Day 62: Thetis Demands an Answer

Lines 500-16
καί ῥα πάροιθ' αὐτοῖο καθέζετο καὶ λάβε γούνων
σκαιῇ, δεξιτερῇ δ' ἄρ ὑπ' ἀνθερῶνος ἑλοῦσα
λισσομένη, προσέειπε Δία Κρονίωνα ἄνακτα·
"Ζεῦ πάτερ, εἴ ποτε δή σε μετ' ἀθανάτοισιν ὄνησα
ἢ ἔπει ἢ ἔργῳ, τόδε μοι κρήηνον ἐέλδωρ·
τίμησόν μοι υἱόν, ὃς ὠκυμορώτατος ἄλλων
ἔπλετ'· ἀτάρ μιν νῦν γε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων
ἤτιμησεν· ἑλὼν γὰρ ἔχει γέρας αὐτὸς ἀπούρας.
ἀλλὰ σύ πέρ μιν τῖσον, Ὀλύμπιε μητίετα Ζεῦ.
τόφρα δ' ἐπὶ Τρώεσσι τίθει κράτος ὄφρ' ἄν Ἀχαιοὶ
υἱὸν ἐμὸν τίσωσιν, ὀφέλλωσίν τέ ἑ τιμῇ."

ὧς φάτο· τὴν δ' οὔ τι προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς,
ἀλλ' ἀκέων δὴν ἧστο. Θέτις δ' ὡς ἥψατο γούνων,
ὧς ἔχετ' ἐμπεφυυῖα, καὶ εἴρετο δεύτερον αὖτις·
"νημερτὲς μὲν δή μοι ὑπόσχεο καὶ κατάνευσον,
ἢ ἀπόειπ', ἐπεὶ οὔ τοι ἔπι δεος, ὄφρ' ἐὺ εἰδῶ,
ὅσσον ἐγὼ μετὰ πᾶσιν ἀτιμοτάτη θεός εἰμι."

Then she sat down before him and took hold of his knees,
With her hands left and right, and tugging on his beard
She addressed the high lord Zeus, Cronus' son, begging:
"Father Zeus, if ever there was a time among the immortals
Where I assisted you either in word or deed,
Fulfill this request for me: Honor my son,
Who's life that remains is shortest of all,
And now moreover the lord of men Agamemnon
Surely dishonors him; for he keeps the prize himself
That he seized and took away, but you exalt him greatly
O prudent counsellor Olympian Zeus. And meanwhile
Put victory on the Trojans, so the Achaeans should honor my son,
And inflate his glory."

Thus she spoke, but cloud gathering Zeus did not address her at all;
He sat long in silence. But Thetis, as she grabbed hold of his knees,
So she clung closely and forthwith asked a second time:
"Unerring one, promise me and nod your assent,
Or refuse me, but do not be timid, so that I might well know
How greatly I am the god most dishonored among them all."


Thetis really lays it on Zeus here, no doubt batting her eyelashes every step of the way, revealing the father of gods and men in his most grandiose state of susceptibility to feminine charms...

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.

Day 51: A Recap From Achilles to His Mother

Lines 359-79
καρπαλίμως δ' ἀνέδυ πολιῆς ἁλὸς ἠύτ' ὀμίχλη,
καί ῥα πάροιθ' αὐτοῖο καθέζετο δάκρυ χέοντος,
χειρί τέ μιν κατέρεξεν, ἔπος τ' ἔφατ' ἔκ τ' ὀνόμαζεν·
"τέκνον, τί κλαίεις; τί δέ σε φρένας ἵκετο πένθος;
ἐξαύδα, μὴ κεῦθε νόῳ, ἵνα εἴδομεν ἄμφω."

τὴν δὲ βαρὺ στενάχων προσέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς·
"οἶσθα· τί ἦ τοι ταῦτα ἰδυίῃ πάντ' ἀγορεύω;
ᾠχόμεθ' ἐς Θήβην, ἱερὴν πόλιν Ἠετίωνος,
τὴν δὲ διεπράθομέν τε καὶ ἤγομεν ἐνθάδε πάντα.
καὶ τὰ μὲν εὖ δάσσαντο μετὰ σφίσιν υἷες Ἀχαιῶν,
ἐκ δ' ἕλον Ἀτρεΐδῃ Χρυσηίδα καλλιπάρῃον.
Χρύσης δ' αὖθ' ἱερεὺς ἑκατηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος
ἦλθε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων
λυσόμενός τε θύγατρα φέρων τ' ἀπερείσι ἄποινα,
στέμματ' ἔχων ἐν χερσὶν ἑκηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος
χρυσέῳ ἀνὰ σκήπτρῳ, καὶ ἐλίσσετο πάντας Ἀχαιούς,
Ἀτρεΐδα δὲ μάλιστα δύω, κοσμήτορε λαῶν.
ἔνθ' ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες ἐπευφήμησαν Ἀχαιοὶ
αἰδεῖσθαι θ' ἱερῆα καὶ ἀγλαὰ δέχθαι ἄποινα.
ἀλλ' οὐκ Ἀτρεΐδῃ Ἀγαμέμνονι ἥνδανε θυμῷ,
ἀλλὰ κακῶς ἀφίει, κρατερὸν δ' ἐπὶ μῦθον ἔτελλεν.

