# The Iliad, Book 9: The Embassy to Achilles

Ἰλιάς · Homer · The Patrocleia

Agamemnon sends Odysseus, Ajax and Phoenix to Achilles with gifts and an apology. Achilles refuses and says he will sail home.

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/9. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/9.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/iliad/<line id>.m4a.

**1** ὣς οἱ μὲν Τρῶες φυλακὰς ἔχον· αὐτὰρ Ἀχαιοὺς  
Thus the Trojans kept their watches; but the Achaeans

**2** θεσπεσίη ἔχε φύζα φόβου κρυόεντος ἑταίρη,  
were gripped by terrible panic, companion of chilling fear,
> Panic, companion of fear: φύζα is headlong panic or rout, here made the companion of chilling φόβος, fear. The phrasing gives the Achaeans' terror the force of a power that has seized them.

**3** πένθεϊ δʼ ἀτλήτῳ βεβολήατο πάντες ἄριστοι.  
and all their best men were struck with unbearable grief.

**4** ὡς δʼ ἄνεμοι δύο πόντον ὀρίνετον ἰχθυόεντα  
As two winds stir the fish-filled sea,
> Two winds in the dual: ὀρίνετον is a dual verb: the grammar treats Boreas and Zephyrus as a pair acting together upon the sea.

**5** Βορέης καὶ Ζέφυρος, τώ τε Θρῄκηθεν ἄητον  
Boreas and Zephyrus, which blow from Thrace,

**6** ἐλθόντʼ ἐξαπίνης· ἄμυδις δέ τε κῦμα κελαινὸν  
coming suddenly, and all at once the black wave

**7** κορθύεται, πολλὸν δὲ παρὲξ ἅλα φῦκος ἔχευεν·  
heaves into a crest and casts much seaweed along the sea —

**8** ὣς ἐδαΐζετο θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν Ἀχαιῶν.  
so the spirit in the Achaeans' breasts was torn apart.

**9** Ἀτρεΐδης δʼ ἄχεϊ μεγάλῳ βεβολημένος ἦτορ  
The son of Atreus, struck to the heart by great grief,

**10** φοίτα κηρύκεσσι λιγυφθόγγοισι κελεύων  
went about commanding the clear-voiced heralds

**11** κλήδην εἰς ἀγορὴν κικλήσκειν ἄνδρα ἕκαστον,  
to summon every man by name to the assembly,
> Called by name: κλήδην means individually, by name. Agamemnon orders a quiet, personal summons rather than a public proclamation across the camp.

**12** μὴ δὲ βοᾶν· αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ πρώτοισι πονεῖτο.  
but not to shout aloud; he himself labored among the foremost.

**13** ἷζον δʼ εἰν ἀγορῇ τετιηότες· ἂν δʼ Ἀγαμέμνων  
They sat distressed in the assembly; and Agamemnon rose

**14** ἵστατο δάκρυ χέων ὥς τε κρήνη μελάνυδρος  
shedding tears like a black-watered spring
> Dark-watered: μελάνυδρος is a compact compound of μέλας, dark, and ὕδωρ, water. The grief simile turns Agamemnon's tears into a shadowed mountain spring.

**15** ἥ τε κατʼ αἰγίλιπος πέτρης δνοφερὸν χέει ὕδωρ·  
that pours its dusky water down a sheer rock face.

**16** ὣς ὃ βαρὺ στενάχων ἔπεʼ Ἀργείοισι μετηύδα·  
So, groaning heavily, he spoke words to the Argives:

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

**18** Ζεύς με μέγα Κρονίδης ἄτῃ ἐνέδησε βαρείῃ  
Zeus, son of Cronos, has bound me fast in heavy ruin —
> Ate: ruin and delusion: ἄτη is ruin, often joined to the blindness or delusion that drives someone into disaster. Agamemnon makes Zeus the agent who has bound him in it, though later in this book he will also admit his own error.

**19** σχέτλιος, ὃς τότε μέν μοι ὑπέσχετο καὶ κατένευσεν  
cruel god, who then promised me and bowed his head in assent

**20** Ἴλιον ἐκπέρσαντʼ εὐτείχεον ἀπονέεσθαι,  
that I should sack well-walled Ilion and return home,
> A returning formula: This line repeats an established return formula. The Greek participle leaves its subject to context; here Agamemnon speaks of himself, so the inherited first-person rendering is retained.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

**29** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δʼ ἄρα πάντες ἀκὴν ἐγένοντο σιωπῇ.  
So he spoke, and they all fell hushed in silence;
> A whole-line repeat: The Greek line is identical to an earlier council formula, and the English therefore repeats its finalized wording. Such verbatim recurrence is part of the poem's oral architecture.

**30** δὴν δʼ ἄνεῳ ἦσαν τετιηότες υἷες Ἀχαιῶν·  
for a long while the distressed sons of the Achaeans sat speechless.

**31** ὀψὲ δὲ δὴ μετέειπε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·  
but at last Diomedes, good at the war-cry, spoke among them:

**32** Ἀτρεΐδη σοὶ πρῶτα μαχήσομαι ἀφραδέοντι,  
"Son of Atreus, with you first I will contend in your folly,

**33** ἣ θέμις ἐστὶν ἄναξ ἀγορῇ· σὺ δὲ μή τι χολωθῇς.  
as is right, lord, in the assembly; but do not be angered.

**34** ἀλκὴν μέν μοι πρῶτον ὀνείδισας ἐν Δαναοῖσι  
First you reproached my valor among the Danaans,

**35** φὰς ἔμεν ἀπτόλεμον καὶ ἀνάλκιδα· ταῦτα δὲ πάντα  
saying I was unwarlike and a coward; and all this

**36** ἴσασʼ Ἀργείων ἠμὲν νέοι ἠδὲ γέροντες.  
the Argives know, both young and old.

**37** σοὶ δὲ διάνδιχα δῶκε Κρόνου πάϊς ἀγκυλομήτεω·  
But to you the son of crooked-counseling Cronos gave his gifts divided:
> A gift divided in two: διάνδιχα means in two parts or in halves. Diomedes sharpens the insult by splitting kingship from courage: Agamemnon received the first, but not the second.

**38** σκήπτρῳ μέν τοι δῶκε τετιμῆσθαι περὶ πάντων,  
with the scepter he gave you honor above all others,
> The instrumental dative: σκήπτρῳ is dative of means: Agamemnon is honored by or through the scepter, the visible token of his authority.

**39** ἀλκὴν δʼ οὔ τοι δῶκεν, ὅ τε κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον.  
but he did not give you valor, which is the greatest power.

**40** δαιμόνιʼ οὕτω που μάλα ἔλπεαι υἷας Ἀχαιῶν  
Strange man, do you truly suppose the sons of the Achaeans

**41** ἀπτολέμους τʼ ἔμεναι καὶ ἀνάλκιδας ὡς ἀγορεύεις;  
are unwarlike and cowardly, as you declare?

**42** εἰ δέ τοι αὐτῷ θυμὸς ἐπέσσυται ὥς τε νέεσθαι  
If your own heart is set on returning home,

**43** ἔρχεο· πάρ τοι ὁδός, νῆες δέ τοι ἄγχι θαλάσσης  
go; the road lies open, and near the sea your ships

**44** ἑστᾶσʼ, αἵ τοι ἕποντο Μυκήνηθεν μάλα πολλαί.  
stand, the many that followed you from Mycenae.

**45** ἀλλʼ ἄλλοι μενέουσι κάρη κομόωντες Ἀχαιοὶ  
But the other long-haired Achaeans will remain
> Long-haired Achaeans: κάρη κομόωντες, literally wearing the hair long upon the head, is a standing Achaean epithet. Its inherited wording is kept distinct from the army's armor epithets, such as well-greaved and bronze-clad.

**46** εἰς ὅ κέ περ Τροίην διαπέρσομεν. εἰ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ  
until we sack Troy. But if they too are set on flight,

**47** φευγόντων σὺν νηυσὶ φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν·  
let them flee with their ships to their own dear native land;

**48** νῶϊ δʼ ἐγὼ Σθένελός τε μαχησόμεθʼ εἰς ὅ κε τέκμωρ  
we two, Sthenelus and I, will fight until we find the end
> We two: νῶϊ is the first-person dual pronoun, explicitly marking Diomedes and Sthenelus as a pair even though the following verb uses the ordinary first-person plural ending.

**49** Ἰλίου εὕρωμεν· σὺν γὰρ θεῷ εἰλήλουθμεν.  
of Ilion; for with a god we have come."
> A perfect of arrival: εἰλήλουθμεν is perfect: Diomedes presents their divinely aided coming not merely as a past journey, but as a completed act whose force still holds now.

**50** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δʼ ἄρα πάντες ἐπίαχον υἷες Ἀχαιῶν  
So he spoke, and all the sons of the Achaeans shouted aloud,

**51** μῦθον ἀγασσάμενοι Διομήδεος ἱπποδάμοιο.  
marveling at the word of Diomedes, tamer of horses.

**52** τοῖσι δʼ ἀνιστάμενος μετεφώνεεν ἱππότα Νέστωρ·  
Then Nestor the horseman rose among them and spoke:

**53** Τυδεΐδη περὶ μὲν πολέμῳ ἔνι καρτερός ἐσσι,  
"Son of Tydeus, in war you are strong beyond all,

**54** καὶ βουλῇ μετὰ πάντας ὁμήλικας ἔπλευ ἄριστος.  
and in counsel you are best among all men of your age.

**55** οὔ τίς τοι τὸν μῦθον ὀνόσσεται ὅσσοι Ἀχαιοί,  
No Achaean will find fault with your word,

**56** οὐδὲ πάλιν ἐρέει· ἀτὰρ οὐ τέλος ἵκεο μύθων.  
nor speak against it; yet you have not reached the end of all your words.

**57** ἦ μὲν καὶ νέος ἐσσί, ἐμὸς δέ κε καὶ πάϊς εἴης  
Truly, you are young; you could even be my son,
> A potential optative: εἴης with κε is a potential optative, expressing what could be so: by age, Diomedes might be Nestor's own son.

**58** ὁπλότατος γενεῆφιν· ἀτὰρ πεπνυμένα βάζεις  
the youngest of my children by birth; yet you speak wisely

**59** Ἀργείων βασιλῆας, ἐπεὶ κατὰ μοῖραν ἔειπες.  
to the kings of the Argives, since you have spoken as is fitting.

**60** ἀλλʼ ἄγʼ ἐγών, ὃς σεῖο γεραίτερος εὔχομαι εἶναι,  
But come, I who claim to be older than you

**61** ἐξείπω καὶ πάντα διίξομαι· οὐδέ κέ τίς μοι  
will speak out and go through the whole matter; and no one

**62** μῦθον ἀτιμήσειʼ, οὐδὲ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων.  
will dishonor my word, not even the lord Agamemnon.

**63** ἀφρήτωρ ἀθέμιστος ἀνέστιός ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος  
Clanless, lawless, hearthless is the man

**64** ὃς πολέμου ἔραται ἐπιδημίου ὀκρυόεντος.  
who delights in the chilling war fought within his own people.

**65** ἀλλʼ ἤτοι νῦν μὲν πειθώμεθα νυκτὶ μελαίνῃ  
But now let us obey black night

**66** δόρπά τʼ ἐφοπλισόμεσθα· φυλακτῆρες δὲ ἕκαστοι  
and prepare our suppers; and let the sentinels, every man,

**67** λεξάσθων παρὰ τάφρον ὀρυκτὴν τείχεος ἐκτός.  
take their stations beside the dug trench, outside the wall.
> A third-person command: λεξάσθων is a third-person plural imperative: Nestor orders the sentinels to take their stations by the trench.

**68** κούροισιν μὲν ταῦτʼ ἐπιτέλλομαι· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα  
These orders I lay upon the young men; but after that,

**69** Ἀτρεΐδη σὺ μὲν ἄρχε· σὺ γὰρ βασιλεύτατός ἐσσι.  
son of Atreus, you take the lead, for you are the kingliest of all.
> The kingliest: βασιλεύτατος is the superlative of βασιλεύς: Nestor calls Agamemnon not simply a king but the most kingly, grounding his duty to lead in his superior rank.

**70** δαίνυ δαῖτα γέρουσιν· ἔοικέ τοι, οὔ τοι ἀεικές.  
Give the elders a feast; it befits you and is not unseemly.

**71** πλεῖαί τοι οἴνου κλισίαι, τὸν νῆες Ἀχαιῶν  
Your huts are full of wine, which the ships of the Achaeans

**72** ἠμάτιαι Θρῄκηθεν ἐπʼ εὐρέα πόντον ἄγουσι·  
bring daily from Thrace across the broad sea.

**73** πᾶσά τοί ἐσθʼ ὑποδεξίη, πολέεσσι δʼ ἀνάσσεις.  
All hospitality is yours, and you rule over many.

**74** πολλῶν δʼ ἀγρομένων τῷ πείσεαι ὅς κεν ἀρίστην  
When many are gathered, obey the man who offers the best

**75** βουλὴν βουλεύσῃ· μάλα δὲ χρεὼ πάντας Ἀχαιοὺς  
counsel; and all the Achaeans have great need

**76** ἐσθλῆς καὶ πυκινῆς, ὅτι δήϊοι ἐγγύθι νηῶν  
of counsel both good and shrewd, for close beside the ships the enemy

**77** καίουσιν πυρὰ πολλά· τίς ἂν τάδε γηθήσειε;  
are burning many fires. Who could rejoice at this?

**78** νὺξ δʼ ἧδʼ ἠὲ διαρραίσει στρατὸν ἠὲ σαώσει.  
This night will either break the army or save it."

**79** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δʼ ἄρα τοῦ μάλα μὲν κλύον ἠδὲ πίθοντο.  
So he spoke, and they listened closely and obeyed him.

**80** ἐκ δὲ φυλακτῆρες σὺν τεύχεσιν ἐσσεύοντο  
The guards rushed out in their armor

**81** ἀμφί τε Νεστορίδην Θρασυμήδεα ποιμένα λαῶν,  
around Thrasymedes, Nestor's son, shepherd of the people,
> Shepherd of the people: ποιμὴν λαῶν is a standing leadership epithet: the commander tends and protects his people as a shepherd does a flock. Here it belongs to Thrasymedes, not to Nestor.

**82** ἠδʼ ἀμφʼ Ἀσκάλαφον καὶ Ἰάλμενον υἷας Ἄρηος  
and around Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of Ares,

**83** ἀμφί τε Μηριόνην Ἀφαρῆά τε Δηΐπυρόν τε,  
and around Meriones, Aphareus, and Deipyrus,

**84** ἠδʼ ἀμφὶ Κρείοντος υἱὸν Λυκομήδεα δῖον.  
and around Creon's son, godlike Lycomedes.

**85** ἕπτʼ ἔσαν ἡγεμόνες φυλάκων, ἑκατὸν δὲ ἑκάστῳ  
Seven were the leaders of the guards, and with each went

**86** κοῦροι ἅμα στεῖχον δολίχʼ ἔγχεα χερσὶν ἔχοντες·  
a hundred young men, holding long spears in their hands.

**87** κὰδ δὲ μέσον τάφρου καὶ τείχεος ἷζον ἰόντες·  
They went and sat midway between the trench and the wall;

**88** ἔνθα δὲ πῦρ κήαντο, τίθεντο δὲ δόρπα ἕκαστος.  
there they kindled a fire, and each man prepared his supper.

**89** Ἀτρεΐδης δὲ γέροντας ἀολλέας ἦγεν Ἀχαιῶν  
The son of Atreus led the gathered elders of the Achaeans

**90** ἐς κλισίην, παρὰ δέ σφι τίθει μενοεικέα δαῖτα.  
to his hut, and set before them a feast to satisfy desire.

**91** οἳ δʼ ἐπʼ ὀνείαθʼ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον.  
They reached out their hands to the good things set ready before them.

