Athena's Departure and Telemachus Asserting Authority — Odyssey §1.297-1.369 (Homer) | Greek text & English translation

νηπιάας ὀχέειν¹, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι τηλίκος ἐσσι.

to play the child, since you are no longer of such an age.

ἢ οὐκ ἀίεις οἷον κλέος ἔλλαβε δῖος Ὀρέστης

Or have you not heard what fame noble Orestes won

πάντας ἐπʼ ἀνθρώπους, ἐπεὶ ἔκτανε πατροφονῆα,

among all men, when he slew his father's murderer,

Αἴγισθον δολόμητιν, ὅ οἱ πατέρα κλυτὸν ἔκτα;

guileful Aegisthus, who had slain his famous father?

καὶ σύ, φίλος, μάλα γάρ σʼ ὁρόω καλόν τε μέγαν τε,

And you too, friend—for I see indeed that you are fair and tall—

ἄλκιμος ἔσσʼ, ἵνα τίς σε καὶ ὀψιγόνων ἐὺ εἴπῃ.

be brave, that many a one of men unborn may praise you.

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ἐπὶ νῆα θοὴν κατελεύσομαι ἤδη

But I will now go down to my swift ship

ἠδʼ ἑτάρους, οἵ πού με μάλʼ ἀσχαλόωσι μένοντες·

and to my comrades, who surely are waiting for me with much impatience.

σοὶ δʼ αὐτῷ μελέτω, καὶ ἐμῶν ἐμπάζεο μύθων.

As for yourself, take thought, and give heed to my words."

τὴν δʼ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα·

And to her wise Telemachus answered in turn:

ξεῖνʼ, ἦ τοι μὲν ταῦτα φίλα φρονέων ἀγορεύεις,

"Guest, truly you speak these things with friendly heart,

ὥς τε πατὴρ ᾧ παιδί, καὶ οὔ ποτε λήσομαι αὐτῶν.

as a father to his son, and I shall never forget them.

ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῦν ἐπίμεινον, ἐπειγόμενός περ ὁδοῖο,

But come now, tarry, though you are eager for your journey,

ὄφρα λοεσσάμενός τε τεταρπόμενός τε φίλον κῆρ,

so that having bathed and rejoiced your heart,

δῶρον ἔχων ἐπὶ νῆα κίῃς, χαίρων ἐνὶ θυμῷ,

you may go to your ship, glad in spirit, bearing a gift,

τιμῆεν, μάλα καλόν, ὅ τοι κειμήλιον ἔσται

precious and very beautiful, which shall be a keepsake for you

ἐξ ἐμεῦ, οἷα φίλοι ξεῖνοι ξείνοισι διδοῦσι.

from me, such as friendly hosts give to their guests."

τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·

Then the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, answered him:

μή μʼ ἔτι νῦν κατέρυκε, λιλαιόμενόν περ ὁδοῖο².

"Do not keep me longer now, when I am eager for my journey.

δῶρον δʼ ὅττι κέ μοι δοῦναι φίλον ἦτορ ἀνώγῃ,

And whatever gift your heart bids you give me,

αὖτις ἀνερχομένῳ δόμεναι οἶκόνδε φέρεσθαι,

give it to me when I return to go home,

καὶ μάλα καλὸν ἑλών· σοὶ δʼ ἄξιον ἔσται ἀμοιβῆς.

having chosen a very beautiful one; and it will bring you a worthy return."

ἡ μὲν ἄρʼ ὣς εἰποῦσʼ ἀπέβη γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,

So spoke the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, and departed;

ὄρνις δʼ ὣς ἀνόπαια³ διέπτατο· τῷ δʼ ἐνὶ θυμῷ

and like a bird she flew up through the smoke-vent. And in his heart

θῆκε μένος καὶ θάρσος, ὑπέμνησέν τέ ἑ πατρὸς

she put strength and courage, and reminded him of his father

μᾶλλον ἔτʼ ἢ τὸ πάροιθεν. ὁ δὲ φρεσὶν ᾗσι νοήσας

even more than before. And he, marking it in his mind,

θάμβησεν κατὰ θυμόν· ὀίσατο γὰρ θεὸν εἶναι.

marveled in his spirit, for he thought that he was a god.