Then swiftly she dove up from the hoary salt brined sea
Like the mist, and sat down before him and his streaming tears,
And caressed him with her hands speaking out a word addressing him:
"My child, why do you weep? And what grief comes up in your spirit?
Speak up, do not hide your mind, so that we both may know."

And swift footed Achilles addressed her, groaning heavily:
"You know. Indeed why do I tell this to you who know all?
We went to Thebe, Eetion's sacred city, and plundered it,
Then we brought it all here. And first the sons of the Achaeans
Divided it fairly among themselves, and they took out fair cheeked Chryseis
For Atreus' son. But then Chryses, the priest of far shooting Apollo,
Came to the fast ships of the bronze clad Achaeans,
And was seeking to free his daughter bearing countless ransoms,
Holiding in his hands the wreaths of Apollo who strikes from afar
Along with a golden scepter, and he was begging all the Achaeans,
But most of all the two sons of Atreus, commanders of the armies.
Then all the Achaeans shouted their assent, revering the priest,
And accepting his shining ransoms. But this did not please Atreus's son,
Agamemnon in his soul, and he sent him off evilly, and imparted on him
A harsh command.



Achilles divine mother rises like a mist from the sea to comfort the mighty warrior's wounded pride. Caressing him with her immortal fingers she seeks to stop his tears and her son's heart. This bit of commentary is an extension of the last, because once again it is hard to imagine a scene like this included in, say, a movie about the Second World War, whether the man's mother was a goddess or not. But it is sung here in the Iliad without any commentary or reproach against Achilles' character. In fact this moment is celebrated because Achilles' tears get his mother to produce a series of events that initially increases his honor and presitige, even though it leads to disaster in the end.

It is interesting to note that Achilles words in describing the happenings that led to his sorrow here are almost an exact repetition of what the narrator describes during the first fifty lines, with only slight variation to fit the meter at the beginning. This must have been an oral device originally toprovide a break for the wandering bard's hard pressed memory.

Day 49: Briseis Goes On Her Way

TLines 334-47
"χαίρετε, κήρυκες, Διὸς ἄγγελοι ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν·
ἆσσον ἴτ'· οὔ τί μοι ὕμμες ἐπαίτιοι, ἀλλ' Ἀγαμέμνων,
ὅ σφῶι προΐει Βρισηίδος εἵνεκα κούρης.
ἀλλ' ἄγε, διογενὲς Πατρόκλεις, ἔξαγε κούρην
καί σφωιν δὸς ἄγειν. τὼ δ' αὐτὼ μάρτυροι ἔστων
πρός τε θεῶν μακάρων πρός τε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
καὶ πρὸς τοῦ βασιλῆος ἀπνέος, εἴ ποτε δὴ αὖτε
χρειὼ ἐμεῖο γένηται ἀεικέα λοιγὸν ἀμῦναι
τοῖς ἄλλοῖς. ἦ γὰρ ὅ γ' ὀλοιῇσι φρεσὶ θύει,
οὐδέ τι οἶδε νοῆσαι ἅμα πρόσσω καὶ ὀπίσσω,
ὅππως οἱ παρὰ νηυσὶ σόοι μαχεοίατ' Ἀχαιοί."

ὧς γάτο, Πάτροκλος δὲ φίλῳ ἐπιπείθεθ' ἑταίρῳ,
ἐκ δ' ἄγαγε κλισίης Βρισηίδα καλλιπάρῃον,
δῶκε δ' ἄγειν. τὼ δ' αὖτις ἴτην παρὰ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν,

"Be welcome heralds, you messengers from Zeus, as well as men;
Come here. Neither of you is responsible, but Agamemnon,
Who sent you here on account of the maiden Briseis.
But come now, Zeus born Patroclus, bring forth the girl
And give her away to these two. And let they themselves be witnesses
Before the blessed gods, and before mortal men,
And before that cruel king, if ever there should arise
A need for me to ward off grievous destruction for these others.
For indeed he rages about in his accursed mind,
And does not even consider any of this,
Rushing backwards and forwards at the same time
By the safe ships, so that the Achaeans would do battle for him."

