Βουκολίων δʼ ἦν υἱὸς ἀγαυοῦ Λαομέδοντος  
Bucolion was the son of glorious Laomedon,

**24** πρεσβύτατος γενεῇ, σκότιον δέ ἑ γείνατο μήτηρ·  
the eldest by birth, but his mother bore him in secret.
> A child born in secret: σκότιος literally means "dark" or "hidden" and here marks Bucolion as a son born outside Laomedon's recognized marriage. The contrast is sharp: he is the eldest by birth, but not a legitimate heir.

**25** ποιμαίνων δʼ ἐπʼ ὄεσσι μίγη φιλότητι καὶ εὐνῇ,  
While shepherding among the sheep, he joined with her in love and bed;

**26** ἣ δʼ ὑποκυσαμένη διδυμάονε γείνατο παῖδε.  
she conceived and gave birth to twin sons.

**27** καὶ μὲν τῶν ὑπέλυσε μένος καὶ φαίδιμα γυῖα  
The strength and shining limbs of both were then unstrung

**28** Μηκιστηϊάδης καὶ ἀπʼ ὤμων τεύχεʼ ἐσύλα.  
by the son of Mecisteus, who stripped the armor from their shoulders.
> Stripping the fallen: συλάω means to strip arms from a defeated body. In Homeric battle this is both material gain and a public claim of victory, and it can expose the victor to danger while he works over the corpse.

**29** Ἀστύαλον δʼ ἄρʼ ἔπεφνε μενεπτόλεμος Πολυποίτης·  
Steadfast-in-battle Polypoetes killed Astyalus;

**30** Πιδύτην δʼ Ὀδυσεὺς Περκώσιον ἐξενάριξεν  
Odysseus slew Pidytes of Percote

**31** ἔγχεϊ χαλκείῳ, Τεῦκρος δʼ Ἀρετάονα δῖον.  
with his bronze spear, and Teucer slew godlike Aretaon.

**32** Ἀντίλοχος δʼ Ἄβληρον ἐνήρατο δουρὶ φαεινῷ  
Antilochus, Nestor's son, killed Ablerus with his shining spear,

**33** Νεστορίδης, Ἔλατον δὲ ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων·  
and Agamemnon, lord of men, killed Elatus;

**34** ναῖε δὲ Σατνιόεντος ἐϋρρείταο παρʼ ὄχθας  
he lived beside the banks of the fair-flowing Satnioeis,

**35** Πήδασον αἰπεινήν. Φύλακον δʼ ἕλε Λήϊτος ἥρως  
in steep Pedasus. The hero Leitus took Phylacus

**36** φεύγοντʼ· Εὐρύπυλος δὲ Μελάνθιον ἐξενάριξεν.  
as he fled, and Eurypylus slew Melanthius.

**37** Ἄδρηστον δʼ ἄρʼ ἔπειτα βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Μενέλαος  
Then Menelaus, good at the war-cry, took Adrastus

**38** ζωὸν ἕλʼ· ἵππω γάρ οἱ ἀτυζομένω πεδίοιο  
alive; for his horses, bolting wildly across the plain,

**39** ὄζῳ ἔνι βλαφθέντε μυρικίνῳ ἀγκύλον ἅρμα  
were caught in a tamarisk branch and smashed the curved chariot
> The frightened pair: ἵππω and βλαφθέντε are dual: the two horses are treated as a matched team. Their panic drives the whole sequence, while Adrastus himself remains grammatically separate until he tumbles from the car.

**40** ἄξαντʼ ἐν πρώτῳ ῥυμῷ αὐτὼ μὲν ἐβήτην  
at the pole's end; the pair ran on

**41** πρὸς πόλιν, ᾗ περ οἱ ἄλλοι ἀτυζόμενοι φοβέοντο,  
toward the city, where the rest were fleeing in panic,

**42** αὐτὸς δʼ ἐκ δίφροιο παρὰ τροχὸν ἐξεκυλίσθη  
but he rolled from the chariot beside the wheel

**43** πρηνὴς ἐν κονίῃσιν ἐπὶ στόμα· πὰρ δέ οἱ ἔστη  
headfirst, face in the dust; and beside him stood

**44** Ἀτρεΐδης Μενέλαος ἔχων δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος.  
Menelaus, son of Atreus, holding his long-shadowed spear.

**45** Ἄδρηστος δʼ ἄρʼ ἔπειτα λαβὼν ἐλίσσετο γούνων·  
Adrastus grasped his knees and begged him:

**46** ζώγρει Ἀτρέος υἱέ, σὺ δʼ ἄξια δέξαι ἄποινα·  
"Take me alive, son of Atreus, and accept a worthy ransom.

**47** πολλὰ δʼ ἐν ἀφνειοῦ πατρὸς κειμήλια κεῖται  
Many treasures lie in my wealthy father's house:

**48** χαλκός τε χρυσός τε πολύκμητός τε σίδηρος,  
bronze and gold and iron wrought with toil.

**49** τῶν κέν τοι χαρίσαιτο πατὴρ ἀπερείσιʼ ἄποινα  
From these my father would grant you boundless ransom
> What his father would give: χαρίσαιτο is an aorist optative with κεν, expressing a likely result under a condition: his father "would grant" the ransom if he learned Adrastus was alive. The next line supplies that condition.

**50** εἴ κεν ἐμὲ ζωὸν πεπύθοιτʼ ἐπὶ νηυσὶν Ἀχαιῶν.  
if he heard that I was alive beside the ships of the Achaeans."

**51** ὣς φάτο, τῷ δʼ ἄρα θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἔπειθε·  
So he spoke, and began to persuade the heart in Menelaus's breast;

**52** καὶ δή μιν τάχʼ ἔμελλε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν  
and soon Menelaus was about to have him led to the Achaeans' swift ships

**53** δώσειν ᾧ θεράποντι καταξέμεν· ἀλλʼ Ἀγαμέμνων  
by giving him to his attendant; but Agamemnon
> An action on the verge: The imperfect ἔμελλε with the future infinitives δώσειν and καταξέμεν presents an intended action just about to happen. Agamemnon's arrival breaks into that near-future before Menelaus can carry it out.

**54** ἀντίος ἦλθε θέων, καὶ ὁμοκλήσας ἔπος ηὔδα·  
ran to meet him and called out in rebuke:

**55** ὦ πέπον ὦ Μενέλαε, τί ἢ δὲ σὺ κήδεαι οὕτως  
"Dear Menelaus, why do you care so much

**56** ἀνδρῶν; ἦ σοὶ ἄριστα πεποίηται κατὰ οἶκον  
for men? Have the Trojans treated you so well in your own house?

**57** πρὸς Τρώων; τῶν μή τις ὑπεκφύγοι αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον  
Let not one of them escape sheer destruction

**58** χεῖράς θʼ ἡμετέρας, μηδʼ ὅν τινα γαστέρι μήτηρ  
at our hands, not even the boy an expectant mother

**59** κοῦρον ἐόντα φέροι, μηδʼ ὃς φύγοι, ἀλλʼ ἅμα πάντες  
carries in her womb; let not even he escape, but all together

**60** Ἰλίου ἐξαπολοίατʼ ἀκήδεστοι καὶ ἄφαντοι.  
perish from Ilion, unmourned and wiped away."

**61** ὣς εἰπὼν ἔτρεψεν ἀδελφειοῦ φρένας ἥρως  
So speaking, the hero turned his brother's mind

**62** αἴσιμα παρειπών· ὃ δʼ ἀπὸ ἕθεν ὤσατο χειρὶ  
by urging what was due; Menelaus shoved away with his hand
> What the poem calls due: αἴσιμα means what is allotted, fitting, or due. The narrator applies it to Agamemnon's brutal counsel rather than stepping outside the heroic war code to condemn or excuse it.

**63** ἥρωʼ Ἄδρηστον· τὸν δὲ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων  
the hero Adrastus; then the lord Agamemnon

**64** οὖτα κατὰ λαπάρην· ὃ δʼ ἀνετράπετʼ, Ἀτρεΐδης δὲ  
stabbed him in the flank. He toppled backward, and the son of Atreus

**65** λὰξ ἐν στήθεσι βὰς ἐξέσπασε μείλινον ἔγχος.  
planted a heel on his chest and wrenched out the ash spear.
> The ash-wood spear: μείλινος names the spear by the wood of its shaft, ash. Homer keeps weapon materials concrete: bronze supplies the killing point, while tough ash supplies the long haft Agamemnon braces and pulls free.

**66** Νέστωρ δʼ Ἀργείοισιν ἐκέκλετο μακρὸν ἀΰσας·  
Then Nestor called to the Argives with a far-carrying shout:

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

**68** μή τις νῦν ἐνάρων ἐπιβαλλόμενος μετόπισθε  
let no man fall upon spoils now and linger behind
> Spoils from a fallen man: ἔναρα are the arms and armor stripped from a slain enemy. Nestor does not forbid taking them; he orders the army to postpone stripping bodies until the killing has driven the Trojans from the field.

**69** μιμνέτω ὥς κε πλεῖστα φέρων ἐπὶ νῆας ἵκηται,  
so that he may reach the ships carrying the greatest haul.

**70** ἀλλʼ ἄνδρας κτείνωμεν· ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τὰ ἕκηλοι  
Let us kill the men; afterward, at your ease,

**71** νεκροὺς ἂμ πεδίον συλήσετε τεθνηῶτας.  
you may strip the dead bodies across the plain."

**72** ὣς εἰπὼν ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου.  
So he spoke and stirred the strength and spirit of every man.

**73** ἔνθά κεν αὖτε Τρῶες ἀρηϊφίλων ὑπʼ Ἀχαιῶν  
Then the Trojans would again, beneath the Achaeans dear to Ares,
> A defeat that nearly happened: The past indicative with κεν gives the unreal result, "would have climbed," and εἰ μή introduces what prevented it. Homer pauses at the brink of a Trojan rout before naming Helenus's intervention.

**74** Ἴλιον εἰσανέβησαν ἀναλκείῃσι δαμέντες,  
have climbed back into Ilion, broken by their weakness,

**75** εἰ μὴ ἄρʼ Αἰνείᾳ τε καὶ Ἕκτορι εἶπε παραστὰς  
had not Helenus stood beside Aeneas and Hector and spoken,

**76** Πριαμίδης Ἕλενος οἰωνοπόλων ὄχʼ ἄριστος·  
Priam's son, by far the best reader of bird-signs:

**77** Αἰνεία τε καὶ Ἕκτορ, ἐπεὶ πόνος ὔμμι μάλιστα  
"Aeneas and Hector, since the labor falls chiefly on you

**78** Τρώων καὶ Λυκίων ἐγκέκλιται, οὕνεκʼ ἄριστοι  
among Trojans and Lycians, because you are the best

**79** πᾶσαν ἐπʼ ἰθύν ἐστε μάχεσθαί τε φρονέειν τε,  
in every undertaking, both in fighting and in counsel,

**80** στῆτʼ αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαὸν ἐρυκάκετε πρὸ πυλάων  
stand here and hold the people back before the gates,

**81** πάντῃ ἐποιχόμενοι πρὶν αὖτʼ ἐν χερσὶ γυναικῶν  
ranging everywhere, before they flee and fall again into their wives' arms

**82** φεύγοντας πεσέειν, δηΐοισι δὲ χάρμα γενέσθαι.  
and become a delight to their enemies.

**83** αὐτὰρ ἐπεί κε φάλαγγας ἐποτρύνητον ἁπάσας,  
But when you two have roused all the battle-lines,
> A command for exactly two: ἐποτρύνητον is second-person dual: Helenus assigns the rallying task to precisely two men, Aeneas and Hector. English must supply "you two" because the number is carried inside the Greek verb.

