Landing on Helios' Island and the Men's Oath — Odyssey §12.258-12.323 (Homer) | Greek text & English translation

οἴκτιστον δὴ κεῖνο ἐμοῖς ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσι

Truly that was the most piteous thing that I saw with my eyes

πάντων, ὅσσʼ ἐμόγησα¹ πόρους ἁλὸς ἐξερεείνων.

of all that I suffered as I searched out the paths of the sea.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πέτρας φύγομεν δεινήν τε Χάρυβδιν

But when we had escaped the rocks and terrible Charybdis

Σκύλλην τʼ, αὐτίκʼ ἔπειτα θεοῦ ἐς ἀμύμονα νῆσον

and Scylla, straightway thereafter to the excellent island of the god

ἱκόμεθʼ· ἔνθα δʼ ἔσαν καλαὶ βόες εὐρυμέτωποι,

we came; and there were the beautiful, broad-browed cattle,

πολλὰ δὲ ἴφια μῆλʼ Ὑπερίονος Ἠελίοιο.

and many sturdy sheep of Hyperion, the Sun.

δὴ τότʼ ἐγὼν ἔτι πόντῳ ἐὼν ἐν νηὶ μελαίνῃ

Then indeed, while I was still out on the sea in my black ship,

μυκηθμοῦ τʼ ἤκουσα βοῶν αὐλιζομενάων

I heard the lowing of the cattle being stalled

οἰῶν τε βληχήν· καί μοι ἔπος ἔμπεσε θυμῷ

and the bleating of the sheep; and there fell upon my heart the word

μάντηος ἀλαοῦ, Θηβαίου Τειρεσίαο,

of the blind seer, Theban Tiresias,

Κίρκης τʼ Αἰαίης, ἥ μοι μάλα πόλλʼ ἐπέτελλε

and of Aeaean Circe, who straitly charged me

νῆσον ἀλεύασθαι τερψιμβρότου Ἠελίοιο.

to avoid the island of the Sun who brings joy to mortals.

δὴ τότʼ ἐγὼν ἑτάροισι μετηύδων ἀχνύμενος κῆρ·

Then indeed I spoke to my companions, grieved at heart:

κέκλυτέ μευ μύθων κακά περ πάσχοντες ἑταῖροι,

"Hear my words, my companions, though you are suffering evils,

ὄφρʼ ὑμῖν εἴπω μαντήια Τειρεσίαο

so that I may tell you the prophecies of Tiresias

Κίρκης τʼ Αἰαίης, ἥ μοι μάλα πόλλʼ ἐπέτελλε

and of Aeaean Circe, who straitly charged me

νῆσον ἀλεύασθαι τερψιμβρότου Ἠελίοιο·

to avoid the island of the Sun who brings joy to mortals;

ἔνθα γὰρ αἰνότατον κακὸν ἔμμεναι ἄμμιν ἔφασκεν.

for she said that there our most terrible evil would be.

ἀλλὰ παρὲξ τὴν νῆσον ἐλαύνετε νῆα μέλαιναν.

But do you drive the black ship past the island."

ὣς ἐφάμην, τοῖσιν δὲ κατεκλάσθη φίλον ἦτορ.

So I spoke, and their dear heart was broken within them.

αὐτίκα δʼ Εὐρύλοχος στυγερῷ μʼ ἠμείβετο μύθῳ·

And straightway Eurylochus answered me with a hateful speech:

σχέτλιός εἰς, Ὀδυσεῦ· περί τοι μένος², οὐδέ τι γυῖα

"Hard are you, Odysseus; your strength is beyond measure, nor do your limbs

κάμνεις· ἦ ῥά νυ σοί γε σιδήρεα πάντα τέτυκται,

tire at all; surely you are fashioned of iron all over,

ὅς ῥʼ ἑτάρους³ καμάτῳ ἁδηκότας ἠδὲ καὶ ὕπνῳ

you who do not allow your companions, worn out with toil and sleep,

οὐκ ἐάᾳς γαίης ἐπιβήμεναι, ἔνθα κεν αὖτε

to set foot on land, where we might once again

νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ λαρὸν τετυκοίμεθα δόρπον,

make a sweet supper on this sea-girt island,

ἀλλʼ αὔτως διὰ νύκτα θοὴν ἀλάλησθαι ἄνωγας

but instead you bid us wander on just as we are through the swift night,

νήσου ἀποπλαγχθέντας ἐν ἠεροειδέι πόντῳ.

driven away from the island on the misty sea.

