Hiding the Weapons and the News of Telemachus' Return — Odyssey §16.272-16.340 (Homer) | Greek text & English translation

αὐτὰρ ἐμὲ προτὶ ἄστυ συβώτης ὕστερον ἄξει,

"But as for me, the swineherd will lead me later to the city,

πτωχῷ λευγαλέῳ ἐναλίγκιον ἠδὲ γέροντι.

like to a wretched beggar and an old man.

εἰ δέ μʼ ἀτιμήσουσι δόμον κάτα, σὸν δὲ φίλον κῆρ

And if they shall dishonor me throughout the house, let your own dear heart

τετλάτω ἐν στήθεσσι κακῶς πάσχοντος ἐμεῖο¹,

endure in your breast, though I suffer evilly,

ἤν περ καὶ διὰ δῶμα ποδῶν ἕλκωσι θύραζε

even if they drag me by the feet through the house to the doors,

ἢ βέλεσι βάλλωσι· σὺ δʼ εἰσορόων ἀνέχεσθαι².

or throw missiles at me; but do you look on and endure it.

ἀλλʼ ἦ τοι παύεσθαι ἀνωγέμεν ἀφροσυνάων,

But indeed, bid them cease from their follies,

μειλιχίοις ἐπέεσσι παραυδῶν· οἱ δέ τοι οὔ τι

speaking with gentle words; yet they will in no wise

πείσονται· δὴ γάρ σφι παρίσταται αἴσιμον ἦμαρ.

obey you; for indeed their day of doom stands near.

ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·

And another thing I will tell you, and do you lay it to your heart:

ὁππότε κεν πολύβουλος ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θῇσιν Ἀθήνη,

when Athena, rich in counsel, shall put it into my mind,

νεύσω μέν τοι ἐγὼ κεφαλῇ, σὺ δʼ ἔπειτα νοήσας

I will nod to you with my head, and do you then, having noticed it,

ὅσσα τοι ἐν μεγάροισιν Ἀρήϊα τεύχεα κεῖται³

take all the weapons of war that lie in the halls,

ἐς μυχὸν ὑψηλοῦ θαλάμου καταθεῖναι ἀείρας

and carry them and lay them away in the corner of the lofty chamber,

πάντα μάλʼ· αὐτὰρ μνηστῆρας μαλακοῖς ἐπέεσσι

every one of them; but as for the suitors, with soft words

παρφάσθαι, ὅτε κέν σε μεταλλῶσιν ποθέοντες·

beguile them, when they miss the weapons and question you:

ἐκ καπνοῦ κατέθηκʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι τοῖσιν ἐῴκει

'I have laid them away out of the smoke, since they no longer look like

οἷά ποτε Τροίηνδε κιὼν κατέλειπεν Ὀδυσσεύς,

those which Odysseus once left behind when he went to Troy,

ἀλλὰ κατῄκισται, ὅσσον πυρὸς ἵκετʼ ἀϋτμή.

but are marred, so far as the breath of fire has reached them.

πρὸς δʼ ἔτι καὶ τόδε μεῖζον ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε Κρονίων,

And moreover the son of Cronos has put this greater fear in my mind,

μή πως οἰνωθέντες, ἔριν στήσαντες ἐν ὑμῖν,

lest by any chance, having become drunk, you set up a strife among you,

ἀλλήλους τρώσητε καταισχύνητέ τε δαῖτα

and wound one another, and bring shame on the feast

καὶ μνηστύν· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐφέλκεται ἄνδρα σίδηρος⁴.

and on your wooing; for of itself iron draws a man to it.'

νῶϊν δʼ οἴοισιν δύο φάσγανα καὶ δύο δοῦρε

But for us two alone leave two swords and two spears

καλλιπέειν καὶ δοιὰ βοάγρια χερσὶν ἑλέσθαι,

and two ox-hide shields to take in our hands,

ὡς ἂν ἐπιθύσαντες ἑλοίμεθα· τοὺς δέ κʼ ἔπειτα

so that rushing upon them we may seize them; and then

Παλλὰς Ἀθηναίη θέλξει καὶ μητίετα Ζεύς.

