Iliad 6 Flashcards
αἶψα δ᾽ ἔπειθ᾽ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας,
And then quickly he was coming to his well-built house,
οὐδ᾽ εὗρ᾽ Ἀνδρομάχην λευκώλενον ἐν μεγάροισιν,
but he found not the white-armed Andromache in his halls.
ἀλλ᾽ ἥ γε ξὺν παιδὶ καὶ ἀμφιπόλῳ ἐϋπέπλῳ
but she, in fact, with her son and her fair-robed servant
πύργῳ ἐφεστήκει γοόωσά τε μυρομένη τε.
stood on the tower both mourning and wailing
Ἕκτωρ δ᾽ ὡς οὐκ ἔνδον ἀμύμονα τέτμεν ἄκοιτιν,
And when Hector did not find his noble wife at home,
ἔστη ἐπ᾽ οὐδὸν ἰών, μετὰ δὲ δμῳῇσιν ἔειπεν·
went and stood on the threshold, and spoke amid the maids:
‘εἰ δ᾽ ἄγε μοι, δμῳαὶ, νημερτέα μυθήσασθε·
Come now, maids, tell me truthfully,
πῇ ἔβη Ἀνδρομάχη λευκώλενος ἐκ μεγάροιο;
whither went the white-armed Andromache from the hall?
ἠέ πῃ ἐς γαλόων ἢ εἰνατέρων ἐϋπέπλων,
Has she gone whither into the house of any of my sisters, or my brothers’ fair robed wives,
ἢ ἐς Ἀθηναίης ἐξοίχεται, ἔνθά περ ἄλλαι
or did she go to the temple of Athena, where indeed the other
Τρῳαὶ ἐϋπλόκαμοι δεινὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκονται;’
fair-tressed Trojan women are seeking to propitiate the awesome goddess?
τὸν δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ὀτρηρὴ ταμίη πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν·
And the nimble housewife spoke to him, saying:
‘Ἕκτορ, ἐπεὶ μάλ᾽ ἄνωγας ἀληθέα μυθήσασθαι,
Hector, since you have asked me to speak the truth,
οὔτέ πῃ ἐς γαλόων οὔτ᾽ εἰνατέρων ἐϋπέπλων
she has gone not somewhere to her husband’s sisters, nor to the beautifully robed wives of her brother,
οὔτ᾽ ἐς Ἀθηναίης ἐξοίχεται, ἔνθά περ ἄλλαι
nor to the temple of Athena, where all the other
Τρῳαὶ ἐϋπλόκαμοι δεινὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκονται,
fair-haired Trojan women are appeasing that fearful Goddess,
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πύργον ἔβη μέγαν Ἰλίου, οὕνεκ᾽ ἄκουσε
but walked to Ilium’s great tower, wherefore she heard
τείρεσθαι Τρῶας, μέγα δὲ κράτος εἶναι Ἀχαιῶν.
that the Trojans were sorely pressed and the power of the Achaeans to be so great.
ἣ μὲν δὴ πρὸς τεῖχος ἐπειγομένη ἀφικάνει,
Indeed, she then, being hurried, arrived at the wall
μαινομένῃ ἐϊκυῖα· φέρει δ᾽ ἅμα παῖδα τιθήνη.’
like someone in a fury; a nurse carrying the child went to.
ἦ ῥα γυνὴ ταμίη ὃ δ ἀπέσσυτο δώματος Ἕκτωρ
Once the housewife spoke, Hector left the house
τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν αὖτις ἐϋκτιμένας κατ’ ἀγυιάς.
along the same way back again, down the well-built streets.
εὖτε πύλας ἵκανε διερχόμενος μέγα ἄστυ
When he reached the (Scaean) gates, passing through the city
Σκαιάς τῇ ἄρ ἔμελλε διεξίμεναι πεδίον δέ,
the Scaean gates, by which way he was intending to go out onto the plain,
ἔνθ ἄλοχος πολύδωρος ἐναντίη ἦλθε θέουσα
there his wife, richly dowered, came running towards him,
Ἀνδρομάχη θυγάτηρ μεγαλήτορος Ἠετίωνος
Andromache, daughter of great-hearted Eëtion,
Ἠετίων ὃς ἔναιεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ
Eëtion, who was living below wooded Plakos (mountain),
Θήβῃ Ὑποπλακίῃ Κιλίκεσσ ἄνδρεσσιν ἀνάσσων ‘ :
in Thebes under the Trojan mountain Plakos, ruling over the Cilician men;
τοῦ περ δὴ θυγάτηρ ἔχεθ Ἕκτορι χαλκοκορυστῇ.
indeed the daughter of this man was married to the bronze-helmeted Hector.
