Homer Iliad VI, 369-502 Greek GCSE Verse Set Text - 1 -
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Homeric Greek Homer s Greek is not (as far as we know) a version of the language which anyone ever used in everyday speech. It is a poetic language, drawing on a number of different dialects, particularly Ionic and Aeolic. Some of its features are dictated by the demands of the metre. You will come across many words that are spelled slightly differently but are nevertheless recognisable. For example: o ἐειπεν = εἰπεν o ἐοντας = ὀντας In some cases, Homer simply uses a different word. For example: o κε / κεν = ἀν o ὀφρα = ἱνα Augment is commonly omitted in the aorist and imperfect Infinitive is often formed with the ending: -μεν or -μεναι Word endings o 2 nd declension gen sing: οιο or ου o 2 nd declension dat plural: οισι or οις o 1 st declension dat plural: -ῃσι or -ῃς o 3 rd declension dat pl: εσσι or σι Pronouns are often formed differently. In particular o τοι = nom pl masc o ται = nom pl masc o μιν, ἑ = acc sing o οἱ = αὐτῳ o σφιν = αὐτοις Prepositions often follow their nouns Tmesis (the separation of parts of a word): o ἐπι.θηκε (line 55) = ἐπεθηκε o κατα..ἐζετο (line 68) = καθεζετο - 3 -
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Iliad VI, 369-502: Revision Text ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἀπέβη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ: αἶψα δ ἔπειθ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας, 370 οὐδ εὗρ Ἀνδρομάχην λευκώλενον ἐν μεγάροισιν, ἀλλ ἥ γε ξὺν παιδὶ καὶ ἀμφιπόλῳ ἐϋπέπλῳ πύργῳ ἐφεστήκει γοόωσά τε μυρομένη τε. Ἕκτωρ δ ὡς οὐκ ἔνδον ἀμύμονα τέτμεν ἄκοιτιν, ἔστη ἐπ οὐδὸν ἰών, μετὰ δὲ δμῳῇσιν ἔειπεν: 375 εἰ δ ἄγε μοι, δμῳαὶ, νημερτέα μυθήσασθε: πῇ ἔβη Ἀνδρομάχη λευκώλενος ἐκ μεγάροιο; ἠέ πῃ ἐς γαλόων ἢ εἰνατέρων ἐϋπέπλων ἢ ἐς Ἀθηναίης ἐξοίχεται, ἔνθά περ ἄλλαι Τρῳαὶ ἐϋπλόκαμοι δεινὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκονται; 380 τὸν δ αὖτ ὀτρηρὴ ταμίη πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν: Ἕκτορ ἐπεὶ μάλ ἄνωγας ἀληθέα μυθήσασθαι, οὔτέ πῃ ἐς γαλόων οὔτ εἰνατέρων ἐϋπέπλων οὔτ ἐς Ἀθηναίης ἐξοίχεται, ἔνθά περ ἄλλαι Τρῳαὶ ἐϋπλόκαμοι δεινὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκονται, 385 ἀλλ ἐπὶ πύργον ἔβη μέγαν Ἰλίου, οὕνεκ ἄκουσεν τείρεσθαι Τρῶας, μέγα δὲ κράτος εἶναι Ἀχαιῶν. ἣ μὲν δὴ πρὸς τεῖχος ἐπειγομένη ἀφικάνει μαινομένῃ ἐϊκυῖα: φέρει δ ἅμα παῖδα τιθήνη. ἦ ῥα γυνὴ ταμίη, ὃ δ ἀπέσσυτο δώματος Ἕκτωρ 390 τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν αὖτις ἐϋκτιμένας κατ ἀγυιάς. εὖτε πύλας ἵκανε διερχόμενος μέγα ἄστυ, Σκαιάς, τῇ ἄρ ἔμελλε διεξίμεναι πεδίονδέ, ἔνθ ἄλοχος πολύδωρος ἐναντίη ἦλθε θέουσα Ἀνδρομάχη, θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος Ἠετίωνος, 395 Ἠετίων, ὃς ἔναιεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ, Θήβῃ ὑποπλακίῃ, Κιλίκεσσ ἄνδρεσσιν ἀνάσσων: τοῦ περ δὴ θυγάτηρ ἔχεθ Ἕκτορι χαλκοκορυστῇ. ἥ οἱ ἔπειτ ἤντησ, ἅμα δ ἀμφίπολος κίεν αὐτῇ παῖδ ἐπὶ κόλπῳ ἔχουσ ἀταλάφρονα, νήπιον αὔτως 400 Ἑκτορίδην ἀγαπητὸν, ἀλίγκιον ἀστέρι καλῷ, τόν ῥ Ἕκτωρ καλέεσκε Σκαμάνδριον, αὐτὰρ οἱ ἄλλοι Ἀστυάνακτ : οἶος γὰρ ἐρύετο Ἴλιον Ἕκτωρ. ἤ τοι ὃ μὲν μείδησεν ἰδὼν ἐς παῖδα σιωπῇ: Ἀνδρομάχη δέ οἱ ἄγχι παρίστατο δάκρυ χέουσα, 405 ἔν τ ἄρα οἱ φῦ χειρὶ, ἔπος τ ἔφατ ἔκ τ ὀνόμαζεν: δαιμόνιε, φθίσει σε τὸ σὸν μένος, οὐδ ἐλεαίρεις παῖδά τε νηπίαχον καὶ ἔμ ἄμμορον, ἣ τάχα χήρη σεῦ ἔσομαι: τάχα γάρ σε κατακτανέουσιν Ἀχαιοὶ πάντες ἐφορμηθέντες: ἐμοὶ δέ κε κέρδιον εἴη 410 σεῦ ἀφαμαρτούσῃ χθόνα δύμεναι: οὐ γὰρ ἔτ ἄλλη ἔσται θαλπωρὴ, ἐπεὶ ἂν σύ γε πότμον ἐπίσπῃς ἀλλ ἄχε : οὐδέ μοι ἔστι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ. - 5 -
ἤτοι γὰρ πατέρ ἁμὸν ἀπέκτανε δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς, ἐκ δὲ πόλιν πέρσεν Κιλίκων εὖ ναιετάουσαν, 415 Θήβην ὑψίπυλον: κατὰ δ ἔκτανεν Ἠετίωνα, οὐδέ μιν ἐξενάριξε, σεβάσσατο γὰρ τό γε θυμῷ, ἀλλ ἄρα μιν κατέκηε σὺν ἔντεσι δαιδαλέοισιν ἠδ ἐπὶ σῆμ ἔχεεν: περὶ δὲ πτελέας ἐφύτευσαν νύμφαι ὀρεστιάδες, κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο. 420 οἳ δέ μοι ἑπτὰ κασίγνητοι ἔσαν ἐν μεγάροισιν, οἳ μὲν πάντες ἰῷ κίον ἤματι Ἄϊδος εἴσω: πάντας γὰρ κατέπεφνε ποδάρκης δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς βουσὶν ἐπ εἰλιπόδεσσι καὶ ἀργεννῇς ὀΐεσσι. μητέρα δ, ἣ βασίλευεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ, 425 τὴν ἐπεὶ ἂρ δεῦρ ἤγαγ ἅμ ἄλλοισι κτεάτεσσιν, ἂψ ὅ γε τὴν ἀπέλυσε λαβὼν ἀπερείσι ἄποινα, πατρὸς δ ἐν μεγάροισι βάλ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα. Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σύ μοί ἐσσι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ ἠδὲ κασίγνητος, σὺ δέ μοι θαλερὸς παρακοίτης: 430 ἀλλ ἄγε νῦν ἐλέαιρε καὶ αὐτοῦ μίμν ἐπὶ πύργῳ, μὴ παῖδ ὀρφανικὸν θήῃς χήρην τε γυναῖκα: λαὸν δὲ στῆσον παρ ἐρινεόν, ἔνθα μάλιστα ἀμβατός ἐστι πόλις καὶ ἐπίδρομον ἔπλετο τεῖχος. τρὶς γὰρ τῇ γ ἐλθόντες ἐπειρήσανθ οἱ ἄριστοι 435 ἀμφ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ ἀγακλυτὸν Ἰδομενῆα ἠδ ἀμφ Ἀτρεΐδας καὶ Τυδέος ἄλκιμον υἱόν: ἤ πού τίς σφιν ἔνισπε θεοπροπίων ἐῢ εἰδώς, ἤ νυ καὶ αὐτῶν θυμὸς ἐποτρύνει καὶ ἀνώγει. τὴν δ αὖτε προσέειπε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ: 440 ἦ καὶ ἐμοὶ τάδε πάντα μέλει γύναι: ἀλλὰ μάλ αἰνῶς αἰδέομαι Τρῶας καὶ Τρῳάδας ἑλκεσιπέπλους, αἴ κε κακὸς ὣς νόσφιν ἀλυσκάζω πολέμοιο: οὐδέ με θυμὸς ἄνωγεν, ἐπεὶ μάθον ἔμμεναι ἐσθλὸς αἰεὶ καὶ πρώτοισι μετὰ Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι, 445 ἀρνύμενος πατρός τε μέγα κλέος ἠδ ἐμὸν αὐτοῦ. εὖ γὰρ ἐγὼ τόδε οἶδα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν: ἔσσεται ἦμαρ ὅτ ἄν ποτ ὀλώλῃ Ἴλιος ἱρὴ καὶ Πρίαμος καὶ λαὸς ἐϋμμελίω Πριάμοιο. ἀλλ οὔ μοι Τρώων τόσσον μέλει ἄλγος ὀπίσσω, 450 οὔτ αὐτῆς Ἑκάβης οὔτε Πριάμοιο ἄνακτος οὔτε κασιγνήτων, οἵ κεν πολέες τε καὶ ἐσθλοὶ ἐν κονίῃσι πέσοιεν ὑπ ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν, ὅσσον σεῦ, ὅτε κέν τις Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων δακρυόεσσαν ἄγηται, ἐλεύθερον ἦμαρ ἀπούρας: 455 καί κεν ἐν Ἄργει ἐοῦσα πρὸς ἄλλης ἱστὸν ὑφαίνοις, καί κεν ὕδωρ φορέοις Μεσσηΐδος ἢ Ὑπερείης πόλλ ἀεκαζομένη, κρατερὴ δ ἐπικείσετ ἀνάγκη: καί ποτέ τις εἴπῃσιν ἰδὼν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσαν: - 6 -
Ἕκτορος ἥδε γυνὴ ὃς ἀριστεύεσκε μάχεσθαι 460 Τρώων ἱπποδάμων ὅτε Ἴλιον ἀμφεμάχοντο. ὥς ποτέ τις ἐρέει: σοὶ δ αὖ νέον ἔσσεται ἄλγος χήτεϊ τοιοῦδ ἀνδρὸς, ἀμύνειν δούλιον ἦμαρ. ἀλλά με τεθνηῶτα χυτὴ κατὰ γαῖα καλύπτοι, πρίν γέ τι σῆς τε βοῆς σοῦ θ ἑλκηθμοῖο πυθέσθαι. 465 ὣς εἰπὼν οὗ παιδὸς ὀρέξατο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ: ἂψ δ ὃ πάϊς πρὸς κόλπον ἐϋζώνοιο τιθήνης ἐκλίνθη ἰάχων, πατρὸς φίλου ὄψιν ἀτυχθεὶς, ταρβήσας χαλκόν τε ἰδὲ λόφον ἱππιοχαίτην, δεινὸν ἀπ ἀκροτάτης κόρυθος νεύοντα νοήσας. 470 ἐκ δ ἐγέλασσε πατήρ τε φίλος καὶ πότνια μήτηρ. αὐτίκ ἀπὸ κρατὸς κόρυθ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ, καὶ τὴν μὲν κατέθηκεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ παμφανόωσαν: αὐτὰρ ὅ γ ὃν φίλον υἱὸν ἐπεὶ κύσε πῆλέ τε χερσὶν εἶπε δ ἐπευξάμενος Διί τ ἄλλοισίν τε θεοῖσι: 475 Ζεῦ ἄλλοι τε θεοὶ, δότε δὴ καὶ τόνδε γενέσθαι παῖδ ἐμὸν, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ, ἀριπρεπέα Τρώεσσιν, ὧδε βίην τ ἀγαθόν καὶ Ἰλίου ἶφι ἀνάσσειν: καί ποτέ τις εἴποι πατρός γ ὅδε πολλὸν ἀμείνων ἐκ πολέμου ἀνιόντα: φέροι δ ἔναρα βροτόεντα 480 κτείνας δήϊον ἄνδρα, χαρείη δὲ φρένα μήτηρ. ὣς εἰπὼν ἀλόχοιο φίλης ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκεν παῖδ ἑόν: ἣ δ ἄρα μιν κηώδεϊ δέξατο κόλπῳ δακρυόεν γελάσασα: πόσις δ ἐλέησε νοήσας, χειρί τέ μιν κατέρεξεν, ἔπος τ ἔφατ ἔκ τ ὀνόμαζεν: 485 δαιμονίη, μή μοί τι λίην ἀκαχίζεο θυμῷ: οὐ γάρ τίς μ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν ἀνὴρ Ἄϊδι προϊάψει: μοῖραν δ οὔ τινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν, οὐ κακὸν οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλόν, ἐπὴν τὰ πρῶτα γένηται. ἀλλ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε, 490 ἱστόν τ ἠλακάτην τε, καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισι κέλευε ἔργον ἐποίχεσθαι: πόλεμος δ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει πᾶσιν, ἐμοί δε μαλιστα, τοὶ Ἰλίῳ ἐγγεγάασιν. ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας κόρυθ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ ἵππουριν: ἄλοχος δὲ φίλη οἶκον δὲ βεβήκειν 495 ἐντροπαλιζομένη θαλερὸν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσα. αἶψα δ ἔπειθ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο, κιχήσατο δ ἔνδοθι πολλὰς ἀμφιπόλους, τῇσιν δὲ γόον πάσῃσιν ἐνῶρσεν. αἳ μὲν ἔτι ζωὸν γόον Ἕκτορα ᾧ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ: 500 οὐ γάρ μιν ἔτ ἔφαντο ὑπότροπον ἐκ πολέμοιο ἵξεσθαι προφυγόντα μένος καὶ χεῖρας Ἀχαιῶν. - 7 -
