- Source
- Homer. Homeri Opera, Volumes 1-2. Monro, D. B. (David Binning), editor; Allen, Thomas W. (Thomas William), editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908-1920.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:14.148-14.223
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
As Poseidon's roaring voice inspires the Achaeans to fight, Hera plans to deceive Zeus by beautifying herself and borrowing Aphrodite's magical girdle of love and desire.
ὅσσόν1 τʼ ἐννεάχιλοι ἐπίαχον ἢ δεκάχιλοι
As loud as the shout of nine thousand or ten thousand
ἀνέρες ἐν πολέμῳ ἔριδα ξυνάγοντες Ἄρηος,
men in battle when they join the strife of Ares,
τόσσην ἐκ στήθεσφιν ὄπα κρείων ἐνοσίχθων
so great a voice did the mighty Shaker of Earth send
ἧκεν· Ἀχαιοῖσιν δὲ μέγα σθένος ἔμβαλʼ ἑκάστῳ
from his breast; and in the heart of each of the Achaeans he cast
καρδίῃ, ἄληκτον πολεμίζειν ἠδὲ μάχεσθαι.
great strength, to war and fight unceasingly.
Ἥρη δʼ εἰσεῖδε χρυσόθρονος ὀφθαλμοῖσι
And Hera of the golden throne looked with her eyes
στᾶσʼ ἐξ Οὐλύμποιο ἀπὸ ῥίου· αὐτίκα δʼ ἔγνω
as she stood on a peak of Olympus; and straightway she recognized
τὸν μὲν ποιπνύοντα μάχην ἀνὰ κυδιάνειραν
him who was busying himself in the battle that brings glory to men,
αὐτοκασίγνητον καὶ δαέρα, χαῖρε δὲ θυμῷ·
her own brother and her brother-in-law, and she rejoiced in her heart.
Ζῆνα δʼ ἐπʼ ἀκροτάτης κορυφῆς πολυπίδακος Ἴδης
But Zeus she saw sitting on the topmost peak of many-fountained Ida,
ἥμενον εἰσεῖδε, στυγερὸς δέ οἱ ἔπλετο θυμῷ.
and he became hateful to her heart.
μερμήριξε δʼ ἔπειτα βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη
Then the ox-eyed queenly Hera
ὅππως ἐξαπάφοιτο Διὸς νόον αἰγιόχοιο·
planned how she might beguile the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus.
ἥδε δέ οἱ κατὰ θυμὸν ἀρίστη φαίνετο βουλὴ
And this seemed to her in her heart to be the best counsel:
ἐλθεῖν εἰς Ἴδην εὖ ἐντύνασαν ἓ αὐτήν,
to go to Ida when she had well adorned herself,
εἴ πως ἱμείραιτο2 παραδραθέειν φιλότητι
if perchance he might desire to lie by her side in love
ᾗ χροιῇ, τῷ δʼ ὕπνον ἀπήμονά τε λιαρόν τε
for her body, and she might pour upon his eyelids and
χεύῃ ἐπὶ βλεφάροισιν ἰδὲ φρεσὶ πευκαλίμῃσι.
his wise heart a sleep harmless and warm.
βῆ δʼ ἴμεν ἐς θάλαμον, τόν οἱ φίλος υἱὸς ἔτευξεν
She went to her chamber, which her dear son
Ἥφαιστος, πυκινὰς δὲ θύρας σταθμοῖσιν ἐπῆρσε
Hephaestus had made for her, and had fitted strong doors to the posts
κληῗδι κρυπτῇ, τὴν δʼ οὐ θεὸς ἄλλος ἀνῷγεν·
with a secret bolt, which no other god could open.
ἔνθʼ ἥ γʼ εἰσελθοῦσα θύρας ἐπέθηκε φαεινάς.
There she entered and closed the shining doors.
ἀμβροσίῃ μὲν πρῶτον ἀπὸ χροὸς ἱμερόεντος
First with ambrosia she cleansed from her lovely body
λύματα πάντα κάθηρεν, ἀλείψατο δὲ λίπʼ ἐλαίῳ3
all defilement, and anointed herself richly with olive oil,
ἀμβροσίῳ ἑδανῷ, τό ῥά οἱ τεθυωμένον ἦεν·
ambrosial and sweet, which was scented for her;
τοῦ καὶ κινυμένοιο Διὸς κατὰ χαλκοβατὲς δῶ
and when this was stirred in the bronze-floored house of Zeus,
ἔμπης ἐς γαῖάν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἵκετʼ ἀϋτμή.
the scent thereof went even to earth and to heaven.
