Circe's Final Warning and the Sirens' Song — Odyssey §12.128-12.191 (Homer) | Greek text & English translation

βόσκοντʼ Ἠελίοιο βόες καὶ ἴφια μῆλα,

there feed the cattle of Helios and his goodly sheep,

ἑπτὰ βοῶν ἀγέλαι, τόσα δʼ οἰῶν πώεα καλά,

seven herds of cattle, and as many fair flocks of sheep,

πεντήκοντα δʼ ἕκαστα. γόνος δʼ οὐ γίγνεται αὐτῶν,

fifty in each. And of them there is no increase,

οὐδέ ποτε φθινύθουσι. θεαὶ δʼ ἐπιποιμένες εἰσίν,

nor do they ever decrease. And goddesses are their shepherds,

νύμφαι ἐυπλόκαμοι, Φαέθουσά τε Λαμπετίη τε,

fair-tressed nymphs, Phaethusa and Lampetie,

ἃς τέκεν Ἠελίῳ Ὑπερίονι δῖα Νέαιρα.

whom divine Neaira bore to Helios Hyperion.

τὰς μὲν ἄρα θρέψασα τεκοῦσά τε πότνια μήτηρ

Having given them birth and reared them, their lady mother

Θρινακίην ἐς νῆσον ἀπῴκισε τηλόθι ναίειν,

sent them away to the island of Thrinacia to dwell afar,

μῆλα φυλασσέμεναι πατρώια καὶ ἕλικας βοῦς.

to guard their father's sheep and curved-horn cattle.

τὰς εἰ μέν κʼ ἀσινέας ἐάᾳς νόστου τε μέδηαι¹,

If you leave these unharmed and mind your homeward way,

ἦ τʼ ἂν ἔτʼ εἰς Ἰθάκην κακά περ πάσχοντες ἵκοισθε·

you may yet reach Ithaca, though suffering evils;

εἰ δέ κε σίνηαι, τότε τοι τεκμαίρομʼ ὄλεθρον,

but if you harm them, then I foretell ruin

νηί τε καὶ ἑτάροις· αὐτὸς δʼ εἴ πέρ κεν ἀλύξῃς,

for your ship and your companions; and even if you yourself escape,

ὀψὲ κακῶς νεῖαι, ὀλέσας ἄπο πάντας ἑταίρους.

late and in evil plight shall you return, after losing all your companions."

ὣς ἔφατʼ, αὐτίκα δὲ χρυσόθρονος ἤλυθεν Ἠώς.

So she spoke, and immediately came golden-throned Dawn.

ἡ μὲν ἔπειτʼ ἀνὰ νῆσον ἀπέστιχε δῖα θεάων·

She then departed up the island, the divine goddess;

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ἐπὶ νῆα κιὼν ὤτρυνον ἑταίρους

but I went to the ship and rouse my companions

αὐτούς τʼ ἀμβαίνειν ἀνά τε πρυμνήσια λῦσαι·

to embark themselves and to loose the stern cables;

οἱ δʼ αἶψʼ εἴσβαινον καὶ ἐπὶ κληῖσι καθῖζον.

and they straightway went on board and sat down upon the benches.

ἑξῆς δʼ ἑζόμενοι πολιὴν ἅλα τύπτον ἐρετμοῖς.

Sitting in order, they smote the grey sea with their oars.

ἡμῖν δʼ αὖ κατόπισθε νεὸς κυανοπρῴροιο

And for us, behind our dark-prowed ship,

ἴκμενον οὖρον ἵει πλησίστιον, ἐσθλὸν ἑταῖρον,

a favoring wind sent, filling the sail, a goodly companion,

Κίρκη ἐυπλόκαμος, δεινὴ θεὸς αὐδήεσσα.

fair-tressed Circe, the dread goddess of human speech.