Background to Book 6 Fighting between the Trojans and the Achaeans (Greeks) has occupied Book 5, and the Achaeans now break the Trojan line and force them back to the city. Hector is urged by his brother Helenos to rally the Trojans and then to go to the city and arrange for the women to offer appeasement to Athene, in the hope that she will hold back Diomedes, one of the key Greek fighters. As Hector goes towards Troy, there is a meeting between Diomedes and Glaukos. In this famous passage, they realise that they are linked by guest friendship, and the meeting ends not in combat but in joy and the exchange of armour of widely differing value. The rest of the book is set in Troy, as Hector meets his mother Hecabe, Helen, and his wife Andromache. These scenes explore the effects of war on women and children, the tensions between a man s duty to fight and his duty to his family, and the relationship between the spheres of war and peace, home and the battlefield. Hector s meeting with Andromache is the last of the meetings, and marked as the most important by its length and intensity. They meet at the boundary point between war and preace: the city wall. It is significant that in her desparation, Andromache has left her usual sphere the home and even tries to give Herctort advice on tactics. Hector has temporarily returned from battle, and symbolically takes off his helmet while interacting with his wife and child. At the end of the scene, Andromache returns to her tasks in the home, Hector to the battlefield. Earlier in Book 6 Lines 237-311 Hecabe prays to Athene Now when Hector reached the oak tree by the Scaean Gate, he was besieged by the Trojan wives and daughters asking after their sons and husbands, brothers and friends. He ordered them to pray to the gods, and sorrow hung about many. Then he came to Priam s lovely palace, fronted by marble colonnades, and enclosing fifty chambers of polished stone, adjoining one another, where Priam s sons slept beside their wives and opposite within the court twelve well-roofed closely-adjoining chambers of polished stone for his noble daughters and his sons-in-law. There his gracious mother met him, with Laodice fairest of her daughters. My son, she cried, clasping his hand, why are you here and not in the midst of dreadful battle? Those vile Achaeans must be closing in on the city that you come to the Acropolis to pray to Zeus. Wait till I fetch you some sweet honeyed wine, first to pour a libation to Zeus and the other gods, and then for your relief if you will drink. Wine fortifies a man wearied by toil, as you must be wearied defending us. Mighty Hector of the gleaming helm replied: No honeyed wine for me, my lady mother, lest you weaken me and I lose strength and courage. Nor should I dare to pour Zeus a libation of bright wine with unwashed hands, nor pray to the son of Cronos, lord of the thunder clouds, spattered with blood and filth. You though must gather the older women, and take burnt offerings to the temple of Athene ever first to chase the spoils, and take her the best and largest robe in your palace, the one you love the most, and lay it on her knees. Vow to golden-haired Athene that you ll sacrifice at her shrine a dozen yearling heifers, unused to the goad, and beg her to have pity on holy Ilium, and on the Trojan women and children, and bar Diomedes from the city, that savage spearmen, and panic-maker. Go now, to the shrine of Athene the Warrior, while I find Paris and rouse him, if he will listen. Better the earth swallow him now. Zeus made him a great bane to the Trojans, to great Priam and his sons. If I saw him bound for Hades palace, then would my heart, I say, be free of grief. - 8 -
At this, his mother went to the palace, calling for her maids, and they gathered the older women of the city. Meanwhile she went down to the vaulted treasure chamber where she kept her richly-worked robes, embroidered by Sidonian women, whom princely Paris had brought himself from Sidon, when he sailed the seas on that voyage that brought him high-born Helen. From these Hecabe chose the largest and most richly embroidered that had lain beneath the rest, and now gleamed like a star. Then she set out, with the throng of older women hurrying after. At the shrine of Athene on the Acropolis, lovely Theano flung open the doors. She, whom Troy had appointed priestess of Athene, was daughter to Cisseus, and wife to Antenor, the horse-tamer. They lifted their hands to Athene, with ecstatic cries, while lovely Theano took the robe, laid it on golden-haired Athene s knees, then prayed to the daughter of Zeus. Lady Athene, fairest of goddesses, protectress of the city, shatter Diomedes spear. Topple him headlong before the Scaean