Lines 28-32
μή νὺ τοῖ οὐ χραίσμῃ σκῆπτρον καὶ στέμμα θεοῖο
τήν δ'ἐγώ οὐ λύσω. πρίν μιν καὶ γῆρας ἔπεισιν
ἡμετέρῳ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ ἐν Ἀργεϊ, τηλόθι πάτρης
ἱοτὸν ἐποιχομενην καὶ ἐμὸν λέχος ἀντιόωσαν
ἀλλ'ἴθι, μή μ'επεθίζε, σαώτερος ὤς κε νέηαι.
No help will the scepter and wreath of the god be to you
Her I shall not free. Sooner old age will overtake her
in our house in Argos, far from her native land
plying the loom and sharing my bed,
but be gone and vex me not, so the safer you may return
One small note: the trill of that double "L" sound at the beginning of the last line adds so much to the sinister tone of Agamemnon's final words to the priest. Reading this in the original it is amazing how the poet uses the sounds of the language to affect the mood of his tale. It is truly remarkable and more proof that the Iliad was composed to be heard and not read.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Day 11: Climbing the Mountain
Ok, I have to admit the work is getting harder, and the grammar is getting more difficult to master. Difficult, but not impossible... I will hold myself to a certain standard of ability in the language of the particular set of lines before I post and translate them, so I will be posting less frequently, perhaps two or three times a week maybe. I will attempt to put together a regular schedule for this blog in order to keep a following, but this task requires lots of work, and I won't sacrifice quality for speed, but the posts will keep on coming so bear with me please. Thank you so much to those of you around the world who have visited the site and I hope that you will continue to do so. This is an amazing experience, and thank you again for sharing it with me...
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Day 10: Agamemnon and the Priest
Lines 22-27
ἔνθ' ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες ἐπευφήμησαν' Αχαιοὶ
αἰδεῖσθαι θ' ἱερῆα καὶ ἀλγαὰ δέχθαι ἄποινα
ἀλλ' οὐκ Ἀτρείδῃ Ἀγαμέμνονι ἥνδανε θυμῷ
ἀλλὰ κακῶς ἀφίει, κρατερὸν δ'ἐπὶ μῦθον ἔτελλεν
"μή σε, γέρον, κοίλῃσιν ἐγὼ παρὰ νηυσὶ κιχήω
ἣ νῦν δηθύνοντ' ἢ ὕστερον αὖτις ἰόντα
Then all the other Achaeans shouted their assent
Revering the priest, and accepting his shining ransoms,
But not Agamemnon, this did not please the mind of the son of Atreus
And he sent him away with cruel malice, imparting a harsh command:
"No old man, let me not come upon you by the hollow ships,
lingering now, or coming back another time
ἔνθ' ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες ἐπευφήμησαν' Αχαιοὶ
αἰδεῖσθαι θ' ἱερῆα καὶ ἀλγαὰ δέχθαι ἄποινα
ἀλλ' οὐκ Ἀτρείδῃ Ἀγαμέμνονι ἥνδανε θυμῷ
ἀλλὰ κακῶς ἀφίει, κρατερὸν δ'ἐπὶ μῦθον ἔτελλεν
"μή σε, γέρον, κοίλῃσιν ἐγὼ παρὰ νηυσὶ κιχήω
ἣ νῦν δηθύνοντ' ἢ ὕστερον αὖτις ἰόντα
Then all the other Achaeans shouted their assent
Revering the priest, and accepting his shining ransoms,
But not Agamemnon, this did not please the mind of the son of Atreus
And he sent him away with cruel malice, imparting a harsh command:
"No old man, let me not come upon you by the hollow ships,
lingering now, or coming back another time
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Day 9: On the Majesty of the Greek Language
I've reached Lesson XVIII of Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners and there is no section of the poem here. Instead Pharr is beefing up vocab and grammar skills for the coming spurning of Apollo's priest by Agamemnon.