**84** ἡμεῖς μὲν Δαναοῖσι μαχησόμεθʼ αὖθι μένοντες,  
we will stand our ground here and fight the Danaans,

**85** καὶ μάλα τειρόμενοί περ· ἀναγκαίη γὰρ ἐπείγει·  
though sorely worn; for necessity presses hard.

**86** Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σὺ πόλιν δὲ μετέρχεο, εἰπὲ δʼ ἔπειτα  
But Hector, go into the city and then speak

**87** μητέρι σῇ καὶ ἐμῇ· ἣ δὲ ξυνάγουσα γεραιὰς  
to your mother and mine; let her gather the elder women

**88** νηὸν Ἀθηναίης γλαυκώπιδος ἐν πόλει ἄκρῃ  
at the temple of bright-eyed Athena on the city's height,

**89** οἴξασα κληῗδι θύρας ἱεροῖο δόμοιο  
open the doors of the sacred house with the key,

**90** πέπλον, ὅς οἱ δοκέει χαριέστατος ἠδὲ μέγιστος  
and take the robe she thinks the loveliest and largest

**91** εἶναι ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ καί οἱ πολὺ φίλτατος αὐτῇ,  
in her hall, the one by far most dear to her herself,

**92** θεῖναι Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο,  
and lay it across lovely-haired Athena's knees,

**93** καί οἱ ὑποσχέσθαι δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ  
and promise her twelve cattle in her temple,

**94** ἤνις ἠκέστας ἱερευσέμεν, αἴ κʼ ἐλεήσῃ  
yearling heifers, unbroken to the goad, to sacrifice if she will pity

**95** ἄστύ τε καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα,  
the town and the Trojan wives and helpless children,

**96** ὥς κεν Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ Ἰλίου ἱρῆς  
so that she may hold the son of Tydeus back from sacred Ilion,

**97** ἄγριον αἰχμητὴν κρατερὸν μήστωρα φόβοιο,  
that savage spearman, mighty deviser of rout,
> A deviser of rout: μήστωρ is a planner or contriver, while φόβος in battle is panic and flight. Helenus pictures Diomedes not merely as a strong killer but as a man who engineers the collapse of whole ranks.

**98** ὃν δὴ ἐγὼ κάρτιστον Ἀχαιῶν φημι γενέσθαι.  
whom I say has proved the strongest of the Achaeans.

**99** οὐδʼ Ἀχιλῆά ποθʼ ὧδέ γʼ ἐδείδιμεν ὄρχαμον ἀνδρῶν,  
Never did we fear Achilles so, marshal of men,

**100** ὅν πέρ φασι θεᾶς ἐξέμμεναι· ἀλλʼ ὅδε λίην  
though they say he was born of a goddess; but this man rages beyond measure,
> They say he was born of a goddess: After φασι, the infinitive ἐξέμμεναι reports what people say about Achilles, while the genitive θεᾶς marks his source or parentage. Helenus invokes Achilles' divine birth only to sharpen his claim that Diomedes is more terrifying now.

**101** μαίνεται, οὐδέ τίς οἱ δύναται μένος ἰσοφαρίζειν.  
and no one can match his fury."

**102** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, Ἕκτωρ δʼ οὔ τι κασιγνήτῳ ἀπίθησεν.  
So he spoke, and Hector did not disobey his brother.

**103** αὐτίκα δʼ ἐξ ὀχέων σὺν τεύχεσιν ἆλτο χαμᾶζε,  
and at once he leapt to the ground from his chariot in his armor,

**104** πάλλων δʼ ὀξέα δοῦρα κατὰ στρατὸν ᾤχετο πάντῃ  
and, brandishing his sharp spears, went everywhere through the army,

**105** ὀτρύνων μαχέσασθαι, ἔγειρε δὲ φύλοπιν αἰνήν.  
urging them to fight, and stirred the dreadful din of battle.

**106** οἳ δʼ ἐλελίχθησαν καὶ ἐναντίοι ἔσταν Ἀχαιῶν·  
They wheeled about and stood facing the Achaeans;

**107** Ἀργεῖοι δʼ ὑπεχώρησαν, λῆξαν δὲ φόνοιο,  
the Argives gave ground and ceased from slaughter,

**108** φὰν δέ τινʼ ἀθανάτων ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος  
thinking that one of the immortals from starry heaven

**109** Τρωσὶν ἀλεξήσοντα κατελθέμεν, ὡς ἐλέλιχθεν.  
had come down to defend the Trojans, such was their rally.

**110** Ἕκτωρ δὲ Τρώεσσιν ἐκέκλετο μακρὸν ἀΰσας·  
Then Hector called to the Trojans with a far-carrying shout:

**111** Τρῶες ὑπέρθυμοι τηλεκλειτοί τʼ ἐπίκουροι  
"High-hearted Trojans and far-famed allies,

**112** ἀνέρες ἔστε φίλοι, μνήσασθε δὲ θούριδος ἀλκῆς,  
be men, my friends, and remember your furious valor,

**113** ὄφρʼ ἂν ἐγὼ βείω προτὶ Ἴλιον, ἠδὲ γέρουσιν  
while I go toward Ilion and speak to the old

**114** εἴπω βουλευτῇσι καὶ ἡμετέρῃς ἀλόχοισι  
counselors and to our wives,

**115** δαίμοσιν ἀρήσασθαι, ὑποσχέσθαι δʼ ἑκατόμβας.  
that they pray to the gods and promise hecatombs."

**116** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἀπέβη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ·  
So he spoke, and Hector of the flashing helm departed;

**117** ἀμφὶ δέ μιν σφυρὰ τύπτε καὶ αὐχένα δέρμα κελαινὸν  
about his ankles and neck beat the dark hide,

**118** ἄντυξ ἣ πυμάτη θέεν ἀσπίδος ὀμφαλοέσσης.  
the outer rim that ran around his bossed shield.
> The bossed shield: ὀμφαλόεσσα describes a shield fitted with a central boss, literally a "navel." Hector's shield is so large that its dark leather edge strikes both neck and ankles as he walks.

**119** Γλαῦκος δʼ Ἱππολόχοιο πάϊς καὶ Τυδέος υἱὸς  
Then Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, and Tydeus' son

**120** ἐς μέσον ἀμφοτέρων συνίτην μεμαῶτε μάχεσθαι.  
met between the two armies, both eager to fight.

**121** οἳ δʼ ὅτε δὴ σχεδὸν ἦσαν ἐπʼ ἀλλήλοισιν ἰόντε,  
Now when they had come near, advancing on one another,
> Two warriors in the dual: ἰόντε is a dual participle: Glaucus and Diomedes are marked as exactly two men advancing toward each other. The approach formula usually has a plural participle, but Homer shifts it into the dual for this paired encounter.

**122** τὸν πρότερος προσέειπε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·  
Diomedes, good at the war-cry, was first to address him:

**123** τίς δὲ σύ ἐσσι φέριστε καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων;  
"Who are you, best of mortal men?

**124** οὐ μὲν γάρ ποτʼ ὄπωπα μάχῃ ἔνι κυδιανείρῃ  
Never before have I seen you in battle that brings men glory;

**125** τὸ πρίν· ἀτὰρ μὲν νῦν γε πολὺ προβέβηκας ἁπάντων  
but now you have stepped far out beyond all others

**126** σῷ θάρσει, ὅ τʼ ἐμὸν δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος ἔμεινας·  
in your courage, since you await my long-shadowed spear.

**127** δυστήνων δέ τε παῖδες ἐμῷ μένει ἀντιόωσιν.  
Wretched are those whose sons face my might.

**128** εἰ δέ τις ἀθανάτων γε κατʼ οὐρανοῦ εἰλήλουθας,  
But if you are one of the immortals come down from heaven,

**129** οὐκ ἂν ἔγωγε θεοῖσιν ἐπουρανίοισι μαχοίμην.  
I would not fight against the gods who dwell in heaven.
> A potential optative: The optative μαχοίμην with ἄν states what Diomedes would not do under the condition just given: he would not fight if this stranger proved divine. His restraint recalls Athena's warning in Book 5 to distinguish gods from mortals.

**130** οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ Δρύαντος υἱὸς κρατερὸς Λυκόοργος  
For not even mighty Lycurgus, Dryas' son,

**131** δὴν ἦν, ὅς ῥα θεοῖσιν ἐπουρανίοισιν ἔριζεν·  
lived long when he contended with the gods who dwell in heaven.

**132** ὅς ποτε μαινομένοιο Διωνύσοιο τιθήνας  
Once he drove the nurses of frenzied Dionysus

**133** σεῦε κατʼ ἠγάθεον Νυσήϊον· αἳ δʼ ἅμα πᾶσαι  
down sacred Nysa; and all together they

**134** θύσθλα χαμαὶ κατέχευαν ὑπʼ ἀνδροφόνοιο Λυκούργου  
dropped their ritual wands to earth beneath man-slaying Lycurgus,

**135** θεινόμεναι βουπλῆγι· Διώνυσος δὲ φοβηθεὶς  
struck with an ox-goad. But Dionysus, terrified,

**136** δύσεθʼ ἁλὸς κατὰ κῦμα, Θέτις δʼ ὑπεδέξατο κόλπῳ  
plunged beneath the sea-wave, and Thetis took him to her breast,

**137** δειδιότα· κρατερὸς γὰρ ἔχε τρόμος ἀνδρὸς ὁμοκλῇ.  
afraid; for a mighty tremor gripped him at the man's shout.

**138** τῷ μὲν ἔπειτʼ ὀδύσαντο θεοὶ ῥεῖα ζώοντες,  
Then the gods who live at ease grew angry with Lycurgus,

**139** καί μιν τυφλὸν ἔθηκε Κρόνου πάϊς· οὐδʼ ἄρʼ ἔτι δὴν  
and the son of Cronos struck him blind; nor did he live

**140** ἦν, ἐπεὶ ἀθανάτοισιν ἀπήχθετο πᾶσι θεοῖσιν·  
much longer, since he was hated by all the deathless gods.

**141** οὐδʼ ἂν ἐγὼ μακάρεσσι θεοῖς ἐθέλοιμι μάχεσθαι.  
So I would not choose to fight the blessed gods.

**142** εἰ δέ τίς ἐσσι βροτῶν οἳ ἀρούρης καρπὸν ἔδουσιν,  
But if you are one of the mortals who eat the earth's fruit,

**143** ἆσσον ἴθʼ ὥς κεν θᾶσσον ὀλέθρου πείραθʼ ἵκηαι.  
come closer, so you may sooner reach the bounds of death."

**144** τὸν δʼ αὖθʼ Ἱππολόχοιο προσηύδα φαίδιμος υἱός·  
Then the glorious son of Hippolochus addressed him in turn:

**145** Τυδεΐδη μεγάθυμε τί ἢ γενεὴν ἐρεείνεις;  
"Great-hearted son of Tydeus, why ask about my lineage?

**146** οἵη περ φύλλων γενεὴ τοίη δὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν.  
As is the generation of leaves, so too is that of men.
> A generation of leaves: γενεή can mean birth, lineage, or a generation. Glaucus answers a question about family descent by widening the word into a comparison between successive generations of leaves and human beings.