Gate, and we will sacrifice in your shrine twelve yearling heifers, unused to the goad. Take pity on the city, the Trojan women and their little ones. So Theano prayed, but Pallas Athene denied the prayer. Lines 312-368: Hector urges Paris to fight While they prayed to Almighty Zeus daughter, Hector went to Paris fine home, built by the best workmen in the fertile land of Troy. They had fashioned court, hall and sleeping-chambers close to Priam s palace and Hector s own house on the citadel. There, Zeus-beloved Hector entered, his long spear in his hand, the spear-blade glittering before him, its socket made of gold. He found Paris in his rooms busy with his splendid weapons, the shield and cuirass, and handling his curved bow. Argive Helen sat there too, among her ladies, superintending their fine handiwork. Catching sight of Paris, Hector rebuked him with scornful words: It is wrong to be so perverse, nursing anger in your heart, while your friends die at the gates of the city and high on the battlements, yet you are the reason the sounds of war echo through Troy. You yourself would reproach those you found shirking the field of battle, so rouse yourself, before flames consume the city! Paris replied: Hector, since you are right and just in your rebuke, I will explain. Listen and reflect. I don t take to my room through anger against the Trojans, or indignation, but rather in sorrow. Indeed but now my wife sought to change my mind with gentle words, urging me to fight: and I myself agree it might be best, since victory shifts from one man to another. So wait a moment while I don my gear, or you go on ahead and I ll follow, and overtake you. To this Hector of the gleaming helm made no answer, but Helen spoke to him in gentle tones: Brother, I am indeed that wicked she-dog whom all abhor. I wish that on the day of my birth, some vile blast of wind had blown me to the mountains, or into the waves of the echoing sea, where the waters would have drowned me, and none of this would have come about. But since the gods ordained this fate, I wish that I had a better man for husband, who felt the reproaches and contempt of his fellow men. But this man of mine is fickle, and ever will be so, and will reap the harvest of it hereafter. But enter, now and be seated, my brother, since you are the most troubled in mind of all, through my shamelessness and Paris folly. Zeus has brought an evil fate upon us, and in days to come we shall be a song for those yet unborn. No, I shall not sit here, Helen, Hector of the gleaming helm replied: kind though you are, you ll not persuade me. Already my heart burns to aid our Trojans who miss me greatly when I m gone. But urge your man to follow swiftly, so he overtakes me in the city. I go now to see my wife, my little boy, my people, not knowing if I shall see them again, or whether the gods have doomed me to die at Achaean hands. - 9 -
Hector looks for his wife Andromache in their house, but she has gone to the city wall with her child. ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἀπέβη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ: αἶψα δ ἔπειθ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας, 370 οὐδ εὗρ Ἀνδρομάχην λευκώλενον ἐν μεγάροισιν, ἀλλ ἥ γε ξὺν παιδὶ καὶ ἀμφιπόλῳ ἐϋπέπλῳ πύργῳ ἐφεστήκει γοόωσά τε μυρομένη τε. Ἕκτωρ δ ὡς οὐκ ἔνδον ἀμύμονα τέτμεν ἄκοιτιν, ἔστη ἐπ οὐδὸν ἰών, μετὰ δὲ δμῳῇσιν ἔειπεν: 375-10 -
371 A s absence is surprising, and emphasises the tension in the city. 373 A is on the tower to the side of the Scaean gate. This is a place of ill omen: from here, Priam will see Achilles approaching at 21.526. 375 Going to the threshold: Hector did not go into the women s quarters - 11 -
εἰ δ ἄγε μοι, δμῳαὶ, νημερτέα μυθήσασθε: πῇ ἔβη Ἀνδρομάχη λευκώλενος ἐκ μεγάροιο; ἠέ πῃ ἐς γαλόων ἢ εἰνατέρων ἐϋπέπλων ἢ ἐς Ἀθηναίης ἐξοίχεται, ἔνθά περ ἄλλαι Τρῳαὶ ἐϋπλόκαμοι δεινὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκονται; 380 τὸν δ αὖτ ὀτρηρὴ ταμίη πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν: - 12 -
376 εἰ δε ἀγε: an exclamation 378 Repetition of πῃ is effective. Specifying different relatives by marriage creates an air of precision. γαλοων: sisters in law: sisters of one s husband εἰνατερων sisters in law: wives of one s brothers - 13 -