Going through the Greek verb is something that I feel will either drive me completely into the arms of Achilles' mania or lead mind to someplace ethereal. The language is so nuanced and one can be hyperspecific or studiously vague depending on the situation. There are somewhere over 200 principle parts to the Greek verb. So many shades of meaning!! A Greek with excellent rhetorical skills must have ranked as a speaker like Van Gogh did as a painter. I am reminded of Gibbons observation about the Christological controversies of late antiquity: in the Greek speaking provinces of the empire the controversies were carried down to the lowest strata of society whereas in the Latin provinces the issues barely penetrated the popular mind because Latin lacked the words to describe them...
Going through the Greek verb is something that I feel will either drive me completely into the arms of Achilles' mania or lead mind to someplace ethereal. The language is so nuanced and one can be hyperspecific or studiously vague depending on the situation. There are somewhere over 200 principle parts to the Greek verb. So many shades of meaning!! A Greek with excellent rhetorical skills must have ranked as a speaker like Van Gogh did as a painter. I am reminded of Gibbons observation about the Christological controversies of late antiquity: in the Greek speaking provinces of the empire the controversies were carried down to the lowest strata of society whereas in the Latin provinces the issues barely penetrated the popular mind because Latin lacked the words to describe them...
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Day 8: A Breather
Real life sometimes intrudes upon ancient dreams of epic heroes and deathless gods, so I will not be posting again until Tuesday...
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Day 7: A Note on Memory
Today I'm attempting to memorize the first twenty lines of the Iliad. And I've managed to nail about five lol. Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day...
On a serious note I can say that the effort required to recite these poems from memory (even if there was a great deal of improvisation) must have been astounding. Memory is simply not a skill that we cultivate today, but, I think that three thousand years ago it was a different story. I am reminded of Socrates saying that he did not think that the art of writing was much of an advance because it caused human memory to atrophy. At such a long distance from the invention of writing, it is difficult for us to conceive of a world without it, especially now that most of what were once preliterate cultures out on the fringes of the settled world have now been thrust pell mell into the internet age. But there was a time when memory was the only way of retaining information, though even today it is a mark of honor throughout the Muslim world if one has memorized the length and breadth of the Quran, but this is still based on a written text. The fact that a poem with the complexity of the Iliad came out of a circle of orally composed and remembered legends and it is a tribute to what human beings are capable of if we only try.
On a serious note I can say that the effort required to recite these poems from memory (even if there was a great deal of improvisation) must have been astounding. Memory is simply not a skill that we cultivate today, but, I think that three thousand years ago it was a different story. I am reminded of Socrates saying that he did not think that the art of writing was much of an advance because it caused human memory to atrophy. At such a long distance from the invention of writing, it is difficult for us to conceive of a world without it, especially now that most of what were once preliterate cultures out on the fringes of the settled world have now been thrust pell mell into the internet age. But there was a time when memory was the only way of retaining information, though even today it is a mark of honor throughout the Muslim world if one has memorized the length and breadth of the Quran, but this is still based on a written text. The fact that a poem with the complexity of the Iliad came out of a circle of orally composed and remembered legends and it is a tribute to what human beings are capable of if we only try.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Day 6: Chryses Begs for His Daughter's Freedom
Lines 17-21
"Ἀτρείδαι τε καὶ ἄλλοι ἐυκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοί,
ὑμῖν μὲν θεοὶ δοῖεν Ὀλύμπιοα δώματ' ἔχουτες
ἐκπέρσαι Πριάμοιο πόλιν, ἐὺ δ'οἴκαδ' ἱκέσθαι
παῖδα δ'ἐμοὶ λῦσαί τε φίλην, τά τ'ἄποινα δέχεσθαι
ἁζόμενοι Διὸς υἱὸν ἑκηβόλον Ἀπόλλωνα.
"Son of Atreus, and all you well greaved Achaeans,
may the gods who have Olympian homes grant to you
the sack of Priam's city and a happy return home,
and to me the release of my beloved child, so accept these ransoms
in reverence to Apollo, the Sharpshooter and son of Zeus.