τῷ ῥʼ ἥ γε χρόα καλὸν ἀλειψαμένη ἰδὲ χαίτας
Therewith she anointed her fair body, and her hair
πεξαμένη χερσὶ πλοκάμους ἔπλεξε φαεινοὺς
she combed, and with her hands plaited the shining tresses,
καλοὺς ἀμβροσίους ἐκ κράατος ἀθανάτοιο.
fair and ambrosial, from her immortal head.
ἀμφὶ δʼ ἄρʼ ἀμβρόσιον ἑανὸν ἕσαθʼ, ὅν οἱ Ἀθήνη
Then she clad herself in an ambrosial robe, which Athena
ἔξυσʼ ἀσκήσασα, τίθει δʼ ἐνὶ δαίδαλα πολλά·
had smoothed and wrought for her, and had set therein many embroideries;
χρυσείῃς δʼ ἐνετῇσι κατὰ στῆθος περονᾶτο.
and she pinned it at the breast with golden brooches.
ζώσατο δὲ ζώνῃ ἑκατὸν θυσάνοις ἀραρυίῃ,
And she girded herself with a girdle arrayed with a hundred tassels,
ἐν δʼ ἄρα ἕρματα ἧκεν ἐϋτρήτοισι λοβοῖσι
and in her well-pierced ears she set
τρίγληνα μορόεντα· χάρις δʼ ἀπελάμπετο πολλή.
earrings with three clusters, pooling with grace; and great charm shone therefrom.
κρηδέμνῳ δʼ ἐφύπερθε καλύψατο δῖα θεάων
And with a veil she covered herself, she, fair among goddesses,
καλῷ νηγατέῳ· λευκὸν δʼ ἦν ἠέλιος ὥς·
a veil lovely and new-woven; and white it was as the sun.
ποσσὶ δʼ ὑπὸ λιπαροῖσιν ἐδήσατο καλὰ πέδιλα.
And beneath her shining feet she bound her fair sandals.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ πάντα περὶ χροῒ θήκατο κόσμον
But when she had put all her adornment about her body,
βῆ ῥʼ ἴμεν ἐκ θαλάμοιο, καλεσσαμένη δʼ Ἀφροδίτην
she went forth from her chamber, and calling Aphrodite
τῶν ἄλλων ἀπάνευθε θεῶν πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·
apart from the other gods, she spoke to her, saying:
ἦ ῥά νύ μοί τι πίθοιο φίλον τέκος ὅττί κεν εἴπω,
”Wilt thou now hearken to me, dear child, in what I shall say,
ἦέ κεν ἀρνήσαιο κοτεσσαμένη τό γε θυμῷ,
or wilt thou refuse me, being angry in thy heart
οὕνεκʼ ἐγὼ Δαναοῖσι, σὺ δὲ Τρώεσσιν ἀρήγεις;
because I give aid to the Danaans, and thou to the Trojans?”
τὴν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη·
Then made answer to her Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus:
Ἥρη πρέσβα θεὰ θύγατερ μεγάλοιο Κρόνοιο
”Hera, queenly goddess, daughter of great Cronos,
αὔδα ὅ τι φρονέεις· τελέσαι δέ με θυμὸς ἄνωγεν,
speak what is in thy mind; my heart bids me fulfill it,
εἰ δύναμαι τελέσαι γε καὶ εἰ τετελεσμένον ἐστίν.
if fulfill it I can, and if it is a thing that may be fulfilled.”
τὴν δὲ δολοφρονέουσα προσηύδα πότνια Ἥρη·
Then with guileful thought queenly Hera spoke to her:
δὸς νῦν μοι φιλότητα καὶ ἵμερον, ᾧ τε σὺ πάντας
”Give me now love and desire, wherewith thou
δαμνᾷ ἀθανάτους ἠδὲ θνητοὺς ἀνθρώπους.
subduest all immortals and mortal men.
εἶμι γὰρ ὀψομένη πολυφόρβου πείρατα γαίης,
For I am going to visit the limits of the all-nourishing earth,
Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσιν καὶ μητέρα Τηθύν,
and Oceanus, from whom the gods are sprung, and mother Tethys,
οἵ μʼ ἐν σφοῖσι δόμοισιν ἐῢ τρέφον ἠδʼ ἀτίταλλον
who reared me well and cherished me in their halls,
δεξάμενοι Ῥείας, ὅτε τε Κρόνον εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς
taking me from Rhea, what time far-seeing Zeus
γαίης νέρθε καθεῖσε καὶ ἀτρυγέτοιο θαλάσσης·
cast Cronos down beneath the earth and the unresting sea.
