hour 1

 

                                                      A

  Iliad 9. 410–416

 

              μήτηρ γάρ τέ μέ φησι θεὰ Θέτις ἀργυρόπεζα

410              My mother Thetis, goddess with silver steps, tells me that

 

              διχθαδίας κῆρας φερέμεν θανάτοιο τέλος δέ.

411               I carry the burden of two different fated ways [kēres] leading to the final moment [telos] of death.

 

              εἰ μέν κ᾽ αὖθι μένων Τρώων πόλιν ἀμφιμάχωμαι,

 412             If I stay here and fight at the walls of the city of the Trojans,

                       then my safe homecoming [nostos] will be   

 

              ὤλετο μέν μοι νόστος, ἀτὰρ κλέος ἄφθιτον ἔσται:

                       destroyed for me, but I will have a glory [kleos] that is imperishable [aphthiton].

 

               εἰ δέ κεν οἴκαδ᾽ ἵκωμι φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν,

414                 Whereas if I go back home, returning to the dear land of my forefathers,

 

              ὤλετό μοι κλέος ἐσθλόν, ἐπὶ δηρὸν δέ μοι αἰὼν

415                then it is my glory [kleos], genuine [esthlon] as it is,

                                that will be destroyed for me, but my life force [aiōn] will then

 

            ἔσσεται, οὐδέ κέ μ᾽ ὦκα τέλος θανάτοιο κιχείη.

 416            last me a long time, and the final moment [telos] of death will not be swift in catching up with me.

 

 

                                       B

Iliad 11.  218–228

 

                       ἔσπετε νῦν μοι Μοῦσαι Ὀλύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχουσαι

218                                  Tell me now you Muses dwelling on Olympus,

 

                      ὅς τις δὴ πρῶτος Ἀγαμέμνονος ἀντίον ἦλθεν

219                             who was the first to come up and face Agamemnon,

 

                       ἢ αὐτῶν Τρώων ἠὲ κλειτῶν ἐπικούρων.

220                               either among the Trojans or among their famous allies?

 

                      Ἰφιδάμας Ἀντηνορίδης ἠΰς τε μέγας τε

221                                  It was Iphidamas son of Antenor, a man both good and great,

 

                     ὃς τράφη ἐν Θρῄκῃ ἐριβώλακι μητέρι μήλων:

222                               who was raised in fertile Thrace the mother of sheep.

 

                     Κισσῆς τόν γ᾽ ἔθρεψε δόμοις ἔνι τυτθὸν ἐόντα

223                                 Kissēs in his own house raised him when he was little.

 

                      μητροπάτωρ, ὃς τίκτε Θεανὼ καλλιπάρῃον:

224                               Kissēs was his mother‘s father, father to Theano,

                                                                     the one with the fair cheeks.

 

                      αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ἥβης ἐρικυδέος ἵκετο μέτρον,

225                          When he [= Iphidamas] reached the stage of adolescence,

                                                                             which brings luminous glory,

 

                     αὐτοῦ μιν κατέρυκε, δίδου δ᾽ ὅ γε θυγατέρα ἥν:

226                              He [= Kissēs] wanted to keep him at home

                                              and to give him his own daughter in marriage,

 

                      γήμας δ᾽ ἐκ θαλάμοιο μετὰ κλέος ἵκετ᾽ Ἀχαιῶν

227                          but as soon as he [= Iphidamas] had married,

                                    he left the bride chamber and went off seeking the kleos of the Achaeans

 

                      σὺν δυοκαίδεκα νηυσὶ κορωνίσιν, αἵ οἱ ἕποντο.

228                                        along with twelve curved ships that followed him.

 

 

                                          C

Iliad 19.   76–138

 

                             τοῖσι δὲ καὶ μετέειπεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων

76                                            Then Agamemnon, the king of men, spoke up at their meeting,

 

                             αὐτόθεν ἐξ ἕδρης, οὐδ᾽ ἐν μέσσοισιν ἀναστάς:

77                                          right there from the place where he was sitting,

                                                              not even standing up in the middle of the assembly.

 

                            ‘ὦ φίλοι ἥρωες Δαναοὶ θεράποντες Ἄρηος

78                                     "Near and dear ones," said he,

                                               "Danaan [= Achaean] heroes, attendants [therapontes] of Arēs!

