Humanitext Reader

Homer · Iliad §17.204-17.275

Hector Rouses His Allies and the Fight for the Body

Passage 155 of 226 · Greek

Summary

Zeus pities Hector's fate while granting him strength in Achilles' armor, and Hector rouses his allies to recover Patroclus' body. At Ajax's request, Menelaus summons the Achaean leaders, and a fierce battle erupts between the two sides.

§17.204τοῦ δὴ ἑταῖρον ἔπεφνες ἐνηέα τε κρατερόν τε, §17.205τεύχεα δʼ οὐ κατὰ κόσμον ἀπὸ κρατός τε καὶ ὤμων §17.206εἵλευ· ἀτάρ τοι νῦν γε μέγα κράτος ἐγγυαλίξω, §17.207τῶν ποινὴν ὅ τοι οὔ τι μάχης ἐκνοστήσαντι §17.208δέξεται Ἀνδρομάχη κλυτὰ τεύχεα Πηλεΐωνος.
In truth you slew his companion, both gentle and strong, and unbefittingly from his head and shoulders the armor you stripped; but to you now at least will I grant great victory, as recompense for those things, since you shall not return from battle for Andromache to receive from you the glorious armor of Peleus' son.
§17.209ἦ καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπʼ ὀφρύσι νεῦσε Κρονίων.
So spoke the son of Cronos, and nodded with his dark brows.
§17.210Ἕκτορι δʼ ἥρμοσε τεύχεʼ ἐπὶ χροΐ, δῦ δέ μιν Ἄρης §17.211δεινὸς ἐνυάλιος, πλῆσθεν δʼ ἄρα οἱ μέλεʼ ἐντὸς §17.212ἀλκῆς καὶ σθένεος· μετὰ δὲ κλειτοὺς ἐπικούρους §17.213βῆ ῥα μέγα ἰάχων· ἰνδάλλετο δέ σφισι πᾶσι §17.214τεύχεσι λαμπόμενος μεγαθύμου Πηλεΐωνος.
And he fitted the armor to Hector's skin, and Ares entered him, the dread god of war, and his limbs within were filled with valor and strength; and he went after the glorious allies, shouting aloud; and to them all he seemed to shine in the armor of great-hearted Peleus' son.
§17.215ὄτρυνεν δὲ ἕκαστον ἐποιχόμενος ἐπέεσσι §17.216Μέσθλην τε Γλαῦκόν τε Μέδοντά τε Θερσίλοχόν τε §17.217Ἀστεροπαῖόν τε Δεισήνορά θʼ Ἱππόθοόν τε §17.218Φόρκυν τε Χρομίον τε καὶ Ἔννομον οἰωνιστήν· §17.219τοὺς ὅ γʼ ἐποτρύνων ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα· §17.220κέκλυτε μυρία φῦλα περικτιόνων ἐπικούρων· §17.221οὐ γὰρ ἐγὼ πληθὺν διζήμενος οὐδὲ χατίζων §17.222ἐνθάδʼ ἀφʼ ὑμετέρων πολίων ἤγειρα ἕκαστον, §17.223ἀλλʼ ἵνα μοι Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα §17.224προφρονέως ῥύοισθε φιλοπτολέμων ὑπʼ Ἀχαιῶν.
And going among them, he encouraged each with words, Mesthles, Glaucus, Medon, Thersilochus, Asteropaeus, Disenor, Hippothous, Phorcys, Chromius, and Ennomus the augur; urging them on, he addressed them with winged words: "Hear me, countless tribes of neighboring allies; for I did not gather each of you here from your cities seeking or needing a multitude, but that you might willingly save the wives and young children of the Trojans from the warlike Achaeans.
§17.225τὰ φρονέων δώροισι κατατρύχω καὶ ἐδωδῇ §17.226λαούς, ὑμέτερον δὲ ἑκάστου θυμὸν ἀέξω.
With this in mind, I exhaust my people with gifts and food, and I increase the heart of each of you.
§17.227τώ τις νῦν ἰθὺς τετραμμένος ἢ ἀπολέσθω §17.228ἠὲ σαωθήτω· ἣ γὰρ πολέμου ὀαριστύς.
Therefore now let each turn straight forward and either perish or be saved; for that is the dalliance of war.
§17.229ὃς δέ κε Πάτροκλον καὶ τεθνηῶτά περ ἔμπης §17.230Τρῶας ἐς ἱπποδάμους ἐρύσῃ, εἴξῃ δέ οἱ Αἴας, §17.231ἥμισυ τῷ ἐνάρων ἀποδάσσομαι, ἥμισυ δʼ αὐτὸς §17.232ἕξω ἐγώ· τὸ δέ οἱ κλέος ἔσσεται ὅσσον ἐμοί περ. §17.233ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δʼ ἰθὺς Δαναῶν βρίσαντες ἔβησαν §17.234δούρατʼ ἀνασχόμενοι· μάλα δέ σφισιν ἔλπετο θυμὸς §17.235νεκρὸν ὑπʼ Αἴαντος ἐρύειν Τελαμωνιάδαο §17.236νήπιοι· ἦ τε πολέσσιν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ θυμὸν ἀπηύρα.
And whoever shall drag Patroclus, dead though he be, to the horse-taming Trojans, and Ajax yields to him, to him will I share half of the spoils, and half myself will keep; and his glory shall be as great as my own." So he spoke, and they went straight against the Danaans with weight, holding up their spears; and their hearts expected greatly to drag the corpse from under Ajax, son of Telamon, fools! for indeed he was to rob many of them of life over it.
§17.237καὶ τότʼ ἄρʼ Αἴας εἶπε βοὴν ἀγαθὸν Μενέλαον· §17.238ὦ πέπον ὦ Μενέλαε διοτρεφὲς οὐκέτι νῶϊ §17.239ἔλπομαι αὐτώ περ νοστησέμεν ἐκ πολέμοιο.