**92** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,  
But when they had put from them the desire for drink and food,

**93** τοῖς ὁ γέρων πάμπρωτος ὑφαίνειν ἤρχετο μῆτιν  
the old man was first among them to begin weaving counsel,

**94** Νέστωρ, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἀρίστη φαίνετο βουλή·  
Nestor, whose counsel had also seemed best before;

**95** ὅ σφιν ἐϋφρονέων ἀγορήσατο καὶ μετέειπεν·  
with good will toward them, he addressed them and spoke:

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

**97** ἐν σοὶ μὲν λήξω, σέο δʼ ἄρξομαι, οὕνεκα πολλῶν  
with you I shall end and from you begin, since over many

**98** λαῶν ἐσσι ἄναξ καί τοι Ζεὺς ἐγγυάλιξε  
peoples you are lord, and Zeus has placed in your hands

**99** σκῆπτρόν τʼ ἠδὲ θέμιστας, ἵνά σφισι βουλεύῃσθα.  
the scepter and the judgments, that you may counsel them.

**100** τώ σε χρὴ περὶ μὲν φάσθαι ἔπος ἠδʼ ἐπακοῦσαι,  
Therefore above all you must speak a word and listen,

**101** κρηῆναι δὲ καὶ ἄλλῳ, ὅτʼ ἄν τινα θυμὸς ἀνώγῃ  
and carry out another man's counsel too, whenever his heart urges him
> Indefinite time: ὅτε with ἄν and the subjunctive ἀνώγῃ means 'whenever his heart urges him,' not one particular occasion. The construction makes Nestor's rule apply whenever sound counsel arises.

**102** εἰπεῖν εἰς ἀγαθόν· σέο δʼ ἕξεται ὅττί κεν ἄρχῃ.  
to speak for the good; and what he proposes will rest with you.

**103** αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ἐρέω ὥς μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι ἄριστα.  
But I will say what seems to me to be best.

**104** οὐ γάρ τις νόον ἄλλος ἀμείνονα τοῦδε νοήσει  
No other man will devise a better plan than this

**105** οἷον ἐγὼ νοέω ἠμὲν πάλαι ἠδʼ ἔτι καὶ νῦν  
which I have had in mind, long ago and even now,

**106** ἐξ ἔτι τοῦ ὅτε διογενὲς Βρισηΐδα κούρην  
ever since the time when, sprung from Zeus, you seized the girl Briseis
> Agamemnon, sprung from Zeus: διογενές is a masculine vocative addressing Agamemnon, not an adjective modifying Briseis. Nestor inserts the standing royal address 'sprung from Zeus' before accusing him of taking the girl.

**107** χωομένου Ἀχιλῆος ἔβης κλισίηθεν ἀπούρας  
and went away from the hut of angry Achilles with her,

**108** οὔ τι καθʼ ἡμέτερόν γε νόον· μάλα γάρ τοι ἔγωγε  
not at all by my counsel; for I strongly

**109** πόλλʼ ἀπεμυθεόμην· σὺ δὲ σῷ μεγαλήτορι θυμῷ  
urged you against it. But yielding to your great-hearted spirit,

**110** εἴξας ἄνδρα φέριστον, ὃν ἀθάνατοί περ ἔτισαν,  
you dishonored the best man, whom even the immortals honored,

**111** ἠτίμησας, ἑλὼν γὰρ ἔχεις γέρας· ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ νῦν  
for you took and still hold his prize. But even now
> The prize of honor: A γέρας is a material prize that publicly embodies a warrior's honor. By keeping Briseis, Agamemnon does not merely keep property; he keeps the visible token of Achilles' standing.

**112** φραζώμεσθʼ ὥς κέν μιν ἀρεσσάμενοι πεπίθωμεν  
let us consider how, making amends, we may win him over

**113** δώροισίν τʼ ἀγανοῖσιν ἔπεσσί τε μειλιχίοισι.  
with soothing gifts and gentle words."

**114** τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων·  
Then Agamemnon, lord of men, addressed him in turn:

**115** ὦ γέρον οὔ τι ψεῦδος ἐμὰς ἄτας κατέλεξας·  
"Old man, you have recounted my blind follies without falsehood.
> Ate: ruinous blindness: ἄτη is the blindness or delusion that drives someone into a ruinous act, as well as the ruin that follows. Agamemnon accepts Nestor's account by naming his own errors with this charged word.

**116** ἀασάμην, οὐδʼ αὐτὸς ἀναίνομαι. ἀντί νυ πολλῶν  
I was blinded, and I do not deny it. Worth many

**117** λαῶν ἐστὶν ἀνὴρ ὅν τε Ζεὺς κῆρι φιλήσῃ,  
hosts is the man whom Zeus loves in his heart,

**118** ὡς νῦν τοῦτον ἔτισε, δάμασσε δὲ λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν.  
as now he has honored this man and crushed the Achaean host.

**119** ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ ἀασάμην φρεσὶ λευγαλέῃσι πιθήσας,  
But since I was blinded, obeying my wretched mind,

**120** ἂψ ἐθέλω ἀρέσαι δόμεναί τʼ ἀπερείσιʼ ἄποινα.  
I wish to make amends again and give boundless ransom.

**121** ὑμῖν δʼ ἐν πάντεσσι περικλυτὰ δῶρʼ ὀνομήνω  
Before all of you I will name the glorious gifts:

**122** ἕπτʼ ἀπύρους τρίποδας, δέκα δὲ χρυσοῖο τάλαντα,  
seven unfired tripods, and ten talents of gold,

**123** αἴθωνας δὲ λέβητας ἐείκοσι, δώδεκα δʼ ἵππους  
twenty gleaming cauldrons, and twelve horses,

**124** πηγοὺς ἀθλοφόρους, οἳ ἀέθλια ποσσὶν ἄροντο.  
sturdy prize-winners, which have won prizes with their feet.

**125** οὔ κεν ἀλήϊος εἴη ἀνὴρ ᾧ τόσσα γένοιτο,  
No man would lack spoils if so much were his,
> Potential optatives: κε with the optatives εἴη and γένοιτο presents a possible result: a man 'would not be' without spoils if these winnings 'should become' his. The mood measures the wealth by imagining its owner.

**126** οὐδέ κεν ἀκτήμων ἐριτίμοιο χρυσοῖο,  
nor would he be destitute of precious gold,

**127** ὅσσά μοι ἠνείκαντο ἀέθλια μώνυχες ἵπποι.  
with all the prizes my single-hoofed horses have brought me.

**128** δώσω δʼ ἑπτὰ γυναῖκας ἀμύμονα ἔργα ἰδυίας  
And I will give seven women skilled in blameless works,

**129** Λεσβίδας, ἃς ὅτε Λέσβον ἐϋκτιμένην ἕλεν αὐτὸς  
women of Lesbos, whom, when he himself took well-built Lesbos,

**130** ἐξελόμην, αἳ κάλλει ἐνίκων φῦλα γυναικῶν.  
I chose out, and they surpassed the tribes of women in beauty.

**131** τὰς μέν οἱ δώσω, μετὰ δʼ ἔσσεται ἣν τότʼ ἀπηύρων  
These I shall give him, and among them will be the one I then took,

**132** κούρη Βρισῆος· ἐπὶ δὲ μέγαν ὅρκον ὀμοῦμαι  
the daughter of Briseus; and I shall swear a great oath besides

**133** μή ποτε τῆς εὐνῆς ἐπιβήμεναι ἠδὲ μιγῆναι,  
that I never entered her bed nor coupled with her,

**134** ἣ θέμις ἀνθρώπων πέλει ἀνδρῶν ἠδὲ γυναικῶν.  
as is the custom among human beings, men and women.

**135** ταῦτα μὲν αὐτίκα πάντα παρέσσεται· εἰ δέ κεν αὖτε  
All these things will be ready at once. And if hereafter

**136** ἄστυ μέγα Πριάμοιο θεοὶ δώωσʼ ἀλαπάξαι,  
the gods grant us to sack the great city of Priam,

**137** νῆα ἅλις χρυσοῦ καὶ χαλκοῦ νηησάσθω  
let him enter and load his ship full of gold and bronze

**138** εἰσελθών, ὅτε κεν δατεώμεθα ληΐδʼ Ἀχαιοί,  
when we Achaeans divide the spoil,

**139** Τρωϊάδας δὲ γυναῖκας ἐείκοσιν αὐτὸς ἑλέσθω,  
and let him choose for himself twenty Trojan women

**140** αἴ κε μετʼ Ἀργείην Ἑλένην κάλλισται ἔωσιν.  
who are most beautiful after Argive Helen.

**141** εἰ δέ κεν Ἄργος ἱκοίμεθʼ Ἀχαιϊκὸν οὖθαρ ἀρούρης  
And if we reach Achaean Argos, udder of the earth,
> Udder of the earth: οὖθαρ ἀρούρης, literally 'udder of the plowed earth,' praises Argos as a land of nourishing abundance. The image makes the earth itself a creature yielding sustenance.

**142** γαμβρός κέν μοι ἔοι· τίσω δέ μιν ἶσον Ὀρέστῃ,  
he shall be my son-in-law, and I shall honor him equally with Orestes,

**143** ὅς μοι τηλύγετος τρέφεται θαλίῃ ἔνι πολλῇ.  
my dearly cherished son, who is raised amid great plenty.
> A cherished child: τηλύγετος is a traditional epithet for a specially cherished child; its precise older sense is disputed, often connected with being only-born or late-born. Here it marks Orestes as exceptionally dear to Agamemnon.

**144** τρεῖς δέ μοί εἰσι θύγατρες ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ εὐπήκτῳ  
I have three daughters in my well-built hall:

**145** Χρυσόθεμις καὶ Λαοδίκη καὶ Ἰφιάνασσα,  
Chrysothemis, Laodice, and Iphianassa.

**146** τάων ἥν κʼ ἐθέλῃσι φίλην ἀνάεδνον ἀγέσθω  
Whichever of them he wishes, let him take as his wife without bride-price

**147** πρὸς οἶκον Πηλῆος· ἐγὼ δʼ ἐπὶ μείλια δώσω  
to the house of Peleus; and I shall give gifts besides,

**148** πολλὰ μάλʼ, ὅσσʼ οὔ πώ τις ἑῇ ἐπέδωκε θυγατρί·  
very many, as no man has yet given his daughter:

**149** ἑπτὰ δέ οἱ δώσω εὖ ναιόμενα πτολίεθρα  
I shall give him seven well-inhabited citadels,

**150** Καρδαμύλην Ἐνόπην τε καὶ Ἱρὴν ποιήεσσαν  
Cardamyle, Enope, and grassy Hire,

**151** Φηράς τε ζαθέας ἠδʼ Ἄνθειαν βαθύλειμον  
holy Pherae and deep-meadowed Anthea,

**152** καλήν τʼ Αἴπειαν καὶ Πήδασον ἀμπελόεσσαν.  
lovely Aepeia and vine-clad Pedasus.

**153** πᾶσαι δʼ ἐγγὺς ἁλός, νέαται Πύλου ἠμαθόεντος·  
All are near the sea, bordering sandy Pylos;

**154** ἐν δʼ ἄνδρες ναίουσι πολύρρηνες πολυβοῦται,  
and in them dwell men rich in sheep and cattle,
> Rich in flocks and herds: The paired compounds count wealth on the hoof: πολύρρηνες means 'rich in sheep,' and πολυβοῦται 'rich in cattle.' Homer makes the prosperity of the seven cities concrete.

**155** οἵ κέ ἑ δωτίνῃσι θεὸν ὣς τιμήσουσι  
who will honor him like a god with gifts
> Like a god: ὥς sets θεόν as the standard of comparison: the inhabitants will honor Achilles 'like a god.' Homer promises exceptional mortal reverence without saying that Achilles is divine.

**156** καί οἱ ὑπὸ σκήπτρῳ λιπαρὰς τελέουσι θέμιστας.  
and beneath his scepter fulfill prosperous dues.

**157** ταῦτά κέ οἱ τελέσαιμι μεταλήξαντι χόλοιο.  
All this I would fulfill for him if he ceased from anger.

**158** δμηθήτω· Ἀΐδης τοι ἀμείλιχος ἠδʼ ἀδάμαστος,  
Let him yield; Hades is unyielding and untamed,

**159** τοὔνεκα καί τε βροτοῖσι θεῶν ἔχθιστος ἁπάντων·  
and therefore of all gods he is most hateful to mortals.

**160** καί μοι ὑποστήτω ὅσσον βασιλεύτερός εἰμι  
And let him bow before me, since I am more kingly

**161** ἠδʼ ὅσσον γενεῇ προγενέστερος εὔχομαι εἶναι.  
and claim to be older than he is by birth."

**162** τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα Γερήνιος ἱππότα Νέστωρ·  
Then Nestor, the Gerenian horseman, answered him:

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

**164** δῶρα μὲν οὐκέτʼ ὀνοστὰ διδοῖς Ἀχιλῆϊ ἄνακτι·  
the gifts you offer lord Achilles are no longer to be scorned.

**165** ἀλλʼ ἄγετε κλητοὺς ὀτρύνομεν, οἵ κε τάχιστα  
Come, let us urge chosen men, who with all speed

**166** ἔλθωσʼ ἐς κλισίην Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος.  
will go to the hut of Achilles, son of Peleus.

**167** εἰ δʼ ἄγε τοὺς ἂν ἐγὼ ἐπιόψομαι οἳ δὲ πιθέσθων.  
Come then; I shall name the men, and let them obey.

**168** Φοῖνιξ μὲν πρώτιστα Διῒ φίλος ἡγησάσθω,  
First let Phoenix, dear to Zeus, lead the way,

**169** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτʼ Αἴας τε μέγας καὶ δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς·  
and after him great Ajax and godlike Odysseus;

**170** κηρύκων δʼ Ὀδίος τε καὶ Εὐρυβάτης ἅμʼ ἑπέσθων.  
and of the heralds let Odius and Eurybates follow together.

**171** φέρτε δὲ χερσὶν ὕδωρ, εὐφημῆσαί τε κέλεσθε,  
Bring water for our hands, and command holy silence,

**172** ὄφρα Διὶ Κρονίδῃ ἀρησόμεθʼ, αἴ κʼ ἐλεήσῃ.  
so that we may pray to Zeus, son of Cronos, in hope he may have pity."

**173** ὣς φάτο, τοῖσι δὲ πᾶσιν ἑαδότα μῦθον ἔειπεν.  
So he spoke, and the word he said pleased them all.

**174** αὐτίκα κήρυκες μὲν ὕδωρ ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἔχευαν,  
At once the heralds poured water over their hands,

**175** κοῦροι δὲ κρητῆρας ἐπεστέψαντο ποτοῖο,  
and the young men crowned the mixing bowls with drink,

**176** νώμησαν δʼ ἄρα πᾶσιν ἐπαρξάμενοι δεπάεσσιν.  
and, having poured the first drops, served it out to all in cups;

**177** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ σπεῖσάν τʼ ἔπιόν θʼ ὅσον ἤθελε θυμός,  
then, when they had poured libations and drunk as each heart desired,

**178** ὁρμῶντʼ ἐκ κλισίης Ἀγαμέμνονος Ἀτρεΐδαο.  
they set out from the hut of Agamemnon, son of Atreus.

**179** τοῖσι δὲ πόλλʼ ἐπέτελλε Γερήνιος ἱππότα Νέστωρ  
Nestor, the Gerenian horseman, laid many commands upon them,

**180** δενδίλλων ἐς ἕκαστον, Ὀδυσσῆϊ δὲ μάλιστα,  
looking keenly at each man, but most of all at Odysseus,

**181** πειρᾶν ὡς πεπίθοιεν ἀμύμονα Πηλεΐωνα.  
to try how they might persuade the blameless son of Peleus.
> Optative after a past command: πεπίθοιεν is an aorist optative in the purpose of Nestor's past command: he charged them to try how they might persuade Achilles. The plural keeps the whole embassy responsible, though Nestor looks especially at Odysseus.

**182** τὼ δὲ βάτην παρὰ θῖνα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης  
The two went along the shore of the loud-roaring sea,
> The embassy as a pair: Both τώ, 'the two,' and βάτην, 'went,' are dual. Although five men were sent, Homer repeatedly frames the arriving embassy as a pair, most naturally its two principal envoys, Odysseus and Ajax; the tension between the dual grammar and the larger delegation is left visible rather than silently regularized.

