Day 26: The Quarrel Erupts

Lines 118-125
αὐτὰρ ἐμοὶ γέρας αὐτιχ ἐτοιμάσατ', ὄφρα μὴ οἶος
Ἀργείων ἀγέραστος ἔω, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ ἔοικεν·
λεύσσετε γὰρ τό γε πάντες, ὁ μοι γέρας ἔρχεται ἄλλῃ."
τόν δ' ἠμειβετ' ἔπειτα ποδάρκης δῖος Ἀχιλλεῦς·
"Ἀτρεΐδη, κύδιστε, φιλοκτεανώτατε πάντων,
πῶς γάρ τοι δώσουσι γέρας μεγάθυμοι Ἀχαιοί;
οὐδέ τί που ἴδεν ξυνήια κείμενα πολλά,
ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πολίων ἐξεπράθομεν, τὰ δέδασται,

But make ready a prize for me forthwith,
In order that I alone of the Argives
Should be without a prize, for this is not fitting:
That all of you see my prize go elsewhere."
Thereupon divine Achilles, swift of foot, answered him:
"Most glorious son of Atreus, most avaricious of all,
How in fact will the great souled Achaeans grant you a prize?
And not knowing of some common store,
For that which is from the cities we have sacked is divided,

A scene which resonates, and has resonated, down through the millenia. It is here where the disastrous quarrel erupts between Achilles and Agamemnon that has such consequences for all involved in the poem. But I have already said too much and should let the poem speak for itself...

Day 25: The Lord of Men makes a choice

Lines 109-117
καὶ νῦν ἐν Δαναοῖσι θεοπροπέων ἀγορεύεις,
ὡς δὴ τοῦδ' ἑνεκά σφιν ἑκηβόλος ἄλγεα τεύχει,
οὕνεκ' ἐγὼ κούρης Χρυσηίδος ἀγλά' ἄποινα
οὐκ ἔθελον δέξασθαι, - ἐπεὶ πολὺ βούλομαι αὐτὴν
οἴκοι ἔχειν. καὶ γάρ ῥα Κλυταιμνήστρης προβέβουλα,
κουριδίης ἀλόχου, ἐπεὶ οὔ ἑθέν ἐστι χερείων,
οὐ δέμας οὐδὲ φυὴν οὔτ' ἂρ φρένας οὔτε τι ἔργα.
ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧς ἐθέλω δόμεναι πάλιν, εἰ τό γ' ἄμεινον·
βούλομ' ἐγὼ λαὸν σόον ἔμμεναι ἢ ἀπολέσθαι.

And now you harangue the Danaans in this assembly,
Prophesying how it is on account of this that
The god who strikes from afar makes these woes for us
Because I was not willing to accept the shining ransoms for Chryseis,
Since I greatly desired to have her at home.
For I greatly prefer her to Clytamnestra, my wedded wife,
Since she is inferior neither in form nor beauty, nor spirit, nor in her works.
But even so, I am willing to give her back, if that is better;
I desire that the men be safe, rather than destroyed.


I had trouble with several lines of this section. Not so much with the language but with the meter. There are supposed to be six syllabic feet in each line consisting of either two long syllables or a long syllable followed by two shorts. A couple of the lines seemed to have more than six feet and this puzzles me. I can't see that I am counting wrong but I suppose that it is possible since I am hardly a master. Anyone who has any advice please fill me in.

Otherwise, this is a great scene. You can hear Agamemnon in his head screaming: I want her! I want her and there is no way that I'm going to give her back! But then he senses a political opportunity and a way to win favor with his men. He will give up something of immense value to himself in order to provide a benefit for his army. But he will demand a price...

Day 24: Agamemnon's Black Heart Enraged

Lines 101-108

ἦ τοι ὅ γ' ὧς ἐπὼν κατ' ἄρ ἕζετο, τοῖσι δ' ἀνέστη
ἥρως Ἀτρεΐδης εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων
ἀχνύμενος· μένεος δὲ μέγα φρένες ἀμφιμέλαιναι
πίμπλαντ', ὄσσε δέ οἱ πυρὶ λαμπετόωντι ἐίκτην.
Κάλχαντα πρώτιστα κάκ' ὀσσόμενος προσέειπεν·
"μάντι κακῶν, οὔ πώ ποτέ μοι τὸ κρήγυον εἶπας·
αἰεί τοι τὰ κάκ' ἐστὶ φίλα φρεσὶ μαντεύεσθαι,
ἐσθλὸν δ' οὔτε τί πω εἶπας ἔπος οὔτε τέλεσσας.

