- 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-grc2:21.202-21.269
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
Achilles relentlessly pursues the Paeonians, but the river-god Scamander, angered by his stream being choked with corpses, warns Achilles to stop the slaughter. When Achilles refuses to comply, the river-god rises in a massive flood to drown him, forcing the hero to flee across the plain in terror.
κείμενον ἐν ψαμάθοισι, δίαινε δέ μιν μέλαν ὕδωρ.
lying on the sands, and the dark water wet him.
τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ ἐγχέλυές τε καὶ ἰχθύες ἀμφεπένοντο1
Him the eels and fishes busied themselves about,
δημὸν ἐρεπτόμενοι ἐπινεφρίδιον κείροντες·
tearing the fat about his kidneys and nibbling it.
αὐτὰρ ὃ βῆ ῥʼ ἰέναι μετὰ Παίονας ἱπποκορυστάς,
But he went on to go after the chariot-fighting Paeonians,
οἵ ῥʼ ἔτι πὰρ ποταμὸν πεφοβήατο δινήεντα,
who were still fleeing in terror along the eddying river,
ὡς εἶδον τὸν ἄριστον ἐνὶ κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ
when they saw their best man in the fierce combat
χέρσʼ ὕπο Πηλεΐδαο καὶ ἄορι ἶφι δαμέντα.
slain by might beneath the hands and sword of the son of Peleus.
ἔνθʼ ἕλε Θερσίλοχόν τε Μύδωνά τε Ἀστύπυλόν τε
There he slew Thersilochus and Mydon and Astypylus,
Μνῆσόν τε Θρασίον τε καὶ Αἴνιον ἠδʼ Ὀφελέστην·
and Mnesus and Thrasius and Aenius and Ophelestes;
καί νύ κʼ ἔτι πλέονας κτάνε Παίονας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς,
and now swift Achilles would have slain yet more Paeonians,
εἰ μὴ2 χωσάμενος προσέφη ποταμὸς βαθυδίνης
had not the deep-eddying River spoken to him in anger,
ἀνέρι εἰσάμενος, βαθέης δʼ ἐκ φθέγξατο δίνης·
taking the likeness of a man, and called from his deep eddy:
ὦ Ἀχιλεῦ, περὶ μὲν κρατέεις, περὶ δʼ αἴσυλα ῥέζεις
”O Achilles, beyond men you are strong, and beyond men you do lawless deeds
ἀνδρῶν· αἰεὶ γάρ τοι ἀμύνουσιν θεοὶ αὐτοί.
among men; for always the gods themselves defend you.
εἴ τοι Τρῶας ἔδωκε Κρόνου παῖς πάντας ὀλέσσαι,
If the son of Cronos has granted you to destroy all the Trojans,
ἐξ ἐμέθεν γʼ ἐλάσας πεδίον κάτα μέρμερα ῥέζε·
at least drive them out from me and work your grim deeds on the plain;
πλήθει γὰρ δή μοι νεκύων ἐρατεινὰ ῥέεθρα,
for my lovely streams are full of dead men,
οὐδέ τί πῃ δύναμαι προχέειν ῥόον εἰς ἅλα δῖαν
nor can I anywise pour my stream into the bright sea,
στεινόμενος νεκύεσσι, σὺ δὲ κτείνεις ἀϊδήλως.
choked as I am with dead, while you slay ruthlessly.
ἀλλʼ ἄγε δὴ καὶ ἔασον· ἄγη μʼ ἔχει ὄρχαμε λαῶν.
Come, let be, and cease; amazement holds me, leader of hosts.”
τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς·
And to him in answer spoke swift-footed Achilles:
ἔσται ταῦτα Σκάμανδρε διοτρεφές, ὡς σὺ κελεύεις.
”So shall it be, Scamander, nurtured of Zeus, even as you bid.
Τρῶας δʼ οὐ πρὶν λήξω ὑπερφιάλους ἐναρίζων,
But the proud Trojans I will not cease from slaying,
πρὶν ἔλσαι κατὰ ἄστυ καὶ Ἕκτορι πειρηθῆναι
until I have penned them in their city and made trial of Hector
ἀντιβίην, ἤ κέν με δαμάσσεται, ἦ κεν ἐγὼ τόν.
strength against strength, whether he shall slay me or I him.”
