Shipwreck, Arrival in Thesprotia, and News of Odysseus — Odyssey §14.269-14.335 (Homer) | Greek text & English translation

φύζαν ἐμοῖς ἑτάροισι κακὴν βάλεν, οὐδέ τις ἔτλη

Zeus cast evil panic upon my companions, and no one dared

μεῖναι ἐναντίβιον· περὶ γὰρ κακὰ πάντοθεν ἔστη.

to stand and face them; for evils stood around us on all sides.

ἔνθʼ ἡμέων πολλοὺς μὲν ἀπέκτανον ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ,

Then many of us they slew with the sharp bronze,

τοὺς δʼ ἄναγον ζωούς, σφίσιν ἐργάζεσθαι ἀνάγκῃ.

and others they led away alive, to work for them of necessity.

αὐτὰρ ἐμοὶ Ζεὺς αὐτὸς ἐνὶ φρεσὶν ὧδε νόημα

But in my heart Zeus himself put this thought—

ποίησʼ—ὡς ὄφελον θανέειν¹ καὶ πότμον ἐπισπεῖν

—would that I had died and met my fate

αὐτοῦ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ· ἔτι γάρ νύ με πῆμʼ ὑπέδεκτο—

there in Egypt; for still even now trouble awaited me—

αὐτίκʼ ἀπὸ κρατὸς κυνέην εὔτυκτον ἔθηκα

straightway I put off my well-made helmet from my head

καὶ σάκος ὤμοιϊν, δόρυ δʼ ἔκβαλον ἔκτοσε χειρός·

and the shield from my shoulders, and cast the spear out of my hand.

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ βασιλῆος ἐναντίον ἤλυθον ἵππων

And I went to meet the horses of the king,

καὶ κύσα γούναθʼ ἑλών· ὁδʼ ἐρύσατο καί μʼ ἐλέησεν,

and clasped and kissed his knees; and he saved me and pitied me,

ἐς δίφρον δέ μʼ ἕσας ἄγεν οἴκαδε δάκρυ χέοντα.

and setting me in his chariot, led me home as I shed tears.

ἦ μέν μοι μάλα πολλοὶ ἐπήϊσσον μελίῃσιν,

Indeed very many rushed at me with their ashen spears,

ἱέμενοι κτεῖναι—δὴ γὰρ κεχολώατο λίην—

eager to slay me—for they were exceedingly angry—

ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ κεῖνος ἔρυκε², Διὸς δʼ ὠπίζετο μῆνιν

but he kept them off, and respected the wrath of Zeus

ξεινίου, ὅς τε μάλιστα νεμεσσᾶται κακὰ ἔργα.

the god of strangers, who most of all is wroth at evil deeds.

ἔνθα μὲν ἑπτάετες μένον αὐτόθι, πολλὰ δʼ ἄγειρα

There for seven years I remained, and gathered many

χρήματʼ ἀνʼ Αἰγυπτίους ἄνδρας· δίδοσαν γὰρ ἅπαντες.

possessions among the Egyptian men; for all gave to me.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ ὄγδοόν μοι ἐπιπλόμενον ἔτος ἦλθεν,

But when indeed the eighth circling year came,

δὴ τότε Φοῖνιξ ἦλθεν ἀνὴρ ἀπατήλια εἰδώς,

then indeed there came a Phoenician man, skilled in deceits,

τρώκτης, ὃς δὴ πολλὰ κάκʼ ἀνθρώποισιν ἐώργει·

a greedy knave, who had already wrought many evils for men.

ὅς μʼ ἄγε παρπεπιθὼν ᾗσι φρεσίν, ὄφρʼ ἱκόμεσθα

He led me away, having persuaded me by his cunning, until we came to

Φοινίκην, ὅθι τοῦ γε δόμοι καὶ κτήματʼ ἔκειτο.

Phoenicia, where his house and possessions lay.

ἔνθα παρʼ αὐτῷ μεῖνα τελεσφόρον εἰς ἐνιαυτόν.

