- 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-grc2:22.129-22.195
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
Hector is struck with fear upon seeing the majestic Achilles and flees, with Achilles pursuing him relentlessly around the walls of Troy. In heaven, Zeus pities Hector's fate, but after Athena's intervention, he consents to his destiny, and Athena descends to the battlefield.
βέλτερον αὖτʼ ἔριδι ξυνελαυνέμεν ὅττι τάχιστα·
”It is better indeed to clash in strife as quickly as possible;
εἴδομεν1 ὁπποτέρῳ κεν Ὀλύμπιος εὖχος ὀρέξῃ.
let us see to which of us the Olympian will grant the glory.”
ὣς ὅρμαινε μένων, ὃ δέ οἱ σχεδὸν ἦλθεν Ἀχιλλεὺς
Thus he pondered as he waited, and Achilles drew near him,
ἶσος Ἐνυαλίῳ κορυθάϊκι πτολεμιστῇ
like Enyalius, the helmet-shaking warrior,
σείων Πηλιάδα μελίην κατὰ δεξιὸν ὦμον
shaking the dreadful Pelian ash spear over his right shoulder; and around him the bronze flashed
δεινήν· ἀμφὶ δὲ χαλκὸς ἐλάμπετο εἴκελος αὐγῇ2
like the gleam of either a blazing fire or
ἢ πυρὸς αἰθομένου ἢ ἠελίου ἀνιόντος.
the rising sun.
Ἕκτορα δʼ, ὡς ἐνόησεν, ἕλε τρόμος· οὐδʼ ἄρʼ ἔτʼ ἔτλη
And Hector, when he saw him, was seized with trembling; nor did he dare to remain
αὖθι μένειν, ὀπίσω δὲ πύλας λίπε, βῆ δὲ φοβηθείς·
there any longer, but left the gates behind him, and fled in fear;
Πηλεΐδης δʼ ἐπόρουσε ποσὶ κραιπνοῖσι πεποιθώς.
and the son of Peleus rushed after him, trusting in his swift feet.
ἠΰτε κίρκος ὄρεσφιν ἐλαφρότατος πετεηνῶν
Just as a hawk on the mountains, swiftest of winged things,
ῥηϊδίως οἴμησε μετὰ τρήρωνα πέλειαν,
easily swoops after a fluttering dove,
ἣ δέ θʼ ὕπαιθα φοβεῖται, ὃ δʼ ἐγγύθεν ὀξὺ λεληκὼς
which flees before him, while he close at hand with shrill screams
ταρφέʼ ἐπαΐσσει, ἑλέειν τέ ἑ θυμὸς ἀνώγει·
darts at her again and again, and his heart bids him seize her;
ὣς ἄρʼ ὅ γʼ ἐμμεμαὼς ἰθὺς πέτετο, τρέσε δʼ Ἕκτωρ
even so Achilles flew straight on in his eagerness, and Hector fled in terror
τεῖχος ὕπο Τρώων, λαιψηρὰ δὲ γούνατʼ ἐνώμα.
beneath the wall of the Trojans, and plied his swift knees.
οἳ δὲ παρὰ σκοπιὴν καὶ ἐρινεὸν ἠνεμόεντα
Past the lookout station and the wind-swept wild fig tree,
τείχεος αἰὲν ὑπʼ ἐκ κατʼ ἀμαξιτὸν ἐσσεύοντο,
always away from under the wall, along the wagon track they sped,
κρουνὼ δʼ ἵκανον καλλιρρόω· ἔνθα δὲ πηγαὶ
and came to the two fair-flowing springs, where
δοιαὶ ἀναΐσσουσι Σκαμάνδρου δινήεντος.
the two sources of eddying Scamander well up.
ἣ μὲν γάρ θʼ ὕδατι λιαρῷ ῥέει, ἀμφὶ δὲ καπνὸς
The one flows with warm water, and all around it smoke
γίγνεται ἐξ αὐτῆς ὡς εἰ πυρὸς αἰθομένοιο·
rises from it as if from a blazing fire;
ἣ δʼ ἑτέρη θέρεϊ προρέει ἐϊκυῖα χαλάζῃ,
while the other even in summer flows forth like hail,
ἢ χιόνι ψυχρῇ ἢ ἐξ ὕδατος κρυστάλλῳ.
or cold snow, or ice made from water.