**147** φύλλα τὰ μέν τʼ ἄνεμος χαμάδις χέει, ἄλλα δέ θʼ ὕλη  
Some leaves the wind scatters to the ground, but others the wood

**148** τηλεθόωσα φύει, ἔαρος δʼ ἐπιγίγνεται ὥρη·  
in its bloom puts forth when the season of spring comes on.

**149** ὣς ἀνδρῶν γενεὴ ἣ μὲν φύει ἣ δʼ ἀπολήγει.  
So one generation of men grows, while another dies away.

**150** εἰ δʼ ἐθέλεις καὶ ταῦτα δαήμεναι ὄφρʼ ἐῢ εἰδῇς  
Yet if you wish to learn even this, so you may know well

**151** ἡμετέρην γενεήν, πολλοὶ δέ μιν ἄνδρες ἴσασιν·  
our lineage, many men know it already:

**152** ἔστι πόλις Ἐφύρη μυχῷ Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο,  
there is a city, Ephyra, deep in horse-pasturing Argos,

**153** ἔνθα δὲ Σίσυφος ἔσκεν, ὃ κέρδιστος γένετʼ ἀνδρῶν,  
where Sisyphus lived, keenest in cunning of all men,
> Keenest in cunning: κέρδιστος is the superlative of a word associated with gain and shrewd advantage. It praises Sisyphus' ability to outthink others while leaving room for the morally darker cunning attached to him in myth.

**154** Σίσυφος Αἰολίδης· ὃ δʼ ἄρα Γλαῦκον τέκεθʼ υἱόν,  
Sisyphus, son of Aeolus; and he begot a son, Glaucus,

**155** αὐτὰρ Γλαῦκος τίκτεν ἀμύμονα Βελλεροφόντην·  
and Glaucus fathered blameless Bellerophon.

**156** τῷ δὲ θεοὶ κάλλός τε καὶ ἠνορέην ἐρατεινὴν  
The gods bestowed on him beauty and lovely manly strength;

**157** ὤπασαν· αὐτάρ οἱ Προῖτος κακὰ μήσατο θυμῷ,  
but Proetus plotted evil against him in his heart

**158** ὅς ῥʼ ἐκ δήμου ἔλασσεν, ἐπεὶ πολὺ φέρτερος ἦεν,  
and drove him from the land, for Proetus held far greater power

**159** Ἀργείων· Ζεὺς γάρ οἱ ὑπὸ σκήπτρῳ ἐδάμασσε.  
among the Argives; Zeus had bowed them beneath his scepter.
> Power under Proetus' scepter: The dative pronoun οἱ refers to Proetus: Zeus subjected the Argives to rule beneath Proetus' scepter. The line explains the king's political power to expel Bellerophon, not Bellerophon's superiority over the Argives.

**160** τῷ δὲ γυνὴ Προίτου ἐπεμήνατο δῖʼ Ἄντεια  
But Proetus' wife, shining Anteia, was seized with mad desire for him,

**161** κρυπταδίῃ φιλότητι μιγήμεναι· ἀλλὰ τὸν οὔ τι  
to join with him in secret love; yet she could not

**162** πεῖθʼ ἀγαθὰ φρονέοντα δαΐφρονα Βελλεροφόντην.  
persuade wise-hearted Bellerophon, whose thoughts were good.

**163** ἣ δὲ ψευσαμένη Προῖτον βασιλῆα προσηύδα·  
Then she lied and addressed King Proetus:

**164** τεθναίης ὦ Προῖτʼ, ἢ κάκτανε Βελλεροφόντην,  
"May you die, Proetus—or else kill Bellerophon,
> A wish and a command: τεθναίης is an optative used as a hostile wish, "may you die," followed by the direct command κάκτανε, "kill." Anteia frames her lie as a stark choice between Proetus' death and Bellerophon's.

**165** ὅς μʼ ἔθελεν φιλότητι μιγήμεναι οὐκ ἐθελούσῃ.  
who wished to join with me in love against my will."

**166** ὣς φάτο, τὸν δὲ ἄνακτα χόλος λάβεν οἷον ἄκουσε·  
So she spoke, and anger seized the king when he heard it.

**167** κτεῖναι μέν ῥʼ ἀλέεινε, σεβάσσατο γὰρ τό γε θυμῷ,  
He shrank from killing Bellerophon, for his heart stood in awe of that deed;

**168** πέμπε δέ μιν Λυκίην δέ, πόρεν δʼ ὅ γε σήματα λυγρὰ  
instead he sent him to Lycia and gave him baleful signs,

**169** γράψας ἐν πίνακι πτυκτῷ θυμοφθόρα πολλά,  
scratching many life-destroying marks into a folded tablet,

**170** δεῖξαι δʼ ἠνώγειν ᾧ πενθερῷ ὄφρʼ ἀπόλοιτο.  
and ordered him to show it to Proetus' father-in-law, so he might die.

**171** αὐτὰρ ὁ βῆ Λυκίην δὲ θεῶν ὑπʼ ἀμύμονι πομπῇ.  
So he went to Lycia beneath the gods' blameless escort.

**172** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ Λυκίην ἷξε Ξάνθόν τε ῥέοντα,  
But when he reached Lycia and the flowing Xanthus,

**173** προφρονέως μιν τῖεν ἄναξ Λυκίης εὐρείης·  
the lord of broad Lycia honored him with a ready heart;

**174** ἐννῆμαρ ξείνισσε καὶ ἐννέα βοῦς ἱέρευσεν.  
for nine days he made him his guest and sacrificed nine cattle.

**175** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ δεκάτη ἐφάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠὼς  
But when rosy-fingered Dawn appeared on the tenth day,

**176** καὶ τότε μιν ἐρέεινε καὶ ᾔτεε σῆμα ἰδέσθαι  
then he questioned him and asked to see the token

**177** ὅττί ῥά οἱ γαμβροῖο πάρα Προίτοιο φέροιτο.  
he was carrying from Proetus, the king's son-in-law.

**178** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ σῆμα κακὸν παρεδέξατο γαμβροῦ,  
And when he received the deadly token from his son-in-law,

**179** πρῶτον μέν ῥα Χίμαιραν ἀμαιμακέτην ἐκέλευσε  
first he ordered him to kill the terrible Chimera.

**180** πεφνέμεν· ἣ δʼ ἄρʼ ἔην θεῖον γένος οὐδʼ ἀνθρώπων,  
She was of divine stock, not born of men:

**181** πρόσθε λέων, ὄπιθεν δὲ δράκων, μέσση δὲ χίμαιρα,  
a lion in front, a serpent behind, and in the middle a she-goat,
> Chimera: the she-goat: χίμαιρα is also the ordinary Greek word for a young she-goat. The monster's name identifies the goat forming her middle, between the lion's forepart and the serpent behind.

**182** δεινὸν ἀποπνείουσα πυρὸς μένος αἰθομένοιο,  
breathing out the terrible force of blazing fire.

**183** καὶ τὴν μὲν κατέπεφνε θεῶν τεράεσσι πιθήσας.  
Yet he killed her, trusting in portents from the gods.
> A different kind of sign: Here τέρατα are divine portents that guide Bellerophon, unlike the inscribed σήματα carried on Proetus' tablet. The English shifts from human "marks" and a "token" to "portents" because the source and function of the signs have changed.

**184** δεύτερον αὖ Σολύμοισι μαχέσσατο κυδαλίμοισι·  
Next he fought the glorious Solymi;

**185** καρτίστην δὴ τήν γε μάχην φάτο δύμεναι ἀνδρῶν.  
of all his wars with men, he called that fight the fiercest.

**186** τὸ τρίτον αὖ κατέπεφνεν Ἀμαζόνας ἀντιανείρας.  
Third he slew the Amazons, peers of men.

**187** τῷ δʼ ἄρʼ ἀνερχομένῳ πυκινὸν δόλον ἄλλον ὕφαινε·  
As he returned, the king wove yet another close-set trap:

**188** κρίνας ἐκ Λυκίης εὐρείης φῶτας ἀρίστους  
choosing the best men from broad Lycia,

**189** εἷσε λόχον· τοὶ δʼ οὔ τι πάλιν οἶκον δὲ νέοντο·  
he set an ambush; but none of them returned home,

**190** πάντας γὰρ κατέπεφνεν ἀμύμων Βελλεροφόντης.  
for blameless Bellerophon killed them all.

**191** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ γίγνωσκε θεοῦ γόνον ἠῢν ἐόντα  
But when the king knew him for the noble offspring of a god,

**192** αὐτοῦ μιν κατέρυκε, δίδου δʼ ὅ γε θυγατέρα ἥν,  
he kept him there and gave him his own daughter,

**193** δῶκε δέ οἱ τιμῆς βασιληΐδος ἥμισυ πάσης·  
and bestowed on him half of all his kingly honor;

**194** καὶ μέν οἱ Λύκιοι τέμενος τάμον ἔξοχον ἄλλων  
and the Lycians marked out for him an estate surpassing all others,

**195** καλὸν φυταλιῆς καὶ ἀρούρης, ὄφρα νέμοιτο.  
fine with orchard and plowland, for him to hold.

**196** ἣ δʼ ἔτεκε τρία τέκνα δαΐφρονι Βελλεροφόντῃ  
And she bore three children to wise-hearted Bellerophon:

**197** Ἴσανδρόν τε καὶ Ἱππόλοχον καὶ Λαοδάμειαν.  
Isander and Hippolochus and Laodameia.

**198** Λαοδαμείῃ μὲν παρελέξατο μητίετα Ζεύς,  
Zeus the counselor lay beside Laodameia,

**199** ἣ δʼ ἔτεκʼ ἀντίθεον Σαρπηδόνα χαλκοκορυστήν.  
and she bore bronze-helmed Sarpedon, a peer of gods.

**200** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ καὶ κεῖνος ἀπήχθετο πᾶσι θεοῖσιν,  
But when Bellerophon too had grown hateful to all the gods,

**201** ἤτοι ὃ κὰπ πεδίον τὸ Ἀλήϊον οἶος ἀλᾶτο  
alone he wandered over the Alean plain,
> The Alean plain: The place-name Ἀλήϊον echoes ἀλάομαι, "wander," and Homer immediately uses that verb of Bellerophon. The geography remains shadowy, while the sound of the Greek binds the plain to his lonely wandering.

**202** ὃν θυμὸν κατέδων, πάτον ἀνθρώπων ἀλεείνων·  
eating out his own heart, shunning the paths of men.

**203** Ἴσανδρον δέ οἱ υἱὸν Ἄρης ἆτος πολέμοιο  
Ares, insatiate for war, killed his son Isander
> Ares, insatiate for war: ἆτος with the genitive can mean one who cannot be sated with something. The epithet makes Ares endlessly hungry for war as he kills Isander in battle against the Solymi.

**204** μαρνάμενον Σολύμοισι κατέκτανε κυδαλίμοισι·  
as he fought against the glorious Solymi;

**205** τὴν δὲ χολωσαμένη χρυσήνιος Ἄρτεμις ἔκτα.  
and golden-reined Artemis, enraged, killed Laodameia.
> Golden-reined Artemis: χρυσήνιος, "golden-reined," is a distinct Artemis epithet, casting the goddess as a chariot-driving power. It is not one of her bow epithets, though Artemis is also the agent of Laodameia's sudden death.

**206** Ἱππόλοχος δέ μʼ ἔτικτε, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ φημι γενέσθαι·  
Hippolochus begot me, and from him I claim my birth.

**207** πέμπε δέ μʼ ἐς Τροίην, καί μοι μάλα πόλλʼ ἐπέτελλεν  
He sent me to Troy and laid many commands upon me:

**208** αἰὲν ἀριστεύειν καὶ ὑπείροχον ἔμμεναι ἄλλων,  
always to be best and rise above all others,
> Always to be best: ἀριστεύειν means to prove oneself ἄριστος, "best," especially through preeminent deeds in battle. Hippolochus gives Glaucus the heroic rule by which his conduct at Troy must uphold the standing of his family.