τοὺς εἶμʼ ὀψομένη, καί σφʼ ἄκριτα νείκεα λύσω·
Them am I going to visit, and I will loose for them their endless strife;
ἤδη γὰρ δηρὸν χρόνον ἀλλήλων ἀπέχονται
for already for a long time they hold aloof from one another,
εὐνῆς καὶ φιλότητος, ἐπεὶ χόλος ἔμπεσε θυμῷ.
from the marriage-bed and from love, since wrath has fallen upon their hearts.
εἰ κείνω ἐπέεσσι παραιπεπιθοῦσα4 φίλον κῆρ
If by my words I might persuade their hearts
εἰς εὐνὴν ἀνέσαιμι ὁμωθῆναι φιλότητι,
and bring them back to their couch to be joined in love,
αἰεί κέ σφι φίλη τε καὶ αἰδοίη καλεοίμην.
ever should I be called dear by them and worthy of reverence.”
τὴν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε φιλομειδὴς Ἀφροδίτη·
Then again spoke to her laughter-loving Aphrodite:
οὐκ ἔστʼ οὐδὲ ἔοικε τεὸν ἔπος ἀρνήσασθαι·
”It may not be, nor is it seemly, to deny thy word;
Ζηνὸς γὰρ τοῦ ἀρίστου ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσιν ἰαύεις.
for thou sleepest in the arms of Zeus, the chief of gods.”
ἦ, καὶ ἀπὸ στήθεσφιν ἐλύσατο κεστὸν ἱμάντα
She spoke, and loosed from her breast the broidered girdle,
ποικίλον, ἔνθα δέ οἱ θελκτήρια πάντα τέτυκτο·
fair-wrought, wherein all her enchantments were fashioned.
ἔνθʼ ἔνι μὲν φιλότης, ἐν δʼ ἵμερος, ἐν δʼ ὀαριστὺς
Therein was love, therein desire, therein companionable talk,
πάρφασις, ἥ τʼ ἔκλεψε νόον πύκα περ φρονεόντων.
and persuasion that steals away the mind of the very wise.
τόν ῥά οἱ ἔμβαλε χερσὶν ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἔκ τʼ ὀνόμαζε·
This she laid in Hera’s hands, and spoke and addressed her:
τῆ νῦν τοῦτον ἱμάντα τεῷ ἐγκάτθεο κόλπῳ
”Take now this girdle and lay it in thy bosom,
ποικίλον, ᾧ ἔνι πάντα τετεύχαται· οὐδέ σέ φημι
this broidered girdle, wherein all things are fashioned; and I deem
ἄπρηκτόν γε νέεσθαι, ὅ τι φρεσὶ σῇσι μενοινᾷς.
thou wilt not return with thy purpose unfulfilled, whatsoever thy heart desires.”
ὣς φάτο, μείδησεν δὲ βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη,
So she spoke, and ox-eyed queenly Hera smiled,
μειδήσασα δʼ ἔπειτα ἑῷ ἐγκάτθετο κόλπῳ.
and smiling, she laid it in her bosom.
- 14.148ὅσσόν
The correlative construction ὅσσόν... τόσσην (line 150) compares the loudness of the shouts. The relative clause in lines 148–149 describes the volume of nine or ten thousand men shouting in battle, to which τόσσην in line 150 responds, indicating the scale of Poseidon's shout.
- 14.163εἴ πως ἱμείραιτο
While the optative ἱμείραιτο ("if he should desire") expresses an uncertain condition (Zeus's desire), the subjunctive χεύῃ ("that she might pour") in line 165 is used to express the purpose or result that Hera intends to bring about. This alternation reflects a shift in subjective probability.
- 14.171λίπʼ ἐλαίῳ
The word λίπα (elided here to λίπʼ) is an archaic adverbial expression originally derived from the dative of the neuter noun *lipas, meaning "richly" or "plentifully." Combined with the dative ἐλαίῳ (oil), it forms a formulaic expression meaning "to anoint richly with oil."
- 14.208εἰ κείνω ἐπέεσσι παραιπεπιθοῦσα
The protasis in lines 208–209, εἰ... ἀνέσαιμι (optative), finds its apodosis in line 210, αἰεί κέ... καλεοίμην (κέ + optative), forming a future less vivid or potential conditional sentence.