Day 69: The Last Lines

Lines 599-611
ἄσβεστος δ' ἄρ ἐνῶνρτο γέλος μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν,
ὡς ἴδον Ἥφαιστον διὰ δώματα ποιπνύοντα.

ὡς τότε μὲν πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἐς ἠέλιον καταδύντα
δαίνυντ', οὐδέ τι θυμὸς ἐδεύετο δαιτὸς ἐίσης,
οὐ μὲν φόριγγος περικαλλέος, ἢν ἔχ' Ἀπόλλων,
Μουσάων θ' αἳ ἄειδον ἀμειβόμεναι ὀπὶ καλῇ.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ κατέδυ λαμπρόν φάος ἠελίοιο,
οἱ μὲν κακκείοντες ἔβαν οἰκόνδε ἕκαστος,
ἦχι ἑκάστῳ δῶμα περικυτὸς ἀμφιγυήεις
Ἥφαιστος ποίησεν ἰδυίῃσι πραπίδεσσιν,
Ζεὺς δὲ πρὸς ὃν λέχος ἤι' Ὀλύμπιος ἀστεροπητής,
ἔνθα πάρος κοιμᾶθ', ὅτε μιν γλυκὺς ὕπνος ἱκάνοι·
ἔνθα καθεῦδ' ἀναβάς, παρὰ δὲ χρυσόθρονος Ἥρη.


And this then roused undying laughter among the blessed gods
When they saw Hephaestus puffing and panting throughout the house.

So then they feasted the entire day on to the setting sun,
Nor did any spirit want for their portion of the feast,
Neither for that charming lyre, which Apollo keeps, nor the Muses,
They sang, and in a gorgeous voice they called and answered.
When the gleaming light of the sun then set
Desiring sleep they each went to their homes,
When for each skillful Hephaestus had fashioned a famous house
With a knowing mind, and Zeus the bed toward which went
The Olympian who hurls the lightning bolt, then before he laid down
Sweet sleep overcame him, then going up he slumbered
Beside Hera of the golden throne.


Well now, to my own great astonishment I have completed Clyde Pharr's 'Homeric Greek: A Book for Beginners'. Thus Book 1 ends here and so soon unfortunately must this blog. There will be one more post which will give a translation of the entirety of Book I of the Iliad which I will be putting up in about two weeks and then that will be that. I will probably put some sort of comment on the last post but I would like to take the time here to thank the people who have followed this blog and checked in on it from time to time. You have provided me with a nice motivation to finish this project which I am very grateful for. So, once again, thank you.

Day 68: Tumbling Down to Lemnos

Lines 590-98
ἤδη γαρ με καὶ ἄλλοτ' ἀλεξέμεναι μεμαῶτα
ῥῖψε ποδὸς τεταγὼν ἀπὸ βηλοῦ θεσπεσίοιο.
πᾶν δ' ἦμαρ φερόμην, ἅμα δ' ἠελίῳ καταδύντ
κάππεσον ἐν Λήμνῳ, ὀλίγος δ' ἔτι θυμὸς ἐνῆεν·
ἔνθα με Σίντιες ἄνδρες ἄφαρ κομίσαντο πεσόντα."

ὧς φάτο, μείδησεν δὲ θεά, λευκώλενος Ἥρη,
μειδήσασα δὲ παιδὸς ἐδέξατο χειρὶ κύπελλον.
αὐτὰρ ὁ τοῖς ἄλλοισι θεοῖς ἐνδέξια πᾶσιν
οἰνοχόει γλυκὺ νέκταρ, ἀπὸ κρητῆρος ἀφυσσων.


For once before I was eager to defend you,
Then laying hold of my foot he hurled me
From the divine threshold, and I was borne
All through the day and, along with the setting sun,
Fell down on Lemnos, my soul and spirit in dire straits;
Then the Sintian men forthwith attended to my sinking self."

Thus he spoke, and the goddess white armed Hera laughed,
And smiling she took the cup in hand from her child.
Then from the right he pours sweet nectar for all the other gods,
Drawing up from the mixing bowl.