**183** πολλὰ μάλʼ εὐχομένω γαιηόχῳ ἐννοσιγαίῳ  
both praying earnestly to the earth-holding Earth-shaker

**184** ῥηϊδίως πεπιθεῖν μεγάλας φρένας Αἰακίδαο.  
that they might easily sway the great heart of the son of Aeacus.

**185** Μυρμιδόνων δʼ ἐπί τε κλισίας καὶ νῆας ἱκέσθην,  
and came to the huts and ships of the Myrmidons,

**186** τὸν δʼ εὗρον φρένα τερπόμενον φόρμιγγι λιγείῃ  
They found him delighting his heart with a clear-toned lyre,
> Achilles' clear-toned lyre: The φόρμιγξ is the stringed instrument of epic singers, here praised as λιγεῖα, clear or piercing in tone. Achilles is not idle in silence: he has taken the singer's role within his own hut.

**187** καλῇ δαιδαλέῃ, ἐπὶ δʼ ἀργύρεον ζυγὸν ἦεν,  
beautiful and richly wrought, with a silver crossbar upon it;

**188** τὴν ἄρετʼ ἐξ ἐνάρων πόλιν Ἠετίωνος ὀλέσσας·  
he had taken it from the spoils when he destroyed the city of Eetion.

**189** τῇ ὅ γε θυμὸν ἔτερπεν, ἄειδε δʼ ἄρα κλέα ἀνδρῶν.  
With it he delighted his heart and sang the famous deeds of men.
> The famous deeds of men: κλέα is the plural of κλέος, the fame carried by what others hear and tell. Achilles sings the heroic deeds that make men famous, performing inside the Iliad the same kind of song in which he himself appears.

**190** Πάτροκλος δέ οἱ οἶος ἐναντίος ἧστο σιωπῇ,  
Patroclus alone sat opposite him in silence,

**191** δέγμενος Αἰακίδην ὁπότε λήξειεν ἀείδων,  
waiting for the son of Aeacus to cease his singing.

**192** τὼ δὲ βάτην προτέρω, ἡγεῖτο δὲ δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,  
The two came forward, with godlike Odysseus leading,

**193** στὰν δὲ πρόσθʼ αὐτοῖο· ταφὼν δʼ ἀνόρουσεν Ἀχιλλεὺς  
and stood before him. Achilles sprang up in amazement

**194** αὐτῇ σὺν φόρμιγγι λιπὼν ἕδος ἔνθα θάασσεν.  
with the lyre still in his hand, leaving the seat where he had sat.

**195** ὣς δʼ αὔτως Πάτροκλος, ἐπεὶ ἴδε φῶτας, ἀνέστη.  
Patroclus likewise rose when he saw the men.

**196** τὼ καὶ δεικνύμενος προσέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς·  
Greeting the two of them, swift-footed Achilles spoke:

**197** χαίρετον· ἦ φίλοι ἄνδρες ἱκάνετον ἦ τι μάλα χρεώ,  
"Welcome, both of you. Dear men have come indeed; there must be great need,
> Achilles welcomes two: The greeting χαίρετον, the verb ἱκάνετον, and ἐστον in the next line are all dual forms. Achilles directly addresses two men even though Phoenix and two heralds also belong to the mission, continuing the scene's conspicuous dual framing.

**198** οἵ μοι σκυζομένῳ περ Ἀχαιῶν φίλτατοί ἐστον.  
you who, though I am angry, are dearest to me among the Achaeans."

**199** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας προτέρω ἄγε δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς,  
So godlike Achilles spoke and led them forward,

**200** εἷσεν δʼ ἐν κλισμοῖσι τάπησί τε πορφυρέοισιν.  
and seated them on chairs and purple rugs.

**201** αἶψα δὲ Πάτροκλον προσεφώνεεν ἐγγὺς ἐόντα·  
At once he called to Patroclus, who was close by:

**202** μείζονα δὴ κρητῆρα Μενοιτίου υἱὲ καθίστα,  
"Son of Menoetius, set down a larger mixing bowl,

**203** ζωρότερον δὲ κέραιε, δέπας δʼ ἔντυνον ἑκάστῳ·  
mix the wine stronger, and prepare a cup for each man,

**204** οἳ γὰρ φίλτατοι ἄνδρες ἐμῷ ὑπέασι μελάθρῳ.  
for the men dearest to me are beneath my roof."

**205** ὣς φάτο, Πάτροκλος δὲ φίλῳ ἐπεπείθεθʼ ἑταίρῳ.  
So he spoke, and Patroclus obeyed his dear companion,

**206** αὐτὰρ ὅ γε κρεῖον μέγα κάββαλεν ἐν πυρὸς αὐγῇ,  
and cast a great chopping block down in the firelight.

**207** ἐν δʼ ἄρα νῶτον ἔθηκʼ ὄϊος καὶ πίονος αἰγός,  
On it he laid the back of a sheep and a fat goat,

**208** ἐν δὲ συὸς σιάλοιο ῥάχιν τεθαλυῖαν ἀλοιφῇ.  
and the chine of a well-fattened hog.

**209** τῷ δʼ ἔχεν Αὐτομέδων, τάμνεν δʼ ἄρα δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς.  
Automedon held them for him, and godlike Achilles cut them up.

**210** καὶ τὰ μὲν εὖ μίστυλλε καὶ ἀμφʼ ὀβελοῖσιν ἔπειρε,  
He sliced the meat well and pierced the pieces onto spits,

**211** πῦρ δὲ Μενοιτιάδης δαῖεν μέγα ἰσόθεος φώς.  
while the son of Menoetius, a godlike man, kindled a great fire.
> A man equal to a god: ἰσόθεος calls Patroclus 'equal to a god,' while φώς is the epic noun for a man or warrior. It is elevated heroic praise, not a claim that Patroclus is divine.

**212** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ κατὰ πῦρ ἐκάη καὶ φλὸξ ἐμαράνθη,  
But when the fire had burned down and the flame had died,

**213** ἀνθρακιὴν στορέσας ὀβελοὺς ἐφύπερθε τάνυσσε,  
he spread the embers and stretched the spits above them,

**214** πάσσε δʼ ἁλὸς θείοιο κρατευτάων ἐπαείρας.  
then lifted them from the spit-racks and sprinkled them with sacred salt.

**215** αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥʼ ὤπτησε καὶ εἰν ἐλεοῖσιν ἔχευε,  
When he had roasted the meat and poured it onto platters,

**216** Πάτροκλος μὲν σῖτον ἑλὼν ἐπένειμε τραπέζῃ  
Patroclus took bread and passed it around the table

**217** καλοῖς ἐν κανέοισιν, ἀτὰρ κρέα νεῖμεν Ἀχιλλεύς.  
in fair baskets, while Achilles divided the meat.

**218** αὐτὸς δʼ ἀντίον ἷζεν Ὀδυσσῆος θείοιο  
He himself sat facing godlike Odysseus,

**219** τοίχου τοῦ ἑτέροιο, θεοῖσι δὲ θῦσαι ἀνώγει  
against the opposite wall, and told his companion Patroclus

**220** Πάτροκλον ὃν ἑταῖρον· ὃ δʼ ἐν πυρὶ βάλλε θυηλάς.  
to sacrifice to the gods; and Patroclus cast the first portions into the fire.

**221** οἳ δʼ ἐπʼ ὀνείαθʼ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον.  
They reached out their hands to the good things set ready before them.

**222** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,  
But when they had put from them the desire for drink and food,

**223** νεῦσʼ Αἴας Φοίνικι· νόησε δὲ δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,  
Ajax nodded to Phoenix; godlike Odysseus understood,

**224** πλησάμενος δʼ οἴνοιο δέπας δείδεκτʼ Ἀχιλῆα·  
and filled a cup with wine and raised it to Achilles:

**225** χαῖρʼ Ἀχιλεῦ· δαιτὸς μὲν ἐΐσης οὐκ ἐπιδευεῖς  
"Greetings, Achilles. We lack no share of the fair-shared feast,
> The fair-shared feast: δαὶς ἐΐση is the fixed Homeric formula for a feast whose portions are fairly shared. Odysseus begins by acknowledging that both hosts, Agamemnon and Achilles, have met the obligations of hospitality.

**226** ἠμὲν ἐνὶ κλισίῃ Ἀγαμέμνονος Ἀτρεΐδαο  
both in the hut of Agamemnon, son of Atreus,

**227** ἠδὲ καὶ ἐνθάδε νῦν, πάρα γὰρ μενοεικέα πολλὰ  
and here now, for there is much heart-satisfying food

**228** δαίνυσθʼ· ἀλλʼ οὐ δαιτὸς ἐπηράτου ἔργα μέμηλεν,  
to feast upon. But the works of a lovely feast are not our concern;

**229** ἀλλὰ λίην μέγα πῆμα διοτρεφὲς εἰσορόωντες  
rather, Zeus-nurtured one, we look upon a disaster all too great

**230** δείδιμεν· ἐν δοιῇ δὲ σαωσέμεν ἢ ἀπολέσθαι  
and are afraid. It hangs in doubt whether we shall save

**231** νῆας ἐϋσσέλμους, εἰ μὴ σύ γε δύσεαι ἀλκήν.  
our well-benched ships or perish, unless you clothe yourself in valor.
> Clothed in valor: The middle verb δύσεαι normally means 'you will put on' or 'clothe yourself in.' Odysseus makes valor something Achilles must put around himself like armor before the ships can be saved.

**232** ἐγγὺς γὰρ νηῶν καὶ τείχεος αὖλιν ἔθεντο  
For close to the ships and wall they have made their camp,

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

**234** κηάμενοι πυρὰ πολλὰ κατὰ στρατόν, οὐδʼ ἔτι φασὶ  
burning many fires throughout their army; and they say they will no longer

**235** σχήσεσθʼ, ἀλλʼ ἐν νηυσὶ μελαίνῃσιν πεσέεσθαι.  
hold back, but will fall upon the black ships.

**236** Ζεὺς δέ σφι Κρονίδης ἐνδέξια σήματα φαίνων  
Zeus, son of Cronos, shows them signs on their right

**237** ἀστράπτει· Ἕκτωρ δὲ μέγα σθένεϊ βλεμεαίνων  
with his lightning; and Hector, exulting greatly in his strength,

**238** μαίνεται ἐκπάγλως πίσυνος Διί, οὐδέ τι τίει  
rages terribly, trusting in Zeus, and honors neither

**239** ἀνέρας οὐδὲ θεούς· κρατερὴ δέ ἑ λύσσα δέδυκεν.  
men nor gods; a mighty madness has entered him.
> Hector's battle-madness: λύσσα is a violent, rabid fury, stronger and more bodily than ordinary anger. Odysseus depicts Hector as possessed by a mighty battle-madness that disregards both mortals and gods.

**240** ἀρᾶται δὲ τάχιστα φανήμεναι Ἠῶ δῖαν·  
He prays for shining Dawn to appear with all speed,

**241** στεῦται γὰρ νηῶν ἀποκόψειν ἄκρα κόρυμβα  
for he boasts that he will cut the high stern-posts from the ships

**242** αὐτάς τʼ ἐμπρήσειν μαλεροῦ πυρός, αὐτὰρ Ἀχαιοὺς  
and burn the ships themselves with ravening fire, and the Achaeans

**243** δῃώσειν παρὰ τῇσιν ὀρινομένους ὑπὸ καπνοῦ.  
he will cut down beside them as they reel beneath the smoke.

**244** ταῦτʼ αἰνῶς δείδοικα κατὰ φρένα, μή οἱ ἀπειλὰς  
All this I fear terribly in my heart, lest the gods fulfill

**245** ἐκτελέσωσι θεοί, ἡμῖν δὲ δὴ αἴσιμον εἴη  
his threats, and it be our fate

**246** φθίσθαι ἐνὶ Τροίῃ ἑκὰς Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο.  
to perish in Troy, far from horse-pasturing Argos.

**247** ἀλλʼ ἄνα εἰ μέμονάς γε καὶ ὀψέ περ υἷας Ἀχαιῶν  
But rise, if you are minded, even this late, to save the sons of the Achaeans

**248** τειρομένους ἐρύεσθαι ὑπὸ Τρώων ὀρυμαγδοῦ.  
as they are worn down beneath the Trojans' battle-din.

**249** αὐτῷ τοι μετόπισθʼ ἄχος ἔσσεται, οὐδέ τι μῆχος  
You yourself will grieve afterward, and there is no means

**250** ῥεχθέντος κακοῦ ἔστʼ ἄκος εὑρεῖν· ἀλλὰ πολὺ πρὶν  
to find a cure once evil is done. But long before that,

**251** φράζευ ὅπως Δαναοῖσιν ἀλεξήσεις κακὸν ἦμαρ.  
consider how you will ward the evil day from the Danaans.

**252** ὦ πέπον ἦ μὲν σοί γε πατὴρ ἐπετέλλετο Πηλεὺς  
My friend, surely your father Peleus charged you

**253** ἤματι τῷ ὅτε σʼ ἐκ Φθίης Ἀγαμέμνονι πέμπε·  
on the day when he sent you from Phthia to Agamemnon:

**254** τέκνον ἐμὸν κάρτος μὲν Ἀθηναίη τε καὶ Ἥρη  
'My child, Athena and Hera will give you strength

**255** δώσουσʼ αἴ κʼ ἐθέλωσι, σὺ δὲ μεγαλήτορα θυμὸν  
if they so wish; but restrain the great-hearted spirit

**256** ἴσχειν ἐν στήθεσσι· φιλοφροσύνη γὰρ ἀμείνων·  
within your breast, for friendliness is better;
> Friendliness is better: φιλοφροσύνη is the disposition and conduct of goodwill toward others: friendliness, graciousness, or kindly feeling. Peleus sets this social virtue against the unchecked force of Achilles' great-hearted spirit.

**257** ληγέμεναι δʼ ἔριδος κακομηχάνου, ὄφρά σε μᾶλλον  
and cease from evil-scheming strife, so that all the more

**258** τίωσʼ Ἀργείων ἠμὲν νέοι ἠδὲ γέροντες.  
the Argives, young and old alike, may honor you.'

**259** ὣς ἐπέτελλʼ ὃ γέρων, σὺ δὲ λήθεαι· ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ νῦν  
So the old man charged you, but you forget. Yet even now

**260** παύεʼ, ἔα δὲ χόλον θυμαλγέα· σοὶ δʼ Ἀγαμέμνων  
cease, and let go your heart-paining anger; Agamemnon

**261** ἄξια δῶρα δίδωσι μεταλήξαντι χόλοιο.  
offers worthy gifts if you turn from your anger.

**262** εἰ δὲ σὺ μέν μευ ἄκουσον, ἐγὼ δέ κέ τοι καταλέξω  
But listen to me, and I shall recount to you

**263** ὅσσά τοι ἐν κλισίῃσιν ὑπέσχετο δῶρʼ Ἀγαμέμνων·  
all the gifts Agamemnon promised you in his hut:

**264** ἕπτʼ ἀπύρους τρίποδας, δέκα δὲ χρυσοῖο τάλαντα,  
seven unfired tripods, and ten talents of gold,
> The offer repeated word for word: Odysseus now repeats Agamemnon's catalogue, and this Greek line is identical to line 122. The English is therefore repeated exactly as well, preserving the formulaic force and the precise count of each promised gift.