There I remained with him for a full year.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ μῆνές τε καὶ ἡμέραι ἐξετελεῦντο

But when indeed the months and days were fulfilled,

ἄψ περιτελλομένου ἔτεος καὶ ἐπήλυθον ὧραι,

as the year rolled round again, and the seasons came on,

ἐς Λιβύην μʼ ἐπὶ νηὸς ἐέσσατο ποντοπόροιο

he set me on a seafaring ship to go to Libya,

ψεύδεα βουλεύσας, ἵνα οἱ σὺν φόρτον ἄγοιμι³,

having devised lies, pretending that I should convey a cargo with him,

κεῖθι δέ μʼ ὡς περάσειε καὶ ἄσπετον ὦνον ἕλοιτο.

but in truth that he might sell me there and get a vast price.

τῷ ἑπόμην ἐπὶ νηός, ὀϊόμενός περ, ἀνάγκῃ.

I followed him on the ship, though suspecting him, of necessity.

ἡ δʼ ἔθεεν Βορέῃ ἀνέμῳ ἀκραέϊ καλῷ,

And the ship ran with a fresh and fair North wind,

μέσσον ὑπὲρ Κρήτης· Ζεὺς δέ σφισι μήδετʼ ὄλεθρον.

over the midst of the sea beyond Crete; but Zeus was devising destruction for them.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ Κρήτην μὲν ἐλείπομεν, οὐδέ τις ἄλλη

But when indeed we were leaving Crete, and no other

φαίνετο γαιάων, ἀλλʼ οὐρανὸς ἠδὲ θάλασσα,

land appeared, but only sky and sea,

δὴ τότε κυανέην νεφέλην ἔστησε Κρονίων

then indeed the son of Cronos set a dark cloud

νηὸς ὕπερ γλαφυρῆς, ἤχλυσε δὲ πόντος ὑπʼ αὐτῆς.

above the hollow ship, and the deep grew dark beneath it.

Ζεὺς δʼ ἄμυδις βρόντησε καὶ ἔμβαλε νηῒ κεραυνόν·

And Zeus thundered aloud and cast his bolt upon the ship;

ἡ δʼ ἐλελίχθη πᾶσα Διὸς πληγεῖσα κεραυνῷ,

and it was shattered all through, struck by the thunderbolt of Zeus,

ἐν δὲ θεείου πλῆτο· πέσον δʼ ἐκ νηὸς ἅπαντες.

and was filled with sulphur; and they all fell from the ship.

οἱ δὲ κορώνῃσιν ἴκελοι περὶ νῆα μέλαιναν

And they, like sea-crows, about the black ship

κύμασιν ἐμφορέοντο· θεὸς δʼ ἀποαίνυτο νόστον.

were borne on the waves; and the god took away their return.

αὐτὰρ ἐμοὶ Ζεὺς αὐτός, ἔχοντί περ ἄλγεα θυμῷ,

But to me myself, though I had grief in my heart, Zeus

ἱστὸν ἀμαιμάκετον νηὸς κυανοπρῴροιο

the vast mast of the dark-prowed ship

ἐν χείρεσσιν ἔθηκεν, ὅπως ἔτι πῆμα φύγοιμι.

put into my hands, so that I might yet escape destruction.

τῷ ῥα περιπλεχθεὶς φερόμην ὀλοοῖς ἀνέμοισιν.

Clinging to this, I was borne along by the deadly winds.

ἐννῆμαρ φερόμην, δεκάτῃ δέ με νυκτὶ μελαίνῃ

Nine days I was borne, and on the tenth black night

γαίῃ Θεσπρωτῶν πέλασεν μέγα κῦμα κυλίνδον.

a great rolling wave brought me near to the land of the Thesprotians.

