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.

Day 65: Zeus and Hera Squabble

Lines 536-50
ὧς ὁ μὲν ἔνθα καθέζετ' ἐπὶ θρόνου· οὐδέ μιν Ἥρη
ἠγνοίησεν ἰδοῦσα, ὅτι οἱ συμφράσατο βουλὰς
ἀργυρόπεζα Θέτις, θυγάτηρ ἁλίοιο γέρποντος.
αὐτίκα κερτομίοισι Δία Κρονίωνα προηύδα·
τίς δὴ αὖ τοι, δολομῆτα, θεῶν συμφράσατο βουλάς;
αἰεί τοι φίλον ἐστὶν, ἐμεῦ ἀπονόσφιν ἐόντα
κρυπτάδια φρονέοντα δικαζέμεν· οὐδέ τί πώ μοι
πρόφρων τέτληηκας ἐπεῖν ἔπος, ὅττι νοήσῃς."

τὴν δ' ἠμείβετ' ἔπειτα πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε·
"Ἥρη, μὴ δὴ πάντας ἐμοὺς ἐπιέλπεο μύθους
εἰδησειν· χαλεποί τοι ἔσοντ' ἀλόχῳ περ ἑουσῃ.
ἀλλ' ὃν μέν κ' ἐπιεικὲς ακουέμεν, οὔ τις ἔπειτα
οὔτε θεῶν πρότερος τόν γ' εἴσεται οὔτ' ἀνθρώπων·
ὅν δέ κ' ἐγὼν ἀπάνευθε θεῶν ἐθέλωμι νοῆσαι,
μή τι σὺ ταῦτα ἕκαστα διείρεο μηδὲ μετάλλα."

So he then sat down upon his throne, but Hera saw,
And had not failed to notice when he plotted plans
With silver footed Thetis, daughter of the Old Man of the Sea.
Right off she spoke to Cronus' son with biting words:
"Which of the gods this time has been plotting with you,
Deceiver? Always it is dear to you when I am away,
Planning and making judgements in secret;
Neither do you take joy in any way, nor have the courage to
Speak your word to me, whatever be in your mind."

Thereupon the father of gods and men replied to her:
"Hera, do not hope to see all my thoughts;
These will be hard for you, though you be my wife.
But any thought that is fitting for you to hear:
Then not a one will know it first, neither god
Nor mortal man; and if perhaps I should desire
To plan and plot apart from the gods, then neither seek to know
Nor inquire into each and every thing that I am about."



A rather amusing scene here with Hera tormenting Zeus, and then the father of gods and men firing back that his woman should know her place. Almost like Alice and Ralph Kramden in the The Honeymooners. Pharr postulates that this burlesque show among the gods at the conclusion of the first book of the Iliad was the prototype for the satyr play that followed the tragic triliogies at the Athenian dramatic competitions of Greece's golden age. The function here is to provide a bit of comic relief after the intensity of the disastrous quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. It is a nice exposition of the balance contained in the Greek worldview. Life is a vale of tears, but there is laughter and mirth as well...

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.