**265** αἴθωνας δὲ λέβητας ἐείκοσι, δώδεκα δʼ ἵππους  
twenty gleaming cauldrons, and twelve horses,

**266** πηγοὺς ἀθλοφόρους, οἳ ἀέθλια ποσσὶν ἄροντο.  
sturdy prize-winners, which have won prizes with their feet.

**267** οὔ κεν ἀλήϊος εἴη ἀνὴρ ᾧ τόσσα γένοιτο  
No man would lack spoils if so much were his,

**268** οὐδέ κεν ἀκτήμων ἐριτίμοιο χρυσοῖο,  
nor would he be destitute of precious gold,

**269** ὅσσʼ Ἀγαμέμνονος ἵπποι ἀέθλια ποσσὶν ἄροντο.  
with all the prizes Agamemnon's horses have won with their feet.

**270** δώσει δʼ ἑπτὰ γυναῖκας ἀμύμονα ἔργα ἰδυίας  
He will give seven women skilled in blameless works,

**271** Λεσβίδας, ἃς ὅτε Λέσβον ἐϋκτιμένην ἕλες αὐτὸς  
women of Lesbos, whom, when you yourself took well-built Lesbos,

**272** ἐξέλεθʼ, αἳ τότε κάλλει ἐνίκων φῦλα γυναικῶν.  
he chose out; then they surpassed the tribes of women in beauty.

**273** τὰς μέν τοι δώσει, μετὰ δʼ ἔσσεται ἣν τότʼ ἀπηύρα  
These he shall give you, and among them will be the one he then took,

**274** κούρη Βρισῆος· ἐπὶ δὲ μέγαν ὅρκον ὀμεῖται  
the daughter of Briseus; and he shall swear a great oath besides

**275** μή ποτε τῆς εὐνῆς ἐπιβήμεναι ἠδὲ μιγῆναι  
that I never entered her bed nor coupled with her,

**276** ἣ θέμις ἐστὶν ἄναξ ἤτʼ ἀνδρῶν ἤτε γυναικῶν.  
as is the custom, lord, between men and women.
> Odysseus addresses Achilles as lord: ἄναξ is a vocative placed inside the clause: 'as is the custom, lord, between men and women.' It directly honors Achilles while Odysseus reports Agamemnon's oath, and it is not the subject of the surrounding statement.

**277** ταῦτα μὲν αὐτίκα πάντα παρέσσεται· εἰ δέ κεν αὖτε  
All these things will be ready at once. And if hereafter

**278** ἄστυ μέγα Πριάμοιο θεοὶ δώωσʼ ἀλαπάξαι,  
the gods grant us to sack the great city of Priam,

**279** νῆα ἅλις χρυσοῦ καὶ χαλκοῦ νηήσασθαι  
enter and load your ship full of gold and bronze

**280** εἰσελθών, ὅτε κεν δατεώμεθα ληΐδʼ Ἀχαιοί,  
when we Achaeans divide the spoil,

**281** Τρωϊάδας δὲ γυναῖκας ἐείκοσιν αὐτὸς ἑλέσθαι,  
and choose for yourself twenty Trojan women

**282** αἵ κε μετʼ Ἀργείην Ἑλένην κάλλισται ἔωσιν.  
who are most beautiful after Argive Helen.

**283** εἰ δέ κεν Ἄργος ἱκοίμεθʼ Ἀχαιϊκὸν οὖθαρ ἀρούρης  
And if we reach Achaean Argos, udder of the earth,
> A remote condition: The condition uses εἰ with κεν and the optative ἱκοίμεθα, 'if we should reach.' The optative presents the homecoming and the marriage settlement as a more remote future possibility, dependent on surviving and taking Troy.

**284** γαμβρός κέν οἱ ἔοις· τίσει δέ σε ἶσον Ὀρέστῃ,  
you shall be his son-in-law, and he shall honor you equally with Orestes,

**285** ὅς οἱ τηλύγετος τρέφεται θαλίῃ ἔνι πολλῇ.  
his dearly cherished son, who is raised amid great plenty.

**286** τρεῖς δέ οἵ εἰσι θύγατρες ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ εὐπήκτῳ  
He has three daughters in his well-built hall:

**287** Χρυσόθεμις καὶ Λαοδίκη καὶ Ἰφιάνασσα,  
Chrysothemis, Laodice, and Iphianassa.

**288** τάων ἥν κʼ ἐθέλῃσθα φίλην ἀνάεδνον ἄγεσθαι  
Whichever of them you wish, take as your wife without bride-price

**289** πρὸς οἶκον Πηλῆος· ὃ δʼ αὖτʼ ἐπὶ μείλια δώσει  
to the house of Peleus; and he shall give gifts besides,

**290** πολλὰ μάλʼ, ὅσσʼ οὔ πώ τις ἑῇ ἐπέδωκε θυγατρί·  
very many, as no man has yet given his daughter:

**291** ἑπτὰ δέ τοι δώσει εὖ ναιόμενα πτολίεθρα  
he shall give you seven well-inhabited citadels,

**292** Καρδαμύλην Ἐνόπην τε καὶ Ἱρὴν ποιήεσσαν  
Cardamyle, Enope, and grassy Hire,

**293** Φηράς τε ζαθέας ἠδʼ Ἄνθειαν βαθύλειμον  
holy Pherae and deep-meadowed Anthea,

**294** καλήν τʼ Αἴπειαν καὶ Πήδασον ἀμπελόεσσαν.  
lovely Aepeia and vine-clad Pedasus.

**295** πᾶσαι δʼ ἐγγὺς ἁλός, νέαται Πύλου ἠμαθόεντος·  
All are near the sea, bordering sandy Pylos;

**296** ἐν δʼ ἄνδρες ναίουσι πολύρρηνες πολυβοῦται,  
and in them dwell men rich in sheep and cattle,

**297** οἵ κέ σε δωτίνῃσι θεὸν ὣς τιμήσουσι  
who will honor you like a god with gifts

**298** καί τοι ὑπὸ σκήπτρῳ λιπαρὰς τελέουσι θέμιστας.  
and beneath your scepter fulfill prosperous dues.

**299** ταῦτά κέ τοι τελέσειε μεταλήξαντι χόλοιο.  
All this he would fulfill for you if you ceased from anger.

**300** εἰ δέ τοι Ἀτρεΐδης μὲν ἀπήχθετο κηρόθι μᾶλλον  
But if the son of Atreus has become still more hateful to your heart,
> Hated from the heart: κηρόθι, 'from the heart,' intensifies the estrangement: Agamemnon has become hateful to Achilles at the deepest inward level. Odysseus now separates pity for the army from acceptance of Agamemnon and his gifts.

**301** αὐτὸς καὶ τοῦ δῶρα, σὺ δʼ ἄλλους περ Παναχαιοὺς  
both he himself and his gifts, then pity at least the other Achaeans

**302** τειρομένους ἐλέαιρε κατὰ στρατόν, οἵ σε θεὸν ὣς  
as they are worn down throughout the camp; they will honor you like a god.

**303** τίσουσʼ· ἦ γάρ κέ σφι μάλα μέγα κῦδος ἄροιο·  
For surely you would win very great glory among them,
> The glory Achilles could win: κε with the aorist optative ἄροιο gives a potential result: Achilles 'would win' great κῦδος by saving the army. Odysseus offers not only gratitude but the victorious glory that a decisive deed would bring.

**304** νῦν γάρ χʼ Ἕκτορʼ ἕλοις, ἐπεὶ ἂν μάλα τοι σχεδὸν ἔλθοι  
for now you could kill Hector, since he would come very near you,
> The opening to kill Hector: Both ἕλοις, 'you could take or kill,' and ἔλθοι, 'he would come,' are optatives. Odysseus presents Hector's unchecked approach as the opportunity that would bring him within Achilles' reach.

**305** λύσσαν ἔχων ὀλοήν, ἐπεὶ οὔ τινά φησιν ὁμοῖον  
possessed by ruinous madness, since he says that no Danaan

**306** οἷ ἔμεναι Δαναῶν οὓς ἐνθάδε νῆες ἔνεικαν.  
of all whom the ships brought here is his equal."

**307** τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς·  
Then swift-footed Achilles answered him and said:

**308** διογενὲς Λαερτιάδη πολυμήχανʼ Ὀδυσσεῦ  
"Odysseus, son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, of many devices,

**309** χρὴ μὲν δὴ τὸν μῦθον ἀπηλεγέως ἀποειπεῖν,  
I must speak my word plainly and without reserve,
> Without reserve: ἀπηλεγέως means openly, bluntly, without trying to soften what follows. Achilles begins by refusing the diplomatic indirection on which the embassy depends.

**310** ᾗ περ δὴ φρονέω τε καὶ ὡς τετελεσμένον ἔσται,  
just as I think, and as it shall be brought to pass,

**311** ὡς μή μοι τρύζητε παρήμενοι ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος.  
so that you do not sit around me murmuring, one man from one side, one from another.
> One from one side, one from another: ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος is a distributive Homeric formula: different men press him from different sides. The phrasing makes the embassy's persuasion feel like a ring of voices around Achilles.

**312** ἐχθρὸς γάρ μοι κεῖνος ὁμῶς Ἀΐδαο πύλῃσιν  
For hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man

**313** ὅς χʼ ἕτερον μὲν κεύθῃ ἐνὶ φρεσίν, ἄλλο δὲ εἴπῃ.  
who hides one thing in his heart and says another.

**314** αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ἐρέω ὥς μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι ἄριστα·  
But I will say what seems to me to be best.

**315** οὔτʼ ἔμεγʼ Ἀτρεΐδην Ἀγαμέμνονα πεισέμεν οἴω  
I do not think that Agamemnon, son of Atreus, will persuade me,

**316** οὔτʼ ἄλλους Δαναούς, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἄρα τις χάρις ἦεν  
nor the other Danaans, since there was no thanks

**317** μάρνασθαι δηΐοισιν ἐπʼ ἀνδράσι νωλεμὲς αἰεί.  
for fighting enemy men always and without cease.

**318** ἴση μοῖρα μένοντι καὶ εἰ μάλα τις πολεμίζοι·  
The same fate falls to the man who stays back and the man who fights hard;

**319** ἐν δὲ ἰῇ τιμῇ ἠμὲν κακὸς ἠδὲ καὶ ἐσθλός·  
the coward and the brave man are held in one honor,

**320** κάτθανʼ ὁμῶς ὅ τʼ ἀεργὸς ἀνὴρ ὅ τε πολλὰ ἐοργώς.  
and the idle man dies just as the man who has done much.

**321** οὐδέ τί μοι περίκειται, ἐπεὶ πάθον ἄλγεα θυμῷ  
Nothing remains laid up for me after the pains I have suffered in my heart,

**322** αἰεὶ ἐμὴν ψυχὴν παραβαλλόμενος πολεμίζειν.  
always staking my own life whenever I fought.
> Staking his life: παραβάλλομαι can mean putting something beside another as a stake or risk. Achilles says that each battle set his ψυχή, his living breath and life, on the line.

**323** ὡς δʼ ὄρνις ἀπτῆσι νεοσσοῖσι προφέρῃσι  
As a bird carries a morsel to her unfledged chicks

**324** μάστακʼ ἐπεί κε λάβῃσι, κακῶς δʼ ἄρα οἱ πέλει αὐτῇ,  
when she finds one, though things go badly for herself,

**325** ὣς καὶ ἐγὼ πολλὰς μὲν ἀΰπνους νύκτας ἴαυον,  
so I too passed many sleepless nights,

**326** ἤματα δʼ αἱματόεντα διέπρησσον πολεμίζων  
and fought my way through blood-soaked days,

**327** ἀνδράσι μαρνάμενος ὀάρων ἕνεκα σφετεράων.  
battling men for the sake of their own wives.

**328** δώδεκα δὴ σὺν νηυσὶ πόλεις ἀλάπαξʼ ἀνθρώπων,  
With my ships I laid waste twelve cities of men,

**329** πεζὸς δʼ ἕνδεκά φημι κατὰ Τροίην ἐρίβωλον·  
and on foot, I say, eleven across the rich soil of Troy.

**330** τάων ἐκ πασέων κειμήλια πολλὰ καὶ ἐσθλὰ  
From every one I took many fine treasures,

**331** ἐξελόμην, καὶ πάντα φέρων Ἀγαμέμνονι δόσκον  
and carried them all to Agamemnon and gave them to him,

**332** Ἀτρεΐδῃ· ὃ δʼ ὄπισθε μένων παρὰ νηυσὶ θοῇσι  
the son of Atreus; he stayed behind beside the swift ships,

**333** δεξάμενος διὰ παῦρα δασάσκετο, πολλὰ δʼ ἔχεσκεν.  
and when he received them, he would divide out little and keep much.
> Repeated action in -σκε: The iterative endings in δασάσκετο and ἔχεσκεν describe Agamemnon's habitual practice: time after time he distributed little and kept much. The forms turn one grievance into a pattern.

**334** ἄλλα δʼ ἀριστήεσσι δίδου γέρα καὶ βασιλεῦσι·  
He gave other prizes to princes and kings;

**335** τοῖσι μὲν ἔμπεδα κεῖται, ἐμεῦ δʼ ἀπὸ μούνου Ἀχαιῶν  
for them those prizes remain secure, but from me alone among the Achaeans

**336** εἵλετʼ, ἔχει δʼ ἄλοχον θυμαρέα· τῇ παριαύων  
he took mine, and now he holds the wife who pleased my heart. Let him lie beside her

**337** τερπέσθω. τί δὲ δεῖ πολεμιζέμεναι Τρώεσσιν  
and take his pleasure. Why must the Argives fight the Trojans?

**338** Ἀργείους; τί δὲ λαὸν ἀνήγαγεν ἐνθάδʼ ἀγείρας  
Why did the son of Atreus gather and lead an army here?

**339** Ἀτρεΐδης; ἦ οὐχ Ἑλένης ἕνεκʼ ἠϋκόμοιο;  
Was it not for lovely-haired Helen?

**340** ἦ μοῦνοι φιλέουσʼ ἀλόχους μερόπων ἀνθρώπων  
Are the sons of Atreus the only mortal men

**341** Ἀτρεΐδαι; ἐπεὶ ὅς τις ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ ἐχέφρων  
who love their wives? No, every good and sensible man

**342** τὴν αὐτοῦ φιλέει καὶ κήδεται, ὡς καὶ ἐγὼ τὴν  
loves and cherishes his own, as I too loved her

**343** ἐκ θυμοῦ φίλεον δουρικτητήν περ ἐοῦσαν.  
from my heart, though she was won by my spear.

**344** νῦν δʼ ἐπεὶ ἐκ χειρῶν γέρας εἵλετο καί μʼ ἀπάτησε  
But now, since he took my prize from my hands and deceived me,

**345** μή μευ πειράτω εὖ εἰδότος· οὐδέ με πείσει.  
let him not test me when I know him well; he will not persuade me.

**346** ἀλλʼ Ὀδυσεῦ σὺν σοί τε καὶ ἄλλοισιν βασιλεῦσι  
But, Odysseus, let him plan with you and the other kings

**347** φραζέσθω νήεσσιν ἀλεξέμεναι δήϊον πῦρ.  
how to ward the enemy fire from the ships.

**348** ἦ μὲν δὴ μάλα πολλὰ πονήσατο νόσφιν ἐμεῖο,  
Indeed, he has labored very greatly without me:

**349** καὶ δὴ τεῖχος ἔδειμε, καὶ ἤλασε τάφρον ἐπʼ αὐτῷ  
he has built a wall and driven a trench beside it,

**350** εὐρεῖαν μεγάλην, ἐν δὲ σκόλοπας κατέπηξεν·  
broad and deep, and planted stakes within it;

**351** ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὧς δύναται σθένος Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο  
yet even so he cannot check the might of man-slaying Hector.
> Man-slaying Hector: ἀνδροφόνος, 'man-slaying,' is a standing martial epithet already used of Ares. Here the same inherited word is applied to Hector without softening its force.

**352** ἴσχειν· ὄφρα δʼ ἐγὼ μετʼ Ἀχαιοῖσιν πολέμιζον  
While I was fighting among the Achaeans,

**353** οὐκ ἐθέλεσκε μάχην ἀπὸ τείχεος ὀρνύμεν Ἕκτωρ,  
Hector would not dare drive the battle far from the wall,

**354** ἀλλʼ ὅσον ἐς Σκαιάς τε πύλας καὶ φηγὸν ἵκανεν·  
but came only as far as the Scaean gates and the oak tree.

**355** ἔνθά ποτʼ οἶον ἔμιμνε, μόγις δέ μευ ἔκφυγεν ὁρμήν.  
There once he waited for me alone, and barely escaped my charge.