ἥ οἱ ἔπειτ ἤντησ ἅ μα δ ἀμφίπολος κίεν αὐτῇ
She then met with him, and was going together with her handmaid,
παῖδ’ ἐπὶ κόλπῳ ἔχουσ ἀταλάφρονα νήπιον αὔτως
(who was) carrying her tender-minded child on her bosom, still an infant
Ἑκτορίδην ἀγαπητὸν ἀλίγκιον ἀστέρι καλῷ,
the beloved son of Hector, like a beautiful star,
τόν ῥ Ἕκτωρ καλέεσκε Σκαμάνδριον αὐτὰρ οἱ ἄλλοι,
whom Hector was accustomed to call Scamandrios, but the others (called him)
Ἀστυάνακτ᾽ οἶος γὰρ ἐρύετο Ἴλιον Ἕκτωρ ‘:
Astyanax; for Hector alone was drawing Ilium from danger.
ἤτοι ὃ μὲν μείδησεν ἰδὼν ἐς παῖδα σιωπῇ
He (surely) indeed smiled, looking in silence at his son;
Ἀνδρομάχη δέ οἱ ἄγχι παρίστατο δάκρυ χέουσα,
but Andromache stood near him weeping,
ἔν τ ἄρα οἱ φῦ χειρὶ ἔπος τ ἔφατ ἔκ τ ὀνόμαζε:
and then she firmly clasped his hand and began to speak a word, and called him out by name
δαιμόνιε, φθίσει σε τὸ σὸν μένος, οὐδ ἐλεαίρεις παῖδά τε νηπίαχον καὶ ἔμ᾽ ἄμμορον, ἣ τάχα χήρη
Noble sir, this courage of yours will decay you, and you take pity on neither your infantine son, nor unlucky me, who will soon be your widow;
σεῦ ἔσομαι τάχα, γάρ σε κατακτανέουσιν Ἀχαιοὶ: πάντες ἐφορμηθέντες: ἐμοὶ δέ κε κέρδιον εἴη
for soon the Achaeans will kill you, attacking together; but it would be more profitable for me
σεῦ ἀφαμαρτούσῃ χθόνα δύμεναι: οὐ γὰρ ἔτ᾽ ἄλληἔσται θαλπωρὴ ἐπεὶ ἂν σύ γε πότμον ἐπίσπῃς
if I lose you, to sink beneath the earth; for no longer will there be another comfort, whenever you, at any rate, pursue your destiny,
ἀλλ᾽ ἄχε᾽: οὐδέ μοι ἔστι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ.
but (only) mourning; for I have neither father nor queenly mother. ”
Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σύ μοί ἐσσι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ
But Hector, you are my father and queenly mother
ἠδὲ κασίγνητος σὺ δέ μοι θαλερὸς παρακοίτης
and brother, and you are my sturdy husband;
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε νῦν ἐλέαιρε καὶ αὐτοῦ μίμν᾽ ἐπὶ πύργῳ,
but come on now, take pity and stay here upon the towe
μὴ παῖδ᾽ ὀρφανικὸν θήῃς χήρην τε γυναῖκα:
so that you may not make your child orphaned, and your wife a widow;
λαὸν δὲ στῆσον παρ᾽ ἐρινεόν, ἔνθα μάλιστα ἀμβατός ἐστι πόλις καὶ ἐπίδρομον ἔπλετο τεῖχος:
And make your men stand next to the fig-tree, where the city is especially accessible and the wall was climbable
τρὶς γὰρ τῇ γ᾽ ἐλθόντες ἐπειρήσανθ᾽ οἱ ἄριστοι
For at least thrice there, the bravest attempted to enter
ἀμφ᾽ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ ἀγακλυτὸν Ἰδομενῆα
With the two Ajaxes around and the famous Idomeneus,
ἠδ᾽ ἀμφ᾽ Ἀτρεΐδας καὶ Τυδέος ἄλκιμον υἱόν:
and (around) the sons of Atreus and the brave son of Tydeus;
ἤ πού τίς σφιν ἔνισπε θεοπροπίων ἐῢ εἰδώς,
Either somewhere, someone told them (about the point of accessibility) who knows the prophecies well,
ἤ νυ καὶ αὐτῶν θυμὸς ἐποτρύνει καὶ ἀνώγει.”
or now even their own soul excites and orders them.”
