There Gyges, Cottus, and great-hearted Obriareus dwell, trusty guardians of aegis-bearing Zeus.
§736ἔνθα δὲ γῆς δνοφερῆς καὶ Ταρτάρου ἠερόεντος §737πόντου τʼ ἀτρυγέτοιο καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος §738ἑξείης πάντων πηγαὶ καὶ πείρατʼ ἔασιν §739ἀργαλέʼ εὐρώεντα, τά τε στυγέουσι θεοί περ, §740χάσμα μέγʼ, οὐδέ κε πάντα τελεσφόρον εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν §741οὖδας ἵκοιτʼ, εἰ πρῶτα πυλέων ἔντοσθε γένοιτο, §742ἀλλά κεν ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα φέροι πρὸ θύελλα θυέλλῃ §743ἀργαλέη·
And there are the sources and ends of dark earth and misty Tartarus, of barren sea and starry heaven, all of them in order, painful and dank, which even the gods detest; a great chasm, nor would anyone reach the floor for a whole year to its completion, if he should first get inside the gates; but instead, dreadful storm upon storm would carry him hither and thither.
δεινὸν δὲ καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι §744τοῦτο τέρας.
A dread wonder is this even to the immortal gods.
Νυκτὸς δʼ ἐρεβεννῆς οἰκία δεινὰ §745ἕστηκεν νεφέλῃς κεκαλυμμένα κυανέῃσιν.
And the dread house of murky Night stands covered with dark-blue clouds.
§746τῶν πρόσθʼ Ἰαπετοῖο πάις ἔχει οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν §747ἑστηὼς κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ἀκαμάτῃσι χέρεσσιν §748ἀστεμφέως, ὅθι Νύξ τε καὶ Ἡμέρη ἆσσον ἰοῦσαι §749ἀλλήλας προσέειπον, ἀμειβόμεναι μέγαν οὐδὸν §750χάλκεον·
In front of them, the son of Iapetus holds the wide heaven, standing with his head and tireless hands steadfastly, where Night and Day draw near and address each other, as they cross the great bronze threshold.
ἣ μὲν ἔσω καταβήσεται, ἣ δὲ θύραζε
One goes down inside, while the other goes out of doors.
§751ἔρχεται, οὐδέ ποτʼ ἀμφοτέρας δόμος ἐντὸς ἐέργει, §752ἀλλʼ αἰεὶ ἑτέρη γε δόμων ἔκτοσθεν ἐοῦσα §753γαῖαν ἐπιστρέφεται, ἣ δʼ αὖ δόμου ἐντὸς ἐοῦσα §754μίμνει τὴν αὐτῆς ὥρην ὁδοῦ, ἔστʼ ἂν ἵκηται, §755ἣ μὲν ἐπιχθονίοισι φάος πολυδερκὲς ἔχουσα, §756ἣ δʼ Ὕπνον μετὰ χερσί, κασίγνητον Θανάτοιο. §757Νὺξ ὀλοή, νεφέλῃ κεκαλυμμένη ἠεροειδεῖ.
Never does the house enclose both of them inside, but always one of them, being outside the house, roams over the earth, while the other, remaining inside the house, awaits the time of her own journey until it comes— the one holding the far-seeing light for those on earth, and the other holding in her hands Sleep, the brother of Death, destructive Night, covered with a misty cloud.
§758ἔνθα δὲ Νυκτὸς παῖδες ἐρεμνῆς οἰκίʼ ἔχουσιν, §759Ὕπνος καὶ Θάνατος, δεινοὶ θεοί· οὐδέ ποτʼ αὐτοὺς §760Ἠέλιος φαέθων ἐπιδέρκεται ἀκτίνεσσιν §761οὐρανὸν εἲς ἀνιὼν οὐδʼ οὐρανόθεν καταβαίνων.
And there the children of murky Night have their houses, Sleep and Death, dread gods; nor does the glowing Sun ever look upon them with his rays as he goes up into heaven or comes down from heaven.
§762τῶν δʼ ἕτερος γαῖάν τε καὶ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης §763ἥσυχος ἀνστρέφεται καὶ μείλιχος ἀνθρώποισι, §764τοῦ δὲ σιδηρέη μὲν κραδίη, χάλκεον δέ οἱ ἦτορ §765νηλεὲς ἐν στήθεσσιν·
Of them, the one roams over the earth and the broad back of the sea quietly, and is gentle to humans; but the other has an iron heart, and a bronze, pitiless spirit within his breast.
ἔχει δʼ ὃν πρῶτα λάβῃσιν §766ἀνθρώπων· ἐχθρὸς δὲ καὶ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν.
He keeps hold of whomever of humans he first seizes, and is hostile even to the immortal gods.