**356** νῦν δʼ ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἐθέλω πολεμιζέμεν Ἕκτορι δίῳ  
But now, since I do not wish to fight godlike Hector,

**357** αὔριον ἱρὰ Διὶ ῥέξας καὶ πᾶσι θεοῖσι  
tomorrow I shall sacrifice to Zeus and all the gods,

**358** νηήσας εὖ νῆας, ἐπὴν ἅλα δὲ προερύσσω,  
load my ships well, and drag them down to the sea;

**359** ὄψεαι, αἴ κʼ ἐθέλῃσθα καὶ αἴ κέν τοι τὰ μεμήλῃ,  
you shall see, if you wish and if the matter concerns you,

**360** ἦρι μάλʼ Ἑλλήσποντον ἐπʼ ἰχθυόεντα πλεούσας  
my ships sailing very early over the fish-filled Hellespont,

**361** νῆας ἐμάς, ἐν δʼ ἄνδρας ἐρεσσέμεναι μεμαῶτας·  
and in them men eager at the oars.

**362** εἰ δέ κεν εὐπλοίην δώῃ κλυτὸς ἐννοσίγαιος  
If the famed shaker of earth grants us a fair voyage,
> A future condition: εἰ with κε and the subjunctive δώῃ sets a future condition: if Poseidon should grant fair sailing, the third-day arrival will follow. The condition keeps the voyage dependent on divine favor.

**363** ἤματί κε τριτάτῳ Φθίην ἐρίβωλον ἱκοίμην.  
on the third day I would reach Phthia's rich soil.

**364** ἔστι δέ μοι μάλα πολλά, τὰ κάλλιπον ἐνθάδε ἔρρων·  
I have very much there, which I left when I came here,

**365** ἄλλον δʼ ἐνθένδε χρυσὸν καὶ χαλκὸν ἐρυθρὸν  
and from here I shall take more gold and red bronze,

**366** ἠδὲ γυναῖκας ἐϋζώνους πολιόν τε σίδηρον  
well-girdled women and gray iron,

**367** ἄξομαι, ἅσσʼ ἔλαχόν γε· γέρας δέ μοι, ὅς περ ἔδωκεν,  
all that fell to my share. But my prize, the very man who gave it

**368** αὖτις ἐφυβρίζων ἕλετο κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων  
took back again in outrage — the lord Agamemnon,

**369** Ἀτρεΐδης· τῷ πάντʼ ἀγορευέμεν ὡς ἐπιτέλλω  
son of Atreus. Tell him everything as I command,

**370** ἀμφαδόν, ὄφρα καὶ ἄλλοι ἐπισκύζωνται Ἀχαιοὶ  
openly, so that the other Achaeans too may be angry
> Openly, before all: ἀμφαδόν means openly and in public, the opposite of concealment. Achilles wants his answer delivered before the Achaeans so that Agamemnon's conduct becomes a warning to everyone.

**371** εἴ τινά που Δαναῶν ἔτι ἔλπεται ἐξαπατήσειν  
if he still hopes somehow to deceive another Danaan,

**372** αἰὲν ἀναιδείην ἐπιειμένος· οὐδʼ ἂν ἔμοιγε  
always clothed in shamelessness. He would not dare

**373** τετλαίη κύνεός περ ἐὼν εἰς ὦπα ἰδέσθαι·  
to look me in the face, dog though he is.

**374** οὐδέ τί οἱ βουλὰς συμφράσσομαι, οὐδὲ μὲν ἔργον·  
I shall share no counsel with him, nor any work.

**375** ἐκ γὰρ δή μʼ ἀπάτησε καὶ ἤλιτεν· οὐδʼ ἂν ἔτʼ αὖτις  
He has deceived and wronged me once for all; never again

**376** ἐξαπάφοιτʼ ἐπέεσσιν· ἅλις δέ οἱ· ἀλλὰ ἕκηλος  
will he cheat me with words. Enough for him. Let him go quietly

**377** ἐρρέτω· ἐκ γάρ εὑ φρένας εἵλετο μητίετα Ζεύς.  
to ruin, for Zeus the counselor has taken away his wits.

**378** ἐχθρὰ δέ μοι τοῦ δῶρα, τίω δέ μιν ἐν καρὸς αἴσῃ.  
His gifts are hateful to me, and I value him at a splinter's worth.
> A splinter's worth: The rare phrase ἐν καρὸς αἴσῃ dismisses Agamemnon as worth only the share or measure of a tiny shaving or splinter. Its force is contemptuous: Achilles counts him as almost nothing.

**379** οὐδʼ εἴ μοι δεκάκις τε καὶ εἰκοσάκις τόσα δοίη  
Not even if he gave me ten or twenty times as much

**380** ὅσσά τέ οἱ νῦν ἔστι, καὶ εἴ ποθεν ἄλλα γένοιτο,  
as he now possesses, and whatever else may come to him,

**381** οὐδʼ ὅσʼ ἐς Ὀρχομενὸν ποτινίσεται, οὐδʼ ὅσα Θήβας  
not all the wealth that flows into Orchomenus, nor all that comes to Egyptian Thebes,

**382** Αἰγυπτίας, ὅθι πλεῖστα δόμοις ἐν κτήματα κεῖται,  
where the greatest treasures lie stored in houses,

**383** αἵ θʼ ἑκατόμπυλοί εἰσι, διηκόσιοι δʼ ἀνʼ ἑκάστας  
the city of a hundred gates, through each of which two hundred

**384** ἀνέρες ἐξοιχνεῦσι σὺν ἵπποισιν καὶ ὄχεσφιν·  
men go out with horses and chariots —

**385** οὐδʼ εἴ μοι τόσα δοίη ὅσα ψάμαθός τε κόνις τε,  
not even if he gave me gifts as many as sand and dust,

**386** οὐδέ κεν ὧς ἔτι θυμὸν ἐμὸν πείσειʼ Ἀγαμέμνων  
not even then would Agamemnon persuade my heart

**387** πρίν γʼ ἀπὸ πᾶσαν ἐμοὶ δόμεναι θυμαλγέα λώβην.  
until he paid me back in full for the heart-grieving outrage.

**388** κούρην δʼ οὐ γαμέω Ἀγαμέμνονος Ἀτρεΐδαο,  
I shall not marry the daughter of Agamemnon, son of Atreus,

**389** οὐδʼ εἰ χρυσείῃ Ἀφροδίτῃ κάλλος ἐρίζοι,  
not even if she rivaled golden Aphrodite in beauty

**390** ἔργα δʼ Ἀθηναίῃ γλαυκώπιδι ἰσοφαρίζοι·  
and matched bright-eyed Athena in handiwork.

**391** οὐδέ μιν ὧς γαμέω· ὃ δʼ Ἀχαιῶν ἄλλον ἑλέσθω,  
Even so I shall not marry her. Let him choose another Achaean,

**392** ὅς τις οἷ τʼ ἐπέοικε καὶ ὃς βασιλεύτερός ἐστιν.  
one who is fit for him and more kingly than I.

**393** ἢν γὰρ δή με σαῶσι θεοὶ καὶ οἴκαδʼ ἵκωμαι,  
For if the gods keep me safe and I reach home,

**394** Πηλεύς θήν μοι ἔπειτα γυναῖκά γε μάσσεται αὐτός.  
Peleus himself will surely find me a wife.

**395** πολλαὶ Ἀχαιΐδες εἰσὶν ἀνʼ Ἑλλάδα τε Φθίην τε  
There are many Achaean women throughout Hellas and Phthia,

**396** κοῦραι ἀριστήων, οἵ τε πτολίεθρα ῥύονται,  
daughters of princes who guard their citadels;

**397** τάων ἥν κʼ ἐθέλωμι φίλην ποιήσομʼ ἄκοιτιν.  
whichever I wish, I shall make my dear wedded wife.

**398** ἔνθα δέ μοι μάλα πολλὸν ἐπέσσυτο θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ  
There my proud heart yearned deeply

**399** γήμαντα μνηστὴν ἄλοχον ἐϊκυῖαν ἄκοιτιν  
to marry a lawful wife, a fitting bedmate,

**400** κτήμασι τέρπεσθαι τὰ γέρων ἐκτήσατο Πηλεύς·  
and take joy in the wealth old Peleus won.

**401** οὐ γὰρ ἐμοὶ ψυχῆς ἀντάξιον οὐδʼ ὅσα φασὶν  
For nothing to me is worth my life — not all the wealth they say
> Worth a life: ψυχή here is a person's living life, set on one side of a scale by ἀντάξιον, 'of equal worth.' Achilles rejects the embassy's premise that any quantity of goods can balance that value.

**402** Ἴλιον ἐκτῆσθαι εὖ ναιόμενον πτολίεθρον  
the well-inhabited citadel of Ilion possessed

**403** τὸ πρὶν ἐπʼ εἰρήνης, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν υἷας Ἀχαιῶν,  
in former days of peace, before the sons of the Achaeans came,

**404** οὐδʼ ὅσα λάϊνος οὐδὸς ἀφήτορος ἐντὸς ἐέργει  
nor all that the stone threshold of the archer

**405** Φοίβου Ἀπόλλωνος Πυθοῖ ἔνι πετρηέσσῃ.  
Phoebus Apollo encloses in rocky Pytho.

**406** ληϊστοὶ μὲν γάρ τε βόες καὶ ἴφια μῆλα,  
Cattle and strong sheep may be won by raiding,

**407** κτητοὶ δὲ τρίποδές τε καὶ ἵππων ξανθὰ κάρηνα,  
and tripods and tawny-headed horses may be acquired,

**408** ἀνδρὸς δὲ ψυχὴ πάλιν ἐλθεῖν οὔτε λεϊστὴ  
but a man's life cannot return by raid

**409** οὔθʼ ἑλετή, ἐπεὶ ἄρ κεν ἀμείψεται ἕρκος ὀδόντων.  
or capture once it has passed the barrier of his teeth.
> The barrier of the teeth: ἕρκος ὀδόντων, 'the barrier of the teeth,' is a recurring Homeric image. Elsewhere words escape that barrier; here the ψυχή passes it at death and cannot be taken back.

**410** μήτηρ γάρ τέ μέ φησι θεὰ Θέτις ἀργυρόπεζα  
For my mother, the goddess silver-footed Thetis, tells me

**411** διχθαδίας κῆρας φερέμεν θανάτοιο τέλος δέ.  
that two branching fates bear me toward the end of death.

**412** εἰ μέν κʼ αὖθι μένων Τρώων πόλιν ἀμφιμάχωμαι,  
If I stay here and fight around the city of the Trojans,

**413** ὤλετο μέν μοι νόστος, ἀτὰρ κλέος ἄφθιτον ἔσται·  
my homecoming is lost, but my glory will be unfading;
> Homecoming or unfading glory: νόστος is the return home; κλέος is the fame carried in song. ἄφθιτον, 'unfading,' makes that fame outlast the short life required to win it.

**414** εἰ δέ κεν οἴκαδʼ ἵκωμι φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν,  
but if I return home to my dear native land,

**415** ὤλετό μοι κλέος ἐσθλόν, ἐπὶ δηρὸν δέ μοι αἰὼν  
my noble glory is lost, but my life will endure

**416** ἔσσεται, οὐδέ κέ μʼ ὦκα τέλος θανάτοιο κιχείη.  
for a long time, and the end of death will not catch me quickly.

**417** καὶ δʼ ἂν τοῖς ἄλλοισιν ἐγὼ παραμυθησαίμην  
And I would counsel all the others as well

**418** οἴκαδʼ ἀποπλείειν, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι δήετε τέκμωρ  
to sail away home, since you will no longer win the goal
> Winning the goal: τέκμωρ is a fixed mark, bound, or goal by which an outcome is secured. Achilles says the Achaeans will find no decisive end for their assault on steep Ilion.

**419** Ἰλίου αἰπεινῆς· μάλα γάρ ἑθεν εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς  
of steep Ilion; for wide-thundering Zeus has stretched his hand

**420** χεῖρα ἑὴν ὑπερέσχε, τεθαρσήκασι δὲ λαοί.  
over her, and her people have taken courage.

**421** ἀλλʼ ὑμεῖς μὲν ἰόντες ἀριστήεσσιν Ἀχαιῶν  
But you must go to the princes of the Achaeans

**422** ἀγγελίην ἀπόφασθε· τὸ γὰρ γέρας ἐστὶ γερόντων·  
and declare my message; for that is the privilege of elders,

**423** ὄφρʼ ἄλλην φράζωνται ἐνὶ φρεσὶ μῆτιν ἀμείνω,  
so that they may devise in their hearts some other, better plan,

**424** ἥ κέ σφιν νῆάς τε σαῷ καὶ λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν  
one that might save their ships and the Achaean host

**425** νηυσὶν ἔπι γλαφυρῇς, ἐπεὶ οὔ σφισιν ἥδέ γʼ ἑτοίμη  
beside the hollow ships, since this plan is not ready for them,

**426** ἣν νῦν ἐφράσσαντο ἐμεῦ ἀπομηνίσαντος·  
the one they have now devised, while I remain in wrath.

**427** Φοῖνιξ δʼ αὖθι παρʼ ἄμμι μένων κατακοιμηθήτω,  
But let Phoenix stay here among us and sleep,

**428** ὄφρά μοι ἐν νήεσσι φίλην ἐς πατρίδʼ ἕπηται  
so that tomorrow he may follow me in my ships to my dear native land,

**429** αὔριον ἢν ἐθέλῃσιν· ἀνάγκῃ δʼ οὔ τί μιν ἄξω.  
if he wishes; I shall not take him by force."
> By compulsion: ἀνάγκῃ is a dative of means or manner: Achilles will not take Phoenix 'by compulsion.' The final qualification leaves Phoenix a choice even while Achilles announces his own departure.

**430** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δʼ ἄρα πάντες ἀκὴν ἐγένοντο σιωπῇ  
So he spoke, and they all fell hushed in silence;
> The silence formula: This whole line repeats a formula already heard after a hard speech in Book 3. Its doubled language of stillness, ἀκήν and σιωπῇ, makes the listeners' silence nearly palpable.

**431** μῦθον ἀγασσάμενοι· μάλα γὰρ κρατερῶς ἀπέειπεν·  
astonished at his speech, for he had refused them with great force.

**432** ὀψὲ δὲ δὴ μετέειπε γέρων ἱππηλάτα Φοῖνιξ  
At last Phoenix, the old horseman, spoke among them,
> Phoenix, the old horseman: ἱππηλάτης is a driver or handler of horses, a heroic title that recalls Phoenix's active standing even as γέρων marks him as an elder.

**433** δάκρυʼ ἀναπρήσας· περὶ γὰρ δίε νηυσὶν Ἀχαιῶν·  
bursting into tears, for he feared greatly for the ships of the Achaeans:

**434** εἰ μὲν δὴ νόστόν γε μετὰ φρεσὶ φαίδιμʼ Ἀχιλλεῦ  
"If indeed you are setting homecoming in your heart, glorious Achilles,

**435** βάλλεαι, οὐδέ τι πάμπαν ἀμύνειν νηυσὶ θοῇσι  
and have no wish at all to defend the swift ships

**436** πῦρ ἐθέλεις ἀΐδηλον, ἐπεὶ χόλος ἔμπεσε θυμῷ,  
from destroying fire, since anger has fallen upon your spirit,

**437** πῶς ἂν ἔπειτʼ ἀπὸ σεῖο φίλον τέκος αὖθι λιποίμην  
how then, dear child, could I be left behind here apart from you,

**438** οἶος; σοὶ δέ μʼ ἔπεμπε γέρων ἱππηλάτα Πηλεὺς  
alone? The old horseman Peleus sent me with you

**439** ἤματι τῷ ὅτε σʼ ἐκ Φθίης Ἀγαμέμνονι πέμπε  
on the day when he sent you from Phthia to Agamemnon:
> Peleus' charge recalled: The Greek line is identical to 9.253 in Odysseus' appeal, so the English is repeated exactly. Phoenix now expands the same day of departure from his own memory.