ἔνθα δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτάων πλυνοὶ εὐρέες ἐγγὺς ἔασι
And there near them are wide, beautiful washing-troughs
καλοὶ λαΐνεοι, ὅθι εἵματα σιγαλόεντα
of stone, where the wives and fair daughters of the Trojans
πλύνεσκον Τρώων ἄλοχοι καλαί τε θύγατρες
used to wash their bright garments
τὸ πρὶν ἐπʼ εἰρήνης πρὶν ἐλθεῖν3 υἷας Ἀχαιῶν.
in former times, in time of peace, before the sons of the Achaeans came.
τῇ ῥα παραδραμέτην φεύγων ὃ δʼ ὄπισθε διώκων·
By these they ran, one fleeing and the other pursuing behind;
πρόσθε μὲν ἐσθλὸς ἔφευγε, δίωκε δέ μιν μέγʼ ἀμείνων
a brave man fled in front, but a far better man pursued him
καρπαλίμως, ἐπεὶ οὐχ ἱερήϊον οὐδὲ βοείην
swiftly, since they were not striving for a beast of sacrifice or a bull’s hide,
ἀρνύσθην, ἅ τε ποσσὶν ἀέθλια γίγνεται ἀνδρῶν,
which are the prizes for the feet of men,
ἀλλὰ περὶ ψυχῆς θέον Ἕκτορος ἱπποδάμοιο.
but they ran for the life of horse-taming Hector.
ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἀεθλοφόροι περὶ τέρματα μώνυχες ἵπποι
And as prize-winning, single-hooved horses wheel rapidly about the turning-points,
ῥίμφα μάλα τρωχῶσι· τὸ δὲ μέγα κεῖται ἄεθλον
and some great prize lies there,
ἢ τρίπος ἠὲ γυνὴ ἀνδρὸς κατατεθνηῶτος·
either a tripod or a woman, in honor of a dead man;
ὣς τὼ τρὶς Πριάμοιο πόλιν πέρι δινηθήτην
so they thrice circled the city of Priam
καρπαλίμοισι πόδεσσι· θεοὶ δʼ ἐς πάντες ὁρῶντο·
with swift feet; and all the gods looked on.
τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε·
And to them the father of men and gods began to speak:
ὢ πόποι ἦ φίλον ἄνδρα διωκόμενον περὶ τεῖχος
”Ah, indeed, a beloved man do I behold with my eyes pursued around the wall;
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ὁρῶμαι· ἐμὸν δʼ ὀλοφύρεται ἦτορ
and my heart grieves for Hector,
Ἕκτορος, ὅς μοι πολλὰ βοῶν ἐπὶ μηρίʼ ἔκηεν
who has burned for me many thigh-pieces of oxen
Ἴδης ἐν κορυφῇσι πολυπτύχου, ἄλλοτε δʼ αὖτε
on the crests of many-valed Ida, and at other times
ἐν πόλει ἀκροτάτῃ· νῦν αὖτέ ἑ δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς
on the highest part of the city; but now again noble Achilles pursues him
ἄστυ πέρι Πριάμοιο ποσὶν ταχέεσσι διώκει.
with swift feet around the city of Priam.
ἀλλʼ ἄγετε φράζεσθε θεοὶ καὶ μητιάασθε
Come, deliberate, O gods, and take counsel,
ἠέ μιν ἐκ θανάτοιο σαώσομεν,4 ἦέ μιν ἤδη
whether we shall save him from death, or now
Πηλεΐδῃ Ἀχιλῆϊ δαμάσσομεν ἐσθλὸν ἐόντα.
subdue him, noble though he is, to Achilles, son of Peleus.”
τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
Then the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, spoke to him:
ὦ πάτερ ἀργικέραυνε κελαινεφὲς οἷον ἔειπες·
”O father, lord of the bright lightning and the dark cloud, what a thing you have said!