ὣς εἰπὼν Τρώεσσιν ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος·
So saying, he rushed upon the Trojans like a god;
καὶ τότʼ Ἀπόλλωνα προσέφη ποταμὸς βαθυδίνης·
and then the deep-eddying River spoke to Apollo:
ὢ πόποι ἀργυρότοξε Διὸς τέκος οὐ σύ γε βουλὰς
”Alas, lord of the silver bow, child of Zeus, you have not kept the counsel
εἰρύσαο Κρονίωνος, ὅ τοι μάλα πόλλʼ ἐπέτελλε
of the son of Cronos, who charged you strictly
Τρωσὶ παρεστάμεναι καὶ ἀμύνειν, εἰς ὅ κεν ἔλθῃ
to stand by the Trojans and defend them, until there comes
δείελος ὀψὲ δύων, σκιάσῃ δʼ ἐρίβωλον ἄρουραν.
late-setting dusk, and shadows the fertile land.”
ἦ, καὶ Ἀχιλλεὺς μὲν δουρικλυτὸς ἔνθορε μέσσῳ
He spoke, and spear-famed Achilles leapt into the midst,
κρημνοῦ ἀπαΐξας· ὃ δʼ ἐπέσσυτο οἴδματι θύων,
springing down from the bank; but the River rushed upon him with raging flood,
πάντα δʼ ὄρινε ῥέεθρα κυκώμενος, ὦσε δὲ νεκροὺς
and stirred all his streams in tumult, and swept along the dead,
πολλούς, οἵ ῥα κατʼ αὐτὸν ἅλις ἔσαν, οὓς κτάνʼ Ἀχιλλεύς
of whom there were many in his channel, whom Achilles had slain;
τοὺς ἔκβαλλε θύραζε μεμυκὼς ἠΰτε ταῦρος
these he cast out upon the land, bellowing like a bull,
χέρσον δέ· ζωοὺς δὲ σάω κατὰ καλὰ ῥέεθρα,
onto the dry ground; but the living he saved along his fair streams,
κρύπτων ἐν δίνῃσι βαθείῃσιν μεγάλῃσι.
hiding them in his deep, great eddies.
δεινὸν δʼ ἀμφʼ Ἀχιλῆα κυκώμενον ἵστατο κῦμα,
And dreadfully about Achilles rose the swelling wave,
ὤθει δʼ ἐν σάκεϊ πίπτων ῥόος· οὐδὲ πόδεσσιν
and the stream beat upon his shield as it fell, nor with his feet
εἶχε στηρίξασθαι· ὃ δὲ πτελέην ἕλε χερσὶν
could he find a foothold; but he gripped with his hands an elm,
εὐφυέα μεγάλην· ἣ δʼ ἐκ ῥιζῶν ἐριποῦσα
fair and tall, which fell from its roots
κρημνὸν ἅπαντα διῶσεν, ἐπέσχε δὲ καλὰ ῥέεθρα
and tore away all the bank, and dammed the fair streams
ὄζοισιν πυκινοῖσι, γεφύρωσεν δέ μιν αὐτὸν
with its thick branches, and bridged the River itself,
εἴσω πᾶσʼ ἐριποῦσʼ· ὃ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐκ δίνης ἀνορούσας
falling all within it. Then Achilles, leaping up from the eddy,
ἤϊξεν πεδίοιο ποσὶ κραιπνοῖσι πέτεσθαι3
sped to fly with swift feet over the plain,
δείσας· οὐδέ τʼ ἔληγε θεὸς μέγας, ὦρτο δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ
in his fear; nor yet did the great god desist, but rose up against him
ἀκροκελαινιόων, ἵνα μιν παύσειε πόνοιο
with dark crest, that he might stay from his labor
δῖον Ἀχιλλῆα, Τρώεσσι δὲ λοιγὸν ἀλάλκοι.
noble Achilles, and ward off destruction from the Trojans.
Πηλεΐδης δʼ ἀπόρουσεν ὅσον τʼ ἐπὶ δουρὸς ἐρωή,
But the son of Peleus sprang back as far as a spear-cast,
αἰετοῦ οἴματʼ ἔχων μέλανος τοῦ θηρητῆρος,
with the swoop of a black eagle, the hunter,
ὅς θʼ ἅμα κάρτιστός τε καὶ ὤκιστος πετεηνῶν·
which is at once the strongest and swiftest of winged things.