**209** μηδὲ γένος πατέρων αἰσχυνέμεν, οἳ μέγʼ ἄριστοι  
and never shame the line of my fathers, who were by far the best

**210** ἔν τʼ Ἐφύρῃ ἐγένοντο καὶ ἐν Λυκίῃ εὐρείῃ.  
in Ephyra and in broad Lycia.

**211** ταύτης τοι γενεῆς τε καὶ αἵματος εὔχομαι εἶναι.  
From this lineage and blood I claim to come."

**212** ὣς φάτο, γήθησεν δὲ βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·  
So he spoke, and Diomedes, good at the war-cry, rejoiced;

**213** ἔγχος μὲν κατέπηξεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ,  
he planted his spear in the all-nurturing earth,

**214** αὐτὰρ ὃ μειλιχίοισι προσηύδα ποιμένα λαῶν·  
and with gentle words addressed the shepherd of the people:

**215** ἦ ῥά νύ μοι ξεῖνος πατρώϊός ἐσσι παλαιός·  
"Then truly you are an old guest-friend of my father's line.

**216** Οἰνεὺς γάρ ποτε δῖος ἀμύμονα Βελλεροφόντην  
For once godlike Oeneus welcomed blameless Bellerophon

**217** ξείνισʼ ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἐείκοσιν ἤματʼ ἐρύξας·  
and kept him as his guest in his halls for twenty days;

**218** οἳ δὲ καὶ ἀλλήλοισι πόρον ξεινήϊα καλά·  
and the two gave each other fine guest-gifts.

**219** Οἰνεὺς μὲν ζωστῆρα δίδου φοίνικι φαεινόν,  
Oeneus gave a belt purple-bright,

**220** Βελλεροφόντης δὲ χρύσεον δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον  
and Bellerophon gave a double-handled cup of gold,
> A double-handled cup: ἀμφικύπελλον describes a cup made to be grasped on both sides, conventionally understood as double-handled. Its gold and the belt's purple brilliance make the inherited bond visible through costly crafted objects.

**221** καί μιν ἐγὼ κατέλειπον ἰὼν ἐν δώμασʼ ἐμοῖσι.  
which I left behind in my own house when I came away.

**222** Τυδέα δʼ οὐ μέμνημαι, ἐπεί μʼ ἔτι τυτθὸν ἐόντα  
I have no memory of Tydeus, since he left me still an infant,

**223** κάλλιφʼ, ὅτʼ ἐν Θήβῃσιν ἀπώλετο λαὸς Ἀχαιῶν.  
when the Achaean host perished at Thebes.

**224** τὼ νῦν σοὶ μὲν ἐγὼ ξεῖνος φίλος Ἄργεϊ μέσσῳ  
So now in middle Argos I am your dear guest-friend,

**225** εἰμί, σὺ δʼ ἐν Λυκίῃ ὅτε κεν τῶν δῆμον ἵκωμαι.  
and you are mine in Lycia, whenever I come among that people.

**226** ἔγχεα δʼ ἀλλήλων ἀλεώμεθα καὶ διʼ ὁμίλου·  
Let us shun each other's spears, even in the press;

**227** πολλοὶ μὲν γὰρ ἐμοὶ Τρῶες κλειτοί τʼ ἐπίκουροι  
I have many Trojans and famed allies

**228** κτείνειν ὅν κε θεός γε πόρῃ καὶ ποσσὶ κιχείω,  
to kill, whomever a god gives me and I overtake on foot;

**229** πολλοὶ δʼ αὖ σοὶ Ἀχαιοὶ ἐναιρέμεν ὅν κε δύνηαι.  
and you have many Achaeans to slay, whomever you can.

**230** τεύχεα δʼ ἀλλήλοις ἐπαμείψομεν, ὄφρα καὶ οἵδε  
Let us exchange armor with one another, so these men too

**231** γνῶσιν ὅτι ξεῖνοι πατρώϊοι εὐχόμεθʼ εἶναι.  
may know that we claim to be ancestral guest-friends."

**232** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσαντε καθʼ ἵππων ἀΐξαντε  
So speaking, they sprang down from their chariots,

**233** χεῖράς τʼ ἀλλήλων λαβέτην καὶ πιστώσαντο·  
clasped each other's hands and pledged their faith.
> The pair seal their pledge: λαβέτην is a dual verb, "the two took," while πιστώσαντο shifts to a plural form for their mutual pledge. The handclasp turns inherited guest-friendship into a present agreement between these two warriors.

**234** ἔνθʼ αὖτε Γλαύκῳ Κρονίδης φρένας ἐξέλετο Ζεύς,  
But then Zeus, son of Cronos, took the wits from Glaucus,
> Zeus acts upon Glaucus: Glaucus is dative, the person from whom Zeus takes the φρένες, his powers of judgment; Zeus is the explicit subject. The narrator therefore assigns the folly of the unequal exchange to divine action, not to a bargain Glaucus knowingly chooses as bad.

**235** ὃς πρὸς Τυδεΐδην Διομήδεα τεύχεʼ ἄμειβε  
for Glaucus exchanged armor with Tydeus' son Diomedes,

**236** χρύσεα χαλκείων, ἑκατόμβοιʼ ἐννεαβοίων.  
golden for bronze, worth a hundred cattle against nine.

**237** Ἕκτωρ δʼ ὡς Σκαιάς τε πύλας καὶ φηγὸν ἵκανεν,  
When Hector reached the Scaean gates and the oak,

**238** ἀμφʼ ἄρα μιν Τρώων ἄλοχοι θέον ἠδὲ θύγατρες  
the Trojan wives and daughters ran about him,

**239** εἰρόμεναι παῖδάς τε κασιγνήτους τε ἔτας τε  
asking after sons and brothers, kinsmen

**240** καὶ πόσιας· ὃ δʼ ἔπειτα θεοῖς εὔχεσθαι ἀνώγει  
and husbands; but he told them all to pray to the gods,

**241** πάσας ἑξείης· πολλῇσι δὲ κήδεʼ ἐφῆπτο.  
one after another; and sorrows had fastened upon many.
> Sorrows fastened upon them: πολλῇσι is dative plural, the many women upon whom sorrows have fastened. The verb ἐφῆπτο is pluperfect middle, presenting those sorrows as already attached to them.

**242** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ Πριάμοιο δόμον περικαλλέʼ ἵκανε  
But when he reached Priam's splendid house,

**243** ξεστῇς αἰθούσῃσι τετυγμένον· αὐτὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ  
built with polished colonnades, within it

**244** πεντήκοντʼ ἔνεσαν θάλαμοι ξεστοῖο λίθοιο  
were fifty chambers of polished stone,

**245** πλησίον ἀλλήλων δεδμημένοι, ἔνθα δὲ παῖδες  
built close beside one another, where the sons

**246** κοιμῶντο Πριάμοιο παρὰ μνηστῇς ἀλόχοισι,  
of Priam slept beside their wedded wives.

**247** κουράων δʼ ἑτέρωθεν ἐναντίοι ἔνδοθεν αὐλῆς  
Opposite them, on the courtyard's farther side, for his daughters

**248** δώδεκʼ ἔσαν τέγεοι θάλαμοι ξεστοῖο λίθοιο  
stood twelve upper chambers of polished stone,
> Upper chambers: τέγεος describes rooms high in the building or on an upper story. The twelve rooms face the sons' fifty chambers from the opposite side of the inner court.

**249** πλησίον ἀλλήλων δεδμημένοι, ἔνθα δὲ γαμβροὶ  
built close beside one another, where the sons-in-law

**250** κοιμῶντο Πριάμοιο παρʼ αἰδοίῃς ἀλόχοισιν·  
of Priam slept beside their honored wives.

**251** ἔνθά οἱ ἠπιόδωρος ἐναντίη ἤλυθε μήτηρ  
There his kindly mother came to meet him,

**252** Λαοδίκην ἐσάγουσα θυγατρῶν εἶδος ἀρίστην·  
leading Laodice, the fairest in form of all her daughters.

**253** ἔν τʼ ἄρα οἱ φῦ χειρὶ ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἔκ τʼ ὀνόμαζε·  
She took his hand, and spoke to him, and called him by name:
> She took his hand: οἱ is the dative pronoun referring to Hector, while the unstated subject is his mother. The gesture opens her direct appeal and will recur word for word when Andromache takes Hector's hand later in the book.

**254** τέκνον τίπτε λιπὼν πόλεμον θρασὺν εἰλήλουθας;  
"My child, why have you left the fierce battle and come here?

**255** ἦ μάλα δὴ τείρουσι δυσώνυμοι υἷες Ἀχαιῶν  
Surely the accursed sons of the Achaeans press us hard,

**256** μαρνάμενοι περὶ ἄστυ· σὲ δʼ ἐνθάδε θυμὸς ἀνῆκεν  
fighting around the town, and your heart has driven you

**257** ἐλθόντʼ ἐξ ἄκρης πόλιος Διὶ χεῖρας ἀνασχεῖν.  
to come and from the city's height lift your hands to Zeus.

**258** ἀλλὰ μένʼ ὄφρά κέ τοι μελιηδέα οἶνον ἐνείκω,  
But wait while I bring you honey-sweet wine,

**259** ὡς σπείσῃς Διὶ πατρὶ καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισι  
so first you may pour to father Zeus and the other immortals,

**260** πρῶτον, ἔπειτα δὲ καὐτὸς ὀνήσεαι αἴ κε πίῃσθα.  
and afterward refresh yourself, if you drink.

**261** ἀνδρὶ δὲ κεκμηῶτι μένος μέγα οἶνος ἀέξει,  
Wine greatly increases the strength of a weary man,

**262** ὡς τύνη κέκμηκας ἀμύνων σοῖσιν ἔτῃσι.  
as you are weary from defending your kinsmen."

**263** τὴν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ·  
Then great Hector of the flashing helm answered her:

**264** μή μοι οἶνον ἄειρε μελίφρονα πότνια μῆτερ,  
"Do not offer me honey-hearted wine, lady mother,

**265** μή μʼ ἀπογυιώσῃς μένεος, ἀλκῆς τε λάθωμαι·  
lest you weaken my might and I forget my valor.

**266** χερσὶ δʼ ἀνίπτοισιν Διὶ λείβειν αἴθοπα οἶνον  
With unwashed hands I shrink from pouring gleaming wine to Zeus;

**267** ἅζομαι· οὐδέ πῃ ἔστι κελαινεφέϊ Κρονίωνι  
nor is it permitted to pray to the dark-clouded son of Cronos

**268** αἵματι καὶ λύθρῳ πεπαλαγμένον εὐχετάασθαι.  
when stained with blood and gore.

**269** ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν πρὸς νηὸν Ἀθηναίης ἀγελείης  
But you, go to the temple of Athena, driver of spoil,

**270** ἔρχεο σὺν θυέεσσιν ἀολλίσσασα γεραιάς·  
gathering the elder women together with offerings;

**271** πέπλον δʼ, ὅς τίς τοι χαριέστατος ἠδὲ μέγιστος  
and take the robe you think the loveliest and largest

**272** ἔστιν ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ καί τοι πολὺ φίλτατος αὐτῇ,  
in your hall, the one by far most dear to you yourself,

**273** τὸν θὲς Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο,  
and lay it across lovely-haired Athena's knees,

**274** καί οἱ ὑποσχέσθαι δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ  
and promise her twelve cattle in her temple,

**275** ἤνις ἠκέστας ἱερευσέμεν, αἴ κʼ ἐλεήσῃ  
yearling heifers, unbroken to the goad, to sacrifice if she will pity

**276** ἄστύ τε καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα,  
the town and the Trojan wives and helpless children,

**277** αἴ κεν Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ Ἰλίου ἱρῆς  
if she will hold the son of Tydeus back from sacred Ilion,

**278** ἄγριον αἰχμητὴν κρατερὸν μήστωρα φόβοιο.  
that savage spearman, mighty deviser of rout.

**279** ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν πρὸς νηὸν Ἀθηναίης ἀγελείης  
But you, go to the temple of Athena, driver of spoil,

**280** ἔρχευ, ἐγὼ δὲ Πάριν μετελεύσομαι ὄφρα καλέσσω  
while I seek out Paris, to call him

**281** αἴ κʼ ἐθέλῃσʼ εἰπόντος ἀκουέμεν· ὥς κέ οἱ αὖθι  
if he will hear me speak. May the earth gape for him here!

**282** γαῖα χάνοι· μέγα γάρ μιν Ὀλύμπιος ἔτρεφε πῆμα  
For the Olympian raised him as a great bane
> The Olympian: The masculine title Ὀλύμπιος stands alone for Zeus. In Hector's bitter phrasing, Zeus raised Paris to be a bane to his own house and people.