αὐτίκα δὲ μνηστῆρας ἐπῴχετο ἰσόθεος φώς.

And straightway the godlike man went among the suitors.

τοῖσι δʼ ἀοιδὸς ἄειδε περικλυτός, οἱ δὲ σιωπῇ

To them the famous minstrel was singing, and they in silence

ἥατʼ ἀκούοντες· ὁ δʼ Ἀχαιῶν νόστον ἄειδε

sat listening; and he sang of the return of the Achaeans,

λυγρόν, ὃν ἐκ Τροίης ἐπετείλατο Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη.

the wretched return which Pallas Athena laid upon them from Troy.

τοῦ δʼ ὑπερωιόθεν φρεσὶ σύνθετο θέσπιν ἀοιδὴν

And from her upper chamber, she laid to heart his wondrous song,

κούρη Ἰκαρίοιο, περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope.

κλίμακα δʼ ὑψηλὴν κατεβήσετο οἷο δόμοιο,

She came down the high stairs of her house,

οὐκ οἴη, ἅμα τῇ γε καὶ ἀμφίπολοι δύʼ ἕποντο.

not alone, but two handmaidens followed with her.

ἡ δʼ ὅτε δὴ μνηστῆρας ἀφίκετο δῖα γυναικῶν,

And when she came to the suitors, the noble lady,

στῆ ῥα παρὰ σταθμὸν τέγεος πύκα ποιητοῖο,

she stood by the pillar of the well-built roof,

ἄντα παρειάων σχομένη λιπαρὰ κρήδεμνα·

holding her bright veil before her cheeks;

ἀμφίπολος δʼ ἄρα οἱ κεδνὴ ἑκάτερθε παρέστη.

and a faithful handmaid stood on either side of her.

δακρύσασα δʼ ἔπειτα προσηύδα θεῖον ἀοιδόν·

Then weeping she spoke to the divine minstrel:

Φήμιε, πολλὰ γὰρ ἄλλα βροτῶν θελκτήρια οἶδας,

"Phemius, for you know many other songs to charm mortals,

ἔργʼ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε, τά τε κλείουσιν ἀοιδοί·

deeds of men and gods, which minstrels celebrate;

τῶν ἕν γέ σφιν ἄειδε παρήμενος, οἱ δὲ σιωπῇ

sing one of these to them as you sit by them, and let them in silence

οἶνον πινόντων⁴· ταύτης δʼ ἀποπαύεʼ ἀοιδῆς

drink their wine; but cease from this sad

λυγρῆς, ἥ τέ μοι αἰεὶ ἐνὶ στήθεσσι φίλον κῆρ

song, which ever wears my heart within my breast,

τείρει, ἐπεί με μάλιστα καθίκετο πένθος ἄλαστον.

since a forgetless grief has come upon me above all.

τοίην γὰρ κεφαλὴν ποθέω μεμνημένη αἰεί,

For such a person I long for, remembering ever

ἀνδρός, τοῦ κλέος εὐρὺ καθʼ Ἑλλάδα καὶ μέσον Ἄργος.

the husband whose fame is wide through Hellas and midmost Argos."

τὴν δʼ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα·

And to her wise Telemachus answered in turn:

μῆτερ ἐμή, τί τʼ ἄρα φθονέεις ἐρίηρον ἀοιδὸν

"My mother, why do you grudge the kindly minstrel

τέρπειν ὅππῃ οἱ νόος ὄρνυται; οὔ νύ τʼ ἀοιδοὶ

to give pleasure in whatever way his mind is moved? Minstrels are not

αἴτιοι, ἀλλά ποθι Ζεὺς αἴτιος, ὅς τε δίδωσιν

to blame, but rather Zeus is to blame, who gives

ἀνδράσιν ἀλφηστῇσιν, ὅπως ἐθέλῃσιν, ἑκάστῳ.

to bread-eating men, as he wills, to each.

