Nestor on Aegisthus's Treachery and Agamemnon's Death — Odyssey §3.218-3.288 (Homer) | Greek text & English translation

εἰ γάρ σʼ ὣς ἐθέλοι¹ φιλέειν γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,

"For if only grey-eyed Athena would choose to love you so,

ὡς τότʼ Ὀδυσσῆος περικήδετο κυδαλίμοιο

as she then cared for glorious Odysseus in the land of the Trojans,

δήμῳ ἔνι Τρώων, ὅθι πάσχομεν ἄλγεʼ Ἀχαιοί—

where we Achaeans suffered woes—

οὐ γάρ πω ἴδον ὧδε θεοὺς ἀναφανδὰ φιλεῦντας,

for never yet have I seen gods so openly loving,

ὡς κείνῳ ἀναφανδὰ παρίστατο Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη—

as Pallas Athena stood openly by him—

εἴ σʼ οὕτως ἐθέλοι φιλέειν κήδοιτό τε θυμῷ,

if she would choose to love you so and care for you in her heart,

τῶ κέν τις κείνων γε καὶ ἐκλελάθοιτο γάμοιο.

then indeed some of them would forget marriage."

τὸν δʼ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα·

To him again wise Telemachus answered:

ὦ γέρον, οὔ πω τοῦτο ἔπος τελέεσθαι ὀίω·

"Old man, I do not think this word will ever be fulfilled;

λίην γὰρ μέγα εἶπες· ἄγη μʼ ἔχει. οὐκ ἂν ἐμοί γε

for you have spoken a thing too great; amazement holds me. Not to me,

ἐλπομένῳ τὰ γένοιτʼ², οὐδʼ εἰ θεοὶ ὣς ἐθέλοιεν.

even if I hoped, would these things happen, not even if the gods should so will it."

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·

To him in turn spoke the goddess, grey-eyed Athena:

Τηλέμαχε, ποῖόν σε ἔπος φύγεν ἕρκος ὀδόντων.

"Telemachus, what a word has escaped the barrier of your teeth!

ῥεῖα θεός γʼ ἐθέλων καὶ τηλόθεν ἄνδρα σαώσαι³.

Easily might a god, if he willed, save a man even from afar.

βουλοίμην δʼ ἂν ἐγώ γε καὶ ἄλγεα πολλὰ μογήσας

And I would rather, even after suffering many woes,

οἴκαδέ τʼ ἐλθέμεναι καὶ νόστιμον ἦμαρ ἰδέσθαι,

reach home and see the day of my return,

ἢ ἐλθὼν ἀπολέσθαι ἐφέστιος, ὡς Ἀγαμέμνων

than return and perish at my hearth, as Agamemnon

ὤλεθʼ ὑπʼ Αἰγίσθοιο δόλῳ καὶ ἧς ἀλόχοιο.

perished by the guile of Aegisthus and of his own wife.

ἀλλʼ ἦ τοι θάνατον μὲν ὁμοίιον οὐδὲ θεοί περ

Yet indeed, death which is common to all, not even the gods

καὶ φίλῳ ἀνδρὶ δύνανται ἀλαλκέμεν, ὁππότε κεν δὴ

can ward off from a man they love, when indeed

μοῖρʼ ὀλοὴ καθέλῃσι τανηλεγέος θανάτοιο.

the destructive fate of long-grieving death lays hold of him."

τὴν δʼ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα·

To her in turn wise Telemachus answered:

Μέντορ, μηκέτι ταῦτα λεγώμεθα κηδόμενοί περ·

"Mentor, let us no longer speak of these things, grieved though we be;

κείνῳ δʼ οὐκέτι νόστος ἐτήτυμος, ἀλλά οἱ ἤδη

for him there is no longer a true return, but already

φράσσαντʼ ἀθάνατοι θάνατον καὶ κῆρα μέλαιναν.

the immortals have devised for him death and black fate.

