Rebuke of Melantho and Penelope's Lament — Odyssey §19.70-19.135 (Homer) | Greek text & English translation

τὴν δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

Then Odysseus of many wiles looked fiercely at her and said:

δαιμονίη, τί μοι ὧδʼ ἐπέχεις κεκοτηότι θυμῷ;

"Strange woman, why do you thus set upon me with angry heart?

ἦ ὅτι¹ δὴ ῥυπόω, κακὰ δὲ χροῒ εἵματα εἷμαι,

Is it because I am dirty, and wear mean clothing on my body,

πτωχεύω δʼ ἀνὰ δῆμον; ἀναγκαίη γὰρ ἐπείγει.

and beg through the land? For necessity constrains me.

τοιοῦτοι πτωχοὶ καὶ ἀλήμονες ἄνδρες ἔασι

Such is the lot of beggars and wandering men.

καὶ γὰρ ἐγώ ποτε οἶκον ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἔναιον

For I too once dwelt in a house among men,

ὄλβιος ἀφνειὸν καὶ πολλάκι δόσκον ἀλήτῃ,

prosperous and rich, and often gave to a wanderer,

τοίῳ ὁποῖος ἔοι καὶ ὅτευ κεχρημένος ἔλθοι·

whoever he might be and in whatever need he came.

ἦσαν δὲ δμῶες μάλα μυρίοι, ἄλλα τε πολλὰ

And I had countless servants and many other things

οἷσίν τʼ εὖ ζώουσι καὶ ἀφνειοὶ καλέονται.

by which men live well and are called rich.

ἀλλὰ Ζεὺς ἀλάπαξε Κρονίων· ἤθελε γάρ που·

But Zeus, son of Cronos, destroyed it all; for so, I ween, it was his will.

τῷ νῦν μήποτε καὶ σύ, γύναι, ἀπὸ πᾶσαν ὀλέσσῃς

Therefore, woman, beware lest you too should lose all

ἀγλαΐην, τῇ² νῦν γε μετὰ δμῳῇσι κέκασσαι·

beauty, wherein you now excel among the handmaids;

μή πώς τοι δέσποινα κοτεσσαμένη χαλεπήνῃ,

lest perchance your mistress, being angered, grow harsh with you,

ἢ Ὀδυσεὺς ἔλθῃ· ἔτι γὰρ καὶ ἐλπίδος αἶσα.

or Odysseus return; for there is still a share of hope.

εἰ δʼ ὁ μὲν ὣς ἀπόλωλε καὶ οὐκέτι νόστιμός ἐστιν,

But even if he has perished, as you think, and is no more to return,

ἀλλʼ ἤδη παῖς τοῖος Ἀπόλλωνός γε ἕκητι,

yet now by the favor of Apollo he has a son of such worth,

Τηλέμαχος· τὸν δʼ οὔ τις ἐνὶ μεγάροισι γυναικῶν

Telemachus; and no one of the women in the palace who does wrong

λήθει ἀτασθάλλουσʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι τηλίκος ἐστίν.

escapes his notice, for he is no longer of an age to be blind."

ὣς φάτο, τοῦ δʼ ἤκουσε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια,

So he spoke, and wise Penelope heard him,

ἀμφίπολον δʼ ἐνένιπεν ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἔκ τʼ ὀνόμαζε·

and she chid her handmaid, and spoke, and addressed her:

πάντως, θαρσαλέη, κύον ἀδεές, οὔ τί με λήθεις

"Surely, bold, shameless dog, you do not escape my notice

ἔρδουσα μέγα ἔργον, ὃ σῇ κεφαλῇ ἀναμάξεις³·

doing this evil deed, which you shall wipe out with your own head.

πάντα γὰρ εὖ ᾔδησθʼ, ἐπεὶ ἐξ ἐμεῦ ἔκλυες αὐτῆς

For you knew it well, since you heard it from my own lips,

ὡς τὸν ξεῖνον ἔμελλον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἐμοῖσιν

how I was minded to ask the stranger in my halls

ἀμφὶ πόσει εἴρεσθαι, ἐπεὶ πυκινῶς ἀκάχημαι.

concerning my husband, since I am sore distressed."

ἦ ῥα καὶ Εὐρυνόμην ταμίην πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν·

She spoke, and addressed the housekeeper, Eurynome:

Εὐρυνόμη, φέρε δὴ δίφρον καὶ κῶας ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ,

"Eurynome, bring now a chair and a fleece upon it,

ὄφρα καθεζόμενος εἴπῃ ἔπος ἠδʼ ἐπακούσῃ

so that the stranger may sit down and speak to me, and hear

ὁ ξεῖνος ἐμέθεν· ἐθέλω δέ μιν ἐξερέεσθαι.

my words; for I wish to question him."

ὣς ἔφαθʼ, ἡ δὲ μάλʼ ὀτραλέως κατέθηκε φέρουσα

So she spoke, and she very quickly brought and set

δίφρον ἐΰξεστον καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ κῶας ἔβαλλεν·

a well-polished chair, and cast a fleece upon it.

ἔνθα καθέζετʼ ἔπειτα πολύτλας δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς.

There then sat down the much-enduring, noble Odysseus.

τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

And among them wise Penelope was the first to speak:

ξεῖνε, τὸ μέν σε πρῶτον ἐγὼν εἰρήσομαι αὐτή·

"Stranger, this first I will myself ask you:

τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; πόθι τοι πόλις ἠδὲ τοκῆες;

Who are you, and from whence among men? Where are your city and your parents?"