And then Ajax said to Menelaus, good at the war-cry: "O friend, Menelaus nurtured by Zeus, no longer for the two of us do I expect that we ourselves shall return from the war.
§17.240οὔ τι τόσον νέκυος περιδείδια Πατρόκλοιο, §17.241ὅς κε τάχα Τρώων κορέει κύνας ἠδʼ οἰωνούς, §17.242ὅσσον ἐμῇ κεφαλῇ περιδείδια μή τι πάθῃσι, §17.243καὶ σῇ, ἐπεὶ πολέμοιο νέφος περὶ πάντα καλύπτει §17.244Ἕκτωρ, ἡμῖν δʼ αὖτʼ ἀναφαίνεται αἰπὺς ὄλεθρος.
I do not fear so much for the corpse of Patroclus, which will soon glut the dogs and birds of the Trojans, as much as I fear for my own head, lest it suffer anything, and for yours, since a cloud of war covers everything, even Hector, and for us again steep ruin appears.
§17.245ἀλλʼ ἄγʼ ἀριστῆας Δαναῶν κάλει, ἤν τις ἀκούσῃ. §17.246ὣς ἔφατʼ, οὐδʼ ἀπίθησε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Μενέλαος, §17.247ἤϋσεν δὲ διαπρύσιον Δαναοῖσι γεγωνώς· §17.248ὦ φίλοι Ἀργείων ἡγήτορες ἠδὲ μέδοντες §17.249οἵ τε παρʼ Ἀτρεΐδῃς Ἀγαμέμνονι καὶ Μενελάῳ §17.250δήμια πίνουσιν καὶ σημαίνουσιν ἕκαστος §17.251λαοῖς· ἐκ δὲ Διὸς τιμὴ καὶ κῦδος ὀπηδεῖ.
But come, call the chieftains of the Danaans, if anyone will hear." So he spoke, and Menelaus, good at the war-cry, did not disobey, and he shouted piercingly, making himself heard to the Danaans: "O friends, leaders and rulers of the Argives, who beside the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus, drink at the public cost and command each the people; and honor and glory attend you from Zeus.
§17.252ἀργαλέον δέ μοί ἐστι διασκοπιᾶσθαι ἕκαστον §17.253ἡγεμόνων· τόσση γὰρ ἔρις πολέμοιο δέδηεν·
But it is hard for me to discern each of the leaders; for so great is the blaze of the conflict of war.
§17.254ἀλλά τις αὐτὸς ἴτω, νεμεσιζέσθω δʼ ἐνὶ θυμῷ §17.255Πάτροκλον Τρῳῇσι κυσὶν μέλπηθρα γενέσθαι. §17.256ὣς ἔφατʼ, ὀξὺ δʼ ἄκουσεν Ὀϊλῆος ταχὺς Αἴας· §17.257πρῶτος δʼ ἀντίος ἦλθε θέων ἀνὰ δηϊοτῆτα, §17.258τὸν δὲ μετʼ Ἰδομενεὺς καὶ ὀπάων Ἰδομενῆος §17.259Μηριόνης ἀτάλαντος Ἐνυαλίῳ ἀνδρειφόντῃ.
But let each one go of his own accord, and let him be angry in his heart that Patroclus should become a plaything for the dogs of Troy." So he spoke, and swift Ajax, son of Oileus, heard him clearly, and he was the first to come running to meet him through the battle; and after him came Idomeneus, and Idomeneus' squire, Meriones, peer of Enyalius, slayer of men.
§17.260τῶν δʼ ἄλλων τίς κεν ᾗσι φρεσὶν οὐνόματʼ εἴποι, §17.261ὅσσοι δὴ μετόπισθε μάχην ἤγειραν Ἀχαιῶν;
But of the others, who in his mind could tell the names, of all those who afterwards aroused the battle of the Achaeans?
§17.262Τρῶες δὲ προὔτυψαν ἀολλέες· ἦρχε δʼ ἄρʼ Ἕκτωρ.
And the Trojans drove forward in a body, and Hector led them.
§17.263ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἐπὶ προχοῇσι διιπετέος ποταμοῖο §17.264βέβρυχεν μέγα κῦμα ποτὶ ῥόον, ἀμφὶ δέ τʼ ἄκραι §17.265ἠϊόνες βοόωσιν ἐρευγομένης ἁλὸς ἔξω, §17.266τόσσῃ ἄρα Τρῶες ἰαχῇ ἴσαν.
And as when at the mouth of a rain-fed river a great wave roars against the stream, and on both sides the high cliffs echo as the sea belches forth; with so great a cry did the Trojans advance.
αὐτὰρ Ἀχαιοὶ §17.267ἕστασαν ἀμφὶ Μενοιτιάδῃ ἕνα θυμὸν ἔχοντες §17.268φραχθέντες σάκεσιν χαλκήρεσιν· ἀμφὶ δʼ ἄρά σφι §17.269λαμπρῇσιν κορύθεσσι Κρονίων ἠέρα πολλὴν §17.270χεῦʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ Μενοιτιάδην ἔχθαιρε πάρος γε, §17.271ὄφρα ζωὸς ἐὼν θεράπων ἦν Αἰακίδαο·
But the Achaeans stood about the son of Menoetius, possessing one heart, fenced in with their bronze-plated shields; and around them, over their bright helmets, the son of Cronos poured thick darkness, since after all he did not hate the son of Menoetius before, while he lived and was the squire of Aeacides.
§17.272μίσησεν δʼ ἄρα μιν δηΐων κυσὶ κύρμα γενέσθαι §17.273Τρῳῇσιν· τὼ καί οἱ ἀμυνέμεν ὦρσεν ἑταίρους.
And he loathed that he should become a prey to the dogs of the enemy, the Trojans; therefore he urged on his companions to defend him.
§17.274ὦσαν δὲ πρότεροι Τρῶες ἑλίκωπας Ἀχαιούς· §17.275νεκρὸν δὲ προλιπόντες ὑπέτρεσαν, οὐδέ τινʼ αὐτῶν
And the Trojans first pushed back the dark-eyed Achaeans; and leaving the corpse, they shrank back, yet not any of them