**283** Τρωσί τε καὶ Πριάμῳ μεγαλήτορι τοῖό τε παισίν.  
to the Trojans, to great-hearted Priam, and to Priam's children.

**284** εἰ κεῖνόν γε ἴδοιμι κατελθόντʼ Ἄϊδος εἴσω  
If I could see that man go down inside Hades,

**285** φαίην κε φρένʼ ἀτέρπου ὀϊζύος ἐκλελαθέσθαι.  
I would say my heart had forgotten its joyless misery."

**286** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, ἣ δὲ μολοῦσα ποτὶ μέγαρʼ ἀμφιπόλοισι  
So he spoke; she went to the hall and called to her attendants,

**287** κέκλετο· ταὶ δʼ ἄρʼ ἀόλλισσαν κατὰ ἄστυ γεραιάς.  
and they gathered the elder women throughout the town.

**288** αὐτὴ δʼ ἐς θάλαμον κατεβήσετο κηώεντα,  
She herself went down into the fragrant chamber,
> A fragrant storeroom: κηώεις means fragrant. In context this is the chamber where Hecuba's costly textiles are stored, distinct from the palace sleeping chambers described above.

**289** ἔνθʼ ἔσάν οἱ πέπλοι παμποίκιλα ἔργα γυναικῶν  
where lay her robes, richly patterned works of Sidonian

**290** Σιδονίων, τὰς αὐτὸς Ἀλέξανδρος θεοειδὴς  
women, whom godlike Paris himself

**291** ἤγαγε Σιδονίηθεν ἐπιπλὼς εὐρέα πόντον,  
had brought from Sidon, sailing the broad sea

**292** τὴν ὁδὸν ἣν Ἑλένην περ ἀνήγαγεν εὐπατέρειαν·  
on the voyage when he brought home noble-born Helen.

**293** τῶν ἕνʼ ἀειραμένη Ἑκάβη φέρε δῶρον Ἀθήνῃ,  
Lifting one of these, Hecuba carried it as a gift to Athena,

**294** ὃς κάλλιστος ἔην ποικίλμασιν ἠδὲ μέγιστος,  
the loveliest in its needlework and the largest;

**295** ἀστὴρ δʼ ὣς ἀπέλαμπεν· ἔκειτο δὲ νείατος ἄλλων.  
it shone like a star and lay beneath all the others.
> Beneath all the others: νείατος marks the robe as lowest in the pile. Homer pairs that position with the explicit statement that it is the largest and most beautiful of the robes.

**296** βῆ δʼ ἰέναι, πολλαὶ δὲ μετεσσεύοντο γεραιαί.  
She set out, and many elder women hastened after her.

**297** αἱ δʼ ὅτε νηὸν ἵκανον Ἀθήνης ἐν πόλει ἄκρῃ,  
When they reached Athena's temple on the city's height,

**298** τῇσι θύρας ὤϊξε Θεανὼ καλλιπάρῃος  
fair-cheeked Theano opened the doors for them,

**299** Κισσηῒς ἄλοχος Ἀντήνορος ἱπποδάμοιο·  
daughter of Cisseus and wife of Antenor, tamer of horses;

**300** τὴν γὰρ Τρῶες ἔθηκαν Ἀθηναίης ἱέρειαν.  
for the Trojans had made her Athena's priestess.

**301** αἳ δʼ ὀλολυγῇ πᾶσαι Ἀθήνῃ χεῖρας ἀνέσχον·  
All the women raised their hands to Athena with a ritual cry.

**302** ἣ δʼ ἄρα πέπλον ἑλοῦσα Θεανὼ καλλιπάρῃος  
Then fair-cheeked Theano took the robe

**303** θῆκεν Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο,  
and laid it across lovely-haired Athena's knees,

**304** εὐχομένη δʼ ἠρᾶτο Διὸς κούρῃ μεγάλοιο·  
and praying, she invoked the daughter of great Zeus:

**305** πότνιʼ Ἀθηναίη ἐρυσίπτολι δῖα θεάων  
"Lady Athena, defender of cities, shining among goddesses,
> Defender of cities: ἐρυσίπτολι joins the idea of guarding or rescuing with πόλις, "city." The Trojans address Athena by a title that makes their prayer pointed: they ask the city's defender to save Troy from Diomedes.

**306** ἆξον δὴ ἔγχος Διομήδεος, ἠδὲ καὶ αὐτὸν  
break now the spear of Diomedes, and grant that he

**307** πρηνέα δὸς πεσέειν Σκαιῶν προπάροιθε πυλάων,  
fall face-down before the Scaean gates,

**308** ὄφρά τοι αὐτίκα νῦν δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ  
so that at once we may sacrifice twelve cattle in your temple,

**309** ἤνις ἠκέστας ἱερεύσομεν, αἴ κʼ ἐλεήσῃς  
yearling heifers, unbroken to the goad, if you will pity
> The promise in direct prayer: ἱερεύσομεν is first-person plural future: Theano now promises, "we will sacrifice." Earlier Helenus and Hector framed the same offering through instructions and infinitives; the sacrifice remains a vow, not an act already performed.

**310** ἄστύ τε καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα.  
the town and the Trojan wives and helpless children."

**311** ὣς ἔφατʼ εὐχομένη, ἀνένευε δὲ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη.  
So she spoke in prayer, but Pallas Athena nodded refusal.

**312** ὣς αἳ μέν ῥʼ εὔχοντο Διὸς κούρῃ μεγάλοιο,  
So the women prayed to the daughter of great Zeus,

**313** Ἕκτωρ δὲ πρὸς δώματʼ Ἀλεξάνδροιο βεβήκει  
while Hector had gone to Paris' house,

**314** καλά, τά ῥʼ αὐτὸς ἔτευξε σὺν ἀνδράσιν οἳ τότʼ ἄριστοι  
a fine house he had built himself with the men who then

**315** ἦσαν ἐνὶ Τροίῃ ἐριβώλακι τέκτονες ἄνδρες,  
were the finest builders in fertile Troy.

**316** οἵ οἱ ἐποίησαν θάλαμον καὶ δῶμα καὶ αὐλὴν  
They made him a chamber, hall, and courtyard

**317** ἐγγύθι τε Πριάμοιο καὶ Ἕκτορος ἐν πόλει ἄκρῃ.  
near Priam's and Hector's, on the city's height.

**318** ἔνθʼ Ἕκτωρ εἰσῆλθε Διῒ φίλος, ἐν δʼ ἄρα χειρὶ  
There Hector, dear to Zeus, entered, and in his hand

**319** ἔγχος ἔχʼ ἑνδεκάπηχυ· πάροιθε δὲ λάμπετο δουρὸς  
he held an eleven-cubit spear; before its shaft gleamed

**320** αἰχμὴ χαλκείη, περὶ δὲ χρύσεος θέε πόρκης.  
the bronze point, and a golden collar ran around it.
> The spear's golden collar: The πόρκης is a ring or collar around the spear where the bronze head is fastened to the wooden shaft. Homer makes the ring gold, while the object itself belongs to the spear's working construction.

**321** τὸν δʼ εὗρʼ ἐν θαλάμῳ περικαλλέα τεύχεʼ ἕποντα  
He found Paris in his chamber tending his splendid armor,

**322** ἀσπίδα καὶ θώρηκα, καὶ ἀγκύλα τόξʼ ἁφόωντα·  
his shield and corselet, and handling his curved bow.

**323** Ἀργείη δʼ Ἑλένη μετʼ ἄρα δμῳῇσι γυναιξὶν  
Argive Helen sat among her serving women,

**324** ἧστο καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισι περικλυτὰ ἔργα κέλευε.  
directing her handmaids in their splendid work.
> Renowned women's work: ἔργα here means the textile work performed by Helen's attendants, and περικλυτά praises it as renowned or splendid. Helen directs their labor separately while Paris handles his weapons.

**325** τὸν δʼ Ἕκτωρ νείκεσσεν ἰδὼν αἰσχροῖς ἐπέεσσι·  
Seeing Paris, Hector rebuked him with shameful words:

**326** δαιμόνιʼ οὐ μὲν καλὰ χόλον τόνδʼ ἔνθεο θυμῷ,  
"Strange one, it is not right to store this anger in your heart.
> Strange one: δαιμόνιε is a forceful and flexible address, expressing bafflement, warning, or rebuke rather than literally calling Paris divine. "Strange one" preserves the established Iliad rendering and Hector's exasperation.

**327** λαοὶ μὲν φθινύθουσι περὶ πτόλιν αἰπύ τε τεῖχος  
The people waste away, fighting around the town

**328** μαρνάμενοι· σέο δʼ εἵνεκʼ ἀϋτή τε πτόλεμός τε  
and its steep wall; because of you the battle-cry and war

**329** ἄστυ τόδʼ ἀμφιδέδηε· σὺ δʼ ἂν μαχέσαιο καὶ ἄλλῳ,  
blaze around this city. You yourself would quarrel with another

**330** ὅν τινά που μεθιέντα ἴδοις στυγεροῦ πολέμοιο.  
if you saw him anywhere holding back from hateful war.

**331** ἀλλʼ ἄνα μὴ τάχα ἄστυ πυρὸς δηΐοιο θέρηται.  
Up, before the city is soon kindled by enemy fire."

**332** τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπεν Ἀλέξανδρος θεοειδής·  
Then godlike Paris answered him:

**333** Ἕκτορ ἐπεί με κατʼ αἶσαν ἐνείκεσας οὐδʼ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν,  
"Hector, since you have rebuked me justly, and not beyond what is just —

**334** τοὔνεκά τοι ἐρέω· σὺ δὲ σύνθεο καί μευ ἄκουσον·  
therefore I will tell you; pay heed and hear me.

**335** οὔ τοι ἐγὼ Τρώων τόσσον χόλῳ οὐδὲ νεμέσσι  
I was not sitting in my chamber so much from anger

**336** ἥμην ἐν θαλάμῳ, ἔθελον δʼ ἄχεϊ προτραπέσθαι.  
or indignation against the Trojans; I wished to yield to grief.

**337** νῦν δέ με παρειποῦσʼ ἄλοχος μαλακοῖς ἐπέεσσιν  
But now my wife has coaxed me with gentle words

**338** ὅρμησʼ ἐς πόλεμον· δοκέει δέ μοι ὧδε καὶ αὐτῷ  
and roused me to battle; and this seems better to me as well,

**339** λώϊον ἔσσεσθαι· νίκη δʼ ἐπαμείβεται ἄνδρας.  
for victory passes back and forth between men.
> Victory passes between men: The middle verb ἐπαμείβεται pictures victory as moving in turn from one fighter to another. Paris' claim is not that victory is assured, but that battle's advantage shifts between men.

**340** ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῦν ἐπίμεινον, Ἀρήϊα τεύχεα δύω·  
But come, wait now while I put on my war gear;

**341** ἢ ἴθʼ, ἐγὼ δὲ μέτειμι· κιχήσεσθαι δέ σʼ ὀΐω.  
or go, and I will follow; I think I shall overtake you."

**342** ὣς φάτο, τὸν δʼ οὔ τι προσέφη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ·  
So he spoke, but Hector of the flashing helm gave him no answer.