τῷ ἐϊκὼς ἤϊξεν, ἐπὶ στήθεσσι δὲ χαλκὸς
Like to it he sped, and upon his breast the bronze
σμερδαλέον κονάβιζεν· ὕπαιθα δὲ τοῖο λιασθεὶς
clanged terribly; and slipping away from beneath the flood
φεῦγʼ, ὃ δʼ ὄπισθε ῥέων ἕπετο μεγάλῳ ὀρυμαγδῷ.
he fled, and the River followed behind him with a great roar.
ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἀνὴρ ὀχετηγὸς ἀπὸ κρήνης μελανύδρου
And as when a man leads a stream of water from a dark-watered spring
ἂμ φυτὰ καὶ κήπους ὕδατι ῥόον ἡγεμονεύῃ
among his plants and gardens, guiding its flow,
χερσὶ μάκελλαν ἔχων, ἀμάρης ἐξ ἔχματα βάλλων·
holding a mattock in his hands and clearing the dams from the ditch;
τοῦ μέν τε προρέοντος ὑπὸ ψηφῖδες ἅπασαι
and as it flows forward, all the pebbles beneath
ὀχλεῦνται· τὸ δέ τʼ ὦκα κατειβόμενον κελαρύζει
are swept along, and it trickles swiftly down and murmurs
χώρῳ ἔνι προαλεῖ, φθάνει δέ τε καὶ τὸν ἄγοντα·
in a sloping place, and outstrips even him that leads it;
ὣς αἰεὶ4 Ἀχιλῆα κιχήσατο κῦμα ῥόοιο
so did the wave of the flood ever overtake Achilles,
καὶ λαιψηρὸν ἐόντα· θεοὶ δέ τε φέρτεροι ἀνδρῶν.
swift though he was; for the gods are mightier than men.
ὁσσάκι δʼ ὁρμήσειε ποδάρκης δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς
As often as swift-footed noble Achilles turned to stand
στῆναι ἐναντίβιον καὶ γνώμεναι εἴ μιν5 ἅπαντες
and face the flood, and to know if all the immortals
ἀθάνατοι φοβέουσι, τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσι,
who hold broad heaven were putting him to flight,
τοσσάκι μιν μέγα κῦμα διιπετέος ποταμοῖο
so often did the great wave of the rain-fed river
πλάζʼ ὤμους καθύπερθεν· ὃ δʼ ὑψόσε ποσσὶν ἐπήδα
beat upon his shoulders from above; and he leapt high with his feet
- 203τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ ἐγχέλυές τε καὶ ἰχθύες ἀμφεπένοντο
The verb ἀμφεπένοντο literally means "busied themselves about" or "tended to," but here it is used with grim irony to describe eels and fishes swarming over the corpse to devour its flesh.
- 211καί νύ κʼ ἔτι πλέονας κτάνε ... εἰ μὴ
A conditional construction expressing a past contrary-to-fact situation. The apodosis with καί νύ κʼ ... κτάνε (indicative past with the particle κε) meaning "would have slain" is balanced by the protasis introduced by εἰ μὴ with the indicative past (προσέφη).
- 247ἤϊξεν πεδίοιο ποσὶ κραιπνοῖσι πέτεσθαι
The genitive πεδίοιο functions as a genitive of space over which motion occurs ("across the plain"), while the infinitive πέτεσθαι ("to fly/run swiftly") is used adverbially to express purpose or result, modifying the main verb ἤϊξεν ("sped").
- 257ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἀνὴρ ὀχετηγὸς ... ὣς αἰεὶ ...
A highly detailed Homeric simile. The action of a man digging an irrigation channel, where the water sweeps away obstacles and runs faster than the worker himself (ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ...), is compared directly to the relentless speed of the floodwaters overtaking Achilles (ὣς αἰεὶ ...).
- 265ὁσσάκι δʼ ὁρμήσειε ... τοσσάκι μιν ...
A correlative construction expressing repeated action in the past. The verb in the relative clause (ὁσσάκι) is in the optative (ὁρμήσειε, the iterative optative), while the main verb in the correlative clause (τοσσάκι) is in the imperfect indicative (πλάζε), depicting a regular repetition ("as often as... so often...").