 

                            ἑσταότος μὲν καλὸν ἀκούειν, οὐδὲ ἔοικεν

79                                       It is a good thing to listen when a man stands up to speak,

                                                                                                   and it is not seemly

 

                            ὑββάλλειν: χαλεπὸν γὰρ ἐπισταμένῳ περ  ἐόντι.

80                                    to speak in relay after him.

                                           It would be hard for someone to do that, even if he is a practiced speaker.

 

                           ἀνδρῶν δ᾽ ἐν πολλῷ ὁμάδῳ πῶς κέν τις ἀκούσαι

81                                        For how could any man in an assembly

                                                   either hear anything when there is an uproar

 

                           ἢ εἴποι; βλάβεται δὲ λιγύς περ ἐὼν ἀγορητής.

82                                  or say anything?

                                          Even a public speaker who speaks clearly will be disconcerted by it.

 

                           Πηλεΐδῃ μὲν ἐγὼν ἐνδείξομαι: αὐτὰρ οἱ ἄλλοι

83                                     What I will do is to make a declaration addressed to [Achilles]

                                                                the son of Peleus. As for the rest of you

 

                          σύνθεσθ᾽ Ἀργεῖοι, μῦθόν τ᾽ εὖ γνῶτε ἕκαστος.

84                                Argives [= Achaeans], you should understand and know well,

                                         each one of you, the words [mūthos] that I say for the record.

 

                          πολλάκι δή μοι τοῦτον Ἀχαιοὶ μῦθον ἔειπον

85                                   By now the Achaeans have been saying these words [mūthos] to me many times,

 

                          καί τέ με νεικείεσκον: ἐγὼ δ᾽ οὐκ αἴτιός εἰμι,

86                                       and they have been blaming me. But I am not responsible [aitios].

 

                         ἀλλὰ Ζεὺς καὶ Μοῖρα καὶ ἠεροφοῖτις Ἐρινύς,

87                                    No, those who are really responsible are Zeus and Fate [Moira]

                                                       and the Fury [Erinys] who roams in the mist.

 

                         οἵ τέ μοι εἰν ἀγορῇ φρεσὶν ἔμβαλον ἄγριον ἄτην,

88                                   They are the ones who, at the public assembly,

                                              had put savage derangement [atē] into my thinking [phrenes]

 

                         ἤματι τῷ ὅτ᾽ Ἀχιλλῆος γέρας αὐτὸς ἀπηύρων.

89                                   on that day when I myself deprived Achilles of his honorific portion [geras].

 

                         ἀλλὰ τί κεν ῥέξαιμι; θεὸς διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.

90                           But what could I do?

                                    The god is the one who brings everything to its fulfillment [teleutân].

 

                         πρέσβα Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἄτη, ἣ πάντας ἀᾶται,

91                                    That goddess Atē, senior daughter of Zeus—

                                                      she makes everyone veer off-course [aâsthai],

 

                          οὐλομένη: τῇ μέν θ᾽ ἁπαλοὶ πόδες: οὐ γὰρ ἐπ᾽ οὔδει

92                                    that disastrous one [oulomenē], the one who has delicate steps.

                                                 She never makes contact with the ground of the threshold,

 

                          πίλναται, ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα ἥ γε κατ᾽ ἀνδρῶν κράατα βαίνει

93                                   never even going near it, but instead she hovers over the heads of men,

                                                                                              bringing harm to mortals.

 

                           βλάπτουσ᾽ ἀνθρώπους: κατὰ δ᾽ οὖν ἕτερόν γε πέδησε.

94                                       In her harmfulness, she has incapacitated others as well [besides me],

                                                                  and I have in mind one person in particular.

 

                        καὶ γὰρ δή νύ ποτε Ζεὺς ἄσατο, τόν περ ἄριστον

95                                       Yes, once upon a time even Zeus veered off-course [aâsthai],

                                                                                           who is said to be the best

 

                      ἀνδρῶν ἠδὲ θεῶν φασ᾽ ἔμμεναι: ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα καὶ τὸν

96                                      among men and gods. Even he

 

                    Ἥρη θῆλυς ἐοῦσα δολοφροσύνῃς ἀπάτησεν,

97                          was deceived; Hērā did it, with her devious ways of thinking, female that she is.