Thus saying this to him he then was seated and the hero,
The son of Atreus, wide ruling Agamemnon stood before them
Raging: his black heart filling with anger, and his eyes
Blazing like fire. Glaring at Calchas with the evilest of looks
He addressed him: "Prophet of evil, you never say a kind word to me:
Always prophesying evil is dear to your heart, you neither say
Nor accomplish anything, at any time, good or noble.


A great scene. Agamemnon's eyes flashing with brutal anger showing what a terrifying move it is to enrage a king. Listening to Homer's lines one can feel the son of Atreus' desire to plunge a knife straight into Calchas' gut for the insult he has just received. But he knows he can't. Instead he lashes out verbally and reveals himself almost to be a whining child, though with an army at his back. He denies any responsibility for his own actions in offending the god, but instead blames the seer for having some sort of vendetta against him.

Day 23: The Oracle of the God

Lines 93-100

"οὔτ ἄρ ὅ γ' εὐχωλῆς ἐπιμέμφεται οὔθ' ἑκατόμβης
ἀλλ' ἕνεκ' ἀρητῆρος, ὃν ἠτίμης' Ἀγαμέμνων,
οὐδ' ἀπέλυσε θύγατρα καὶ οὐκ ἀπεδέξατ' ἄποινα
τούνεκ' ἄρ' ἄλγε' ἔδωκεν ἑκηβόλος ἠδ' ἔτι δώσει.
οὐδ' ὁ γε πρὶν Δαναοῖσιν ἀεικέα λοιγὸν ἀπώσει
πρίν γ' ἀπὸ πατρὶ φίλῳ δόμεναι ἑλικώπιδα κούρην
ἀπριάτην ἀνάποινον, ἄγειν θ' ἱερὴν ἑκατόμβην
ἐς Χρύσην· τότε κέν μιν ἱλασσάμενοι πεπίθοιμεν."

"He finds fault neither for a vow, nor a hecatomb
But on account of the priest, whom Agamemnon dishonored,
He neither freed his daughter not accepted the ransoms
And it is for this then that the god who strikes from afar
Grants these woes, and will grant still more. He will not drive off this unseemly plague
For the Danaans before the bright eyed maiden is restored
Unransomed and unbought to her dear father and a hecatomb is led
Into sacred Chrysa: only then we may win over and appease him."


Line 100! It may seem like a small accomplishment, but making it throught the first 100 lines of this great epic in the original language feels like a triumph, and though being able to truly understand this poem the way it was first written is truly the work of a lifetime, I can say that I feel like I am off to a decent start.

One thing I wanted to comment on in this passage is Homer's use of the infinitive when he employs the verb δόμεναι meaning to give, or in this case to restore. It is an example of the seer's artful way of speaking, even though his safety has been assured by Achilles, in not wanting to go too far with Agamemnon and seem to be issuing him some sort of command. The infinitive makes the subject vague and could be construed as a command or possibly not. In fact everyone knew what action was required bu the seer would not impose on them who should take it.

Day 22: The Oath of Achilles

Lines 86-92
οὐ μὰ γὰρ Ἀπόλλωνα διίφιλον, ᾧ τε σύ, Καλχαν,
εὐχόμενος Δαναοῖσι θεοπροπίας ἀναφαίνεις,
οὔ τις ἐμεῦ ζῶντος καὶ ἐπὶ χθονὶ δερκομένοιο
σοὶ κοίλῃς παρὰ νηυσὶ βαρείας χεῖρας ἐποίσει
συμπάντων Δαναῶν, οὐδ' ἢν Ἀγαμέμνονα εἴπῃς,
ὅς νῦν πολλὸν ἄριστος Ἀχαιῶν εὔχεται εἶναι."
καὶ τότε δὴ θάρσησε καὶ ηὔδα μάντις ἀμύμων·

For I swear by Apollo who is dear to Zeus,
And to whom you pray Calchas, reveal the oracle
To the Danaans and while I live and look upon the earth
No Danaan will lay heavy hands upon you by the hollow ships,
Even if you should say Agamemnon,
Who now often boasts of being the best of the Achaeans."
From then the noble seer took heart and spoke:


Happy New Year to all. This is a magnificent passage of the poem with Achilles making his dramatic oath before the seer. This changes the entire course of the epic for the seer now has the courage and the backing to reveal the oracle which robs Agamemnon of his prize and will divide the two chiefs for the remainder of the tale. I appreciate the ancient bard's decision here to put a slight towards Agamemnon on the lips of the Achilles at the end of his oath to forshadow the coming conflict.