ἐκ νυκτῶν⁴ δʼ ἄνεμοι χαλεποί, δηλήματα νηῶν,

From the nights spring harsh winds, the ruin of ships;

γίγνονται· πῇ κέν τις ὑπεκφύγοι αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον,

how could anyone escape sheer destruction

ἤν πως ἐξαπίνης ἔλθῃ ἀνέμοιο θύελλα,

if perchance there should suddenly come a tempest of wind,

ἢ Νότου ἢ Ζεφύροιο δυσαέος, οἵ τε μάλιστα

either of the South Wind or the ill-blowing West Wind, which most of all

νῆα διαρραίουσι θεῶν ἀέκητι ἀνάκτων.

shatter a ship, even against the will of the gods who are lords.

ἀλλʼ ἦ τοι νῦν μὲν πειθώμεθα νυκτὶ μελαίνῃ

But indeed, for now let us yield to the black night

δόρπον θʼ ὁπλισόμεσθα θοῇ παρὰ νηὶ μένοντες,

and make ready our supper, remaining by our swift ship,

ἠῶθεν δʼ ἀναβάντες ἐνήσομεν εὐρέι πόντῳ.

and at dawn we will go aboard and put out into the wide sea."

ὣς ἔφατʼ Εὐρύλοχος, ἐπὶ δʼ ᾔνεον ἄλλοι ἑταῖροι.

So spoke Eurylochus, and the other companions agreed.

καὶ τότε δὴ γίγνωσκον ὃ δὴ κακὰ μήδετο δαίμων,

And then indeed I knew what evil the god was planning,

καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδων·

and I spoke and addressed him with winged words:

Εὐρύλοχʼ, ἦ μάλα δή με βιάζετε μοῦνον ἐόντα.

"Eurylochus, surely you press me hard, since I am all alone.

ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῦν μοι πάντες ὀμόσσατε καρτερὸν ὅρκον·

But come now, do you all swear to me a mighty oath:

εἴ κέ τινʼ ἠὲ βοῶν ἀγέλην ἢ πῶυ μέγʼ οἰῶν

if we find any herd of cattle or great flock of sheep,

εὕρωμεν, μή πού τις ἀτασθαλίῃσι κακῇσιν

let no man in evil folly

ἢ βοῦν ἠέ τι μῆλον ἀποκτάνῃ· ἀλλὰ ἕκηλοι

slay either a cow or any sheep; but undisturbed

ἐσθίετε βρώμην, τὴν ἀθανάτη πόρε Κίρκη.

eat the food which immortal Circe provided."

ὣς ἐφάμην, οἱ δʼ αὐτίκʼ ἀπώμνυον, ὡς ἐκέλευον.

So I spoke, and they straightway swore as I bade them.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥʼ ὄμοσάν τε τελεύτησάν τε τὸν ὅρκον,

But when they had sworn and completed the oath,

στήσαμεν ἐν λιμένι γλαφυρῷ ἐυεργέα νῆα

we moored our well-built ship in the hollow harbor

ἄγχʼ ὕδατος γλυκεροῖο, καὶ ἐξαπέβησαν ἑταῖροι

near sweet water, and my companions went ashore

νηός, ἔπειτα δὲ δόρπον ἐπισταμένως τετύκοντο.

from the ship, and then skillfully made ready their supper.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,

But when they had put away the desire for drink and food,

μνησάμενοι δὴ ἔπειτα φίλους ἔκλαιον ἑταίρους,

then indeed they wept, remembering their dear companions

οὓς ἔφαγε Σκύλλη γλαφυρῆς ἐκ νηὸς ἑλοῦσα·

whom Scylla had snatched from the hollow ship and devoured;

κλαιόντεσσι δὲ τοῖσιν ἐπήλυθε νήδυμος ὕπνος.

and upon them as they wept came sweet sleep.