Thus he finished, and Patroclus obeyed his beloved comrade,
So he led fair cheeked Briseis forth from the hut and gave her up.
The two at once went off along the ships of the Achaeans,



I do not know if I got the sense right for Achilles last words to the heralds.
I think that it is commenting on Agamemnon's sitting in the safety of the ships raging about in his mind while others do the fighting for him. If anyone who happens to read this has a better understanding I would appreciate hearing it. If not I guess I'll check Fagles once again. Thank you.

Day 48: A Sticky Situation for Talthybius and Eurybates

Lines 315-33
ἔρδον δ' Απόλλωνι τελήεσσας ἑκατόμβας
ταύρων ἠδ' αἰγῶν παρὰ θῖν' ἁλὸς ἀτυργέτοιο·
κνίση δ' οὐρανὸν ἷκεν ἐλισσομένη περὶ καπνῷ.

ὧς οἱ μὲν τὰ πένοντο κατὰ στρατόν· οὐδ' Ἀγαμέμνων
λῆγ' ἔριδος, τὴν πρῶτον ἐπηπείλης' Ἀχιλῆι,
ἀλλ' ὅ γε Ταλθύβιον τε καὶ Εὐρυβάτην προσέειπεν,
τώ οἱ ἔσαν κήρυκε καὶ ὀτρηρὼ θεράποντε·
"ἔρεχεσθον κλισίην Πηληιάδεω Ἀχιλῆος·
χειρὸς ἑλόντ ἀγέμεν Βρισηίδα καλλιπάρῃον·
εἰ δέ κε μή δώῃσιν, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι
ἐλθὼν σὺν πλεόνεσσι· τό οἱ καὶ ῥιγιον ἔσται."

ὧς εἰπὼν προΐει κρατερὸν δ' ἐπὶ μῦθον ἔτελλεν.
τὼ δ' ἀέκοντε βάτην παρὰ θῖν' ἁλὸς ἀτρυγέτοιο,
Μυρμιδόνων δ' ἐπί τε κλισίας καὶ νῆας ἵκεσθην.
τὸν δ' εὗρον παρά τε κλισίῃ καὶ νηὶ μελαίνῃ
ἥμενον. οὐδ' ἄρα ώ γε ἰδὼν γήθησεν' Ἀχιλλεύς.
τὼ μὲν παρβήσαντε καὶ αἰδομένω βασιλῆα
στήτην, οὐδέ τί μιν προσεθώνεον οὐδ' ἐρέοντο·
αὐτὰρ ὁ ἔγνων ᾗσιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ φώνησέν τε·

And they sacrificed to Apollo perfect hecatombs of bulls
And goats by the along the shore of the restless, briny sea;
So the savor went to the heavens twisting around in smoke.

Thus the men busied themselves about the camp, and Agamemnon
Did not cease from strife, having first threatened this to Achilles,
But he addressed then Talthybius and Eurybates, who were his heralds
And ready attendants:
"Go to the hut of Peleus' son Achilles,
Seize fair cheeked Briseis by the hand and lead her off.
And if he should not give her up, then I myself may take her,
Going along with many men; and this will be the worse for him."

Thus speaking he sent them forth, and imparted a harsh command.
So the two went unwilling along the shore of the barren, briny deep,
And they came to the tents and ships of the Myrmidons.
They found him sitting beside his tent and a black ship.
And seeing those two Achilles of course did not rejoice.
They revered the chief and stood in terror, and neither did they
Address him nor make an inquiry; but he perceived their hearts
And spoke up:



This is a difficult situation for these two men. Essentially Agamemnon has sent them as cannon fodder to see how Achilles will react to his threats. The two men are terrified since everyone, and most especially Achilles, knows why they are there. The two heralds are terror struck when they see him sitting by his tent, probably imagining that he is about to remove some vital organ from their bodies, but he does not do that. He understands their predicament and speaks to them. Yet another example of how Achilles is not just the mindless and brutish psycophath that he is often portrayed as.

On a linguistic note this is a great section for teaching a unique feature of Homeric grammar known as the dual. Most languages have a singular form of nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives for one item and plural for more than one. Homeric Greek has an additional form for two items. This feature was largely lost by the age of Plato and Aristotle so it is unique to the epic tradition and the only modern language that I know of where it exists is in literary Arabic. Since there are two heralds going to find Achilles and take the girl in this section this form is used repeatedly and it works well as a refresher.