ἔνθα με Θεσπρωτῶν βασιλεὺς ἐκομίσσατο Φείδων

There the king of the Thesprotians, Pheidon, welcomed me

ἥρως ἀπριάτην· τοῦ γὰρ φίλος υἱὸς ἐπελθὼν

heroically, without price; for his dear son coming upon me,

αἴθρῳ καὶ καμάτῳ δεδμημένον ἦγεν ἐς οἶκον,

conquered by cold and weariness, led me to his home,

χειρὸς ἀναστήσας, ὄφρʼ ἵκετο δώματα πατρός·

raising me up by the hand, until he came to the house of his father;

ἀμφὶ δέ με χλαῖνάν τε χιτῶνά τε εἵματα ἕσσεν.

and he clothed me in a cloak and a tunic for garments.

ἔνθʼ Ὀδυσῆος ἐγὼ πυθόμην· κεῖνος γὰρ ἔφασκε

There I heard of Odysseus; for he said

ξεινίσαι ἠδὲ φιλῆσαι ἰόντʼ ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν,

that he had entertained him and welcomed him as a guest on his way to his dear fatherland,

καί μοι κτήματʼ ἔδειξεν ὅσα ξυναγείρατʼ Ὀδυσσεύς,

and he showed me all the treasures that Odysseus had gathered,

χαλκόν τε χρυσόν τε πολύκμητόν τε σίδηρον.

bronze and gold and well-wrought iron.

καί νύ ἐς δεκάτην γενεὴν ἕτερόν γʼ ἔτι βόσκοι⁴·

And truly it would feed another even to the tenth generation;

τόσσα οἱ ἐν μεγάροις κειμήλια κεῖτο ἄνακτος.

so many treasures of the lord lay stored in the halls.

τὸν δʼ ἐς Δωδώνην φάτο βήμεναι⁵, ὄφρα θεοῖο

But he said that he had gone to Dodona, so that from the god's

ἐκ δρυὸς ὑψικόμοιο Διὸς βουλὴν ἐπακούσαι,

high-foliaged oak he might hear the counsel of Zeus,

ὅππως νοστήσειʼ Ἰθάκης ἐς πίονα δῆμον

how he should return to the rich land of Ithaca,

ἤδη δὴν ἀπεών, ἢ ἀμφαδὸν ἦε κρυφηδόν.

having already been long absent, whether openly or in secret.

ὤμοσε δὲ πρὸς ἔμʼ αὐτόν, ἀποσπένδων ἐνὶ οἴκῳ,

And he swore to me myself, as he poured libations in his house,

νῆα κατειρύσθαι καὶ ἐπαρτέας ἔμμεν ἑταίρους,

that a ship was launched and companions were ready,

οἳ δή μιν πέμψουσι φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν.

who would convey him to his dear fatherland.

ἀλλʼ ἐμὲ πρὶν ἀπέπεμψε· τύχησε γὰρ ἐρχομένη νηῦς

But he sent me away beforehand; for there happened to be a ship starting

ἀνδρῶν Θεσπρωτῶν ἐς Δουλίχιον πολύπυρον.

of Thesprotian men, bound for wheat-rich Dulichium.

Syntax notes5 items

14.274ὡς ὄφελον θανέειν
The combination of the inflected verb ὄφελον (here 1st person singular) and the infinitive θανέειν (aorist active) expresses an unfulfilled wish in the past.
14.283ἀπὸ κεῖνος ἔρυκε
An instance of tmesis where the prepositional prefix ἀπό and the verb stem ἔρυκε of the compound verb ἀπερύκω are separated, with the demonstrative pronoun κεῖνος placed between them.
14.296ἵνα οἱ σὺν φόρτον ἄγοιμι
The verb ἄγοιμι is in the optative because the purpose clause introduced by ἵνα depends on a main verb in a past tense (ἐέσσατο), representing the secondary sequence.
14.325βόσκοι
A potential optative used without the particle ἄν. The implied subject is the accumulated wealth (κτήματα) mentioned in the previous lines, expressing the potentiality that 'this wealth could sustain another even to the tenth generation'.
14.327βήμεναι
The Homeric and Aeolic poetic form of the strong aorist active infinitive of βαίνω, equivalent to the Attic form βῆναι.

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:14.269-14.335