Ἕκτορ ἐπεὶ μάλ ἄνωγας ἀληθέα μυθήσασθαι, οὔτέ πῃ ἐς γαλόων οὔτ εἰνατέρων ἐϋπέπλων οὔτ ἐς Ἀθηναίης ἐξοίχεται, ἔνθά περ ἄλλαι Τρῳαὶ ἐϋπλόκαμοι δεινὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκονται, 385 ἀλλ ἐπὶ πύργον ἔβη μέγαν Ἰλίου, οὕνεκ ἄκουσεν τείρεσθαι Τρῶας, μέγα δὲ κράτος εἶναι Ἀχαιῶν. ἣ μὲν δὴ πρὸς τεῖχος ἐπειγομένη ἀφικάνει μαινομένῃ ἐϊκυῖα: φέρει δ ἅμα παῖδα τιθήνη. - 14 -
386 Like a maenad: foreshadows Hectors death. Andromache rushes out to the walls like a maenad when she realises Hector must be dead, 22.460. 383 The poet often repeats what has been said previously; this is part of the oral style. 387 Αχαιων: Achaeans: used to refer to the Greeks. - 15 -
Hector meets Andromache. She begs him to stay away from the battle, lest she be made a widow and their baby an orphan. ἦ ῥα γυνὴ ταμίη, ὃ δ ἀπέσσυτο δώματος Ἕκτωρ 390 τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν αὖτις ἐϋκτιμένας κατ ἀγυιάς. εὖτε πύλας ἵκανε διερχόμενος μέγα ἄστυ, Σκαιάς, τῇ ἄρ ἔμελλε διεξίμεναι πεδίονδέ, ἔνθ ἄλοχος πολύδωρος ἐναντίη ἦλθε θέουσα Ἀνδρομάχη, θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος Ἠετίωνος, 395 Ἠετίων, ὃς ἔναιεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ, Θήβῃ ὑποπλακίῃ, Κιλίκεσσ ἄνδρεσσιν ἀνάσσων: - 16 -
391 Hector retraced his steps from his house towards the Scaean gate and the plain. 394 ἀλοχος πολυδωρος - a wife who brought a large dowry. This was a sign of prestige. Example of ring composition: 394 She came to meet him 395 Androcmache did daughter of Eetion 396 Eetion who dwelt under mount Plakos 397 In Thebes under Plakos, ruling Cilicians 398 His daughter was Hector s wife 399 She came to meet him 395 Eetion King of Thebe is Andromaches s father. Achilles sacked Thebe, and killed Eetion and his seven sons. Her mother was captured and ransomed. Plakos is thought to have been a spur of Mount Ida, near Troy. - 17 -
τοῦ περ δὴ θυγάτηρ ἔχεθ Ἕκτορι χαλκοκορυστῇ. ἥ οἱ ἔπειτ ἤντησ, ἅμα δ ἀμφίπολος κίεν αὐτῇ παῖδ ἐπὶ κόλπῳ ἔχουσ ἀταλάφρονα, νήπιον αὔτως 400 Ἑκτορίδην ἀγαπητὸν, ἀλίγκιον ἀστέρι καλῷ, τόν ῥ Ἕκτωρ καλέεσκε Σκαμάνδριον, αὐτὰρ οἱ ἄλλοι Ἀστυάνακτ : οἶος γὰρ ἐρύετο Ἴλιον Ἕκτωρ. ἤ τοι ὃ μὲν μείδησεν ἰδὼν ἐς παῖδα σιωπῇ: Ἀνδρομάχη δέ οἱ ἄγχι παρίστατο δάκρυ χέουσα, 405-18 -
399-403 A cumulative sentence, for pathetic effect. 400-1 Touching picture of a baby held close to its mother s bosom. The child is presented as sweet and lovable. 402 Skamandros = main river of Troy. Hector may have named his son after it as an act of piety. Astyanax (lord of the city) seems to be an honorific name given by the other Trojans out of respect for Hector s part in their defence. 403 Ιλιον: another name for Troy. - 19 -
ἔν τ ἄρα οἱ φῦ χειρὶ, ἔπος τ ἔφατ ἔκ τ ὀνόμαζεν: δαιμόνιε, φθίσει σε τὸ σὸν μένος, οὐδ ἐλεαίρεις παῖδά τε νηπίαχον καὶ ἔμ ἄμμορον, ἣ τάχα χήρη σεῦ ἔσομαι: τάχα γάρ σε κατακτανέουσιν Ἀχαιοὶ πάντες ἐφορμηθέντες: ἐμοὶ δέ κε κέρδιον εἴη 410 σεῦ ἀφαμαρτούσῃ χθόνα δύμεναι: οὐ γὰρ ἔτ ἄλλη ἔσται θαλπωρὴ, ἐπεὶ ἂν σύ γε πότμον ἐπίσπῃς ἀλλ ἄχε : οὐδέ μοι ἔστι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ. - 20 -
406 A regular formula. 407 δαιμονιε: vocative, used when one person is remonstrating with another. The implication is that the person is under the influence of a spirit (δαιμων). φθισει μενος: repeated menacing σ sound. 407 Three parts to Andromache s speech 1) Emotional prediction of his death and her misery. 2) Calmer narration of her family s fate. Emphasises her sense of isolation and abandonment. 3) Appeal to Hector to remain at the wall and station his troops at its weakest point. Links: 1) ends with statement that Andromache has no father or mother, 2) explains why, 3) begins by saying that Hector is father, mother and brother The speech contains striking verbal echoes of Andromache s lament at the death of Hector 22.481. - 21 -
ἤτοι γὰρ πατέρ ἁμὸν ἀπέκτανε δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς, ἐκ δὲ πόλιν πέρσεν Κιλίκων εὖ ναιετάουσαν, 415 Θήβην ὑψίπυλον: κατὰ δ ἔκτανεν Ἠετίωνα, οὐδέ μιν ἐξενάριξε, σεβάσσατο γὰρ τό γε θυμῷ, ἀλλ ἄρα μιν κατέκηε σὺν ἔντεσι δαιδαλέοισιν ἠδ ἐπὶ σῆμ ἔχεεν: περὶ δὲ πτελέας ἐφύτευσαν νύμφαι ὀρεστιάδες, κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο. 420-22 -
414 Achilles had been in command of expedition against some of the towns around Troy, including Thebe, where the father of Andromache was king. 418 To allow an enemy to be cremated in his armour was a mark of great respect. - 23 -