ἦμος δὲ τρίχα νυκτὸς⁵ ἔην, μετὰ δʼ ἄστρα βεβήκει,

But when it was the third part of the night, and the stars had turned their course,

ὦρσεν ἔπι ζαῆν ἄνεμον νεφεληγερέτα Ζεὺς

Zeus the cloud-gatherer rouse against us a fierce wind

λαίλαπι θεσπεσίῃ, σὺν δὲ νεφέεσσι κάλυψε

with a wondrous tempest, and covered with clouds

γαῖαν ὁμοῦ καὶ πόντον· ὀρώρει δʼ οὐρανόθεν νύξ.

the land and the sea alike; and night rushed down from heaven.

ἦμος δʼ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,

And when early-born, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared,

νῆα μὲν ὡρμίσαμεν κοῖλον σπέος εἰσερύσαντες.

we moored our ship, dragging it into a hollow cave.

ἔνθα δʼ ἔσαν νυμφέων καλοὶ χοροὶ ἠδὲ θόωκοι·

And there were the beautiful dancing-places and seats of the nymphs;

καὶ τότʼ ἐγὼν ἀγορὴν θέμενος μετὰ μῦθον ἔειπον·

then I established an assembly and spoke among them:

ὦ φίλοι, ἐν γὰρ νηὶ θοῇ βρῶσίς τε πόσις τε

"O friends, since there is food and drink in our swift ship,

ἔστιν, τῶν δὲ βοῶν ἀπεχώμεθα, μή τι πάθωμεν·

let us keep our hands off the cattle, lest we suffer some harm;

δεινοῦ γὰρ θεοῦ αἵδε βόες καὶ ἴφια μῆλα,

for these cattle and sturdy sheep belong to a dread god,

Ἠελίου, ὃς πάντʼ ἐφορᾷ καὶ πάντʼ ἐπακούει.

the Sun, who sees all things and hears all things."

Syntax notes5 items

12.258οἴκτιστον δὴ κεῖνο ἐμοῖς ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσι / πάντων, ὅσσʼ ἐμόγησα
The genitive πάντων, indicating the scope of comparison for the superlative οἴκτιστον, is modified by the relative clause ὅσσ’ ἐμόγησα. The relative pronoun ὅσσ’ (ὅσα) has an omitted antecedent (such as τούτων) and serves as the direct object (accusative) of the verb ἐμόγησα.
12.279περί τοι μένος
Here περί is not used as a preposition, but adverbially to mean 'is beyond measure' or 'is superior'. Alternatively, it can be understood as a tmesis or ellipsis of the verb περίειμι (with ἐστί omitted), where the subject is μένος ('your strength is beyond measure').
12.281ὅς ῥʼ ἑτάρους
The relative pronoun ὅς refers back to the second-person subject of the main clause (σχέτλιός εἰς) as its antecedent. Rather than simple description, it introduces a relative clause of characteristic or cause, carrying a tone of reproach: 'you who [do not allow]...'.
12.286ἐκ νυκτῶν
The combination of the preposition ἐκ and the plural noun νυκτῶν is a temporal and originative expression meaning 'from the nights' or 'during the night'. It explains that harsh winds arise from within the night hours.
12.312τρίχα νυκτὸς
The word τρίχα is used adverbially to mean 'into three parts', and with the partitive genitive νυκτὸς, it designates the specific time of night: 'when the third part of the night was come' (i.e., the period before dawn).

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:12.258-12.323