 

                      ἤματι τῷ ὅτ᾽ ἔμελλε βίην Ἡρακληείην

 98                              It happened on the day when the mighty Hēraklēs

 

                      Ἀλκμήνη τέξεσθαι ἐϋστεφάνῳ ἐνὶ Θήβῃ.

99                                was about to be born of Alkmene in Thebes,

                                                      the city garlanded by good walls.

 

                     ἤτοι ὅ γ᾽ εὐχόμενος μετέφη πάντεσσι θεοῖσι:

100                            He [= Zeus], making a formal declaration [eukhesthai],

                                           spoke up at a meeting of all the gods and said:

 

                     ‘κέκλυτέ μευ πάντές τε θεοὶ πᾶσαί τε θέαιναι,

101                                      "hear me, all gods and all goddesses,

 

                      ὄφρ᾽ εἴπω τά με θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἀνώγει.

102                              and let me say to you what the heart [thūmos] in my chest tells me to say.

 

                      σήμερον ἄνδρα φόως δὲ μογοστόκος Εἰλείθυια

103                             Today the goddess who presides over the pains of childbirth,

                                                  Eileithuia, will help bring forth a man into the light,

 

                       ἐκφανεῖ, ὃς πάντεσσι περικτιόνεσσιν ἀνάξει,

104                            revealing him, and he will be king over all the people who live around him.

 

                      τῶν ἀνδρῶν γενεῆς οἵ θ᾽ αἵματος ἐξ ἐμεῦ εἰσί.

105                         He comes from an ancestral line of men

                                         who are descended from blood that comes from me."

 

                      ’ τὸν δὲ δολοφρονέουσα προσηύδα πότνια Ἥρη:

106                              Thinking devious thoughts, the goddess Hērā addressed him [= Zeus]:

 

                      ‘ψευστήσεις, οὐδ᾽ αὖτε τέλος μύθῳ ἐπιθήσεις.

107                           "You will be mistaken, and you will not be able to make a fulfillment [telos]

                                   of the words [mūthos] that you have spoken for the record.

 

                      εἰ δ᾽ ἄγε νῦν μοι ὄμοσσον Ὀλύμπιε καρτερὸν ὅρκον,

108                                      But come, Olympian god, swear for me a binding oath:

 

                     ἦ μὲν τὸν πάντεσσι περικτιόνεσσιν ἀνάξειν

109                         swear that he will really be king over all the people who live around him,

 

                     ὅς κεν ἐπ᾽ ἤματι τῷδε πέσῃ μετὰ ποσσὶ γυναικὸς

110                         I mean, the one who on this day shall fall to the ground between the legs of a woman

 

                     τῶν ἀνδρῶν οἳ σῆς ἐξ αἵματός εἰσι γενέθλης.

111                           who is descended from men who come from your line of ancestry,

                                                from blood that comes from you."

 

                    ’ ὣς ἔφατο: Ζεὺς δ᾽ οὔ τι δολοφροσύνην ἐνόησεν,

112                            So she spoke. And Zeus did not at all notice [noeîn] her devious thinking,

 

                    ἀλλ᾽ ὄμοσεν μέγαν ὅρκον, ἔπειτα δὲ πολλὸν ἀάσθη.

 113                       but he swore a great oath.

                                 And right then and there, he veered off-course [aâsthai] in a big way.

 

                 ‘ Ἥρη δ᾽ ἀΐξασα λίπεν ῥίον Οὐλύμποιο,

114                           Meanwhile, Hērā sped off, leaving the ridges of Olympus behind,

 

                   καρπαλίμως δ᾽ ἵκετ᾽ Ἄργος Ἀχαιικόν, ἔνθ᾽ ἄρα ᾔδη

115                           and swiftly she reached Achaean Argos.

                                                 She knew that she would find there

 

                   ἰφθίμην ἄλοχον Σθενέλου Περσηϊάδαο.

 116                           the strong wife of Sthenelos son of Perseus.

 

                  ἣ δ᾽ ἐκύει φίλον υἱόν, ὃ δ᾽ ἕβδομος ἑστήκει μείς:

117                           She was pregnant with a dear son, and she was in her sixth month.

 

                  ἐκ δ᾽ ἄγαγε πρὸ φόως δὲ καὶ ἠλιτόμηνον ἐόντα,

118                          And she brought him forth into the light,

                                          even though he was still one month short.