**440** νήπιον οὔ πω εἰδόθʼ ὁμοιΐου πολέμοιο  
a mere child, not yet skilled in level war

**441** οὐδʼ ἀγορέων, ἵνα τʼ ἄνδρες ἀριπρεπέες τελέθουσι.  
or in assemblies, where men become distinguished.

**442** τοὔνεκά με προέηκε διδασκέμεναι τάδε πάντα,  
Therefore he sent me forth to teach you all these things,

**443** μύθων τε ῥητῆρʼ ἔμεναι πρηκτῆρά τε ἔργων.  
to be a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.

**444** ὡς ἂν ἔπειτʼ ἀπὸ σεῖο φίλον τέκος οὐκ ἐθέλοιμι  
So, dear child, I would not be willing to be left

**445** λείπεσθʼ, οὐδʼ εἴ κέν μοι ὑποσταίη θεὸς αὐτὸς  
apart from you, not even if a god himself should promise

**446** γῆρας ἀποξύσας θήσειν νέον ἡβώοντα,  
to scrape away my old age and make me young and vigorous,

**447** οἷον ὅτε πρῶτον λίπον Ἑλλάδα καλλιγύναικα  
as I was when I first left Hellas, land of fair women,

**448** φεύγων νείκεα πατρὸς Ἀμύντορος Ὀρμενίδαο,  
fleeing a quarrel with my father, Amyntor, son of Ormenus,

**449** ὅς μοι παλλακίδος περιχώσατο καλλικόμοιο,  
who was enraged at me over his lovely-haired concubine.

**450** τὴν αὐτὸς φιλέεσκεν, ἀτιμάζεσκε δʼ ἄκοιτιν  
He loved her himself and kept dishonoring his wife,

**451** μητέρʼ ἐμήν· ἣ δʼ αἰὲν ἐμὲ λισσέσκετο γούνων  
my mother; and she kept clasping my knees and begging me
> Repeated pleading: The iterative imperfect in λισσέσκετο presents Phoenix's mother as begging him repeatedly, not making a single request. The repeated action sharpens the pressure that precedes his decision.

**452** παλλακίδι προμιγῆναι, ἵνʼ ἐχθήρειε γέροντα.  
to lie with the concubine first, so that she might hate the old man.

**453** τῇ πιθόμην καὶ ἔρεξα· πατὴρ δʼ ἐμὸς αὐτίκʼ ὀϊσθεὶς  
I obeyed her and did it; but my father learned of it at once

**454** πολλὰ κατηρᾶτο, στυγερὰς δʼ ἐπεκέκλετʼ Ἐρινῦς,  
and cursed me bitterly, invoking the hateful Erinyes,

**455** μή ποτε γούνασιν οἷσιν ἐφέσσεσθαι φίλον υἱὸν  
that no dear son born from me should ever sit upon my knees.

**456** ἐξ ἐμέθεν γεγαῶτα· θεοὶ δʼ ἐτέλειον ἐπαρὰς  
And the gods fulfilled his curses:

**457** Ζεύς τε καταχθόνιος καὶ ἐπαινὴ Περσεφόνεια.  
Zeus below the earth and dread Persephone.

**462** ἔνθʼ ἐμοὶ οὐκέτι πάμπαν ἐρητύετʼ ἐν φρεσὶ θυμὸς  
Then my spirit within my heart could no longer endure

**463** πατρὸς χωομένοιο κατὰ μέγαρα στρωφᾶσθαι.  
to move through the halls while my father raged at me.

**464** ἦ μὲν πολλὰ ἔται καὶ ἀνεψιοὶ ἀμφὶς ἐόντες  
Yet many kinsmen and cousins gathered around me

**465** αὐτοῦ λισσόμενοι κατερήτυον ἐν μεγάροισι,  
and sought to hold me there in the house with their pleas.

**466** πολλὰ δὲ ἴφια μῆλα καὶ εἰλίποδας ἕλικας βοῦς  
Many sturdy sheep and shambling, spiral-horned cattle

**467** ἔσφαζον, πολλοὶ δὲ σύες θαλέθοντες ἀλοιφῇ  
they slaughtered, and many pigs, thriving in fat,

**468** εὑόμενοι τανύοντο διὰ φλογὸς Ἡφαίστοιο,  
were singed and stretched across the flame of Hephaestus,
> The flame of Hephaestus: Fire is named through Hephaestus, its divine master. The compressed phrase turns the household roasting fire into a divine possession without making the god an acting guest.

**469** πολλὸν δʼ ἐκ κεράμων μέθυ πίνετο τοῖο γέροντος.  
and much wine from the old man's jars was drunk.

**470** εἰνάνυχες δέ μοι ἀμφʼ αὐτῷ παρὰ νύκτας ἴαυον·  
For nine nights they slept through the nights around me;
> Nine nights: εἰνάνυχες compresses the duration into one adjective: 'for nine nights.' The long watch shows how determined Phoenix's kin were to prevent his flight.

**471** οἳ μὲν ἀμειβόμενοι φυλακὰς ἔχον, οὐδέ ποτʼ ἔσβη  
taking turns, they kept watch, and never did the fire go out,

**472** πῦρ, ἕτερον μὲν ὑπʼ αἰθούσῃ εὐερκέος αὐλῆς,  
one beneath the portico of the well-fenced courtyard,

**473** ἄλλο δʼ ἐνὶ προδόμῳ, πρόσθεν θαλάμοιο θυράων.  
the other in the forehall before my chamber doors.

**474** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ δεκάτη μοι ἐπήλυθε νὺξ ἐρεβεννή,  
But when the dark tenth night came upon me,

**475** καὶ τότʼ ἐγὼ θαλάμοιο θύρας πυκινῶς ἀραρυίας  
then I broke through the closely fitted doors of my chamber

**476** ῥήξας ἐξῆλθον, καὶ ὑπέρθορον ἑρκίον αὐλῆς  
and came out, and leapt over the courtyard wall

**477** ῥεῖα, λαθὼν φύλακάς τʼ ἄνδρας δμῳάς τε γυναῖκας.  
with ease, escaping the notice of the male guards and serving women.

**478** φεῦγον ἔπειτʼ ἀπάνευθε διʼ Ἑλλάδος εὐρυχόροιο,  
Then I fled far away through broad Hellas

**479** Φθίην δʼ ἐξικόμην ἐριβώλακα μητέρα μήλων  
and reached rich-soiled Phthia, mother of flocks,
> Phthia, mother of flocks: The land is both 'rich-soiled' and a 'mother of flocks.' Homer's maternal image makes Phthia itself the source that nurtures its pastoral wealth.

**480** ἐς Πηλῆα ἄναχθʼ· ὃ δέ με πρόφρων ὑπέδεκτο,  
to lord Peleus; and he welcomed me with a willing heart

**481** καί μʼ ἐφίλησʼ ὡς εἴ τε πατὴρ ὃν παῖδα φιλήσῃ  
and loved me as a father loves his own son,

**482** μοῦνον τηλύγετον πολλοῖσιν ἐπὶ κτεάτεσσι,  
an only late-born child amid abundant possessions.

**483** καί μʼ ἀφνειὸν ἔθηκε, πολὺν δέ μοι ὤπασε λαόν·  
He made me wealthy and gave me many people,

**484** ναῖον δʼ ἐσχατιὴν Φθίης Δολόπεσσιν ἀνάσσων.  
and I lived on the border of Phthia, ruling the Dolopians.

**485** καί σε τοσοῦτον ἔθηκα θεοῖς ἐπιείκελʼ Ἀχιλλεῦ,  
And I made you what you are, Achilles, like to the gods,

**486** ἐκ θυμοῦ φιλέων, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἐθέλεσκες ἅμʼ ἄλλῳ  
loving you from my heart, since you would not go with another

**487** οὔτʼ ἐς δαῖτʼ ἰέναι οὔτʼ ἐν μεγάροισι πάσασθαι,  
either to a feast or to eat within the halls,

**488** πρίν γʼ ὅτε δή σʼ ἐπʼ ἐμοῖσιν ἐγὼ γούνεσσι καθίσσας  
until I had seated you upon my knees

**489** ὄψου τʼ ἄσαιμι προταμὼν καὶ οἶνον ἐπισχών.  
and cut your meat for you to eat, and held the wine before you.

**490** πολλάκι μοι κατέδευσας ἐπὶ στήθεσσι χιτῶνα  
Often you soaked the tunic across my chest,

**491** οἴνου ἀποβλύζων ἐν νηπιέῃ ἀλεγεινῇ.  
spitting up wine in the distress of infancy.

**492** ὣς ἐπὶ σοὶ μάλα πολλὰ πάθον καὶ πολλὰ μόγησα,  
So I suffered much for you and endured much toil,

**493** τὰ φρονέων ὅ μοι οὔ τι θεοὶ γόνον ἐξετέλειον  
knowing that the gods would bring no child of my own

**494** ἐξ ἐμεῦ· ἀλλὰ σὲ παῖδα θεοῖς ἐπιείκελʼ Ἀχιλλεῦ  
to birth from me; but I made you my son, Achilles like to the gods,

**495** ποιεύμην, ἵνα μοί ποτʼ ἀεικέα λοιγὸν ἀμύνῃς.  
so that one day you might ward shameful ruin from me.

**496** ἀλλʼ Ἀχιλεῦ δάμασον θυμὸν μέγαν· οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ  
But Achilles, master your great spirit; you have no need

**497** νηλεὲς ἦτορ ἔχειν· στρεπτοὶ δέ τε καὶ θεοὶ αὐτοί,  
to keep a pitiless heart. Even the gods themselves can be turned,
> Even gods can turn: στρεπτός means 'capable of being turned.' Phoenix builds his appeal on the claim that even divine anger can be redirected, so Achilles should not make himself less yielding than a god.

**498** τῶν περ καὶ μείζων ἀρετὴ τιμή τε βίη τε.  
though their excellence and honor and might are greater than ours.

**499** καὶ μὲν τοὺς θυέεσσι καὶ εὐχωλῇς ἀγανῇσι  
Yet with sacrifices and gentle prayers

**500** λοιβῇ τε κνίσῃ τε παρατρωπῶσʼ ἄνθρωποι  
and libation and burnt offering, mortals turn them aside

**501** λισσόμενοι, ὅτε κέν τις ὑπερβήῃ καὶ ἁμάρτῃ.  
with supplication whenever someone oversteps and goes astray.

**502** καὶ γάρ τε λιταί εἰσι Διὸς κοῦραι μεγάλοιο  
For the Prayers too are daughters of great Zeus,

**503** χωλαί τε ῥυσαί τε παραβλῶπές τʼ ὀφθαλμώ,  
lame and wrinkled, with eyes turned askance,

**504** αἵ ῥά τε καὶ μετόπισθʼ ἄτης ἀλέγουσι κιοῦσαι.  
and they make their way behind Delusion, tending what she leaves.

**505** ἣ δʼ ἄτη σθεναρή τε καὶ ἀρτίπος, οὕνεκα πάσας  
But Delusion is strong and sound of foot, and therefore

**506** πολλὸν ὑπεκπροθέει, φθάνει δέ τε πᾶσαν ἐπʼ αἶαν  
she outruns them all by far and comes first over all the earth,

**507** βλάπτουσʼ ἀνθρώπους· αἳ δʼ ἐξακέονται ὀπίσσω.  
harming mortals, while the Prayers heal the hurt behind her.

**508** ὃς μέν τʼ αἰδέσεται κούρας Διὸς ἆσσον ἰούσας,  
Whoever reveres the daughters of Zeus when they draw near,
> A general condition: The relative clause presents a general rule: whoever receives the Prayers reverently gains their help. The matching ὃς δέ clause at line 510 gives the opposite outcome.

**509** τὸν δὲ μέγʼ ὤνησαν καί τʼ ἔκλυον εὐχομένοιο·  
they help him greatly and hear him when he prays.

**510** ὃς δέ κʼ ἀνήνηται καί τε στερεῶς ἀποείπῃ,  
But whoever refuses them and rejects them harshly,

**511** λίσσονται δʼ ἄρα ταί γε Δία Κρονίωνα κιοῦσαι  
the Prayers go and beseech Zeus, son of Cronos,

**512** τῷ ἄτην ἅμʼ ἕπεσθαι, ἵνα βλαφθεὶς ἀποτίσῃ.  
that Delusion may follow him, so that he is harmed and pays the price.
> Harmed, then made to pay: The aorist passive participle βλαφθείς gives the damage first, followed by ἀποτίσῃ, 'may pay back.' The sequence makes punishment the consequence of refusing supplication.

**513** ἀλλʼ Ἀχιλεῦ πόρε καὶ σὺ Διὸς κούρῃσιν ἕπεσθαι  
But Achilles, you too must grant the daughters of Zeus the honor

**514** τιμήν, ἥ τʼ ἄλλων περ ἐπιγνάμπτει νόον ἐσθλῶν.  
that bends the minds even of other noble men.

**515** εἰ μὲν γὰρ μὴ δῶρα φέροι τὰ δʼ ὄπισθʼ ὀνομάζοι  
For if the son of Atreus were not bringing gifts and naming

**516** Ἀτρεΐδης, ἀλλʼ αἰὲν ἐπιζαφελῶς χαλεπαίνοι,  
still more to come, but always raged in bitter fury,

**517** οὐκ ἂν ἔγωγέ σε μῆνιν ἀπορρίψαντα κελοίμην  
I would not urge you to cast aside your wrath

**518** Ἀργείοισιν ἀμυνέμεναι χατέουσί περ ἔμπης·  
and defend the Argives, even in their need.

**519** νῦν δʼ ἅμα τʼ αὐτίκα πολλὰ διδοῖ τὰ δʼ ὄπισθεν ὑπέστη,  
But now he gives much at once and has promised more hereafter,

**520** ἄνδρας δὲ λίσσεσθαι ἐπιπροέηκεν ἀρίστους  
and he has sent the best men ahead to entreat you,

**521** κρινάμενος κατὰ λαὸν Ἀχαιϊκόν, οἵ τε σοὶ αὐτῷ  
choosing them from the Achaean host, the very men

**522** φίλτατοι Ἀργείων· τῶν μὴ σύ γε μῦθον ἐλέγξῃς  
dearest to you among the Argives. Do not bring shame upon

**523** μηδὲ πόδας· πρὶν δʼ οὔ τι νεμεσσητὸν κεχολῶσθαι.  
their words or their journey. Before now, your anger was not blameworthy.
> Their words and their feet: Phoenix asks Achilles not to disgrace either the envoys' message or the feet that carried them. πόδας makes their journey concrete and keeps the labor of supplication in view.

**524** οὕτω καὶ τῶν πρόσθεν ἐπευθόμεθα κλέα ἀνδρῶν  
So too we have heard the famous deeds of men of old,
> The famous deeds of men: κλέα ἀνδρῶν is the same heroic song-language used when Achilles sang to his lyre at line 189. Phoenix now draws an old hero's story into his attempt to shape Achilles' own fame.

**525** ἡρώων, ὅτε κέν τινʼ ἐπιζάφελος χόλος ἵκοι·  
heroes, whenever raging anger came upon one of them:

**526** δωρητοί τε πέλοντο παράρρητοί τʼ ἐπέεσσι.  
they could be won with gifts and persuaded with words.

**527** μέμνημαι τόδε ἔργον ἐγὼ πάλαι οὔ τι νέον γε  
I remember this deed from long ago; it is nothing new,

**528** ὡς ἦν· ἐν δʼ ὑμῖν ἐρέω πάντεσσι φίλοισι.  
how it happened; and I will tell it among you, who are all my friends.