τούτῳ δʼ οὐ νέμεσις Δαναῶν κακὸν οἶτον ἀείδειν·

For this man there is no blame in singing the evil fate of the Danaans;

τὴν γὰρ ἀοιδὴν μᾶλλον ἐπικλείουσʼ ἄνθρωποι,

for men praise that song more,

ἥ τις ἀκουόντεσσι νεωτάτη ἀμφιπέληται.

which comes newest to the listeners.

σοὶ δʼ ἐπιτολμάτω κραδίη καὶ θυμὸς ἀκούειν·

Let your heart and soul endure to listen;

οὐ γὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς οἶος ἀπώλεσε νόστιμον ἦμαρ

for Odysseus was not the only one who lost his day of return

ἐν Τροίῃ, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι φῶτες ὄλοντο.

in Troy, but many other men perished also.

ἀλλʼ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σʼ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε,

But go to your chamber and attend to your own tasks,

ἱστόν τʼ ἠλακάτην τε, καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισι κέλευε

the loom and the spindle, and bid your handmaids

ἔργον ἐποίχεσθαι· μῦθος δʼ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει

go about their work; speech shall be for men,

πᾶσι, μάλιστα δʼ ἐμοί· τοῦ γὰρ κράτος ἔστʼ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ.

for all, and especially for me; for mine is the authority in this house."

ἡ μὲν θαμβήσασα πάλιν οἶκόνδε βεβήκει·

She, marveling, went back to her chamber;

παιδὸς γὰρ μῦθον πεπνυμένον ἔνθετο θυμῷ.

for she laid to heart her son's wise speech.

ἐς δʼ ὑπερῷʼ ἀναβᾶσα σὺν ἀμφιπόλοισι γυναιξὶ

And going up to her upper chamber with her handmaids,

κλαῖεν ἔπειτʼ Ὀδυσῆα φίλον πόσιν, ὄφρα οἱ ὕπνον

she wept for Odysseus, her dear husband, until flashing-eyed Athena

ἡδὺν ἐπὶ βλεφάροισι βάλε γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη.

cast sweet sleep upon her eyelids.

μνηστῆρες δʼ ὁμάδησαν ἀνὰ μέγαρα σκιόεντα,

But the suitors clamored throughout the shadowy halls,

πάντες δʼ ἠρήσαντο παραὶ λεχέεσσι κλιθῆναι.

and all prayed that they might lie beside her.

τοῖσι δὲ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἤρχετο μύθων·

And to them wise Telemachus began to speak:

μητρὸς ἐμῆς μνηστῆρες ὑπέρβιον ὕβριν ἔχοντες,

"Suitors of my mother, possessing overweening insolence,

νῦν μὲν δαινύμενοι τερπώμεθα, μηδὲ βοητὺς

now indeed let us feast and make merry, but let there be no clamor

Syntax notes4 items

1.297νηπιάας ὀχέειν
The infinitive ὀχέειν depends on the impersonal expression οὐδέ τί σε χρή from the preceding line. νηπιάας is the accusative plural feminine representing 'childishness' as the direct object of ὀχέειν ('to carry, bear, maintain'), meaning 'to play the child' metaphorically.
1.315λιλαιόμενόν περ ὁδοῖο
ὁδοῖο is the genitive singular (with the Homeric ending -οιο) of ὁδός ('way, journey'), functioning as the genitive of object after the participle λιλαιόμενον ('longing for').
1.320ἀνόπαια
This adverb, likely derived from ὀπή ('opening, smoke-vent'), is interpreted either as 'up through the smoke-vent' or 'upwards into the air,' modifying the mysterious upward departure of Athena.
1.340πινόντων
This is a third-person plural imperative form typical of Homeric Greek, with οἱ δέ ('they', the suitors) as its subject, expressing a concessive or permissive sense: 'let them drink their wine.'

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:1.297-1.369