What can be said? That famous priest of Apollo is begging the release of his dear child, and Agamemnon will soon give his harsh reply and this will be the beginning of the Achaeans' woes...
"Ἀτρείδαι τε καὶ ἄλλοι ἐυκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοί,
ὑμῖν μὲν θεοὶ δοῖεν Ὀλύμπιοα δώματ' ἔχουτες
ἐκπέρσαι Πριάμοιο πόλιν, ἐὺ δ'οἴκαδ' ἱκέσθαι
παῖδα δ'ἐμοὶ λῦσαί τε φίλην, τά τ'ἄποινα δέχεσθαι
ἁζόμενοι Διὸς υἱὸν ἑκηβόλον Ἀπόλλωνα.
"Son of Atreus, and all you well greaved Achaeans,
may the gods who have Olympian homes grant to you
the sack of Priam's city and a happy return home,
and to me the release of my beloved child, so accept these ransoms
in reverence to Apollo, the Sharpshooter and son of Zeus.
What can be said? That famous priest of Apollo is begging the release of his dear child, and Agamemnon will soon give his harsh reply and this will be the beginning of the Achaeans' woes...
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Day 5: Chryses Comes to the Fast Ships
Lines 11-16
οὔνεκα τόν Χρύσην ἠτίμασεν ἀρητῆρα
Ἀτρείδης. ὁ γὰρ ἦλθε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν
λυσόμενος τε θὺγατέρα φέρων τ'ἀπερείσι ἄποινα
στέμματ'ἔχων ἐν χερσὶν ἑκηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος
χρυσεῳ ἀνὰ σκήπτρῳ, καὶ ἐλίσσετο πάντας Ἀχαιους
Ἀτρείδα δὲ μάλιστα δύω, κοσμήτορε λαῶν
Because the son of Atreus dishonored that famous priest
Chryses. For he came to the fast ships of the Achaeans
desiring to free his daughter and bearing innumerable ransoms,
wreaths in hand of the Freeshooter, Apollo,
along with a golden scepter, and he kept begging all the Achaeans,
especially the two sons of Atreus, marshallers of the armies
My one short comment tonight before I retreat to the country of dreams after a long and taxing evening: Homer's language is stark and brutal. I love Fagles English translation, but even he does not match the effect of reading those first lines in the original and I can already see that the small amount of effort that I've put into this has definitely been worth it. I cannot wait to see what I discover tomorrow...
οὔνεκα τόν Χρύσην ἠτίμασεν ἀρητῆρα
Ἀτρείδης. ὁ γὰρ ἦλθε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν
λυσόμενος τε θὺγατέρα φέρων τ'ἀπερείσι ἄποινα
στέμματ'ἔχων ἐν χερσὶν ἑκηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος
χρυσεῳ ἀνὰ σκήπτρῳ, καὶ ἐλίσσετο πάντας Ἀχαιους
Ἀτρείδα δὲ μάλιστα δύω, κοσμήτορε λαῶν
Because the son of Atreus dishonored that famous priest
Chryses. For he came to the fast ships of the Achaeans
desiring to free his daughter and bearing innumerable ransoms,
wreaths in hand of the Freeshooter, Apollo,
along with a golden scepter, and he kept begging all the Achaeans,
especially the two sons of Atreus, marshallers of the armies
My one short comment tonight before I retreat to the country of dreams after a long and taxing evening: Homer's language is stark and brutal. I love Fagles English translation, but even he does not match the effect of reading those first lines in the original and I can already see that the small amount of effort that I've put into this has definitely been worth it. I cannot wait to see what I discover tomorrow...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Day 4: Achilles, Agamemnon, and the son of Leto and Zeus
Lines 6-10
ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε
Ἀτρείδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς
τίς τ'ἄρ σφωε θεῶν ἔριδι ξυνέηκε μάχεσθαι;
Λητοῦς καὶ Διὸς υἱός. ὁ γὰρ βασιλῆι χολωθεὶς
νοῦσον ἀνὰ στρατὸν ὦρσε κακήν, ὀλέκοντο δὲ λαοί,
From the time when the two first stood apart and quarelled
The son of Atreus and lord of men, and divine Achilles.