νῦν δʼ ἐθέλω ἔπος ἄλλο μεταλλῆσαι καὶ ἐρέσθαι

But now I wish to ask and inquire of another matter,

Νέστορʼ, ἐπεὶ περὶ οἶδε δίκας ἠδὲ φρόνιν ἄλλων·

of Nestor, since he knows above others judgements and wisdom;

τρὶς γὰρ δή μίν φασιν ἀνάξασθαι γένεʼ ἀνδρῶν·

for they say he has ruled over three generations of men;

ὥς τέ μοι ἀθάνατος ἰνδάλλεται εἰσοράασθαι.

so that to me he seems like an immortal to look upon.

ὦ Νέστορ Νηληϊάδη, σὺ δʼ ἀληθὲς ἐνίσπες·

O Nestor, son of Neleus, do you tell me the truth:

πῶς ἔθανʼ Ἀτρεΐδης εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων;

how did the son of Atreus, wide-ruling Agamemnon, die?

ποῦ Μενέλαος ἔην; τίνα δʼ αὐτῷ μήσατʼ ὄλεθρον

Where was Menelaus? And what destruction did crafty Aegisthus

Αἴγισθος δολόμητις, ἐπεὶ κτάνε πολλὸν ἀρείω;

devise for him, since he slew a man much better than himself?

ἦ οὐκ Ἄργεος ἦεν Ἀχαιικοῦ, ἀλλά πῃ ἄλλῃ

Was he not in Achaean Argos, but was wandering somewhere else

πλάζετʼ ἐπʼ ἀνθρώπους, ὁ δὲ θαρσήσας κατέπεφνε;

among men, and so the other took courage and slew him?"

τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα Γερήνιος ἱππότα Νέστωρ·

To him then answered Gerenian horseman Nestor:

τοιγὰρ ἐγώ τοι, τέκνον, ἀληθέα πάντʼ ἀγορεύσω.

"Indeed, my child, I will tell you all the truth.

ἦ τοι μὲν τάδε καὐτὸς ὀίεαι, ὥς κεν ἐτύχθη,

For indeed you yourself suspect how this would have been done,

εἰ ζωόν γʼ Αἴγισθον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἔτετμεν⁴

if yellow Menelaus, returning from Troy, had found Aegisthus

Ἀτρεΐδης Τροίηθεν ἰών, ξανθὸς Μενέλαος·

alive in the halls;

τῶ κέ οἱ οὐδὲ θανόντι χυτὴν ἐπὶ γαῖαν ἔχευαν,

then indeed they would not have poured heaped earth over him even though dead,

ἀλλʼ ἄρα τόν γε κύνες τε καὶ οἰωνοὶ κατέδαψαν

but dogs and birds would have devoured him as he lay

κείμενον ἐν πεδίῳ ἑκὰς ἄστεος, οὐδέ κέ τίς μιν

on the plain far from the city, nor would any of the Achaean women

κλαῦσεν Ἀχαιιάδων· μάλα γὰρ μέγα μήσατο ἔργον.

have wept for him; for he devised a very great deed.

ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ κεῖθι πολέας τελέοντες ἀέθλους

For we indeed were sitting there, accomplishing many tasks;

ἥμεθʼ· ὁ δʼ εὔκηλος μυχῷ Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο

but he at ease in the heart of horse-pasturing Argos

πόλλʼ Ἀγαμεμνονέην ἄλοχον θέλγεσκʼ ἐπέεσσιν.

was soothing Agamemnon's wife much with words.

ἡ δʼ ἦ τοι τὸ πρὶν μὲν ἀναίνετο ἔργον ἀεικὲς

And she indeed at first refused the unseemly deed,

δῖα Κλυταιμνήστρη· φρεσὶ γὰρ κέχρητʼ ἀγαθῇσι·

noble Clytemnestra; for she possessed a good understanding;

πὰρ δʼ ἄρʼ ἔην καὶ ἀοιδὸς ἀνήρ, ᾧ πόλλʼ ἐπέτελλεν

and beside her indeed was also a singer, to whom the son of Atreus,

Ἀτρεΐδης Τροίηνδε κιὼν εἴρυσθαι ἄκοιτιν.

when he went to Troy, had strictly charged to guard his wife.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε δή μιν μοῖρα θεῶν ἐπέδησε δαμῆναι,

But when indeed the fate of the gods bound her to be overcome,

δὴ τότε τὸν μὲν ἀοιδὸν ἄγων ἐς νῆσον ἐρήμην

then indeed he led the singer to a desert island

κάλλιπεν οἰωνοῖσιν ἕλωρ καὶ κύρμα γενέσθαι,

and left him to become a prey and spoil for birds,

τὴν δʼ ἐθέλων ἐθέλουσαν ἀνήγαγεν ὅνδε δόμονδε.

and her, willing as he was willing, he led to his own house.

