Day 64: Olympus Shakes and the Gods Come Together

Lines 528-35
ἦ καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπ' ὀφρυσι νεῦσε Κρονίων·
ἀμβρόσιαι δ' ἄρα χαῖται ἐπερρώσαντο ἄνακτος
κρατός ἀπ' ἀθανάτοιο, μέγαν δ' ἐλέλιξεν Ὄλυμπον.

τώ γ' ὧς βουλεύσαντε διέτμαγεν· ἡ μὲν ἔπειτα
εἰς ἅλα ἆλτο βαθεῖσαν ἀπ' αἰγλήεντος Ὀλύμπου,
Ζεὺς δὲ ἑὸν πρὸς δῶμα. θεοὶ δ' ἅμα πάντες ἀνέσταν
ἐξ ἐδέων, σφοῦ πατρὸς ἐναντίον· οὐδέ τις ἔτλη
μεῖναι ἐπερχόμενον, ἀλλ' ἀντίοι ἔσταν ἅπαντες.

He spoke and Cronus' son nodded with his dusky brow,
And then the ambrosia locks fell down from the deathless
High lord, and this greatly shook Olympus.

Thus the two deliberated and were parted,
She lept from gleaming Olympus into the briny depths,
And Zeus went to his home. Then the gods all together
Came out from their abodes, facing their father,
Nor did a one of them have the courage to remain
In his seat, but all stood up to meet him.



A beautiful portrait of the all powerful father of gods and men with his ambrosia locks and his dusky brow whom all the gods bow to, at least to his face... Pharr states here that in conjuring the model for his great statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, the sculptor Phidias used these lines as a model for his work.

Day 63: A Nasty Mess

Lines 517-27
τὴν δὲ μέγ' ὀχθήσας προέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς·
"ἦ δὴ λοίγια ἔργ', ὅτε μ' ἐχθοδοπῆσαι ἐφήσεις
Ἥρη, ὅτ' ἄν μ' ἐρέθῃσιν ὀνειδείοις ἐπέεσσιν.
ἡ δὲ καὶ αὔτως μ' αἰὲν ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν
νεικεῖ, καί τέ μέ φησι μάχῃ Τρώεσσιν ἀρήγειν.
ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν νῦν αὖτις ἀπόστιχε, μή τι νοήσῃ
Ἥρη· ἐμοὶ δέ κε ταῦτα μελήσεται, ὄφρα τελέσσω.
εἰ δ' ἄγε τοι κεφαλῇ κατανεύσομαι, ὄφρα πεποίθῃς·
τοῦτο γὰρ ἐξ ἐμέθεν γε μετ' ἀθανάτοισι μέγιστον
τέκμωρ· οὐ γὰρ ἐμὸν παλινάγρετον οὐδ' ἀπατηλὸν
οὐδ' ἀτελεύτητον, ὅ τι κεν κεφαλῇ κατανεύσω."

And deeply vexed, cloud gathering Zeus addressed her:
"Truly this is a nasty mess, when you tell me to lock horns
With Hera, who may torment me with hateful words.
Even as it is she quarrels with me among the deathless gods,
And even now she tells me how I aid the Trojans in battle.
But you go off at once, maybe Hera will not know of this;
And though this will be a care for me, I will see it done.
But come now, I shall nod assent for you with my head,
So you might believe. For this from me is the greatest pledge
Among the immortals since it can neither be taken back,
Nor be a lie, nor can it be left unfulfilled if I should nod my head."



I love this scene where Zeus is whining about Hera knowing what he was up to with Thetis. The poet has a great sense of humor here portraying the lord of the world as a slinking husband who has to go behind the back of his wife.

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 61: The Twelfth Day Dawns

Lines 490-99
οὔτε ποτ' εἰς ἀγορὴν πωλέσκετο κυδιάνειραν
οὔτε ποτ' ἐς πόλεμον, ἀλλὰ φθινύθεσκε φίλον κῆρ
αὖθι μένιων, ποθέεσκε δ' ἀυτήν τε πτόλεμόν τε.