τὴν δ᾽ αὖτε προσέειπε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ:
And in turn, great Hector with the glinting helmet spoke to her;
“ ἦ καὶ ἐμοὶ τάδε πάντα μέλει, γύναι: ἀλλὰ μάλ᾽ αἰνῶς αἰδέομαι Τρῶας καὶ Τρῳάδας ἑλκεσιπέπλους,
“Truly all these are also an object of concern to me, (my) wife, but I am ashamed in front of the Trojan men and the Trojan women with trailing dresses,
αἴ κε κακὸς ὣς νόσφιν ἀλυσκάζω πολέμοιο:
if thus, like a coward, I avoid (away) from way
οὐδέ με θυμὸς ἄνωγεν, ἐπεὶ μάθον ἔμμεναι ἐσθλὸς αἰεὶ καὶ πρώτοισι μετὰ Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι,
Nor has my soul ordered, since I learned to be good always and fight among the foremost Trojans,
ἀρνύμενος πατρός τε μέγα κλέος ἠδ᾽ ἐμὸν αὐτοῦ.
winning great glory, both my father’s and my very own.
εὖ γὰρ ἐγὼ τόδε οἶδα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν:
For I know this well in my mind and in my heart:
ἔσσεται ἦμαρ, ὅτ᾽ ἄν ποτ᾽ ὀλώλῃ Ἴλιος ἱρὴ
There will come a day, when holy Ilium will (at some point) be destroyed
καὶ Πρίαμος καὶ λαὸς ἐϋμμελίω Πριάμοιο.
and Priam and the people of Priam, armed with the fine ashen spear.
κἀλλ᾽ οὔ μοι Τρώων τόσσον μέλει ἄλγος ὀπίσσω,
But the pain of the Trojans hereafter is not so much of a concern to me,
οὔτ᾽ αὐτῆς Ἑκάβης οὔτε Πριάμοιο ἄνακτος
neither that of Hecabe herself, nor that of lord Priam,
οὔτε κασιγνήτων, οἵ κεν πολέες τε καὶ ἐσθλοὶ
nor of my brothers, who both many and noble
ἐν κονίῃσι πέσοιεν ὑπ᾽ ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν,
might fall in the dust by hostile men
ὅσσον σεῦ, ὅτε κέν τις Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων δακρυόεσσαν ἄγηται, ἐλεύθερον ἦμαρ ἀπούρας.
as much as that of yourself, when one of the bronze-clad Achaeans will lead you weeping, having taken away your freedom.
καί κεν ἐν Ἄργει ἐοῦσα πρὸς ἄλλης ἱστὸν ὑφαίνοις,
And when you are in Argos, you will weave at another loom
καί κεν ὕδωρ φορέοις Μεσσηΐδος ἢ Ὑπερείης
and you will carry water from the Messeis or Hypereia
πόλλ᾽ ἀεκαζομένη, κρατερὴ δ᾽ ἐπικείσετ᾽ ἀνάγκη:
being very reluctant, but powerful necessity will be laid upon you;
καί ποτέ τις εἴπῃσιν ἰδὼν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσαν:
and some day, someone, if they see you shedding a tear, may say:
‘Ἕκτορος ἥδε γυνὴ, ὃς ἀριστεύεσκε μάχεσθαι Τρώων ἱπποδάμων ὅτε Ἴλιον ἀμφεμάχοντο.’
‘This is the wife of Hector, who used to be the best at fighting among the horse-taming Trojans, when they were fighting around Ilium (during the Trojan war).’
ὥς ποτέ τις ἐρέει, σοὶ δ ̓ αὖ νέον ἔσσεται ἄλγος
Such someone will one day say, and again there will be fresh pain for you,
χήτεϊ τοιοῦδ ̓ ἀνδρὸς, ἀμύνειν δούλιον ἦμαρ.
for lack of a man such as this (as I), to avert the day of slavery.
ἀλλά με τεθνηῶτα χυτὴ κατὰ γαῖα καλύπτοι, πρίν γέ τι σῆς τε βοῆς σοῦ θ ̓ ἑλκηθμοῖο πυθέσθαι.”
But when I am dead, may heaped up earth cover me over, before I hear anything about both your cries and your dragging off.”
ὣς εἰπὼν οὗ παιδὸς ὀρέξατο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ:
Having spoken in this way, shining Hector reached out to his child;
ἂψ δ ̓ ὃ πάϊς πρὸς κόλπον ἐϋζώνοιο τιθήνης
But the child leaned back towards the bosom of his well-girdled nurse
ἐκλίνθη ἰάχων, πατρὸς φίλου ὄψιν ἀτυχθεὶς,
crying, distraught from fear at the appearance of his dear father
ταρβήσας χαλκόν τε ἰδὲ λόφον ἱππιοχαίτην,
alarmed at both the bronze helmet and the plume, shaggy with horsehair,
δεινὸν ἀπ ̓ ἀκροτάτης κόρυθος νεύοντα νοήσας.
after seeing it hanging terribly from the very top of his helmet.
ἐκ δ ̓ ἐγέλασσε πατήρ τε φίλος καὶ πότνια μήτηρ
Both his dear father and queenly mother laughed out loud.