Day 46: The Words Cease but the Invective Continues

Lines 290-303
εἰ δέ μιν αἰχμητὴν ἔθεσαν θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες,
τούνεκά οἱ προθέουσιν ὀνείδεα μυθήσασθαι;"
τὸν δ' ἄρ ὑποβλήδην ἠμείετο δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς·
"ἦ γάρ κεν δειλός τε καὶ οὐτιδανὸς καλεοίμην,
εἰ δὴ σοὶ πᾶν ἔργον ὑπείξομαι, ὅττι κεν εἴπῃς·
ἄλλοισιν δὴ ταῦτ' ἐπιτέλλεο, μὴ γὰρ ἐμοί γε
[σήμιν'· οὐ γὰρ ἐγώ γ' ἔτι σοι πείσεσθαι ὀίω.]
ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω , σύ δ' ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·
χερσὶ μὲν οὔ τοι ἐγώ γε μαχήσομαι εἵνεκα κούρης
οὔτε σοὶ οὔτε τῳ ἄλλῳ, ἐπεί μ' ἀφέλεσθε' γε δόντες·
τῶν δ' ἄλλων, ἅ μοι ἔστι θοῇ παρὰ νηὶ μελαίνῃ,
τῶν οὐκ ἄν τι φέροις ἀνελὼν ἀέκοντος ἐμεῖο.
εἰ δ' ἄγε μὴν πείρησαι, ἵνα γνώωσι καὶ οἵδε.
αἶψά τοι αἶμα κελαινὸν ἐρωήσει περὶ δουρί."



As if the gods, who are always there, made him a spearman
Did they then grant him the right to shout out insults?"

And breaking in, divine Achilles replied to him:
"For indeed I would be called a coward and a good for nothing,
If then I shall yield to you in everything, whatever you may say;
Then give your orders to others, for me you do not command;
For I think that there is yet one more who will not obey you.
And I will tell you another time, and dash this about in your heart:
Surely I will not fight you with my hands on account of the girl,
Not with you, nor with any other, since what is taken
Is only what was given me; But concerning what else is mine
Beside my fast, black ship, these you would not carry off,
Seizing them against my will. Up now! Come try indeed!
So that these should rejoice all the more.
Surely your black blood will quickly flow around my spear."


Thus ends the verbal portion of this disastrous quarrel with Achilles threatening to paint his spear black with Agamemnon's blood if his minions should attempt to seize any of his possessions, save Briseis. His logic is interesting here: though he treasures the maiden and stakes such a great deal of his personal pride on Agamemnon's not having her, in the end he decides not to spill blood over this saying that what is being taken from him was a gift from the armies and not a thing that was truly his own and therefore inviolable.

Day 45: The Limits of Good Advice

Lines 269-89
καὶ μὲν τοῖσιν ἐγὼ μεθομίλεον ἐκ Πύλου ἐλθών,
τηλόθεν ἐξ ἀπίης γαίης· καλέσαντο γὰρ αὐτοί·
καὶ μαχόμην κατ' ἔμ' αὐτὸν ἐγώ· κείνοισι δ' ἂν οὔ τις
τῶν, οἳ νῦν βροτοί εἰσιν ἐπιχθόνιοι, μαχέοιτο.
καὶ μέν μευ βουλέων ξύνιεν πείθοντό τε μύθῳ.
ἀλλὰ πίθεσθε καὶ ὔμμες, ἐπεὶ πείθεσθαι ἀμεινον.
μήτε σὺ τόνδ' ἀγαθός περ ἐὼν ἀποαίρεο κούρην,
ἀλλ' ἔα, ὥς οἱ πρῶτα δόσαν γέρας υἷες Ἀχαιῶν.
μήτε σύ, Πηλεΐδη, θέλ' ἐριζέμεναι βασιλῆι
ἀντιβίην, ἐπεὶ οὔ ποθ' ὁμοίης ἔμμορε τιμῆς
σκηπροῦχος βασιλεύς, ᾧ τε Ζεὺς κῦδος ἔδωκεν.
εἰ δὲ σὺ καρτερός ἐσσι, θεὰ δέ σε γείνατο μήτηρ,
ἀλλ' ὁδε φέρτερός ἐστιν, ἐπεὶ πλεόνεσσιν ἀνάσσει.
Ἀτρεΐδη, σὺ δε παῦε τεὸν μένος· αὐτὰρ ἐγώ γε
λίσσομ' Ἀχιλλῆι μεθέμεν χόλον ὅς μέγα πᾶσιν
ἕρκος Ἀχαιοῖσιν πέλεται πολέμοιο κακοῖο."