ἀλλ' ὅτε δή ῥ' ἐκ τοῖο δωδεκάτη γένετ' ἠώς,
καὶ τότε δὴ πρὸς Ὄλυμπον ἴσαν θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες
πάντες ἅμα, Ζεὺς δ' ἦρκε. Θέτις δ' οὐ λήθετ' ἐφετμέων
παιδὸς ἑοῦ, ἀλλ' ἥ γ' ἀνεδύσετο κῦμα θαλάσσης,
ἠερίη δ' ἀνέβη μέγαν οὑρανὸν Οὔλυμπόν τε.
εὖρεν δ' εὐρύοπα Κρονίδην ἄτερ ἥμενον ἄλλων
ἀκορτάτῃ κορυφῇ πολυδειράδος Οὐλύμποιο.

Neither did he frequent the assemblies that bring glory to men,
Nor did he go to war any longer, but withered away his beloved heart
Raging there, and he longed for battle and for the war cry.

But, when the twelfth dawn from that day arose,
The gods who are forever came then to Olympus all together
With Zeus in front. And Thetis did not forget her son's pleadings,
But came up from the billowing sea, and early climbed high heaven
And Olympus. Then she found Cronus' far thundering son
Sitting away from the others on the high summit of craggy Olympus.

Day 54: A Goddess Lets Fall a Tear

Lines 413-24
τὸν δ' ἠμείβετ' ἔπειτα Θέτις κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσα·
"ὤ μοι, τέκνον ἐμον, τί νύ ς' ἔτρεφον αἰνὰ τεκοῦσα;
αἵθ' ὄφελες παρὰ νηυσὶν ἀδάκρυτος καὶ ἀπήμων
ἧσθαι, ἐπεί νύ τοι αἶσα μίννυνθά περ, οὔ τι μάλα δήν·
νῦν δ' ἅμα τ' ὠκύμορος καὶ ὀιζυρὸς περὶ πάντων
ἔπλεο· τῶ σε κακῇ αἶσῃ τέκον ἐν μεγάροισιν.
τοῦτο δέ τοι ἐρέουσα ἔπος Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ
εἶμ' αὐτὴ πρὸς Ὄλυμπον ἀγάννιφον, οἴ κε πίθηται.
ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν νῦν νηυσὶ παρήμενος ὠκυπόροισιν
μήνι' Ἀχαιοῖσιν, πολέμου δ' ἀποπαύεο πάμπαν·
Ζεὺς γὰρ ἐς Ὠκεανὸν μετ' ἀμύνονας Αἰθιοπῆας
χθιζὸς ἔβη κατὰ δαῖτα, θεοὶ δ' ἅμα παντες ἕποντο·



And Thetis answered him, letting a tear stream down:
"O my dear child, why indeed did I bring you up,
Raising you to a dreadful end? Would that you were sitting
By the ships, without tears and without pain,
Since for you time is so terribly short, there is not a long while.
Now then it is swift fated and piteous for all men along with you;
Therefore I bore you to evil dread in that palace.
So I go myself to the snowy heights of Olympus
To speak a word of this to Zeus who hurls the thunderbolt,
If he should heed me. But you now restrain yourself from war
Entirely, and rage against the Achaeans sitting by
The fast sailing ships; For Zeus yesterday went to Oceanus,
To a feast with the noble Ethiopians, and all the gods went with;



This I think is the first mention of the Ethiopians in western literature. There are other poems in the epic cycle that mention a hero that fights on the Trojan side named Memnon who is Ethiopian. I think that Ethiopians were probably to the Greeks all the dark skinned peoples who lived to the south of Upper Egypt along the Nile, and therefore at world's end. It is kind of amusing to consider that Achilles' request here cannot be fulfilled right away because the gods are all on vacation. Kind of makes you wonder...

Day 53: The Hundred Hander and the Best of the Achaeans

Lines 401-12
ἀλλὰ σὐ τόν γ' ἐλθουσα, θεά, ὑπελύσαο δεσμῶν.
ὦχ' ἑκατόγχειρον καλέσασ' ἐς μακρον Ὄλυμπον,
ὃν Βριάρεων καλέουσι θεοί, ἅνδρες δέ τε πάντες
Αἰγαίων'· ὁ γὰρ αὖτε βίῃ οὖ πατρὸς ἀμείνων·
ὅς ῥα παρὰ Κρονίωνι καθέζετο κύδεϊ γαίων·
τὸν καὶ ὑπέδεισαν μάκαρες θεοὶ οὐδέ τ' ἔδησαν.
τῶν νῦν μιν μνήσασα παρέζεο καὶ λαβὲ γούνων,
αἴ κέν πως ἐθέλῃσιν ἐπὶ Τρώεσσιν ἀρῆξαι,
τοὺς δὲ κατὰ πρύμνας τε καὶ ἀμφ' ἅλα ἕλσαι Ἀχαιοὺς
κτεινομένους, ἵνα πάντες ἐπαύρωνται βασιλῆος,
γνῷ δὲ καὶ Ἀτρεΐδης εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων
ἢν ἄτην, ὅ τ' ἄριστον Ἀχαιῶν οὐδὲν ἔτισεν."