αὐτίκα δʼ ὅπλα ἕκαστα πονησάμενοι κατὰ νῆα

Straightway, when we had labored at each of the tacklings throughout the ship,

ἥμεθα· τὴν δʼ ἄνεμός τε κυβερνήτης τʼ ἴθυνε.

we sat down; and the wind and the helmsman kept her course straight.

δὴ τότʼ ἐγὼν ἑτάροισι μετηύδων ἀχνύμενος κῆρ·

Then verily I spoke among my companions, grieved at heart:

ὦ φίλοι, οὐ γὰρ χρὴ ἕνα ἴδμεναι οὐδὲ δύʼ οἴους

"O friends, for it is not right that only one or two alone should know

θέσφαθʼ² ἅ μοι Κίρκη μυθήσατο, δῖα θεάων·

the divine decrees which Circe, the divine goddess, declared to me;

ἀλλʼ ἐρέω μὲν ἐγών, ἵνα εἰδότες ἤ κε θάνωμεν

but I will speak them, so that knowing them we may either die,

ἤ κεν ἀλευάμενοι θάνατον καὶ κῆρα φύγοιμεν.

or escaping, may avoid death and doom.

Σειρήνων μὲν πρῶτον ἀνώγει θεσπεσιάων

First of all she bade us avoid the voice

φθόγγον ἀλεύασθαι καὶ λειμῶνʼ ἀνθεμόεντα.

of the wondrous Sirens, and their flowery meadow.

οἶον ἔμʼ ἠνώγει ὄπʼ ἀκουέμεν· ἀλλά με δεσμῷ

She bade me alone to hear their voice; but you must bind me

δήσατʼ ἐν ἀργαλέῳ, ὄφρʼ ἔμπεδον αὐτόθι μίμνω,

in hard bonds, so that I may remain fast in my place,

ὀρθὸν ἐν ἱστοπέδῃ, ἐκ δʼ αὐτοῦ πείρατʼ ἀνήφθω.

upright in the mast-step, and let the rope-ends be fastened to the mast itself.

εἰ δέ κε λίσσωμαι ὑμέας λῦσαί τε κελεύω,

And if I should entreat you and bid you loose me,

ὑμεῖς δὲ πλεόνεσσι τότʼ ἐν δεσμοῖσι πιέζειν³.

then do you press me down with yet more bonds."

ἦ τοι ἐγὼ τὰ ἕκαστα λέγων ἑτάροισι πίφαυσκον·

Verily, I declared and made known each of these things to my companions;

τόφρα δὲ καρπαλίμως ἐξίκετο νηῦς ἐυεργὴς

meanwhile our well-built ship quickly reached

νῆσον Σειρήνοιιν· ἔπειγε γὰρ οὖρος ἀπήμων.

the island of the two Sirens, for a harmless wind sped her on.

αὐτίκʼ ἔπειτʼ ἄνεμος μὲν ἐπαύσατο ἠδὲ γαλήνη

Straightway then the wind ceased, and there was a windless

ἔπλετο νηνεμίη, κοίμησε δὲ κύματα δαίμων.

calm, and some god lulled the waves to sleep.

ἀνστάντες δʼ ἕταροι νεὸς ἱστία μηρύσαντο

And my companions, rising up, furled the sails of the ship

καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐν νηὶ γλαφυρῇ θέσαν, οἱ δʼ ἐπʼ ἐρετμὰ

and laid them in the hollow ship, and they, sitting at their oars,

ἑζόμενοι λεύκαινον ὕδωρ ξεστῇς ἐλάτῃσιν.

made the water white with their polished fir oars.

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ κηροῖο μέγαν τροχὸν ὀξέι χαλκῷ

But I, having cut a great wheel of wax with my sharp bronze sword

τυτθὰ διατμήξας χερσὶ στιβαρῇσι πίεζον·

into small pieces, pressed it with my strong hands;

αἶψα δʼ ἰαίνετο κηρός, ἐπεὶ κέλετο μεγάλη ἲς

and quickly the wax grew warm, since the great strength compelled it

Ἠελίου τʼ αὐγὴ Ὑπεριονίδαο ἄνακτος·

and the beam of Helios, the lordly son of Hyperion.