Notes

  1. 17.207τῶν ποινὴν ὅ — τῶν is a genitive plural referring to the armor (τεύχεα) mentioned in the previous sentence. ποινὴν is an accusative of apposition expressing "as a penalty/recompense" for the act. The conjunction ὅ (= ὅτι) introduces a causal clause ("because"), indicating that Andromache's inability to receive the armor from Hector serves as the reason or compensation for Zeus granting him great power now.
  2. 17.238νῶϊ ... αὐτώ περ νοστησέμεν — The dual pronoun νῶϊ is the accusative subject of the infinitive νοστησέμεν ("to return") in an accusative-and-infinitive construction. The emphatic αὐτώ περ agrees with νῶϊ in the dual accusative. The entire clause serves as the object of the main verb ἔλπομαι ("I expect").
  3. 17.263ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἐπὶ προχοῇσι — A long simile beginning with ὡς δʼ ὅτε ("as when..."). The main verbs of the simile are βέβρυχεν ("roars") and βοόωσιν ("shout/echo"). The corresponding main clause (the thing compared) starts at §17.266 with τόσσῃ ἄρα Τρῶες ἰαχῇ ἴσαν ("with so great a cry did the Trojans advance"), showing the correlation between ὡς and τόσσῃ.

Cite this passage

Homer, Iliad §17.204-17.275. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:17.204-17.275

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