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 47: To Wash Their Filth Into the Briny Deep

Lines 304-14
ὧς τώ γ' ἀντιβίοισι μαχησαμένω ἐπέεσσιν
ἀνστήτην, λῦσαν δ' ἀγορὴν παρὰ νηυσὶν Ἀχαιῶν.
Πηλεΐδης μὲν ἐπὶ κλισίας καὶ νῆας ἐίσας
ἤιε σύν τε Μενοιτιάδῃ καὶ οἷς ἑτάροισιν,
Ἀτρεΐδης δ' ἄρα νῆα θοὴν ἅλαδε προέρυσσεν,
ἐς δ' ἐρέτας ἔκρινεν ἐείκοσιν, ἐς δ' ἑκατόμβησν
βῆσε θεῷ, ἀνὰ δὲ Χρυσηίδα καλλιπάρῃον
εἶσεν ἄγνων· ἐν δ' ἀρχὸς ἔβη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς.

οἱ μὲν ἔπειτ' ἀναβάντες ἐπέπλεον ὑγρὰ κέλευθα,
λαοὺς δ' Ἀτρεΐδης ἀπολυμαίνεσθαι ἄνωγεν.
οἱ δ' ἀπελυμαίνοντο καὶ εὶς ἅλα λύματ' ἔβαλλον,

Thus the two who battled fiercely with hostile words
stood up, then they broke up the assembly by the ships of the Achaeans.
The son of Peleus went to the huts and the well beaked ships
Along with both Menoetius' son and his comrades,
While Atreus' son launched a fast ship into the salt brined sea,
Picking out twenty oarsmen, and sending forth a hecatomb
To the god along with fair cheeked Chryseis who he led on board
And seated there; and wily Odysseus went as pilot.

And going up they thereupon sailed on their watery way,
Then the son of Atreus ordered the men to purify themselves.
So they cleansed themselves, and hurled their filth into the briny deep,


There is a brief period of peace here, beautifully illustrated by the poet with Agamemnon bending to the will of Apollo and sending back the maiden, along with a hecatomb as recompense for his misdeed, and also Odysseus who can be sure to ease any uncomfortable situation with honeyed words or even lies. This is followed by the armies purifying themselves by washing off the filth of the plague in the briny sea. One is almost tempted to forget, during these few lines, the horrible exchange of hostile words in the preceding 200 lines of poetry but of course we will be brought back to them forthwith.

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 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 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...