Lessons LXIV to LXVIII

ὁ and τοὶ: he and they

Homer has no regular word for the. He uses ὁ and its forms where English uses he or they.

ὁ δὲ δέξατο χαίρων means and he received her, rejoicing. ὁ refers to Chryses without naming him again. Pharr labels ὁ here nominative singular.

The plural is used the same way. τοὶ δ’ ὦκα θεῷ ἱερὴν ἑκατόμβην ἐξείης ἔστησαν: and they swiftly set the holy hecatomb for the god in order. τοὶ means they.

The Iliad: Chryseis returns to her father

The ship has reached Chryse. The crew throw out the mooring stones and make fast the stern-cables. They step out on the beach and lead out the hecatomb. Chryseis steps from the ship.

Odysseus leads her to the altar and places her in her father's hands. He speaks to Chryses. Agamemnon sent me to bring you your daughter, he says, and to offer a holy hecatomb to Phoebus for the Danaans.

The Iliad: the hecatomb is set in order

The lord, he says, has sent grievous sorrows upon the Argives, and the offering is to appease him. Chryses receives his daughter, rejoicing. Then they set the hecatomb in order around the altar, wash their hands, and take up the barley grains.

Four lines begin with ἐκ, out of: ἐκ δ’ εὐνὰς ἔβαλον, ἐκ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ βαῖνον, ἐκ δ’ ἑκατόμβην βῆσαν, ἐκ δὲ Χρυσηὶς νηὸς βῆ. The stones, the men, the hecatomb and Chryseis each go out.

ἐμέ, μοι and ὃς

Chryses prays, so the lines have many forms of I and me. The pronoun has a form for each case.

ἐμέ is accusative: me. τίμησας μὲν ἐμέ means you honored me.

μοι means to me or for me. ἠδ’ ἔτι καὶ νῦν μοι τόδ’ ἐπικρήηνον ἐέλδωρ means and now too grant me this desire once more.

ὃς is the relative pronoun, nominative. In ὃς Χρύσην ἀμφιβέβηκας, who stand guard over Chryse, ὃς refers to the god Chryses addresses.

The Iliad: the prayer of Chryses

Chryses lifts up his hands and prays aloud to the god of the silver bow. This god stands guard over Chryse and holy Cilla, and rules Tenedos with might.

He asks the god to remember. You heard me before, he says, and you honored me. You struck the host of the Achaeans hard. Now grant me this desire once more: ward off shameful ruin from the Danaans. Phoebus Apollo heard him.

The Iliad: the sacrifice

Then comes the rite. They pray and throw the barley grains forward. They draw back the victims' heads, cut their throats, and flay them. They cut out the thigh-pieces, cover them with fat in a double fold, and lay raw flesh upon them.

ἠμὲν and ἠδ’ form a pair. The word list says ἠμέν goes with ἠδέ. The prayer has two halves. First: ἠμὲν δή ποτ’ ἐμεῦ πάρος ἔκλυες εὐξαμένοιο, truly before now you heard me when I prayed. Then: ἠδ’ ἔτι καὶ νῦν, and now too.

Review: ὁ and αὐτὸν

This passage has no new forms. Beside a noun, ὁ can mean the. Pharr labels ὁ γέρων nominative singular: the old man.

Pharr labels αὐτὸν accusative singular. νέοι δὲ παρ’ αὐτὸν ἔχον πεμπώβολα χερσίν: and the young men beside him held five-pronged forks in their hands. παρ’ αὐτὸν means beside him.

The Iliad: the sacrifice and the feast

The old man burns the pieces on split wood and pours gleaming wine over them. The young men stand beside him with five-pronged forks.

When the thigh-pieces are burned and the inner parts tasted, they cut up the rest. They pierce it on spits, roast it with care, and draw it all off. When the work is done and the feast is ready, they feast. When they have had enough food and drink, the young men crown the mixing bowls with drink.

Three lines begin with αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ, but when. Each begins a new stage of the meal: the thigh-pieces burned, the work ended, the desire for food and drink put away.

Agreement of adjective and noun

An adjective has the same case and number as its noun. So the two usually have the same ending.

καλὸν ἀείδοντες παιήονα means singing a beautiful paean. Pharr labels καλὸν nominative, accusative or vocative singular. The ending alone does not decide the case. The paean is what they sing, so the case is accusative.

τοῖσιν δ’ ἴκμενον οὖρον ἵει ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων: and the far-worker Apollo sent them a favoring wind. ἴκμενον means favoring, and οὖρον means wind. The two have the same ending.

The Iliad: the paean and the voyage back

The cups are served to all, after the first drops are poured. All day long the young men of the Achaeans appease the god with song. They sing a beautiful paean to the far-worker. He listens, and his heart is glad.

When the sun goes down and darkness comes, they lie down to sleep beside the stern-cables of the ship. When early-born Dawn appears, rosy-fingered, they put out to sea for the wide camp of the Achaeans. Apollo sends them a favoring wind.

Two lines begin with ἦμος δ’, when: when the sun went down, and when Dawn appeared. The same word begins the evening and the morning.

Three forms of the word for ship

This passage has the word for ship in three forms.

νῆα μὲν οἵ γε μέλαιναν ἐπ’ ἠπείροιο ἔρυσσαν: they drew the black ship up onto the mainland. νῆα is accusative.

νηὸς ἰούσης: as the ship went on her way. Pharr labels νηὸς genitive singular.

νηυσὶ is plural, in νηυσὶ παρήμενος ὠκυπόροισιν: sitting beside the swift-faring ships.

The Iliad: the return to camp

They raise the mast and spread the white sail. The wind fills the belly of the sail. The dark wave roars loudly around the stem as the ship goes on her way. She runs over the wave and completes her path.

When they reach the wide camp, they draw the black ship up onto the mainland, high on the sand. They set long props beneath her. Then they scatter among the huts and the ships.

One man stays apart: αὐτὰρ ὁ μήνιε, but he nursed his wrath. His name follows: the Zeus-sprung son of Peleus, swift-footed Achilles.

He sits beside the ships: νηυσὶ παρήμενος ὠκυπόροισιν. The crew have scattered, and he stays by the ships.