 

                  Ἀλκμήνης δ᾽ ἀπέπαυσε τόκον, σχέθε δ᾽ Εἰλειθυίας.

119                 Meanwhile she put a pause on the time of delivery for Alkmene,

                                          holding back the divine powers of labor, the Eileithuiai.

 

                 αὐτὴ δ᾽ ἀγγελέουσα Δία Κρονίωνα προσηύδα:

120                     And then she herself went to tell the news to Zeus the son of Kronos, saying:

 

                 ‘Ζεῦ πάτερ ἀργικέραυνε ἔπος τί τοι ἐν φρεσὶ θήσω:

121                       "Zeus the father, you with the gleaming thunderbolt,

                                                        I will put a word into your thoughts:

 

                 ἤδη ἀνὴρ γέγον᾽ ἐσθλὸς ὃς Ἀργείοισιν ἀνάξει

122                   there has just been born a man,

                                           a noble one, who will be king over the Argives.

 

                 Εὐρυσθεὺς Σθενέλοιο πάϊς Περσηϊάδαο

123                         He is Eurystheus son of Sthenelos son of Perseus.

 

                  σὸν γένος: οὔ οἱ ἀεικὲς ἀνασσέμεν Ἀργείοισιν.

124                           He is from your line of ancestry,

                                        and it is not unseemly for him to be king over the Argives."

 

                 ὣς φάτο, τὸν δ᾽ ἄχος ὀξὺ κατὰ φρένα τύψε βαθεῖαν:

125                      So she spoke, and he was struck in his mind [phrēn] with a sharp sorrow [akhos].

 

                  αὐτίκα δ᾽ εἷλ᾽ Ἄτην κεφαλῆς λιπαροπλοκάμοιο

126                And right away she grabbed the goddess Atē

                                   by the head—that head covered with luxuriant curls—

 

                   χωόμενος φρεσὶν ᾗσι, καὶ ὤμοσε καρτερὸν ὅρκον

127                       since he was angry in his thinking [phrenes], and he swore a binding oath

 

                  μή ποτ᾽ ἐς Οὔλυμπόν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα

128                        that never will she come to Olympus and to the starry sky

 

                 αὖτις ἐλεύσεσθαι Ἄτην, ἣ πάντας ἀᾶται.

129                      never again will she come back, that goddess Atē,

                                  who makes everyone veer off-course [aâsthai].

 

                 ὣς εἰπὼν ἔρριψεν ἀπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος

130                      And so saying he threw her down from the starry sky,

 

                 χειρὶ περιστρέψας: τάχα δ᾽ ἵκετο ἔργ᾽ ἀνθρώπων.

131                    having whirled her around in his hand.

                            And then she [= Atē] came to the fields where mortals live and work.

 

                 τὴν αἰεὶ στενάχεσχ᾽ ὅθ᾽ ἑὸν φίλον υἱὸν ὁρῷτο

132                    He [= Zeus] always mourned the fact that she ever existed,

                                       every time he saw how his own dear son

 

                ἔργον ἀεικὲς ἔχοντα ὑπ᾽ Εὐρυσθῆος ἀέθλων.

133                   was having one of his degrading Labors [āthloi] to work on.

 

                ὣς καὶ ἐγών, ὅτε δ᾽ αὖτε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ

134                   So also I [= Agamemnon], while the great Hector, the one with the gleaming helmet,

 

                Ἀργείους ὀλέκεσκεν ἐπὶ πρυμνῇσι νέεσσιν,

135                    was destroying the Argives [= Achaeans] at the sterns of the beached ships,

 

               οὐ δυνάμην λελαθέσθ᾽ Ἄτης ᾗ πρῶτον ἀάσθην.

 136                 was not able to keep out of my mind the veering [atē]

                                I experienced once I veered off-course [aâsthai].

 

             ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ ἀασάμην καί μευ φρένας ἐξέλετο Ζεύς,

137                 But since I did veer off-course [aâsthai] and since Zeus took away from me my thinking,

 

            ἂψ ἐθέλω ἀρέσαι, δόμεναί τ᾽ ἀπερείσι᾽ ἄποινα:

 138             I now want to make amends, and to give untold amounts of compensation."