ἑξείης δʼ ἑτάροισιν ἐπʼ οὔατα πᾶσιν ἄλειψα.

And in order I anointed the ears of all my companions.

οἱ δʼ ἐν νηί μʼ ἔδησαν ὁμοῦ χεῖράς τε πόδας τε

And they bound me in the ship, both hands and feet together,

ὀρθὸν ἐν ἱστοπέδῃ, ἐκ δʼ αὐτοῦ πείρατʼ ἀνῆπτον·

upright in the mast-step, and fastened the rope-ends to the mast;

αὐτοὶ δʼ ἑζόμενοι πολιὴν ἅλα τύπτον ἐρετμοῖς.

and they themselves, sitting down, smote the grey sea with their oars.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε τόσσον ἀπῆμεν ὅσον τε γέγωνε βοήσας⁴,

But when we were as far away as a man can make his voice heard when he shouts,

ῥίμφα διώκοντες, τὰς δʼ οὐ λάθεν ὠκύαλος νηῦς

driving swiftly onward, our swift-faring ship, as she drew near, did not escape their sight,

ἐγγύθεν ὀρνυμένη, λιγυρὴν δʼ ἔντυνον ἀοιδήν·

and they set up their clear song:

δεῦρʼ ἄγʼ ἰών, πολύαινʼ Ὀδυσεῦ, μέγα κῦδος Ἀχαιῶν,

"Come hither, as you fare, renowned Odysseus, great glory of the Achaeans,

νῆα κατάστησον, ἵνα νωιτέρην ὄπ ἀκούσῃς.

stay your ship, so that you may listen to our voice.

οὐ γάρ πώ τις τῇδε παρήλασε νηὶ μελαίνῃ,

For no one has ever yet driven past this way in his black ship,

πρίν γʼ ἡμέων μελίγηρυν ἀπὸ στομάτων ὄπʼ ἀκοῦσαι,

before hearing the honey-sweet voice from our mouths;

ἀλλʼ ὅ γε τερψάμενος νεῖται καὶ πλείονα εἰδώς.

but he goes on his way comforted, and knowing more.

ἴδμεν γάρ τοι πάνθʼ ὅσʼ ἐνὶ Τροίῃ εὐρείῃ

For we know all things, whatsoever in wide Troy

Ἀργεῖοι Τρῶές τε θεῶν ἰότητι μόγησαν,

the Argives and Trojans suffered by the will of the gods;

ἴδμεν δʼ, ὅσσα γένηται ἐπὶ χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ.

and we know all things that come to pass upon the bounteous earth."

Syntax notes4 items

12.137τὰς εἰ μέν κʼ ἀσινέας ἐάᾳς νόστου τε μέδηαι
A Homeric construction where the conditional particle κʼ (κεν) is used with the subjunctive (ἐάᾳς, μέδηαι) in a protasis, expressing a future assumption.
12.154οὐ γὰρ χρὴ ἕνα ἴδμεναι οὐδὲ δύʼ οἴους θέσφαθʼ
The impersonal verb χρή takes an accusative with infinitive construction (ἕνα... ἴδμεναι). ἴδμεναι is the Homeric form of the infinitive (equivalent to Attic εἰδέναι).
12.164ὑμεῖς δὲ πλεόνεσσι τότʼ ἐν δεσμοῖσι πιέζειν
The infinitive πιέζειν is used here as an imperative (imperative infinitive). The subject of the action is expressed in the nominative case (ὑμεῖς).
12.181τόσσον... ὅσον τε γέγωνε βοήσας
The correlative expression τόσσον... ὅσον ("so much... as") is combined with the verb γέγωνε ("to make oneself heard by shouting") and the participle βοήσας, forming a traditional formula to measure distance ("as far as a shouting voice can reach").

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:12.128-12.191