οἳ δέ μοι ἑπτὰ κασίγνητοι ἔσαν ἐν μεγάροισιν, οἳ μὲν πάντες ἰῷ κίον ἤματι Ἄϊδος εἴσω: πάντας γὰρ κατέπεφνε ποδάρκης δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς βουσὶν ἐπ εἰλιπόδεσσι καὶ ἀργεννῇς ὀΐεσσι. μητέρα δ, ἣ βασίλευεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ, 425 τὴν ἐπεὶ ἂρ δεῦρ ἤγαγ ἅμ ἄλλοισι κτεάτεσσιν, ἂψ ὅ γε τὴν ἀπέλυσε λαβὼν ἀπερείσι ἄποινα, πατρὸς δ ἐν μεγάροισι βάλ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα. - 24 -
421 Tricolon to mark her brothers fate. 422 A sad and inglorious end: not death in battle but slaughtered among the animals. 428 πατρος: Andromache s mother s father. Andromache s mother returned to her own family since her husband had been killed. - 25 -
Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σύ μοί ἐσσι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ ἠδὲ κασίγνητος, σὺ δέ μοι θαλερὸς παρακοίτης: 430 ἀλλ ἄγε νῦν ἐλέαιρε καὶ αὐτοῦ μίμν ἐπὶ πύργῳ, μὴ παῖδ ὀρφανικὸν θήῃς χήρην τε γυναῖκα: λαὸν δὲ στῆσον παρ ἐρινεόν, ἔνθα μάλιστα ἀμβατός ἐστι πόλις καὶ ἐπίδρομον ἔπλετο τεῖχος. - 26 -
429 Εκτορ αταρ συ: pathetic conclusion to A s argument 431 Uses argument of the boy s orphanage to move Hector 434 Note the change of tense. The first describes the state of the city wall, the next how it seemed to the Greeks on the three occasions described. - 27 -
τρὶς γὰρ τῇ γ ἐλθόντες ἐπειρήσανθ οἱ ἄριστοι 435 ἀμφ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ ἀγακλυτὸν Ἰδομενῆα ἠδ ἀμφ Ἀτρεΐδας καὶ Τυδέος ἄλκιμον υἱόν: ἤ πού τίς σφιν ἔνισπε θεοπροπίων ἐῢ εἰδώς, ἤ νυ καὶ αὐτῶν θυμὸς ἐποτρύνει καὶ ἀνώγει. τὴν δ αὖτε προσέειπε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ: 440-28 -
436 Ιδομενευς: Idomeneus: a warrior from Crete 437 Ατρειδας sons of Atreus: Agamemnon and Menelaus. 437 Τυδέος ἄλκιμον υἱόν son of Tydeus = Diomedes. 436 Αἴαντε δύω: Ajax son of Telamon and Ajax son of Oileus. - 29 -
ἦ καὶ ἐμοὶ τάδε πάντα μέλει γύναι: ἀλλὰ μάλ αἰνῶς αἰδέομαι Τρῶας καὶ Τρῳάδας ἑλκεσιπέπλους, αἴ κε κακὸς ὣς νόσφιν ἀλυσκάζω πολέμοιο: οὐδέ με θυμὸς ἄνωγεν, ἐπεὶ μάθον ἔμμεναι ἐσθλὸς αἰεὶ καὶ πρώτοισι μετὰ Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι, 445 ἀρνύμενος πατρός τε μέγα κλέος ἠδ ἐμὸν αὐτοῦ. - 30 -
440-465 Hector is gentle but unyielding. The speech joins two styles mainly kept separate: severe and heroic, intimate and compassionate. His speech demonstrates the importance of the pursuit of glory to the Homeric warrior and the shame incurred by being branded a coward. - 31 -
εὖ γὰρ ἐγὼ τόδε οἶδα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν: ἔσσεται ἦμαρ ὅτ ἄν ποτ ὀλώλῃ Ἴλιος ἱρὴ καὶ Πρίαμος καὶ λαὸς ἐϋμμελίω Πριάμοιο. ἀλλ οὔ μοι Τρώων τόσσον μέλει ἄλγος ὀπίσσω, 450 οὔτ αὐτῆς Ἑκάβης οὔτε Πριάμοιο ἄνακτος οὔτε κασιγνήτων, οἵ κεν πολέες τε καὶ ἐσθλοὶ ἐν κονίῃσι πέσοιεν ὑπ ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν, - 32 -
447-9 These lines have occurred earlier in Agamemnon s mouth: we see the fall of Troy from both Greek and Trojan perspectives, as a just punishment for wrongdoing, and as a deep and inexplicable suffering. It is significant for the tone of tragedy in this scene that Hector knows his city is doomed. Soon after this, he is praying for victory for his son, despite realising that defeat is probably inevitable: he has conflicting hopes and fears, and his fears do not block out hope. 449 Πριαμος: Priam: father of Hector sand Paris and king of Troy. - 33 -
ὅσσον σεῦ, ὅτε κέν τις Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων δακρυόεσσαν ἄγηται, ἐλεύθερον ἦμαρ ἀπούρας: 455 καί κεν ἐν Ἄργει ἐοῦσα πρὸς ἄλλης ἱστὸν ὑφαίνοις, καί κεν ὕδωρ φορέοις Μεσσηΐδος ἢ Ὑπερείης πόλλ ἀεκαζομένη, κρατερὴ δ ἐπικείσετ ἀνάγκη: καί ποτέ τις εἴπῃσιν ἰδὼν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσαν: Ἕκτορος ἥδε γυνὴ ὃς ἀριστεύεσκε μάχεσθαι 460 Τρώων ἱπποδάμων ὅτε Ἴλιον ἀμφεμάχοντο. - 34 -
456 Αργει seems here to mean Greece in general, or possibly the Peloponnese 457 Μεσσηιδος it is unknown where this is located, possibly in Therapnai in Sparta. The spring of Hypereia is located in Thessaly. - 35 -
ὥς ποτέ τις ἐρέει: σοὶ δ αὖ νέον ἔσσεται ἄλγος χήτεϊ τοιοῦδ ἀνδρὸς, ἀμύνειν δούλιον ἦμαρ. ἀλλά με τεθνηῶτα χυτὴ κατὰ γαῖα καλύπτοι, πρίν γέ τι σῆς τε βοῆς σοῦ θ ἑλκηθμοῖο πυθέσθαι. 465-36 -
459 Κατα.χεουσαν: tmesis. 464 Κατα.καλυποι: tmesis - 37 -
Hector kisses his son and prays to Zeus to make him a valiant warrior. He sends Andromache back to their house. ὣς εἰπὼν οὗ παιδὸς ὀρέξατο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ: ἂψ δ ὃ πάϊς πρὸς κόλπον ἐϋζώνοιο τιθήνης ἐκλίνθη ἰάχων, πατρὸς φίλου ὄψιν ἀτυχθεὶς, ταρβήσας χαλκόν τε ἰδὲ λόφον ἱππιοχαίτην, δεινὸν ἀπ ἀκροτάτης κόρυθος νεύοντα νοήσας. 470 ἐκ δ ἐγέλασσε πατήρ τε φίλος καὶ πότνια μήτηρ. - 38 -
