Poseidon's Storm and the Veil of Leucothea — Odyssey §5.286-5.356 (Homer) | Greek text & English translation

ὢ πόποι, ἦ μάλα δὴ μετεβούλευσαν θεοὶ ἄλλως

"Ah, look now, indeed the gods have changed their purpose altogether

ἀμφʼ Ὀδυσῆι ἐμεῖο μετʼ Αἰθιόπεσσιν ἐόντος¹,

concerning Odysseus, while I was among the Ethiopians;

καὶ δὴ Φαιήκων γαίης σχεδόν, ἔνθα οἱ αἶσα

and indeed he is close to the land of the Phaeacians, where it is his fate

ἐκφυγέειν μέγα πεῖραρ ὀιζύος, ἥ μιν ἱκάνει.

to escape the great bond of woe that has come upon him.

ἀλλʼ ἔτι μέν μίν φημι ἅδην ἐλάαν κακότητος².

Yet still, I think, I shall drive him to have his fill of trouble."

ὣς εἰπὼν σύναγεν νεφέλας, ἐτάραξε δὲ πόντον

So saying, he gathered the clouds and troubled the sea,

χερσὶ τρίαιναν ἑλών· πάσας δʼ ὀρόθυνεν ἀέλλας

grasping the trident in his hands; and he aroused all the blasts

παντοίων ἀνέμων, σὺν δὲ νεφέεσσι κάλυψε

of every kind of wind, and hid with clouds

γαῖαν ὁμοῦ καὶ πόντον· ὀρώρει δʼ οὐρανόθεν νύξ.

both the land and the sea; and night rose up from heaven.

σὺν δʼ Εὖρός τε Νότος τʼ ἔπεσον Ζέφυρός τε δυσαὴς

Together the East Wind and the South Wind fell, and the fierce-blowing West Wind

καὶ Βορέης αἰθρηγενέτης, μέγα κῦμα κυλίνδων.

and the North Wind, born in the bright sky, rolling a mighty wave.

καὶ τότʼ Ὀδυσσῆος λύτο γούνατα καὶ φίλον ἦτορ,

And then the knees of Odysseus were loosened and his heart failed him,

ὀχθήσας δʼ ἄρα εἶπε πρὸς ὃν μεγαλήτορα θυμόν·

and deeply moved he spoke to his own great-hearted spirit:

ὤ μοι ἐγὼ δειλός, τί νύ μοι μήκιστα γένηται;

"Ah, wretched that I am, what is to befall me at the last?

δείδω μὴ δὴ πάντα θεὰ νημερτέα εἶπεν,

I fear that indeed the goddess spoke all things truly,

ἥ μʼ ἔφατʼ ἐν πόντῳ, πρὶν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἱκέσθαι,

she who said that on the sea, before I reached my native land,

ἄλγεʼ ἀναπλήσειν· τὰ δὲ δὴ νῦν πάντα τελεῖται.

I should fill up the measure of my woes; and now all this is being fulfilled.

οἵοισιν νεφέεσσι περιστέφει οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν

With what clouds does Zeus crown the wide heaven,

Ζεύς, ἐτάραξε δὲ πόντον, ἐπισπέρχουσι δʼ ἄελλαι

and he has troubled the sea, and the blasts of every kind of wind

παντοίων ἀνέμων. νῦν μοι σῶς αἰπὺς ὄλεθρος.

sweep upon me! Now headlong destruction is sure for me.

τρὶς μάκαρες Δαναοὶ καὶ τετράκις, οἳ τότʼ ὄλοντο

Thrice blessed are the Danaans and four times, who perished then

Τροίῃ ἐν εὐρείῃ χάριν Ἀτρεΐδῃσι φέροντες.

in the wide land of Troy, bringing favor to the sons of Atreus.

ὡς δὴ ἐγώ γʼ ὄφελον θανέειν³ καὶ πότμον ἐπισπεῖν

Would that I too had died and met my fate

ἤματι τῷ ὅτε μοι πλεῖστοι χαλκήρεα δοῦρα

on that day when the throngs of Trojans cast their bronze-tipped spears at me

Τρῶες ἐπέρριψαν περὶ Πηλεΐωνι θανόντι.

over the body of the dead son of Peleus.

τῷ κʼ ἔλαχον κτερέων, καί μευ κλέος ἦγον Ἀχαιοί·

Then should I have got my funeral rites, and the Achaeans would have spread my fame;

νῦν δέ λευγαλέῳ θανάτῳ εἵμαρτο ἁλῶναι.

but now it is my fate to be caught by a miserable death."