**529** Κουρῆτές τʼ ἐμάχοντο καὶ Αἰτωλοὶ μενεχάρμαι  
The Curetes and steadfast-in-battle Aetolians fought

**530** ἀμφὶ πόλιν Καλυδῶνα καὶ ἀλλήλους ἐνάριζον,  
around the city of Calydon and kept killing one another,

**531** Αἰτωλοὶ μὲν ἀμυνόμενοι Καλυδῶνος ἐραννῆς,  
the Aetolians defending lovely Calydon,

**532** Κουρῆτες δὲ διαπραθέειν μεμαῶτες Ἄρηϊ.  
the Curetes eager to sack it in war.

**533** καὶ γὰρ τοῖσι κακὸν χρυσόθρονος Ἄρτεμις ὦρσε  
For golden-throned Artemis had roused evil against them,
> Golden-throned Artemis: χρυσόθρονος, 'golden-throned,' is a distinct standing epithet. It marks Artemis' divine splendor and should not be flattened into one of her bow epithets.

**534** χωσαμένη ὅ οἱ οὔ τι θαλύσια γουνῷ ἀλωῆς  
angry that Oeneus had offered her no harvest first-fruits

**535** Οἰνεὺς ῥέξʼ· ἄλλοι δὲ θεοὶ δαίνυνθʼ ἑκατόμβας,  
from the ridge of his orchard. The other gods feasted on hecatombs,

**536** οἴῃ δʼ οὐκ ἔρρεξε Διὸς κούρῃ μεγάλοιο.  
but to her alone, the daughter of great Zeus, he made no offering.

**537** ἢ λάθετʼ ἢ οὐκ ἐνόησεν· ἀάσατο δὲ μέγα θυμῷ.  
Either he forgot or did not notice; in his heart he was greatly deluded.
> Oeneus falls into delusion: ἀάσατο belongs to the same word-family as ἄτη, Delusion, in Phoenix's allegory. The exemplum immediately shows a mortal suffering the blindness just described.

**538** ἣ δὲ χολωσαμένη δῖον γένος ἰοχέαιρα  
In anger the goddess, Artemis, showerer of arrows,
> Showerer of arrows: ἰοχέαιρα is the inherited epithet 'showerer of arrows.' It remains distinct from Apollo's far-shooting and far-working titles.

**539** ὦρσεν ἔπι χλούνην σῦν ἄγριον ἀργιόδοντα,  
sent against him a marauding wild boar, white-tusked,

**540** ὃς κακὰ πόλλʼ ἕρδεσκεν ἔθων Οἰνῆος ἀλωήν·  
which kept doing great harm as it ravaged Oeneus' orchard.

**541** πολλὰ δʼ ὅ γε προθέλυμνα χαμαὶ βάλε δένδρεα μακρὰ  
Many tall trees it cast headlong to the ground,

**542** αὐτῇσιν ῥίζῃσι καὶ αὐτοῖς ἄνθεσι μήλων.  
roots and all, together with the apple blossoms themselves.

**543** τὸν δʼ υἱὸς Οἰνῆος ἀπέκτεινεν Μελέαγρος  
Meleager, son of Oeneus, killed it

**544** πολλέων ἐκ πολίων θηρήτορας ἄνδρας ἀγείρας  
after gathering hunters and hounds from many cities,

**545** καὶ κύνας· οὐ μὲν γάρ κε δάμη παύροισι βροτοῖσι·  
for it could not have been subdued by only a few mortals,
> A potential optative: δάμη with κε is a potential optative: a few mortals could not have subdued such a beast. The construction presents the impossibility as a general assessment of its size and strength.

**546** τόσσος ἔην, πολλοὺς δὲ πυρῆς ἐπέβησʼ ἀλεγεινῆς.  
so huge it was, and it sent many men upon the grievous pyre.

**547** ἣ δʼ ἀμφʼ αὐτῷ θῆκε πολὺν κέλαδον καὶ ἀϋτὴν  
Then the goddess stirred a great clash and battle-cry over it,
> Artemis remains the agent: The feminine pronoun ἥ resumes Artemis: she causes the violent dispute over the boar. The quarrel is not an accidental aftermath detached from the goddess's anger.

**548** ἀμφὶ συὸς κεφαλῇ καὶ δέρματι λαχνήεντι,  
over the boar's head and its shaggy hide,

**549** Κουρήτων τε μεσηγὺ καὶ Αἰτωλῶν μεγαθύμων.  
between the Curetes and the great-hearted Aetolians.

**550** ὄφρα μὲν οὖν Μελέαγρος ἄρηι φίλος πολέμιζε,  
So long as Meleager, dear to Ares, fought,

**551** τόφρα δὲ Κουρήτεσσι κακῶς ἦν, οὐδὲ δύναντο  
so long it went badly for the Curetes, and they could not

**552** τείχεος ἔκτοσθεν μίμνειν πολέες περ ἐόντες·  
hold their ground outside the wall, though they were many.

**553** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ Μελέαγρον ἔδυ χόλος, ὅς τε καὶ ἄλλων  
But when anger entered Meleager, the anger that swells

**554** οἰδάνει ἐν στήθεσσι νόον πύκα περ φρονεόντων,  
the mind in the breasts even of those who think wisely,

**555** ἤτοι ὃ μητρὶ φίλῃ Ἀλθαίῃ χωόμενος κῆρ  
then, enraged at heart against his dear mother Althaea,

**556** κεῖτο παρὰ μνηστῇ ἀλόχῳ καλῇ Κλεοπάτρῃ  
he lay beside his wedded wife, beautiful Cleopatra,

**557** κούρῃ Μαρπήσσης καλλισφύρου Εὐηνίνης  
daughter of lovely-ankled Marpessa, child of Evenus,

**558** Ἴδεώ θʼ, ὃς κάρτιστος ἐπιχθονίων γένετʼ ἀνδρῶν  
and of Idas, who was the strongest of men upon the earth

**559** τῶν τότε· καί ῥα ἄνακτος ἐναντίον εἵλετο τόξον  
in his day; he even took up his bow against the lord

**560** Φοίβου Ἀπόλλωνος καλλισφύρου εἵνεκα νύμφης,  
Phoebus Apollo for the sake of the lovely-ankled maiden.

**561** τὴν δὲ τότʼ ἐν μεγάροισι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ  
Her father and queenly mother in their halls

**562** Ἀλκυόνην καλέεσκον ἐπώνυμον, οὕνεκʼ ἄρʼ αὐτῆς  
then called her Alcyone as a second name, because her own

**563** μήτηρ ἀλκυόνος πολυπενθέος οἶτον ἔχουσα  
mother, bearing the fate of the much-grieving halcyon,

**564** κλαῖεν ὅ μιν ἑκάεργος ἀνήρπασε Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων·  
wept when Phoebus Apollo, the far-worker, carried her off.
> Apollo the far-worker: ἑκάεργος is the locked 'far-worker,' distinct from 'far-shooting.' Marpessa is the woman Apollo carries off; Cleopatra receives her second name from her mother's lament.

**565** τῇ ὅ γε παρκατέλεκτο χόλον θυμαλγέα πέσσων  
Beside her Meleager lay, brooding on heart-paining anger,

**566** ἐξ ἀρέων μητρὸς κεχολωμένος, ἥ ῥα θεοῖσι  
enraged by his mother's curses; for she, grieving deeply,

**567** πόλλʼ ἀχέουσʼ ἠρᾶτο κασιγνήτοιο φόνοιο,  
kept praying to the gods over the killing of her brother,

**568** πολλὰ δὲ καὶ γαῖαν πολυφόρβην χερσὶν ἀλοία  
and again and again beat the all-nurturing earth with her hands,

**569** κικλήσκουσʼ Ἀΐδην καὶ ἐπαινὴν Περσεφόνειαν  
calling upon Hades and dread Persephone,

**570** πρόχνυ καθεζομένη, δεύοντο δὲ δάκρυσι κόλποι,  
kneeling forward, while her breast was wet with tears,

**571** παιδὶ δόμεν θάνατον· τῆς δʼ ἠεροφοῖτις Ἐρινὺς  
asking death for her son; and the mist-walking Erinys

**572** ἔκλυεν ἐξ Ἐρέβεσφιν ἀμείλιχον ἦτορ ἔχουσα.  
heard her from Erebus, with a heart that cannot be softened.

**573** τῶν δὲ τάχʼ ἀμφὶ πύλας ὅμαδος καὶ δοῦπος ὀρώρει  
Soon around their gates a din and crashing arose

**574** πύργων βαλλομένων· τὸν δὲ λίσσοντο γέροντες  
as the towers were battered; and the Aetolian elders begged him,

**575** Αἰτωλῶν, πέμπον δὲ θεῶν ἱερῆας ἀρίστους,  
sending the best priests of the gods

**576** ἐξελθεῖν καὶ ἀμῦναι ὑποσχόμενοι μέγα δῶρον·  
to ask him to come out and defend them, promising a great gift:

**577** ὁππόθι πιότατον πεδίον Καλυδῶνος ἐραννῆς,  
wherever the plain of lovely Calydon was richest,

**578** ἔνθά μιν ἤνωγον τέμενος περικαλλὲς ἑλέσθαι  
there they urged him to choose a splendid tract

**579** πεντηκοντόγυον, τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ οἰνοπέδοιο,  
of fifty ploughlands, half of it vineyard,

**580** ἥμισυ δὲ ψιλὴν ἄροσιν πεδίοιο ταμέσθαι.  
and half to cut from the plain as bare land for plowing.

**581** πολλὰ δέ μιν λιτάνευε γέρων ἱππηλάτα Οἰνεὺς  
The old horseman Oeneus begged him many times,
> Oeneus the old horseman: Phoenix gives Oeneus the same bare horseman title used for Peleus and for Phoenix himself. The repeated heroic dignity makes the father's humiliating supplication at the door more forceful.

**582** οὐδοῦ ἐπεμβεβαὼς ὑψηρεφέος θαλάμοιο  
standing upon the threshold of the high-roofed chamber

**583** σείων κολλητὰς σανίδας γουνούμενος υἱόν·  
and shaking the fitted doors as he clasped his son's knees in prayer.

**584** πολλὰ δὲ τόν γε κασίγνηται καὶ πότνια μήτηρ  
His sisters and his queenly mother also begged him many times,

**585** ἐλλίσσονθʼ· ὃ δὲ μᾶλλον ἀναίνετο· πολλὰ δʼ ἑταῖροι,  
but he refused them all the more; and many times his comrades,

**586** οἵ οἱ κεδνότατοι καὶ φίλτατοι ἦσαν ἁπάντων·  
the closest and dearest of them all, entreated him.

**587** ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὧς τοῦ θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἔπειθον,  
Yet even so they did not persuade the spirit in his breast,

**588** πρίν γʼ ὅτε δὴ θάλαμος πύκʼ ἐβάλλετο, τοὶ δʼ ἐπὶ πύργων  
until at last his chamber was battered hard, and the Curetes

**589** βαῖνον Κουρῆτες καὶ ἐνέπρηθον μέγα ἄστυ.  
were mounting the towers and setting the great city on fire.

**590** καὶ τότε δὴ Μελέαγρον ἐΰζωνος παράκοιτις  
Then Meleager's well-girdled wife

**591** λίσσετʼ ὀδυρομένη, καί οἱ κατέλεξεν ἅπαντα  
begged him in lamentation and told him all

**592** κήδεʼ, ὅσʼ ἀνθρώποισι πέλει τῶν ἄστυ ἁλώῃ·  
the sorrows that come upon people whose city is taken:

**593** ἄνδρας μὲν κτείνουσι, πόλιν δέ τε πῦρ ἀμαθύνει,  
the men are killed, and fire reduces the city to ashes,

**594** τέκνα δέ τʼ ἄλλοι ἄγουσι βαθυζώνους τε γυναῖκας.  
while others carry away the children and deep-girdled women.

**595** τοῦ δʼ ὠρίνετο θυμὸς ἀκούοντος κακὰ ἔργα,  
His spirit stirred as he heard of these evil deeds,

**596** βῆ δʼ ἰέναι, χροῒ δʼ ἔντεʼ ἐδύσετο παμφανόωντα.  
and he went out, clothing his body in shining armor.

**597** ὣς ὃ μὲν Αἰτωλοῖσιν ἀπήμυνεν κακὸν ἦμαρ  
So he warded the evil day from the Aetolians

**598** εἴξας ᾧ θυμῷ· τῷ δʼ οὐκέτι δῶρα τέλεσσαν  
by yielding to his own spirit; but they no longer fulfilled for him
> Yielding to himself: The aorist participle εἴξας means that Meleager finally yields to his own spirit, not to the earlier supplicants. His change comes only when Cleopatra's account moves him internally.

**599** πολλά τε καὶ χαρίεντα, κακὸν δʼ ἤμυνε καὶ αὔτως.  
the many gracious gifts; he warded off evil without them.

**600** ἀλλὰ σὺ μή μοι ταῦτα νόει φρεσί, μὴ δέ σε δαίμων  
But do not form such a purpose in your mind,

**601** ἐνταῦθα τρέψειε φίλος· κάκιον δέ κεν εἴη  
and may no god who loves you turn you onto that path; for it would be worse

**602** νηυσὶν καιομένῃσιν ἀμυνέμεν· ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ δώρων  
to defend the ships once they are burning. Come for the gifts,

**603** ἔρχεο· ἶσον γάρ σε θεῷ τίσουσιν Ἀχαιοί.  
for the Achaeans will honor you as they honor a god.

**604** εἰ δέ κʼ ἄτερ δώρων πόλεμον φθισήνορα δύῃς  
But if you enter man-destroying war without the gifts,

**605** οὐκέθʼ ὁμῶς τιμῆς ἔσεαι πόλεμόν περ ἀλαλκών.  
you will no longer receive equal honor, though you drive the war away."
> Honor offered too late: Phoenix's warning turns on τιμή, publicly recognized honor. Achilles may still save the army later, but if he rejects the gifts now, the same deed will no longer bring the same standing.

**606** τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς·  
Then swift-footed Achilles answered him and said:

**607** Φοῖνιξ ἄττα γεραιὲ διοτρεφὲς οὔ τί με ταύτης  
"Father Phoenix, aged and Zeus-nurtured, I have no need
> An affectionate father: ἄττα is an intimate form of address to an older man, something like 'father' rather than a formal title. Achilles uses it for Phoenix, who has just recalled raising him as a child.

**608** χρεὼ τιμῆς· φρονέω δὲ τετιμῆσθαι Διὸς αἴσῃ,  
of this honor; I believe I am honored by the decree of Zeus,

**609** ἥ μʼ ἕξει παρὰ νηυσὶ κορωνίσιν εἰς ὅ κʼ ἀϋτμὴ  
which will hold me beside the curved ships so long as breath

**610** ἐν στήθεσσι μένῃ καί μοι φίλα γούνατʼ ὀρώρῃ.  
remains in my breast and strength rises in my dear knees.
> Strength in the knees: The knees are a Homeric seat of bodily strength. The perfect subjunctive ὀρώρῃ pictures that strength as risen and present while the speaker remains alive.

**611** ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσι·  
And I will tell you another thing, and lay it to heart:

**612** μή μοι σύγχει θυμὸν ὀδυρόμενος καὶ ἀχεύων  
do not confound my spirit by mourning and grieving

**613** Ἀτρεΐδῃ ἥρωϊ φέρων χάριν· οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ  
to win favor for the heroic son of Atreus; you must not

**614** τὸν φιλέειν, ἵνα μή μοι ἀπέχθηαι φιλέοντι.  
love him, lest you become hateful to me, who loves you.

**615** καλόν τοι σὺν ἐμοὶ τὸν κήδειν ὅς κʼ ἐμὲ κήδῃ·  
It is right for you to join me in troubling the man who troubles me;

**616** ἶσον ἐμοὶ βασίλευε καὶ ἥμισυ μείρεο τιμῆς.  
rule equally with me, and receive half my honor.

**617** οὗτοι δʼ ἀγγελέουσι, σὺ δʼ αὐτόθι λέξεο μίμνων  
These men will carry the message; but you remain here and lie down

**618** εὐνῇ ἔνι μαλακῇ· ἅμα δʼ ἠοῖ φαινομένηφι  
in a soft bed; and when Dawn appears,

**619** φρασσόμεθʼ ἤ κε νεώμεθʼ ἐφʼ ἡμέτερʼ ἦ κε μένωμεν.  
we shall consider whether to return to our home or remain."

**620** ἦ καὶ Πατρόκλῳ ὅ γʼ ἐπʼ ὀφρύσι νεῦσε σιωπῇ  
He spoke, and silently nodded with his brows to Patroclus
> A silent nod: Achilles communicates with a slight movement of his brows rather than interrupting the formal exchange. Patroclus understands the household command without spoken words.