466 The following passage is very famous for its warmth of human description. It provides a contrast after the scenes of fighting, and Hector s gloomy prophecy, yet there is also an undercurrent of great sadness, because we know that Hector and Astyanax are soon to die, and Andromache become a slave. 466 Heroic epithets maintain the heroic quality of the scene, for all its tenderness. 471 Repetition of φιλος underlines the family s affection - 39 -
αὐτίκ ἀπὸ κρατὸς κόρυθ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ, καὶ τὴν μὲν κατέθηκεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ παμφανόωσαν: αὐτὰρ ὅ γ ὃν φίλον υἱὸν ἐπεὶ κύσε πῆλέ τε χερσὶν εἶπε δ ἐπευξάμενος Διί τ ἄλλοισίν τε θεοῖσι: 475 Ζεῦ ἄλλοι τε θεοὶ, δότε δὴ καὶ τόνδε γενέσθαι παῖδ ἐμὸν, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ, ἀριπρεπέα Τρώεσσιν, ὧδε βίην τ ἀγαθόν καὶ Ἰλίου ἶφι ἀνάσσειν: - 40 -
472 Symbolic laying down and later taking up of the helmet - 41 -
καί ποτέ τις εἴποι πατρός γ ὅδε πολλὸν ἀμείνων ἐκ πολέμου ἀνιόντα: φέροι δ ἔναρα βροτόεντα 480 κτείνας δήϊον ἄνδρα, χαρείη δὲ φρένα μήτηρ. ὣς εἰπὼν ἀλόχοιο φίλης ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκεν παῖδ ἑόν: ἣ δ ἄρα μιν κηώδεϊ δέξατο κόλπῳ δακρυόεν γελάσασα: πόσις δ ἐλέησε νοήσας, χειρί τέ μιν κατέρεξεν, ἔπος τ ἔφατ ἔκ τ ὀνόμαζεν: 485-42 -
482 Rising tricolon, after which the abrupt παιδ εον is all the more effective. 484 Juxtaposition of words for crying and smiling 485 Κατερεξεν: a tender and usually feminine gesture κατερεξεν. - 43 -
δαιμονίη, μή μοί τι λίην ἀκαχίζεο θυμῷ: οὐ γάρ τίς μ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν ἀνὴρ Ἄϊδι προϊάψει: μοῖραν δ οὔ τινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν, οὐ κακὸν οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλόν, ἐπὴν τὰ πρῶτα γένηται. ἀλλ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε, 490 ἱστόν τ ἠλακάτην τε, καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισι κέλευε ἔργον ἐποίχεσθαι: πόλεμος δ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει πᾶσιν, ἐμοί δε μαλιστα, τοὶ Ἰλίῳ ἐγγεγάασιν. - 44 -
491 Traditional roles of men and women in Homeric society - 45 -
Andromache and her women mourn for Hector as one already dead. ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας κόρυθ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ ἵππουριν: ἄλοχος δὲ φίλη οἶκον δὲ βεβήκειν 495 ἐντροπαλιζομένη θαλερὸν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσα. αἶψα δ ἔπειθ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο, κιχήσατο δ ἔνδοθι πολλὰς ἀμφιπόλους, τῇσιν δὲ γόον πάσῃσιν ἐνῶρσεν. - 46 -
494 Hector picks up his plumed helmet of symbolic significance 496 ἐντροπαλιζομενη: fleeting image of tenderness and regret. 498 ἀνφροφονοιο: brutally recalls us to the world of battle - 47 -
αἳ μὲν ἔτι ζωὸν γόον Ἕκτορα ᾧ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ: 500 οὐ γάρ μιν ἔτ ἔφαντο ὑπότροπον ἐκ πολέμοιο ἵξεσθαι προφυγόντα μένος καὶ χεῖρας Ἀχαιῶν. - 48 -
500 Premature mourning for Hector is prophetic and sinister 501-2 This final couplet provides a formal and epigrammatic conclusion to the scene - 49 -
Book VI Continued Meanwhile Paris did not linger long in his high house, but donned his fine armour with bronze trappings, and fleet of foot sped surely through the city. Like a stable-fed stallion, who has had his fill, and breaks the halter and gallops over the fields in triumph, to bathe in the lovely river as is his wont, tossing his head while his mane streams over his shoulders, glorying in his power as his strong legs carry him to the pastures, the haunts of mares; so Paris, son of Priam, strode swiftly down from Pergamus, glittering in his armour like the shining sun, and filled with joy. He soon overtook his brother, noble Hector, about to leave the place where he d talked with his wife. Godlike Paris was first to speak: Brother, I fear my long delay has kept you waiting: I failed to arrive as you requested. Hector of the gleaming helm answered him: Perverse man, no one with reason would decry your martial efforts, since you have courage; but you malinger when it suits, and shun the fight. It grieves me when I hear reproaches against you on Trojan lips, you who caused them all this trouble. Go on, we will be reconciled later, if Zeus grants that we drive the bronze-greaved Greeks from the soil of Troy, and we make a free libation in the palace, to the heavenly gods who live forever. - 50 -