Which then of the gods brought these two to battle and strife?
Zeus' and Leto's son. For being enraged by the king
he incited an evil plague in the camp, the armies perishing
ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε
Ἀτρείδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς
τίς τ'ἄρ σφωε θεῶν ἔριδι ξυνέηκε μάχεσθαι;
Λητοῦς καὶ Διὸς υἱός. ὁ γὰρ βασιλῆι χολωθεὶς
νοῦσον ἀνὰ στρατὸν ὦρσε κακήν, ὀλέκοντο δὲ λαοί,
From the time when the two first stood apart and quarelled
The son of Atreus and lord of men, and divine Achilles.
Which then of the gods brought these two to battle and strife?
Zeus' and Leto's son. For being enraged by the king
he incited an evil plague in the camp, the armies perishing
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 3: A few words on dactyls and spondees
The dactylic hexameter is the skeleton of the Homeric epic. It is the meter which gives the poem its voice and personality. It is a simple structure but I have to admit that I'm having some trouble with my initial attempts at having it roll off my tongue in a language that I am only beginning to come to grips with. But, difficulties aside, this is fun!
The feature which defines the hexameter verse is the length of the syllable. Greek vowels are either long or short, and long vowels obviously make long syllables while short vowels will make a short syllable unless they are followed by a double consonant or two separate consonants, in which case it becomes a long syllable.
The grouping of the long and short syllables are what makes the structure of the line. The Homeric line of verse is composed of six 'feet'. A foot is the length of two long syllables. The first syllable is always long and can be followed either by another long syllable or two short syllables. If the foot is a long followed by two shorts it is called a dactyl while if it is composed of two longs it is called a spondee. The feet can begin and end in the middle of words while the last foot in a line is always a spondee.
This mixing and matching of long and short syllables may seem confusing at first, but, from the little I've experienced, I have the sense that when the pattern is repeated, line after line, a cumulative effect starts to take hold of the listener. One writer has even remarked that in Homer's epics both gods and humans speak in dactylic hexameter and has likened this to the poet's firm conviction that it was Fate that ultimately held sway over the divine and human realms and that even the gods were powerless against it. More of the poem on the next post...
s26Telemachus
The feature which defines the hexameter verse is the length of the syllable. Greek vowels are either long or short, and long vowels obviously make long syllables while short vowels will make a short syllable unless they are followed by a double consonant or two separate consonants, in which case it becomes a long syllable.
The grouping of the long and short syllables are what makes the structure of the line. The Homeric line of verse is composed of six 'feet'. A foot is the length of two long syllables. The first syllable is always long and can be followed either by another long syllable or two short syllables. If the foot is a long followed by two shorts it is called a dactyl while if it is composed of two longs it is called a spondee. The feet can begin and end in the middle of words while the last foot in a line is always a spondee.
This mixing and matching of long and short syllables may seem confusing at first, but, from the little I've experienced, I have the sense that when the pattern is repeated, line after line, a cumulative effect starts to take hold of the listener. One writer has even remarked that in Homer's epics both gods and humans speak in dactylic hexameter and has likened this to the poet's firm conviction that it was Fate that ultimately held sway over the divine and human realms and that even the gods were powerless against it. More of the poem on the next post...
s26Telemachus
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Day 2: The Rage of Achilles
Lines 1-5
Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεᾱ, Πηληιάδεω Ἀχιλῆος
οὐλομένην, ἢ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκεν
πολλὰς δ' ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Ἄιδι προῑαψεν
ἠρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν
οἰωνοῖσί τε δαῖτα, Διὸς ἐτελείετο βουλή
Rage, goddess, sing the accursed rage of Peleus' son,
of Achilles, which caused countless woes for the Achaeans
and hurled many brave souls of heroes forth to Hades,
who themselves were made spoils for the dogs and
a feast for carrion birds, and the will of Zeus was being fulfilled
This epic poem begins with Rage, and this needs no comment from me as it's eloquence has been celebrated throughout the millenia. The only thing I would mention is a grammatical point which actually suprised me: the Greek word for rage μῆνις is here in the accusative case, which makes it the direct object of the verb sing ἄειδε. So, the poet is not beseeching his goddess muse to sing about Achilles' mad rage, but in fact to sing the rage itself, along with its dreadful consequences for the Achaean host. This must have given the poet's hearers a sense that the wrath of Achilles would permeate every line of the poem. I am certain they were not disappointed...
Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεᾱ, Πηληιάδεω Ἀχιλῆος
οὐλομένην, ἢ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκεν
πολλὰς δ' ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Ἄιδι προῑαψεν
ἠρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν
οἰωνοῖσί τε δαῖτα, Διὸς ἐτελείετο βουλή
Rage, goddess, sing the accursed rage of Peleus' son,
of Achilles, which caused countless woes for the Achaeans
and hurled many brave souls of heroes forth to Hades,
who themselves were made spoils for the dogs and
a feast for carrion birds, and the will of Zeus was being fulfilled
This epic poem begins with Rage, and this needs no comment from me as it's eloquence has been celebrated throughout the millenia. The only thing I would mention is a grammatical point which actually suprised me: the Greek word for rage μῆνις is here in the accusative case, which makes it the direct object of the verb sing ἄειδε. So, the poet is not beseeching his goddess muse to sing about Achilles' mad rage, but in fact to sing the rage itself, along with its dreadful consequences for the Achaean host. This must have given the poet's hearers a sense that the wrath of Achilles would permeate every line of the poem. I am certain they were not disappointed...
Friday, September 11, 2009
Day 1: The Beginning
Rage is what the great storytelling of the last three thousand years begins with. The rage of Achilles at Agamemnon's insult and its dreadful consequences for the Achaean armies under the walls of Troy. Through this blog, I will attempt to understand how that master storyteller Homer created an epic that still has the power to captivate the human imagination almost three millenia on.
The first English translations of the Homeric epics were not made until the eighteenth century, so it was not the English words that made these works immortal, but the original Greek words of the master poet who sung them when civilization in his land was yet young, though it had already grown old in others. So, what I intend to do is to teach myself Homeric Greek via Clyde Pharr's master work Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners.
This blog is being set up first as a way to motivate myself to continue with what will undoubtedly be an arduous task and second I am hoping to maybe, just maybe, if I can attract an attention at all, create a stir in someone's heart out there that just might lead to a bit of curiosity which might possibly lead them to appreciate this unrivalled poet who deserves to be ranked with Moses, Jesus, and Muhammed as one of the iconic founders of the Western world.
Things will be organized as follows: Starting at Lesson XIII (which I have reached) of Pharr's book each lesson covers a short section of the first book of the Iliad, starting with line 1 and going to the end. After completing the lesson I will post the lines in the original Greek, then render my own translation and offer some, or no commentary, depending on the situation. Tomorrow, we shall start tomorrow and see what happens...
The first English translations of the Homeric epics were not made until the eighteenth century, so it was not the English words that made these works immortal, but the original Greek words of the master poet who sung them when civilization in his land was yet young, though it had already grown old in others. So, what I intend to do is to teach myself Homeric Greek via Clyde Pharr's master work Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners.
This blog is being set up first as a way to motivate myself to continue with what will undoubtedly be an arduous task and second I am hoping to maybe, just maybe, if I can attract an attention at all, create a stir in someone's heart out there that just might lead to a bit of curiosity which might possibly lead them to appreciate this unrivalled poet who deserves to be ranked with Moses, Jesus, and Muhammed as one of the iconic founders of the Western world.
Things will be organized as follows: Starting at Lesson XIII (which I have reached) of Pharr's book each lesson covers a short section of the first book of the Iliad, starting with line 1 and going to the end. After completing the lesson I will post the lines in the original Greek, then render my own translation and offer some, or no commentary, depending on the situation. Tomorrow, we shall start tomorrow and see what happens...
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