Hephaestus here demonstrates an excellent way to end soften a harsh encounter between two other people: make yourself the butt of a joke. Like Nestor he uses the past to demonstrate his point. But, unlike that ancient king he illustrates how foolish it is to oppose the will of Zeus by telling of the last time he had tried to defend his mother and the rather comical consequences to him of Zeus' reaction. A great way to defuse the tension, though I think that the poet's larger point in this section was still a comparison between the frivolity of the gods and the stern sobriety of mortal men. But I think it still works.

Day 67: Hephaestus Intercedes

Lines 573-89
"ῆ δὴ λοίγια ἔργα τάδ' ἔσσεται οὐδ ἀνεκτά,
εἰ δὴ σφω' ἕνεκα θνητῶν ἐριδαίνετον ὧδε,
ἐν δὲ θεοῖσι κολῳὸν ἐλαύετον· οὐδέ τι δαιτὸς
ἐσθλῆς ἔσσεται ἦδος, ἐπεὶ τὰ χερείονα νικᾷ.
μητρὶ δ' ἐγὼ παράφημι, καὶ αὐτῇ περ νοεούσῃ,
πατρὶ φίλῳ ἐπὶ ἦρα φέρειν Διί, ὄφρα μὴ αὖτε
νεικείῃσι πατήρ, σὺν δ' ἡμῖν δαῖτα ταράξῃ.
εἴ περ γάρ κ' ἐθέλῃσιν Ὀλύμπιος ἀστεροπητὴς
ἐξ ἐδέων στυφελίξαι· ὁ γὰρ πολὺ φέρτατός ἐστιν.
ἀλλὰ σὺ τόν γ' ἐπέεσσι καθάπτεσθαι μαλακοῖσιν."

ὧς ἄρ ἔφη, καὶ ἀναΐξας δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον
μητρὶ φίλῃ χειρὶ τίθει, καὶ μιν προσέειπεν·
"τέτλαθι, μῆτερ ἐμή, καὶ ἀνάσχεο, κηδομένη περ,
μή σε φίλην περ ἐοῦσαν ἐν ὀφθαλοῖσιν ἴδωμαι
θεινομένην· τότε δ' οὔ τι δυνήσομαι ἀχνύμενός περ
χραισομεῖν· ἀργαλέος γὰρ Ὀλύμπιος ἀντιφέρεσθαι.





"Indeed this will be a nasty mess, nor will it be bearable
If you two quarrel so on account of mortals,
And carry on this wrangling among the gods, nor will it be any use
For such a noble feast, since things will be worse if this prevails.
So I advise you mother, though you yourself must know,
To bring kindness to our dear father Zeus, so that
He may not strive with us anew and ruin the feast.
For if the Olympian who hurls the lightning should desire
To send us from our seats... For he is by far the most powerful among us,
But address him please with soft and gentle words
Then soon the Olympian will be kindly towards us."

Thus he spoke, and darted up and brought the double sided cup
In hand to his dear mother and addressed her:
"Take courage my mother, and endure the great affliction;
Let not me see you who are so to dear to me
Struck down before my eyes. And then I, though grieving,
Will not be able to give you any aid; for it is an awful thing
To oppose the Olympian.



Pharr here makes an interesting point about how Hepahaestus plays the same role in the squabble between Zeus and Hera that Nestor attempted to play in the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, though to infinitely better reviews. In fact I think that this whole section of the wrangling among the gods is a parody of the quarrel between the two heroes on the beach at Troy. But the key difference here is that the gods are immortal and men are not. This means that the gods never really have to suffer the consequences of their actions. Even for all his threats, what can Zeus really do to Hera besides cause her temporary discomfort that will be alleviated and forgotten once his anger abates, as it usually does rather quickly. After all Achilles recalled the story of the revolt of the gods to his mother, which had this occurred in the world of men all the perpetrators would have been hanged and their bodies displayed at the city gate, yet here they all are feasting with one another and their only concern seems to be that Zeus anger might ruin that feast. The contrast between the frivolity of the gods and the sternness of mortal men is astounding here and this I think is one of the main themes of the epic.