Andromache s Lament, Iliad 22 So he wept, and the people added their tears. Now, among the women, Hecabe raised loud lament: My child, how wretched I am! Why should I live on in suffering now you are dead? You were my pride of Troy, night and day, a saviour, greeted as a god, by every man and women in this city, surely their great glory while you lived. But now death and fate overtake you. Hecabe wept, but Andromache, Hector s wife, as yet knew nothing, no one had even told her that her husband had stayed outside the walls. She was at work in an inner room of the lofty palace, weaving a double-width purple tapestry, with a multicoloured pattern of flowers. In all ignorance she had asked her ladies-in-waiting to set a great cauldron on the fire so that Hector would have hot water for a bath, when he returned, never dreaming that far from all thought of baths, he had been brought low by Achilles and bright-eyed Athene. But now the cries and groans from the wall reached her, she trembled and the shuttle fell from her hand. She called to her ladiesin-waiting: Two of you come with me. I must know what is happening. That was my husband s noble mother I heard, my heart is in my mouth and my legs are numb. Some evil afflicts the House of Priam. May such news stay far from me, but I fear to my sorrow lest great Achilles has cut brave Hector off from the city, and quenched the fatal courage that possessed him, for he would never stay safely in the ranks, but must always charge ahead, yielding to none in daring. So saying, she ran through the halls, her heart pounding, beside herself, and her ladies followed. When they came to the wall, where the men were thronging, she rushed to the battlements and gazing out saw Hector s corpse being hauled from the city, the powerful horses dragging it savagely towards the hollow ships. Darkness shrouded her eyes, enfolding her, and she fell backward, senseless. From her head fell the bright headdress, the frontlet and netted cap, the plaited strands, and the veil that golden Aphrodite had given her when Hector of the gleaming helm had led her from Eëtion s house, having paid a princely dowry for his bride. Her husband s sisters and his brother s wives crowded round her, and supported her in her dead faint. When she revived and her senses returned, she lifted her voice in lament, to the women of Troy, crying: Oh, Hector, alas for me! It seems we were born for this, you in Priam s palace, here in Troy, I in Thebe below wooded Placus, in Eëtion s house. He it was who reared me from a babe, unlucky father of an ill-fated child. How I wish he d never engendered me! Now you are gone to the House of Hades under the earth, but I remain cold with grief, a widow in your halls. And your son, the child of doomed parents, our child, a mere babe, can no longer give you joy, dead Hector: nor can you give joy to him. Even if he survives this dreadful war against the Greeks, toil and suffering will be his fate, bereft of all his lands. An orphaned child is severed from his playmates; He goes about with downcast looks and tear-stained cheeks, plucks his father s friends by the cloak or tunic, till one, from pity, holds the wine-cup to his lips, but only for a moment, enough to wet his lips but not his palate. And some lad with both parents alive strikes him with his fist and drives him from the feast, jeering at him in reproach: Away with you, now! You ve no father here. So my child will run in tears to his widowed mother, my son Astyanax, who sat on his father s knee eating the rich fat and the sheep s marrow, and when he was sleepy and tired of play, slept in his nurse s arms in a soft bed, his dreams sweet. Now, with his dear father gone, ills will crowd on him. Astyanax, that is Lord of the City, the Trojans call him, since you Hector were the great defender of the gates and the high walls. Now by the beaked ships, far from your kin, the writhing worms will devour your corpse, once the dogs have had their fill, your naked corpse, though in your house are all the fine, finely-woven clothes that women s hands can fashion. All those I will burn in a great fire, since you will no more wear or profit by them, as a mark of honour shown you by the men and women of Troy. So Andromache spoke, in tears, while the women joined in her lament. - 51 -
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- 53 -
Homer: Iliad VI Lines 369-502 Vocabulary - 54 -