τὸν δ' ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων·
"ναὶ δὴ ταῦτα γε πάντα, γέρον, κατὰ μοῖραν ἔειπες
ἀλλ' ὅδ' ἀνὴρ ἐθέλει περὶ πάντων ἔμμεναι ἄλλων,
πάντων μὲν κρατέειν ἐθέλει, πάντεσσι δ' ανάσσειν,
πᾶσι δὲ σημαίνειν, ἅ τιν' οὐ πείσεσθαι ὀίω.

And certainly I consorted with these, coming from far Pylos,
From a distant land, for they themselves called me there,
And I myself did battle; but none of the mortal men
Who live now on earth would fight with these.
And of course those men hearkened to my counsels
And would heed my word. But obey this, since the better man hearkens to;
And you, do not deprive this one so brave of the maiden,
But let it be, since the sons of the Achaeans
Gave the prize to him first. And you, son of Peleus,
Do not seek to strive with the king in antagonism,
Since never has a scepter bearing king, to whom Zeus
Gave glory, received a similar share of honor.
And even if you are the stronger, since a goddess mother bore you,
But this one is more powerful, since he rules over many.
And you, son of Atreus, check your rage; moreover I beg it,
For Achilles' sake, give up this rage, against one who is a mighty bulwark
For all the Achaeans against evil war."

And in reply, the lord Agamemnon addressed him:
"Surely old man you have spoken all this as is fitting,
But this man desires to be above all others, certainly
He wishes to hold sway over all, and to rule all,
And to command all, I think there is one who does not obey.


An amazing scene on so many levels. First, we see the limits of wisdom, if such a thing can be said, or least of good advice. Nestor starts telling the two clashing heroes that better men than they have followed his advice so these two better do it. And he proceeds to tell them exactly what to do. One can talk all one wants about Nestor's beautiful counsels and his supposed magical ability with words, but the fact is here that this personification of ancient wisdom does not succeed, and in fact fails miserably, for Agamemnon returns straightaway to his quarrel with Achilles the moment that the old king is done speaking. One could think of better ways that Nestor could have handled the situation, such as telling a story from his youth about how such a petty conflict had destroyed a vast enterprise, but he did not do that since he was a king and not a poet. There is a certain haughtiness to his position here: I am recognized as the wisest of the wise, and have always been recognized as such by better men than you two, so you had better do what I say. How would one expect two exceedingly proud men who have just been quarrelling to react?

Time for a random historical meandering here: I was thinking over this whole experience of haughtiness and arrogance and how they are unmistakably condemned in this poem, and I was comparing them in my mind with the tales of the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible, some of which was written contemporaneously with the Iliad and the Odyssey, where those who exhibit these same qualities find equal censure. While I was mulling this over in my mind I started to ponder those late Bronze Age stellae, or monuments, left behind by the monarchs of that time, above all by the pharaohs of Egypt where by reading them one would think that Pharaoh had destroyed an entire enemy army all by himself. These things would be set up if the battle was a draw, such as Kadesh, or even if it resulted in a defeat. The king would smite an entire enemy army and wipe them from the face of the earth, only for that army to magically reincarnate the next year and for the king to smite them once again. The kingdoms of the Bronze Age fell suddenly, at the beginning of the twelfth century B.C. and I wonder if some memory of their collapse as a condemnation for this arrogance transmitted to Homer's age and on into the classical world that was to follow? For one never sees this open display of ridiculous bombast among the great powers again on a consistent basis, not even by the Romans whose empire made these Bronze Age "great kings" look like petty tribal warlords in comparison.

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.

Day 20: The Words of the Watcher of Birds

Lines 76-80
τοιγὰρ ἐγὼν ἐρέω, σὺ δὲ σύνθεο καί μοι ὄμοσσον
ἦ μέν μοι πρόφων ἔπεσιν καὶ χερσὶν ἀρήξειν.
ἦ γὰρ ὀίομαι ἄνδρα χολωσέμεν, ὅς μέγα πάντων
Ἀργείων κρατέει καί οἱ πείθονται Ἀχαιοί.
κρείσσων γὰρ βασιλεύς, ὅτε χώσεται ἀνδρὶ χέρηι·

Therefore I shall speak, but come together and swear to me
That you will come to my aid zealously with words and hands.
For I feel that this will enrage a man who bears much sway
Over all the Argives, and whom the Achaeans obey.
For the king is the mightier when enraged by a lesser man:

Day 12: Agamemnon Expels the Priest

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.

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

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