§767ἔνθα θεοῦ χθονίου πρόσθεν δόμοι ἠχήεντες §768ἰφθίμου τʼ Ἀίδεω καὶ ἐπαινῆς Περσεφονείης §769ἑστᾶσιν, δεινὸς δὲ κύων προπάροιθε φυλάσσει §770νηλειής, τέχνην δὲ κακὴν ἔχει· ἐς μὲν ἰόντας §771σαίνει ὁμῶς οὐρῇ τε καὶ οὔασιν ἀμφοτέροισιν, §772ἐξελθεῖν δʼ οὐκ αὖτις ἐᾷ πάλιν, ἀλλὰ δοκεύων §773ἐσθίει, ὅν κε λάβῃσι πυλέων ἔκτοσθεν ἰόντα.
There in front stand the echoing halls of the underworld god, of strong Hades and dread Persephone, and in front a dread dog keeps guard, pitiless, and he has an evil trick: upon those who enter he fawns alike with his tail and both ears, but he does not allow them to go back out again, but lying in wait he devours whomever he catches going out of the gates.
§775ἔνθα δὲ ναιετάει στυγερὴ θεὸς ἀθανάτοισι, §776δεινὴ Στύξ, θυγάτηρ ἀψορρόου Ὠκεανοῖο §777πρεσβυτάτη·
And there dwells the goddess detested by the immortals, dread Styx, the eldest daughter of backward-flowing Ocean.
νόσφιν δὲ θεῶν κλυτὰ δώματα ναίει §778μακρῇσιν πέτρῃσι κατηρεφέʼ· ἀμφὶ δὲ πάντη §779κίοσιν ἀργυρέοισι πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἐστήρικται.
Apart from the gods she lives in her glorious halls roofed over with high rocks, and all around it is supported toward heaven by silver pillars.
And seldom does the daughter of Thaumas, swift-footed Iris, travel as a messenger over the broad back of the sea.
§782ὁππότʼ ἔρις καὶ νεῖκος ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ὄρηται §783καί ῥʼ ὅστις ψεύδηται Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἐχόντων, §784Ζεὺς δέ τε Ἶριν ἔπεμψε θεῶν μέγαν ὅρκον ἐνεῖκαι §785τηλόθεν ἐν χρυσέῃ προχόῳ πολυώνυμον ὕδωρ §786ψυχρόν, ὅτʼ ἐκ πέτρης καταλείβεται ἠλιβάτοιο §787ὑψηλῆς·
Whenever strife and quarrel arise among the immortals, and if anyone of those who hold Olympian homes tells a lie, Zeus sends Iris to bring from afar the great oath of the gods, in a golden jug the famous cold water, which trickles down from a high, steep rock.
πολλὸν δὲ ὑπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης §788ἐξ ἱεροῦ ποταμοῖο ῥέει διὰ νύκτα μέλαιναν §789Ὠκεανοῖο κέρας· δεκάτη δʼ ἐπὶ μοῖρα δέδασται· §790ἐννέα μὲν περὶ γῆν τε καὶ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης §791δίνῃς ἀργυρέῃς εἱλιγμένος εἰς ἅλα πίπτει, §792ἣ δὲ μίʼ ἐκ πέτρης προρέει μέγα πῆμα θεοῖσιν.
And deep beneath the wide-wayed earth it flows from the sacred river through the black night, a branch of Ocean, and a tenth part of it is allotted: nine parts indeed, wound in silver eddies around the earth and the broad back of the sea, fall into the salt water, but this one part flows forth from the rock, a great bane to the gods.
§793ὅς κεν τὴν ἐπίορκον ἀπολλείψας ἐπομόσσῃ §794ἀθανάτων, οἳ ἔχουσι κάρη νιφόεντος Ὀλύμπου, §795κεῖται νήυτμος τετελεσμένον εἰς ἐνιαυτόν· §796οὐδέ ποτʼ ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος ἔρχεται ἆσσον §797βρώσιος, ἀλλά τε κεῖται ἀνάπνευστος καὶ ἄναυδος §798στρωτοῖς ἐν λεχέεσσι, κακὸν δέ ἑ κῶμα καλύπτει.
Whosoever of the immortals who hold the peak of snowy Olympus pours this water and swears falsely, lies breathless until a whole year is completed; nor does he ever come near the food of ambrosia and nectar, but lies breathless and voiceless on a strewn bed, and a terrible coma covers him.
But when he finishes his illness at the end of a great year, another more difficult trial after another awaits him.
§801εἰνάετες δὲ θεῶν ἀπαμείρεται αἰὲν ἐόντων, §802οὐδέ ποτʼ ἐς βουλὴν ἐπιμίσγεται οὐδʼ ἐπὶ δαῖτας §803ἐννέα πάντα ἔτεα· δεκάτῳ δʼ ἐπιμίσγεται αὖτις §804εἴρας ἐς ἀθανάτων, οἳ Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχουσιν.
For nine years he is cut off from the gods who exist forever, nor does he ever join in council or in feasts for nine whole years; but on the tenth he joins again the assembly of the immortals who hold Olympian homes.
Such an oath did the gods make the deathless, ancient water of Styx, which she sends through a rugged place.
§807ἔνθα δὲ γῆς δνοφερῆς καὶ Ταρτάρου ἠερόεντος
And there, of dark earth and misty Tartarus...