**621** Φοίνικι στορέσαι πυκινὸν λέχος, ὄφρα τάχιστα  
to spread a close-packed bed for Phoenix, so that at once

**622** ἐκ κλισίης νόστοιο μεδοίατο· τοῖσι δʼ ἄρʼ Αἴας  
the others might think of leaving the hut. Then godlike
> A small departure: νόστος usually carries the weight of a homecoming, but here it means the envoys' departure from Achilles' hut. The ordinary local sense briefly echoes the greater homecomings debated throughout the scene.

**623** ἀντίθεος Τελαμωνιάδης μετὰ μῦθον ἔειπε·  
Ajax, son of Telamon, spoke among them:

**624** διογενὲς Λαερτιάδη πολυμήχανʼ Ὀδυσσεῦ  
"Odysseus, son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, of many devices,

**625** ἴομεν· οὐ γάρ μοι δοκέει μύθοιο τελευτὴ  
let us go; for I do not think the end of our words

**626** τῇδέ γʼ ὁδῷ κρανέεσθαι· ἀπαγγεῖλαι δὲ τάχιστα  
will be accomplished on this journey. We must report at once

**627** χρὴ μῦθον Δαναοῖσι καὶ οὐκ ἀγαθόν περ ἐόντα  
this message to the Danaans, though it is not good,

**628** οἵ που νῦν ἕαται ποτιδέγμενοι. αὐτάρ Ἀχιλλεὺς  
who surely sit waiting for us now. But Achilles

**629** ἄγριον ἐν στήθεσσι θέτο μεγαλήτορα θυμὸν  
has set a savage, proud spirit within his breast,

**630** σχέτλιος, οὐδὲ μετατρέπεται φιλότητος ἑταίρων  
cruel man, and he has no regard for the affection of his comrades,

**631** τῆς ᾗ μιν παρὰ νηυσὶν ἐτίομεν ἔξοχον ἄλλων  
with which we honored him beside the ships above all others.

**632** νηλής· καὶ μέν τίς τε κασιγνήτοιο φονῆος  
Pitiless! A man will even accept the blood-price for a slain brother

**633** ποινὴν ἢ οὗ παιδὸς ἐδέξατο τεθνηῶτος·  
or for his own dead son;

**634** καί ῥʼ ὃ μὲν ἐν δήμῳ μένει αὐτοῦ πόλλʼ ἀποτίσας,  
and the killer remains there in his community after paying much,

**635** τοῦ δέ τʼ ἐρητύεται κραδίη καὶ θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ  
while the other's heart and proud spirit are restrained

**636** ποινὴν δεξαμένῳ· σοὶ δʼ ἄληκτόν τε κακόν τε  
when he accepts the price. But in you the gods have placed a spirit

**637** θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι θεοὶ θέσαν εἵνεκα κούρης  
relentless and evil, all for the sake of one girl.

**638** οἴης· νῦν δέ τοι ἑπτὰ παρίσχομεν ἔξοχʼ ἀρίστας,  
Now we offer you seven women, outstandingly the best,

**639** ἄλλά τε πόλλʼ ἐπὶ τῇσι· σὺ δʼ ἵλαον ἔνθεο θυμόν,  
and much else besides them. Make your spirit gracious,

**640** αἴδεσσαι δὲ μέλαθρον· ὑπωρόφιοι δέ τοί εἰμεν  
and respect your own roof; for we are beneath your roof

**641** πληθύος ἐκ Δαναῶν, μέμαμεν δέ τοι ἔξοχον ἄλλων  
from the host of the Danaans, and we are eager above all others

**642** κήδιστοί τʼ ἔμεναι καὶ φίλτατοι ὅσσοι Ἀχαιοί.  
to be dearest and closest to you of all the Achaeans."

**643** τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς·  
Then swift-footed Achilles answered him and said:

**644** Αἶαν διογενὲς Τελαμώνιε κοίρανε λαῶν  
"Ajax, sprung from Zeus, son of Telamon, marshal of men,

**645** πάντά τί μοι κατὰ θυμὸν ἐείσαο μυθήσασθαι·  
you seem to have spoken everything much to my heart;

**646** ἀλλά μοι οἰδάνεται κραδίη χόλῳ ὁππότε κείνων  
but my heart swells with anger whenever I remember

**647** μνήσομαι ὥς μʼ ἀσύφηλον ἐν Ἀργείοισιν ἔρεξεν  
how the son of Atreus treated me with contempt among the Argives,

**648** Ἀτρεΐδης ὡς εἴ τινʼ ἀτίμητον μετανάστην.  
as though I were some dishonored wanderer from abroad.
> A dishonored outsider: μετανάστης is a man who has moved from his own land and lives among another people, without the standing of a native. Achilles says Agamemnon treated him like such an outsider stripped of honor.

**649** ἀλλʼ ὑμεῖς ἔρχεσθε καὶ ἀγγελίην ἀπόφασθε·  
But you must go and make the message known:

**650** οὐ γὰρ πρὶν πολέμοιο μεδήσομαι αἱματόεντος  
I shall take no thought for bloody war before

**651** πρίν γʼ υἱὸν Πριάμοιο δαΐφρονος Ἕκτορα δῖον  
the son of wise Priam, godlike Hector, reaches

**652** Μυρμιδόνων ἐπί τε κλισίας καὶ νῆας ἱκέσθαι  
the huts and ships of the Myrmidons,

**653** κτείνοντʼ Ἀργείους, κατά τε σμῦξαι πυρὶ νῆας.  
killing Argives and scorching their ships with fire.

**654** ἀμφὶ δέ τοι τῇ ἐμῇ κλισίῃ καὶ νηῒ μελαίνῃ  
But around my own hut and my black ship,

**655** Ἕκτορα καὶ μεμαῶτα μάχης σχήσεσθαι ὀΐω.  
I think that Hector, eager though he is for battle, will be checked."

**656** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δὲ ἕκαστος ἑλὼν δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον  
So he spoke; and each man took a two-handled cup,

**657** σπείσαντες παρὰ νῆας ἴσαν πάλιν· ἦρχε δʼ Ὀδυσσεύς.  
poured a libation, and went back beside the ships; Odysseus led them.

**658** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἑτάροισιν ἰδὲ δμωῇσι κέλευσε  
Patroclus told his comrades and the serving women

**659** Φοίνικι στορέσαι πυκινὸν λέχος ὅττι τάχιστα.  
to spread a close-packed bed for Phoenix as quickly as possible.

**660** αἳ δʼ ἐπιπειθόμεναι στόρεσαν λέχος ὡς ἐκέλευσε  
Obeying him, the women spread the bed as he commanded,

**661** κώεά τε ῥῆγός τε λίνοιό τε λεπτὸν ἄωτον.  
with fleeces, a blanket, and a fine sheet of linen.

**662** ἔνθʼ ὃ γέρων κατέλεκτο καὶ ἠῶ δῖαν ἔμιμνεν.  
There the old man lay down and awaited shining Dawn.

**663** αὐτὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς εὗδε μυχῷ κλισίης εὐπήκτου·  
But Achilles slept in the recess of his well-built hut;

**664** τῷ δʼ ἄρα παρκατέλεκτο γυνή, τὴν Λεσβόθεν ἦγε,  
and beside him lay a woman whom he had brought from Lesbos,

**665** Φόρβαντος θυγάτηρ Διομήδη καλλιπάρῃος.  
fair-cheeked Diomede, daughter of Phorbas.

**666** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἑτέρωθεν ἐλέξατο· πὰρ δʼ ἄρα καὶ τῷ  
Patroclus lay down on the other side; and beside him

**667** Ἶφις ἐΰζωνος, τήν οἱ πόρε δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς  
was well-girdled Iphis, whom godlike Achilles had given him

**668** Σκῦρον ἑλὼν αἰπεῖαν Ἐνυῆος πτολίεθρον.  
when he took steep Scyros, the citadel of Enyeus.

**669** οἳ δʼ ὅτε δὴ κλισίῃσιν ἐν Ἀτρεΐδαο γένοντο.  
And when they reached the shelters of the son of Atreus,

**670** τοὺς μὲν ἄρα χρυσέοισι κυπέλλοις υἷες Ἀχαιῶν  
the sons of the Achaeans welcomed them with golden cups,

**671** δειδέχατʼ ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος ἀνασταδόν, ἔκ τʼ ἐρέοντο·  
rising one after another from every side, and questioned them.

**672** πρῶτος δʼ ἐξερέεινεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων·  
Agamemnon, lord of men, was first to ask:

**673** εἴπʼ ἄγε μʼ ὦ πολύαινʼ Ὀδυσεῦ μέγα κῦδος Ἀχαιῶν  
"Come, tell me, much-praised Odysseus, great glory of the Achaeans,
> Much-praised Odysseus: πολύαινος means 'much-praised' or 'rich in praise.' The title suits Odysseus as the returning spokesman and will recur when Nestor questions him after the night raid in Book 10.

**674** ἤ ῥʼ ἐθέλει νήεσσιν ἀλεξέμεναι δήϊον πῦρ,  
is he willing to ward the enemy fire from the ships,

**675** ἦ ἀπέειπε, χόλος δʼ ἔτʼ ἔχει μεγαλήτορα θυμόν;  
or has he refused, while anger still holds his proud spirit?"

**676** τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε πολύτλας δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς·  
Then much-enduring godlike Odysseus addressed him in turn:

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

**678** κεῖνός γʼ οὐκ ἐθέλει σβέσσαι χόλον, ἀλλʼ ἔτι μᾶλλον  
he will not quench his anger, but is filled still more

**679** πιμπλάνεται μένεος, σὲ δʼ ἀναίνεται ἠδὲ σὰ δῶρα.  
with fury, and rejects both you and your gifts.

**680** αὐτόν σε φράζεσθαι ἐν Ἀργείοισιν ἄνωγεν  
He bids you take counsel yourself among the Argives

**681** ὅππως κεν νῆάς τε σαῷς καὶ λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν·  
on how you may save the ships and the army of the Achaeans;

**682** αὐτὸς δʼ ἠπείλησεν ἅμʼ ἠοῖ φαινομένηφι  
and he himself threatened, when Dawn appears,

**683** νῆας ἐϋσσέλμους ἅλαδʼ ἑλκέμεν ἀμφιελίσσας.  
to drag his well-benched, curved ships down to the sea.

**684** καὶ δʼ ἂν τοῖς ἄλλοισιν ἔφη παραμυθήσασθαι  
And he said he would counsel all the others

**685** οἴκαδʼ ἀποπλείειν, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι δήετε τέκμωρ  
to sail away home, since you will no longer win the goal

**686** Ἰλίου αἰπεινῆς· μάλα γάρ ἑθεν εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς  
of steep Ilion; for wide-thundering Zeus has stretched his hand

**687** χεῖρα ἑὴν ὑπερέσχε, τεθαρσήκασι δὲ λαοί.  
over her, and her people have taken courage.

**688** ὣς ἔφατʼ· εἰσὶ καὶ οἵδε τάδʼ εἰπέμεν, οἵ μοι ἕποντο,  
So he spoke; and these men too can tell you this, who followed me,

**689** Αἴας καὶ κήρυκε δύω πεπνυμένω ἄμφω.  
Ajax and the two heralds, both of them prudent men.
> The two heralds: κήρυκε and πεπνυμένω are dual forms, reinforced by δύω and ἄμφω, both meaning 'two' or 'both.' The grammar singles out the pair of heralds while Ajax is named separately.

**690** Φοῖνιξ δʼ αὖθʼ ὃ γέρων κατελέξατο, ὡς γὰρ ἀνώγει,  
But the old man Phoenix lay down there, as Achilles ordered,

**691** ὄφρά οἱ ἐν νήεσσι φίλην ἐς πατρίδʼ ἕπηται  
so that tomorrow he might follow him in the ships to his dear fatherland,

**692** αὔριον, ἢν ἐθέλῃσιν· ἀνάγκῃ δʼ οὔ τί μιν ἄξει.  
if he wished; he will not lead him by force."

**693** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δʼ ἄρα πάντες ἀκὴν ἐγένοντο σιωπῇ  
So he spoke, and they all fell hushed in silence;

**694** μῦθον ἀγασσάμενοι· μάλα γὰρ κρατερῶς ἀγόρευσε.  
marveling at his words, for he had spoken with great force.

**695** δὴν δʼ ἄνεῳ ἦσαν τετιηότες υἷες Ἀχαιῶν·  
for a long while the distressed sons of the Achaeans sat speechless.

**696** ὀψὲ δὲ δὴ μετέειπε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·  
but at last Diomedes, good at the war-cry, spoke among them:

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

**698** μὴ ὄφελες λίσσεσθαι ἀμύμονα Πηλεΐωνα  
you should not have supplicated the blameless son of Peleus

**699** μυρία δῶρα διδούς· ὃ δʼ ἀγήνωρ ἐστὶ καὶ ἄλλως·  
with countless gifts; he was proud already,

**700** νῦν αὖ μιν πολὺ μᾶλλον ἀγηνορίῃσιν ἐνῆκας.  
and now you have driven him far deeper into pride.

**701** ἀλλʼ ἤτοι κεῖνον μὲν ἐάσομεν ἤ κεν ἴῃσιν  
But let us leave him, whether he goes

**702** ἦ κε μένῃ· τότε δʼ αὖτε μαχήσεται ὁππότε κέν μιν  
or remains; he will fight again whenever

**703** θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἀνώγῃ καὶ θεὸς ὄρσῃ.  
the spirit in his breast commands him and a god stirs him.
> Whenever the moment comes: The preceding ὁππότε with κεν governs the two subjunctives on this line and makes the timing indefinite: Achilles will fight whenever his own spirit commands and a god rouses him. Diomedes leaves both human impulse and divine action in the condition.

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

**705** νῦν μὲν κοιμήσασθε τεταρπόμενοι φίλον ἦτορ  
for now, go to sleep with your hearts satisfied

**706** σίτου καὶ οἴνοιο· τὸ γὰρ μένος ἐστὶ καὶ ἀλκή·  
with food and wine, for therein lie strength and valor.
> Strength and valor: μένος is driving strength or force, while ἀλκή is the power and courage to stand in battle. Diomedes grounds both in the army's immediate need for food and wine before the next day's fighting.

**707** αὐτὰρ ἐπεί κε φανῇ καλὴ ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,  
But when beautiful rosy-fingered Dawn appears,
> Rosy-fingered Dawn: The familiar epithet ῥοδοδάκτυλος imagines the first light as rose-colored fingers. This line uses καλὴ, 'beautiful,' rather than the separate early-born dawn formula.

**708** καρπαλίμως πρὸ νεῶν ἐχέμεν λαόν τε καὶ ἵππους  
swiftly array the army and horses before the ships,

**709** ὀτρύνων, καὶ δʼ αὐτὸς ἐνὶ πρώτοισι μάχεσθαι.  
urging them on, and fight yourself among the foremost."

**710** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δʼ ἄρα πάντες ἐπῄνησαν βασιλῆες  
So he spoke, and all the kings gave their approval.

**711** μῦθον ἀγασσάμενοι Διομήδεος ἱπποδάμοιο.  
marveling at the word of Diomedes, tamer of horses.

**712** καὶ τότε δὴ σπείσαντες ἔβαν κλισίην δὲ ἕκαστος,  
Then, after pouring libations, each man went to his hut,

**713** ἔνθα δὲ κοιμήσαντο καὶ ὕπνου δῶρον ἕλοντο.  
and there they lay down and took the gift of sleep.
> The gift of sleep: Homer calls sleep a δῶρον, a gift that the exhausted leaders receive after the failed embassy. The quiet formula closes the book on bodily rest rather than reconciliation.

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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.