ὣς ἄρα μιν εἰπόντʼ ἔλασεν μέγα κῦμα κατʼ ἄκρης

Even as he spoke thus, a great wave struck him from on high,

δεινὸν ἐπεσσύμενον, περὶ δὲ σχεδίην ἐλέλιξε.

rushing dreadfully upon him, and spun the raft round and round.

τῆλε δʼ ἀπὸ σχεδίης αὐτὸς πέσε, πηδάλιον δὲ

And far from the raft he fell himself, and the rudder

ἐκ χειρῶν προέηκε· μέσον δέ οἱ ἱστὸν ἔαξεν

he let go from his hands; and in the midst the mast was broken

δεινὴ μισγομένων ἀνέμων ἐλθοῦσα θύελλα,

by a terrible tempest of mingling winds that came upon it,

τηλοῦ δὲ σπεῖρον καὶ ἐπίκριον ἔμπεσε πόντῳ.

and far off the sail and the yard-arm fell into the sea.

τὸν δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπόβρυχα θῆκε πολὺν χρόνον, οὐδʼ ἐδυνάσθη

And the wave kept him underwater for a long time, nor could he

αἶψα μάλʼ ἀνσχεθέειν μεγάλου ὑπὸ κύματος ὁρμῆς·

rise up quickly because of the rush of the great wave;

εἵματα γάρ ῥʼ ἐβάρυνε, τά οἱ πόρε δῖα Καλυψώ.

for the garments weighed him down, those which beautiful Calypso had given him.

ὀψὲ δὲ δή ῥʼ ἀνέδυ, στόματος δʼ ἐξέπτυσεν ἅλμην

But late at last he emerged, and spat from his mouth the bitter brine

πικρήν, ἥ οἱ πολλὴ ἀπὸ κρατὸς κελάρυζεν.

which ran down copiously from his head.

ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὣς σχεδίης ἐπελήθετο, τειρόμενός περ,

Yet even so he did not forget the raft, distressed though he was,

ἀλλὰ μεθορμηθεὶς ἐνὶ κύμασιν ἐλλάβετʼ αὐτῆς,

but springing after it amid the waves he caught hold of it,

ἐν μέσσῃ δὲ καθῖζε τέλος θανάτου ἀλεείνων.

and sat down in the midst of it, avoiding the doom of death.

τὴν δʼ ἐφόρει μέγα κῦμα κατὰ ῥόον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα.

την δʼ ἐφόρει μέγα κῦμα κατὰ ῥόον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα. And the great wave bore it this way and that along the stream.

ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ὀπωρινὸς Βορέης φορέῃσιν ἀκάνθας

And as when in autumn the North Wind carries thistle-heads

ἂμ πεδίον, πυκιναὶ δὲ πρὸς ἀλλήλῃσιν ἔχονται,

over the plain, and they hold close to one another,

ὣς τὴν ἂμ πέλαγος ἄνεμοι φέρον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα·

so the winds bore the raft this way and that over the sea;

ἄλλοτε μέν τε Νότος Βορέῃ προβάλεσκε φέρεσθαι,

at one time the South Wind would cast it to the North Wind to carry,

ἄλλοτε δʼ αὖτʼ Εὖρος Ζεφύρῳ εἴξασκε διώκειν.

and at another the East Wind would yield it to the West Wind to chase.

τὸν δὲ ἴδεν Κάδμου θυγάτηρ, καλλίσφυρος Ἰνώ,

But the daughter of Cadmus saw him, Ino of the beautiful ankles,

Λευκοθέη, ἣ πρὶν μὲν ἔην βροτὸς αὐδήεσσα,

Leucothea, who of old was a mortal of human speech,

νῦν δʼ ἁλὸς ἐν πελάγεσσι θεῶν ἒξ ἔμμορε τιμῆς.

but now in the depths of the sea has a share of honor from the gods.