ἄνδρα θνητὸν ἐόντα πάλαι πεπρωμένον αἴσῃ
A mortal man, long ago doomed by fate,
ἂψ ἐθέλεις θανάτοιο δυσηχέος ἐξαναλῦσαι;
do you wish to release again from ill-boding death?
ἔρδʼ· ἀτὰρ οὔ τοι πάντες ἐπαινέομεν θεοὶ ἄλλοι.
Do it; but we other gods do not all approve.”
τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς·
Then in answer spoke to her Zeus the cloud-gatherer:
θάρσει Τριτογένεια φίλον τέκος· οὔ νύ τι θυμῷ
”Be of good cheer, Tritogeneia, dear child; in no wise do I speak with earnest
πρόφρονι μυθέομαι, ἐθέλω δέ τοι ἤπιος εἶναι·
mind, and I wish to be gentle to you;
ἔρξον ὅπῃ δή τοι νόος ἔπλετο, μὴ δʼ ἔτʼ ἐρώει.
do as your mind prompts you, and hold back no longer.”
ὣς εἰπὼν ὄτρυνε πάρος μεμαυῖαν Ἀθήνην·
So saying he urged on Athena, who was already eager,
βῆ δὲ κατʼ Οὐλύμποιο καρήνων ἀΐξασα.
and she went darting down from the peaks of Olympus.
Ἕκτορα δʼ ἀσπερχὲς κλονέων ἔφεπʼ ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς.
But swift Achilles pressed hard upon Hector, chasing him without ceasing.
ὡς δʼ ὅτε νεβρὸν ὄρεσφι κύων ἐλάφοιο δίηται
And as when a hound on the mountains pursues a fawn of a deer,
ὄρσας ἐξ εὐνῆς διά τʼ ἄγκεα καὶ διὰ βήσσας·
having started it from its lair, through glens and glades;
τὸν δʼ εἴ πέρ τε λάθῃσι καταπτήξας ὑπὸ θάμνῳ,
and even if it escapes him by crouching beneath a bush,
ἀλλά τʼ ἀνιχνεύων θέει ἔμπεδον ὄφρά κεν εὕρῃ·
yet he runs on, tracking it constantly until he finds it;
ὣς Ἕκτωρ οὐ λῆθε5 ποδώκεα Πηλεΐωνα.
so Hector did not escape the notice of the swift-footed son of Peleus.
ὁσσάκι δʼ ὁρμήσειε6 πυλάων Δαρδανιάων
As often as he made a start to dart toward the Dardanian gates
ἀντίον ἀΐξασθαι ἐϋδμήτους ὑπὸ πύργους,
beneath the well-built towers,
- 22.130εἴδομεν
A Homeric short-vowel subjunctive first-person plural form based on οἶδα / εἶδον, functioning here as a hortatory subjunctive ('let us see').
- 22.134εἴκελος αὐγῇ
The adjective εἴκελος governs the dative αὐγῇ ('like the gleam'). The following ἢ πυρὸς αἰθομένου ἢ ἠελίου ἀνιόντος is a genitive absolute (or parallel genitives), meaning 'like the gleam of either a blazing fire or the rising sun'.
- 22.156πρὶν ἐλθεῖν
The conjunction πρὶν followed by the infinitive ἐλθεῖν. The accusative υἷας Ἀχαιῶν ('the sons of the Achaeans') acts as the subject of the infinitive, meaning 'before the sons of the Achaeans came'.
- 22.175σαώσομεν
Though identical in form to the future indicative, this is a first-person plural aorist in the short-vowel subjunctive, functioning along with δαμάσσομεν as a deliberative subjunctive ('whether we should save... or subdue...').
- 22.193οὐ λῆθε
An imperfect form of the verb λανθάνω. The construction λανθάνω + accusative means 'to escape the notice of someone'. Here, Hector is the subject, indicating he 'did not escape the notice' of the swift-footed son of Peleus (accusative).
- 22.194ὁρμήσειε
An aorist optative. It functions as the optative of indefinite frequency (or iterative optative) in a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction ὁσσάκι ('as often as'), expressing a repeated action in past time.