**343** τὸν δʼ Ἑλένη μύθοισι προσηύδα μειλιχίοισι·  
But Helen addressed him with gentle words:

**344** δᾶερ ἐμεῖο κυνὸς κακομηχάνου ὀκρυοέσσης,  
"Brother-in-law of a hateful, scheming bitch like me,
> Helen's brother-in-law: δᾶερ is a precise kinship term for a husband's brother. Helen addresses Hector through her marriage to Paris, while the harsh words that follow are directed at herself.

**345** ὥς μʼ ὄφελʼ ἤματι τῷ ὅτε με πρῶτον τέκε μήτηρ  
would that, on the day when my mother first bore me,
> A wish that cannot be fulfilled: ὄφελε with the infinitive voices an unattainable wish about the past: Helen wishes she had been swept away on the day of her birth. The construction governs the imagined escape through line 348.

**346** οἴχεσθαι προφέρουσα κακὴ ἀνέμοιο θύελλα  
an evil tempest of wind had swept me away

**347** εἰς ὄρος ἢ εἰς κῦμα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης,  
to a mountain or into the wave of the loud-roaring sea,

**348** ἔνθά με κῦμʼ ἀπόερσε πάρος τάδε ἔργα γενέσθαι.  
where the wave might have carried me off before these deeds came to pass.

**349** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τάδε γʼ ὧδε θεοὶ κακὰ τεκμήραντο,  
But since the gods have thus ordained these evils,

**350** ἀνδρὸς ἔπειτʼ ὤφελλον ἀμείνονος εἶναι ἄκοιτις,  
I should at least have been the wife of a better man,

**351** ὃς ᾔδη νέμεσίν τε καὶ αἴσχεα πόλλʼ ἀνθρώπων.  
one who knew men's righteous anger and their many reproaches.
> Reproach and righteous anger: νέμεσις is the indignation aroused by conduct that violates what others rightly expect, while αἴσχεα are the shames or reproaches voiced against it. Helen condemns Paris for lacking any steady response to public judgment.

**352** τούτῳ δʼ οὔτʼ ἂρ νῦν φρένες ἔμπεδοι οὔτʼ ἄρʼ ὀπίσσω  
But this man's mind is not steadfast now, nor will it be

**353** ἔσσονται· τὼ καί μιν ἐπαυρήσεσθαι ὀΐω.  
hereafter; and so I think he will reap its fruit.

**354** ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῦν εἴσελθε καὶ ἕζεο τῷδʼ ἐπὶ δίφρῳ  
But come now, enter and sit upon this chair,

**355** δᾶερ, ἐπεί σε μάλιστα πόνος φρένας ἀμφιβέβηκεν  
brother-in-law, since toil has closed around your heart most of all

**356** εἵνεκʼ ἐμεῖο κυνὸς καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου ἕνεκʼ ἄτης,  
because of me, the bitch, and because of Paris's blindness,
> Ate: ruinous blindness: ἄτη is a blinding delusion that drives someone into ruin and can also name the ruin that follows. Helen lays the burden on herself and on Paris's destructive blindness without excusing either of them.

**357** οἷσιν ἐπὶ Ζεὺς θῆκε κακὸν μόρον, ὡς καὶ ὀπίσσω  
on whom Zeus has laid an evil doom, so that hereafter

**358** ἀνθρώποισι πελώμεθʼ ἀοίδιμοι ἐσσομένοισι.  
we may be subjects of song for generations yet to come."

**359** τὴν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ  
Then great Hector of the flashing helm answered her:

**360** μή με κάθιζʼ Ἑλένη φιλέουσά περ· οὐδέ με πείσεις·  
"Do not seat me, Helen, though you love me; you will not persuade me.

**361** ἤδη γάρ μοι θυμὸς ἐπέσσυται ὄφρʼ ἐπαμύνω  
Already my heart is driving me on to defend

**362** Τρώεσσʼ, οἳ μέγʼ ἐμεῖο ποθὴν ἀπεόντος ἔχουσιν.  
the Trojans, who greatly long for me while I am away.

**363** ἀλλὰ σύ γʼ ὄρνυθι τοῦτον, ἐπειγέσθω δὲ καὶ αὐτός,  
But you, rouse this man, and let him hasten on his own,

**364** ὥς κεν ἔμʼ ἔντοσθεν πόλιος καταμάρψῃ ἐόντα.  
so he may overtake me while I am still within the city.

**365** καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼν οἶκον δὲ ἐλεύσομαι ὄφρα ἴδωμαι  
For I too will go home, so that I may see

**366** οἰκῆας ἄλοχόν τε φίλην καὶ νήπιον υἱόν.  
my household, my dear wife, and my infant son.

**367** οὐ γὰρ οἶδʼ εἰ ἔτι σφιν ὑπότροπος ἵξομαι αὖτις,  
For I do not know whether I shall return to them again,

**368** ἦ ἤδη μʼ ὑπὸ χερσὶ θεοὶ δαμόωσιν Ἀχαιῶν.  
or whether the gods will now subdue me beneath Achaean hands."

**369** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἀπέβη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ·  
So he spoke, and Hector of the flashing helm departed;

**370** αἶψα δʼ ἔπειθʼ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας,  
and swiftly then he reached his well-inhabited house,

**371** οὐδʼ εὗρʼ Ἀνδρομάχην λευκώλενον ἐν μεγάροισιν,  
but did not find white-armed Andromache within the halls.
> White-armed Andromache: λευκώλενος, "white-armed," is a standing epithet shared by several women in the poem. Its wording remains the same here as when the adjective is applied to Hera or Helen.

**372** ἀλλʼ ἥ γε ξὺν παιδὶ καὶ ἀμφιπόλῳ ἐϋπέπλῳ  
Instead, with her child and a well-robed attendant, she

**373** πύργῳ ἐφεστήκει γοόωσά τε μυρομένη τε.  
stood upon the tower, wailing and shedding tears.

**374** Ἕκτωρ δʼ ὡς οὐκ ἔνδον ἀμύμονα τέτμεν ἄκοιτιν  
When Hector did not find his blameless wife inside,

**375** ἔστη ἐπʼ οὐδὸν ἰών, μετὰ δὲ δμῳῇσιν ἔειπεν·  
he went and stood upon the threshold, and said among the maids:

**376** εἰ δʼ ἄγε μοι δμῳαὶ νημερτέα μυθήσασθε·  
"Come now, maids, tell me the truth:

**377** πῇ ἔβη Ἀνδρομάχη λευκώλενος ἐκ μεγάροιο;  
where did white-armed Andromache go from the house?

**378** ἠέ πῃ ἐς γαλόων ἢ εἰνατέρων ἐϋπέπλων  
Did she go to my sisters or my brothers' well-robed wives,
> Two kinds of sisters-in-law: Greek distinguishes γάλως, a husband's sister, from εἰνατέρες, women married to brothers. Hector asks separately about his own sisters and the wives of his brothers; English needs a fuller phrase to preserve the distinction.

**379** ἢ ἐς Ἀθηναίης ἐξοίχεται, ἔνθά περ ἄλλαι  
or has she gone to Athena's temple, where the other

**380** Τρῳαὶ ἐϋπλόκαμοι δεινὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκονται;  
lovely-haired Trojan women seek to appease the dread goddess?"

**381** τὸν δʼ αὖτʼ ὀτρηρὴ ταμίη πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν·  
Then the diligent housekeeper answered him:

**382** Ἕκτορ ἐπεὶ μάλʼ ἄνωγας ἀληθέα μυθήσασθαι,  
"Hector, since you strongly command me to tell the truth,

**383** οὔτέ πῃ ἐς γαλόων οὔτʼ εἰνατέρων ἐϋπέπλων  
she did not go to your sisters or your brothers' well-robed wives,

**384** οὔτʼ ἐς Ἀθηναίης ἐξοίχεται, ἔνθά περ ἄλλαι  
nor has she gone to Athena's temple, where the other

**385** Τρῳαὶ ἐϋπλόκαμοι δεινὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκονται,  
lovely-haired Trojan women seek to appease the dread goddess.

**386** ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ πύργον ἔβη μέγαν Ἰλίου, οὕνεκʼ ἄκουσε  
She went instead to the high tower of Ilion, because she heard

**387** τείρεσθαι Τρῶας, μέγα δὲ κράτος εἶναι Ἀχαιῶν.  
the Trojans were being pressed and the Achaeans held great power.

**388** ἣ μὲν δὴ πρὸς τεῖχος ἐπειγομένη ἀφικάνει  
She has reached the wall by now, hurrying there

**389** μαινομένῃ ἐϊκυῖα· φέρει δʼ ἅμα παῖδα τιθήνη.  
like a woman possessed; and the nurse carries the child with her."
> Like a woman possessed: μαινομένη describes someone driven out of ordinary control, as if seized by frenzy. The housekeeper reports the appearance of Andromache's desperate haste; the phrase is a simile, not a diagnosis.

**390** ἦ ῥα γυνὴ ταμίη, ὃ δʼ ἀπέσσυτο δώματος Ἕκτωρ  
So the housekeeper spoke, and Hector rushed from the house

**391** τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν αὖτις ἐϋκτιμένας κατʼ ἀγυιάς.  
back by the same road, down the well-built streets.

**392** εὖτε πύλας ἵκανε διερχόμενος μέγα ἄστυ  
When he had crossed the great city and reached the gates,

**393** Σκαιάς, τῇ ἄρʼ ἔμελλε διεξίμεναι πεδίον δέ,  
the Scaean gates, through which he was to pass out to the plain,

**394** ἔνθʼ ἄλοχος πολύδωρος ἐναντίη ἦλθε θέουσα  
there his richly-dowered wife came running to meet him,

**395** Ἀνδρομάχη θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος Ἠετίωνος  
Andromache, daughter of great-hearted Eetion.

**396** Ἠετίων ὃς ἔναιεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ  
Eetion lived beneath wooded Mount Placus,

**397** Θήβῃ Ὑποπλακίῃ Κιλίκεσσʼ ἄνδρεσσιν ἀνάσσων·  
in Hypoplacian Thebe, ruling over the Cilician men;

**398** τοῦ περ δὴ θυγάτηρ ἔχεθʼ Ἕκτορι χαλκοκορυστῇ.  
his daughter, then, was wedded to bronze-helmed Hector.

**399** ἥ οἱ ἔπειτʼ ἤντησʼ, ἅμα δʼ ἀμφίπολος κίεν αὐτῇ  
She now met him, and with her came the attendant,

**400** παῖδʼ ἐπὶ κόλπῳ ἔχουσʼ ἀταλάφρονα νήπιον αὔτως  
holding at her breast the tender-hearted child, a mere infant,

**401** Ἑκτορίδην ἀγαπητὸν ἀλίγκιον ἀστέρι καλῷ,  
Hector's beloved son, like a lovely star.

**402** τόν ῥʼ Ἕκτωρ καλέεσκε Σκαμάνδριον, αὐτὰρ οἱ ἄλλοι  
Hector called him Scamandrius, but all the others called him

**403** Ἀστυάνακτʼ· οἶος γὰρ ἐρύετο Ἴλιον Ἕκτωρ.  
Astyanax, for Hector alone defended Ilion.

**404** ἤτοι ὃ μὲν μείδησεν ἰδὼν ἐς παῖδα σιωπῇ·  
Hector smiled as he looked at his son in silence,

**405** Ἀνδρομάχη δέ οἱ ἄγχι παρίστατο δάκρυ χέουσα,  
but Andromache stood close beside him, shedding tears.

**406** ἔν τʼ ἄρα οἱ φῦ χειρὶ ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἔκ τʼ ὀνόμαζε·  
She took his hand, and spoke to him, and called him by name:
> A handclasp before speech: The vivid formula says that Andromache "grew onto" Hector by the hand: she fastens her hand to his before speaking. This line repeats the gesture used when Hecuba met Hector earlier in the book, so its English is held unchanged.