Day 66: Ox Eyed Hera and the Lame Cupbearer

Lines 551-72
τὸν δ' ἠμείβετ' ἔπειτα βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη·
"αἰνοτατε Κρονίδη, ποῖον τὸν μῦθον ἔειπες.
καὶ λίην σε πάρος γ' οὔτ' εἴρομαι οὔτε μεταλλῶ,
ἀλλὰ μάλ' εὔκηλος τὰ φράζεαι, ἅσσ' ἐθέλῃσθα·
νῦν δ' αἰνῶς δείδοικα κατὰ φρένα, μή σε παρείπῃ
ἀργυρόπεζα Θέτις, θυγάτηρ ἁλίοιο γέροντος·
ἠερίη γὰρ σοί παρέζετο καὶ λάβε γούνων·
τῇ ς' ὀίω κατανεῦσαι ἐτήτυμον, ὡς Ἀχιλῆα
τιμήσεις, ὀλέσεις δὲ πολέας ἐπὶ νηυσὶν Ἀχαιῶν."

τὴν δ' ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς·
"δαιμονίη, αἰεὶ μὲν ὀίεαι, οὐδέ σε λήθω,
πρῆξαι δ' ἔμπης οὔ τι δυνήσεαι, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ θυμοῦ
μᾶλλον ἐμοὶ ἔσεαι· τὸ δέ τοι καὶ ῥίγιον ἔσται.
εἰ δ' οὕτω τοῦτ' ἐστίν, ἐμοὶ μέλλει φίλον εἶναι.
ἀλλ' ἄκεουσα καθῆσο, ἐμῷ δ' ἐπιπείθεο μύθῳ,
μή νύ τοι οὐ χραίσμωσιν, ὅσοι θεοί εἰς' ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ,
ἆσσον ἰόνθ', ὅτε κέν τοι ἀάπτους χεῖρας ἐφείω."

ὧς ἔφατ', ἔδεισεν δὲ βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη,
καί ῥ' ἀκέουσα καθῆστο, ἐπιγνάμψασα φίλον κῆρ·
ὤχθησαν δ' ἀνὰ δῶμα Διὸς θεοὶ Οὐρανίωνες·
τοῖσιν δ' Ἥφαιστος κλυτοτέχνης ἦρχ' ἀγορεύειν,
μητρὶ φίλῃ ἐπὶ ἦρα φέρων, λευκωλένῳ Ἥρῃ·



Then ox eyed Hera, queen of the gods, answered him:
"Most dread son of Cronus, of what sort is this thought
Of which you were speaking! And in the past I neither asked
Nor did I inquire into each and every thing you were about,
But you plot and plan in calm and quiet, as you should desire;
But now I am terribly afraid at heart, let her not win you over:
Silver footed Thetis, daughter of the old man of the sea;
For in the early morn' she surely sat beside you and grasped your knees,
And there I saw you nod your head so that you will honor Achilles
And slaughter many beside the Achaean ships."

Then in reply cloud gathering Zeus addressed her:
"Goddess who dwells in the heavens, you see always,
Nor do I forget you, nevertheless you will not be able to do a thing,
But will be that much further from my heart,
And this will be so much the worse for you.
If this is so then, you may be sure that it is what I desire.
But sit and listen, then obey my command,
Indeed none of them will help you, not many of the gods on Olympus
Will be coming any nearer if I should strike you with invincible hands."

Thus he spoke and the ox eyed queen of the skies was struck with fear,
Then she sat down and hearkened to, bending her heart to his desire;
And the sky dwelling gods were vexed all through the house of Zeus;
Then Hephaestus, that great forger, came forth to harangue them,
Bearing kindness for his dear mother, white armed Hera:



I wonder how many women today would be flattered if they were referred to as ox eyed? I'm guessing that it would be not very many because such animals are no longer part of every day life for very many of us. But in the age of these poems they were an integral part of everyone's life as a source of food and as beasts of burden. And while the comparison between a beautiful woman and an ox seems reviling at first it is instructive to note that the eyes of oxen and cattle, besides being very large, do have a certain quality about them. Maybe it is because of all that suffering they are forced to undergo.