ἥ ῥʼ Ὀδυσῆʼ ἐλέησεν ἀλώμενον, ἄλγεʼ ἔχοντα,

She pitied Odysseus as he was tossed about, suffering pain,

αἰθυίῃ δʼ ἐικυῖα ποτῇ ἀνεδύσετο λίμνης,

αιθυίῃ δʼ ἐικυῖα ποτῇ ἀνεδύσετο λίμνης, and in the likeness of a shearwater on the wing she rose from the mere,

ἷζε δʼ ἐπὶ σχεδίης πολυδέσμου εἶπέ τε μῦθον·

and sat upon the stoutly-bound raft, and spoke to him:

κάμμορε, τίπτε τοι ὧδε Ποσειδάων ἐνοσίχθων

"Ill-fated man, why is Poseidon, the shaker of the earth, so terribly

ὠδύσατʼ ἐκπάγλως, ὅτι τοι κακὰ πολλὰ φυτεύει;

ὠδύσατʼ ἐκπάγλως, ὅτι τοι κακὰ πολλά φυτεύει; wroth against you, that he sows so many evils for you?

οὐ μὲν δή σε καταφθίσει μάλα περ μενεαίνων.

Yet he will not utterly destroy you, though he rages ever so much.

ἀλλὰ μάλʼ ὧδʼ ἔρξαι, δοκέεις δέ μοι οὐκ ἀπινύσσειν⁴·

But do exactly as I say, and you seem to me not to be lacking in understanding:

εἵματα ταῦτʼ ἀποδὺς σχεδίην ἀνέμοισι φέρεσθαι

strip off these garments, leave the raft to be drifted by the winds,

κάλλιπʼ, ἀτὰρ χείρεσσι νέων ἐπιμαίεο νόστου

and swim with your hands to strive for your return

γαίης Φαιήκων, ὅθι τοι μοῖρʼ ἐστὶν ἀλύξαι.

to the land of the Phaeacians, where it is your fate to escape.

τῆ δέ, τόδε κρήδεμνον ὑπὸ στέρνοιο τανύσσαι

Come, take this immortal veil and stretch it beneath

ἄμβροτον· οὐδέ τί τοι παθέειν δέος οὐδʼ ἀπολέσθαι.

your breast; and there is no fear that you should suffer aught or perish.

αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν χείρεσσιν ἐφάψεαι ἠπείροιο,

But when you have touched the mainland with your hands,

ἂψ ἀπολυσάμενος βαλέειν εἰς οἴνοπα πόντον

loose it from you straightway and cast it into the wine-dark sea

πολλὸν ἀπʼ ἠπείρου, αὐτὸς δʼ ἀπονόσφι τραπέσθαι.

" far from the land, and turn yourself away."

ὣς ἄρα φωνήσασα θεὰ κρήδεμνον ἔδωκεν,

So saying, the goddess gave him the veil,

αὐτὴ δʼ ἂψ ἐς πόντον ἐδύσετο κυμαίνοντα

and herself plunged back into the billowing sea

αἰθυίῃ ἐικυῖα· μέλαν δέ ἑ κῦμα κάλυψεν.

in the likeness of a shearwater; and the dark wave hid her.

αὐτὰρ ὁ μερμήριξε πολύτλας δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,

But long-suffering, noble Odysseus pondered,

ὀχθήσας δʼ ἄρα εἶπε πρὸς ὃν μεγαλήτορα θυμόν·

and deeply moved he spoke to his own great-hearted spirit:

ὤ μοι ἐγώ, μή τίς μοι ὑφαίνῃσιν δόλον αὖτε

"Ah, woe is me, let it not be that someone is weaving a snare for me again..."

Syntax notes4 items

5.287ἐμεῖο... ἐόντος
A genitive absolute construction where the pronoun ἐμεῖο (of me) is accompanied by the present participle ἐόντος (being). It functions as an adverbial phrase of time or circumstance, indicating a situation distinct from the subject of the main clause (θεοὶ ἄλλως).
5.290ἅδην ἐλάαν κακότητος
The adverb ἅδην (abundantly, to one's fill) governs the genitive κακότητος (misfortune, evil). Together with the infinitive ἐλάαν (to drive), it expresses Poseidon's intent to "drive him to have his fill of misery."
5.308ὡς δὴ ἐγώ γʼ ὄφελον θανέειν
The form ὄφελον (second aorist, here first-person singular) combined with the infinitive θανέειν (to die) is a formulaic construction used to express an unaccomplished wish in the past (counterfactual wish).
5.342δοκέεις δέ μοι οὐκ ἀπινύσσειν
A personal construction of δοκέω (δοκέεις μοι, "you seem to me") followed by the infinitive ἀπινύσσειν (to be lacking in understanding) negated by οὐκ. It translates literally to "you seem to me not to be senseless."

Model: gemini-3.5-flashurn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:5.286-5.356