αὐτίκ ̓ ἀπὸ κρατὸς κόρυθ ̓ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ,
Then at once radiant Hector seized the helmet from his head
καὶ τὴν μὲν κατέθηκεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ παμφανόωσαν,
and indeed put it down on the earth shining bright,
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ ̓ ὃν φίλον υἱὸν ἐπεὶ κύσε πῆλέ τε χερσὶν,
but he at least, when he had kissed his dear son and lifted and swayed him in his hands
εἶπε δ ̓ ἐπευξάμενος Διί τ ̓ ἄλλοισίν τε θεοῖσιν:
said in prayer to both Zeus and the other Gods
“ Ζεῦ ἄλλοι τε θεοὶ, δότε δὴ καὶ τόνδε γενέσθαι παῖδ ̓ ἐμὸν, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ, ἀριπρεπέα Τρώεσσιν,
‘Zeus and you other gods, grant now that (this) my boy, too becomes, just as I in this very way, very distinguished amongst the Trojans,
ὧδε βίην τ ̓ ἀγαθόν καὶ Ἰλίου ἶφι ἀνάσσειν:
thus being both good and having force, and to be lord over Ilium with strength,
καί ποτέ τις εἴποι ‘πατρός γ ̓ ὅδε πολλὸν ἀμείνων’
and one day someone might say “This (one) is at least far better than his father”
ἐκ πολέμου ἀνιόντα: φέροι δ ̓ ἔναρα βροτόεντα
as he comes back from war; and may he bring back blood-stained spoils
κτείνας δήϊον ἄνδρα, χαρείη δὲ φρένα μήτηρ.
after killing an enemy man, and may his mother rejoice in her heart.’
”ὣς εἰπὼν ἀλόχοιο φίλης ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκεν παῖδ ̓ ἑόν: ἣ δ ̓ ἄρα μιν κηώδεϊ δέξατο κόλπῳ
Having spoken thus, he placed his boy in the hands of his dear wife; and she then received him in her fragrant bosom
δακρυόεν γελάσασα: πόσις δ ̓ ἐλέησε νοήσας,
laughing through her tears; and her husband had pity on her when he saw her;
χειρί τέ μιν κατέρεξεν, ἔπος τ ̓ ἔφατ ̓ ἔκ τ ̓ ὀνόμαζεν:
he both caressed her with his hand, and spoke out and addressed her;
“ δαιμονίη, μή μοί τι λίην ἀκαχίζεο θυμῷ:
‘dearest lady, don’t grieve very much at all for me in your heart;
οὐ γάρ τίς μ ̓ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν ἀνὴρ Ἄϊδι προϊάψει:
for no man of any will send me to Hades beyond what is due (before my time);
μοῖραν δ ̓ οὔ τινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν,
but I say no man (one of men) has escaped from his fate,
οὐ κακὸν, οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλόν, ἐπὴν τὰ πρῶτα γένηται.
no coward, an no good one either, from the first (moment) his is born.
ἀλλ ̓ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σ ̓ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε,
but go into the house, take care of your own tasks,
ἱστόν τ ̓ ἠλακάτην τε, καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισι κέλευε
both the loom and the distaff, and order the handmaids
ἔργον ἐποίχεσθαι: πόλεμος δ ̓ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει πᾶσι, ἐμοι δὲ μάλιστα, τοὶ Ἰλίῳ ἐγγεγάασιν. ”
to approach their work; and war will be a concern for all men who are born in Ilium, but especially for me.”
ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας κόρυθ ̓ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ ἵππουριν:
Having then spoken in this way, radiant Hector seized the helmet with its horse-hair crest;
ἄλοχος δὲ φίλη οἶκονδὲ βεβήκειν
and as his dear wife turned her step homewards,
ἐντροπαλιζομένη θαλερὸν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσα.
she kept turning around, shedding fresh tears.
αἶψα δ ̓ ἔπειθ ̓ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο,
and swiftly thereafter she came to the well-built house of man-slaying Hector
κιχήσατο δ ̓ ἔνδοθι πολλὰς ἀμφιπόλους, τῇσιν δὲ γόον πάσῃσιν ἐνῶρσεν.
and found within many handmaidens, and stirred up grief in all of them.
αἳ μὲν ἔτι ζωὸν γόον Ἕκτορα ᾧ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ:
These women wailed for Hector in his own house, while he was (indeed) still alive;
οὐ γάρ μιν ἔτ ̓ ἔφαντο ὑπότροπον ἐκ πολέμοιο
for they no longer thought him (as) returning from war
ἵξεσθαι προφυγόντα μένος καὶ χεῖρας Ἀχαιῶν.
having fled from the might and hands of the Achaeans.