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

Then Odysseus of many wiles answered her, saying:

ὦ γύναι, οὐκ ἄν τίς σε βροτῶν ἐπʼ ἀπείρονα γαῖαν

"Lady, no one among mortal men on the boundless earth

νεικέοι· ἦ γάρ σευ κλέος οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἱκάνει,

could find fault with you; for your fame goes up to the wide heaven,

ὥς τέ τευ ἢ βασιλῆος ἀμύμονος, ὅς τε θεουδὴς

even as that of some blameless king, who, god-fearing,

ἀνδράσιν ἐν πολλοῖσι καὶ ἰφθίμοισιν ἀνάσσων

ruling over many and mighty men,

εὐδικίας ἀνέχῃσι, φέρῃσι δὲ γαῖα μέλαινα

upholds justice, and the black earth bears

πυροὺς καὶ κριθάς, βρίθῃσι δὲ δένδρεα καρπῷ,

wheat and barley, and the trees are heavy with fruit,

τίκτῃ δʼ ἔμπεδα μῆλα, θάλασσα δὲ παρέχῃ ἰχθῦς

and the sheep bring forth without fail, and the sea yields fish

ἐξ εὐηγεσίης, ἀρετῶσι δὲ λαοὶ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ.

because of his good leadership, and the people prosper under him.

τῷ ἐμὲ νῦν τὰ μὲν ἄλλα μετάλλα σῷ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ,

Therefore question me now of all else in your house,

μηδʼ ἐμὸν ἐξερέεινε γένος καὶ πατρίδα γαῖαν,

but do not ask of my lineage and my native land,

μή μοι μᾶλλον θυμὸν ἐνιπλήσῃς ὀδυνάων

lest you fill my heart yet more with pains

μνησαμένῳ μάλα δʼ εἰμὶ πολύστονος· οὐδέ τί με χρὴ

as I remember; for I am a man of many sorrows. Nor is it right

οἴκῳ ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ γοόωντά τε μυρόμενόν τε

for me to sit weeping and wailing in another's house,

ἧσθαι, ἐπεὶ κάκιον πενθήμεναι ἄκριτον αἰεί·

since it is an ill thing to mourn forever without ceasing.

μή τίς μοι δμῳῶν νεμεσήσεται⁴, ἠὲ σύ γʼ αὐτή,

Let no one of the handmaids be vexed with me, nor you yourself,

φῇ δὲ δακρυπλώειν βεβαρηότα με φρένας οἴνῳ.

and say that I float in tears because my mind is heavy with wine."

τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα περίφρων Πηνελόπεια·

Then wise Penelope answered him, saying:

ξεῖνʼ, ἦ τοι μὲν ἐμὴν ἀρετὴν εἶδός τε δέμας τε

"Stranger, truly my excellence and my beauty and my form

ὤλεσαν ἀθάνατοι, ὅτε Ἴλιον εἰσανέβαινον

the immortals destroyed, when the Argives embarked

Ἀργεῖοι, μετὰ τοῖσι δʼ ἐμὸς πόσις ᾖεν Ὀδυσσεύς

for Ilium, and with them went my husband, Odysseus.

εἰ κεῖνός γʼ ἐλθὼν τὸν ἐμὸν βίον ἀμφιπολεύοι,

If he might but come and tend this life of mine,

μεῖζον κε κλέος εἴη ἐμὸν καὶ κάλλιον οὕτως.

greater and fairer would be my fame.

νῦν δʼ ἄχομαι· τόσα γάρ μοι ἐπέσσευεν κακὰ δαίμων.

But now I am in sorrow, so many evils has a god driven upon me.

ὅσσοι γὰρ νήσοισιν ἐπικρατέουσιν ἄριστοι,

For all the nobles who rule over the islands,

Δουλιχίῳ τε Σάμῃ τε καὶ ὑλήεντι Ζακύνθῳ,

Dulichium and Same and wooded Zacynthus,

οἵ τʼ αὐτὴν Ἰθάκην εὐδείελον ἀμφινέμονται,

and those who dwell in clear-seen Ithaca itself,

οἵ μʼ ἀεκαζομένην μνῶνται, τρύχουσι δὲ οἶκον.

woo me against my will, and waste my house.

τῷ οὔτε ξείνων ἐμπάξομαι οὔθʼ ἱκετάων

Therefore I take no heed of strangers or suppliants,

οὔτε τι κηρύκων, οἳ δημιοεργοὶ ἔασιν·

or of heralds, who are public servants;"

Syntax notes4 items

§19.72ἦ ὅτι
This introduces an interrogative clause suggesting a conjectured reason for the maid's hostility, continuing from the question "why do you thus set upon me...?" in the preceding line (§19.71).
§19.82τῇ
A feminine dative singular relative pronoun referring back to the antecedent `ἀγλαΐην` (beauty, splendor). It functions here as a dative of means or of respect/range ("in respect to which you excel").
§19.92ὃ σῇ κεφαλῇ ἀναμάξεις
The relative pronoun `ὅ` (neuter accusative singular) refers back to the antecedent `μέγα ἔργον` (evil deed). The phrase literally means "which you will wipe off on your own head," a proverbial expression meaning that she will bear the guilt and pay the penalty for her actions with her own life/head.
§19.121νεμεσήσεται
This is a future indicative form governed by the conjunction `μή` expressing apprehension or fear. While the subjunctive is more common in such clauses, the future indicative here emphasizes the high probability and reality of the feared outcome.

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:19.70-19.135