Pallas Athena shall beguile them, and Zeus the counselor.

ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·

And another thing I will tell you, and do you lay it to your heart:

εἰ ἐτεόν γʼ ἐμός ἐσσι καὶ αἵματος ἡμετέροιο,

if indeed you are truly mine and of our blood,

μή τις ἔπειτʼ Ὀδυσῆος ἀκουσάτω ἔνδον ἐόντος,

let no one then hear of Odysseus being within the house,

μήτʼ οὖν Λαέρτης ἴστω τό γε μήτε συβώτης

let not Laertes know of it, nor yet the swineherd,

μήτε τις οἰκήων μήτʼ αὐτὴ Πηνελόπεια,

nor any of the household, nor Penelope herself;

ἀλλʼ οἶοι σύ τʼ ἐγώ τε γυναικῶν γνώομεν ἰθύν·

but you and I alone will learn the disposition of the women;

καί κέ τεο δμώων ἀνδρῶν ἔτι πειρηθεῖμεν,

and we might yet make trial of the men-servants too,

ἠμὲν ὅπου τις νῶϊ τίει καὶ δείδιε θυμῷ,

both where any one of them honors and fears us in his heart,

ἠδʼ ὅτις οὐκ ἀλέγει, σὲ δʼ ἀτιμᾷ τοῖον ἐόντα.

and who cares not, and dishonors you, such as you are."

τὸν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσεφώνεε φαίδιμος υἱός

And him answering spoke his illustrious son:

ὦ πάτερ, ἦ τοι ἐμὸν θυμὸν καὶ ἔπειτά γʼ, ὀΐω,

"O father, indeed my spirit, even hereafter, I think,

γνώσεαι· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι χαλιφροσύναι γέ μʼ ἔχουσιν·

you shall know; for indeed no slackness of mind possesses me.

ἀλλʼ οὔ τοι τόδε κέρδος ἐγὼν ἔσσεσθαι ὀΐω

But I do not think this will be a gain

ἡμῖν ἀμφοτέροισι· σὲ δὲ φράζεσθαι ἄνωγα.

for both of us; and I bid you consider it.

δηθὰ γὰρ αὔτως εἴσῃ⁵ ἑκάστου πειρητίζων,

For long will you go in vain, making trial of each one,

ἔργα μετερχόμενος· τοὶ δʼ ἐν μεγάροισιν ἕκηλοι

visiting the works; while they at their ease in the halls

χρήματα δαρδάπτουσιν ὑπέρβιον οὐδʼ ἔπι φειδώ.

devour your goods wastefully, and there is no sparing.

ἀλλʼ ἦ τοί σε γυναῖκας ἐγὼ δεδάασθαι ἄνωγα,

But indeed, I bid you find out about the women,

αἵ τέ σʼ ἀτιμάζουσι καὶ αἳ νηλείτιδές εἰσιν·

both those who dishonor you and those who are guiltless;

ἀνδρῶν δʼ οὐκ ἂν ἐγώ γε κατὰ σταθμοὺς ἐθέλοιμι

but of the men I would not have us go through the farmsteads

ἡμέας πειράζειν, ἀλλʼ ὕστερα ταῦτα πένεσθαι,

to make trial of them, but to busy ourselves with this later,

εἰ ἐτεόν γέ τι οἶσθα Διὸς τέρας αἰγιόχοιο.

if indeed you truly know some sign from Zeus who holds the aegis."

ὣς οἱ μὲν τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀγόρευον,

So they spoke such things to one another;

ἡ δʼ ἄρʼ ἔπειτʼ Ἰθάκηνδε κατήγετο νηῦς εὐεργής,

and meanwhile the well-built ship was being brought to land at Ithaca,

ἣ φέρε Τηλέμαχον Πυλόθεν καὶ πάντας ἑταίρους.

which had brought Telemachus from Pylos and all his companions.