πολλὰ δὲ μηρίʼ ἔκηε θεῶν ἱεροῖς ἐπὶ βωμοῖς,

And many thigh-pieces he burned on the sacred altars of the gods,

πολλὰ δʼ ἀγάλματʼ ἀνῆψεν, ὑφάσματά τε χρυσόν τε,

and many offerings he hung up, both woven stuffs and gold,

ἐκτελέσας μέγα ἔργον, ὃ οὔ ποτε ἔλπετο θυμῷ.

having accomplished a great deed which he never expected in his heart.

ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ ἅμα πλέομεν Τροίηθεν ἰόντες,

For we were sailing together as we came from Troy,

Ἀτρεΐδης καὶ ἐγώ, φίλα εἰδότες ἀλλήλοισιν·

the son of Atreus and I, full of friendship for each other;

ἀλλʼ ὅτε Σούνιον ἱρὸν ἀφικόμεθʼ, ἄκρον Ἀθηνέων,

but when we came to sacred Sunium, the cape of Athens,

ἔνθα κυβερνήτην Μενελάου Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων

there Phoebus Apollo with his gentle shafts

οἷς ἀγανοῖς βελέεσσιν ἐποιχόμενος κατέπεφνε,

assailed and slew the helmsman of Menelaus,

πηδάλιον μετὰ χερσὶ θεούσης νηὸς ἔχοντα,

while he held in his hands the steering-oar of the running ship,

Φρόντιν Ὀνητορίδην, ὃς ἐκαίνυτο φῦλʼ ἀνθρώπων

Phrontis, son of Onetor, who excelled the tribes of men

νῆα κυβερνῆσαι, ὁπότε σπέρχοιεν ἄελλαι.

in steering a ship when tempests raged.

ὣς ὁ μὲν ἔνθα κατέσχετʼ, ἐπειγόμενός περ ὁδοῖο,

So he was held there, though eager for his journey,

ὄφρʼ ἕταρον θάπτοι καὶ ἐπὶ κτέρεα κτερίσειεν.

that he might bury his companion and perform the funeral rites.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ καὶ κεῖνος ἰὼν ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον

But when indeed he too, going over the wine-dark sea

ἐν νηυσὶ γλαφυρῇσι Μαλειάων ὄρος αἰπὺ

in his hollow ships, reached the steep mountain of Maleia

ἷξε θέων, τότε δὴ στυγερὴν ὁδὸν εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς

in his course, then indeed wide-seeing Zeus devised a hateful way—

Syntax notes4 items

3.218εἰ γάρ σʼ ὣς ἐθέλοι
The optative with the particle of wishing εἰ γάρ functions as a conditional clause (protasis) leading to the apodosis in §3.224 (τῶ κέν... ἐκλελάθοιτο). It represents a potential condition in the future with low probability.
3.227οὐκ ἂν ἐμοί γε ἐλπομένῳ τὰ γένοιτʼ
The participle ἐλπομένῳ is grammatically a dative of interest or reference, meaning 'for me in my expecting or hoping'. Combined with the potential optative (ἂν γένοιτο), it yields 'even if I were hoping for it, these things would not happen for me'.
3.231ῥεῖα θεός γʼ ἐθέλων καὶ τηλόθεν ἄνδρα σαώσαι
The optative σαώσαι is used without the particles ἄν or κεν. In Homeric Greek, a bare optative is sometimes employed to express a general or timeless potentiality ('can easily save').
3.255ὥς κεν ἐτύχθη, εἰ ζωόν γʼ Αἴγισθον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἔτετμεν
A past contrary-to-fact (unreal) condition. The protasis uses εἰ with the past indicative (ἔτετμεν), and the apodosis uses κεν with the past indicative (ἐτύχθη, and similarly in §3.258 with τῶ κέ... ἔχευαν), expressing a hypothesis contrary to past facts.

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:3.218-3.288