**407** δαιμόνιε φθίσει σε τὸ σὸν μένος, οὐδʼ ἐλεαίρεις  
"Strange man, your own might will destroy you; you take no pity
> Strange man: δαιμόνιε is an emotionally charged address, literally suggesting someone under a divine power. Here it mingles intimacy, alarm, and reproach; Andromache is not calling Hector a god or demon.

**408** παῖδά τε νηπίαχον καὶ ἔμʼ ἄμμορον, ἣ τάχα χήρη  
on your infant child and wretched me, who soon will be

**409** σεῦ ἔσομαι· τάχα γάρ σε κατακτανέουσιν Ἀχαιοὶ  
your widow; for soon the Achaeans will kill you,

**410** πάντες ἐφορμηθέντες· ἐμοὶ δέ κε κέρδιον εἴη  
all rushing upon you. For it would be better for me,
> What would be better: The optative εἴη with κε expresses a potential outcome, what would be better for Andromache if Hector dies. The infinitive in the next line supplies the act she imagines: going beneath the earth.

**411** σεῦ ἀφαμαρτούσῃ χθόνα δύμεναι· οὐ γὰρ ἔτʼ ἄλλη  
once I have lost you, to sink beneath the earth; for no other

**412** ἔσται θαλπωρὴ ἐπεὶ ἂν σύ γε πότμον ἐπίσπῃς  
warmth will remain for me when you meet your fate,

**413** ἀλλʼ ἄχεʼ· οὐδέ μοι ἔστι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ.  
but only grief. I have no father or queenly mother.

**414** ἤτοι γὰρ πατέρʼ ἁμὸν ἀπέκτανε δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς,  
For godlike Achilles killed my father,

**415** ἐκ δὲ πόλιν πέρσεν Κιλίκων εὖ ναιετάουσαν  
and sacked the Cilicians' well-inhabited city,

**416** Θήβην ὑψίπυλον· κατὰ δʼ ἔκτανεν Ἠετίωνα,  
high-gated Thebe; and he killed Eetion,

**417** οὐδέ μιν ἐξενάριξε, σεβάσσατο γὰρ τό γε θυμῷ,  
yet did not strip him, for in his heart he shrank from doing so.

**418** ἀλλʼ ἄρα μιν κατέκηε σὺν ἔντεσι δαιδαλέοισιν  
Instead, he burned him together with his richly wrought armor

**419** ἠδʼ ἐπὶ σῆμʼ ἔχεεν· περὶ δὲ πτελέας ἐφύτευσαν  
and heaped a mound above him; and all around it planted elms

**420** νύμφαι ὀρεστιάδες κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο.  
the mountain nymphs, daughters of Zeus who bears the aegis.

**421** οἳ δέ μοι ἑπτὰ κασίγνητοι ἔσαν ἐν μεγάροισιν  
And the seven brothers I had within our halls,

**422** οἳ μὲν πάντες ἰῷ κίον ἤματι Ἄϊδος εἴσω·  
all on a single day went down into the house of Hades,

**423** πάντας γὰρ κατέπεφνε ποδάρκης δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς  
for swift-footed godlike Achilles killed them all

**424** βουσὶν ἐπʼ εἰλιπόδεσσι καὶ ἀργεννῇς ὀΐεσσι.  
beside their shambling cattle and their white sheep.
> Cattle with a rolling gait: εἰλίπους pictures cattle by the rolling or outward-turning motion of their feet as they walk. The pastoral detail makes the brothers' deaths a slaughter among the family's herds, not a formal clash in battle ranks.

**425** μητέρα δʼ, ἣ βασίλευεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ,  
And my mother, who ruled beneath wooded Mount Placus,

**426** τὴν ἐπεὶ ἂρ δεῦρʼ ἤγαγʼ ἅμʼ ἄλλοισι κτεάτεσσιν,  
after he brought her here with the other possessions,

**427** ἂψ ὅ γε τὴν ἀπέλυσε λαβὼν ἀπερείσιʼ ἄποινα,  
he released again when he had taken boundless ransom,

**428** πατρὸς δʼ ἐν μεγάροισι βάλʼ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα.  
but Artemis, showerer of arrows, struck her in her father's halls.

**429** Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σύ μοί ἐσσι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ  
Hector, you are my father and queenly mother,

**430** ἠδὲ κασίγνητος, σὺ δέ μοι θαλερὸς παρακοίτης·  
and my brother, and you are my strong young husband.

**431** ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῦν ἐλέαιρε καὶ αὐτοῦ μίμνʼ ἐπὶ πύργῳ,  
Come now, take pity, and remain here upon the tower,

**432** μὴ παῖδʼ ὀρφανικὸν θήῃς χήρην τε γυναῖκα·  
do not make your child an orphan and your wife a widow.
> A plea framed as prohibition: μή with the subjunctive θήῃς makes a prohibition: Andromache asks Hector not to bring these states into being. The paired predicates make the same choice create both an orphaned child and a widowed wife.

**433** λαὸν δὲ στῆσον παρʼ ἐρινεόν, ἔνθα μάλιστα  
Station the army beside the fig tree, where the city

**434** ἀμβατός ἐστι πόλις καὶ ἐπίδρομον ἔπλετο τεῖχος.  
is easiest to scale and the wall lies open to assault.
> The wall's weak point: ἀμβατός marks a place that can be climbed, while ἐπίδρομος marks the wall as accessible to an attack or rush. Andromache identifies a concrete tactical weakness near the fig tree rather than merely calling the wall low.

**435** τρὶς γὰρ τῇ γʼ ἐλθόντες ἐπειρήσανθʼ οἱ ἄριστοι  
Three times the best men have come there and made trial of it,

**436** ἀμφʼ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ ἀγακλυτὸν Ἰδομενῆα  
the two Ajaxes and famous Idomeneus,

**437** ἠδʼ ἀμφʼ Ἀτρεΐδας καὶ Τυδέος ἄλκιμον υἱόν·  
the two sons of Atreus and the mighty son of Tydeus,

**438** ἤ πού τίς σφιν ἔνισπε θεοπροπίων ἐῢ εἰδώς,  
whether someone skilled in prophecies told them,

**439** ἤ νυ καὶ αὐτῶν θυμὸς ἐποτρύνει καὶ ἀνώγει.  
or their own spirit urges and commands them."

**440** τὴν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ·  
Then great Hector of the flashing helm addressed her in turn:

**441** ἦ καὶ ἐμοὶ τάδε πάντα μέλει γύναι· ἀλλὰ μάλʼ αἰνῶς  
"Wife, all these things concern me too; but terribly

**442** αἰδέομαι Τρῶας καὶ Τρῳάδας ἑλκεσιπέπλους,  
I am ashamed before the Trojans and the trailing-robed Trojan women
> Trojan women with trailing robes: ἑλκεσίπεπλος pictures a robe long enough to trail along the ground. Hector imagines the judgment of Troy's women as well as its warriors, and Homer marks them by the formal sweep of their dress.

**443** αἴ κε κακὸς ὣς νόσφιν ἀλυσκάζω πολέμοιο·  
if, like a coward, I shrink far away from battle.

**444** οὐδέ με θυμὸς ἄνωγεν, ἐπεὶ μάθον ἔμμεναι ἐσθλὸς  
Nor does my spirit urge me so, since I learned to be brave

**445** αἰεὶ καὶ πρώτοισι μετὰ Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι  
always, and to fight among the foremost Trojans,

**446** ἀρνύμενος πατρός τε μέγα κλέος ἠδʼ ἐμὸν αὐτοῦ.  
winning great glory for my father and for myself.
> Winning kleos: κλέος is the glory carried abroad in what others say and sing. Hector presents his place in the front rank as the means of winning that glory both for Priam and for himself.

**447** εὖ γὰρ ἐγὼ τόδε οἶδα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν·  
For this I know well, in my mind and in my heart:

**448** ἔσσεται ἦμαρ ὅτʼ ἄν ποτʼ ὀλώλῃ Ἴλιος ἱρὴ  
there will come a day when sacred Ilion shall perish,

**449** καὶ Πρίαμος καὶ λαὸς ἐϋμμελίω Πριάμοιο.  
and Priam, and the people of Priam of the strong ash spear.

**450** ἀλλʼ οὔ μοι Τρώων τόσσον μέλει ἄλγος ὀπίσσω,  
Yet the grief to come for the Trojans does not concern me so much,

**451** οὔτʼ αὐτῆς Ἑκάβης οὔτε Πριάμοιο ἄνακτος  
nor that of Hecuba herself, nor of lord Priam,

**452** οὔτε κασιγνήτων, οἵ κεν πολέες τε καὶ ἐσθλοὶ  
nor of my brothers, many and brave though they may be,

**453** ἐν κονίῃσι πέσοιεν ὑπʼ ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν,  
who may fall in the dust beneath enemy men,

**454** ὅσσον σεῦ, ὅτε κέν τις Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων  
as does yours, when one of the bronze-clad Achaeans

**455** δακρυόεσσαν ἄγηται ἐλεύθερον ἦμαρ ἀπούρας·  
leads you away in tears, robbing you of your day of freedom.

**456** καί κεν ἐν Ἄργει ἐοῦσα πρὸς ἄλλης ἱστὸν ὑφαίνοις,  
And in Argos you may weave at another woman's loom,
> A feared future in the optative: ὑφαίνοις is a present optative with κεν in its own clause. Hector imagines what Andromache may be forced to do in captivity; the following water-carrying verb has the same form and force.

**457** καί κεν ὕδωρ φορέοις Μεσσηΐδος ἢ Ὑπερείης  
and carry water from Messeis or Hyperia,

**458** πόλλʼ ἀεκαζομένη, κρατερὴ δʼ ἐπικείσετʼ ἀνάγκη·  
much against your will, and hard necessity will lie upon you.

**459** καί ποτέ τις εἴπῃσιν ἰδὼν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσαν·  
And someday someone may say, seeing you pour down tears:

**460** Ἕκτορος ἥδε γυνὴ ὃς ἀριστεύεσκε μάχεσθαι  
'This is Hector's wife, who was ever foremost in battle
> Foremost again and again: The iterative ending -εσκ- presents Hector's excellence as habitual: he repeatedly proved the best in battle. The imagined speaker defines the captive woman through the martial record of the husband she has lost.

**461** Τρώων ἱπποδάμων ὅτε Ἴλιον ἀμφεμάχοντο.  
among the horse-taming Trojans when they fought around Ilion.'

**462** ὥς ποτέ τις ἐρέει· σοὶ δʼ αὖ νέον ἔσσεται ἄλγος  
So someone will say; and for you grief will be new again

**463** χήτεϊ τοιοῦδʼ ἀνδρὸς ἀμύνειν δούλιον ἦμαρ.  
for want of such a man to ward off the day of slavery.

**464** ἀλλά με τεθνηῶτα χυτὴ κατὰ γαῖα καλύπτοι  
But may the heaped earth cover me when I am dead
> A wish for death first: καλύπτοι is an optative of wish: Hector asks that the earth cover him dead before the feared event in the next line. He does not predict his death here so much as prefer it to witnessing Andromache's enslavement.

**465** πρίν γέ τι σῆς τε βοῆς σοῦ θʼ ἑλκηθμοῖο πυθέσθαι.  
before I hear anything of your cry and your being dragged away."