οἱ δʼ ὅτε δὴ λιμένος πολυβενθέος ἐντὸς ἵκοντο,

And when they had come within the deep harbor,

νῆα μὲν οἵ γε μέλαιναν ἐπʼ ἠπείροιο ἔρυσσαν,

they dragged the black ship up on the mainland,

τεύχεα δέ σφʼ ἀπένεικαν ὑπέρθυμοι θεράποντες,

and high-hearted squires carried away their gear for them,

αὐτίκα δʼ ἐς Κλυτίοιο φέρον περικαλλέα δῶρα.

and straightway carried the beautiful gifts to the house of Clytius.

αὐτὰρ κήρυκα πρόεσαν δόμον εἰς Ὀδυσῆος,

But they sent a herald forward to the house of Odysseus,

ἀγγελίην ἐρέοντα περίφρονι Πηνελοπείῃ,

to tell the news to wise Penelope,

οὕνεκα Τηλέμαχος μὲν ἐπʼ ἀγροῦ, νῆα δʼ ἀνώγει

how that Telemachus was in the field, but had ordered the ship

ἄστυδʼ ἀποπλείειν, ἵνα μὴ δείσασʼ ἐνὶ θυμῷ

to sail to the city, lest the noble queen, fearing in her heart,

ἰφθίμη βασίλεια τέρεν κατὰ δάκρυον εἴβοι⁶

should let fall the tender tear.

τὼ δὲ συναντήτην κῆρυξ καὶ δῖος ὑφορβὸς

And they two met, the herald and the noble swineherd,

τῆς αὐτῆς ἕνεκʼ ἀγγελίης, ἐρέοντε γυναικί.

because of the same message, to tell the lady.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε δή ῥʼ ἵκοντο δόμον θείου βασιλῆος,

But when they had come to the house of the divine king,

κῆρυξ μέν ῥα μέσῃσι μετὰ δμῳῇσιν ἔειπεν·

the herald spoke in the midst of the handmaids:

ἤδη τοι, βασίλεια, φίλος πάϊς εἰλήλουθε.

"Even now, O queen, your dear son has returned."

Πηνελοπείῃ δʼ εἶπε συβώτης ἄγχι παραστὰς

But the swineherd stood close by Penelope and told her

πάνθʼ ὅσα οἱ φίλος υἱὸς ἀνώγει μυθήσασθαι.

all things that her dear son had commanded him to speak.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ πᾶσαν ἐφημοσύνην ἀπέειπε,

But when he had declared all his message,

Syntax notes6 items

§16.275κακῶς πάσχοντος ἐμεῖο
Genitive absolute construction. The logical subject of the participle πάσχοντος is ἐμεῖο (of me), which differs from the subject of the main clause, σὸν φίλον κῆρ (your heart). It functions concessively: 'even though I suffer evilly.'
§16.277ἀνέχεσθαι
Infinitive used for an imperative (Infinitive for Imperative). The subject is expressed in the nominative (σὺ δʼ) rather than the accusative. Similarly, παύεσθαι in line 278 functions as an infinitive of command.
§16.284ὅσσα τοι ἐν μεγάροισιν Ἀρήϊα τεύχεα κεῖται
Incorporation of the antecedent into the relative clause. While logically meaning 'having lifted all the weapons of war (τεύχεα) that lie in the halls,' the antecedent noun τεύχεα is drawn into the relative clause, agreeing with the relative pronoun ὅσσα. The word πάντα in line 286 emphasizes the entire group of items thus moved.
§16.294αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐφέλκεται ἄνδρα σίδηρος
The intensive pronoun αὐτός here modifies the subject σίδηρος to mean 'iron itself.' This is a famous proverbial expression meaning 'for iron of itself draws a man to it' (prompting violence).
§16.313δηθὰ γὰρ αὔτως εἴσῃ
The adverb αὔτως (or αὕτως) here means 'merely' or 'in vain'. The phrase means: 'For you will go for a long time in vain, making trial of each one,' highlighting the waste of time.
§16.331ἵνα μὴ δείσασʼ ... εἴβοι
The optative mood (εἴβοι) is used inside the negative purpose clause (ἵνα μή). This is because the leading verb of the clause, ἀνώγει (ordered), is set in a past context (acting as historical present or past), which triggers the oblique optative instead of the subjunctive.

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:16.272-16.340