But you who went to him, goddess, you loosed his bonds
In secret. Swiftly summoning the hundred hander to lofty Olympus,
He whom the gods name Briareus, and all men call Aegaeon;
For he made the father's side superior in strength;
He who then sat down beside the son of Cronos,
Exulting in his glory; Even those high gods
Shrank before him, and did not even bind him.
Now sit beside him and take hold of his knee,
All the while reminding him of this,
If in some way he might be willing to assist the Trojans,
And so to drive and slay these Achaeans
Onto the sterns of their ships about the briny deep,
So that all might reap the rewards of their king,
And even Atreus' son, wide ruling Agamemnon,
May recognize this folly, that he did no honor
To the best of the Achaeans."



Achilles finishes beseeching his mother, recounting a tale she once told him about Zeus and her summoning of the hundred hander to save him from his trouble with the other Olympians, then telling her to go to Zeus and get him to punish all the Achaeans for Agamemnon's misstep in dishonoring him. It is easy here to paint Achilles as a whiny, spoiled brat as many modern readers do. But one has to put himself in Achilles' position where this life is all there is since there is no afterlife in which to gain compensation for any sufferings experienced here and now, and a warrior's honor is ultimately all he has, and without it he is nothing. And, after all, if you had a sea nymph for a mother wouldn't you do the same thing?

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 50: Achilles' Prayer to His Immortal Mother

Lines 348-58
ἡ δ' ἀέκους' ἅμα τοῖσι γυνὴ κίεν. αὐτὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς
δακρύσας ἑτάρων ἄφαρ ἕζετο νόσθι λιασθεὶς
θῖν ἔφ' ἁλὸς πολιῆς, ὁρόων ἐπ' ἀπείρουα πόντον·
πολλὰ δὲ μητρὶ φίλῃ ὴρήσατο χεῖρας ὀρεγνύς·
"μῆτερ, ἐπεί μ' ἔτεκές γε μινυνθάδιον περ ἐόντα,
τιμήν πέρ μοι ὄφελλεν Ὀλύμπιος ἐγγυαλίξαι
Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης· νῦν δ' οὐδέ με τυτθὸν ἔτισεν.
ἦ γάρ μ' Ἀτρεΐδης εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων
ἠτίμησεν. ἑλὼν γὰρ ἔχει γέρας, αὐτὸς ἀπούρας."

ὡς φάτο δάκρυ χέων, τοῦ δ' ἔκλυε πότνια μήτηρ
ἡμένη ἐν βένθεσσιν ἁλὸς παρὰ πατρὶ γέροντι.

And that woman went unwilling along with them.
But Achilles sat apart from his companions, turning away,
And fell into weeping on the shore of the gray and hoary sea,
Then, looking over the boundless water, he prayed hard
To his dear mother with outstretched hands:
"Mother, since you bore me to a life so brief,
Would that thundering Olympian Zeus grant to me
Great honor. And now he repays me not even a little.
For indeed the son of Atreus, wide ruling Agamemnon,
Dishonors me. In fact he deprives me to keep the prize himself."

Thus he spoke, his tears streaming, and his revered mother heard him
As she sat in the depths of the briny sea beside her aged father.



This scene is exemplary of the difference between the values and expectations of the age of these epics and our own. Here is Achilles, greatest of the Argive warriors, crying his eyes out on the beach because he lost his war prize. Can anyone imagine a modern war story including a picture like this. It is an excellent example of how attitudes change over time, in this case millenia. It brings to mind a short story I once read entitled The Maker by Jorge Luis Borges which is a brief account of the experience of being Homer, or that is the best way I can express it. There is a line which states that when the poet learned he was losing his sight he cried out, because Stoicism hadn't been invented yet...