Day 56: Chryses' Moment of Supreme Satisfaction

Lines 436-49
ἐκ δ' εὐνὰς ἔβαλον, κατὰ δὲ πρυμνήσι' ἔδησαν·
ἐκ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ βαῖνον ἐπὶ ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης,
ἐκ δ' ἑκατόμβην βῆσαν ἑκηβόλῳ Ἀπόλλωνι·
ἐκ δὲ Χρυσηὶς νηὸς βῆ ποντοπόροιο.
τὴν μὲν ἔπειτ' ἐπὶ βωμὸν ἄγων πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεὺς
πατρὶ φίλῳ ἐν χερσὶ τίθει, καί μιν προσέειπεν·
"ὦ Χρύση, πρό μ' ἔπεμψεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων
παῖδα τε σοὶ ἀγέμεν, Φοίβῳ θ' ἱερὴν ἑκατόμβην
ῥέξαι ὑπὲρ Δαναῶν, ὄφρ' ἱλασόμεθα ἄνακτα
ὅς νῦν Ἀργείοισι πολύσονα κήδε ἐφῆκεν."

ὧς εἰπὼν ἐν χερσὶ τίθει, ὁ δὲ δέξατο χαίρων
παῖδα φίλην. τοὶ δ' ὦκα θεῷ ἱερὴν ἑκατόμβην
ἐξείης ἔστησαν ἐύδμητον περὶ βωμόν,
χερνίψαντο δ' ἔπειτα καὶ οὐλοκύτας ἀνέλοντο.


Then they hurled forth the anchorstone
And tied down the stern cable,
And they themselves went upon the shore of the sea,
And moved out the hecatomb for farshooting Apollo;
And Chryseis went out from the sea going ship.
Threupon wise Odysseus, leading her to the altar
And her dear father, placed her in his hands
And addressed him: "O Chryses, Agamemnon
The lord of men sends me before you to bring the child
To you, and a sacred hecatomb for Phoebus
To sacrifice for the sake of the Danaans,
So that we might appease the high lord,
Who sends woes upon the Argives
Causing many groans."

Thus speaking, he placed her in his arms,
and the man accepted his dear child rejoicing.
Then in turn they quickly stood the god's sacred hecatomb
Around the well built altar, and purified themselves with water,
Then took up even the poured out barley corn.



The smile on Chryses' face must have been incredible here. I think that it is interesting to note that the entire theme of the Iliad is of the losses that a mortal man must suffer, leading up to the loss of his own life. Chryses is the only significant character in the poem to avert the pain of loss by getting his daughter back with the help of a god by causing great harm to the Achaeans. It almost seems like black magic. I doubt that this is a coincidence and I often wonder what was in the poet's mind as he constructed this passage.