**466** ὣς εἰπὼν οὗ παιδὸς ὀρέξατο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ·  
So glorious Hector spoke, and reached toward his son;

**467** ἂψ δʼ ὃ πάϊς πρὸς κόλπον ἐϋζώνοιο τιθήνης  
but the child shrank back to the breast of the well-girdled nurse,

**468** ἐκλίνθη ἰάχων πατρὸς φίλου ὄψιν ἀτυχθεὶς  
crying out, frightened at the sight of his dear father,

**469** ταρβήσας χαλκόν τε ἰδὲ λόφον ἱππιοχαίτην,  
terrified by the bronze and the horsehair crest,
> The child fears the armor: The child reacts to two visible things: the bronze helmet and its horsehair crest. Hector does not frighten him deliberately; the warrior's equipment makes the familiar father suddenly strange.

**470** δεινὸν ἀπʼ ἀκροτάτης κόρυθος νεύοντα νοήσας.  
seeing it nod terribly from the helmet's very top.

**471** ἐκ δʼ ἐγέλασσε πατήρ τε φίλος καὶ πότνια μήτηρ·  
Then his dear father and queenly mother both laughed aloud.

**472** αὐτίκʼ ἀπὸ κρατὸς κόρυθʼ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ,  
At once glorious Hector took the helmet from his head

**473** καὶ τὴν μὲν κατέθηκεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ παμφανόωσαν·  
and set it on the ground, all gleaming;

**474** αὐτὰρ ὅ γʼ ὃν φίλον υἱὸν ἐπεὶ κύσε πῆλέ τε χερσὶν  
then, when he had kissed his dear son and lifted him in his hands,

**475** εἶπε δʼ ἐπευξάμενος Διί τʼ ἄλλοισίν τε θεοῖσι·  
he prayed aloud to Zeus and the other gods:

**476** Ζεῦ ἄλλοι τε θεοὶ δότε δὴ καὶ τόνδε γενέσθαι  
"Zeus and you other gods, grant that this child too,

**477** παῖδʼ ἐμὸν ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ ἀριπρεπέα Τρώεσσιν,  
my son, may become, as I am, preeminent among the Trojans,

**478** ὧδε βίην τʼ ἀγαθόν, καὶ Ἰλίου ἶφι ἀνάσσειν·  
as excellent in strength, and rule Ilion with might;

**479** καί ποτέ τις εἴποι πατρός γʼ ὅδε πολλὸν ἀμείνων  
and someday may someone say, 'This one is far better than his father,'
> The prayer continues in optatives: Three optatives carry Hector's wish forward: εἴποι and χαρείη are aorist, while φέροι is present. May someone speak, may the son bear spoils, and may his mother rejoice: the sequence makes victory, public judgment, and family joy parts of a single hoped-for future.

**480** ἐκ πολέμου ἀνιόντα· φέροι δʼ ἔναρα βροτόεντα  
as he comes home from war; and may he bear blood-stained spoils,

**481** κτείνας δήϊον ἄνδρα, χαρείη δὲ φρένα μήτηρ.  
having killed an enemy man, and may his mother rejoice at heart."

**482** ὣς εἰπὼν ἀλόχοιο φίλης ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκε  
So speaking, he placed his own child in the hands of his dear wife;

**483** παῖδʼ ἑόν· ἣ δʼ ἄρα μιν κηώδεϊ δέξατο κόλπῳ  
and she received him at her fragrant breast

**484** δακρυόεν γελάσασα· πόσις δʼ ἐλέησε νοήσας,  
with a tearful smile; her husband saw and pitied her,
> A tearful smile: The participle γελάσασα, "smiling," is qualified by δακρυόεν, "tearful." Homer holds Andromache's joy in her child and grief for Hector together in one compact expression.

**485** χειρί τέ μιν κατέρεξεν ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἔκ τʼ ὀνόμαζε·  
and stroked her with his hand, and spoke to her, and called her by name:

**486** δαιμονίη μή μοί τι λίην ἀκαχίζεο θυμῷ·  
"Strange woman, do not grieve too deeply in your heart for me.

**487** οὐ γάρ τίς μʼ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν ἀνὴρ Ἄϊδι προϊάψει·  
For no man will send me down to Hades before my destiny;
> Before the allotted time: αἶσα is a person's allotted share or destiny. Hector claims that no warrior can drive him to Hades beyond that allotment; the next lines broaden the thought from his own death to every mortal's fate.

**488** μοῖραν δʼ οὔ τινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν,  
but no man, I tell you, has escaped his fate,

**489** οὐ κακὸν οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλόν, ἐπὴν τὰ πρῶτα γένηται.  
neither coward nor brave man, once he is born.

**490** ἀλλʼ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σʼ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε  
But go home and tend to your own tasks,

**491** ἱστόν τʼ ἠλακάτην τε, καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισι κέλευε  
the loom and the distaff, and command your serving women
> Loom and distaff: The loom is the frame on which cloth is woven; the distaff holds the unspun fiber before it is drawn into thread. Together they stand for the textile work Hector assigns to Andromache and the women of the household.

**492** ἔργον ἐποίχεσθαι· πόλεμος δʼ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει  
to go about their work; war shall concern the men,

**493** πᾶσι, μάλιστα δʼ ἐμοί, τοὶ Ἰλίῳ ἐγγεγάασιν.  
all who were born in Ilion, and me above all."

**494** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας κόρυθʼ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ  
So speaking, glorious Hector lifted his horsehair-crested

**495** ἵππουριν· ἄλοχος δὲ φίλη οἶκον δὲ βεβήκει  
helmet; and his dear wife had begun to go home,

**496** ἐντροπαλιζομένη, θαλερὸν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσα.  
turning back again and again, shedding full tears.
> Turning back again and again: ἐντροπαλίζομαι describes repeated backward turning while still moving away. Andromache obeys Hector and goes home, but her body keeps turning toward him as long as she can look.

**497** αἶψα δʼ ἔπειθʼ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας  
and swiftly then she reached the well-inhabited house,

**498** Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο, κιχήσατο δʼ ἔνδοθι πολλὰς  
of man-slaying Hector, and found many women inside,
> Man-slaying Hector: ἀνδροφόνος, "man-slaying," is the same martial adjective already used of Ares. Here Homer applies it to Hector, showing that the epithet names a warrior's killing force rather than belonging exclusively to the god.

**499** ἀμφιπόλους, τῇσιν δὲ γόον πάσῃσιν ἐνῶρσεν.  
her serving women, and among them all she stirred up lamentation.

**500** αἳ μὲν ἔτι ζωὸν γόον Ἕκτορα ᾧ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ·  
They mourned Hector while he was still alive, there in his own house;

**501** οὐ γάρ μιν ἔτʼ ἔφαντο ὑπότροπον ἐκ πολέμοιο  
for they no longer thought he would come back from battle

**502** ἵξεσθαι προφυγόντα μένος καὶ χεῖρας Ἀχαιῶν.  
after escaping the fury and the hands of the Achaeans.

**503** οὐδὲ Πάρις δήθυνεν ἐν ὑψηλοῖσι δόμοισιν,  
Nor did Paris linger in his high-roofed house,

**504** ἀλλʼ ὅ γʼ, ἐπεὶ κατέδυ κλυτὰ τεύχεα ποικίλα χαλκῷ,  
but when he had put on his famous armor, richly wrought with bronze,

**505** σεύατʼ ἔπειτʼ ἀνὰ ἄστυ ποσὶ κραιπνοῖσι πεποιθώς.  
he rushed then through the city, trusting in his swift feet.

**506** ὡς δʼ ὅτε τις στατὸς ἵππος ἀκοστήσας ἐπὶ φάτνῃ  
As when a stabled horse, fed his fill at the manger,
> A stalled horse fed at the manger: στατός marks a horse kept standing in a stall, while ἀκοστήσας means that it has fed on grain at the manger. The stored energy of a well-fed animal drives the speed and exuberance of the simile.

**507** δεσμὸν ἀπορρήξας θείῃ πεδίοιο κροαίνων  
breaks his tether and runs exulting over the plain,

**508** εἰωθὼς λούεσθαι ἐϋρρεῖος ποταμοῖο  
accustomed to bathe in a fair-flowing river,

**509** κυδιόων· ὑψοῦ δὲ κάρη ἔχει, ἀμφὶ δὲ χαῖται  
glorying; he holds his head high, and his mane

**510** ὤμοις ἀΐσσονται· ὃ δʼ ἀγλαΐηφι πεποιθὼς  
streams about his shoulders; trusting in his splendor,

**511** ῥίμφά ἑ γοῦνα φέρει μετά τʼ ἤθεα καὶ νομὸν ἵππων·  
his knees bear him swiftly to the haunts and pasture of mares—

**512** ὣς υἱὸς Πριάμοιο Πάρις κατὰ Περγάμου ἄκρης  
so Priam's son Paris came down from the height of Pergamus,

**513** τεύχεσι παμφαίνων ὥς τʼ ἠλέκτωρ ἐβεβήκει  
all gleaming in his armor like the sun,
> Gleaming like the sun: ἠλέκτωρ is an old poetic word for the radiant sun. The comparison joins the horse's physical brilliance to Paris's bronze armor as he descends from the citadel.

**514** καγχαλόων, ταχέες δὲ πόδες φέρον· αἶψα δʼ ἔπειτα  
laughing aloud, and his swift feet bore him on; and soon

**515** Ἕκτορα δῖον ἔτετμεν ἀδελφεὸν εὖτʼ ἄρʼ ἔμελλε  
he found godlike Hector, his brother, just as he was about

**516** στρέψεσθʼ ἐκ χώρης ὅθι ᾗ ὀάριζε γυναικί.  
to turn from the place where he had spoken tenderly with his wife.

**517** τὸν πρότερος προσέειπεν Ἀλέξανδρος θεοειδής·  
Godlike Paris was the first to address him:

**518** ἠθεῖʼ ἦ μάλα δή σε καὶ ἐσσύμενον κατερύκω  
"Brother, surely I have kept you back in all your haste

**519** δηθύνων, οὐδʼ ἦλθον ἐναίσιμον ὡς ἐκέλευες;  
by lingering, and did not come in due time as you commanded?"
> Paris asks for a verdict: The question particle ἦ frames Paris's words as a request for confirmation: has he in fact delayed Hector and failed to arrive at the proper time? His question acknowledges the rebuke before Hector answers it.

**520** τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ·  
Then Hector of the flashing helm answered him and said:

**521** δαιμόνιʼ οὐκ ἄν τίς τοι ἀνὴρ ὃς ἐναίσιμος εἴη  
"Strange one, no man whose judgment is fair

**522** ἔργον ἀτιμήσειε μάχης, ἐπεὶ ἄλκιμός ἐσσι·  
would dishonor your work in battle, since you are brave;

**523** ἀλλὰ ἑκὼν μεθιεῖς τε καὶ οὐκ ἐθέλεις· τὸ δʼ ἐμὸν κῆρ  
but you willingly slacken and refuse to fight; and my heart

**524** ἄχνυται ἐν θυμῷ, ὅθʼ ὑπὲρ σέθεν αἴσχεʼ ἀκούω  
grieves within me whenever I hear shameful words about you

**525** πρὸς Τρώων, οἳ ἔχουσι πολὺν πόνον εἵνεκα σεῖο.  
from the Trojans, who bear great toil because of you.

**526** ἀλλʼ ἴομεν· τὰ δʼ ὄπισθεν ἀρεσσόμεθʼ, αἴ κέ ποθι Ζεὺς  
But let us go; we shall make amends hereafter, if ever Zeus

**527** δώῃ ἐπουρανίοισι θεοῖς αἰειγενέτῃσι  
grants us, for the heavenly gods who live forever,

**528** κρητῆρα στήσασθαι ἐλεύθερον ἐν μεγάροισιν  
to set up the bowl of freedom in our halls,

**529** ἐκ Τροίης ἐλάσαντας ἐϋκνήμιδας Ἀχαιούς.  
when we have driven the well-greaved Achaeans from Troy."

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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.