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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I loved these lines. Agamemnon seems so helpless here. He's almost like a child who's been caught breaking some rule but refuses to admit it: standing in futile defiance before of his parents. It puts the argument he's about to have in context, especially for the brief moment when it looks like he's about to back down.
ReplyDelete